4o4 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
June 7 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PARER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 1850. 
Herbert W. Colling wood, Editor 
Du. Walter Van Fleet, 
Mrs. E. T. ltuyLB, 
Associates 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04, 
equal to bs. 6d., or *>Vz marks, or lOVfc 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 be-.ween 
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 Rural New- 
Yorker 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, expresa 
order, personal check or bank draft. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
409 Pearl Street, New York 
SATURDAY, JUNE 7, 1902. 
The following is a matter of great interest to as¬ 
paragus growers: It is claimed that by using nitrogen 
heavily we may promote a rapid growth of the plant 
and lessen the damage from rust. We think the best 
asparagus growers are using more nitrogen than in 
former years. Some of them report less rust since do¬ 
ing so. What is your experience? 
* 
IN former years the growers of Ben Davis apples 
have had the argument of prices after the middle of 
March. In most markets Ben Davis has been quoted 
higher than Baldwin because it is a better keeper. 
This year we have carefully compared 10 leading mar¬ 
kets, and, since March, both Baldwin and Russet have 
brought better prices than Ben! This is partly due to 
improved methods of cold storage—which have en¬ 
abled dealers to hold the better varieties longer. It 
is also partly due to the efforts of the Apple Con¬ 
sumers’ League, which tries to educate the people to 
demand <joo<1 apples. 
* 
Two puzzling questions have already come up in 
connection with the new oleo law. The manufacturers 
wish to use yellow butter for coloring their stuff and 
thus avoid paying the 10-cent tax. It is expected that 
Secretary of the Treasury Shaw will decide that such 
colored oleo will be liable to the tax on adulterated 
butter. Another grievance is that of parties who ex¬ 
port a grade of butter used by South American na¬ 
tives. This contains large quantities of salt which 
are needed to preserve the butter. While this is not 
properly “butter,” these exporters say that they 
should not be compelled to pay the tax on “adulter¬ 
ated” butter. Their annual export is said to be about 
0,000,000 pounds! 
* 
A great trade has grown up in many towns and 
cities in drinking water. This water is sent from 
springs or wells in the country and sometimes actually 
brings more money than equal quantities of milk! 
Many well-to-do people are afraid of city water and 
willingly pay for the pure liquid that flows from some 
hillside spring. There seems to be fraud in this busi¬ 
ness as well as in others. Some of the so-called cheap 
waters never saw a spring, while others are carried 
in large tanks or barrels. The best waters are bot¬ 
tled at the spring and delivered without opening. A 
farmer need not think that because he has fine spring 
water on his farm city people will rush to buy it or 
believe all he says about it without trial. It must be 
advertised and guaranteed—that costs money! 
* 
The idea of shipping American circulars to Great 
Britain and then remailing them to addresses in the 
United States for the purpose of saving expense 
sounds unreasonable, yet it has been done so exten¬ 
sively that the Post Office Department is trying to 
put a stop to the practice. Large consignments of 
circulars are sent by American firms to agents in 
Liverpool, where they are addressed and mailed to 
the United States. They only require a halfpenny 
stamp, equivalent to one cent, whereas they would re¬ 
quire two cents in this country. People who received 
such circulars were at first under the impression that 
it was done to attract attention by the foreign stamp, 
as people who receive a mass of advertising matter 
give it little notice ordinarily, but investigation 
proved it to be a measure of economy, and now Treas¬ 
ury agents are ordered to seize large consignments 
of circulars sent abroad for this purpose. 
On May 22 there were 95,000 letters and postal cards 
in the post office at Wilkesbarre, Pa., addressed to 
those fountain pen schemers! Only 28,000 of these 
had return addresses on the envelopes—the others 
were sent to the dead letter office! Most of the let¬ 
ters contained money orders for $2.50. Here were 
95,000 people saved from loss by the United States 
Government and less than 30 per cent of them put 
their names on the letters in which they sent money! 
