1046 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
August 26, 1922 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BCSIXESS FARMER'S PAPER 
A National Woi'kly Jouriiul lor louolry and Suburban llomer 
Entohlitthcsl idso 
Fubllsbod weekly by the Rural I'nbli'hing Conquitiy, 333 West 30th Street, Now York 
Iliatm-itr 'V. COLLiXmvoon. l*it sltlotu and Editor. 
,T11nV . 1 . llll.l.ON, Treasurer and lirnrinl Mnruif-er. 
Wm. F. Dhaon, Soim-cuh-.v. Mhs. K. T Iff. i k. Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign count lies In the Universal Postal Union. S‘i.01, iiemit in money 
order, express order, personal check or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post Office as Second Class Matter. 
Advertisintt rates, $1.00 per acute line—T words. References required for 
advertisers unknown to us ; and casli must accompany transiont ordexs. 
“A SQUARE REAL" 
We tirlieve that every advertisement in this paper is backed by a respon¬ 
sible pri'ni). We nse every possible prreaniion and admit tlie iulvcrtisinir of 
reliable houses only. But to make doubly sore we v ill make irnod any loss 
to paid subscribers unstained by trusting anv deliberate sw indler, irrespou 
silile advertiserr or misleadiuc advertiseiueuts in our columns, and any 
such swindler will be publicly exposed. Wc are also often called upon 
to adjust differences or mistakes between our suli-oiUxura and honest, 
reK|«insible lmiises, whether ndv.'nisere or not. We w illingly use our good 
oiliees to lids end. hut such eases should not be confused with dishonest 
t i nnsnet ions, We protect subscribers against rogues, hut we will not be 
responsible for the debts nt honest bankrupts BtmcTioncd liy the courts. 
Not leu of tile complaint nnlat be sent, to ns within one morn h m the time of 
ti e tranwieiiim. and in identify it. you should mention Tin Ui k\>, Nmv- 
YnltKKli wlii-ii Writing tlie ailvevtisiM.' 
D URING tlie New York State Fair at Syracuse. 
September 11 to 10. The Rural New-Yorker’s 
headquarters will be found in the Dairy Building, 
where we shall he glad to meet old friends, and have 
an opportunity of making new ones. 
* 
X the Thirty-ninth Congressional District of New 
York State (Orleans. Genesee, Livingston. Wyo¬ 
ming and part of Monroe counties) Clark Allis is a 
candidate for Congress in the coming primary. In 
that, district a nomination is equivalent to an election. 
Mr. Allis is making his campaign as a pronounced 
"dry" candidate. He does not say that it' elected he 
will ask the district what to do—everyone knows 
what, he will do before he starts. Now. Mr. Allis 
has been prominent in developing a trade in pasteur¬ 
ized apple juice. He wants to make this the na¬ 
tional drink and we all know that if this could he 
done the problem of marketing apples would be 
solved. The production of this juice would absorb 
the culls and smaller fruit, and thus steady the mar¬ 
ker for high-class apples. This seems to us like a 
line thing, especially for those fruit growers who 
live in the Thirty-ninth District. We do not know 
of any public question of more practical importance 
to them. Yet the people who oppose Mr. Allis seem 
to have launched a curious argnment against him. 
They claim that pasteurized apple juice, if left ex¬ 
posed for a short time, will develop into ‘‘hard cider’’ 
of the vilest type, and thus open a new method of 
"bootlegging.'’ As an experiment, we tried that very 
tiling with some of this apple juice. Insteead of fer¬ 
menting and producing alcohol, it simply rotted and 
turned into stuff which no one would drink. All 
sorts of lies aiul half lies are to he expected in a 
political campaign, hut there is no excuse even in 
lmsty politics for spreading a lie which may work 
great injury to the business of apple growing in a 
season like this one, when every possible outlet for 
t he crop is needed. 
* 
WO weeks ago we spoke of the milk situation in 
New England and the call to Attorney General 
n'Brien of Suffolk Co., Mass., to take a farm and 
show the profit in dairying. It seems that Mr. 
O'Brien employed a certified public accountant, Mr. 
E. L. l’ride. to gu over tbe figures of milk producers. 
Mr. Pride reports officially that 20.703 New Eng¬ 
land milk farmers are losing more than 2 cents a 
quart at present prices. There seems to be no way 
of getting around these figures, and they are full of 
menace to New England. The big trouble with that 
section is its shortage in food production. Its people 
must be fed from distant sections, and that is the 
greatest obstacle to New England’s progress that can 
now be thought of. Under such conditions it is a 
crime to follow any public policy that will load to a 
reduction in the food supply. This is particularly 
true of such a food essential as milk. No one can 
possibly expect farmers to go on producing milk at a 
loss, and when they stop just so much of New Eng¬ 
land industrial life stops with them. 
