1276 
RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
there  is  little  that  promises  better.  The  life  of  the 
dairyman  is  full  of  interest.  It  is  a  life  of  conquest. 
He  must  face  all  sorts  of  problems,  the  solution  of 
which  calls  for  a  knowledge  of  all  the  sciences.  To 
the  man  who  knows  and  will  give  his  life  to  it,  the 
dairy  business  promises  reward  and  fullness  of  life. 
To  the  man  who  does  not  know,  and  just  "keeps  a 
few  cows."  it  means  drudgery  and  small  pay. 
One  other  thought.  Dairying  is  a  business  in 
which  the  size  of  business  is  an  important  factor. 
It  is  impossible  really-  to  make  much  money  above 
expenses  out  of  one  cow,  and  a  10-cow  business  is 
not  a  large  business.  It  does  not  promise  much  of 
a  net  income  from  which  to  support  a  family.  The 
overhead  charges  are  not  materially  greater  for  a 
dairy  of  20  or  25  cows  than  for  a  dairy  of  10  cows. 
The  chances  for  a  satisfactory  income  are  much 
better  with  a  large  business  than  with  a  small  one. 
This  is  as  true  with  every  line  of  farming  as  with 
merchandizing  or  manufacturing.  F.  l.  allf.x. 
Ohio. 
Co-operation  in  Washington,  D.  C. 
By  a  Former  Chairman  in  the  Home  Club 
Part  II. 
A  DEMOCRATIC  ORGANIZATION.— One  valu¬ 
able  result  of  this  bringing  together  of  the  various 
elements  in  the  Interior  Department  personnel  was 
the  spirit  of  good  American  democracy  fostered  by 
the  mingling  of  secretary,  commissioner,  division 
chief  and  plain,  every-day  clerk  upon  an  equal  foot¬ 
ing  of  friendly  acquaintance  on  the  floor  of  the 
Home  Club.  Secretary  Lane  himself  was  often  at 
the  club  of  evenings,  chatting  with  his  fellow-em¬ 
ployees  of  the  government,  although  arrayed  in  the 
Immaculate  attire  befitting  the  high  station  of  a 
Cabinet  officer.  Mr.  Lane  sought  out  merit  where 
he  could  find  it,  and  one  evening  was 
devoted  to  listeniug  to  the  recitations  of 
Vacliel  Lindsay,  the  “nature  poet”  of 
Springfield,  Ill.,  who  was  taken  in  hand 
and  introduced  to  the  club  ip  generous 
style  by  the  Secretary.  Everything  pos¬ 
sible  was  done  to  encourage  each  mem¬ 
ber  and  participant  to  do  his  best.  Of 
course  the  fine  personality  of  Mr.  Lane 
had  much  to  do  with  the  success  of  the 
movement,  but  without  merit  of  its  own, 
the  movement  could  not  have  kept  up 
as  it  did,  and  is  still  doing.  The  spirit 
of  cooperation  was  good  to  see.  The 
Chief  Clerk  of  the  Department  of  the 
Interior  himself,  E.  J.  Ayers  of  New 
Jersey,  who  had  come  up  from  the  ranks 
to  that  position,  the  direct,  administra¬ 
tive  officer  over  5,000  or  more  employ¬ 
ees,  was  chairman  of  the  sub-committee 
on  cooperative  store,  like  the  writer, 
who  was  an  ordinary  clerk  in  the  Pen¬ 
sion  Office.  Comptroller  Ryan  presided 
at  the  meetings  of  the  Cooperation  Committee 
with  the  same  acumen  and  enthusiasm  with 
which  he  approached  the  large  problems  of  the 
national  reclamation  projects  in  the  arid  West, 
and  other  high  officers  of  the  Department  lent 
their  valuable  talents  and  experience  to  work¬ 
ing  out  the  various  plans  of  club  management. 
The  dues  were  fixed  at  only  50  cents  per 
month,  or  $5  a  year  in  advance,  with  .$1  admission 
fee.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  those  members  who  pa¬ 
tronized  the  cooperative  buying  system  of  the  club 
saved  several  times  the  cost  of  membership  during 
the  year.  Valuable  assistance  in  management  was 
also  given  by  women  clerks  of  the  various  bureaus 
of  the  Department,  showing  that  there  is  fine  native 
talent  in  the  female  contingent  of  the  civil  service. 
