736 
TIIH RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
October 8, 
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. Kovle, ( Associates. 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04, 
equal to 8s. <5d., or 8 Ms marks, or 10 Ms 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. 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 u’s within one 
month of the time of the transaction, and you must have 
mentioned The Rcrai. 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 bank draft. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
409 Pearl Street, New Y'ork. 
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1904. 
To January 1,1905, lor 10 Cents 
For strictly introductory purposes we will send The 
R. N.-Y. every week now to January first next for only 
10 cents. You found a little envelope in your paper 
last week which is conveniently arranged for carrying 
the dime and also for the name and address of the 
new subscriber. If you have not already done so. kindly 
see that this little envelope performs its mission. Un¬ 
less you can attend to the mailing of it yourself, please 
hand it to the neighbor who ought to have The R. N.-Y. 
* 
THE PRIZE PHOTOGRAPHS. 
The first period brought a collection of excellent pic¬ 
tures. The prize winners are: 
Archibald A. Lupton, Cumberland Co., New Jersey. 
Mrs. Wni. Weeks, Rutland Co., Vermont. 
W. A. Lawrence, Tioga Co., N. Y. 
These photographs will be printed next week. Many 
of the other pictures are so good that we shall have 
them engraved and pay for them. It is evident that 
many of our readers are experts with the camera. We 
offer the three more prizes of $2.00, $1.50 and $1.00 for 
the best farm pictures received during the next two 
weeks. 
* 
It looks as if the lime and sulphur washes will prove 
serviceable against the scale on peach and plum, but 
that something else is needed on pear and apple. We 
shall try the kerosene and lime mixtures mentioned on 
page 7:i2. Read the notes in Ruralisms. page 734. Send 
us your own experience. 
* 
Some years ago the State of Connecticut was over¬ 
run with agents for bogus fertilizers. Thousands of 
tons of useless stuff were sold at high prices. Farmers 
were swindled without mercy. Laws were passed pro¬ 
viding for the analysis of these fertilizers and giving 
power for the prosecution of offenders against the law. 
We understand that no one has ever been prosecuted, 
yet the sale of these bogus goods has been stopped. It 
might be possible for some agent to sell a few tons of a 
fraudulent mixture, but he would soon be caught at it 
and driven out of business. How was this done with¬ 
out inflicting the penalty of fine or jail? Simply by 
educating the people to understand what good fertilizers 
ought to be. The experiment station made the facts 
so clear that most farmers came to understand the spe¬ 
cial needs of nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid and 
in a general way what they ought to cost. The extrav¬ 
agant claims for a bogus fertilizer fell flat against such 
knowledge, and thus the frauds went out of business. 
No humbug can live under a searchlight. There is no 
better policeman than sensible education. The same 
plan is now being followed in many States with reference 
to stock feeds. The results are not yet all they should 
be, but it is only a question of education, which will 
grow in time. Sooner or later experiment stations will 
be obliged to investigate the fence wire problem. Vast 
1 sums of money are spent each year for inferior wire. 
This loss ranks in volume with that from bogus fer¬ 
tilizers or feed. The remedy lies in education—in 
making farmers see what good wire is and why it is 
different from the poor article. Why is not this legiti¬ 
mate work for the experiment stations? To begin with, 
let them settle this question about the metal used for 
“galvanizing” wire. On one hand we are told that zinc 
is used—as it should be. On the other hand, it is 
claimed that the wire merely takes a bath in lead or 
pewter. Now, gentlemen of the experiment stations, 
which is it? You could tell us in 10 minutes! 
* 
The fraud crawls into all jobs in which a crack is left. 
Two dull students in this city wanted to take the 
Regent’s examination. They w ere not likely to pass, and 
so they hired two brighter men to take the examination 
in their names and thus obtain certificates. One of them 
repented and notified the police, so that both rogues were 
caught. On the same day 260 men in this city were 
found to have taken out fraudulent naturalization papers. 
Every day brings to light men who have no regard for 
an honorable agreement or even an oath, who attempt 
deception in order that they may profit by it. With 
some classes of people common honesty is coming to be 
very uncommon. 
