1544 
The  Rural  New-Yorker 
TOE  BUSINESS  FARMER'S  PAPER 
A  National  Weekly  journal  I'or  Country  and  Suburban  Home** 
Established  isso 
Published  weekly  by  the  Rural  Pnbli*hlne  Company.  BBS  'Vest  BOlh  Street,  New  Vork 
Herbert  W.  CuuJHQWDon,  President  and  Editor. 
John  J.  Dillon,  TiTvemx-r  anti  General  Manager. 
Wm.  F.  DrLtov.  Secretary.  .Mrs.  k.  t.  Rovt.k,  Associate  Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION  •  ONE  DOLLAR  A  YEAR 
To  foreign  coon  tries  in  the  Universal  Postal  Union,  $2.04.  canal  to  8s.  Gd.,  or 
8>u  marks,  or  l(it£  francs.  Remit  in  money  order,  express 
order,  personal  check  or  bank  draft. 
Entered  at  New  York  Post  Office  as  Second  Class  Matter. 
Advertising  rates.  75  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  tbis  paper  is  hacked  by  a  respon- 
*> me  Person,  We  use  every  possible  precaution  and  admit  the  advertising  of 
reliable  houses  duly.  Rut  to  make  doubly  sum,  wc  will  make  good  any  loss 
to  tiattl  subscribers  surtAfned  by  d  usting  any  deliberate  swindler,  iriespon- 
sitile  advertisers- or  misleading  advertisements  In  our  coin  tuna,  and  any 
such  swindler  wilt  be  publicly  exposed.  We  are  also  often  called  upon 
to  ndioHl  dlfTereiiCox  or  mi-taker  between  our  subscrlheis  and  Honest, 
reman iKiole  houses,  whether  advertisers  or  not.  We  willingly  use  our  good 
oltieer  to  tins  end,  but  such  cases  should  not  be  confused  with  dishonest 
tram-notions,  we  protect  subscribers  against  rogues,  but,  vtn  will  nut  bo 
responsible  fur  the  debts  of  honest  bftnkr'intrt  Minctioned  by  the  courts, 
Notice  ol  the  complaint  must  be  sent  to  us  within  one  month  of  the  time  of 
the  transaction,  and  to  identify  it,  you  should  mention  The  Rckal  New- 
Yorker  when  writing  the  advertiser. 
Good  Friends  Who  Stick 
No.  9. 
IIE  R.  N.-Y,  began  to  talk  “35-eent  dollar”  and 
square  deal  for  farmers  many  years  ago,  when 
such  talk  was  unpopular.  We  were  called  all  sorts 
of  names,  but  we  knew  the  words  were  true  and 
kept  on : 
If  begins  to  look  sis  if  folks  were  waking  up  to  the 
fact  that  The  It.  N.-Y.  has  been  preaching.  I  believe 
that  in  the  very  near  future  will  eome  the  most  pros¬ 
perous  period  for  the  fanners  of  our  country  that  has 
ever  been  known.  Although  The  It.  N.-Y.  and  its  edi¬ 
tor  may  not  be  generally  acknowledged  as  leader  in  the 
fight  for  a  square  deal,  there  are  some  who  will  remem¬ 
ber  the  .unrelenting  battle  waged  by  tbe  editor  of  The 
It.  N.-Y.,  and  will  thank  him  from  the  bottom  of  their 
hearts.  lor  my  part,  as  long  as  I  have  enough  money 
to  buy  any  reading  of  any  kind,  The  It,  N.-Y.  is  at 
the  head  of  the  list,  and  I  shall  not  cease  to  tell  my 
friends  of  the  best  periodical  I  have  ever  read  without 
any  exception  whatsoever.  Clinton  d.  hatton. 
Andover,  Ohio. 
Mr.  Hatton  is  right.  Prosperity  is  coming  to 
farmers  because  they  will  learn  to  do  themselves 
the  things  which  they  have  long  been  paying  others 
to  do.  These  long  years  have  shown  them  that  the 
world  needs  their  manhood  more  than  it  needs  their 
money.  We  are  not  worrying  about  the  recognition 
part  of  it.  Fame  is  an  elusive  bird.  Man  wears 
himself  out  trying  to  get  near  enough  to  put  salt 
on  her  tail.  Better  keep  silently  and  humbly  at 
work.  If  you  are  worthy,  the  much-desired  bird 
will  come  and  roost  on  your  shoulder ! 
