1286 
The  Rural  New-Yorker 
777/7  BUS1XESS  FARMER'S  PAPER 
A  National  uiUy  Jouninl  for  Country  and  Suburban  Home* 
Kntnbl  inked.  ih.’o 
Published  weekly  by  the  Itnrul  l’nliMnlillie  Ciunpnny,  311.7  tVesI  3«ih  Street,  New  Vork 
llEitnirnr  IV.  Cot.lini. tv.yoii,  Ibesiiient and  Editor. 
John  J.  Ditxo.s',  Treasurer  ntui  Gotu-tttl  Manager. 
W*.  F.  Dillon,  Secretary.  Mas.  E.  T.  Uuvlii.  Associate  Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION:  ONE  DOLLAR  A  YEAR 
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Entered  at  Now  York  Post  Office  as  Second  Class  Matter. 
Advertising  rates,  7fi  cents  per  agate  line — 7  words.  References  required  for 
advertisers  unknown  to  us  ;  and  cash  must  accompany  transient  orders. 
"A  SQUARE  DEAL" 
We  believe  that  every  Advertisement  in  this  paper  is  barked  by  a  respon¬ 
sible  person.  We  use  every  possible  precaution  and  admit  the  advertising  of 
rclinhle  houses  only.  Rut  to  make  doubly  sure  we.  w  ill  make  good  anv  loss 
to  paid  subscribers  sustained  by  trusting  any  deliberate  swindler,  irrespon¬ 
sible  advertisers  or  misleading  advertisement*  In  one  columns,  and  tiny 
such  swindler  will  be  puhlirlv  exposed.  Wo  am  also  ofien  called  upon 
to  adjust  differences  or  mistakes  between  our  subscribers  anti  honest, 
responsible  houses,  whether  lutvetu-ers  np  not.  We  willingly  use  our  good 
offices  to  11118  end,  but  such  eases  should  „nt  be  confused  with  dishonest 
transactions.  We  protect  subscriber.,  *gnin»i  rogueit.  but  wc  will  not  bo 
responsible  for  die  debts  of  hones"  hank rfii/s  sanctioned  by  tho  courts. 
Notice  of  the  complaint  must  be  sent  Jo  it*  w  ithin  one  mouth  of  the  time  of 
the  transaction,  nod  to  identify  it,  you  should  mention  The  Kilt  a  I,  New- 
i  okkek  when  wilting  the  advertiser. 
THE  National  Republican  campaign  committee 
has  taken  space  in  our  advertising  columns  to 
make  an  appeal  to  voters.  Next  week  the  Demo¬ 
cratic  committee  will,  under  similar  conditions,  pre¬ 
sent  their  arguments  for  the  re-election  of  President 
Wilson.  Thus  both  sides  have  an  opportunity  to 
tell  their  story  iu  their  own  way.  The  It.  N.*Y. 
does  not  enter  partisan  politics  in  any  way,  but  it 
seems  no  more  than  fair  to  permit  those  committees 
to  employ  this  method  of  appealing  to  the  people. 
What  they  have  to  say  takes  the  place  of  the  old 
“stump  speech,”  and  gives  the  voter  a  chance  to  con¬ 
sider  facts  or  argument  presented  to  him  in  black 
and  white  without  considering  the  personality  of 
any  speaker. 
* 
THE  potash  boomers  are  at  it  once  more.  This 
time  they  have  found  deposits  in  Cuba.  No 
potash  seems  to  he  on  sale  yet.  but  stock  in  the  com¬ 
pany  is  offered  to  suckers  and  others.  We  offer  just 
three  words  of  advice.  Let  it  alone!  Wait  until  the 
government  authorities  certify  to  the  value  of  this 
potash  deposit.  No  manufacturer  will  put  it  into 
his  fertilizer  until  the  chemists  prove  that  it  is  avail¬ 
able  enough  to  pass  the  law.  In  order  to  do  that,  in 
a  high-grade  fertilizer,  it  must  he  soluble.  There 
may  he  potash  in  Cuba  as  well  as  in  parts  of  this 
country,  but  that  is  small  reason  why  you  should 
invest  in  potash  stocks.  Far  better  use  your  money 
in  making  a  pit  for  saving  the  liquid  manures,  or  in 
hauling  muck  or  black  soil  out  of  the  swamps. 
