1466 
the  association.  Its  members  are  not  worse  than 
other  members  of  society,  but  their  greed  for  large 
profits  got  stronger  than  their  moral  backbone,  and 
led  to  oppression  of  farmers.  Locally  we  ought 
to  be  friendly  toward  these  men.  but  the  Depart¬ 
ment  ot  Justice  cannot  reasonably  delay  its  duty 
to  the  public.  Jt  is  interesting  to  note  some  ot 
the  other  correspondence,  me  item  ot  which 
1  will  mention.  One  ot  the  officers  ot  the  associa¬ 
tion  wrote  to  another  congratulating  him  on  the 
ownership  of  a  high-priced  car.  and  suggested  that 
the  man  who  could  dictate  to  all  the  farmers  of  the 
State  the  price  they  must  pay  for  their  feeds  ought 
to  have  a  pretty  good  ear.  All  feed  dealers  did  not 
take  active  part  in  the  association,  hut  large  num¬ 
bers  were  members  and  contributed  to  it,  and  prae- 
1  ically  all  profited  by  its  control  of  trade  and  prices. 
This  does  not  seem  to  he  over  with  yet,  although 
some  of  the  dealers*  do  seem  inclined  to  desire  the 
friendship  of  farmers  since  the  facts  of  the  activi¬ 
ties  of  the  association  got  out.  Others  are  as  hard 
and  harsh  as  ever.  There  is  the  State  association, 
and  by  the  correspondence  mentioned  there  appear 
to  be  IS  county  associations  in  the  State.  There  is 
indication  that  a  National  association  helps  the 
State,  and  presumably  there  are  other  State  asso¬ 
ciations,  and  county  ones  too  in  other  States.  This 
condition  of  affairs,  as  one  of  the  members  of  the 
Wicks  committee  recently  stated  in  a  public  ad¬ 
dress,  strikes  at  the  foundation  of  government. 
H.  H.  LYON. 
How  to  Feed  Corn  Fodder 
I  notice  in  The  R.  N.-Y.  different  farmers  handle 
fodder  or  stover.  What  is  the  best  and  most  profitable 
way  of  handling  it?  Some  years  ago  I  visited  in  Penn¬ 
sylvania.  I  noticed  the  dairymen  ran  their  fodder 
through  a  cutter  and  cut  it  very  tine.  They  had  a  tank 
with  furnace  or  a  fireplace  under  it  in  a  small  shed  out¬ 
side  of  the  barn.  This  tank  was  big  enough  to  hold  cut 
fodder  enough  for  one  feeding.  When  the  fodder  was 
hauled  in  a  truck  out  of  the  barn,  the  tank  on  the 
furnace  was  filled  about  one-third  full  of  water,  the  cut 
fodder  with  salt,  bran,  ground  grain  or  what  they  wanted 
to  feed  wais  mixed  with  the  fodder,  then  one  good  lire 
built  under  the  tank  and  the  feed  left  in  the  tank  all 
night,  or  day.  Tn  the  morning  it  was  carted  back  to  the 
cows.  I  noticed  there  was  nothing  left  in  the  manger. 
This  was  before  the  silo  came.  l)o  you  think  this  would 
be  a  profitable  way  to  use  or  feed  fodder  as  the  silo  is 
out  of  the  question?  We  generally  have  very  good  corn. 
We  also  have  a  large  silage  cutter,  and  cut  our  fodder 
every  year,  yet  the  stock  does  not  eat  it  very  well.  I 
would  like  to  hear  from  some  one  about  it.  T.  F.  N. 
Indiana 
WE  think  some  ot  the  older  farmers  in  Penn¬ 
sylvania  still  follow  this  plan.  We  have  in  a. 
small  way  followed  the  plan  of  cutting  the  fodder 
into  a  tank  or  barrel,  pouring  in  hot  water  and  a 
little  waste  molasses  and  covering  to  hold  the  steam. 
