3i2 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
April 27 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 1850. 
with it, and there would have been enough left to buy 
all the sheep in the country; at the same time there 
were thousands of people living on charity and thou¬ 
sands more without food or clothing.” 
* 
Herbert W. Coelingwoob, Editor. 
Dr. Walter Van Fleet, / 
H. E. Van Deman, ^Associates. 
MRS. K. T. KOYLE, \ 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. . 
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“A SaUARE DEAL.” 
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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, 
responsible advertisers. Neither will we be responsible for the debts 
of honest bankrupts sanctioned by the courts. Noi Ice of the complaint 
must be sent us within one month of the time of the transaction, and 
you must have mentioned The Bural New-Yorker when writing 
the advertiser. 
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appear In every letter. 
Itemlttances may be made In money order, express order, personal 
check or bank draft. 
THE BUBAL NKW-YOBKKB, 
409 Pearl Street, New York. 
SATURDAY, APRIL 27, 1901. 
We understand that Congressman Tawney, of Min¬ 
nesota, will introduce the anti-oleo bill as soon as 
Congress meets, so it will be the “Tawney bill” this 
time. That's a good name for it. Webster defines 
“tawny” as matter that looks as if it had been 
tanned. That will describe the appearance of the 
oleo people when that bill runs over them. Mr. Taw¬ 
ney has been an active champion for honest butter, 
* 
Now the Secretary of Agriculture is preparing for 
a free tree distribution, in addition to his free Gov¬ 
ernment seeds, and perhaps, in the course of time, 
we may see a free distribution of hammocks, garden 
settees, spike-tooth harrows, spraying outfits and 
grafting wax. Or perhaps Uncle Sam may further 
gladden us with a free distribution of outing hats, 
bicycle tires and tennis rackets. Why not? 
* 
Readebs will remember that last Winter H. M. 
Stringfellow, of Texas, issued a challenge to peach 
growers who would plant trees according to his sys¬ 
tem of close root-pruning. Two Maryland growers 
have accepted the offer. One is in the mountains 
and the other on the lower level lands of Kent 
County. The trees have been planted. The Hope 
Farm man has also planted several hundred trees in 
this way. We hope to give regular reports from these 
experiments. 
* 
The Jewish agricultural school at Woodbine, N. J., 
has set an example in business which other schools 
might copy. This school seeks to fit boys for a job 
and then fit them into one. They advertised, and as 
a result we understand that every boy who was ready 
found a good place. Some of the agricultural colleges 
are trying this method; it would pay them all to try 
something of the sort. The teachers in the Jewish 
school go further. They start their graduates with 
a year’s subscription to The R. N.-Y.—often paying 
for it out of their own pocket. That is what you 
might call giving a boy a liberal education in agri¬ 
culture and then nailing it in. 
* 
The American Grocer gives the following estimate 
of the value of some of the beverages consumed by 
the people of this country in the year 1900: 
Alcoholic drinks .$1,059,563,787 
Coffee . 125,798,530 
Tea . 37,312,608 
Cocoa . 6,000,000 
Total .$1,228,674,925 
Probably the amount expended for “soda water” 
would bring this total nearly to one billion and a half 
of dollars. A few other figures taken in connection 
with this drink bill are interesting. The total value 
of all paper money in this country March 1 was $1,- 
455,188,260. On July 1, 1900, our total interest-bear¬ 
ing public debt was $1,023,478,860. One year’s con¬ 
sumption of alcoholic drinks would pay every dollar 
and square up last year’s interest charge of $33,- 
545,130. Here are the total values of certain farm 
crops: 
Total value of cotton crops.$334,847,868 
“ “ Potato crops . 90,811,167 
“ “ Wheat crops . 323,525,177 
“ “ Oat crops . 208,669,233 
“ “ Barley crops . 24,075,271 
A farmer, while following the plow, has much time 
for reflection. We have often wondered what the 
plowman has in mind. It might not be a bad plan for 
him to turn this thought over in his mind as he 
watches the furrows fall: “The money spent for 
liquor last year in this country did no one any real 
good. It would have paid our National debt. All the 
five crops named above could have been purchased 
At the last session Congress gave the National 
Agricultural Department authority to inspect butter 
for export. When such butter is found up to the re¬ 
quired standard the Department inspectors may cer¬ 
tify, grade and label it. This authority will go into 
effect July 1. The Department regulations have not 
yet been formulated, but efforts will be made to pro¬ 
mote the export of the kind of butter which foreign¬ 
ers desire. Of course any butter may be exported 
whether inspected or not, but naturally the butter 
guaranteed by the Department would have the prefer¬ 
ence. For some years now the Department has been 
studying the foreign butter markets. The idea of this 
new plan is to give the foreign trade a chance to buy 
certified products if they desire to do so. 