-  PURCHASING  COMMITTEES.— It  was  early 
seen  that  cooperative  buying  was  to  be  one  of  the 
leading  functions  of  the  club,  and  President  Lane 
selected  for  that  purpose  a  committee  consisting 
of  E.  J.  Ayers  and  W.  A.  Ryan.  The  former,  a  na¬ 
tive  of  New  Jersey,  born  and  raised  on  a  farm,  in 
addition  to  the  executive  ability  which  raised  him 
to  the  position  of  chief  clerk  of  the  Interior  De¬ 
partment,  knew  the  methods  of  marketing  farm  pro¬ 
duce  in  his  native  State;  while  Mr.  Ryan,  Comp¬ 
troller  of  the  Reclamation  Service,  from  his  asso¬ 
ciation  with  Mr.  Lane  when  the  latter  was  head  of 
the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  was  an  expert 
in  the  science  of  marketing  in  its  wider  phases. 
Having  been  instrumental  in  fixing  the  express 
rates  now  in  effect,  Mr.  Ryan  very  naturally  turned 
to  the  express  companies  for  aid  in  bringing  sup¬ 
plies  to  Washington  for  members  of  the  club.  A 
contract  was  made  with  one  company  to  bring  but¬ 
ter  and  eggs  from  a  town  in  North  Carolina.  Soon 
there  were  orders  enough  from  members  to  amount 
to  nearly  2.000  dozen  eggs  and  1.000  pounds  of  but¬ 
ter  per  week.  The  money  was  collected  in  advance, 
and  transmitted,  with  the  orders,  by  wire,  thus  giv¬ 
ing  prompt  service  and  cash  trade,  a  benefit  all 
around.  The  butter  and  eggs  were  at  first,  deliv¬ 
ered  to  the  various  bureaus,  but  afterwards  at  the 
homes  of  members  by  the  club  automobile,  at  a 
.saving  of  25  to  40  per  cent,  over  the  regular  local 
market  price  for  produce  of  the  same  quality,  in 
Winter;  as  warm  weather  approached,  the  saving 
was  less,  but  still  worth  while.  A  business  man¬ 
ager,  who  was  receiving  a  small  salary  in  another 
department,  was  employed  at  $150  per  month,  and 
a  few  cents  added  to  each  pound  of  butter  and  doz¬ 
ens  of  eggs  paid  bis  salary  and  the  cost  of  a  small 
delivery  automobile,  as  well  as  the  hire  of  help. 
PERMANENT  ORGANIZATION.— In  the  Spring 
of  1015,  the  Cooperative  Commiuee  of  the  Home 
Chib  organized  in  earnest,  under  the  chairmanship 
of  Comptroller  Ryan,  who  selected  his  members 
from  the  nine  bureaus  of  the  department,  with  the 
intention  of  extending  the  system  to  the  saving  of 
money  on  everything  that  members  had  to  buy,  in¬ 
cluding  clothing  as  well  as  food.  A  chief  of  divis¬ 
ion  in  the  Indian  Bureau  was  made  chairman  of  a 
sub-committee  on  marketing  “from  factory  to  con¬ 
sumer";  and  there  were  a  dozen  other  sub-commit¬ 
tees,  including  one  on  food  supply,  of  which  the 
writer  was  made  chairman,  representing  the  Pen¬ 
sion  Bureau.  For  some  time  the  feeling  had  been 
growing  that  President  Lane’s  idea  of  enlisting 
other  departments  besides  his  own  in  this  movement 
was  an  excellent  one,  and  a  leading  employee,  Mr. 