This  gave  what  we  call  “imitation  silage.”  The 
stock  ate  it  well,  but  it  makes  too  much  work  on  a 
busy  farm.  We  now  grow  flint  com  and  the  stock 
eat  most  of  the  entire  stalk.  Is  anyone  still  cooking 
the  fodder?  A  few  years  ago  there  was  a  great  run 
on  farm  cookers  and  some  farmers  still  use  them 
for  roots  and  potatoes. 
Trespassing  Stock  and  the  Owner 
1.  Has  a  man  a  right,  to  let  his  chickens  and  pigs  run 
on  another  man's  property  if  they  do  no  damage,  that  is 
during  the  Fall  and  Spring,  after  the  crops  are  har¬ 
vested?  If  not  can  he  be  compelled  to  fence  them,  or 
can  he  keep  them  at.  home  by  watching  them?  2.  If  a 
hunter  accidentally  shoots  stock  or  bens  while  off  their 
owner’s  property,  can  the  hunter  be  held  liable  for 
damages?  W.  L  n. 
Orleans  Co.  N  Y, 
A  MAN  has  no  right  to  let  his  chickens  and  pigs 
run  on  another  man’s  property.  Even  though 
they  do  no  appreciable  damage,  they  are  legally  tres¬ 
passers,  and  practically  always  do  some  damage. 
The  place  for  a  man  to  keep  his  pigs  and  chickens  is 
on  his  own  land  by  some  means  or  other.  He  can 
choose  the  means,  but  if  he  chooses  means  that  are 
not  effective,  he  is  legally  liable  in  damages  as  for 
trespass.  Of  course,  practically,  the  cumbersome 
methods  of  the  laws  in  determining  the  damages, 
the  usual  lack  of  responsibility  and  honor  in  the 
offender,  and  the  failure  of  the  law  to  include  the 
wear  and  tear  on  the  nervous  system  of  (he  injured 
party,  lead  to  a  waiver  of  legal  rights  on  the  part  of 
the  sufferers.  At  some  time,  some  one  of  those  offen¬ 
ders  will  himself  go  and  get  his  trespassing  animals 
and  apologize  to  his  neighbor  and  offer  to  pay  for 
even  the  slight  damage  done,  and  promise  sincerely 
to  prevent  a  recurrence,  and  then,  probably,  the 
neighbor  who  has  submitted  to  the  nuisance  will 
faint  with  surprise. 
Uhe  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
would  to  the  owner's  animals.  As  to  the  latter,  lie 
would  be  absolutely  liable  irrespective  of  the  ques¬ 
tion  of  negligence,  because  the  injury  is  a  part  of  his 
trespass.  Legally  and  practically  and  decently,  the 
place  for  the  stock  and  hens  is  on  their  owner's  prop¬ 
erty.  and  the  place  for  the  hunter  is  also  at  Dome, 
or  at  least  tar  enough  away  from  houses  and  me 
home  premises  that  his  stray  shots  would  do  no 
damage. 
If  a  little  common  sense  and  common  Honesty  and 
a  small  fraction  of  the  Holden  Rule  could  be  in¬ 
jected  into  the  owners  of  trespassing  animals  and 
hunters,  there  would  he  less  need  to  consider  legal 
remedies  which  to-day  are  a  complete  disappoint¬ 
ment  in  getting  relief  to  those  who  suffer.  It.  is  really 
curious  how  men,  whose  animals  trespass  on  their 
neighbors,  are  certain  that  the  damage  Is  of  no  con¬ 
sequence.  and  think  that  the  neighbor  who  makes 
any  fuss  about  it  is  about  the  meanest  man  who  ever 
settled  in  the  community.  Billy  Sunday  might  re¬ 
form  many  of  them,  but  the  law  never  can. 
JAMES  O.  OREENE. 