* 
THE  articles  we  are  printing  on  clover  or  Al¬ 
falfa  hay  and  silage  as  a  balanced  ration  mere¬ 
ly  express  what,  many  farmers  are  doing  in  their 
own  herds.  We  find  such  farmers  here  and  there. 
The  silo  is  full*  and  the  barn  is  stuffed  with  clover 
or  Alfalfa.  In  some  cases  they  have  bought  baled 
Alfalfa  in  place  of  grain.  The  cows  get  about  a 
bushel  of  silage  and  what  hay  they  want  and  two 
or  three  pounds  of  grain  in  addition.  These  men 
would  not  feed  this  way  if  they  were  testing  and 
pushing  the  cows  for  a  high  record,  but  for  the  eco¬ 
nomical  production  of  milk  in  these  high-priced  days 
such  feeding  pays.  There  are  conditions  under 
which  Alfalfa  hay  is  a  better  “buy”  than  grain. 
* 
CONGRESS  started  off  promptly  with  a  dozen  or 
more  hills  for  “reducing  the  high  cost  of  liv¬ 
ing."  Some  of  them  were  merely  for  political  ef¬ 
fect.  and  will  never  he  taken  seriously.  One  bill 
proposes  an  embargo  to  prevent  all  shipments  of 
food  from  the  country.  There  seems  to  be  no 
chance  that  this  bill  can  pass — and  it  ought  not  to. 
Other  bills  are  aimed  at  storage  evils  or  propose  im¬ 
provements  in  parcel  post  and  railroad  service.  Of 
course  it  is  proposed  to  “investigate”  the  problem! 
“When  in  trouble — investigate!”  That  seems  to  he 
the  only  rule  the  politicians  know.  When  will  they 
realize  that  the  only  way  to  settle  the  food  prob¬ 
lem  in  any  satisfactory  manner  is  to  go  where  food 
is  produced  and  make  its  production  profitable?  As 
it  is  the  whole  scheme  seems  to  he  a  superficial  one 
of  trying  to  help  the  consumer,  with  little  regard  for 
the  producer.  It:  is  like  a  man  trying  to  clean  out 
the  ditch  so  the  water  will  run  faster,  when  the 
spring  is  clogged  and  a  few  blows  right  at  the 
head  would  double  the  flow.  Our  “statesmen”  may 
investigate  and  “boycott”  and  pass  bills  until  the 
end  of  time,  but  they  will  never  settle  the  food 
question  until  they  make  it  permanently  worth 
while  for  the  farmer  to  increase  his  crops.  You 
cannot  bribe  or  bluff  or  bulldoze  him  into  raising 
the  two  blades  of  grass  until  a  fair  price  for  it  is 
hung  up  for  him  in  the  future.  In  developing  man¬ 
ufacturing,  railroading  and  all  public  service  work 
the  government  has  recognized  this  principle  in 
legislation.  It  has  asked  no  one  besides  the  farmer 
EAe  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
to  work  for  nothing  and  pay  his  board  in  return  for 
his  education. 
HE  high  cost  of  living  has  struck  the  good  old 
cow,  for  feeds  are  higher,  comparatively,  than 
flour  or  potatoes.  Next  week  we  shall  have  an  ar¬ 
ticle  showing  how  present  prices  compare  with  those 
of  last  Summer,  This  will  show  what  is  gained 
through  buying  feed  ahead.  It  may  be  too  late  to 
help  much  this  year,  but  it  is  a  Strong  argument  for 
cooperate  and  timely  buying. 
MR.  MORTIMER  P.  LEE,  a  reader  of  The  R. 
N.-Y..  recently  sent  the  following  letter  to 
President  Wilson  at  Washington : 
Hon.  Woodrow  Wilson, 
Washington,  D.  C. 
