8o8 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER' 
November 21 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes, 
Established 1850. 
Herbert W. Collingwood, Editor. 
DR. WALTER VAN FLEET, {.Associates 
Mrs. E. T. Koyle, ^Associates. 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLUAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04, 
equal to 8s. 6d., or 8% marks, or 10^^ francs. 
“A SQUARE 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 swindler will be publicly 
exposed. We protect subscribers against rogues, but we 
do not guarantee to adjust trilling 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 to us within one month of the time of the trans¬ 
action, and you must have mentioned The Rural New'- 
YORKER when w'riting 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, NOVEMBER 21, 1903. 
The judges are at work trying to decide whlcli of 
the essays on “One Day’s Work on the Farm” are 
entitled to the prizes. It its a hard task. There were 
many competitors, and most of the essays and photo¬ 
graphs are excellent. All parts of the country are 
represented from California to Maine, and from Can¬ 
ada to Florida. The announcement will be made as 
soon as possible. 
In the competition for photographs of a farm gar¬ 
den the judges’ deciision is as follows: 
First Prize, Mrs. A. A. Piper, Cowlitz County, Wash. 
Second Prize, H. A. McQuiston, Preble County, Ohio. 
Third Prize, F. 0. Bork, Seneca County, Ohio. 
The judges gave a great deal of consideration to . 
this matter. Some of the pictures submitted were 
handsomer, from an artistic standpoint, than the 
prize winners, but they did not fulfill the other re¬ 
quirements of the competition. Preference was given 
to conditions and needs that could be found on the 
average farm. Many of these other pictures will be 
published, however, giving a pleasant glimpse of the 
rural homes that nourish the strength of National life. 
• 
California now has a fertilizer l^aw. The analyses 
of fertilizers in that State must not only give the per 
cent of nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid, but 
must also state their sources. Thus the scientific use 
of fertilizers is spreading all over the country. Yet 
some of the most unscientific methods of using them 
may be found in sections where science has had the 
floor longest. That is not always the fault of the 
scientists. ’’ 
* 
The scattering of sand or ashes on the icy places 
in the barnyard, as advised by Mr. Manchester on 
page 815, is not only a humane precaution, but also a 
profitable investment. It is true that the serious and 
dignified cow, when she strikes an icy patch without 
warning, makes such a ludicrous struggle that one’s 
first impulse is to laugh, but the incident is not so 
humorous either to the cow or to the man who has 
made her his business partner. Apart from the pain 
or fright suffered by an animal for whose well-being 
w^e are responsible, there is an opportunity for seri¬ 
ous financial loss. 
* 
There has been trouble between the milk produc¬ 
ers of New England and the milk contractors of Bos¬ 
ton. As usual, this trouble comes over a difference in 
regard to the price which the producers ought to re¬ 
ceive. Massachusetts has a State Board of Arbitra¬ 
tion. The original object of this Board was to try to 
settle difficulties between employer and employed. 
Either side can petition for the action of the Board, 
the decisions are recorded with the clerk of courts, 
and they bind the parties for six months, or until 
either party gives notice in writing that it will not 
be bound at the end of 60 days therefrom. The milk 
producei’’s desired to submit their difference with the 
contractors to this Board, but the contractors declined. 
They professed to be willing to “arbitrate,” but evi¬ 
dently wanted a “Board” more to their own liking. 
It seems to us that the contractors made a great mis¬ 
take when the 5 ’^ refused to accept the proposition of 
the milkmen- The Board of Arbitration hajs the con¬ 
fidence and reispeot of the people and these contractors 
give the public to understand that they are afraid of 
their own case when they refuse such arbitration. 
“War do not our collegeis teach common sense?” 
asks a practical farmer. Some of them do. Who can 
tell just what “common sense” is? What might be 
the commonest of sense to one man might be rank 
nonsenise to one w'ho has not studied up to the first 
man’s position. For instance, a scientific man may 
Look at a farmer’s methods and call them all wrong. 
That may be a case where the scientific man has not 
reached the farmer’s position of making a fair living 
under hard conditions! A long vacation spent as 
unknown hired man on an average farm would help 
some our scientific men to teach “common sense.” 
m 
The College of Agriculture at Cornell University 
is meeting all the hopes of its friends. It has been 
thoroughly reorganized and is full of vigorous life. 
