J  424 
The  Rural  New-Yorker 
THE  It TJSINR8S  FA JIMVR'S  lAl'EIt 
A  National  Weekly  Journal  for  Country  imd  Suburban  Ilomeo 
Established  iSSO 
PulilMird  weekly  hy  tlie  Kuriil  PiiMInlilue  Cnm|iuiij.  SSS  tVrsI  SOlli  Slrert.  V„w  fork 
Herbert  W.  Oolliniiwood,  l’r<«a  dent  and  Editor. 
•tons  i.  rilixo.y,  Treasurer  ami  General  Mnmnfer. 
W»t.  F.  Dnxos,  Becratmy.  Mok.  E.  T.  Rotle,  AKKneiate  Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION:  ONE  DOLLAR  A  YEAR 
To  foreign  countries  In  the  OniversaJ  Postal  Onion,  equal  to  8*.  fill.,  or 
8 hi  marks,  or  Ki;a  franca  Kemit  in  money  order,  exiime 
order,  iK'inounl  chock  or  hank  draft. 
Entered  at  New  York  Post  Office  as  Second  Clues  Matter. 
Advertising  rates,  75  cents  per  rural  o  line — 7  words.  References  required  for 
advertisers  unknown  to  ua  ;  and  cash  must  accompany  transient  orders. 
“A  SQUARE  1>KA  I." 
We  believe  that  every  ftrlvertlsement  in  this  jraper  is  backed  hy  a  rospon- 
fible  pereon.  We  uso  every  possible  precaution  and  admit  the  advertising  of 
reliable  houses  only.  But  to  make  doubly  sure,  we  will  make  good  auyloss 
to  paid  stibmrttwm  surtained  by  trusting  any  deliberate  swindler,  ii  riwpon- 
sible  advertisers  or  misleading  advertisements  in  our  columns,  ami  any 
such  swindler  will  be  puhllely  exposed.  Wo  aro  also  often  called  upoil 
to  odfust  Qilferriiees  or  mistakes  between  our  subscribers  nnd  honest, 
reapoilsIIUn  noiiM'x,  w  hether  advertisers  or  not.  Wo  willingly  uso  our  good 
offices  to  thin  end,  hut  such  e.its*'s  should  not  be  confused  wltli  tllslionerfc 
trantaciii ins,  We  protect  subscribers  against  rogues,  but  wo  w 111  not  bo 
responsible  for  the  debte  of  houcst  bankrupts  sanctionisj  by  the  courts. 
Notice  of  the  complaint  must  be  sent  to  us  within  one  month  of  f  lic  time  of 
the-  transaction,  and  U,  Identify  it,  you  should  mention  Tim  Rural  New- 
Yorker  when  writing  the  advertiser. 
Good  Friends  Who  Stick 
No.  4. 
E  have  been  told  that  the  Hope  Farm  man 
and  Publisher’s  Desk  could  start  ou  foot 
from  New  York  and  travel  to  Chicago,  and  find 
every  noon  and  night  half  a  dozen  readers  anxions 
to  entertain  them  and  make  them  feel  at  home.  It 
looks  as  if  that  were  true: 
I  have  been  very  busy,  and  have  neglected  to  re¬ 
new  for  The  R.  N.-Y.  You  sent  me  a  notice  a  short 
time  ago  reminding  me  of  it,  and  you  said  “We  need 
you  and  you  must  be  with  us.”  Well,  you  bet  your 
life  I  will  he  with  you  as  long  as  I  take  a  newspaper, 
and  I  regret  the.  annoyance  I  have  caused  you.  Will 
try  not  to  let  it  occur  again.  Enclosed  find  $1  for  re¬ 
newal,  and  accept  my  best  wishes  along  with  it.  If 
yon  or  any  of  your  staff  have  business  in  my  vicinity, 
call  on  me.  My  team  and  myself  are  at  "your  dis¬ 
posal.  geo.  j.  fisukb. 
Skaneateles,  N.  Y. 
