1372 
‘Ph RURAL NEW-YORKER 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER 
A National \Vu«Uy Journal for Country and Suburban llomca 
Established two _ 
Putilluh-il wrrkly by tkr Rnr»l Fubliahlnc l’omp»ny. 888 W««t 80th Strrrt. Nn» l’ork 
Hkhukrt W. CoMJSGWOob, President and Editor. 
John J. Dillon. Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. Dillon. Secretary. Mrs. E. T. Rovi.f,. Associate Editor. 
I . H. MrRpnr, Circulation Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTION : ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries Jn the Fniversal Postal I nion. $2.04. Krmit in money 
• o iler, express order, personal check or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post Office hk .Second class Matter. 
Advertising rates. 11.00 per agate line—T words References required for 
advertisers unknown to us ; and oasli must accompany transient orders. 
A SQVAKE HEAL” 
We believe that every advertisement In ibis paper is backed by a respon¬ 
sible person. We use every possible precaution and admit the advertising of 
reliable houses only, fiufto make doubly sure, we will make good any loss 
to paid subscribers sustained by trusting any deliberate swindler irrespon¬ 
sible advertisers, oi misleading'advertisements in our columns, and any 
sucl, swindler will tie publicly exposed. We are also often railed upon 
to adjust differences or mistakes between our subscribers anil honest, 
responsible booses w hether advertisers or not We willingly use out good 
offices to thb- end, but such cases should not bf confused with dishonest, 
transactions We protect subscribers against rogues, hut will not be 
responsible for the debts of honest bankrupts saoctioned bv the courts. 
Notice ofthe complaint must be sent to us within one month of the time of 
the transaction, and to identify it. you should mention Thk RikaI. Nbw- 
Yohkkb when writing the advertiser. 
W E tire overrun witl) requests from readers who 
ask aliout the vaccines for use against chicken 
pox, roup and other diseases of poultry. Are they 
worth trying? It is understood that these vaccines 
are used as prophylactics—that is. they are to ward 
off the disease by bringing on a mild form of it. We 
understand that the remedy for chicken pox has been 
tried on several hundred thousands birds* iu Cali¬ 
fornia, where it gave what the scientific men call 
“encouraging results." In New Jersey it has not 
been so successful. It is quite possible that on the 
Atlantic coast these poultry diseases may be of a 
somewhat different form from what are called the 
same in California. About all we can get out of tin' 
scientific men is the following: 
It is ilie belief of the investigators that there are 
great possibilties in the vaccine for the control of these 
serious epidemic diseases, but further research is ueces- 
sarj before the vaccine might be called perfected. 
You may interpret that as you like. To us it 
means that the vaccines appear to prevent the spread 
of disease, but the scientists intend to play safe and 
not be caught off their base. There has been no 
proof of any injurious effect of this vaccine reported 
to us, and some of the best poultrymen we know 
are using it. 
sk 
W E have many letters of complaint from par¬ 
ents who say their children are beaten or 
abused at school. What right lias a teacher to use 
force or violence? The following extract is made 
from the New York law: 
To use nr attempt, or offer to use, force or violence 
upon or toward tin* person of another is not unlawful 
in i lie following cases : 
When committed l>\ a parent or the authorized agent 
of any parent, or by any guardian, master or teneher. 
in the exercise uf a lawful authority to restrain or cor¬ 
nel his child, ward, apprentice or scholar, and the 
force of violence used is reasonable in manner and mod¬ 
erate ill degree. 
We know from experience that children do not 
always give an exact report of what happens at 
school. In ease our children came home with a 
story of forceful punishment, we should, first of all. 
go to iIn* teacher about it. If the teacher is not 
reasonable, go to the trustee, or, if he gives no relief, 
write to the school superintendent, or go and see 
him. It is the privilege of any parent to .carry such 
a matter up in this way. Hut he careful, before 
you start, that you have the straight story, and hi* 
sure that your child is blameless, and not getting 
what he deserved. On general principles we support 
the teacher, who usually has enough trouble of her 
own. There are eases of injustice and others of mis¬ 
chief or meanness on the part of the chilli. A 
school is a small republic. There must he justice, 
and in order to obtain that there must he obedience. 
