766 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
NOV 16 
IWunts. 
A .TERSEYMAX’S JOTTINGS. 
COMBINATION AMONG MILK MEN. 
I HAVE been considerably interested in 
the description of the proposed milk 
trust or league of dairymen. The recent 
convention at Middletown, X. Y., was a 
very important affair, in my opinion, and I 
am curious to see what will come from it. 
Over in my country the milk business is 
not so important as it is in New York 
State. Still, we are greatly interested in 
this movement, because, if the milkmen 
can devise a scheme for securing better re¬ 
turns for their labor and a fairer share of 
the proceeds, it is reasonable to suppose 
that we who produce potatoes, small fruits 
and truck can learn the principles of the 
business and handle our own stuff to better 
advantage. I recently had occasion to dis¬ 
cuss this matter with a man who is inter¬ 
ested in milk dairying in New l'ork State. 
He is a city farmer who has invested $60,- 
000 in a farm up the Hudson River. This 
farm is run on business principles- with 
every needed appliance, and yet the prices 
of milk are such that there is absolutely no 
interest paid on the $60,000 invested. Mind 
you, I am telling what was told me. 
Whether somebody else could make more 
money out of the property I do not know. 
One thing is sure—this man, being in the 
city every day, knows how the milk is sold 
and handled here, and has ideas of his own 
regarding the reasons for the present low 
prices and the best way of helping matters. 
Now this man buys his own milk—that 
is, at his city home he buys milk of the 
man to whom the milk from his farm is 
shipped. This milk-dealer pays him a little 
over two cents per quart and charges him, 
at retail, eight cents per quart for exactly 
the same milk. In spite of this difference 
in price, the milk-dealers claim that they 
are not making much money. The ten¬ 
dency is to allow the farmer less rather 
than more. This man that I speak of, has, 
more than once, had his milk contracted 
for at a certain price for a stated term. Ia 
spite of this contract, returns would be 
made for less than the agreed price, the 
reason given being that the state of the 
market would not permit a higher rate. Let 
the dairyman object to this and the dealer 
says: “All right, I will not take your milk— 
I can get all I want—I don’t need it.” Then 
the farmer must hunt up a new market. 
The fact is that under the present arrange¬ 
ment, this milk business is about the most 
one-sided thing than can well be imagined. 
All the farmer can do is to forward his 
milk and take what the dealers see fit to 
pay him. 
What makes the low price? 1 asked my 
friend this question. Here is the substance 
of his reply. The chief fault lies in the 
manner of disposing of the surplus milk. 
There is always a surplus—that is, more 
than the regular dealers require. This 
surplus varies from five to 12 per cent, each 
day; after the regular dealers are supplied, 
the cans left over go “ on the platform” as 
it is called—that is, they are placed aside 
and sold at auction. This milk is bought 
mainly by speculators who get it for a very 
low price, and then, by underselling the 
regular dealers, cause dissatisfaction all 
around. The price that dealers pay to the 
farmers is determined, to a great extent, by 
the price obtained for this milk that goes 
“on the platform.” It can be seen that if 
10 per cent, of the milk w r ere to sell for only 
30 per cent, of the ordinary retail price, the 
average price of all would be reduced. 
What Is The Remedy ? This is another 
question I asked. I want to know, for it is 
this bothersome surplus that hurts our 
trade in market truck and small fruits. 
My friend has his remedy : whether it is 
sensible or not, I leave for readers of the 
Rural to decide. “ Let the farmers control 
the milk that goes on the platform!” 
There are 12 railroads supplying milk to 
New York city. Let the farmers along 
each railroad form an association, with a 
section at each point from which milk is 
shipped. Let the association on each rail¬ 
road elect a representative to meet the 
representatives from the other 11 railroads 
and form a board of directors who shall 
watch the markets, regulate supply and 
demand and look out for the interests of 
milk-men generally. Let every farmer who 
sends milk to the city pay one cent per day 
for each can he sends, the fund thus ac¬ 
cumulated to be used in buying all the 
milk that goes “ on the' platform ’’—this 
milk to be run through a butter extractor 
or taken at once to the tenement-house dis¬ 
tricts and sold at five or six cents per 
quart. By thus controlling all surplus 
milk, the farmers can check speculation and 
support the legitimate milk dealers who 
are needed in properly distributing milk. 
Most of the plans already proposed are on 
too large a scale. Can farmers obtain the 
services of men competent to carry them 
out ? There is danger in this. Better be¬ 
gin in a small way and develop the business. 