The great need is a suitable building. At present the 
college Is scattered here and there with no suitable 
roof over its head. It has been clearly demonstrated 
that the State is under obligations to erect and equip 
this building. The State admitted this obligation 
when it provided for the dairy building some years 
ago. The need for a larger building is now urgent. 
Every farmer in the State is interested in this mat¬ 
ter. Let us begin at once to talk about it. The 
“voice of the people” carries no weight when ex¬ 
pressed in w'hispers! 
* 
A SPEAKER at a farmers’ institute will sometimes 
lead his audience up to the desired point and then 
stop without finishing. His object is to induce the 
listener to go on and think the answer through be¬ 
cause the speaker knows that in this way more good 
will be done. We have heard men who listened to 
such a talk say “That man had a chance to clinch his 
argument, but did not do it. I can see what he was 
at, but he did not seem to have power enough to clinch 
it.” That man did not see that he would have for¬ 
gotten the point if the speaker had “clinched” it for 
him. The effort required to reason it through fixed 
it securely in his brain. We do not find many insti¬ 
tute speakers who wilj practice this highest type of 
their art when it means a reputation for inability to 
“clinch.” 
« 
Most people have supposed that the immense con¬ 
sumption of the so-called “breakfast foods” must have 
lessened the sales of wheat flour. It appears from the 
statements made on page 809 that this is not so. The 
sales of flour are apparently as large as ever. What 
then do these foods displace? Chiefly meat, we think. 
Thousands of people are eating less meat and more 
fruit, finding to their surprise that they are able to 
do quiteas much hard work, while their general health 
is better. The popular idea about these breakfast 
foods and wheat flour is much like the belief that new 
industries or new inventions have taken labor away 
from the working man. Let us take the telephone or 
the telegraph as illustrations. The development of 
these methods of communication has made work for 
thousands—creating 100 new jobs for each one de¬ 
stroyed. The development of the railroad industry 
has also made thousands of places for workmen. 
Years ago farm laborers were so angry at the new 
mowers, reapers and tillage tools that they smashed 
them whenever possible, and attempted to kill the in¬ 
ventors. Their argument was that these tools replaced 
hand labor so that the farms could no longer provide 
work for hand laborers. At the time such arguments 
seemed plausible, yet after all these inventions we 
find agriculture suffering because farmers cannot find 
workmen to do their work! 
* 
A FARMER sends us the following note, which he 
says expresses his ideas well. This opinion is cred¬ 
ited to Dr. John G. Brooks:' 
Look with me into an average school house. Its arith¬ 
metic, its geography, its penmanship, its bookkeeping 
and its reading book, which appeal to the imagination 
of the farmer’s child, are still dominated by clerk and 
trading point of view. As one listens to the teaching it is 
as if the one object were to create discontent with the 
country life—to make every bright child hate his sur¬ 
roundings. The instruction seems to assume the failure 
of the farm life. The inexhaustible charm and resource 
of the country have no part in this teaching. 
That ils ay too true of the past. We hope for a 
brighter future. During the past few years wonder¬ 
ful advances have been made in the direction of text 
books for farm children. The ideal has not been 
reached, but it is surely coming. There are still 
some people who argue that there is no reason why 
farm children should have special text books. The 
old methods of study and the character of the books 
have done as much as anything to turn children’s 
attention away from farm life. Since the farm was 
not worthy of a place in his books the child was led 
to think that he should go away from it to become 
a student or to follow what were falsely taught to 
be the “higher walks” of life. It is a wise thing to 
show farm children that their father’s profession is 
worthy of special text books. We should stop this 
old game of trying to fill up the cities with the best 
blood of the country. Let us try to hold it in the 
country—where it belongs. 
* 
Mr. Fiei.d, on page 802, tellis of hiis potatoes which 
gave over 500 bushels per acre and netted 27 cents 
per bushel. It was the third consecutive crop at that! 