“What  shall  a  man  give  in  exchange  for  his  life?'* 
No  need  to  gamble  with  It  here,  for  if  there  ever 
was  a  sure  thing  it  is  found  in  such  friendship  as 
this. 
* 
THAT  plan  of  keeping  apples  for  family  use  de¬ 
scribed  on  page  1422  will  work  much  like  keep¬ 
ing  eggs  in  water  glass.  A  stale  egg  is  not  good  for 
long  friendships,  for  the  water  glass  will  not  make 
it  fresh.  A  bruised  or  wormy  apple  will  not  im¬ 
prove  in  the  Bordeaux  mixture.  If  you  use  this 
method  at  all,  put  only  line,  perfect  specimens  into 
storage.  We  believe  it  will  give  you  firm,  well- 
flavored  fruit  up  to  July  4  if  you  handle  it  right. 
* 
TIIE  Pennsylvania  Agricultural  College  has  start¬ 
ed  a  great  experiment  in  fertilizing  and  culti¬ 
vating  certain  typical  soils  in  that  State.  This  type, 
known  as  Pe  Kalb  soils,  represents  over  42  per  cent, 
of  the  State,  or  12,500,000  acres.  Most  of  it  is  in 
poor  condition,  and  much  of  it  has  been  abandoned 
as  unfit,  to  yield  a  living.  Yet  this  kind  of  soil 
quickly  responds  when  properly  handled.  It.  needs 
lime,  organic  matter  and  phosphorus — the  great 
crying  needs  of  most  soils  in  old  settled  sections. 
The  college  will  take  soil  of  this  character  and  test 
it  thoroughly  and  in  a  practical  way.  It  Is  a  great 
proposition  and  if  carried  through  and  explained  in 
language  which  all  can  understand  it  will  result  In 
great  benefit  to  Pennsylvania  and  the  entire  Atlantic 
slope.  The  cheap  land  is  here.  Show  the  people 
how  to  put  brains  into  it  and  make  it  productiva 
* 
THE  Luther  Burbank  Society  seems  to  have  come 
to  life  once  more.  There  now  comes  a  new 
circular  offering  “delinquent  sets”  of  the  Burbank 
records  at.  a  reduced  price!  Whereas  the  life  mem¬ 
bers  of  this  exclusive  society  obtained  the  set  for 
$151  and  the  “honorary  members”  at  $81,  the  plain 
rank  and  file  of  humanity  can  now  buy  the  set  for 
$45  in  cash.  Thus  you  seem  to  save  $106  by  dodging 
life  and  $25  hy  dropping  honor.  The  chances  a  re 
that  if  you  wait  awhile  longer  you  will  get  the 
books  for  nothing!  Among  other  hooks  given  away 
by  the  Luther  Burbank  Society  is  one  on  “Eugenics, 
Euthenics  and  Love.”  One  man  is  quoted  as  saying, 
“I  have  never  seen  the  equal  of  the  volumes  and 
never  expect  to.”  We  may  honestly  say  the  same 
of  the  volumes  of  guff  emitted  hy  the  Luther  Bur¬ 
bank  Society ! 
* 
• 
BY  the  time  this  reaches  our  readers  we  shall 
all  know  how  the  election  resulted.  In  years 
past  after  such  an  election,  the  people  have  given 
up  “politics”  for  a  time.  Part  of  them  cheered  over 
the  “victory,"  the  rest  did  more  or  less  sulking  over 
defeat,  hut  most  of  them  returned  to  the  job  of 
earning  their  living  and  let  the  politicians  alone. 
