1066 
stacle  to  cooperation  in  Now  York  State  is  the 
grower  himself.  Tie  has  so  long  unwittingly  per¬ 
mitted  himself  to  be  exploited,  going  through  life 
asking  two  questions,  “How  much  is  it?”  and  “What 
will  you  give  me?”  letting  some  one  else  name 
the  price  on  everything  he  buys  ami  everything  that 
he  sells,  that  it  would  appear  that  he  has  really 
eome  to  like  it,  for  he  can  he  depended  upon  to  play 
right  into  the  hands  of  these  same  interests  that 
have  been  receiving  both  his  condemnation  and  sup¬ 
port  all  these  years,  the  moment  some  of  his  more 
progressive  neighbors  organize  an  association  for 
their  own  protection  and  benefit.  The  grower  often 
fails  to  rise  to  the  dignity  of  his  calling,  to  appre¬ 
ciate  the  immensity  and  importance  of  the  great 
business  he  is  engaged  in,  or  to  profit  by  the  exam¬ 
ple  and  experience  of  others  who  have  not  been  con¬ 
tent  to  go  on  in  the  same  old  rut  followed  by  their 
grandfathers  when  the  world,  or  this  part  of  it.  was 
young. 
THE  DAY  OF  OPPORTUNITY.— The  time  has 
come  for  action — not  by  a  few  far-seeing  public- 
spirited  men  alone,  but  united  action  by  all  the 
growers  of  Western  New  York.  There  is  no  ques¬ 
tion  about  what  ought  to  he  done,  or  how  to  do  it. 
Efficiency  is  the  watchword.  Waste  must  be  elim¬ 
inated — the  leaks  must  be  stopped — for  in  tlie  last, 
analysis  the  producer  and  consumer  must  pay  all 
the  bills.  Providence  lias  been  kind  to  us,  we  have 
been  permitted  to  live  and  labor  in  the  Harden  of 
Eden — the  finest  fruit-producing  section  of  our  great 
country,  at  the  doorway  of  the  greatest  city  and  the 
greatest  market  in  the  world — a  market  that  con¬ 
sumes  $$00,000,000  worth  of  foodstuffs  annually, 
and  within  a  night's  ride  of  half  the  population  of 
the  United  Stales,  but  due  entirely  to  our  lack  of 
foresight  and  enterprise,  our  apples,  the  finest  fla¬ 
vored  fruit  produced  anywhere  under  the  sky,  are 
unknown  to  the  high-class  trade  of  New  York  City. 
Tens  of  thousands  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  greatest 
City  in  the  world,  located  at  the  of  her  end  of  our 
own  State,  do  not  even  know  that  New  York  is  an 
apple-producing  State,  but  they  have  all  heard  of 
and  seen  the  beautiful  though  inferior  products  of 
two  or  three  small  valleys  three  thousand  miles 
away.  Opportunity  is  knocking  at  the  door  of  the 
New  York  fruit  and  vegetable  industry,  and  if  the 
call  is  not  answered  soon,  and  an  end  put  once  and 
for  all  to  the  ridiculous  spectacle  of  an  intelligent 
and  favored  people  following  the  principle  of  “every 
man  for  himself,”  there  will  be  another  knock  at 
the  door  of  some  of  our  good  people,  and  it  will  be 
necessary  to  open  the  door  this  time,  for  the  sheriff 
will  be  there.  There  is  nothing  far-fetched  about  this 
statement — I  say  it  with  all  the  earnestness  that  I 
possess.  We  have  been  living  in  a ‘Tool’s  paradise" — 
going  along  contentedly,  while  the  West  and  North¬ 
west  have  gradually  undermined  our  business  and 
driven  our  products  to  one  side,  simply  by  the  exer¬ 
cise  of  common-sense  business  methods, 
CENTRAL  PACKINCi. — Some  men  oppose  cooper¬ 
ation  and  central  packing  houses  because  they  say 
they  must  lose  their  individual  identity.  There  is 
but  one  answer  to  this  statement,  and  it  is  this: 
There  are  a  lot  of  people  who  unless  our  marketing 
methods  in  Ibis  State  are  soon  changed,  will  either 
lose  their  identity  or  their  farms  sooner  or  later, 
and  it  does  not  require  much  brains  to  make  a 
choice.  I  overheard  a  grower,  after  Mr.  Welsh  had 
explained  one  day  last  Summer,  the  advantages  of 
central  packing  plants,  remark:  “I  don’t  like  the 
central  packing  house  idea  ;  it  makes  you  put  your 
property  out  of  your  hands.”  The  poor  man  had 
been  “putting  his  property  out  of  Ms  hands”  for 
years  and  did  not  know  it.  and  the  worst  of  it  was 
“his  property  ’  was  not  properly  graded,  and  the 
hands  to  which  it  was  entrusted  were  not  always 
friendly  hands. 
