298 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
April 20 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMEB'S PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 1850. 
Herbert W. Collingwood, Editor. 
Dr. Walter Van Fleet, j 
H. E. Van Deman, [-Associates. 
Mrs. B. T. Koyle, \ 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOIiLAB A YEAR. 
To foreign countries In the Universai Postal Union, $2.04, equal to 
8 s. Cd., or 8J4 marks, or 1014 francs. 
“A SQUARE DEAL.” 
We believe that every advertisement In this paper Is hacked hy 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 guar¬ 
antee to adjust trifling differences between subscribers and honest, 
resiwnsiblo 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 transaction, and 
you must have mentioned The Bubal 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, express order, personal 
check or bank draft. 
THE BUBAL NEW-YOBKEB, 
409 Pearl Street, New York. 
SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 1901. 
On page 297 we print the names and addresses of 20 
rogues who have been found guilty of selling oleo 
or watered milk in this city. They have been well 
punished and we are glad to hold them up in black 
ink for the scorn of their fellow-men. One name, 
“Satenstein,” is peculiarly appropriate for a man who 
would engage in such a business. That is not a bad 
name to give some of the big rogues in Congress who 
do more damage by their voting and wire-pulling than 
these little men do by selling! 
* 
As will be noted on page 290, we begin this week 
a new department of Nature Study edited by Prof. 
John Craig, of Cornell. The R. N.-Y. has always re¬ 
garded this method of teaching the principles of soil 
culture as being a connecting link between the col¬ 
lege and experiment station and the common people. 
We take pleasure in introducing Prof. Craig and his 
40,000 pupils, to the readers of The R. N.-Y. As usual 
we make no claims or promises for the new depart¬ 
ment beyond the statement that we believe it will 
contain the cream of the enormous correspondence 
which this popular course is bringing out. 
* 
Secretary Wilson, of the Department of Agricul¬ 
ture, intends to put in operation next year a new plan, 
being the distribution of young trees throughout the 
country. The distribution will be made in a manner 
somewhat similar to that employed in the free seed 
distribution authorized by Congress. Especial atten¬ 
tion will be given to the nut-bearing trees, and to 
those suitable for shade, efforts being made to select 
those specially suited to different localities. Secretary 
Wilson believes that the plan will prove very popular, 
and that it will be of decided benefit to the country. 
The diminishing forest reserves suggest that we need 
encouragement in tree planting. 
* 
A MAN owns an ornamental hedge so covered with 
San Jos4 scale that it is a menace to an entire neigh¬ 
borhood. His next-door neighbor is desirous of plant¬ 
ing trees and shrubs extensively but he is afraid to 
do so, because this would only invite further spread 
of the scale. Moral suasion has no effect on the owner 
of the hedge, who refuses to destroy it, and though 
a State law orders the destruction of such Infested 
plants, there is some doubt whether such a law is con¬ 
stitutional, nor is there money to enforce it. The re¬ 
sult is that a would-be planter looks sadly at barren 
lawn, which he would gladly plant with handsome 
shrubs, and some nurseryman loses the chance of a 
good order, while one selfish owner views compla¬ 
cently a slowly-dying hedge, which is industriously 
infesting its plant neighbors. What can they do 
about it? 
There are many people still who know very little 
about the work done by the American experiment 
stations. Some interesting figures are given by A. C. 
True in a recent bulletin from the National Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture. There are 54 of these stations, 
with 693 workers. The total income from all sources 
last year was $1,170,857.78, and it was practically all 
spent. The National Government provided $719,999.07, 
and the various States $247,281.46 more. From the 
farms connected with these stations $90,088.84 worth 
of farm products were sold. During the year 386 bul¬ 
letins and reports, covering 14,172 pages, were issued. 
There are 562,851 names on the combined mailing 
lists of the 64 stations. These figures give but a faint 
idea of the vast and elaborate system of scientific in¬ 
vestigation that has been organized in the past 16 
years. The time has come when every farmer who 
takes pride in his profession should acquaint himself 
with the station work. It is surprising that with the 
millions of people depending directly upon the soil 
for their support, such a comparatively small number 
should receive the station publications. The highest 
single list is 36,000 names for the Geneva (N. Y.) Sta¬ 
tion, while more than half the number have less than 
10,000. What can be done to bring the help which the 
station offers closer to the farmer who needs it most? 