Now  there  never  was  a  man  in  public  office  yet  who 
did  not  need  more  or  less  watching  and  personal 
Ette  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
attention.  The  office-holder  may  he  the  finest  char¬ 
acter  on  earth,  hut  office-holding  should  not  he  a 
one-man  job.  You  put  a  man  into  tlic  Legislature 
rr  into  the  Governor’s  chair  in  order  that  he  may 
serve  you — not  to  serve  himself  or  the  great  and 
powerful  interests.  That  man  will  not  serve  you 
fully  unless  he  knows  that  you  are  awake  and 
watching  him.  Let  us  not,  as  in  former  years,  go 
hack  to  work  after  election  and  let  these  men  do 
as  they  please!  Let  us  keep  right,  after  them,  make 
them  know  we  are  alive,  and  that  we  want  cer¬ 
tain  things  done.  Legislation  for  fanners  covers 
many  local  needs,  and  a  few  of  great  public  im¬ 
portance.  In  former  years  there  have  been  too 
many  demands.  They  could  not  all  be  put  through. 
Thu  R.  N.-Y.  suggests  that  we  arrange  a  program 
of  farm  legislation  for  New  York  State  and  organ¬ 
ize  to  put  it  through.  We  open  our  columns  to  the 
discussion  and  offer  our  influence  and  power  for  the 
battle. 
* 
Burkett,  Borden’s  and  Brill 
The  hi g  advertisements  now  appearing  in  the  pa¬ 
pers  give  the  clearest  evidence  that  the  dairymen — ■ 
through  their  representatives — hove  put  the  fear  of  God 
into  the  hearts  of  the  Borden’s  company.  r>.  it. 
HERE  may  be  quite  another  feeling  in  the 
hearts  of  the  distributors.  It  seems  more  like 
the  work  of  some  big  political  ring  which  has  been 
beaten  through  misjudging  the  power  of  the  plain 
I oo pie.  The  distributors  had  no  idea  the  farmers 
would  stick,  and  they  thought  it  would  be  easy  to 
tuy  or  bluff  tlie  leaders.  Failing  at  both  games 
they  will  now  try  the  more  dangerous  “education.” 
Our  estimate  is  that  the  Borden’s  will  spend  at  least 
$175,000  in  advertising  their  story.  That  means  the 
one  cent  advance  on  1,750,000  quarts  of  milk.  The 
advertising  first,  appeared  in  the  city  papers  in  an 
effort  to  discredit  the  farmers.  Now  it  is  being  of¬ 
fered  to  tlie  farm  press,  and  to  local  papers  in  the 
dairy  sections.  Farmers  come  asking  what  all  this 
can  mean.  What  are  they  up  to  with  all  this  money? 
The  object  of  such  advertising  is  usually  twofold. 
It  may  put  a  plausible  or  untrue  statement  before 
the  people,  and  It  puts  a  muzzle  on  the  papers  which 
print  it.  During  the  recent  milk  war  it  was  about 
impossible  to  get  the  farmers’  side  into  the  daily 
papers  while  they  were  taking  money  for  this  ad¬ 
vertising.  It  is  now  sent  to  farm  and  country  pa¬ 
pers  for  the  first  time  to  purchase  their  silence  when 
tlie  next  battle  comes.  The  statement  will  never 
win  any  support  from  the  farmers,  for  they  all  know 
that  many  of  the  statements  are  twisted  or  untrue. 
The  big  page  advertisement  was  offered  The  R. 
N.-Y.  and  we  refused  it.  In  company  with  our  read¬ 
ers  we  know  that  it  is  not  fair  in  its  statement  of 
facts,  and  that  parts  of  it  are  not  correct.  As  one 
instance  we  quote  the  following: 
The  fact  that  the  recent  controversy  between  pro¬ 
ducer  and  dealer  reached  such  an  acute  stage  was  large¬ 
ly  due  to  the  manner  in  which  the  producer’s  interests 
were  represented  by  the  Commissioner  of  Foods  and 
Markets,  who  at  all  times  obstinately  ignored  the 
broader  responsibilities  which  the  law  imposed  upon 
him.  When  the  settlement  was  finally  made,  with  tbo 
Commissioner’s  approval,  it  differed  from  the  settlement 
made  some  three  days  carter  by  President  Brill,  of 
the  Dairymen’s  League,  only  to  the  extent  of  leaving 
unsettled  the  disposition  of  seasonal  surplus  milk  pro¬ 
duction.  and  of  eliminating  from  the  Commit  tee  which 
will  arbitrate  props  for  January,  February  and  March 
those  members  who  under  the  Brill  plau  of  settlement 
would  have  been  ajjno'nted  hy  Governor  Whitman, 
Mayor  Mitcliel  and  Health  Comissioner  Emerson,  tho 
Merchants’  Association  and  others. 
