864 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
December 3, 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 1850 . 
Herbert W. Collingwood, Editor. 
Du. Walter Van Fleet, i 
Mus. E. T. Roylk, fAssociates. 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, 52.04, 
•equal to Ss. (id., or marks, or 10Ms francs. 
“A SQUARE DEAL.” 
We believe that every advertisement in this paper is 
hacked 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 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 bank draft. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
409 Pearl Street, New York. 
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1904. 
TEN WEEKS FOR 10 CENTS. 
In order to introduce The R. N.-Y. to progressive 
intelligent farmers who do not now take it, we send it 
10 weeks for 10 cents for strictly introductory purposes. 
We depend on our old friends to make this known to 
neighbors and friends. 
* 
There is one feature of the annual horse show in 
this city (or any other) which may well cause all wo¬ 
men some painful reflection. The classes for horses 
which may be considered men's animals, the roadsters, 
are all long tailed, while tight check-rains and heavy¬ 
weight shoeing count against them in judging. On the 
other hand, the carriage horses used by women are tor¬ 
tured by painful bits and overhead checks, their tails 
docked, and their feet weighted with heavy shoes to 
make them step high. All things considered, are we 
justified in describing women as the gentler sex? 
* 
Early in the morning one day last week an old man 
was found lying by the roadside in a suburb of New 
York. He was unconscious—his face covered with 
blood and his head badly smashed. Some one had put 
him by the roadside, thrown a blanket over him, and 
left him to die. Evidently they hoped and expected he 
would die and carry the secret of his death with him. 
Nearby the old man’s horse and wagon, the latter badly 
shattered, were found tied in the woods. The poor vic¬ 
tim w r as revived and told in a few words his sad story. 
While carrying a small load of produce to market his 
wagon was struck by an automobile containing three 
men and a woman. They were speeding the machine 
far beyond the limit permitted by law, and with all the 
criminal recklessness which so many auto drivers show. 
They smashed into the old man’s wagon and threw him 
out. Instead of hurrying with all the speed of their 
infernal machine for help they left the poor victim to 
die on the road and sneaked away to escape detec¬ 
tion. Words fail fitly to characterize such a cowardly 
and inhuman proceeding. It is safe to say that no 
horseman, sober or drunk, would ever have left a help¬ 
less old man in that way. It is reserved for the auto 
fiend, who has less feeling than the machinery in his 
murderous car, to kill a man and then run away 
from the body. The auto drivers have already received 
far more consideration than they deserve from the 
legislature. A few more of such hideous crimes as 
this one and the public will no more permit them on 
the highways than they will the steam cars. As it is, 
the pictures of these highway murderers should be 
hung in every rogues’ gallery in the land. 
* 
On page 832 we asked why the agricultural papers 
do not name a contemporary when they refer to it for 
praise or blame. Of course we receive answers which 
are not as complimentary as they might be to some of 
the agricultural papers. It seems that some one is pre¬ 
pared to answer any question we may ask. We have 
asked the experiment stations about fence wire several 
times. Perhaps the directors have been very busy, or 
have trouble with their eyes. We will try them again. 
Gentlemen of the Experiment Station: 
WHAT 
IS THE MATTER 
WITH 
MODERN FENCE WIRE? 
The following telegram was received last week: 
Saw your article November nineteenth; will be in New 
York within two weeks with samples of Spencer Commer¬ 
cial Seedless apples. Do you wish to be convinced? An¬ 
swer. w. c. sciieu. 
Manager Spencer Seedless Apple Co. 
We shall be glad to sample the apples. Do we wish 
to be convinced? Yes, indeed! We want some one to 
make it clear that our readers will find it profitable to 
pay $3 a tree for this seedless apple. It is right that 
every new fruit should run the gauntlet. If it has the 
right stuff in it hard pounding will only make it mel¬ 
low. It must have good qualities besides lack of seeds! 