* 
When Prof. J. B. Smith, of New Jersey, talked of 
ridding the State of the mosquito pest every funny 
man connected with a newspaper began to roar with 
laughter. Most of these fellows would laugh at the 
funeral of their best friend if they could earn a dollar 
by doing it. The statement on page 399 shows that 
there is a very serious side to the matter, and no sen¬ 
sible person will deny that the farmers of New Jersey 
are greatly interested in taking the mosquito bite off 
the seal of their State. In order to make any whole¬ 
sale slaughter of mosquitoes we must first understand 
their life habits and all about them. Of course there 
are people who will find fault if all the insects are not 
destroyed in six months! Such people know better, 
and there is no use arguing with them. We hope that 
every farmer in New Jersey will stand ready to co¬ 
operate with Prof. Smith and help him learn how to 
deal a death blow to the bloodsucker. 
* 
We recently had occasion to write the attorney gen¬ 
erals of various States about the law protecting robins 
and olher birds. What can a farmer do when such 
birds destroy his crops? We supposed it was the duty 
of these lawyers to enlighten the public regarding 
public matters, and most of them quickly and court¬ 
eously gave an opinion. Among other replies is the 
following: 
The exact question which you raise has received to my 
knowledge no official or judicial interpretation. Of 
course this office could not anticipate questions which 
might arise under the act referred to for the reason that 
it might be called upon at any time by a State depart¬ 
ment to furnish a written opinion concerning the sub¬ 
ject. I shall be obliged to refer you to local counsel for 
an opinion. 
That’s what we call profound! It is quite different 
from the courteous replies sent by other State law¬ 
yers. We are glad to see that in New Hampshire at 
least (see page 400) a farmer may defend his prop¬ 
erty to prevent its destruction by wild animals! 
* 
To continue our discussion of business problems 
which affect the farmer, let us consider the control 
of the New York milk trade. This is a monopoly of 
peculiar formation. It does not exist on a control of 
the supply; but rather on a control of the consump¬ 
tive trade. It is not charged that those who control 
this market receive any direct concessions from trans¬ 
portation companies at the present time, but it is a 
well-known fact that the railroads have favored the 
middlemen in the past Before the Interstate Rail¬ 
road Commission established different freight rates 
for milk within certain zones of territory, the roads 
charged as much for carrying a can of milk 30 miles 
as for 300 miles. As a result, when the producers at¬ 
tempted to unite and demand a living pi;ice for their 
milk, the dealers induced the railroads to send a train 
a little farther up the State where a new supply could 
be secured without any additional cost for transporta¬ 
tion. This was no small factor in the building up of 
the present system, which, without this assistance of 
the railroads, could scarcely have been established. 
Another factor was the Exchange. This was a cor¬ 
poration organized under State laws for the purchase 
and sale of milk. It bought or sold no milk. Its mem¬ 
bers went up State and established creameries. A 
contract was made with the producers for milk de¬ 
livered at these creameries, at a price based on the 
price paid by the Exchange, usually from one-half to 
one-fourth cent less. This seemed fair enough, as 
neither the creameryman nor the farmer was sup¬ 
posed to have any voice in the making of the Ex¬ 
change price. But the creameryman returned to the 
city, joined his fellows of the Exchange there, who 
had been in other territory contracting for milk like 
himself, and together they fixed the Exchange price 
from month to month or from week to week as they 
chose. In the meantime delivery routes were estab¬ 
lished in the city without any regard to economic dis¬ 
tribution, sometimes a dozen wagons covering the 
same routes to supply different customers. This led 
to a cutting of prices to the consumer, and conse¬ 
quently to an increased consumption, which, if per¬ 
mitted to develop, would again result in a benefit to 
the producer, as it would increase the demand for 
milk, resulting in an increased price for it. To over¬ 
come this a secret milk dealers’ association was 
formed. No one but a milk dealer is admitted to 
these meetings, and the price of milk to consumers 
is decided upon by the members of this association. 