* 
BEFORE  you  send  small  shipments  of  apples  or 
potatoes  or  meat  to  this  big  city  try  the  local 
market  to  the  limit.  In  this  great  town  the  little 
shipments  are  often  swallowed  up  and  do  not  have 
a  fair  chance.  Right  in  your  local  town,  or  city, 
may  often  lie  found  customers  who  will  pay  fair 
prices — more  than  you  can  get  here  with  transpor¬ 
tation  and  commission  taken  out.  An  advertisement 
in  a  local  paper  will  often  sell  all  you  have  and 
more.  Right  in  your  town  •  the  -  merchants  may  he 
Imying  in  New  York  the  very  class  of  goods  which 
you  are  sending  here.  It  is  the  first  principle  of 
marketing  reform  to  keep  the  local  market  supplied 
from  nearby  farms,  instead  of  sending  everything 
to  the  big  market  to  create  a  surplus. 
* 
WHO  can  pick  up  a  daily  paper  these  days 
without  finding  a  big  report  of  some  “inves¬ 
tigation”  into  the  price  of  food?  They  are  after 
everything.  It  has  become  a  habit.  Some  10  years 
ago  The  R.  N.-Y.  began  to  talk  about  the  35-ccnt 
dollar.  We  did  not  get  35  cents  worth  of  attention 
at  first,  and  that  little  had  saw  teeth  on  it.  We  said 
then  that,  we  would  keep  at  it.  until  ice  pat  the  85- 
reni  dollar  into  popular  thought.  It  was  mighty 
unpopular  then.  We  knew  that  error  cannot  pass 
through  popular  thought  and  live,  and  if  there  were 
no  such  thing  as  a  35-cent  dollar  the  earth  would 
soon  close  over  it.  So  we  kept  right  on  with  “the 
rain  repetition  of  an  economic  fallacy”  As  a  re¬ 
sult  the  wise  and  the  unwise  arc  now  falling  over 
themselves  to  investigate  and  analyze  prices.  At 
the  bottom  of  each  investigation,  when  the  trimming 
comes  off,  they  find  our  old  friend  the  35-eent  dol¬ 
lar — the  one  unchanging  thing  in  modern  business. 
The  average  man  would  rather  “investigate”  than 
act.  Now  let’s  build  a  fire  under  some  of  these  in¬ 
vestigators,  so  that  they  will  have  to  act  or  be  run 
over. 
* 
I  have  read  with  much  interest  your  article  on  cider 
vinegar.  I  happen  myself  to  have  some  barrels  of 
cider  vinegar  which  is  pure  and  wholesome,  hut  which 
does  not  contain  4%  of  acetic  acid,  and  which,  there¬ 
fore,  I  am  not  allowed  to  sell  in  this  State.  I  am  told 
that  the  law  on  this  subject  was  passed  at  the  in¬ 
stance  of  some  manufacturers  who  were  able  to  make 
vinegar  containing  the  required  4%  and  who  wished, 
E6e  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
as  far  as  they  could,  to  get  a  monopoly  of  the  oidor- 
niaking  business.  Your  article  is  correct  in  saying  that 
it  is  practically  impossible  to  make  vinegar  containing 
Hr  of  acetic  acid,  as  we  plain  men  are  ordinarily 
obliged  to  have  it  made.  Rut  why  require  vinegar  to 
he  so  sour?  It  is  just  as  wholesome  and  just  as 
pleasant  to  the  taste  with  a  less  proportion  of  this 
particular  acid. 
Why  'Should  not  we  who  are  interested  iu  farms  join 
:n  asking  candidates  for  the  Legislature  this  Fall 
whether  they  would  support  a  bill  amending  tho  statute 
on  the  subject  so  as  to  require  the  percentage  of  acetic 
acid  to  he  stated  oil  the  barrel,  but  not.  to  prohibit  the 
stile  of  the  pure,  wholesome  vinegar  simply  because  it 
is  not  its  sour  as  the  manufacturers  would  like  to  have 
it?  EVERETT  P.  WllEKLEB. 
New  York. 
AR MERS  and  fruit  growers  have  the  right  to  do 
this,  and  may  well  do  so.  When  the  law  was 
enacted  we  were  told  that  it  was  needed  to  shut  off 
adulterated  vinegar.  It  looks  as  if  they  aimed  to 
do  this  and  also  to  shut  off  vinegar  made  on  farms. 
Mr.  Wheeler’s  plan  is  fair.  We  favor  it  just  as  we 
do  the  sale  of  skim-milk  when  plainly  marked  for 
just  what  it  is ! 
* 
Put  Them  on  Record  ! 
