452 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BVS1XESS FARMERS PAPER 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes 
Established ;6S0 
Published neeklj by the Kami Publisliiug Comjmny, 833 West 80th Street, Neir fork 
Herbert IV. Colukovtood, rrcsident and Editor. 
Jons J. Dillon", Treasurer and Ocnersl Manniri r 
F. Dittos. Secretary. Mbs. E. T. Hottf.. Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION : ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $S.0t. equal to 8s. 6d., or 
marks, or 10**, franee. Remit in money order, express 
order, personal check or bank draft. 
Entered ut New Y oik Post Office as Second Class Matter. 
Advertising rates, 81.00 per agate line—7 words. References required for 
advertisers unknown to us ; and cash must accompany transient ordera 
“A SQUARE DEAL’’ 
We believe that every advertisement in this paper is backed by a respon¬ 
sible person. We use every possible precaution and admit the advertising of 
reliable houses only. But to make doubly sure, wc will make good any loss 
to luiid subscribers sustained by trusting any deliberate swindler, irrespon¬ 
sible advertisers or misleading advertisements in our columns and any 
such swindler will be publicly exposed. We are also often called upon 
to adjust differences or mistakes between our subscribers and honest, 
responsible bouses, whether advertisers or not. Wc willingly use our good 
offices to this end. but such cases should not be confused with dishonest 
transactions. We protect subscribers against rogues, but wc will not he 
responsible for the debts of honest bankrupts sanctioned by the courts, 
Notice of the complaint must he sent To us within one month of the time of 
the transaction, and to identify it, you should mention The Rural New- 
Yorker when writing the advertiser. 
You never heard of a truly great or sueeesaful 
man u'ho ever Struck for an eight-hour day, and 
refused to leorlc over time.' 
W E are having a good many “resolutions” and 
letters about that report of tlie Committee 
of Twenty-one on rural schools. Most of these com¬ 
munications are quite critical. Now, we have not 
jet been able to obtain a full copy of this report, 
and it is not likely that those who criticize it have 
ever read it through. Our suggestion i> that we 
reserve comment until this report lias been well 
studied. There is no occasion for haste. N<> school 
legislation can be put through this year. The com¬ 
mittee is planning to hold hundreds of meetings, at 
which this report will he freely analyzed. Let’s go 
at it right. Our readers know that The It. N.-Y. 
will give all sides a fair hearing. We have no preju¬ 
dice for or against the report, but we have great 
faith in the judgment of country people, and in their 
ability to analyze this report. 
;k 
E find a number of people who are greatly 
concerned over the "Wave of crime” which, 
they say. is sweeping over the country. It is true 
that the daily papers report murders, hold-ups, and 
spectacular crimes freely, but in our own observation 
we have not noticed the “wave.” You must remem¬ 
ber that these papers seldom, or never, print any¬ 
thing about the acts of kindly devotion or beautiful 
sacrifices which enter the daily lives of thousands of 
men and women. Let a man shoot another, rob a 
bank, bootleg a barrel of whiskey, or run off with 
his neighbor’s wife, and he will get several columns 
on the first page. Let him save a human life or care 
for a little child or help his neighbor in distress, 
and the smallest type ever invented is far too large 
to record such a deed. The "wave” of crime is 
largely imaginary. Tt has entered the imagination 
of the American people because the influential pa¬ 
pers prefer to advertise the works of Satan rather 
than those of Christ. Let them stop printing the 
record of the imps of infernal regions on the first 
page, and the "wave of crime” will end in the back¬ 
yard. The way to stop the big crimes is for the rich 
and educated to stop their own petty, sneaking eva¬ 
sions of the law. and practice in their private lives 
the theories they advance for the public. 
* 
T HE ordinary roadside market has served a good 
purpose in its day. On well-traveled roads 
such a marker attracts much custom, and enables 
farmers to dispose of their goods to advantage. In 
some localities such markets are falling into disre¬ 
pute. Farmers have made the mistake of charging 
too much. There is no good reason why a housewife 
should patronize a road stand unless she can make 
a good bargain by doing so. She cannot afford to 
drive to the stand and pay as much as the grocer 
would charge to deliver the goods. If farmers per¬ 
sist in such charges, they will kill the plan. Then, 
again, many fakers are posing as farmers. They buy 
produce on the regular market and haul il to the 
country. Then they offer it as "fresh goods.” in 
connection with soft drinks and "hot dogs.” The 
public is learning these tricks, ami will stop buying 
il’ they are kept up. The time has come for new 
suggestions. We think advertising in the local pa¬ 
pers would pay. Our plan would he for a number 
of farmers to combine and open a co-operative stand 
in some good location. Attend well to packing and 
quality, and run bright advertisements In the local 
papers, telling just what they have to offer. Our 
brief experience in this line indicates that town 
people will be glad to drive out to some definite 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
place and buy guaranteed goods at a fair price. It 
would be better than standing in the dust waiting 
for c-hauce customers to come. 
