24 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
January ]0 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER’S PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 1850. 
Ukrbeut W. CoM.iNGWOoi), Kditor. 
Dk. Walter Van Fleet, 
> Associates. 
Mrs. E. t. Royle, 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries In the Universal Postal Union, 12.04, 
equal to 8s. 6d., or 8% marks, or 10% francs. 
“ A SaUARE DEAL.” 
We believe that every advertisement in this paper is 
backed by a responsible person. But to make doubly 
sure we will make good any loss to paid subscribers 
sustained by trusting any deliberate swindler advertising 
in our columns, and any such swlnd-ler will be publicly 
exposed. We protect subscribers against rogues, but we 
do not guarantee to adjust trifling differences between 
subscribers and honest responsible advertisers. Neither 
will we be responsible for the debts of honest bankrupts 
sanctioned by the courts. Notice of the complaint must 
be sent us within one month of the time of the trans¬ 
action, and you must have mentioned The Rurai, Nhw- 
Yorkbr when writing the advertiser. 
Name and address of sender, and what the remittance 
is for, should appear in every letter. 
Remittances may be made in money order, express 
order, personal check or bank draft. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
409 Pearl Street, New York. 
SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 1903. 
Pleasf remember that the earlier you send the 
renewal of your subscription the better it is for us. 
There is always a rush at the first of the year. Habit 
has crowded the great bulk of the subscription busi¬ 
ness into a short space of time. We always prepare 
for this, and thus are ready for it. When the sub¬ 
scriptions are delayed and renewals are late there is 
always greater danger of mistakes. Do us the favor 
therefore of sending your dollar at once. Of course 
we expect it, for we shall give a full dollar’s worth 
in return. We are on such familiar terms with read¬ 
ers that we feel perfectly free to come to you and 
say that we want you and your dollar right now. 
• 
A GOOD likeness of Prof. L. H. Bailey is printed on 
the opposite page. We doubt whether most people 
care very much where a man comes from or what his 
training has been provided it is the sort that fits him 
for the job ahead of him. We spend no time, there¬ 
fore, in telling what Prof. Bailey has done. His work 
has been in the line of training for the larger posi¬ 
tion which he must finally step into—dean of the 
Agricultural College at Cornell. 
• 
It is reported that the Postoffice Department will 
suggest to the school authorities of the District of 
Columbia that lessons be given in the proper address¬ 
ing of envelopes, with the idea of extending such in¬ 
struction throughout the country. This is the out¬ 
come of defective or incomplete addresses, which add 
greatly to the work of the postal authorities. Anyone 
who handles a large correspondence soon becomes 
familiar with the carelessness of letter writers, and 
acquires a sincere admiration for the public servants 
who straighten out the tangles. It is a noticeable 
fact that such errors are not by any means the result 
of illiteracy; they are usually carelessness rather 
than ignorance. This carelessness of exterior ad¬ 
dress is often duplicated within; an important com¬ 
munication, perhaps one enclosing money, may be 
sent without the writer’s State or post office. Again, 
carelessly written abbreviations puzzle the reader; 
Maryland and Indiana do not look alike, but Md. and 
Ind. may, or California may masquerade as Colorado, 
because the careless writer had not sufficient thought 
to make it Calif. We are accustomed to smile at the 
old-fashioned manuals of letter-writing, but we might 
well copy the carefulness of diction they teach when 
writing any business letter. We think instruction 
in letter-writing should be a part of the home train¬ 
ing, persisted in from the time a child guides his 
first unsteady pencil. 
• 
Dr. Leonard Pearson, State Veterinarian of Penn¬ 
sylvania, proposes vaccination as protection of cattle 
against tuberculosis. He says that “the work upon 
which this statement is based is so convincing that 
there remains no room to doubt that the procedure is 
effective; whether it may be applied practically re¬ 
mains to be determined.” In brief, the operation 
consists in injecting into the veins a small quantity 
of a “suspension of tubercle bacilli non-virulent for 
cattle.” This is repeated several times, using more 
and more of the material. At last the animal reaches 
a condition in which it is immune—that is, the true 
bacilli of the disease do not work when they enter the 
body. Experiments thus far show the great value of 
this treatment, but it may not be practical to use it 
upon ordinary cattle. It is not known either how 
long the animal will remain immune. These experi¬ 
ments ought to be continued. We firmly believe that 
it is oniy a matter of years before our scientists wili 
master this awful disease. Even to-day it may safe¬ 
ly be said that cancer is far more to be dreaded be¬ 
cause less is known about it. 