* 
During the past few years we have received thousands 
of questions about poultry. They were all answered by 
letter or in print, but we notice that the same questions 
are constantly turning up. There are thousands of new 
readers. Some fail to keep files of their papers, and so 
when trouble walks into the henhouse they call for help 
to head him off. To meet the demand for sound poultry 
literature The R. N.-Y. has issued a book, “The Busi¬ 
ness Hen.” We have tried to put into it the things 
which one practical hen man would tell another if he 
w r anted his friend to succeed. “The Business Hen” car¬ 
ries a large proportion oi breast meat, as the advice it 
contains comes straight from the heart. It discusses 
some things which other books leave out, because they 
are too simple, and explains others which have been 
considered too hard to explain to farmers. 
* 
Most of the New England States have gone into the 
real estate business to some extent. There were many 
abandoned or run-down farms, and the State under¬ 
took to find purchasers for them. Lists were printed 
with brief descriptions of such places with prices and 
other information. These were distributed by the State 
Agricultural Department. The result was that nearly 
every desirable farm was sold. We need something of 
the sort in New York. There are many people with 
cheap farms for sale. Others would buy if they knew 
what bargains were offered. There ought to be some 
way of listing these farms at some central place where 
buyers could obtain information. The Department of 
Agriculture is the most convenient point for such work, 
but there is nothing in the State agricultural law that 
permits the use of money for it. An amendment will 
be needed to establish such a bureau. 
* 
The apple trade is peculiar this year. There is a large 
crop, yet we doubt if the actual amount of first-class 
fruit is as large as in former years. Buyers have been 
holding off with low figures, and we think fewer apples 
than usual have sold up to this date. The reports are 
that farmers are making arrangements to put large quan¬ 
tities of fruit into cold storage, taking the risk which 
dealers usually take. Every year this difference between 
buyer and grower over the price comes up, but we think 
both sides are more stubborn than usual this year. The 
present situation justifies a higher price than buyers 
have yet been ready to pay. The tendency will be more 
and more for farmers to control storage and hold their 
own fruit. There will be seasons when they will lose 
by doing so, but in the long run they will gain. With 
a milder Winter than last the home demand for apples 
will be enormous. Good fruit is worth more than the 
buyers are now offering. 
* 
Local papers printed near New York often contain 
items like the following: "John Smith, our popular 
truckman, has abandoned his trucking business for the 
Summer and taken his horses to the Hudson Road. 
John says there is twice the money to be made hauling 
farmers’ wagons up the hill or over the swamps!” The 
facts are that hundreds of farm wagons travel every 
night on the road to New York. They are loaded 
down with sweet corn, tomatoes, Lima beans and simi¬ 
lar perishable goods. Parts of the. road are smooth and 
hard—other portions are soft or stony and steep. The 
size of the load is determined by the poor places in the 
road—not by the firm, level tracks. Two horses may 
be able to haul a load worth $50 over a smooth road, 
while the same team would struggle to haul $30 worth 
over the worst places. This might not make so much 
difference with crops like hay, grain or potatoes, for 
they can usually be held until the roads are at their 
best. The green produce rannot wait—it nufst be 
hauled when* it is ready or be wasted. Thus, even 
though the stretch of bad roads cover only five per 
cent of the total distance, the farmer must keep an extra 
horse, leave part of his load behind, or hire some one 
to help him over the bad places. Dozens of men with 
teams find great profit in doing the work—sometimes 
earning half a dollar for a few hundred feet of hauling. 
W e have known farmers to ridicule the figures given 
to show the cost of bad roads. That is because they 
do not realize what the good road would save in horse 
flesh, time and breakage. The truck growers near New 
\ ork realize it, because they must pay the cost in cash. 
W ith many farmers the tax levied by a bad road is 
indirect. I hey do not appreciate it because they do not 
realize what a firm, solid roadbed would mean. The 
man who measures his load by the good road and then 
has to pay for hauling over the bad places knows that 
the cost is real and heavy. It is just as real to the 
other man who is forced to measure his load by the bad 
road. 