The  Right  to  Sell  Fruit  Direct 
I  am  a  fruit  grower  of  Virginia  and  have  been  a 
member  of  the  State  Horticultural  Society  for  many 
years.  This  Fall  T  shipped  several  carloads  of  bulk 
apples  to  North  Carolina.  I  had  a  reliable  man  to 
accompany  the  shipments  as  my  agent,  and  in  my 
employ  only.  One  car  was  shipped  to  llocky  Mt.,  N. 
C.,  and  on  its  arrival  my  agent  weut  first  to  the  mer¬ 
chants  of  the  town  and  offered  them  the  apples  at  a 
fair  price.  They  in  return  made  him  a  very  low  offer, 
what  you  might  call  a  hold-up  price,  which  he  refused. 
That  not  being  an  apple  section  the  citizens  of  the 
town  and  farmers  of  the  surrounding  country  wore  de¬ 
lighted  to  know  they  could  get  apples,  so  this  man 
opened  the  car  on  the  railway  tracks  and  started  to 
retail  them.  After  he  had  sold  a  few  the  town  authori¬ 
ties,  evidently  persuaded  by  the  merchants,  arrested 
him  for  doing  business  without  license,  aud  de¬ 
manded  that  he  pay  a  fine  of  .$215  and  a  license  of  $25, 
amounting  to  $50,  which  lie  paid  under  protest.  Be¬ 
fore  he  went  to  North  Carolina  I  had  an  affidavit 
drawn  up  and  sworn  to  before  a  notary  public  setting 
forth  that  I  was  the  original  grower  and  shipper  of 
the  apples  and  that  he  was  my  authorized  agent,  which 
Was  shown  to  the  authorities  without  result.  Now  the 
point  I  Wish  to  be  advised  upon  is:  Does  the  original 
producer,  or  his  authorized  agent,  of  a  good  wholesome 
product  have  to  pay  a  license  to  sell  that  product  in 
North  Carolina  or  in  any  other  State  in  the  United 
States  under  the  foregoing  conditions?  b.  e.  price. 
Virginia. 
THERE  has  been  great  trouble  over  this  plan  of 
peddling  from  the  car — •particularly  in  the 
Southern  States.  A  good  shar<a|of  the  revenue  in 
that  section  is  obtained  from  licenses  and  fines.  The 
local  merchants  are  usually  taxed  heavily,  aud  they 
do  all  they  can  to  prevent  the  sale  of  produce  di¬ 
rect.  Dozens  of  our  readers  report  that  they  have 
been  forced  to  pay  these  fines  and  dues.  They  were 
in  the  town  with  perishable  goods,  and  being  held 
up  in  this  way,  paid  the  money  as  the  cheapest  way 
out  of  it.  Many  of  the  railroads  charge  a  heavy 
demurrage  when  cars  are  left  on  the  side  track  over 
24  hours.  It  is  claimed  that  the  local  dealers  are 
responsible  for  this  rule,  since  this  heavy  charge 
at  each  place  they  stop  discourages  shippers  who 
would  like  to  sell  direct  from  the  ear.  Under  the 
common  law  every  producer  has  a  right  to  sell  his 
own  produce  on  any  public  highway,  provided  he 
does  not  obstruct  traffic.  This  right  is  confined  to 
tiie  sale  of  his  own  produce.  lie  cannot  buy  and 
sell  and  enjoy  this  privilege.  It  is  claimed  by  these 
Southern  towns  that  when  goods  come  in  from  an¬ 
other  State  they  become  subject  to  local  ordinances 
and  that  each  town  has  the  right  to  say  who  shall 
sell  and  where  the  sale  may  not  be  made.  They 
also  claim  that  when  one  man  turns  his  produce 
over  to  another  for  sale,  the  agent  should  ho 
classed  as  a  peddler.  We  think  they  are  wrong  on 
both  theories  and  if  a  seller  had  the  time  and  money 
required  to  fight  the  case  through  from  court  to 
court  we  think  he  could  win.  As  the  matter  now 
stands  it  would  require  a  man  of  great  courage  and 
determination  to  fight  for  his  market  rights  in  one 
of  these  towns.  The  town  government  and  the  or¬ 
ganized  force  of  the  merchants  and  dealers  would 
lie  lined  up  against  him.  We  believe  he  has  the 
l  ight  to  sell  in  this  way,  undisturbed,  but  they  will 
make  him  fight  for  it. 