"II is probably ri/iinJlji soft In Sun that tin total 
amount of hues farmers ore railed upon to I 1 "!' this 
year in I lie entire I'nihil states amounts In a larger 
xnin of mnneii Ilian the profits of all the farms of the 
United Stairs this gear over the rust of production 
of the entire farm nop of the country.** 
T hat statement is sent out by the National 
i;range, and we have no doubt it is essentially 
correct To this might he added the fact that some¬ 
thing like twenty billions worth of property escapes 
taxation through investment in lion-taxable securi¬ 
ties! Some of this works a double evil. It not. only 
draws capital away from enterprises which would 
develop and thus pay more taxes, hut it encourages 
extravagance in municipal improvements. Many a 
town is bonding itself beyond its limit because bor¬ 
rowers take a chance oil an investment ill tax-free 
securities. While town incomes have kept up fairly 
well, incomes from farm property have fallen, and 
taxes have increased.. The limit has been reached. 
and public expenses must be reduced. The public 
generally understand that it costs money to run a 
government as well as a business. They will he sat¬ 
isfied if public men will begin honestly to pare down 
expenses with a pruning knife. If they will not do 
it the public will surely take a broad ax to the job. 
5k 
FEW weeks ago we printed a letter from **J. R. 
W.,’" giving a new line on back-to-the-lauding. 
This mail is a vigorous “hoy” of 52. with property 
which yields him an income of about $1.2»mi ;i year. 
His idea is to get a small place in the country, where 
he can produce about enough to pay expenses and 
he his own boss. In such a case there would not he 
the struggle to pay the mortgage or earn the inter¬ 
est. or worry greatly aliout crops or income. The 
man is looking for the* best way to spend the after¬ 
noon of life. As a rule we could not. from our own 
experience, advise men and women of middle age 
and fixed habits to go to the country for a living. 
There may be cases where there are children to be 
provided fur. which would make such an adventure 
practical bur. on the whole, we think back-In-tlis¬ 
landing is an adventure for youth. Our people are 
much interested in .1. R. W.‘s question, and we have 
many letters about it. They cover the whole situ¬ 
ation. and will make a great discussion a little later. 
It is a good question, too. Will the man of middle 
age lie happier to anchor himself in the country than 
he would be if left. free, to live where he pleases? 
Should the old bird make a nest, or live here and 
there? 
5k 
O NCE more this plan of inoculating the silo! We 
have had several articles about the new sug¬ 
gestion for adding the bacteria needed to make good 
silage when the silo is being tilled. Every dairyman 
knows that some samples of silage are much better 
than others, just as there are differences between 
certain samples of hay, or of bread. In practically 
all eases this difference is due to the proper working 
(or the failure to work) <»f certain bacteria. By 
adding these bacteria under good conditions we may 
be quite sure of producing a high quality of silage, 
just as we can make sure <ff good butter by adding 
the right ‘’starter,” or good bread by using good 
yeast. We think that within a few years this idea 
of inoculating the silo will become as common .as 
inoculating the seeds of the legumes or the soil for 
Alfalfa. We would like to see it tried on dry corn¬ 
stalks. Many farmers cut a good share of their corn 
and husk the grain. The dry stalks are fed. hut iu 
the usual manner of feeding there is great waste. 
The stuck will eat the leaves and tipper part of the 
stalk, but reject the butt end. In some cases these 
>talks are cut into a silo, wet down with water, 
with a little waste molasses added. The result is a 
sort of mock silage, usually very poor stuff, though 
stock will cat it if they have nothing else. There are 
eases on record where tin* addition of tlie bacteria 
which do such good work in the silo has changed 
this mass of dry fodder into good silage, greatly 
improving the feeding quality of the stalks. We be¬ 
lieve that in this way it w ill he possible to save the 
grain for dry feeding and then double the ordinary 
feeding value of the stalks by using the bacteria 
which are responsible for good silage. We would 
like to see this plan’ fully worked out during the 
coming Winter. If any of our readers are interested 
we would like to hear from them. If they are will¬ 
ing to cut the dry stalks into a silo we are prepared 
to furnish a reasonable quantity of the bacteria for 
m experiment. Now, who wants to help us try to 
improve tin* feeding quality of cornstalks? 
* 
HERE is a chance for Europe yet! Raked beans 
are becoming popular overseas! They were 
introduced by the American soldiers. It is true that 
many of these soldiers were so well “fed tip” on 
beans that they will not look at them here, hut 
Europeans have formed the bean habit. Many of the 
people of Southern Europe have been living chiefly 
on bread and a thick vegetable soup, l'ork nud 
beans, properly cooked, make a good substitute for 
meat. These people have long known that cabbage is 
strong and wholesome food. Now the scientists find 
that cabbage is remarkably rich in vita mines, and 
in hundreds of families chopped raw cabbage is 
being substituted for potato. Here is further proof 
that the plain people, without scientific knowledge, 
discover important truths. Tito wise men follow and 
find out “why"—and then claim the full discovery. 