ft* 
It looks like daylight-saving again this year for 
Massachusetts. This i> my opinion ; it is throwing a 
little move sand into the gears for the farmer. Yon 
can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him 
drink. We never have gone by it. and don’t intend 
to this year. It may be all right to turn on the lights 
at 3 A. M. and set the hens to work, but it doesn’t go 
with the hired man. D. r. d. 
Massachusetts. 
HE old Bay State seems to be about the only 
one left in the East with a daylight-saving law. 
New York had one. but it was repealed. New Jersey 
tried for one, but was blocked in the State Senate. 
Many of our cities a ml large towns have a local 
ordinance. In New Jersey such efforts to change 
ant] regulate the time have boon declared unconstitu¬ 
tional. In most country districts in New York the 
farmers pay no attention to local ordinances in 
near-by towns. For the past few years France has 
worked under daylight-saving time. The other day 
the French legislature voted to go hack to standard 
time. Our friend is right about the lions and the 
hired .man. You can get the liens up early by turn- 
ins on tlie lights arfd providing breakfast. The liens 
stay "up” and keep at work. The hired man might 
get up at three o’clock and eat breakfast—if it was 
ready—but if. be had ordinary judgment he would 
go back to. bed again. 
W 11AT is the dog population of the United 
States? The average person who saw dogs 
running about might put it at a full billion. A 
proposition has been made to tax all dogs $1 each, 
and apply the money to paying (ho soldiers’ bonus. 
We find it next to impossible lo find the dog popula¬ 
tion of most States. For example, in New Jersey 
there is no State dog tax: each township keeps its 
own little record. So far as we can find, no effort 
has been made to figure out the State’s total. In 
Pennsylvania the total dog population is about 
400,000. In New York State, onts’do of the great 
city, the total number of licenser] dogs is about 
307.0OO. In New York Pity 101.000 dogs were 
licensed. If you take these two States as repre¬ 
sentative and compare dogs to human population, 
there may be 7.0OO.000 dogs in the country. The 
average citizen will probably cry out at once that 
this cannot be correct. He knows there must he at 
least 250,000,000 dog;-. IIow does he know it. anti 
how can he prove it? 
* 
OF remember the recent article signed 
"Farmer.” which discussed the hired-man ques¬ 
tion. We have had about 30 letters from people 
who want “Farmer’s” address. Most of these people 
want a job, and. of course. "Farmer” has only one 
job at best. It is not uni practice in such cases to 
give addresses without, the consent of the original 
writer. We send all letters to the person who wrote 
the original article, and let him use his judgment 
about replying. This is the only fair way to act, 
for a busy farmer cannot spend the time required 
for answering dozens of letters when lie has nothing 
to offer. 
tk 
HE term of William A. Calder, Senator from 
New York State, will expire next year. His 
successor must be chosen by popular vote this year. 
It is time, therefore, to ask whether Senator Calder 
is entitled to another term. Speaking for farmers 
and country people, wo may well ask what the Sen¬ 
ator lias done which entitles him to any particular 
favors from farmers. What is his record on prohi¬ 
bition? The next Congress will witness the biggest 
figlit ever known over the enforcement of the pro¬ 
hibition law. The enemies of the law realize this, 
and are preparing for ihe struggle. There are half 
x dozen or more laws which have a direct hearing 
upon farming, and their fate will he decided in the 
next Congress. I»<» the farmers of New York State 
want to send Senator Calder hack for another term? 
Two years ago, in spite of much opposition. Senator 
Wadsworth was carried back to the Senate on the 
Republican tidal wave. There will be no such wave 
this year, and the Democrats are likely- to nominate 
ex-Covernor Smith, who is one of Hit* most popular 
men in the State, and openly opposed to Ihe prohi¬ 
bition law and general farm legislation. In order 
to beat him, the Republicans must nominate the 
strongest man they can find. It is time to Stop and 
ask if Senator Calder is the man? 
r 5k 
T IIE next session of Congress will he one of the 
most important since the starting of this Gov- 
ernment. There will be many great questions of ab¬ 
sorbing interest to farmers which must be settled. 