Cowhick,  of  the  Reclamation  Office,  was  selected  as 
chairman  of  a  sub-committee  to  interest  all  other 
department  clerks  in  cooperative  buying,  on  the 
principle  the  more  members  enlisted,  the  greater 
advantage  to  be  gained  in  purchasing  and  distrib¬ 
uting  supplies.  It  was  estimated  that  at  least  ten 
thousand  clerks,  most  of  them  heads  of  families, 
might  be  found  willing  to  enter  the  fold  of  co¬ 
operative  buyers,  and  that  each  of  them  in  that 
way  might  save  at  least  25  per  cent,  of  the  regular 
living  expense,  thus  providing  them  with  a  substan¬ 
tial  promotion  in  income,  as  well  as  with  the  best 
of  things  to  live  upon,  delivered  at  their  own  doors. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  all  committees  served 
without  any  pay,  and  worked  only  out  of  office 
hours,  so  as  not  iu  any  way  to  interfere  with  their 
official  duties.  The  writer  went  to  work  as  chair¬ 
man  of  his  sub-committee  on  food  supply  by  select¬ 
ing  a  member  from  each  of  the  nine  bureaus.  Pat¬ 
ent  and  Pension  offices,  Geological  Survey,  etc. 
There  were  several  women  among  them,  as  it  was 
at  once  realized  that  women,  who  are  so  closely 
connected  with  household  affairs  everywhere, 
should  have  a  prominent  part  in  a  movement  like 
this.  One  member  was  asked  to  communicate  with 
canning  factories;  another  with  millers,  and  an¬ 
other  with  wholesale  dealers  in  fish,  etc.,  and  an¬ 
other  looked  after  the  meat  problem,  while  one  was 
delegated  to  get  in  touch  with  farmers  and  fruit 
growers,  especially  those  within  reasonable  dis¬ 
tance  of  Washington.  lindsay  s.  perkins. 
Apples  Go  Wrong  In  Storage 
What  causes  apples  to  wither  and  become  covered 
with  black  spots?  They  are  Stored  iu  a  bouse  cellar 
with  a  concrete  floor,  covered  with  paper  and  are  lying 
on  paper.  The  cellar  is  absolutely  dry,  and  the  apples 
were  perfect  when  put  in.  L.  S. 
'Stony  Point,  N.  Y. 
HREE  things  are  necessary  if  one  is  to  keep  ap¬ 
ples  in  good  condition  for  a  long  time.  They 
must  be  in  the  right  condition  when  picked.  They 
must  be  protected  from  too  much  drying.  They  must 
be  protected  from  attacks  of  fungi  (rots  and  molds). 
An  apple  is  ready  to  be  picked  when  it  is  fully 
mature  but  before  it  is  “dead  ripe.”  it  should  he 
October  7,  191G. 
free  from  extensive  bruises  and  from  diseases.  Small 
bruises  where  the  skin  is  not  broken  will  dry  over 
and  cause  no  trouble  in  most  cases,  hut  in  some  va¬ 
rieties  (the  Northern  Spy  is  a  conspicuous  example) 
which  have  a  very  juicy,  tender  flesh  and  a  tender 
skin,  the  slightest  bruise  is  likely  to  allow  the  rot 
fungi  to  enter.  Tn  New  York  State  the  two  most 
serious  apple  diseases  are  “scab"  and  "Baldwin 
spot”  or  "shot-hole  fungus.”  The  latter  appears 
usually  on  overgrown  specimens  of  mauy  of  our 
Winter  apples,  especially  where  they  have  grown  in 
the  shade  on  the  lower  side  of  the  limbs,  and  in  our 
orchards  it  sometimes  seems  to  he  perhaps  asso¬ 
ciated  with  slight  aphis  injury.  This  may  be  acci¬ 
dental,  and  simply  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  large, 
tender,  juicy  specimens  grow  in  the  same  sheltered 
situations  where  there  is  much  moisture  in  the  air 
as  are  favorable  to  the  life  of  plant  lice.  This  injury 
has  the  appearance  of  small  depressed  patches 
about  an  eighth  of  an  inch  in  diameter  with  a  small 
brown  spot  under  the  skin.  They  much  resemble 
bruises  caused  by  hail  except  that  they  are  smaller 
and  usually  more  numerous.  Iu  storage  the  brown 
area  extends  through  the  flesh  of  the  apple  to  the 
core  and  appears  as  bitter  brown  streaks  about  as 
large  as  the  lead  of  u  pencil.  The  apple  scab  first 
appears  on  the  apple  as  a  small  grayish  raised  spot 
in  the  thin  waxy  outer  skin  or  epidermis.  When 
this  gets  about  an  eighth  of  an  inch  in  diameter  the 
epidermis  begins  to  break  and  roll  back,  and  the 
trouble  appeal's  as  a  black  spot.  When  this  gets 
about  one-quarter  inch  in  diameter,  the  center  usu¬ 
ally  begins  to  heal  up  and  we  have  the  condition 
sometimes  called  “fish  eyes.”  In  some  varieties, 
notably  Pen  Davis  and  Gano,  the  healing  may  he 
complete  and  the  sear  appear  as  a  golden  wart 
which  is  one  of  the  usual  marks  of  these  varieties. 
