64o 
August 27, 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
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, ( . _ 
Mrs. E. T. Rovle, f Associates. 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04. 
equal to 8s. 0d., or 8 marks, or 10^4 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 col- 
umns, aud any such swindler 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 bv the courts. 
Notice of the complaint must he sent to us within one 
month of the time of the transaction, and you must have 
mentioned The Rural New-Yorker when writing the adver¬ 
tiser. 
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 hank draft. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
409 Fearl Street, New York. 
SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 1904. 
THE PRIZE CLIPPINGS. 
The first prize this week goes to Ohio, second to New 
York and third to Connecticut, as follows: 
A. R. Phillips, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. 
D. M. Boonhower, Greene County, N. Y. 
A. E. Sperry, Hartford County, Conn. 
We still offer weekly prizes of $1.50, $1 and 50 cents 
for the best clippings from local newspapers. 
* 
Time yet to build that silo. Why put it off any 
longer? Next Winter you will be glad that you have 
something to feed the cows that they relish, and that 
does help to fill the milk pails. 
* 
In speaking of Mr. Cosgrove’s experience at farming, 
we used the word “abandoned” in referring to the farm 
he bought. This was not strictly correct. The farm was 
occupied when Mr. Cosgrove bought it, and in former 
years had a good reputation for fruit and dairy products. 
“Run-down” would have been a better term to use. As 
the subject has excited considerable interest, we shall 
give some further particulars about the farm and its lo¬ 
cation to show how admirably Mr. Cosgrove has suc¬ 
ceeded in improving its value. 
* 
The apple shippers, at their annual convention, con¬ 
cluded that the apple crop this year will be larger than 
last. They generally do make some such statement, and 
the object is to give growers the impression that prices 
ought to rule low. Our own advices do not indicate a 
large crop. As for telling now how many first-class ap¬ 
ples there will be—the thing is impossible. We are not 
past the season of fungus and scab. High winds may 
change good fruit into windfalls. We do not accept the 
statement of the apple shippers without a large dose of 
salt. 
* 
The following little note from a dairyman will ap¬ 
peal to many farmers: 
We had the blues, and were wondering why there was 
not more “in it.” We knew there were a lot of us to sup¬ 
port, and we fell to counting up and found that the 45 or 
so cows that we were milking at that time were the basis 
of all the support of 33 people, and we felt like going out 
in the barn and taking off our hat to the cows that were 
doing their part so kindly and well. 
No man need be ashamed of himself for paying such a 
tribute to the cows, the horses, the sheep, or the trees 
that provide for his family. We have heard men speak 
of coming home from fruit exhibitions where they had 
won prizes, and feeling that they would like to hang the 
ribbons on the trees which gave the fruit. It is a noble 
sentiment—this paying tribute to our dumb friends. 
Without knowing it, we recognize the best there is in 
us, for that is what makes these humble companions 
worthy. 
An advertisement noted in a western paper calls at¬ 
tention to a “never-dying plant from the Philippine Isl¬ 
ands. The greatest curiosity in plant life ever discov¬ 
ered. It grows in 10 minutes and never dies.” It is, 
of course, beautiful and fragrant, the accompanying pic¬ 
ture showing apparently a clump of parsley surmounted 
by hyacinth spikes. The advertisement recalls the per¬ 
suasive eloquence of the genius we met here in the 
market section, who offered us last Spring tubers of the 
elephant’s ear as the “fragrant Japanese parlor flower,” 
displaying a colored lithograph of Rhododendrons as 
a sample of the results to be expected from it. The 
greatest harm these fakers do is in injuring the sale of 
really worthy plants. We have no doubt that as we 
write at least a hundred flower-loving women are each 
sending 25 cents worth of self-sacrifice for that never- 
dying disappointment, when they ought to be spending 
the money on crocuses or tulips that would bring a 
streak of Spring sunshine into the dour days of Feb¬ 
ruary. The best antidote for the poison of fake adver¬ 
tisers is a catalogue from some reliable dealer. 
* 
We still hear of agricultural college students who are 
ashamed of the word “agricultural.” Some graduates of 
these colleges are worse yet. They will buy a degree 
from some “university” and try to have it understood 
that their education was obtained at a place where 
“agricultural” is never heard of. All such soft-headed 
people want the college to be known as a “State” insti¬ 
tution. There is no use quibbling or compromising with 
them. They are wrong, ridiculously wrong, and they lack 
the real character needed to appreciate their situation. 
