1902 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
655 
“WHY I TAKE THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
First Prize Article by J. E. Ferrall, Ohio. 
The reasons why 1 take and read The R. N.-Y. are 
because it is a clean agricultural and horticultural 
journal; clean mechanically, morally and editorially. 
Because its contributors are mostly men of science, 
ability and experience in the departments for which 
they write. Because it excludes swindlers from its 
advertising columns, and places this department 
above the average religious journal in purity. Be¬ 
cause it is the avowed enemy of fakes and humbugs, 
and the champion of justice and right between man 
and man, and between the citizen and the Govern¬ 
ment. Because it is the professed friend (and I be¬ 
lieve the real friend) of the farmer, and the advocate 
of the pleasures, enjoyment and purity of rural life. 
These are a few of the reasons why I take The R. 
N.-Y. My file of Tire R. N.-Y. is getting somewhat 
voluminous, but I would hesitate to part with it at 
first cost. Long live The R. N.-Y. and the Hope 
Farm man. 
R. N.-Y.—We are glad to show a good picture of 
Mr. Ferrell at Fig. 265, who writes in sending it: 
“I have passed the seventy-fourth milestone in life’s 
journey. I was born and reared in Ohio, but spent 
several years in the trans-Mississippi region. I was 
raised on the farm and always had a great love for 
rural life. My limited education was mostly secured 
in the common schools of the State. I have a great 
love for the pure sciences, but doubt some things that 
are said to-day in the name of science. I believe in 
making self-education a life-long pursuit; and while 
educating the intellect to educate the religious, moral 
and esthetic sentiments and feelings as well. Horti¬ 
culture is my greatest delight on the farm. I love 
fruits, and the trees, bushes and vines on which they 
grow. This department of The R. N.-Y. interests me 
most, but I read and appreciate the entire contents 
of the journal.” 
Second Prize Article by James E. Rice. 
We take The R. N.-Y. for the same reason a sick 
man takes medicine. He needs it and has faith in 
the doctor. A good farm paper is the best agricul¬ 
tural physician. 
It is reliable. Where information is wanted reli¬ 
ability is the first consideration. The R. N.-Y. is safe, 
“it will stand without hitching.” 
It is well edited. The matter is thoroughly sifted, 
classified, predigested and the salient truths brought 
to the surface. Time is too valuable to waste on 
long-winded good articles or short-winded poor ones. 
In editorial and advertising it has the moral cour¬ 
age to protect its subscribers. This takes backbone, 
and should be rewarded. 
The symposium idea crystallizes truth. The best 
man is not infallible. “In the multitude of counsel¬ 
lors there is safety.” 
We appreciate the clear type, numerous illustra¬ 
tions and crisp, clean paper. Good thoughts deserve 
attractive presentation. 
Tire. R. N.-Y. breathes of the soil, not of the dusty 
city office. The most helpful editor must be in touch 
with the farm, and in sympathy with the farmer. 
It covers a broad field, is readable all the way 
through and tells what we want to know. 
WHAT CURE FOR FLEAS? 
We are suffering from such a plague of fleas as has 
never before been known in this vicinity, in the case of 
bedbugs and mosquitoes “the madam” of this household 
is easily master of the situation, but when it comes to 
the elusive flea she is helpless. I suppose this is not ex¬ 
actly a genteel subject to write about, but it is the most 
interesting one we have here at the present time, and I 
hope Mr. Slingerland will tackle it. Give some means of 
relief if possible, and the life history of the pest. We 
have no dog, two or three cats, but they don’t get into 
the house; and two children who do get into the house, 
and everywhere else on the farm. l. m. t. 
Fairview, Ill. 
Among the numerous insect pests of the housewife 
(leas are one of the most disagreeable and most diffi¬ 
cult to get rid of. The flea that commonly infests 
houses is not the human flea, but the one that often 
infests cats or dogs. Usually a serious flea infestation 
occurs after the house has been vacant or undisturbed 
for several weeks or months in Summer, and the 
source of infestation is invariably a pet cat or dog. 