Sir: — At  various  times  during  the  past  two  years 
I  have  addressed  communications  to  you  in  the  hope 
that  you  as  President  might  use  the  weight  of  your 
office  to  try  to  have  a  law  enacted  which  would  place 
the  express  companies  under  the  control  of  a  com¬ 
mission.  to  the  end  that  they  would  be  obliged  to  mete 
out  justice,  to  shippers. 
I  told  you  how  I.  as  a  shipper  of  eggs,  had  been 
financially  ruined  by  the  failure  of  the  express  com¬ 
panies  to  properly  handle  and  deliver  my  eggs.  I  ex¬ 
plained  to  you  that  under  present  conditions  I  have  no 
possible  redress  against  the  companies. 
Since  last  1  wrote  you,  I  have  learned  that  what  has 
happened  to  me  has  happened  to  many  other  people. 
For  your  information  I  would  refer  you  to  the  editor 
of  The  Rural  New-Yorker  of  New  York  for  the  facts 
upon  this  subject  which  he  has  gathered,  and  to  the 
columns  of  that  paper,  an  influential  and  highly  re¬ 
spected  publication.  See  the  current  number  (Nov. 
IS)  page  1410  for  article  beaded,  "The  Case  of  the 
Express  Companies,” 
In  your  pre-election  speeches  your  doctrines  call  for 
justice  to  all  the  people.  We  who  have  been  ruined 
h.v  the  express  companies  feel  that  we  are  not  living 
under  the  rules  of  justice;  that  on  the  contrary  these 
great  corporations  ore  a  law  unto  themselves/  They 
ruin  people  with  impunity  and  those  mined  must  suf¬ 
fer,  Now  we  feel  that  justice  ought  to  prevail.  Surely 
it  is  asking  nothing  unjust  to  ask  that  these  com¬ 
panies  be  put  under  control  of  a  commission,  that  any 
shipper  have  the  right,  to  present  any  complaints  against 
a  company  to  that  commission,  that  the  company  have 
the  same  right,  also,  the  right  to  reply  to  complaints 
and  that  the  commission  render  a  decision  in  accord¬ 
ance  with  the  facts  as  presented. 
In  all  other  business  operations  people  and  corpor¬ 
ations  are  made  responsible  for  their  acfcs,  There  is 
no  sane  reason  why  express  companies  should  be  prac¬ 
tically  exempt  from  making  good  losses  caused  by  them, 
yet  it  is  a  condition  which  actually  exists. 
I  ask  that  in  your  forthcoming  message  to  Congress 
you  embody  in  it  the  recommendation  made  in  Tiif, 
Rural  New-Yorker  for  Nov.  IS,  I  ask  it  for  myself 
and  for  the  large  number  of  other  people  whose  busi¬ 
ness  lias  been  ruined  by  (he  companies.  I  ask  it.  for 
the  very  large  number  of  people  of  all  walks  of  life 
who  have  suffered  by  the  inability  of  the  express  com¬ 
panies  to  perform  the  service  they  are  paid  to  perform. 
I  ask  further  that  you  use  all  tin*  power  of  your  of¬ 
fice  to  secure  the  accomplishment  of  the  desired  result. 
Certain  of  the  people  will  then  haw  a  concrete  illus¬ 
tration  of  your  desire  that  justice  be  doue  all,  for  this 
is  a  plea  for  justice, 
W6  have  known  Mr.  Lee  for  some  years  and  be¬ 
lieve  be  is  fully  justified  in  saying  that  the  express 
companies  have  ruined  him  through  their  careless 
handling  of  egg  shipments.  Others  tell  us  much 
the  same  story.  The  eggs  are  smashed  in  transit 
and  special  customers  are  lost  in  consequence.  The 
express  companies  sometimes  pay  for  the  broken 
eggs,  but  they  take  no  notice  of  the  larger  ruin 
which  their  carelessness  entails.  There  is  at  pres¬ 
ent  absolutely  no  law  under  which  they  can  be  held 
responsible  for  this  great  damage.  We  have  be¬ 
come  so  fully  convinced  of  the  injustice  of  present 
conditions  that  we  have  started  to  arouse  public 
sentiment  to  demand  that  the  express  companies  he 
put  under  proper  restraint,  and  not  permitted  to 
ruin  men  without  redress.  Such  a  law  should  most 
properly  be  suggested  by  President  Wilson,  but  thus 
far  lie  has  made  no  reply  to  Mr.  Leo.  We  under¬ 
stand  that  the  express  companies  smile  at  the  sug¬ 
gestion  that  The  R.  N.-Y.  can  ever  do  anything  at 
this  reform.  Smiling  costs  little,  and  is*  an  effective 
way  of  disposing  of  some  reformers.  We  have  been 
all  through  that  a  dozen  times,  and  we  shall  keep 
right  at  this  until  the  public  realize  what  it  means. 
