48 
Vhc RURAL NEW-YORKER 
January 14, 1922 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BIS1SES8 FARMER'S PAPER 
A Rational Weekly Journal 1'or Coutilr, ami Suburban llomea 
Extiihlishf<t -i.-.O 
rnblbhrd nrrlly by tile Itornl t'libliahlur Compsuy. :t!S« Weil ttOll. Street, New Tori 
HERB1CBT W. ' ot t iv,ov»,rib. !'r<\ ideal JUlil Editor. 
John -' Diu.os, rnvtsilrei- ami Gnneral Manager. 
Wm. F. Diu.cn, Swi-fbu y. .Mas. K. T. KoVi.k. Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION : ONE DOLLAR A VF.AR 
To foreign count rie» in the I'nivcrsal Poxtal Colon, $2.01. equal to 8s. 6d., or 
8^ marks, or 10V. francs. H' lnit. in money order, express 
order, pqrsaDWl cheek or banlc dratt-. 
Entered at New York Post Office us Second Class Matter. 
Advertising rates, 11 00 t"‘r acute line— * words. References required for 
advertisei *9 unknown to us ; tuwl cosh must accompany Iruusient orders. 
“A BftCAJfE DEAD 1 ’ 
We believe that, every advertisement, in fills |.av>er is backed by a respon¬ 
sible person. We use every poKsilde precaution and admit the advertising of 
reliable bouses only. But to make doubly sure, we will make good any loss 
to paid subscribers Htistained b.v trusting any deliberate swindler, irrespon- 
gihls advertisers or triigUiadlng advertisements In our e<dninns, and any 
sneb • windier will be publicly exposed. We arc also often called upon 
to .ellust, differences or minakei. Intween our Bubwribert and honest, 
respon-able iKOivev whelliei ndvortinei 5 or not. We w illingly use our good 
others to this end. but eio-it eases sltould not bo confused with dishonest 
tranwtetinnK. We protect tmlr-crlhers agitinst rogues, hut w e will not bo 
responsible for the debts of honest bankrupts sanctioned by the eourts. 
Notice ol the complaint must tie sent to us within one mouth of the time of 
tlie transaction, and to identify it, you should mention TltE ItrBAt, Nkw- 
Yorkrk when writing the advertiser. 
P RESIDENT HARDING has called an "agricul- 
tnral conference" for January 23. Most of 
those who attend will he selected by Secretary of 
Agriculture Wallace. The conference will not ho 
eonlined to farmers—it is proposed to have railroad 
men and manufacturers take part. The call states 
that, the object of the conference is to consider means 
for "relieving the distress among farmers." On the 
other hand, it is plainly stated by many farm leaders 
that the real object, of the conference is to destroy 
the power of the "agricultural bloc" now acting s<> 
efficiently to promote farm legislation in t'ongress. 
There is no question that party leaders in Washing¬ 
ton are much concerned over the work of this "bloc" 
in shaping legislation. This group of Senators— 
from the Southern and Far Western States—has 
openly combined to promote agricultural legislation, 
and they have succeeded in holding up party pro¬ 
grams. They are doing openly what groups <>1' 
Senators have for many years done secretly for 
other interests. 
W E receive a number of letters like the follow¬ 
ing: 
I would like to ask you. or anyone who knows, why 
ihe old Erie Canal, running from Albany to Buffalo, and 
adjoining property, has to he surveyed every two or 
three years. Is it because we have more engineers than 
we know what to do with, who tire drawing salaries, or 
what is tli* 5 trouble? Some of said engineers are nice 
men. and neighbors and friends of ours, hm we feel that 
taxes are getting far too high for the farmer, so would 
like some of the unnecessary expenses cut out. 
There is no signature and we have no idea where 
(he letter conies from. We have no use whatever for 
these anonymous communications, and they promptly 
go into the waste basket, where they belong. We sent 
this one. however, to the State Engineer. Frank M. 
Williams. He says that no work is being duplicated, 
and that be is sure all of the men are being em¬ 
ployed on essential duties, lie also says in explana¬ 
tion : 
In certain parts of the State we have recently been 
making surveys of the «<1 <1 canal lands. It is mandatory 
on me to perform this work through the directions of the 
State Legislature. The object of the work is so that 1 lie 
old canal lands may be abandoned and sold pursuant to 
law. These proceedings require accurate surveys, and 
this may be the work that the writer has in mind. 
There is also a great deal of engineering work to do in 
connection with the maintenance of the canal system. 
This is just. :is essential as similar work by railroad 
companies in connection with tlie maintenance of their 
roadbeds. Other necessary work, briefly stated, con¬ 
sists in land surveys, running base and level lines, and 
making investigations and reports in regard to claims. 
* 
T HIS time Our call is for a harness-maker. We 
have no doubt there are many among our read¬ 
ers who ply the awl and waxed end while the cars 
and trucks snort past their door. Here is the chance 
to help a brother: 
Tf practical, would you please give instructions 
through your paper on how to repair harness, how to 
sew with the straight and crooked awls, lmw to sew 
with bristles, how to sew the long tucks found on the 
bridle and breast plate, etc.? J. C. 