« 
Not a week passes without news from some one 
who is in serious trouble through endorsing a note 
for a relative or friend. Through misfortune, sick¬ 
ness, iaziness or rascality the maker of the note 
has failed to meet it, and the burden falls upon the 
endorser. There is a fine quality of bravery in the 
way some of these men face the situation and work 
out the last dollar in order to save their honor, but 
the wife and children may suffer long before the debt 
is satisfied. It is hard for some men to refuse this 
endorsement for a friend, yet it is always a risky 
thing to do. We wish that a sudden attack of pen 
palsy might strike most of our friends when they are 
called to endorse notes or sign contracts with 
strangers. 
A GOOD account of the operations of a creamery 
shark is printed on page 19. We are often asked why 
shrewd farmers ever sign such contracts. Mr. Lyon 
answers that question. Take a slick man with a 
long, carefully-worded contract and he will read it 
so as to deceive the most careful listener. It is in 
just such cases that a good lawyer earns his fee. For 
a very small part of the price of that creamery those 
farmers could have hired a lawyer to go over the 
contract and tell them just what it meant. These 
sharks never like to deal with a lawyer, but farmers 
are not supposed to be in the business to please them. 
You may be sure that these creamery sharks hire the 
best legal brains to set snares in their contracts. 
Farmers may well hire other brains to spring these 
traps before a foot is put into them. 
• 
We know of cases where tenants in city flats find 
their rents suddenly raised from 15 to 20 per cent. 
The landlord’s excuse is that coal is so scarce and 
high that he cannot afford to heat the house at the 
former price. As the tenant cannot move he must 
pay the landlord’s coal bill. Few farmers realize 
what the coal shortage means to those who have no 
other fuel. The situation is desperate, and if the hard 
storms continue it will be worse yet. Congress has 
been asked to relieve the situation by providing for 
reciprocity with Canada in the coal trade and extend¬ 
ing for 90 days to foreign steamers the privileges of 
our coasting trade. This would open at once the 
nearest supplies of foreign coal and provide trans¬ 
portation for it! What did Congress do with this 
sensible proposition? Simply “laid the bill over” 
until the January session—in other words, smothered 
it! Well, there are compensations for all this, as the 
Journal of Commerce says: 
if the fuel shortage and consequent suffering of the 
present Winter shall go too far, and if the impression 
shall get abroad that Congress Is Indifferent to the pub¬ 
lic hardship, we may certainly expect a great impetus to 
the present powerful movement toward Government in¬ 
terference in the control of the fuel supply. 
This is from a paper which does not favor Gov¬ 
ernment control of public utilities. These words are 
true. The way to bring about this Government con¬ 
trol is to continue to make its need evident! As be¬ 
tween Government and a private corporation the 
average citizen will be most likely to choose the 
Government! 
The Niagara County (N. Y.) Farmers’ Club is a 
remarkable organization. Many farmers’ clubs are 
started. Some dawdle along year after year with 
few members and little influence. Others start out 
weil but finally dwindle down to death through lack 
of interest. The Niagara County Club goes on year 
after year apparently gaining in strength and char¬ 
acter. It is easy to see that this club has been a 
great help to the county. It has made better farmers 
and better men. Its members have learned how to 
express themselves forcibly in public. They have 
learned something of the power of true organization, 
and they have come to respect and properly place the 
work done for agriculture by our scientific men. The 
telephone lines that stretch out across the county to 
farmhouses, and the daily delivery of rural mail are 
object lessons showing what united action among 
farmers can bring about. The very success of the 
club is one of the chief reasons why it is kept up so 
well. It has done something, and the members realize 
that its work could not have been done had they 
worked alone, as individuals. Yet it should encour¬ 
age other weak and struggling clubs to know that for 
some years this Niagara club was weak enough. 
While they held their meetings in one place and ex¬ 
pected farmers to come to them there was but poor 
response. When they went out to the farmers and 
held their meetings here and there, at convenient 
points, they drew the crowd and prospered. Their 
experience shows that in order to attract the farmers 
you must get down close to them and give them some¬ 
thing that they can understand. 