Control the surplus first in the way indi¬ 
cated and then, if possible, enlarge the 
field of operations. JERSEYMAN. 
MAGAZINE REVIEWS. 
L IPPINCOTT contains the novel “A 
Belated Revenge,” which was left 
unfinished by the late Ur. Robert Mont¬ 
gomery Bird, and has been finished by his 
son Frederic M. Bird. It contains consid¬ 
erable of the local history of the South and 
Southwest, which was obtained by the 
author during an extended trip through 
those localities in 1833. “Does College 
Training Pay ? ” is the title of a short arti¬ 
cle by D. R. McAnally. Some surprising 
statements are made in regard to college 
graduates. Diligent inquiries among rail¬ 
road corporations, manmacturers, and all 
other lines of business show that the 
college-bred man is not only an exception 
to his fellows, but that not a few of the 
leading men in the industrial and commer¬ 
cial world prefer to engage young men who 
have grown up in the business rather 
than those who have enjoyed the advan¬ 
tages of collegiate training. One great 
railroad magnate stated the case thus: 
“ College graduates have too much to 
forget.” The author is inclined to an¬ 
swer his own question in the negative, and 
he attributes the apparent failure to the 
colleges themselves, which, he says, are 
from 25 to 250 years behind the times, being 
modeled after the semi-medieval univer¬ 
sities of Europe, and which seem to be 
seeking to crowd more and more into their 
curriculums, instead of endeavoring to 
make their instruction more practical. No 
reference is made in his article to agricul¬ 
tural colleges. His conclusions, while not 
very flattering to the colleges, should be 
very comforting to those who have not en¬ 
joyed the advantages (?) of a collegiate 
course. “ The Question of Pure Water for 
Cities,” contains much of value to country 
dwellers. “Hand-writing and Writers” 
gives the peculiarities of the handwriting 
of many noted writers. While poor pen¬ 
manship does not necessarily denote genius, 
many noted men have been guilty of great 
illegibility, not the least of whom was 
Horace Greeley whose bad writing is pro¬ 
verbial. “With the Wits” improves with 
age. J. B. Lippincott. Co., Philadelphia. 
--*•*- - 
T he phrenological journal 
now in its 88tli volume, contains 
much of interest for the student of the sci¬ 
ence of phrenology, while there is much to 
interest the general reader. Biographical 
sketches and portraits are given of Prof. 
Elias Loomis, for many years professor of 
natural philosophy and astronomy at 
Yale, and whose death occurred last Au¬ 
gust; of Austin Corbin, president of the 
Long Island and Philadelphia and Reading 
Railroads; and of Ella Dietz Clymer, presi 
dent of Sorosis. Braunfels Castle, or the 
Castle on the Brownrock, in Germany, is 
illustrated and described. “ Doings of 
Women Folks ” describes several exchanges 
which have been established in New York 
by women for the benefit of their sex. A 
very interesting article on “ Mental Culti¬ 
vation” contains much valuable informa¬ 
tion. “ Consumption in the Sleeping Car,” 
sounds a note of warning about the dangers 
attendant upon this luxury of travel. 
Fowler & Wells Co., New York. 
T HE HOME-MAKER for November is 
hardly up to its usual standard. 
The editor, Marion Harland, sees a hopeful 
sign in the disposition of the inhabitants of 
the Southern States to engage more and 
more with each succeeding year in the cele¬ 
bration of the great Yankee festival, 
Thanksgiving, while, on the other hand, 
the observance of Christmas is becoming 
more general in New England, where it 
was formerly little noticed. Estelle Thom¬ 
son contributes another article in the 
“Wonderland” series, “The Date-Palm 
and its Fruits.” It is evident that she has 
not the material at hand which she has had 
for her former articles, as the Date-palm 
is not so common in California as the other 
fruits of which she has written so entertain¬ 
ingly. These trees are being planted to some 
extent in the southern part of the State. 
There are two or three good Thanksgiving 
stories. “A New Industry” tells how a 
young wife who hadn’t a spark of genius 
for anyting but cooking, turned that ac¬ 
complishment to a most useful and helpful 
purpose in time of sorest need. “A Tom¬ 
bola Party” describes a new, and we should 
judge, a very interesting game for home en¬ 
tertainments. “Light Infantry” is a dis¬ 
sertation on babies by Frank Chaffee who 
claims to be a bachelor. He says that bach¬ 
elors do love babies if they only have a 
chance, but he admits that there are some 
kinds of babies that they don’t love, and 
they are not to blame for it. “ A Plea for 
the Mother-in-law” is entered by Helen 
Marshall North. The ;Home-Maker Com¬ 
pany, New York. 