* 
HE coal strike has now run so long that we can¬ 
not expect any normal supply of coal for the 
coming Winter. Should it be as severe as the mem¬ 
orable Winter during the war. there will be great 
suffering. Two things should he arranged for at 
once. One is fair control of the coal trade and dis¬ 
tribution. In New England already a plan for 
rationing coal has been worked out. with directors 
in each town. The object is to secure fair distribu¬ 
tion of such coal as can be obtained, and to prevent 
profiteering. We think any man who attempts to 
mal j extortionate profits out of the necessities or 
sufferings of the people should lie treated like a high¬ 
wayman. The other thing is a grouping of our other 
sources of fuel. Years ago this entire country, in¬ 
cluding the great cities, was warmed and given pow¬ 
er through cordwood alone. There are still great 
quantities of this fuel growing on our farms and 
bills, and the surplus may well be used this season. 
Many of us have good supplies of this fuel. The pa¬ 
triotic thing for ns to do is to use all possible wood at 
borne, and thus leave more coal for people who have 
no wood. It will mean some inconvenience and a 
little more work to change from coal to wood, but 
this is one way in which we can help America in this 
crisis. ’I’hc profitable part will come in selling our 
surplus fuel. We think that selling in the home 
market—that is. the nearby town—will, on the 
whole, pay better than shipping to the big cities. 
The stile of this wood may enable some of us to get 
hack the income which the wet weather and the 
market, slump have taken out of our regular crops. 
* 
OST of us who buy clothing are being told that 
if the proposed tariff on wool becomes a part 
of law we must expect to pay about $10 extra for a 
suit of clothes. It is hard to defend the principle 
of any tariff, though It lots become a part, of the 
policy of (>very civilized nation, in the form of direct 
duties or bounties. In theory, free trade, or the 
free exchange of goods between nations is ideal, hut 
in practice all nations make use of a tariff, either 
for revenue or openly and boldly for ‘‘protection” 
to some favored interest. In this country the tariff 
question lias come to he very largely an industrial 
conflict between classes. The manufacturers de¬ 
mand protection for their infant industries, and the 
farmers demand compensating tariffs on their pro¬ 
ducts. They must very largely pay tile tariff on 
manufactured goods through increased prices—there¬ 
fore they must iu a like manner he ‘‘protected." 
That seems to be about the way it is working out. 
But how do the clothing men figure out that $10 in¬ 
crease? The clothes they sell us are half or more 
shoddy. It. is doubtful if 1 lbs. of virgin wool enter 
into the average suit. The proposed tariff on wool 
is less than (lie duty under the present, ‘‘emergency” 
law, and most of the cloth now being sold is made 
from "free” wool, imported last year at the very 
lowest price in history. Where do they get that $10? 
* 
FTER a long and hitter debate the United 
State Senate voted against any tariff on hides. 
The House of Representatives has already voted for 
free hides, the vote being non-partisan. The tariff 
bill as first proposed put a high duty on hides and I 
offered a compensating duty on hoots and shoes and 
other leather goods. The Eastern shoe manufactur¬ 
ers promptly stated that they did not want any 
tariff, since they export $25,000,000 worth of goods, 
while hardly $500,000 worth will he imported. 
They are trying to increase their exports, ami want 
cheaper leather. It is probable that by increasing 
exports the manufacturers will he able to obtain 
better control of the home market and thus keep up 
prices. On the other hand, farmers claim that hides 
are being practically given away since the immense 
importations from South America and Africa have 
made it almost impossible to sell an American-grown 
hide to advantage. And it cannot be said that the 
American farmer is much interested in increasing 
exports of shoes while lie is being held up for ex¬ 
tortionate prices for his own footwear. 
* 
VERY year. at. this season, the lime question 
rears its head ami looks about. Most farmers 
in the East consider Fall the host time to apply lime. 
That is the natural time for seeding in this section, 
and Timothy, clover, Alfalfa and wheat always 
respond to lime. In fact, there is little use in seed¬ 
ing wheat, Timothy or Red clover on sour land. On 
the North Atlantic slope there are very few farms 
that do not need lime. In fact, off the regular lime¬ 
stone ridges, we doubt if there is any farm under 
cultivation for 50 years that does not need lime. 
Lime is the element most needed to tit the land and 
give it character, while phosphorus is the element 
most needed to give strength. Thus it is that lime¬ 
stone and acid phosphate have come to he the most 
essential chemicals for use in our dairy and grain 
farms. Our farmers do not use one-quarter of the 
lime they should. We have not yet come to regard 
it as essential, though it is really as necessary in 
most of our farming as salt is in the human diet. 