We have known farmers in New Jersey to grow over 
250 bushels per acre and net 90 cents. Out of this, 
of course, came the cost of fertilizers, which would 
amount to $30 or more per acre. Now if the Jersey- 
man with his 90-cent potatoes (or even 60-cent) could 
duplicate Mr. Field’s crop without fertilizer! Why 
cannot he do so? We will not say that it cannot be 
done, for no one knowis what a single acre of good 
soil, can be made to produce. As for growing crop 
after crop of potatoes, we now have a report of a Jer- 
seyman who has grown potatoes on a piece of ground 
for 28 consecutive years. We hear of these things 
now and then, but the safest rule iis to grow potatoes 
in a rotation. 
* 
The President has convened Congress so that it 
may by legislation ratify the reciprocity treaty with 
Cuba. This treaty provides that for a term of five 
years, unless terminated sooner, there shall be a re¬ 
duction of 20 per cent in the duty on merchandise 
produced in Cuba and carried to the United States. 
Tobacco is excluded from the benefit of this reduc¬ 
tion, and Cuban sugar shall not receive a greater re¬ 
duction than 20 per cent during the life of the treaty. 
The United States agrees to grant no other country 
a tariff reduction on sugar during that time. In re¬ 
turn for this Cuba grants a reduction of 25, 30 and 
40 per cent on certain articles. There are both ma¬ 
terial and moral arguments in favor of this tariff 
reduction. It will undoubtedly increase our trade 
with Cuba, not only in manufactured articles but in 
dairy products, provisions and fruit. This country is 
responsible for the Cuban Republic, and it is a part 
of our National duty to help develop the industries 
of Cuba. On the other hand, the chief opposition to 
the treaty comes from those who are interested in 
the American beet sugar industry. The^e men argue 
ihat the trade advantage given to Cuban sugar will 
cripple or destroy an industry, which promises to 
provide a new and profitable crop for American farm¬ 
ers. 'They say wdth much truth that our tariff has 
given direct benefit to manufacturers, but only in¬ 
direct benefits to agriculture. Now, when we have an 
“infant industry” of the farm and a tariff that would 
help it directly, we are invited to give this advantage 
away. From this view of the case the beet sugar 
men can hardly be blamed for opposing the treaty. 
The American tobacco growers made a strong fight 
and saved the tariff on their product, and the beet 
sugar men hoiie to do the same. It does not seem to 
us, however, that they will succeed in doing so. 
BREVITIES. 
The apple box is surely coming. 
When does patience become a vice? 
Let the upright man be downright in eaniest. 
The “sportsmen” make game of the game laws. 
Macedonia seems to be the dark meat in Turkey. Is 
there any white meat? 
The Arizona Station calculates that an acre of Alfalfa 
will yield 56 pounds of honey! 
It is said that gypsum and ground birch twigs are 
used to make an imitation tea! 
Sure to be disgusted with his returns—the man who 
puts second-class apples in a box package. 
Let your Winter amusements be selected with the idea 
of bringing the family together, rather than driving its 
members apart. 
It is not yet too late to nail up loose boards on barn 
or chicken house, or to replace cracked window panes 
with whole ones. 
Baled Alfalfa hay can be bought at points in Colorado 
at $7.50 to $8 per ton. St. Louis seems to be about as fai’ 
east as this hay gets. 
Here is a note from a reader in Australia: 
“The R. N.-Y. is just as useful here, in Australia, as it 
is in your own States, and I value it so well since I have 
commenced taking it, I could not very well do with¬ 
out it.” * 
If the “breakfast foods” do not lessen the demand for 
flour and bread, what do they replace? We think it Is 
meat chiefly. These foods and good fruit are teaching 
the people that man is not of necessity a carnivorous 
animal. 
Those who have lived on the plains know that “buffalo 
chips” are used as fuel. It is not generally known that 
last Winter, during the coal famine, street sweepings 
here in New York were pressed into bricks to be used 
in place of coal! 
The eggs of the Cabbage maggot are laid on the ground 
soon after the plants are set out. The insects make 
their way as soon as hatched to the stem, where they 
gnaw or scrape the surface and thus absorb the plant 
juice. Decay then sets in. 
Why shouldn’t the farm power be attached to the 
family washing machine, as suggested on first page? 
The women have a right to the help, and there is no 
reason w’hy steam should not do such duty on the farm, 
as well as in the city laundry. 