They accepted an education which was provided for 
them by the Government, and they assumed a moral ob¬ 
ligation when they took advantage of the offer. The 
State had no desire to educate lawyers, or doctors, or 
masons at public expense, but it was considered wise to 
train a class of farmers, who stand in their relation to 
“agriculture” about as the graduate of West Point rep¬ 
resents the Army. We do not understand that the agri¬ 
cultural colleges were intended merely to provide a 
cheap education—to serve as a foundation for work in 
the professions. They were intended to train farmers, 
and the weak and vain fellows who accept the education 
they offer and then feel ashamed of the name, are doing 
all they can to upset the work of those who founded 
these institutions. They should go elsewhere for their 
education. 
* 
“Are you a postman or an expressman?” is a ques¬ 
tion that should be pointedly asked every candidate for 
Congress before the coming election. The advocates of 
an up-to-date postal service, including parcels post, 
postal savings bank and daily delivery to every home in 
America, may be classed with the postmen. Those who 
hesitate or dodge the question may be taken as indiffer¬ 
ent to one of the most vital needs of civilization, or in 
full sympathy with the inefficient and extortionate ex¬ 
press system that fleeces the many for the benefit of a 
narrow ring of capitalists. If we are to have a modern 
and creditable postal service, at all comparable to that en¬ 
joyed by the progressive foreign countries, we can only 
get it by insistent pressure on our legislators. Party 
chiefs and professional politicians will not touch the 
matter until forced by an overwhelming public demand, 
as they do not care to offend the source of a substantial 
portion of their campaign contributions. In the absence 
of an explicit statement to the contrary, the Presidential 
candidates of the leading political parties may be classed 
as expressmen, but it is not probable either, if elected, 
would veto bills for substantial postal improvements if 
passed and urged by general public sentiment. There is 
no political issue of such importance to rural dwellers 
as more efficient postal service, and the way to get it is 
to give your congressional candidates to understand they 
must work for it in case of election. Now is the time 
to apply the pressure, while your candidate is on the 
anxious seat. 
* 
A neighboring farm is thin and sandy. It ranks as 
about the poorest farm for crop production in the com¬ 
munity. The former owner grew the old-fashioned 
crops—rye, hay, corn and a few potatoes. These are 
“old-fashicned” crops in our section, because they belong 
to a former time, when there was little or no competition 
from stronger land. In order to grow these crops on 
this thin soil heavy outlays were required for manure 
and fertilizers, which of late years have wiped out all 
profit. The farm changed hands—the new owner being 
a man who was unable to work as hard as he would 
like. This man noticed that a large amount of building 
was being done. He observed that the soil of his poorest 
field was a fine quality of building sand. Instead of try¬ 
ing to cultivate this field, he seeded the top of it to grass 
and offered sand for sale. At 25 cents a load, this poor 
field is by far the most profitable one on the farm, and 
will nearly support the farmer alone. Now, we are not 
all situated so that we could sell building sand, even 
if we had it for sale, but there is a lesson for most of 
us in this story. Every farm and every field is capa¬ 
ble of producing some crop well. A farmer who is fol¬ 
lowing a rotation with corn, potatoes, grass and grain 
knows that certain fields always give him a better crop 
of potatoes than the others can. We have seen men 
struggling on, barely making a living, failing because 
they were trying to raise crops not well suited to their 
soil and locality. Probably every reader of The R. 
N.-Y. knows of some farmer who is kept under the 
harrow because he tries to grow crops that are not 
well suited to his soil or his own strength. Sometimes 
we grow these crops because the farmer has always pro¬ 
duced them. Sometimes the fault is not in the crops, but 
in the methods employed. Sometimes we have, without 
realizing it, grown old, or lost the edge of our ambi¬ 
tion. Whatever the cause, it is time to look over the 
farm and its markets, and readjust them in some way. 
We must not forget the other side to this, also. A 
farmer may fail or become discouraged for other causes, 
but imagine that he must “change.” Most of us know 
farmers who seldom stick to one line long enough really 
to know whether it pays or not. Such men are usually 
worse off than those who stick to a certain line of farm¬ 
ing too long. It requires great judgment to decide when 
to change, and when to hang on, but such decisions rep¬ 
resent the difference between profit and loss. Farming, 
like every other successful business, must grow. 