* 
Here is a case similar to that of the man who fell 
overboard with a bag of money, which, as he refused 
to drop it, dragged him under before help could reach 
him. A liquor dealer in Brooklyn, N. Y., was lifting 
on a barrel of whisky, when the chine happened to 
press on a large diamond ring he was wearing, in 
such a way that the ring cut his finger severely. He 
died from the effects of the wound, as blood poisoning 
set in. Of course such an accident might have hap¬ 
pened to a grocer in handling a barrel of sugar, but 
as a rule grocers do not wear diamonds and are not 
so thoroughly pickled with liquor that slight wounds 
refuse to heal. There are saloonkeepers who never 
touch the stuff themselves, but they are exceptions. 
* 
We are asked whether the export trade in ginseng 
root is likely to be kept up by foreign demand. Thou¬ 
sands of people, apparently, are planting seeds or 
roots of this plant. Our opinion is that the great ma¬ 
jority of them do not realize the care required in 
growing this crop, and that they will fail; still, the 
output is quite sure to be increased. What about the 
future demand? Most of our crop is sold in China. 
As we understand it, the root has but slight medicinal 
value. The Chinese demand is based largely on su¬ 
perstition. As the Chinese Empire is opened or 
carved up by the swords of modern civilizers we think 
this superstition will die out, and that modern ideas 
of medical practice will prevail. Judging from past 
experience, increased exports of whisky and beer are 
more likely to “follow the flag” than any larger trade 
in ginseng. 
* 
The steel industry of tnis country has just been or¬ 
ganized with a capital stock of more than a billion of 
dollars. This “infant industry” now is under the di¬ 
rect control of one man. He is protected by a liberal 
tariff, from foreign competition. At home he has no 
rivals or competitors. Every individual who uses a 
pound of steel will pay tribute to him. This will ap¬ 
ply to the United States Government, which is a cus¬ 
tomer for material for battleships, as well as to the 
farmer who purchases a plow, a reel of wire fencing, 
or even a pound of nails. When first announced the 
country was startled with the magnitude of this com¬ 
bination of capital, and the individual control of so 
large and important an industry. But there is already 
under way another project that will compare with the 
steel combine in proportion as a camel would to a 
gnat. This is no less than the consolidation of all the 
main lines of railroads in the country under one cor¬ 
poration. These enormous combinations of capital all 
lead to one final result—government control and gov¬ 
ernment ownership of public utilities. 
« 
In the latest issue of the Review of Reviews K. L. 
Butterfield describes what he names “the Hesperia 
Movement.” Hesperia is a town in western Michigan 
—a small village a dozen miles from a railroad. It is 
surrounded by good farms, and the Grange is strong 
thereabouts. It happened that about 15 years ago the 
teachers in the rural schools about Hesperia were a 
very bright and original group of young men and wo¬ 
men. They formed an association of their own, and 
concluded to ask the farmers to meet with them. This 
idea was carried out, and the meetings became popu¬ 
lar, for both teacher and parent were represented on 
the programmes. The result was a permanent asso¬ 
ciation which has held regular meetings and achieved 
results of great practical value. As many old teachers 
well know, the parents in many rural districts take 
little personal interest in the school. The tax-payers 
often growl and the parents find fault, yet the teacher 
is unable to cooperate with tnem as he would gladly 
do. The object of this “Hesperia Movement” was to 
bring tax-payer and home-maker into an association 
with the teacher, and this seems to have been a great 
success. There are better schoolhouses, better school 
yards, better fixtures and better teachers. Better 
books are read and there is a higher standard of citi¬ 
zenship. Life is better worth the living, for the peo¬ 
ple have higher and nobler ideals. This movement 
has spread into several counties of Michigan—always 
with good results. The Grange has proved helpful— 
in fact, without its aid this movement would probably 
have failed, since the Grange had tilled and fertilized 
the soil in which the seed was planted. This move¬ 
ment is commended to other localities. It is always 
desirable to bring pupil, parent and teacher closer 
together. 