Two  Plans  for  Marketing 
OADS1D-E  SELLING.— My  work  takes  me  all 
over  this  little  State  of  New  Jersey  and  out 
into  the  large  vegetable  growing  sections.  Every¬ 
where  roadside  selling  is  being  practiced.  Stands 
like  little  stores  are  frequently  erected  in  front  of 
the  farmhouse,  and  look  attractive.  Usually  the 
offerings  are  nicely  displayed  and  a  sign  lists  the 
things  for  sale.  This  manner  of  gelling  is  only  iu 
the  first  stages  of  development  and  great  improve¬ 
ments  will  rapidly  take  place.  Vegetables  cannot 
retain  their  freshness  and  quality  when  they  lie  un¬ 
protected  along  the  roadside  in  the  hot  sun.  Re¬ 
cently  1  stopped  at  a  stand  to  see  what  was  offered, 
and  found  large  fish-flies  swarming  through  the 
raspberries.  The  Yellow  Transparent  apples  were 
small  and  knotted,  the  beets  were  not  washed,  and 
the  lettuce  had  the  poor  leaves  which  grew  close  to 
the  ground  still  clinging  to  i(.  The  large  white  eggs 
looked  to  he  .'cry  flue,  but  judging  from  the  uppear- 
Tihc  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
a  nee  of  the  rest  of  the  stuff  I  took  it  for  granted 
that  the  eggs;  might,  have  been  set  on  a  few  days  be¬ 
fore  they  were  gathered.  Therefore,  after  quickly 
glancing  over  the  offerings  I  asked  the  seller  if 
sweet  corn  was  ready  yet?  Of  course  she  said 
“No,”  and  I  went  on.  When  I  reached  home  I 
found  our  “green  goods  grocer”  had  these  same 
vegetables  in  excellent  condition. 
AUTO  BUYERS, — Those  roadside  sellers,  who 
have  a  constant  supply  of  line  vegetables,  find  that 
the  same  autos  come  many  miles  every  day  just 
to  get  their  things.  The  entire  family  enjoys  the 
ride,  and  later  enjoys  eating  the  delicious,  whole¬ 
some  fresh  products.  Another  point  worth  consider¬ 
ing  is  that  the  price  is  quite  an  important  consider¬ 
ation.  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  some  of  the  people 
riding  in  $5,000  machines  will  squeal  for  a  nickel, 
especially  the  careful  housewives.  The  prices  must 
be  moderate  and  the  quality  excellent.  In  this  way 
a  steady  trade  is  built  up,  new  customers  will  re¬ 
turn  and  bring  others. 
ROADSIDE  SIGNS. — Attractive  signs  ai’e  essen¬ 
tial,  and  they  must  be  put  up  to  draw  attention.  A 
Runabout  With  Trailer  Attached.  Fig.  419 
sign  directly  in  front  of  the  stand  and  parallel  to 
the  road  cannot  be  read  by  tlie  people  who  ride  past 
quickly  in  machines.  The  picture,  Fig.  420,  shows  a 
roadside  sign  as  used  on  the  Camden  Pike  near 
Biidgeboro,  N.  J,  One  of  these  permanent  struc¬ 
tures  is  put  up  on  each  of  the  two  corners  of  the 
farm  near  the  road.  They  are  almost  at  right  angles 
to  the  road  and  can  be  seen  for  more  than  200  yards 
before  tlie  autoists  reach  it.  Then  they  have  a 
chance  to  decide  to  stop  before  they  reach  the  stand 
a  little  further  along.  If  you  look  carefully  you 
can  see  that  the  word  “asparagus”  is  painted  on  a 
piece  of  tin  fastened  to  the  board  sign  with  screws. 