Burkett  nnd  Brill  seem  to  go  further  than  this, 
and  say  the  Commissioner  obstinately  sat  in  his 
chair  and  refused  to  go  out  and  arbitrate.  Of  course 
tney  know  better,  and  so  do  the  Borden's  people. 
Mr.  Dillon  and  the  Executive  Committee  did  just  ex¬ 
actly  what  the  farmers  ordered  them  to  do,  and 
every  farm  family  from  grandfather  down  to  tho 
merest  child  now  understands  that  but  for  their 
“obstinacy”  Burkett  aud  Brill  would  have  put  over 
•t  scheme  which  would  have  left  the  farmers  worse 
off  financially  than  they  were  previously,  and 
with  (heir  faith  in  leadership  killed  within  them. 
We  have  made  these  points  clear  already,  and  all 
the  cheap  talk  and  money  of  Burkett,  Brill  and  Bor¬ 
den’s  cannot  take  the  truth  out  of  the  minds  of  our 
farmers. 
* 
AT  many  of  tlie  county  fairs  you  will  find  prizes 
offered  for  too  many  breeds  of  live  stock,  or 
too  many  varieties  of  fruit.  The  real  business  of 
the  county  will  be  done  in  three  or  four  breeds  or 
half  a  dozen  varieties.  These  are  the  kinds  best 
adapted  to  the  soil  and  climate,  and  work  should  be 
concentrated  upon  them.  There  is  little  sense  in 
offering  a  lot  of  money  for  breeds  and  varieties  not 
suited  to  the  locality.  That  will  only  call  in  a  hit 
ot  “ringers”  who  walk  away  with  prize  money  which 
cught  to  he  kept  inside  the  county.  Far  better  offer 
it  in  prizes  which  will  interest  the  smaller  breeders 
November  11,  1916. 
or  the  men  with  good  grade  stock.  When  it  is  evi¬ 
dent  that  a  county  is  particularly  well  suited  to 
producing  the  Jersey  cow  and  the  Baldwin  apple, 
spend  the  money  so  as  to  bring  out  the  best  Jersey 
and  the  best  Baldwin  rather  than  a  lot  of  novelties 
and  toys! 
THE  annual  meeting  of  the  Farm  Bureau  agents 
at  Ithaca  shows  that  these  organizations  are 
gaining  in  efficiency  and  practical  service.  Natur¬ 
ally  it  will  require  some  years  to  put  such  ma¬ 
chinery  as  the  Farm  Bureau  requires  into  operation. 
It  is  easy  to  criticise  any  movement  during  its  early 
days.  We  think  the  farm  bureaus  aro  coming  more 
and  more  to  realize  and  grasp  the  needs  of  prac¬ 
tical  farmers.  They  did  good  work  during  the  “milk 
strike,”  and  we  think  the  organization  is  gaining  in 
power  and  popularity. 
* 
“Well,  ice  licked  them  milk  peddlers  down  in  New 
York  City  I” 
ITAT  is  the  beginning  of  our  Thanksgiving 
story  for  next  week.  It  is  related  by  our  old 
friend,  Jimmy  Barlow,  and  you  will  all  want  to 
read  it.  In  calling  tlie  $20,000,000  Borden’s  and 
the  other  cream  fat  distributors  “milk  peddlers” 
Jimmy  takes  a  farm  hoy’s  license — yet  what  else 
are  they?  When  a  man  buys  a  few  cans  of  milk  and 
delivers  from  door  to  door  he  is  a  “milk  peddler.” 