Then  there  will  he  hundreds  to  claim  that  they 
started  it — and  we  hope  to  be  on  ahead  starting 
something  new. 
* 
If  you  say  anything  against  the  Belgian  hare  busi¬ 
ness  I  quit  you.  I  will  clean  up  more  money  on  25 
good  breeding  does  than  can  lie  taken  from  any  $100 
cow.  I  keep  125  to  160.  The  poultry  and  hogs  1  cut 
out.  No  money  in  them.  A.  F.  EILENBER0ER. 
Erie  Co.,  X.  Y. 
THE  It.  N.-Y.  reserves  the  right  to  say  what  it 
thinks  upon  any  subject.  We  shall  tell  the 
truth  just  as  we  see  it.  Perhaps  we  do  not  see  it 
from  the  same  angle  as  others,  but  when  we  come 
to  a  certain  conviction  we  shall  give  expression  to 
it,  provided  such  expression  will  help  our  people. 
As  for  Belgian  hares,  the  issue  is  a  small  one  un¬ 
less  it  be  taken  to  illustrate  a  type  of  much  larger 
questions.  We  have  never  disputed  the  fact  that 
some  people  make  money  out  of  these  hares.  What 
December  li>,  1010. 
we  fight  against  are  the  foolish  and  fraudulent 
statements  made  by  some  people  who  have  breed¬ 
ing  stock  for  sale.  These  people  try  to  make  it 
appear  that  anyone — invalids,  children,  elderly  peo¬ 
ple — can  buy  a  trio  of  these  famous  bares  and  make 
enough  out  of  them  to  live  in  comfort.  All  you  seem 
to  need  are  backyard,  table  wastes,  water,  fresh 
air  and  some  of  these  hares  at  a  high  price,  and 
your  living  is  secured.  Such  schemes  are  foolish 
and  wicked,  and  we  shall  continue  to  denounce 
them.  No  doubt  some  people  find  these  hares  profit¬ 
able  and  we  have  never  opposed  a  fair  experiment 
with  them.  It  is  when  they  use  the  Belgian  as  a 
bunco  game  that  we  object.  It  is  just  the  same 
with  ginseng,  Wonderberries,  “unit  orchards”  and 
all  get-rich-quick  schemes.  They  all  may  have  some 
merit  when  tl:  >  investment  is  small  and  conserva¬ 
tive.  When  it  becomes  a  speculation  we  hit  it  as 
hard  as  we  can.  We  shall  continue  to  shave  the 
speculative  whiskers  off  these  hares! 
* 
I  have  just  sold  my  beans,  about  30  bushels,  grown 
on  the  Michigan  farm.  They  were  thrashed  Nov.  1. 
The  price  at  the  local  elevator  was  $6  two  days  before 
thrashing,  but  I  needed  the  money  for  the  men,  and 
for  paying  interest  on  my  mortgage,  so  I  sold  at  $5.50, 
find  now  the  price  has  gone  back  to  $6.  'Phis  is  one 
of  the  discouraging  things  about  farming.  The  mid¬ 
dlemen  always  beat  down  the  price  just  after  harvest 
time  of  crops,  and  then  when  they  get  the  bulk  of  the 
crop  in  their  bauds  up  goes  the  price.  F.  N.  c. 
ERE  is  a  case  where  a  full  extension  of  the 
Federal  government  warehouse  act  would  have 
helped  this  farmer.  It  should  be  extended  so  as 
to  include  products  which  can  be  reasonably  stored. 