* 
Green hills and yellow butter are two staple articles 
in Vermont. The Vermonter will do well to adopt 
these colors for a State badge. Let him understan i, 
however, some of the things they should not stand for. 
Take that new and greatly needed building for the dairy 
school at the Vermont Agricultural College for example. 
■The Vermont farmer should not be green enough to 
imagine that the building will ever be built unless the 
farmers demand it and work for it. Let him also under¬ 
stand that the farmers must show no yellow streak in 
their courage, but push on with a bold front. No one 
will do their fighting for them without demanding a 
bigger price than the fight is worth! Keep at them. 
Long experience has taught us that battles of this sort 
are not won by trying to deliver one knockout blow and 
then going to sleep. It is the constant jabbing and 
thrusting that tires them out. Keep at them. 
* 
We are glad to learn that the experiment stations are 
to test the “mulch method” cf handling orchards. It is 
high time they did so. I he favorite way of doing this 
testing is to take some well-grown orchard in bearing 
and seed down half of it. 1 he sod thus produced is to 
be cut twice a year and the clippings left on the ground. 
1 he other half is to be plowed and cultivated until late 
in the season, and then put down in some “cover crop." 
We presume the same amount of fertilizer will be used 
on each half. We do not know just what basis the 
stations expect to use for comparing the mulched or cul¬ 
tivated trees, but it should include several things not 
always considered. What is the cost of cultivating com¬ 
pared with mulching? How many trees can one man 
care for under each system? This last question is one 
of the most important, yet seldom considered. In these 
days of unreliable hired help any system that will in¬ 
crease the power of one man and his own family will 
appeal to mail}'. We will add that while this plan ot 
seeding down bearing orchards will answer some of the 
questions about mulching, it will not tell the whole 
story. A tree cultivated for some years while young is 
one thing—a tree root-pruned and kept in sod well 
mulched and fed from the start is quite another. From 
our experience we would prefer the latter if the mulch 
method is to be followed. 1 he experiment stations 
should not stop at seeding down cultivated orchards, but 
start a few young trees in sod. care for them well, and 
tell us how they develop both above and below ground. 
* 
BREVITIES. 
A max may have too many friends. 
Teli. uc, your experience with the Niagara peach. 
It takes men with horn on their hands to dishorn a fraud. 
\\ e want information about harvesting and separating a 
large crop of sunflowers. 
When told to “enforce the law to the letter” some author¬ 
ities pick out the letter o as best suited to their energy. 
Try Fall planting strawberries this year. They will if 
well started and cared for beat any you could plant next 
Spring. 
A farmer could make many good sales of fruit and vege¬ 
tables at the county fair if he would stay by his exhibit and 
talk business. 
The original food adulterator is said to have dried snow, 
mixed it with sand, and sold as salt. Some of the food 
rogues who do business to-day could give him points. 
An Indiana man chewed gum so vigorously and persistently 
that it caused inflammation and enlargement of the parotid 
gland and a surgical operation was needed to save his life. 
An Australian advertisement tells dairymen to study econ¬ 
omy by “rugging” the cows. However, this means nothing 
more mysterious than the use of blankets or “rugs" to lessen 
discomfort from flies. 
A steamer with 20.000 barrels of apples on board went 
down off the coast of Newfoundland. \Ye hope some of those 
apples washed ashore and that the fishermen got them. 
That carries the Apple Consumers' League into new territory. 
Will some one who knows tell us why it is necessary to 
import cattle from the Island of Jersey? Does the Jersey 
cow grow heavier and coarser in shape in our climate? 
With good care and abundance of food the Shetland pony 
gains size in a few generations. It is necessary to import 
the stunted Island ponies to keep down the size. 
Wm. Jackson, president of the Alton, Ill., Horticultural 
Society, says: “No horticulturist of any prominence what¬ 
ever can pass along the street of Alton without being ques¬ 
tioned on some subject or matter pertaining to horticulture 
with which he is presumed to be familiar." Here Is a 
society honored in its own country. 
i 