ILL  you  help  us  put  the  candidates  for  State 
offices  and  the  Legislature  in  New  York  on 
record?  Will  they  support  the  State  Foods  and 
Markets  Department,  or  do  they  oppose  it?  We 
have  letters  from  some  of  them  already.  We  want 
them  all,  and  you  can  help  get  them.  Let  us  have 
at  once  the  names  of  all  candidates — on  all  parties 
• — in  your  district,  and  if  possible  get  an  expression 
of  their  opinion  for  us. 
* 
FEW  people  outside  of  the  dairy  districts  can 
realize  the  power  and  “punch”  of  the  cam¬ 
paign  for  emancipation  which  the  Dairymen's 
League  has  been  conducting.  Nothing  like  it  ever 
A  League  Member  Shows  His  Colors ! 
happened  before  in  New  York  State.  It  will  take 
rank  with  the  mighty  campaign  which  the  farmers 
in  North  Dakota  are  conducting.  The  dairy  prob¬ 
lem  is  simple  and  yet  complicated.  It  has  come 
right  down  to  the  question  as  to  whether  the  farm¬ 
ers  will  hang  together  or  not.  The  very  nature  of 
the  milk  business  gives  the  producers  power  to  con¬ 
trol  it  if  they  can  only  work  together.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  they  break  and  begin  individual  sales  in 
this  crisis  they  just  turn  the  even m  right  over  to 
the  middlemen,  and  take  the  skiiu-milk  for  their  own 
share.  Thus  the  great  work  has  been  to  organize 
and  hold  League  members  in  line.  Men  and  women 
have  left  their  work  and  gone  out  as  milk  mission¬ 
aries,  fanners  have  resisted  all  sorts  of  temptations 
to  break  their  word,  and  for  the  first  time  in  their 
history  the  dairymen  stand  up  ready  to  fight  to  the 
end.  They  have  made  great  use  of  advertising — 
putting  their  appeal  in  one  form  or  another  in  every 
place  that  would  pass  under  the  eye  of  a  farmer. 
This  picture  shows  the  sign  kept  standing  in  front 
of  Da.vtonia  Farm,  on  the  main  road  between 
Friendship  and  Belvidere,  N.  Y. 
This  campaign  is  the  host  thing  that  ever  hap¬ 
pened  to  Eastern  dairymen.  They  have  already 
compelled  the  dealers  to  raise  their  price,  and  in  the 
end  will  get  what  they  call  for.  They  now  know 
just  what  to  do,  for  they  must  be  prepared  to  as¬ 
semble  and  pasteurize  and  grade  the  milk  in  their 
own  plants.  When  they  do  that  every  quart  they 
send  out  can  he  sold  at  their  own  figures.  The  big 
milk  companies  are  making  most  of  their  profits  out 
of  this  work  of  treating  the  raw  milk  fe>r  market. 
It  is  not  vn’fim  the  lvOrices  of  buying  bulk  apples 
October  7,  1916. 
and  then  sorting  and  grading  them  for  sale.  That 
is  where  the  profit  comes  in  and  this  is  the  work 
which  the  dairymen  must  do  for  themselves.  They 
are  going  to  do  it.  This  milk  revolution  is  going 
right  through  to  the  end — which  means  control  of 
milk  prices  by  the  farmers.  1 Tang  on! 
* 
THE  Borden  Company  faces  a  strike  on  the  part 
its  milk  wagon  drivers  in  this  city.  These  men 
refuse  wages  of  $20  per  week  and  a  commission  on 
sales.  Now  how  many  milk  farmers  get.  any  such 
wages  out  of  their  business?  And  keep  your  mind 
on  that  watered  dollar  !  The  Borden  Company  is 
paying  about  $1,800,000  per  year  as  dividends  on  its 
common  stock.  How  much  did  that  common  stock 
ever  cost?  Why  should  dairymen  he  compelled  to 
milk  more  lhan  25.000  cows  each  year  in  order  that 
these  dividends  may  be  paid?  Why  should  tho  con¬ 
sumers  be  compelled  to  pay  for  turning  this  water 
into  cream?  These  are  things  to  consider  right  now. 
* 
I  have  read  with  interest  your  September  10th  edi¬ 
torial  on  a  register  of  merit  for  swine.  Mr.  Gibbon 
is  right ;  many  farmers  would  pay  good  prices  for  pigs 
provided  they  had  any  assurance  that  they  would  prob¬ 
ably  reproduce.  My  suggestion  would  be  a  register  of 
merit :  sows  to  he  eligible  when  they  raised  two  lit¬ 
ters  of  six  or  more  pigs  a  year  ;  the  pigs  to  weigh  at 
least  150  pounds  each  at  six  months.  Sows  and  pigs 
could  be  scored  on  their  correctness  as  to  type.  Sev¬ 
eral  classes  could  he  provided :  for  sows  and  pigs  doing 
better  than  the  minimum  mentioned  above,  and  for 
those  grading  nearest  to  perfect.  F.  J.  CURTIN. 