* 
We have read newspaper statements about the dog 
tax law of Westmoreland County, Va. One report 
stated that the tax was so large that the dogs would 
soon pay for the new county buildings. The fact is 
that this tax (50 cents and $1) brings in about $800 
per year. Thus far it has been largely evaded. When 
beads of families are asked whether they own the 
several dogs known to lodge at their home they often 
claim that the curs are owned by members of the 
family whose names are not on the assessor’s list! 
Hereafter all dogs on the premises will be assessed 
as the property of the head of the family. This will 
add at least one-third more to the income from this 
tax. The object of the tax was not revenue so much 
as a desire to get rid of as many sheep-killing curs as 
possible. Still, if the curs can bark out $1,000 revenue 
so much the better! 
• 
The New York Legislature has finally killed the 
proposition to spend $26,000,000 for improving the 
Brie Canal. Two classes of citizens combined to de¬ 
feat this measure—the farmers, who do not want any 
money spent on the canal, and city people who want 
a great deal more than the bill called for. The State 
Grange and other agricultural organizations took 
strong grounds against any appropriation. The farm¬ 
ers can see no benefit to agriculture from any canal, 
for it will simply aid in bringing western food pro 
ducts into the territory properly fed from their own 
farms. The New York City commercial associations 
want a great barge canal, which would cost the peo¬ 
ple of the State $100,000,000, more or less. It seems 
like an outrage to saddle this tremendous expense 
upon the State when the benefit if any would go to 
New York City and the western shippers. If such a 
canal is built it should be a National ditch—the ex¬ 
pense borne by the entire country. 
ak 
The Governor of New York has signed the bill pro¬ 
viding that milk cans stamped with the name of the 
owner must not be used by others without the owner’s 
consent. Another good move is now in order, name¬ 
ly, a law to compel receivers of milk in this market 
to turn a jet of live steam into every can before it is 
returned to the farmer. This would be no special 
hardship, for connection with live steam may be had 
without great cost at most of the receiving stations. 
If the cans are allowed to stand several days un¬ 
washed the milk dries and they never get thoroughly 
cleaned. Live steam is the stuff for this business. 
Some of these cans are sent back in a horribly filthy 
condition. We have seen them partly full of swill 
and garbage from restaurants. The law forbids the 
selling of skimmed or separated milk in this city, 
even for what it is, and hundreds of people are thus 
deprived of a cheap and wholesome Summer food, yet 
there is no law to keep the dirty old milk can from 
traveling back and forth, peddling and mixing with 
the milk cartloads of filth and germs. 
« 
A LAW in Minnesota prohibits pool-selling and 
book-making on the fair grounds. For six years this 
law has been enforced, with the result that the State 
Fair has been a great success. The friends of the 
gamblers and the “tough” element have tried again 
and again to have this law changed. This year they 
waited until six days before the end of the session, 
and then put in an amendment. They called it “An 
act to encourage horse breeding,” but it would prob¬ 
ably have killed the original law. They thought it 
was too late to bring farmers and their friends to¬ 
gether, but they forgot the rural telephone. As soon 
as the nature of that bill was known the telephone 
wires began to hum! By the time the Senate com¬ 
mittee got together for a hearing their room was 
crowded with people who had come to protest against 
that bill. They had talkers with them, too, and when 
a few of them finished the pool sellers never said a 
word and the bill was killed by a unanimous vote. 
That was a glorious day for the telephone and the 
tongue. Whenever the farmers of this country will 
get together and talk up fairly and fearlessly they 
will defend their rights successfully. 