11 seems well nigh impossible, however, to get the 
middle-class Europeans to cat common 1. They -still 
believe it is fit only for feeding live stock, when, in 
this country, we know that the great pioneer work 
November IS, 1 im- 
of clearing and developing America was done by a 
race of corn-fed men and women. 
5k 
HE roadside market! This is coming to be an 
important feature of farm business. It is said 
that in some localities do per cent and more of farm 
produce is sold at. these stands. The man and 
woman shown in our first page picture look capable 
of making a success of any business which they can 
come to understand. No wonder they succeed. They 
are natural salesmen. A man must have the eye of 
an artist, the tongue of an auctioneer, the courage 
of a good soldier, the honesty of a saint, and the 
“mixing" quality of a good politician to succeed ai 
such a stand. Many of us lack one or more of these 
qualities. Wo are bettor at producing, and we will 
probably do better to make a bargain with one "f 
these natural salesmen to handle our goods. There 
is a good chance In almost any neighborhood t<* form 
such a partnership and sell the country’s goods at 
the roadside, or open a little shop in town. Such 
things are going to happen in the future when we 
guarantee fresh, honest goods and offer prices which 
will make it an object for city people to conn* out 
and Imy. We have come to the conclusion that both 
of the big political parties are so controlled by the 
big interests that they will not give ns efficient mar¬ 
ket. protection. We shall not wait for them, even 
while we keep punching away at them. The road¬ 
side market and the co-operative store is one way of 
doing it ourselves. 
5k 
“Having tried both our brands of government, the 
people have decisively chosen yours. I cheerfully accept 
the result, and heartily congratulate you on your vic¬ 
tory.” 
HAT is the telegram which Governor Miller of 
New York sent to Alfred E. Smith early on 
election night. It shows the Governor to he a “good 
sport." and leaves lit tit* more to he said. As we pre¬ 
dicted several weeks ago, the election proved to he 
an unequal contest between city and country. Mr. 
Smith carried all the large cities. Governor Miller 
carried practically all Hie rural counties, but hy 
greatly reduced majorities. The city workmen did 
more than was expected for Smith, while the farm 
vote was a disappointment for the Governor. When 
it was found that Smith had polled nearly 750,000 
votes in New York City, it was all over. We have 
in New York City nearly half a million voters who 
have come to have no fixed or definite party align¬ 
ment. Two years ago most of them voted for Presi¬ 
dent Harding as a general protest, against tin* na¬ 
tional Democratic party. This year most of them 
swung over to the other side as another protest 
against present conditions. They will continue to 
swing hack and forth without giving any man or 
any party a chance to carry out any well-defined or 
unpopular programs. In the cities the transit Or 
transportation question helped Mr. Smith. There 
was general discontent over the tariff, tin* high cost 
of living, prohibition enforcement, the bonus law 
and the labor question. All these tilings contributed 
to give what is called the psychological advantage 
to the Democrats, and it resulted in a “landslide." 
Dr. Copeland is elected Senator, and tlie Democrats 
control the State Senate hy one vote. The exact 
figures regarding the next national Congress are not 
complete as we write this, hut the Democrats have 
made tremendous gains in most of the states—but 
not enough to enable them to control Congress. As 
soon as the final results are known, we shall dismiss 
the true meaning of this "landslide.” 
Brevities 
The real test of pudding, as you surely will agree, 
lies iu the eating of it. and not in the recipe. 
Ix olden days, to own a horse one had to be a lord: 
now it’s a very humble man who can’t afford a Ford. 
He is a poor and inefficient slmat who will not use 
his manhood through his vote. When lie might he a 
lion he’s a goat. 
Brii.PT.NG uir rustles is not a had job so long as you 
put the foundation in under them. The surer way is to 
build the foundation lirst. 
It seems that the concrete ships built during the war 
really gave fair satisfaction. The chief objection was 
the difficulty in obtaining insurance. 
Say, unless you are absolutely fair and straight in 
your dealings with people, what right have you to ex¬ 
pect others to he straight with you? 
This thing of keening rider sweet (or trying to) has 
many sides and angles. We have suggested chemicals 
which will hold hark fermentation. Now we hear front 
farmers who say they have used mustard, horseradish, 
sweet oil and other things. Canning or sterilizing the 
eider is safest. 
A proposed new skim-milk feed is described as fol¬ 
lows: “Skim-milk is reduced in volume five to one by 
the use of ini ordinary vacuum pan or concentrator. It 
is theu mixed with an equal volume of good feed for 
young stock. This mixture is dried in a grain dryer 
of the type used for drying brewers* or distillers’ grains. 
In this form ii is sacked and ready for use." 