California’s Collapsed Land Booms.— 
Nearly two years ago, the Eye-Opener on 
several occasions, issued emphatic notes of 
warning against investments in the Doomed 
town-sites in Southern California, and 
gave numerous instances of the fraudulent 
nature of many of the “booms.” It is to 
be hoped that the warnings had a deterrent 
effect on intending investors in such enter¬ 
prises. According to the latest advices, 
there isn’t a single boomed place which 
hasn’t inflicted a loss on permanent inves¬ 
tors: the only people who have made 
money by any of the undertakings are those 
who sold out during the period of inflation 
and pocketed dishonest profits. Most of 
the boomed sites have collapsed, while a 
few are still trying to allure the unwary. 
The most accomplished real estate manip¬ 
ulator can no longer keep up inflation 
prices, and with humble unanimity all 
those that still retain any vitality, have 
just prayed the State Board of Equaliza¬ 
tion for a great reduction of taxes. The 
figures represented are interesting to East¬ 
ern men who have backed up the booms 
with their coin, and now hold deeds to re¬ 
mote sand lots graced with a profuse 
growth of cactus burrs. The figures for 
Los Angeles County afford a good example 
of those for some others. State Comptrol¬ 
ler Dunn says that he knows personally of 
one piece of property which, in 1887, sold 
for $15,885, and which has since been re¬ 
turned to the owner for $6,000—the face of 
the mortgage upon it. At Oak Knoll, lots 
that readily sold two years ago at $500 can¬ 
not now be sold for $100. An official list 
of boomed town-sites in Los Angeles shows 
sales amounting to $403,080 and the assess¬ 
ment on the same property is only $90,500, 
while the owners insist on a reduction of at 
least 20 per cent, in the rate. Sixty paper 
towns were projected in all parts of the 
county, two at least of which were in the 
desert; but even lots in these were unload¬ 
ed on the ususpecting Eastern public. 
The 60 town-sites comprised 79,350 
town lots as listed by the asses¬ 
sors and at present the whole 60 have 
only 2,351 inhabitants. Among the towns 
were Borden City, having 1,920 lots platted, 
and not a single inhabitant; Chicago Park, 
2,286 lots, and one single inhabitant, the 
watchman who takes care of the leading 
hotel; Carlton, 4,060 lots, and no inhabit¬ 
ants ; Manchester. 2,304 lots, with not a 
soul in it: West Glendale, 8,128 lots, and no 
inhabitants ; Sunset, 2,032 lots, and one in¬ 
habitant, he being, as in the other case, 
watchman of an expensive hotel. The mass 
of these town-sites are not merely tracts of 
land with a stubble of surveyor’s stakes. 
Many of them are laid out in streets, some 
with avenues leading to nowhere, cement 
side-walks, on which jack-rabbits scamper 
up and down, and an occasional electric 
light standard which affords a resting place 
for owls, and here and there perhaps the 
skeleton of a half-finished house. 
PisrcUancouiSi griUMteing. 
INDISPENSABLE TO POULTRYMEN. 
Prepares Clover, See., 
Dry or Green. 
Send for testi¬ 
monials. 
P.A.Webster, . Mention 
Cazinovfa, N.y. ^ R.N.-Y. 
INFANTILE 
Skir) &• Scalp 
DISEASES 
-.••cured by# 
Cirri c\j f \f\ 
JOR CLEANSING, PURIFYING. AND BEAUTIFY- 
ingtheskin of children and Infants and eurlng 
torturing, disfiguring. Itching, scaly and pimply 
diseases of rh" skin, scalp and blood, with loss of 
hair, from Infancy to old age, the Cuticcra Remediks 
are Inf a lible. 
CfTiciTRA. the great Skin Cure, and Cuticcra Soap, 
an exquisite Skin Beaurifier.externallv, and Ccticcra 
R'SOLvfnt, the new Blond Purifier, Internally, cure 
ev- ry form of skin and blood disease, from pimples to 
scrofula. 
Sold everywhere. Price, Cuticura, 50c. ; Soap, 25c. 
Resolvent. Si. Prepared by the Potter Drug and 
Chemical Co.. Boston. Mass. 
Send for “ How to Cure Skin Diseases.” 
fW~ Baby’s Skin and °calp preserved and beauti- 
13?- fled by Cuticcra Soap. _j£| 
Kidney Pains, Backache and weakness cured 
by Cuticcra antt-Pain Plaster, an instanta¬ 
neous patn-subduing plaster. 25c. 