Later  on  this  word  was  replaced  by  “Strawberries,” 
••Raspberries,”  “Sweet  Corn,”  “Cantaloupes,”  etc., 
as  tlie  season  advanced.  Such  a  substantial  sign  in¬ 
dicates  that  the  growers  are  determined  to  make  a 
business  out  of  their  adventure.  Temporary,  make¬ 
shift  signs  indicate  poor  business  and  cultural  meth¬ 
ods  and  the  prospective  buyer  goes  on. 
TRAILER  WITH  PLEASURE  AUTO.— The  ac- 
A  Farmer’s  Roadside  Sign.  Fig.  420 
Company  in  g  picture,  Fig.  411),  shows  an  old  one- 
eylimler  runabout  auto  which  is  now  in  almost  con¬ 
stant  use  the  season  through  in  delivering  asparagus, 
strawberries,  dewberries  and  late  vegetables  to  the 
butchers  and  grocers  iu  the  nearby  towns.  The 
little  trailer  as  shown  cost  less  than  $50,  Including 
the  special  attachment-  to  the  axle  of  the  auto.  Tlie 
wheels  are  equipped  with  roller  bearings  so  that 
the  draft  is  light.  The  special  license  cost  $3  per 
year  ami  tlie  owner,  Fred  Demurest  of  Essex  Co., 
N.  J.,  says  that  the  extra  returns  from  the  first 
trip  more  than  paid  this  $3.  Just  before  the  picture 
was  taken  the  little  outfit  had  delivered  12  crates  of 
asparagus  in  Montclair  and  the  Oranges.  The  price 
received  was  $3.25  per  dozen  bunches  or  12  crates 
at  $0.50,  or  a  total  of  $78.  There  was  no  cost  of 
packages  because  other  strawberry  crates  were  given 
in  return.  No  freight  or  express  to  pay  because 
the  trailer  delivered  the  goods  at  tlie  door  of  the 
stores  and  the  farmer  himself  negotiated  the  sales, 
therefore  there  was  no  commission  to  take  out  and 
tbe  grower  received  100  cents  out  of  every  dollar  tlie 
retailer  spent  instead  of  (50  cents.  This  little  trailer 
August  12,  1910. 
is  guaranteed  to  carry  600  pounds,  but  Mr.  Demur¬ 
est  says  that  it.  handles  half  a  ton  very  comfortably 
and  that  such  tilings  as  strawberries  or  raspberries 
keep  in  perfect  condition  when  they  are  hauled  in 
this  easy  riding  outfit.  It  is  almost  instantly  de¬ 
tached  from  the  axle  of  the  auto,  so  that  the  effi¬ 
ciency  of  the  machine  as  a  pleasure  vehicle  is  not 
impaired.  Mr.  Demurest  first  saw  this  scheme 
working  in  several  sections  of  the  South  last  Win¬ 
ter,  and  he  ordered  the  frailer  just  as  soon  as  he 
reached  home.  k.  w.  de  baun. 
Who  Owns  the  Horses  ? 
rwe  have  liad  several  questions  something  like  the 
following,  involving  property  rights  in  live  stock  as  be¬ 
tween  parents  and  Children.  As  most  of  these  people 
nek  foi  a  full  discussion,  suppose  we  have  one.  Who 
owns  these  horses  on  the  facts  as  here  given?] 
RAN D FAT  1 1 E It  gave  his  grandson  a  mare  colt 
about  16  years  ago,  and  I  kept  that  mare  and 
all  her  colts,  or  equivalent  colts,  that  is,  I  would 
sell  the  horse  colts  and  buy  mare  colts  to  keep  on 
farm,  till  all  the  horses  on  farm  were  really  my 
horses  or  from  this  mare  grandfather  gave  me. 
About  14  years  ago  my  father,  who  had  a  profes¬ 
sion,  went  to  his  business  and  left  all  tlie  farm  to 
me  and  my  mother  to  manage,  father  only  coming 
home  two  or  three  times  a  year.  I  managed  farm 
and  all  as  if  it  were  my  own,  and  kept  these  horses 
to  use  on  farm. 
A  lit  fit*  over  a  year  ago  I  married  and  as  my 
father  did  not  care  to  sell  or  make  any  division  of 
farm,  wife  and  I  moved  away  and  rented  a  farm, 
and  some  time  ago  1  wrote  to  father  I  wanted  to 
sell  the  horses  I  left  at  home.  lie  wrote  me  he  con¬ 
sidered  all  the  horses  there  his. 