When  he  finally  squeezes  out  competition  and  ob¬ 
tains  a  monopoly  he  is  known  as  a  merchant  prince, 
though  he  still  peddles  milk.  Through  it  all  the 
farmer  has  kept  on  milking  cows.  He  ranked  a  lit¬ 
tle  above  the  milk  peddler,  but  the  “distributor”  is 
supposed  to  rank  far  above  him.  The  milk  strike  is 
making  it  clear  that  the  “distributor”  is  a  milk 
peddler — no  more,  no  less.  He  is  not  as  important 
as  the  farmer — no  more  entitled  to  monopoly  or 
special  privilege.  When  we  get  that  thought  clear 
in  the  minds  of  our  farmers  it  will  be  worth  more 
to  them  than  the  millions  which  the  extra  cent  per 
quart  will  bring. 
« 
Any  exhibitor  who  enters  as  his  own ,  fruit  grown 
by  another  will  be  debarred  from  all  premiums. 
HAT  statement  heads  the  premium  list  of  the 
New  Jersey  Horticultural  Society,  and  It  should 
be  enforced  at  every  fruit  show  hy  promptly  firing 
anyone  who  tries  to  win  prizes  with  “hired  goods.” 
There  has  been  too  much  work  by  “ringers”  who  buy 
up  fine  specimens  of  fruit  or  of  stock  and  travel 
from  one  fair  to  another  capturing  the  prizes.  The 
managers  of  shows  where  prizes  are  offered  should 
go  after  such  people  with  a  club.  They  discourage 
the  actual  growers  and  especially  the  young  people 
who  are  most  important  to  any  society.  When  these 
young  growers  see  “ringers”  coming  in  with  fruit 
which  only  represents  money  they  rightly  conclude 
there  is  little  use  competing  with  a  skin  game  and 
a  jockey  shop,  and  they  give  up  exhibiting.  That  . 
is  the  worst  thing  that  can  happen  to  a  fair  or  a 
horticultural  society,  for  above  all  things  such  an 
exhibition  should  he  free,  honest  and  useful.  When 
a  Jockey  comes  in  with  purchased  fruit  and  walks 
off  with  the  prizes,  fraud  and  discontent  walk  off 
with  him.  Our  old  friend  Clark  Allis  dug  out  such 
a  fraud  at  the  fair  in  Batavia,  N.  Y.  This  fraud 
bought  the  fruit  which  he  exhibited,  and  then  had 
the  face  to  swear  that  he  produced  it — when  there 
was  practically  no  fruit  growing  ou  his  own  place! 
That  man  should  he  shut  out  from  all  fruit  shows, 
and  sentenced  to  a  long  diet  on  Ben  Davis  apples, 
A  fruit  show  should  he  a  contest  between  men — not 
between  dollars. 
Brevities 
This  is  about  the  worst  season  we  have  known  for 
stealing  out  of  express  packages  sent  with  a  paper  or 
cloth  cover.  Such  covers  are  torn  and  ripped  beyond 
all  precedent.  Even  when  the  cover  is  nailed  down 
there  is  often  trouble. 
The  following  “waterproof”  cement  is  advised  hy 
the  Colorado  Experiment  Station:  “One  part  cement, 
two  parts  sand,  three-quarters  pound  powdered  alum  to 
each  cubic  foot  of  sand.  Mix  with  soapy  water.”  We 
have  not  tried  it. 
Some  varieties  of  potatoes  are  more  resistant  than 
others  to  seal)  attacks,  and  such  sorts  should  be  chosen 
for  infected  soil.  Carman  No.  2,  Sir  Walter  Raleigh, 
Irish  Cobbler  and  American  G'.ant  are  among  those 
said  to  possess  some  scab  resistance. 
In  making  plans  for  another  season,  it  should  be  re¬ 
membered  that  a  field  where  tomatoes  have  been  affect¬ 
ed  with  wilt  is  subject  to  the  malady  in  succeeding 
years,  and  must  be  abandoned  for  tomato  culture.  Po¬ 
tato  bugs  are  largely  responsible  for  spreading  this 
disease  from  plant  to  plant. 