Much of the old controversy between the advocates 
of ground limestone and burned lime seems to have 
died out. it seems to be granted that Oh very sour 
and hard-baked clays the burned lime has a quicker 
and more certain action. It is also less bulky, 
though harder t<> handle. On the other hand, the 
modern methods of grinding now give us raw lime¬ 
stone almost as tine as the burned lime. It docs not 
make much difference which kind of lime you use. 
Get the kind which gives you most pounds of actual 
lime for a dollar. The main point is to get the lime 
habit. 
* 
M ANY of our readers are interested in Henry 
Ford’s proposition to take the government’s 
work at Muscle Shoals and use part of the power to 
manufacture fertilizer. There will be a bitter fight 
iu Congress over this proposition. What we may 
call organized agriculture seems to favor it. but 
there is much opposition. Some of this is undoubt¬ 
edly prejudiced by interests who see in Ford’s plan 
great competition in their own business. There are. 
however, many honest and far-seeing men who op¬ 
pose the scheme on principle. It is the most princely 
gift to an individual or private corporation ever 
made by any nation in tlie world’s history. It does, 
unquestionably, give the Ford company a great 
special privilege over its competitors. It would 
seem to limit the application of industrial power 
to a comparatively small section of the South, while 
under government control this power would, we 
think, be more generally distributed. The chief ob¬ 
jection urged by Senator Norris against the plan is 
that it establishes a precedent for the government 
to hand the great water powers over to private indi¬ 
viduals. If the expensive works at Muscle Shoals 
are handed over to the Ford company for about 5 
per cent of their value, it wilt lie practically impos¬ 
sible in the future for the government to own and 
distribute water power. We fully understand and 
appreciate the arguments advanced to farmers that 
Ford will make abundant and cheap fertilizers. \Yt> 
see no guarantee that they will lie cheap, ami we 
think farmers may well consider the force of the 
objections here noted before they give unqualified 
support to this scheme. 
* 
W E have had several notes about the use of 
“lightning rods ‘ foi stimulating or fertilizing 
orchard trees. A number of orchard men have tried 
the plan. It is quite simple. A long metal rod is 
driven into the ground close to the living tree. At 
the upper end copper wires arc fastened like fingers 
reaching out into the air. That is till there is to it. 
The copper wires are supposed to attract slight 
electric currents from the air and transmit them 
down through the metal rod close to the tree. What 
nature does with them then is uncertain. The cur¬ 
rent may stimulate the roots of the tree directly, or 
it may help to make the organic matter in the soil 
into available plant food. We do not know what 
happens, hut it seems to have some good effort upon 
the tree. Mr II. T. Demurest of Orange County. 
X. Y.. lias tried these rods for some years, and this 
is his report: 
As for me, 1 will say that they have closed up tin' 
row space on cither side of the ends, while rows further 
away have an open space, giving an appearance of 2 
ft. to 4 ft. clearway as one looks down the row i2o ft. 
wide). Now if one will accept our veracity as to having 
given these trees exactly the same care and fertilization 
as the rest of the trees in the orchard, I think it is not 
too much to say that we have gained about a year’s 
(ree growth on these trees in the last five or six years 
by the use of these rods alone, 
It is difficult, to obtain true reports, as many things 
might happen to affect the growth or health of a 
tree. We think it is well worth investigating. We 
may find that certain chemicals put near the base 
of the metal rod are influenced by the current. Wo 
know there is an abundance of what We call the 
electric current stored in the air, and that It may 
bo taken out by metal rods. Can we make it Useful 
to trees and plants? It is worth while to find out. 
Brevities 
Take a day off and play! 
One of our readers. 72 years old. is planning to go 
“back to the land.” What do you think? Is he too old? 
It is reported that 2,900 farms in Onondaga Co.. 
N. Y., are to he fully posted with "No Trespass" signs. 
Dogs killed a karakul sheep belonging to O. R. Chap¬ 
man of Oimndaga Co.. N. Y.. and In* entered a claim of 
$1,350 for it. The supervisors rejected the claim! 
Not very satisfactory to plow a tough old sod and 
seed to wheat and grass. The weeds and wild grass 
are sure to work in and spoil the seeding. Better put 
in a cleaning crop, like corn or potatoes, before re¬ 
seeding. 
“Eat more rabbit" is the new slogan adopted by the 
rabbit breeders. Surely the rabbit men have just ns 
much right to “boom” their industry as the dairymen, 
the potato growers, or any of the others—but if they 
all get after us how are we going to eat it all? 
OF course the car driver laughs at the ox team, but 
read this note from Mr. Berrang, who is crossing the 
country in his ox team express: "You can just bet we 
have pulled many an automobile out of the ditch with 
those oxen.” And the car drivers stilt go on laughing 
at the oxen. 