* 
The last election upset some old ideas that people 
have heard about politics. There never was such a cut¬ 
ting and slashing of unpopular candidates. Out in 
Clay Co., lnd., the politicians had a knock that will 
probably do them good. A few months ago an organi¬ 
zation was effected in this county known as the Good 
Citizens’ League, having for its purpose the election of 
clean men to public office, regardless of party affilia¬ 
tion. Men of all parties were asked to sign a pledge 
to vote for clean men, no matter what party placed them 
on their tickets. A surprisingly large number of names 
were secured. After the nominations of the different 
parties were made, the signers of the League were 
given the names they were expected to vote for. The 
Brazil Times, the leading paper in this county, in sum¬ 
ming up the result of the election in this county, has 
this to say: 
A noticeable feature of the campaign was that every 
man of the old parties endorsed by the Good Citizens' League 
was elected, and their fine hand was seen with successful 
results in many of the township fights. It would indicate 
that the League had and has more strength than either of 
the old parties imagined, and demonstrates the fact that 
they are a factor that will have to be considered in future 
politics in Clay County. 
The above shows what can be done by earnest men. 
Had this occurred in an off year, when party lines are 
disregarded, it would not have caused so much wonder, 
but it was done in a Presidential campaign, during the 
hottest fight ever made in the county, and done, too, 
without the expenditure of a single penny by the League. 
Townships that had never changed their political faith 
from their foundation up changed front completely. 
What was accomplished here can be done in about any 
community. Politicians will soon learn that clean 
men are wanted when the friends of clean men make 
their wants known. 
Now let’s try them on that! Tt would be much bet¬ 
ter for the stations to come to the front before farm¬ 
ers put barbs on their demand. We intend to keep 
this question before them until they see it day and 
night. If anyone thinks the farmers are not waking up 
on this matter he should come and look at our mails. 
Here is a sample letter from South Carolina: 
Your stand against the trusts in the matter of wire 
fencing alone should make every farmer in the land 
a subscriber. I also enclose a couple of galvanized ( !!) 
staples, which have been exposed to the very little rain 
we have had here since purchased in August last. I 
also enclose one bought nine years ago. I see plainly 
that it is our duty to roof our steel fences in order to 
preserve them and the trust dividends also. 
You ought to see that staple. It is red with rust al¬ 
ready. It blushes for shame at the word “galvanized.” 
It may be asked why we spend time urging the experi¬ 
ment stations to investigate the fence wire fraud. Here 
are a few reasons: 
It is their duty to do so. 
Unde Sam pays them to do such work. 
The loss from poor wire is greater than from any 
other similar fraud. 
Farmers have no way of knowing what they buy. 
The stations will lose power if they shirk their duty. 
We don’t think much of a watch dog that has to be 
driven out of his box to fight the plunderer. We are 
not going to admit the right of the scientific men to 
decide just what work is most useful to the farmer, 
when the farmer knows best what he needs. Now, 
gentlemen, will you take up this matter of fence wire 
or tell us why you refuse to do it? 
* 
Attention is called to Prof. Hedrick’s article on page 
858. It has been popular for some time to praise the 
so-called “cover crop" method of orchard culture. The 
advice has been to give thorough culture up to about 
July and then sow some crop to grow through the rest 
of the season and occupy the ground through the 
Winter. Under some conditions this method seems 
quite satisfactory, but we have never thought its ad¬ 
vocates were wise to advise it for all conditions. The 
“cover crop” grows at a time when the fruit trees 
need an abundance of moisture and should be forming 
their fruit buds for the next year’s crop. We feel 
sure that the “cover crop” often interferes with this 
bud formation. Prof. Hedrick concludes from his 
pot experiment that a crop of clover growing close 
to the tree prevents wood ripening, and thus makes the 
tree unfit for Winter. We do not think it wise to argue 
from the results of pot experiments. We have hundreds 
of peach trees growing in clover. They hold their 
leaves, green and thrifty, up to Thanksgiving, and on 
the whole we are glad they do. There could not have 
been a harder test than last Winter’s cold, yet the trees 
which held their leaves late were not injured. As to 
why the clover and peach roots mingle, no scientific 
man seems willing to offer an opinion. When the 
roots of a tree turn in a certain direction we may be 
very sure that they are attracted by water or plant 
food. We know that nitrogen is prepared in the little 
warts or nodules on the roots of the clover. It is nat¬ 
ural to suppose that the peach roots are attracted by 
this nitrogen, yet those who have made the most care¬ 
ful study of bacteria are confident that the roots of 
an outside plant could not take this nitrogen from the 
clover root. We believe it will be found later that 
certain bacteria have the power of preparing nitro¬ 
gen in the soil just outside the clover roots, and that 
this is what the peach roots are after. 