We would like some helpful instructions along this 
line. 
* 
The farmer lias shown his willingness to forget hard¬ 
ships. past and gone. He has no time to spend in cry¬ 
ing over spilt milk. The country owes him its thanks. 
T IAT is taken from the New York Herald. Man 
does not live by thanks alone, and (he farmer 
does not get a “resolution" even from Hie people who 
need him most. The director of the Indiana Experi¬ 
ment Station says that with corn tit 30 cents a bush¬ 
el farmers received 2.05 cents an hour for their labor, 
1.02 cents per hour for horse labor. Tt will take a 
- very solid chunk of “thanks" to pad out this 2 cents 
an hour to the pay of railroad workers or mechanics. 
For many years the American farmer was expected 
to take “education” as chief payment for his labor, 
while workers in other industries took the cash. 
Now it is "thanks"—the education being well nigh 
complete. But it is a different sort of education 
from that which the politician intended. The farmer 
has been forced to educate himself, and now he 
knows what he gets for his hour’s labor, compared 
with payments to other workers. He cannot pay the 
mortgage with "thanks,” The very men who are 
supposed to thank him would foreclose bis mortgage 
tomorrow if they could. Let no one be surprised 
when from this time on the farmer demands some¬ 
thing more substantial than “thanks,” and gets it. 
* 
1 have read many times before, and 1 now read 
again, on page 1400, in reply to L. D. F.. that "feed 
will not inn-ease the percentage of cream or butterfat. 
line might as well say feed will not vary the egg sup- 
nly. or fertilizer the crop. The same law governs all. 
1 have proveu beyond nil question that feed will and 
does largely contribute to the quantity nud quality of 
milk, eream and butter. I- S. w. 
New York. 
UTS question comes up again and again. The 
scientific men have gone over ibis matter pa¬ 
tiently and thoroughly—weighing and analyzing the 
feed and carefully testing the milk. They conclude 
that each cow has a normal capacity for producing 
fat. This will vary somewhat with her condition, 
but as for "feeding fat into milk." their results do 
not show that it can be done except to a slight ex¬ 
tent. The practical men who say they have done it 
usually guess at results. As a rule they cannot 
prove by analysis that the milk contains more fat 
after feeding their favorite ration. We suggest, a 
very practical test to some of these gentlemen—one 
that would settle it forever. Let them take a Hol¬ 
stein cow giving milk testing 3 per cent or less of 
butter-fat, as shown by analysis. Then let them 
feed that cow in any way they like and make her 
give t> per cent. milk, also shown by analysis! r l bat. 
is tbi> way for them to gain fume and fortune, for 
any man who can make a Holstein cow produce Jer¬ 
sey milk will do far more for bis country than he 
who makes two blades of grass grow where one blade 
grew before. Charlie Cole, the self-confessed fraud 
who gave these Holstein cows a fake test, pretended 
that be could do it. hut what be did was to squirt, 
cream out of a rubber bag into the milk, t ome, 
gent lemen, walk up and feed Jersey milk into a Hol¬ 
stein cow! A “barker" in front of a side show usu¬ 
ally lias a tremendous voice—can you feed him so 
as to turn him into an opera singer? 
* 
Is the owner of a farm liable in case the tenant does 
not pay his half of the thrashing, and if sued for same 
•md tenant is unable to pay, does the owner fall liable. 
,,!• could the amount of tenant's half he collected from 
the owner of the farm? w.i-.B. 
New York. 
IMS man owns a large farm on which he has a 
tenant working on the share plan. The owner 
of a farm is not liable for debt contracted by a 
tenant. If he were thus liable, few if any farm 
owners would dare lease tlieir farms. They never 
could toll what would happen to them. Some at- 
tenipts have been made to hold the owner on the 
theory that the landlord and tenant were partners, 
hut the courts have held that they are not partners, 
even though they share in the profits. 
* 
I have boon corresponding with a reliable seed house 
On an important subject, and they referred me to you 
to enlighten me on the same. I have been raising an¬ 
imal whit*- Sweet clover (now named llubaui) for two 
v-ars. and I am anticipating to put out a large acreage 
this year for a seed crop. But I read an article in a 
certain paper about two wee Its ago that has made me 
fpp] rather dubious about doing so. Perhaps, no doubt, 
von read the same. It gave the Hubam clover a very 
hard rub. and the idea. T think, was to turn as many 
farmers away from it as possible. What do you think 
of this particular clover, and do you consider this farm 
pU’icr’s article on that subject authoritative? Also. I 
would ask. what underlying motive, do you think, 
|, i.i*>pted the writing of this article? T,. T. B. 
Iowa. 
N answer we can only repeat what we have said, 
several times. We regard Hubam clover as the 
most valuable manurial plant yet tried on the Fpper 
Atlantic Slope. That is our own experience, and also 
the general report from readers who have tried the 
clover. We know nothing about, any “underlying 
motives." and care less; but we do think tin* article 
in question was unfair, not only to -this new clover, 
but to Prof. TT. D. Hughes, who first brought it to 
public attention. 