A knowledge of the life-story of the fleas easily ex¬ 
plains how a vacant or unused house may be overrun 
with these intolerable creatures. 
Fleas are not born and bred on cats or dogs; only 
the adult fleas live on them, sucking their blood. The 
minute, oval white eggs are lain among the hairs of 
the infested animals, and are easily dislodged, or they 
may be laid anywhere about the house in dirt, in floor 
cracks, often on the bed of the pet animals. From 
these eggs there hatches in about two days minute, 
slender, very active worms or larvae, which eat dirty 
particles, like the sweepings of a room, and in about 
a week they spin an oval brown cocoon, attached to 
some surface on one side. Inside this cocoon the 
larva transforms through a tender white pupa In 
about eight days to the adult flea. Thus an entire 
generation may develop in a little more than a fort¬ 
night. To develop successfully in their early stages, 
the breeding places of fleas must not be too moist 
or too dry, and where they will not be frequently dis¬ 
turbed, as in floor cracks under mattings or carpets. 
It is a difficult and tedious job to rid an infested house 
of fleas. First get rid of, renovate, or exile the source 
of contagion, the pet cat or dog. The pet can some¬ 
times be freed from the tormentors by putting it on 
a large piece of paper and then working insect powder 
INSIDE THE PIGEON YARD. Ere. 266. 
into the hair thoroughly. This will drive the fleas 
out, and most of them will jump on to the paper, 
where they can be readily seen and killed. Then 
burn every vestige in the pet’s sleeping quarters, and 
thoroughly cleanse the surrounding walls and floors. 
Several years ago fleas became very numerous in the 
basement of a Cornell University building. A pro¬ 
fessor tied sheets of sticky fly paper, sticky side out, 
around the legs of the janitor of the building, and 
had him walk up and down the floor for several hours, 
with the result that most of the fleas jumped on nis 
ankles, as they will often do, and were caught on the 
sticky paper. This is a practical method in a badly 
infested room. 
Last year the owner of a city flat reported to us 
the following successful plan of campaign waged 
against fleas which were introduced on a pet dog. On 
August 30 10 pounds of sulphur were burned in the 
basement and flat, keeping the rooms closed five or 
six hours, with no perceptible effect on the fleas. The 
next night 25 pounds of sulphur were burned, and 
the rooms kept closed all day Sunday. That night, as 
PACKING THE SQUABS Fie. 267. 
the creatures were still hopping, five pounds more 
were burned. The next day the war was renewed 
with powdered lye and water, using it on all except 
the hard-wood floors (where there were no fleas). It 
was then found that the sulphur had destroyed at 
least nine-tenths of the fleas. All the floors with 
cracks were thoroughly wet with the lye water. The 
cellars were sprinkled with the lye and boiling water 
was freely used. On September 6, 9 and 13 the hot 
water and lye treatment was repeated, getting from 
three to eight flea bites each time, but on September 
14 they went through the basement without a bite. 
Another case was reported to us recently where 
they used carbolic acid and water in spraying the 
rooms and in the basement kerosene was freely used 
with much effect. They put all rugs, carpets, etc., in 
one room and fumigated them thoroughly. Benzine 
can be used freely with good effect. Where carpets 
or mattings are used and there are many cracks in 
the floors, only the persistent use of “elbow grease” 
is applying hot, cleansing liquids like lye and water, 
and the free use of sulphur will annihilate the little 
tormentors. 
The best preventives of fleas are not to harbor pet 
dogs or cats that show the least signs of having fleas. 
Have hard-wood floors and use rugs instead of car¬ 
pets. Fleas thrive on dirt and dislike to be dis¬ 
turbed. It is sometimes practicable to fumigate a 
whole house with the deadly hydrocyanic acid gas 
used in killing pests on trees and nursery stock. Sev¬ 
eral houses and mills have been thus fumigated suc¬ 
cessfully, but it is a rather dangerous process, and 
should be undertaken under expert direction. Cir¬ 
cular No. 48, just issued free from the United States 
Division of Entomology, describes this fumigation 
method in detail. m. v. slingerland. 