When  father  left  farm  to  my  care  and  manage¬ 
ment,  there  were  a  few  mules  of  no  value  there,  and 
as  soon  as  colts  grew  of  working  age  we  would  dis¬ 
pose  of  mule  and  keep  a  good  horse  (mare)  from 
my  little  grandfather  giff.  Father  does  not  dispute 
that  all  the  horses  are  not  from  my  mare  but  claims 
he  left  horses  or  mules  on  farm,  we  sold  them,  and 
I’m  now  asking  him  to  buy  the  horses  on  farm  now, 
hut  all  are  offspring  of  tlie  colt  grandfather  gave 
me.  So  father  is  claiming  the  horses  and  I  claim 
they  are  my  property,  and  want  to  sell  them. 
Whom  do  these  horses  belong  to?  I  was  quite 
young  when  colt  was  given  to  me,  and  worked  at 
home  till  I  was  26  years  of  age  and  had  no  under¬ 
standing,  and  as  slated  managed  farm  as  if  it  were 
mine,  without  any  wages  more  than  a  good  living, 
and  clothes.  Now  as  I  have  a  family  and  business 
to  keep  and  only  $200  when  wife  and  I  moved  away 
I  would  like  to  know  who  owns  these  horses,  and 
can  I  gain  possession  of  them  in  court  of  Virginia,  if 
no  other  way?  J.  t.  s. 
Virginia. 
A  Big  Dairy  Question 
AM  enclosing  a  clipping  from  the  Utica  Press 
containing  remarks  made  by  Edward  Van  Al- 
styne  before  tlie  Oneida  County  Farm  Bureau  As¬ 
sociation  at  Utica  in  April.  Two  quotations  are 
given  here: 
“The  biggest  criminal  isn’t  the  man  who  sets  fire  to 
a  house  or  burglarizes  a  store,”  was  another  of  his 
points.  “It  is  the  man  who  lives  on  your  farm  for  10 
or  20  years  and  skins  the  farm  down  to  poverty.  That 
is  the  kind  of  a  crime  that  a  whole  generation  will  not 
wipe  out.”  *  *  *  *  The  speaker  said  that  the  in- 
creased  cost  of  production  in  securing  the  highest  grade 
of  milk  was  not  as  high  as  tlie  corresponding  Increase 
in  profit.  He  decried  the  antagonism  between  the  milk 
producer  and  the  milk  handler  and  called  the  attention 
of  his  hearers  to  the  fact,  that  there  is  no  other  farm 
product  that  has  its  market  price  fixed  six  months  in 
advance.  “If.  knowing  the  market  price  six  months  in 
advance,  we  can  not  produce  the  milk  at  a  figure  that 
will  allow  us  a  profit,  I  think  that  it  is  pretty  much  our 
fault,”  he  said. 
While  I  have  not  a  very  high  opinion  of  a  farm 
“skinner”  I  am  going  to  take  issue  with  Mr.  Van 
Alstyne  for  laying  all  the  skinning  on  the  tenant  I 
have  known  many  owners  who  have  been  and  are 
skinners,  more  so  in  fact,  than  are  tenants,  because 
in  most  instances  the  tenant,  is  hound  down  to  feed 
all  fodder  that  is  produced  ou  the  farm,  while  the 
owners  will  often  sell  every  forkful  they  can.  I  am 
not  a  tenant,  therefor  I  cannot  be  accused  of  speak¬ 
ing  for  myself. 
There  is  one  thing  more.  “If,  knowing  the  market 
price  six  months  in  advance,  we  cannot  produce 
milk  at  a  figure  that  will  allow  us  a  profit,  I  think 
ir  is  pretty  much  our  own  fault,”  I  would  like  to 
have  Mr.  Van  Alstyne  tell  just  what  he  meant  by 
this,  and  what  he  would  do  to  produce  milk  at  a 
profit  knowing  tlie  price  six  months  in  advance, 
having  no  control  over  the  price  of  milk  or  the  price 
of  feed. 
I  will  admit  that  there  are  many  cows  kept  at  a 
loss  through  ignorance.  But  it  must  also  la*  ad¬ 
mitted  that  cows  are  sometimes  kept  at  a  loss  from 