* 
You will find on page 645 notes from farmers who 
have used wore fences. All reports agree that the best 
wire used 25 years ago has given good satisfaction, while 
that bought in recent years is practically worthless after 
a few years of service. The truth of this statement is 
so evident that no one who uses wire fencing needs to 
be told about it. Now, what we want to do is to put 
the blame just where it belongs. The wire used to-day 
is just as good as that in use 25 years ago. The real 
trouble is in the galvanizing, or the coating used to pre¬ 
vent the wire from rusting. Here is a note from a wire 
fence manufacturer, who, for evident reasons, cannot 
give his name: 
To make a direct answer to your question, the galvanizing 
is inferior to that of years ago, and we do not believe there 
is a piece of wire put on the market to-day on which the 
galvanizing will last six months after the fence is erected 
in a country where the air is penetrated with sulphur, as is 
the result of the consumption of coal in quantities, and espe¬ 
cially through coal mining districts. There are two reasons 
that we might attribute to this cause of inferior galvanizing. 
One is that people want everything very cheap, and another 
is that the wire manufacture is all in the hands of the trust, 
who keep every particle of galvanizing from the wire that 
they possibly can, and give you the least possible for your 
money. These are absolute facts. We are not speaking 
as manufacturers, but as buyers. We do not manufacture 
any wire, but buy it all from the mills. 
That we believe to be a bald statement of fact. The 
wire trust is using just as little of the galvanizing ma¬ 
terial as it can possibly leave on the wire. We shall tell 
how the wire is handled later, and then this point will 
be made clearer. We are told that the cost of manufac¬ 
turing wire has been greatly reduced, yet prices have been 
kept up, and even the fraction of a cent which a proper 
galvanizing would cost is wiped off by the trust. What 
is to be done about it? The public has bought the wire 
and seen it rust. People know it is inferior. They have 
grumbled, but have not known how to reach the vital 
spot of the trouble. We intend to bring this spot out, 
and make it so clear that even a blind man can see it. 
When people once understand the situation, we have 
faith to believe that they will raise such a storm that 
even the trust will be brought to time. Keep at them! 
Spread the news! _ 
BREVITIES. 
If you feel ugliness coming on get off somewhere and enjoy 
it alone! 
“A soft snap!” How can anything that has any real 
snap to it be soft? 
The principle in selling a fraudulent lemon juice is as 
bad as that in selling bogus butter. 
We receive plenty of letters from southern men who ask 
about farms in New York and New England. Immigration 
works both ways. 
What can we sow now to make green fodder this Fall? 
There is little left besides barley, with possibly Canada peas. 
Rape for hogs or sheep will do. 
A Florida farmer put out Paris-green to kill the birds 
which were ruining his oat crop, says Forest and Stream. 
It killed the birds, also a $300 gray mare and two $200 
mules. 
Read what Mapes writes about keeping good roads good. 
What are the reasons why such a plan cannot be worked 
in your community? Would a failure result from a lack ot 
men, money' or material l 
A Kansas editor who makes no agricultural pretensions 
says that getting an Alfalfa field started is a good deal like 
buying a good cantaloupe; you must keep at it, and exper- 
iment, and put up money. 
Germany has passed through a terrible drought Not only 
have farmers suffered, bub canals are so low that it is diffi¬ 
cult to handle bulky freight. The German potato crop, 
which is usually much larger than the crop in this country, 
will be short. 
Potato hlight is reported as serious on Long Island. Now 
for observation as to the value of spraying. lias Bordeaux 
Mixture kept the vines growing? Are sprayed potatoes more 
profitable than unsprayed? We would like to hear from 
Long Island readers. 
Are you in the “cheering up” business? If not, get in 
on the ground floor. Take the wife and children into full 
partnership. You will find it the best paying venture in 
which you ever became interested. All the business you 
want and no competition that will hurt you. 
A weird report from Tennessee says that so many people 
have been poisoned by eating cabbage in which snakes had 
been boiled that people have given up eating that vegetable, 
causing the price to go down to 20 cents a barrel. We 
think that some newspaper reporter has been “seeing snakes.” 
Ginseng gets into law. A dealer sold seed of Japanese 
ginseng in place of American grown seed, was sued for 
fraud and convicted. The judge upholds the verdict. If the 
Japanese feed ginseng to their fighting men it ought to be in 
demand by other nations. 