In  storage  scab  spots  which  have  not 
developed  enough  to  show  when  the  ap¬ 
ples  were  picked  may  grow  and  injure 
the  appearance  of  the  fruit  greatly. 
The  scab  fungus  itself  does  not  injure 
the  apple  for  use  except  as  it.  spoils  the 
appearance,  but  it  gives  a  chance  for 
various  rot  fungi  to  get  through  the 
epidermis  and  destroy  the  fruit. 
Apples  stored  iu  a  dry  cellar  without 
very  good  protection  are  almost  sure 
to  dry  out  so  much  as  to  he  too  with¬ 
ered  to  he.  very  good  to  eat.  The  air 
around  each  apple  should  he  as  nearly 
saturated  with  moisture  all  the  time  as 
possible.  Pits  and  ordinary  methods  of 
storage  in  barrels  meet  these  conditions 
well  but,  have  other  objections.  Ap¬ 
ples  stored  in  bulk  in  pits  in  contact 
with  the  earth  are  likely  to  lose  flavor 
and  become  “earthy.”  Storage  in  pits 
and  in  ordinary  barrel  methods  does  not 
protect  the  perfect  apples  from  fungi. 
The  tough,  waxy  epidermis  of  an  apple  is  a  good 
protection  against  most  of  the  rot.  fungi,  but.  if  a  per¬ 
fect  apple  lies  against  a  rotten  one  sooner  or  later 
the  fungus  will  lie  able  to  grow  through  the  pro¬ 
tection  of  the  good  one  and  destroy  it.  Wrapping 
each  apple  in  x»uper  as  it  is  placed  in  the  barrel  is 
a  great  help  iu  keeping  the  apples  from  decay.  I 
have  read  recently,  but  cannot  now  find  the  refer¬ 
ence,  that  some  experimenters  have  found  that  pack¬ 
ing  the  wrapped  apples  in  clean  oak  sawdust  so  that 
the  apples  were  separated  by  a  half  inch  or  more 
of  the  sawdust  in  each  case  prolonged  the  season 
of  the  apples  many  months.  As  T  remember  it  late 
Fall  apples,  such  as  King  and  Wealthy,  were  kept 
in  good  condition  until  the  following  August. 
If  cold  storage  is  available  it  is  a  great  help  in 
keeping  apples  sound.  The  temperature  should  be 
as  low  as  it  can  be  kept  without  freezing  the  ap¬ 
ples.  A  few  degrees  below  the  freezing  point  of 
water  is  usual.  This  is,  of  course,  the  temperature 
of  the  air  in  the  room  and  the  center  of  the  barrel 
is  always  warmer.  For  this  reason  the  apples  can¬ 
not  lie  kept  in  cold  storage  forever.  Frozen  meats 
can  he  kept  for  years  and  be  perfectly  sound  if  eaten 
very  soon  after  being  thawed  out,  hut  fruit  which 
cannot  he  frozen  without,  injury  can  seldom  be 
kept  iu  cold  storage  more  than  a  few  months. 
Wayne  Co.,  N.  Y.  Alfred  c.  weed. 
It.  N.-Y. — Mr.  Weed  evidently  refers  to  the  bulle¬ 
tin  issued  by  the  Vermont  Experiment  Station  at 
Burlington.  It  records  a  number  of  successful  ex¬ 
periments  iu  keeping  apples. 
Bread  for  Hogs 
N  O.  J.  Maigne’s  farm,  in  Fittsford,  Vt.,  about 
100  bogs  are  raised  and  marketed  every  year. 
The  problem  of  feeding  this  number  of  swine  is  im¬ 
portant  and  to  prepare  them  for  market  requires  a 
large  quantity  of  food.  The  large  bakeries  in  New 