ORGANIZING A RURAL TELEPHONE CO. 
We have been asked to give the histories of various 
cooperative telephone companies—which do business in 
rural districts. The first report comes from Indiana: 
In the first place it is necessary for a few farmers 
interested to get together and organize by electing 
officers and adopting constitution and by-laws, the 
officers then to decide the size of switchboard needed 
for the tributary country, the location of central, etc. 
The officers borrow sufficient money to buy and in¬ 
stall switchboard and maintain a supply of construc¬ 
tion material, to be sold at actual cost to members. 
The division lines are organized with a superinten¬ 
dent for each. Usually six or eight persons use one 
wire and one drop, sharing expense of construction 
and maintenance. Everyone buys his own ’phone. 
The drops are sold sometimes for $6 each, as many 
using same as want to, or $3 for each member using 
same. Service is given subscribers at actual cost, 
which is from 25 to 50 cents per month, paid quar¬ 
terly. If additional money be needed a membership 
fee is charged or an assessment made. 
Should there be more than 25 members it is better 
not to go into it half way, but make it a permanent 
thing by buying property and locating central on it. 
Never put it in a private house; it costs money to 
move. Don’t construct your lines cheaply, be sure 
all corners are properly guyed and braced. Our own 
company after organized as above outlined at the end 
of one year had about 70 members, and found the 
need of outside connections, so commenced meeting 
other cooperative companies half way in every direc¬ 
tion. The law of cooperation (in this case at least) 
does not permit the charging of toll to members; so 
no outside connection is made unless everything is as 
free to us as to their own members. After connecting 
with farmers’ (farmers’ in name only) telephone com¬ 
panies in each direction, we wanted still others, that 
with cities. These proved hard to get, it being neces¬ 
sary for us to stand together and make emphatic de¬ 
mands. We formed into districts. Our own district 
is 25 miles square, with over 20 exchanges, and be¬ 
tween 5,000 and 6,000 telephones. A city of from 
12,000 to 30.000 was on each corner, with which we 
wanted free service. As this territory was already 
occupied by independent telephone companies whose 
subscribers paid extra for city service, our demands 
seemed unreasonable to them at first. As there were 
two old companies in the field, uy working through 
the newspapers and merchants’ association, and by 
the merchants agreeing to discontinue the company’s 
instruments that did not connect with us, we suc¬ 
ceeded in getting what we wanted. c. w. R. 
Clarks Hill, Ind^_ 
GASOLINE POWER FOR FARM MACHINERY 
Last Winter, being undecided what farm power I 
needed, I wrote The R. N.-Y., stating the work to be 
done, viz., using a Blizzard No. 10 cutter and blower, 
filling a small silo 8x22, besides thrashing, etc., on a 
small farm. You gave opinions of many subscribers, 
also your private opinion. I relied upon it, and wish 
to thank you now for the sound advice. This advice 
has saved me more than the subscription cost of The 
R. N.-Y. for a lifetime. I know there are many farm¬ 
ers situated much the same as I was, having about 
10 cows and knowing the need of silage, who do not 
know what machinery is needed, or rather the size of 
the machines. Manufacturers always advise such 
large costly machines as to stop one’s thinking long¬ 
er of the subject. But when I found I could fill my 
silo with a five horse-power gasoline engine I got 
the outfit. It runs my cutter as fast as we desired 
it to; we filled our silo in one day and a half. We 
could cut three tons an hour easily and it did the 
work well. We could have filled the silo in a day if 
we had the corn handy. I know this seems slow to 
those using large cutters, that would (ill such a silo 
in a couple of hours, but there are small dairymen in 
need of just such an engine and outfit who would not 
use such a large machine. I am pleased with mine, 
and will answer any questions regarding it that may 
be asked me. w. h. iudge. 
Pennsylvania. __ 