* 
A citizen of Minnesota, Samuel Haugdahl, won 
great fame at Paris as a butter maker. His tub of 
creamery butter traveled all the way from Minne¬ 
sota, stood up against the work of the best butter 
makers of Europe, and bowled them all over—win¬ 
ning the grand prize. In referring to this the Minne¬ 
apolis Journal well says: 
If the victories of peace are no less than those of war, 
Kansas may have her Punston, Georgia her Hobson and 
Iowa her Calvin Titus. Minnesota is quite content with 
her matchless butter maker. 
Unfortunately the “victories of peace” are not so 
popular as those of war. In our opinion the man who 
writes his country’s history in butter is far more de¬ 
serving of applause than he who smears it in blood. 
Yet, the white apron of the butter maker must take 
a back seat for the soldier’s blue uniform! Which, 
say you, was more productive of good to the plain 
farmers of this country—the capture of that Paris 
dairy prize or the capture of Aguinaldo? 
* 
Among the many bad bills proposed by the present 
New York Legislature few were more worthy of un¬ 
qualified condemnation than the so-called Stranahan 
mortgage tax bill. This measure proposed to levy a 
nominal tax on mortgages for State purposes and to 
exempt them from local or municipal taxation alto¬ 
gether. It also proposed to exempt from taxation 
altogether mortgages held by insurance companies, 
title guarantee companies, savings banks and similar 
institutions. By the first condition this gives mort¬ 
gages a preference in the matter of taxation, above 
all other kinds of property, and by the second claim 
gave insurance companies, banks and trust companies 
a virtual monopoly of real-estate mortgage invest¬ 
ments. These favored monetary institutions operate 
for the most part in cities. On the other hand, farm 
mortgages are mostly held by individuals who would 
be taxed, and they would find in this an excuse for 
advancing the rate to the legal limitation. The city 
owner would probably be able to borrow, at as low 
a rate, as before, from the favored institutions by 
bearing the entire burden of local taxation, while the 
holder of his mortgage escaped the tax collector en¬ 
tirely. The farmer, however, would bear the burden 
of local taxation just the same, and would suffer 
besides an advance of interest rate. 
* 
BREVITIES. 
Hans brought his fortune on his back, 
Down at the bottom of his pack, 
Wrapped in a bag beside his shirt. 
He kept two quarts of German dirt. 
Brought from his own loved Fatherland; 
And with his hard and clumsy hand 
A rose he planted in it—then 
He said, the happiest of men, 
“I pring dot soil mit Chermanie 
To dake me pack mit memory. 
Dot rose from Gherman soil he grow 
Der true Amerigan—dot’s so!’’ 
So may the swarming hordes that come 
From Fatherland to find a home. 
Root like the rose in memory 
Of all things good across the sea.. 
Yet grow to noblest type of man 
Worthy the name—American! 
The robber cow can’t fill the can. 
Don’t think that the letter / is the “key note.’’ 
A coward can turn even a bubble into a trouble. 
Mr. Hoyt and Mr. Bassett discuss the spraying problem. 
Throw light into dark places—especially when seed 
potatoes are there. 
There has been much complaint about adulterated 
clover seed this year. 
The California fruits have ruined the market for 
evaporated raspberries. 
A GOOD sign—most of the experiment stations are is¬ 
suing bulletins on Summer forage crops. 
The hen puts all her eggs in one basket—but then 
thfe hen knows more about eggs than you do! 
“There is that scattered that increaseth!” For in¬ 
stance, your own strength when you give it to others. 
Total money cost of the war in the Philippines to 
date about $280,000,000. Total cost to England of the Boer 
war $725,000,000! 
Wanted! Information from those who have used a 
spray pump for putting on whitewash or paint. What 
nozzle? How thick is the wash made? 
Reports accumulate of hens that make a good living 
on cow peas! We have made some claims for cow peas 
in our day, but for us they have not laid eggs. 
We feel sure that we can raise crops for less money 
by putting the manure over more ground and piecing 
out with potash and phosphoric acid in chemicals. 
'Phe recent article on Pear blight by D. R. Pease has 
called out many questions about the use of lime and sul¬ 
phur. Another article next week will answer them. 