* 
A few weeks ago we asked some southern farmer to 
tell us why farmers in the South have opposed anti- 
oleo legislation. Prof. W. F. Massey answers in the 
Practical Farmer: 
This is easy to answer. The majority of southern farm¬ 
ers are not interested in dairying, but are interested in 
cotton seed products, and they had been taught by the oleo 
people that the passage of the anti-oleo bill would reduce 
the demand and price for cotton-seed oil. and hence of cot¬ 
ton seed to the farmer. .Since no such result has occurred 
it is probable that the southern farmers will find out that 
pure butter is as much needed in the South as elsewhere. 
The rapidly increasing interest in the dairy in the South 
will also build up an interest in pure butter there. Hence 
we do not believe that in the future the southern farmers 
or their representatives in Congress will be found favoring 
any repeal of the oleo law. 
We hope not; if there is any section on earth that 
needs the dairy cow and the benefits she brings to 
pocketbook and soil it is the South—particularly the 
Gulf States. 
* 
It would be hard to think of a more absurd and mis¬ 
leading statement than that recently published in the 
National Provisioner under the caption of “A Million 
Pounds of Dirt.’’ That authority upon oleomargarine 
must be very short of material when it has to resort 
to the dissemination of such statements. Tt claims that 
“analysis proves that every pound of butter produced 
contains from one to five per cent dirt,” and on this 
basis the consumers of Minnesota creamery butter, 
which is designated “dairy grease,” have eaten some 
thousands of pounds of “plain dirt.” Who is the au¬ 
thority for such foolishness? It is doubtful if any food 
product reaches our tables as free from outside con¬ 
tamination as butter, and if the percentage of dirt in 
butter has ever been computed it has been found to 
be exceedingly low. We do not care to argue about 
the advantages of hutter over oleomargarine, but will 
say the many statements unfavorable to the use of the 
latter product which were made under pressure in con¬ 
nection with the recent congressional inquiry when the 
Grout bill was being considered, have left no doubt as 
to the two important matters; viz., (1) The great su¬ 
periority of butter over oleomargarine, and (2) The 
willingness of oleomargarine people to resort to dis¬ 
honest means to dispose of their product as butter. 
BREVITIES. 
Half-(1o a tiling and see the hole grow in it. 
Kai.e and cabbage for those Oregon cows—first page. 
Tell us all you can about painting trees to keep off 
vermin. 
Let the new ideas alone until you are dead sure of a few 
old ones. 
Better the dish of baked beans paid for than the turkey 
bought on “tick." 
The more you gain the respect of people the surer you 
must be of your facts. 
It’s no argument to say “you’re another"—it's more like 
an admission of a serious fact. 
Texas farmers will raise peanuts for their oil when cot 
ton seed becomes unprofitable. 
Let’s lay aside a few pennies. There will be voting with 
the postage stamp to do a little later. 
Milk from that Oregon herd is sent to a condensery. 
The cows are fed silage and cabbage, too. 
The time to buy coal is when the air is dry and the coal 
is well dried out. Otherwise you buy 200 pounds or more 
of water with each ton. Do you think water will burn? 
A French wine maker at Carcassonne has been fined $19,- 
400 for adulterating wines with ingredients dangerous to 
the public health. Foreign authorities seem very careful 
In enforcing all pure-food laws. 
The R. N.-Y. covers the world pretty well. One. reader 
in New Zealand asks where he can sell kangaroo skins. 
Another, in Alaska, where he can buy fertilizer, and another 
if he can use a windmill for generating electricity. 
The Department of Agriculture wants an expert who can 
distinguish fresh-killed from cold-storage birds, his ser¬ 
vices being needed in enforcing the game laws. If his 
duties are to take the form of game dinners at expensive 
restaurants there will be a lively stampede to secure the 
position. 