* 
We probably have more questions from would-be 
farmers—city men who wish to try country living— 
than any other paper in the country. It would be very 
easy to set such men wrong. They are eager, and 
look upon farming as an easy job. The grass and the 
trees grow easily, they reason, and therefore it must 
be easy to steer nature into profit. The advice we 
give may be estimated by the following note from one 
of our readers: 
Three years ago I asked your advice In regard to the 
purchase of a small farm as a future home In declining 
years. Your advice was to go slow, “as the pay days 
are wide apart and sometimes do not come at all.” All 
you said I have found correct. In three years the pay 
day has not come; corn, wheat and potatoes have not 
paid. I now want to try grass. 
This man, like many others, must learn that years 
are required to master the business of farming. A 
long lifetime finds most men so far short of mastery 
that untimely frost or drought may upset their best 
plans. The man who plants an apple tree knows that 
he must work 10 years before he can hope for a good 
crop. We do not realize that we must also work 
more than 10 years with strawberries or potatoes, 
or cabbage, or grass, before we can master the foun¬ 
dation principles, and really understand the crop. Too 
many of us raise three crops and then stop studying 
—thinking that we know it all! 
* 
BREVITIES. 
Here are some certain rules of health; 
Take them—they’re better far than wealth, 
Don’t overeat, don’t overdrink, 
Don’t overwork, don’t overthink. 
Be not afraid of honest sweat; 
Run like a deer from shame and debt. 
Let not your right hand ever know 
What gifts through your left hand may flow. 
Beware of bigness of the head; 
Get bigness of the soul instead. 
Shun whisky as you would a curse. 
And no tobacco funds disburse. 
Love and respect your fellow man. 
Or come as near it as you can. 
Eat two good apples every day 
And take two solid hours for play; 
And keep this thought in mind, my friend. 
That when your busy life shall end. 
The prize will not be held by one 
Who what men brand “success” has won. 
But by some humbler one who yet 
Leaves to the world least to regret. 
We are what life makes us. 
Sugar plums never cured one of a bad habit. 
We like to see a man’s character ‘‘sparkling with 
do.” 
Who ever learned a real lesson except through suf¬ 
fering? 
“Do men gather grapes from thorns?” Yes, sour 
Ifrapes. 
People of the Russian steppes show a desire to make 
the Czar walk Spanish. 
The strength of the will power is determined by the 
ability to say “I won’t.” 
Some folks make their bed and then instead of lying 
in It try to lie out of it. 
Grind the family skeleton into bone meal and use 
it to fertilize true repentance. 
The best work most of us do is squeezed out of us 
by the pressure of hard conditions. 
A MAN in this city who has lost his left arm and the 
left leg is nick-named “all right.” 
The ability to live on the farm—you can make it a 
glorious privilege or slavery—as you will. 
Raise fruit that suits some well-heeled fellow’s fancy, 
if you would pocket price and profit prancy. 
The keystone of American citizenship is the hearth¬ 
stone. Too many town dwellers never know what this 
is. 
One man objects to The R. N.-Y. because “there are 
so many good things in It that It causes me to burn up 
good oil.” 
Many maple trees In New York State are reported 
so damaged by storm or forest worm that they will 
not be tapped at all. 
“The evil that men do lives after them.” One reason 
for this is the fact that most of us publish the evil 
about others and lock up the good. 
Mr. Corbett, on page 293, backs up the recent article 
by Prof. Roberts In a striking way. It Is wonderful how 
the scales, test and pencil will show up the robber cows. 
English farmers are demanding seed testing stations. 
It seems that English farmers can obtain good seeds if 
they are willing to pay enough for them, yet a vast 
amount of worthless stuff Is sold. 
It is said that the oldest English advertisement is 
a “lost, strayed or stolen” notice Inserted by King 
Charles II. for a little dog he had lost. We are not 
told whether this advertisement paid. 
Pomelo is the proper name for what the market 
calls “grape fruit;” but what would you get If you 
called for it properly in the average fruit store? It 
would be like asking an Italian peanut man for a pint 
of legumes. 