Massachusetts. 
E  wa lit  a  full  discussion  of  this  big  subject. 
When  a  man  buys  a  cow  or  bull  be  can  know 
whether  the  family  has  a  “record"  or  only  a  skele¬ 
ton.  It  is  coming  to  be  much  tho  same  with  a  hen 
or  her  son.  Such  a  record  would  be  of  even  greater 
value  with  a  pig.  because  it  is  evident  that  some 
families  are  noted  for  producing  large,  strong  lit¬ 
ters,  while  others  run  to  small  families.  Ts  this  as 
much  a  family  characteristic  as  that  of  high  butter 
production  or  steady  egg-laying  capacity?  We  think 
so  and  we  believe  that  a  few  years’  testing,  some¬ 
what  after  the  plan  of  the  egg-laying  contests,  would 
prove  it.  We  want  to  interest  one  or  more  of  the 
experiment  stations  in  such  a  test. 
* 
WINTER,  or  sigus  of  it,  brings  up  the  hard  old 
problem  of  help.  There  are  many  people 
who  have  good  farms  and  want  some  one  who  is 
fit  to  serve  as  a  sort  of  working  partner.  Such 
people  are  usually  of  at  least  middle  age,  and  are 
often  hard  to  please,  though  they  may  not  know  it. 
One  of  them  tells  us  how  a  certain  society  highly 
recommended  a  poultry  man. 
T^went  to  the  station  for  him.  He  looked  more  like 
a  New  York  dude  than  a  lien  man.  Had  two  lovely 
grips,  silk  umbrella,  russet  shoes  and  shoofly  necktie. 
The  rest  you  ran  guess.  He  was  well  posted  in  mat¬ 
ter  of  honks  and  pictures  on  birds  for  prizes,  efe.  T 
sized  him  up  in  one  minute.  My  son  helped  to  get  him 
back  to  New  York  City. 
We  know  just  how  that  farmer  felt  when  he  saw 
those  russet  shoes!  Probably  to  this  day  the  young 
man  will  say  he  could  have  made  good  if  he  could 
only  have  had  a  chance.  And  why  should  not  a 
hired  man  wear  “russets"  as  well  as  anyone — pro¬ 
vided  he  has  the  money  to  pay  for  them?  Some 
farmers  who  need  help  hesitate  to  call  for  it  through 
fear  of  striking  some  such  character  as  this  one 
with  the  russet  shoes!  There  are  plenty  of  farms 
where  a  man  and  woman  of  good  habits  and  plain 
sense  could  find  homes  and  work  into  a  good  bus¬ 
iness.  The  owners  of  such  farms  need  help,  but  they 
want  the  right  kind  and  would  lie  worse  off  than 
they  are  now  if  they  took  in  some  of  the  bluffers 
and  drones  who.  at  this  season,  come  after  a  warm 
place  for  the  Winter. 
Brevities 
No  man  blows  hot  air  and  cold  sense  out  of  the 
same  mouth ! 
$ono-rird  feathers  for  hats!  Fan  you  not  get  enough 
color  from  hen  and  turkey  plumage? 
The  Michigan  Agricultural  College  lias  issued  a  spe¬ 
cial  bulletin  on  Christmas  tree  plantations. 
Another  year’s  experience  with  Sudan  grass  on  the 
Atlantic  slope  surely  puts  it  among  the  desirable 
fodders. 
One  of  the  newer  food  products  is  banana  Hour. 
Mixed  with  wheat  flour  it  is  said  to  make  excellent 
bread  and  cake. 
No  question  about  it,  dilute  vinegar  or  eating  sour 
apples  helps  to  preserve  the  teeth.  Begin  early  with 
the  apple  treatment. 
Can  anyone  tell  us  of  a  ease  where  a  gasoline  engine 
has  been  used  successfully  to  operate  a  manure  or  feed 
carrier  in  a  stable? 
Now  they  claim  to  have  discovered  potash  in  Cuba. 
We  have  been  through  a  number  of  these  “finds”  and 
they  turn  out  something  like  the  end  of  the  rainbow. 
You  may  not  believe,  it.  hut  we  have  five  questions 
about  how  to  train  a  young  dog  to  one  about  training 
a  little  child !  Now  we  have  a  thorough  article  on  dog 
training  coming. 