March 25, 1922 
Many ’fights acquired after years of struggle must 
be protected. The next Congress will be no place 
for dodgers and half-hearted politicians. If farmers 
are to he fairly represented, they must get busy at 
once to influence nominations. If they do not. they 
are likely to have spurious candidates thrust upon 
them, and find later on that many of the laws they 
have fought for so long are in danger. There never 
was a time when farmers were in a better position 
to make their influence felt in public matters than 
right now. 
* 
Mrs. A, because of neglect, etc., left A. Since then 
he has received and opened mail intended for her. and 
addressed to her. What can be done about it? E. 
HERE have been so many questions like this one 
that we answer here. The Postoffice Depart¬ 
ment considers that it has made a “good delivery’ 
when any member of a family receives mail for an¬ 
other member. Of course, the department is not sup¬ 
posed to know about family differences. The thing 
to do is to notify the rural carrier or postmaster that 
your mail must be delivered into your own hands. 
Live this notice in writing. If. after that, your 
mail is opened, the Postoffice Department will, upon 
notice, investigate, and if they can catch the guilty 
parties will prosecute them. Such opening is a seri¬ 
ous offence. 
5k 
I F we look at things fairly we must admit that 
the chief trouble with marketing farm produce 
is a lack of fair distribution. All the way from 
asparagus to Zinnias there never was a time when 
every one had all he wanted of any farm product. 
Even in limes of so-called “gluts" there are starving 
or half-fed people who do not have half enough to 
eat. When onions rot In the lield for lack of sale 
there are thousands of city people who never have 
half the onions they desire. The price of eggs may 
go so low that a business hen will he almost ashamed 
to lay, and yet eggs will mean a luxury to many. 
Thus what is known as “over-production” means 
not that our farmers produce too much food, hut 
they produce more than our present system of dis¬ 
tribution can care for. There never was so much 
food in the world that everyone could he well fed. 
One trouble with the farm situation now is that 
we are producing more milk. eggs, grain, etc., than 
the distributors can handle. The surplus, dumped 
upon the market, without any proper attempt, to 
dispose of it. is what brings prices down to ruinous 
figures. If we should have a most favorable grow¬ 
ing season this year it will mean a tremendous crop, 
without improving the farm situation. With an 
unfavorable season, resulting in a short crop, many 
of our farm problems would bo solved. Just bow 
to prevent market "gluts" anti slumps in farm prices 
is the biggest problem in the world today. In most 
manufacturing lines it is usually possible to regu¬ 
late production, but that is something never yet 
worked out in farming. Whenever prices for some 
product run high one season thousands of farmers 
proceed to “plunge” on it the next year, and thus 
break the market. We think there is too much 
gambling in crop production as well as in crop sell¬ 
ing. The wisest course for the individual farmer 
just now is to go t>ii about as ho has done in the 
past, saving on cost of production wherever he can, 
and not trying to make any great increase. 
Brevities 
Boot the bootlegger. 
An open mind and a closed mouth captures wisdom. 
A closed mind and an open mouth lets wisdom escape. 
There seems litt'e doubt that the general practice of 
lighting the henhouse has flooded the Winter market 
with eggs. 
Excellent grapes are now coining to New York 
from Argentina, and melons from Venezuela. We are 
promised butter from Labrador before long. 
C an we safely seed down with the oats and peas 
crop? In wet -seasons wo have succeeded in getting a 
fair seeding, but when the Spring is dry the oats and 
pens, growing together, are too thick and rank for the 
young grass. 
IIebb are throe reports from Northern readers who 
have wintered in Florida: “This place is as near Ie- ven 
as one can get. in Winter." The other"The <•' ’»•"<* 
here is worth $2,000 per acre; the soil $5.” And hi* : 
“It is a land of pure delight —for speculators and hotel- 
keepers." 
To show how animals multiply, a Government bulle¬ 
tin states that 11 years ago dO reindeer were landed on 
the Pribilof Islands, off Alaska. There are now -110 
reindeer on the islands, and many have been killed for 
food. The reindeer is regarded as the coming dairy 
an’nu’1 for the North. 
We b.iVe often told lmw some dairymen use Japanese 
millet for the - : 'o. Tt makes a good silage crop when 
cut fine and wfil stamped down. When cut wi’h a 
binder the millet is easily handled. Now we hear of 
using millet as a catch crop, to be plowed under. It 
also makes a good mulch or cover for strawberries. 