MASON & HAMLIN 
The Cabinet Organ was introduced in its present 
form by Mason & Hamlin in 1B61. Other makers fol¬ 
lowed in the manufacture of these instruments, but 
the Mason & Hamlin Organs have always main¬ 
tained their supremacy as the best in the world. 
Mason & Hamlin oiler, as demonstration of the 
unequalled excellence of their organs, the fact that 
at all of the great World’s Exhibitions, since and 
including tliatAHA ■ ftlfttof Paris, H67, 
in competition! | |J | ■ H Kl V* with best,mak¬ 
ers, of all coun! l|)nU | fl «\tries, they have 
invariably tak V IIU §■ I * wen the highest 
honors. Illustrated toS900 catalogues free. 
Mason & Hamlin do not hesitate to make the ex¬ 
traordinary claim for their Piancs, that they r.re 
superior to all others. They recognize the high 
excellence achieved by otherlcading makers in the 
art of piano building, but Still claim superiority. 
This they attribute solely to the remarkable im¬ 
provement introduced by them in the year 1S82, 
and now known as the “Mason & Hamlin Tiano 
Stringer,” 1 >y| ■ >| AAtheuseofwhich 
is secured them It HI | |V" greatest possi¬ 
ble parity andp | U |w | |-Arefinement, of 
tone, togetherl I il 11 vVwith greatly in¬ 
creased capacity GEAND & UPEIGHT. for standing in 
tune and other important advantages. 
A circular, containing testimonials from threo hun¬ 
dred purchasers, musicians, and tuners, sent, together 
with descriptive catalogue, (o anv applicant. 
Pianos ami Organs sold for cash or easy payments; 
also rented. 
MASON & HAMLIN ORGAN AND PIAN0C0. 
BOSTON. NEW YORK. CHICAGO. 
9 CordsSIO"!!!!!!? 
Runs Easy. 
NO BACKACHE 
B \ ON E MAN. Write for descriptive catalogue con- 
taming testimonials from htindreda of people who haro 
sawed from 4 to 0 cords ilallr. 25,000 now suecessfullyused. 
pt'eney can be had where there is a vacancy. A NEW 
INVENTION for filing saws sent free with each machine, by 
the use of this tool everybody can file their own saws 
now and do it better than the greatest expert can with¬ 
out it. Adapted to all cross-cut saws. Every one who 
owns a saw should have one. Ask your dealers or write 
FOLDING HAWING MACHINE CO., 80S! toCll 
fcouth Canal Street, Chicago, III, 
Animal Meal for Poultry Food. 
Cheapest and Best Animal Feed on the market. 
Good suostilute for beef scraps (which are high and 
scarce). Send for Circulars for more particulars. I 
will send you a Poultry Book of 31 pages free. 
C. A. BARTLETT, Worcester, Mass. 
L OW-DOWN wagon on high wheels-only 
P radical, Common Sense Farm Wagon in 
the world. Send for 28 reasons whv. 
GAMBIA Eli IRON WAGON CO.. 
Muiltca Hill, N. J 
IDEAL FEED 
vMILL 
POWER 
COMBINED 
GRINDS AIL KINDS OF DRAIN including EAR CORN and 
FURNISHES POWER to run a Feed OutterTWood Saw.Ao. 
at the same time. Catalogue showing a full line of Sweep 
and Belt Power Feed Mills, Corn Shelters, Feed Cut¬ 
ters, Horse Powers, Ac., free by mentioning this paper. 
STOVER MFG. CO.. FREEPORT. ILL. 
Y\TANTED— Working manager, who can invest a 
l T few hundred dollars in tools and stock, for 
asmult farm In Southern Michigan, about January l, 
1890. Must be married, a progressive farmer, familiar 
with common business forms, accurate and prompt 
In transactions. Specialist In poultry raising or tree 
culture preferred, will pay fixed salary and divide 
profits on partnership basts. Permanent position. 
Address, before November 25, L. 51., Box 4 I four I, 
Ypsllauti, Michigan. 
|JAMP 011 *IOCards GiltFdgoAVhlteDove.Frtngeand 
IHHTIL. Hidden Name. 10c. FrostCo. East River, Conn. 
IIL. LATEST IMI 
;« In the MARKET. 
WORKS 
It payi to gtn o.r IllutraMd Catalogs, and Frio. on Triad and 
8**.p row u, Thre.har, Separator, Corn Bh.ll.r, Food Cotter 
St mtSSiMEnawSXSTAfiJSSiSS 