Cost  of  Growing  Potatoes 
rWc  have  been  asked  by  several  people  to  state  the 
cost  of  growing  a  bushel  of  potatoes  and  delivering 
to  the  Boston  or  New  York  market.  We  do  not  find 
many  farmers  who  have  worked  out  the  figures  proper¬ 
ly.  Here  are  a  few  notes  to  begin  with.  Others  will 
follow.] 
November  25,  1910. 
would  not  he  far  from  $75.  Note  also  that  your 
question  calls  for  producer’s  cost  of  growing  and 
landing  in  Boston  or  New  York.  Add  six  cents, 
Boston  rate,  to  the  53%  cents  and  vou  nave  it  I 
nave  figured  rius  cost  uj.  many  .times,  ana  could 
never  make  it  any  css  And.  yet  .  nave  nae  men 
stand  and  argue  that  they  could  raise  potatoes  for 
22  cents  a  bushel.  *  uave  made  my  figures  as  near 
correct  as  i  could  do  it.  Again,  near  m  mind  that 
my  crop  lias  tanged,  all  the  way  from  1.500  oushels 
to  4.500  nusfieis.  or  anywhere  from  eight  acres  to 
22  acres  ami  not  merely  one  acre,  as  you  might  oe 
led  to  suppose  from  the  first  part  of  my  letter.  I 
have  had  some  acres  yield  as  high  as  400  bushels, 
but  any  computing  on  this  basis  would  be  like  the 
gold  miner  claiming  a  value  of  $100  a  ton,  when 
he  only  had  a  seam  an  inch  in  thickness  of  this 
value. 
The  cost  per  bushel  landed  at  my  station  is  here 
figured  on  the  basis  of  an  average  yield  for  a  ser¬ 
ies  of  five  or  10  years  of  200  bushels  to  the  acre,  or 
107  bushels  market  potatoes  and  33  bushels  of  sec¬ 
onds  and  little  potatoes: 
Plowing,  per  acre  .  $3.00 
Harrowing  (0  or  8  times)  .  0.00 
Interest  and  taxes  on  land  .  2.00 
1,800  lbs.  fertilizer  at  $37.00  ton  .  33.30 
Cost  nf  planting  .  1.00 
Cutting  seed  . 2.00 
Cost  of  smoothing  ridges  . 50 
Cultivating  (3  times)  . 3.75 
Hilling  twiee  . 1.75 
Spraying  (5  times)  insecticides  anti  Bon’eaux..  5.00 
Cost  of  digging  and  storing  200  buti  at  5c.  .....  10.00 
Cost  of  sorting . / . .  3.00 
Carting  167  bu.  to  station  . .1 . . .  6.25 
Cost  of  seed,  1 8  bu.  at  60c . f . . .  , .  10.80 
%  $89.35 
$89.35  divided  by  167  bu.  equals  $0.53%. 
$0.53%  plus  .06,  Boston  rate,  equals  $0.59%,  cost 
per  bu.  laid  down  in  Boston. 
Note  that  the  grower  has  left  33  bushels  of  sec¬ 
onds  and  small  potatoes  which  when  computed  at 
the  rate  of  50  cents  per  bushel  for  market  potatoes 
would  figure  up  on  the  acre  a  value  of  not  less  than 
$5.85  to  $8.35.  I.  l.  ware. 
Maine. 