* 
C ERTAIN people seem to delight in making two 
false statements about the country and country 
children. First, they say city children are so much 
healthier than country-raised boys and girls. Just 
ask them why. if this is so, there is such an effort 
made to send city children to the country for their 
health. No one puts up money to send country chil¬ 
dren to the city in order that they may grow strong. 
And then the question of “illiteracy." Educators 
sometimes say that most of the illiterates in New 
York State are in rural neighborhoods. We have 
heard this statement made to prove the groat su- 
Pi riority of the city schools. According to the last 
census New York State had a total population of 
8,402.780. Of these, 425,022, or 5.1 per cent, were 
classed as illiterate. Of these. 3s::.:!o0 were found 
in urban situations; that is, in towns and cities with 
more tli.m 2,500 population, only 41.71.3 were in 
rural sections. For example, in New York County 
there were 140,810 illiterates, w hile in Tioga County 
there were 221. It would seem from ibis that the 
“menace of illiteracy" is t«> be found in the crowded 
streets, rather than among the open hills. 
* 
T seems evident that in the seventeenth century 
the wool growers of England went through some 
such trouble as has fallen upon mir own sheep men 
at this time. There had been a period of high prices 
following the civil war in England. In order to re¬ 
lieve the clothing trade and thus give home manu¬ 
facturers a lower price, it law was passed prohibit¬ 
ing exports of wool. This helped the manufactur¬ 
ers, but hurt the growers by creating a surplus, 
which enabled the dealers to cut down the price. 
Then came laws designed to increase the demand for 
clothing, so as to utilize .-ill English wool at a fair 
price. Among others was a law passed in 1660 
which ordered the burial of the dead in woolen fab¬ 
rics, so as to increase tin* consumption of wool. We 
are more concerned, in this day. in having tin* living 
clad in pure wool. Very few <4 ns can bo said to be 
thus clad. Most of the cloth we wear is 30 per cent 
or more shoddy, which represents to pure wool about 
what hash does lo roast lamb. At the same time the 
country is full of wool which cannot be sold at a 
living price. In time we shall have a “truth in 
fabrics" law under which cloth must be marked to 
show how much shoddy il contains. But let us not 
stand about waiting for such a law. Let us buy the 
blankets and cloth made of pure virgin wool, and 
sold direct by the wool growers. These goods are 
now offered for direct sale, and through such trade 
lies the best road to good cloth and fair prices. 
* 
OME of the advocates of consolidation of rural 
schools say we are not fair to their side, because 
we do not print more arguments for such consolida¬ 
tion. As answer to that charge we hereby offer to 
print an article which the consolidation advocates 
will agree states their case fairly. It must be rea¬ 
sonably brief, it must be good-tempered, and it n st 
be signed by some responsible citizen, and it must 
be understood as stating the case fairly. We cannot 
print a series of long articles, and we do not care so 
much for personal opinion or abusive arguments. 
Hive us a plain, reasonable argument for consolida¬ 
tion. and we will print it—giving the same amount 
of space to the other side. 
Brevities 
Where is the Winter? 
We think the sheep business will come back in time. 
A moonlight serenade has no charms for the deaf 
lady. 
KtJDZTJ will not do its best on a light soil or in a wet 
swamp. We do not advise planting it in such places. 
Where are we at? The common rat. as is well 
known to men, keeps fat as Dutch and eats as much as 
any Leghorn hen. 
Yott come close to eating your cake and having it 
when you do farm work with oxen, and at the end of 
the season eat the oxen. 
Oca reports are that tourists arc not. plentiful in 
Florida this Winter, and that it is not easy for Northern 
people to obtain work there. 
There will be a tremendous peach crop on the At¬ 
lantic Slope this year If .Tack Frost holds off. New 
Jersey is coming back into peach growing with a rush. 
No. it. does not seem to be necessary to cut Alfalfa 
frequently in order to keep it growing. Like the l air 
on your head, it will keep growing even with only two 
cuttings. 
On page 1450 there was a - nil for a copy of Magna 
Fharta. Tt has been printed as United States Senate 
Document No. 232. Send 5 cents to Document Division, 
Government Printing Office, Masbiagton. D. C. 
We have had many questions asking about liquid 
mushroom spawn. There is no sta-h thing, and little 
likelihood that there ever will be. There is a form of 
spawn sold in bottles, but it is only slightly moist. 
Tt may not he generally known that Mexican toma¬ 
toes are nmv being imported into this country, I hey 
tiave been sent as far north as Calgary, A'berta, and as 
far east its New York towns. Truly, the ends of the 
world are being brought together. 
Feeding experiments in Kansas show that mature 
grain corn cut. into the silo had 12 per rent more feed¬ 
ing value than when fed as dry grain. In another case 
calves were wintered on Alfalfa hay alone, and another 
lot on silage with a pound of cottonseed meal per head 
each day. The silage-fed Calves gained far more than 
the others. 