The demand for a new building and better equip¬ 
ment for the Agricultural College at Cornell grows 
stronger every hour. The politicians who have form¬ 
erly handled the supposed “wants” of the farmers are 
astonished at the popular force which is gathering 
behind this demand. We rejoice that the farmers of 
New York have now a chance to “get together” in 
support of a measure outside of politics, and one 
which appeals to the highest ideals of public progress. 
We waste no time in arguing that a true and strong 
agricultural college will benefit the farmers of New 
York. We claim also that it is the duty of the State 
to furnish and equip a permanent headquarters for 
agricultural education. Will the State do this? Yes— 
we feel confident that it will if the officials can be 
made to understand that the farmers desire it The 
only way to make them understand is to convince 
them that there is a genuine popular demand. As is 
well known The R. N.-Y. favors open, public work 
in support of a measure of this sort The farmer has 
trusted too long to politicians and go-betweens. Like 
the distant producer who feeds half a dozen middle¬ 
men to stand between his farm and the market, the 
farmer has been obliged to content himself with 
indirect benefits when he should have had a full share 
of more direct ones. The way to change that is to 
reach over the heads of the “go-betweens” and stick 
a postage stamp right on the back of those in real 
authority! Begin with Governor Odell! I.et every 
man and woman who believes in the Agricultural Col¬ 
lege write to Hon. B. B. Odell, Albany, N. Y., and tell 
him that a fair appropriation ought to be made for 
the Agricultural College, This is what the Governor 
said in his inauguration speech: 
The farmer, constituting as he does the grreatest single 
producing factor of the Commonwealth and of the na¬ 
tion, is deserving of support and encouragement, and 
of the extension of such privileges as will make his farm 
more profitable, thus adding to" the resources of the State. 
He thus puts himself on record as favoring the 
things which will benefit the farmer. Who is to tell 
him in detail what these things are'? The farmer 
himself. That is one of the' duties which the man 
on the farm must attend to. Do not be afraid that 
the Governor will not read your letter,! He under¬ 
stands perfectly what would have happened if on last 
election day two farmers in each election district had 
stayed at home to husk corn or butcher a hog instead 
of going to the polls. We guarantee a cheerful greet¬ 
ing for farmers at Albany this year. Put a stamp on 
the foundation of the new Agricultural College. 
* 
BREVITIES. 
Hard cider—soft head. 
Cheap candy is pretty sure poison. 
To make the heavy things clear—turn on the light! 
•‘The pot called the kettle black!”—and told the truth. 
Is the family icehouse in good order for this season’s 
crop? I 
It is not a bit too early to begin making the home 
garden. Do it on paper first. 
A WESTERN mining expert bears the wintry name of Zero 
Snow. He ought to be running a cold-storage plant. 
The New Jersey Legislature will be asked to let the 
fruit grower enjoy free trade in shooting robins. 
Can you pick a variety of vegetables from the family 
root cellar, or is the stock confined to potatoes and cab¬ 
bage? 
It is reported that Indiana concerns are organizing a 
trust in mittens. This should be cheering news for any 
aspiring bachelor. 
The chemist can analyze the feed but not the cow. 
The farmer must do that by finding what agrees with 
her and “tastes good.” 
Scientific men now claim that lemon juice in water 
will surely kill the germs of typhoid fever! They are, 
of course, also destroyed by boiling. 
We should expect an educated man to win over the 
man who is not educated, yet a careless man with a 
sword may go down before an earnest man with a club. 
Realize for a moment how much will be saved in labor 
on Mr. Jamison’s farm by the change from wheat to rye, 
page 18, The hogs do the harvesting, thrashing, grinding 
and hauling. 
A TREMENDOUS pack Of Canned tomatoes is reported. 
The demand is so great that the present high prices are 
quite sure to continue. No reason why canners should 
cut the growers down In price. 
All the railroads and main thoroughfares from New 
England to New York State are picketed. No cloven¬ 
footed animals are permitted to enter New York from 
the Eastern States. Is the Evil One approaching? He 
is ever near—this time he comes in the foot-and-mouth 
disease! 