Another  Estimate  from  Maine 
The  following  table  shows  the  cost  of  growing  a 
bushel  of  potatoes  at  "The  Pines,”  all  the  labor 
hired  and  put.  in  at  the  actual  cost  While  the 
crop  was  a  fairly  good  one,  it  was  not  equal  to  many 
grown  in  previous 'years.  The  freight  from  Frye- 
burg  station  to  Boston  is  eight  cents  a  bushel,  in 
car  lots,  and  to  New  York,  13  cents,  in  car  lots. 
Potato  field  of  15  acres.  Labor  of  man  and  team  $4 
per  day.  Labor  of  man  alone  $2  per  day. 
Rent  of  land,  (10%  on  $30  per  acre  value) 
15  acres  .  $45.00 
Plowing,  at  $3  per  acre  (one-fifth  charged 
to  crop)  . . 9.00 
Fitting  land  at  $5  per  acre  .  75.00 
Fertilizer,  1  ton  to  the  aere,  at  $38 .  570.00 
Seed  (out)  ISO  bu.  at  70c  .  126.00 
Disinfecting  seed  (labor  and  material)  .  4.50 
Planting  at  $1.50  per  aere  .  22.50 
Second  application  fertilizer  (side  dressing) 
at  $1.25  . 18.75 
Cultivating,  burying  and  hilling  at  $4  per  acre  60.00 
Spraying  (5  times)  at  $1.50  per  acre .  22.50 
Digging  at.  $12  per  acre  . * .  1S0.00 
Drawing  to  station,  150  bushels  per  acre  at  4c  70.00 
Interest  on  machinery  at  6%  .  9.00 
Depreciation  on  machinery  (planter,  sprayer, 
cultivators,  etc.)  .  15.00 
Total 
.$1,227.25 
Cost  per  bu.  at  Fryeburg  station  . $0,545 
Cost  per  bu.  in  Boston,  freight  8c  per  bu.,  added  .625 
Cost  per  bu,  iu  New  York,  freight  13c  per  bu . 675 
The  small  potatoes  were  credited  with  enough  to 
pay  for  sorting.  They  were  used  as  food  for  stock. 
Oxford  Co.,  Me.  b.  walker  mo  keen. 
Concrete  Dairy  House 
THE  picture  on  first  page  shows  the  model  con¬ 
crete  dairy  house  on  the  farm  of  Mr.  Pflaum, 
of  Kane  County,  Ill.  A  windmill  nearby  pumps 
water  for  the  milk  cooler  and  stock.  The  building 
has  a  concrete  trough  or  vat  in  which  the  milk  cans 
are  immersed,  and  ice  is  found  unnecessary.  Mr. 
Pflaum  began  as  a  renter,  and  is  now  one  of  the 
most  prosperous  dairymen  iu  the  Fox  River  Valley. 
Mules  on  the  Farm 
2.  A  hunter  who  accidentally  shoots  stock  or  hens 
off  their  owner’s  property,  would  ho  liable  if  guilty 
of  negligence.  The  hunter  is  also  technically  a  tres¬ 
passer  unless  hunting  on  his  own  property,  or  with 
a  permit  from  the  owner.  He  owes  a  less  degree  of 
oa re  to  animals  who  are  also  trespassing  than  lu* 
THE  figures  submitted  are  intended  to  cover  the 
cost  for  a  series  of  years,  and  not  for  one  year 
of  high  prices  like  this  year,  which  would  be  of 
no  value  whatever  because  the  crop  is  so  variable. 
This  year  I  planted  one  acre  aud  raised  a  crop  of 
25  bushels,  little  and  big;  the  cost  oil  this  aero 
FIG.  576  shows  a  team  of  mules  on  the  fruit  farm 
of  Earl  Mattison,  of  Western  New  York.  Mr. 
Mattison  finds  mules  well  adapted  to  work  around 
trees,  as  they  are  steady,  active  and  built  low  down. 
They  do  more  work  than  horses  on  two-thirds  of  the 
feed. 