In  that  case  this  man  could  have  stored  his  beans 
and  used  the  certificate  for  obtaining  a  loan  to 
meet  his  obligation  until  the  price  settled.  This 
is  but  a  small  transaction,  but  the  loss  of  this  $15 
is  but  one  of  millions  in  which  money  is  lost  through 
inability  to  obtain  capital  or  credit.  If  would  be 
even  better  for  the  farmers  in  this  man’s  neigh¬ 
borhood  to  combine  their  credit  and  own  the  ware¬ 
house  themselves. 
* 
The  Christian  layman  who  will  help  bring  about  a 
better  system  of  marketing  the  food  necessities  of  life 
in  America  so  that  the  farmer  may  get  a  fair  profit 
and  the  consumer  pay  what  is  right,  so  that  in  the 
city  he  may  be  able  to  live  and  properly  food  and  clothe 
and  educate  his  family  will  be  doing  a  much-needed 
piece  of  religious  service. 
HAT  is  taken  from  the  Pittsburgh  Christian 
Advocate,  and  we  Commend  it  to  the  attention 
of  the  wealthy  people  who  are  interested  in  up¬ 
building  the  country  church.  At  this  time,  with  our 
present  distribution,  tbe  consumer  does  not  pay 
what  is  right,  nor  does  the  farmer  “get  a  fair  pro¬ 
fit.”  It  is  the  very  essence  of  Christian  work  to 
try  to  readjust  this  situation,  and  the  church  may 
well  contribute  to  that  “divine  discontent”  through 
which  alone  can  popular  thought  settle  this  great 
problem. 
* 
THE  “car  shortage”  reported  by  the  railroads  is 
causing  great  trouble  and  loss  to  shippers. 
Goods  are  held  up  and  needed  supplies  refused  ship¬ 
ment  because  the  railroads  declare  that  they  can¬ 
not  find  empty  oars.  As  it  looks  now  freight  ship¬ 
ments  will  be  delayed  or  refused  all  through  the 
Winter  and  Spring,  and  farmers  should  remember 
tbis  and  provide  for  it  as  well  us  possible  by  or¬ 
dering  their  goods  early.  Fertilizers,  lime  and 
seeds  must  he  had  before  Spring  planting.  It  will 
not  do  this  year  to  wait  until  a  few  days  or  weeks 
before  the  goods  are  needed,  for  in  that  case  you 
will  run  the  risk  of  delay.  The  dealer  or  manu¬ 
facturer  cannot  he  held  responsible  if  you  wait  un¬ 
til  the  last  moment  before  ordering.  Get  the  order 
off  early — as  soon  as  possible — as  the  best  way  of 
beating  the  “car  shortage.”  We  think  much  of 
this  trouble  might  be  overcome  by  the  railroads 
through  a  better  system  of  assembling  their  cars. 
Wherever  we  go  we  find  empty  ears  standing  idle 
on  side  tracks  when  they  ought  to  be  at  work. 
Brevities 
The  wise  man  parts  with  a  fair  share  of  his  money. 
WhiAT  have  you  found  to  be  the  best  test  of  friend¬ 
ship? 
Lime  ill  apple  orchards.  We  would  use  it  to  grow 
a  cover  crop  of  clover,  but  not  for  the  apple  tree. 
In  a  way  a  horse  is  somewhat  like  an  asparagus 
plant.  We  must  fertilize  and  cultivate  the  asparagus 
in  Summer  to  have  it  produce  in  Spring.  We  cannot 
wait  until  Spring  and  do  it  all  then.  In  like  manner 
the  Winter  care  of  the  horse  will  decide  bis  working 
value  next  Spring, 
Many  a  man  past  50  years  thinks  be  must  keep  on 
eating  great  slices  of  meat.  Of  course  his  joints  are 
full  of  pain  and  he  gives  everyone  who  must  live  with 
him  a  "hard  life.  Lot  him  cut  out  most  of  his  meat 
and  substitute  milk  and  he  will  help  himself  and  help 
business. 