As a result when the farmer is getting 11-10 cent per 
quart for his milk the city consumer often pays eight 
cents per quart for it. This, of course, reduces the 
consumption. Hence, we see that the dealers, through 
one organization, ai'e able to make prices to the pro¬ 
ducers, and through another to exact their own terms 
from consumers. The facilities afforded them by State 
corporation laws and railroad advantages have made 
possible this system of control of the situation at both 
ends. They can probably control it now without 
either. They have succeeded in nullifying the law of 
supply and demand. The organization and conti’ol 
of creameries by the farmers themselves, and a link¬ 
ing together of such creameries so as to control the 
dealers’ supply seem to be the only way by which 
the producer can hope to secure a voice in the mak¬ 
ing oi prices for his pi’oduct. 
* 
An observer who has been going through the coun¬ 
try districts of Minnesota says that free rural deliv¬ 
ery is such an effective temperance worker that coun- 
try saloonkeepei’s are much opposed to it! This re¬ 
calls the old story of the saloonkeeper bewailing hard 
times, who pointed towards a new church spire and 
observed bitterly: “Them’s the blamed things that’s 
ruinin’ the country!” In localities where there is no 
rui'al delivery, men from a distance, when waiting for 
their mail, easily acquire the habit of dropping into 
a nearby saloon; the pernicious custom of “treating” 
naturally follows, and business is lively—for the 
saloon man. When the farmers come to town to buy 
supplies and transact other actual business, there is 
no reason for lounging; thei’e is no general gathering, 
and the saloon trade languishes. The material ad¬ 
vantages of free rural delivery are often pointed out; 
here is a moral advantage none the less apparent 
This is an indirect but perfectly natural result of a 
convenience that should be at the command of every 
rural community. 
* 
The larger apple growers of western New Yoi’k evi¬ 
dently expect about 75 per cent of a late apple crop. 
Many are ordering barrels on this basis. More spray- 
ing than ever has been done this year, and power out¬ 
fits are numerous. This means a larger proportion of 
first-class fruit. As it looks now there will be apples 
enough to give the New York State Fruit Growers’ 
Association a chance to show what it can do. 
♦ 
We find the following in the Dairy and Produce 
Review of San Francisco: 
An influential New York journalist some time ago or¬ 
ganized an apple consumers’ league for the purpose of 
encouraging the disposal of our surplus apples. The un¬ 
dertaking seems to have been so successful that he is 
about to organize a cheese eaters’ league. The farmers 
and dairymen should see that he gets a monument. 
The suggestion of a Cheese Eaters’ League should 
be credited to H. E. Cook. It is a good idea—especial¬ 
ly now that meat prices are so high. The “monu¬ 
ment” can be erected at any time. If a monumentee 
may express a preference we would name the tongue 
as the best tool for building it. Talk upyle at every 
public eating place—also at home! 
* 
BREVITIES. 
The rains saved our grass. 
Give the child crop a chance. 
Roots and rooting for brood sows. 
A Tremendous cabbage crop will be planted. 
You can get men to sign a petition for anything! 
What’s one man’s property right may be another’s 
property wrong. 
Will those who have eaten the foreign potatoes tell 
us what they think of the quality? 
Market abreviations are “toms” for tomatoes, “cants” 
for canteloupes and “cukes” for cucumbers. 
Cut out the long introduction to your article. Let your 
facts shake hands with your readers at once! 
The pen with which President Roosevelt signed the 
anti-oleo bill was given to Congressman Henry of Con¬ 
necticut. 
A ton of early-cut hay contains 100 pounds of digest¬ 
ible protein; a ton of late-cut hay 46 pounds. Which 
kind will you feed next Winter? 
The kidnapping of a boy in Nebraska roused public 
opinion so that in 24 States in one year the legislatures 
defined the crime and increased the punishment for it. 
Science declares that the 17-year locust is good to eat. 
It is surprising that the beef trust has not tried to form 
a corner in cicadas. 
A Wisconsin man is reported to be using wind-power 
scarecrows; a series of bells, clappers and horse fiddles 
operated by a windmill. It is said to be quite effective 
as far as the birds are concerned, but is also scaring 
away Summer boarders, who do not enjoy a daily 
shivaree. 
Many children are told that if they swallow orange 
seeds a tree will grow in the stomach. The object is to 
prevent them swallowing hard substances. The papers 
now report a Delaware case where a tomato seed lodged 
between a man’s teeth and sprouted! 
