June 15 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
424 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FABMEB'S PAPEB. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homea. 
Established 1850. 
HEBBEBT W. OOLUNGWOOD, Editor. 
Db. Wai/teb Van Fleet, J 
u. E. Van Deman. >-AsBooiates. 
Hbs. E. T. BOYbE, \ 
John J. Dillon, BuBlness Manager. 
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THE RUBAI, NEW-YORKER, 
409 Pearl Street, New York. 
SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 1901. 
Reports from some sections are that in spite of a 
heavy bloom on the apple trees comparatively little 
fruit has set. The drenching rains during flowering 
are responsible for this loss. It remains to be seen 
how general this condition is. In ordinary years a 
crop estimate made during blooming will give a fair 
Indication as to the crop. This year all such esti¬ 
mates must be revised. We want to hear from read¬ 
ers everywhere about this matter. What are the fruit 
indications nowl What proportion of the fruit has 
actually started? Has spraying been as effective as 
usual? Now gentlemen, get together on these things! 
• 
We are afraid there is trouble ahead for a good 
many of us. The season so far has been very wet 
and most farmers are two or three weeks behind. 
Much land that has been planted has been improperly 
fitted, plowed, harrowed and planted when too wet. 
Some have plowed, harrowed and planted almost in 
mud. Many seeds have rotted; some whole fields of 
potatoes gone. The land has been fined, as it was 
too wet to harrow, and the harrow has done more 
harm than good. The soil is lumpy, and the horses 
going over fields have simply scratched about an inch 
on top, while they stamped all under so hard that 
nothing can easily penetrate the soil. Weeds will be 
thick, and as haying and hoeing will surely come to¬ 
gether, something will be neglected, and we look for 
poor yields on many farms. 
* 
Danish butter enjoys a high reputation in European 
markets, and it is evident that the dairymen of Den¬ 
mark Intend to keep in advance of the procession. A 
number of them have formed an association for the 
employment and maintenance of an expert, who will 
visit the farms of the members at certain intervals 
to ascertain the quality and quantity of milk from 
each cow, and to keep an accurate record of the same. 
The results will be summed up at stated intervals, and 
a reliable statement given as to the value of the cows. 
It Is not, however, necessary for a farmer to join an 
association to carry out such intelligent work; each 
one may and should carry out these estimates for 
himself. The interesting point, however, is that 
Danish farmers are so fully alive to their best in¬ 
terests, and so ready to work together to hold trade. 
The fact that they have almost a monopoly of mar¬ 
kets we are trying to reach makes any study of their 
methods valuable. 
* 
A CORRESPONDENT is inclined to criticise the atti¬ 
tude of The R. N.-Y. on pigeon-shooting and similar 
brutal sports, claiming that it is no worse than hunt¬ 
ing or fishing, which are generally conceded to be 
legitimate and not inherently cruel pastimes. The 
hunting of wild game in a sportsmanlike way is vast¬ 
ly different from the deliberate public slaughter of 
tame doves, with the incidental agony of painful 
wounds that do not cause Instant death. Yet we 
think that the time has arrived in the progress of real 
civilization when even the pursuit of wild creatures 
purely for recreation in populated districts should 
cease. Game birds and animals really have little 
chance against the modern battery of dog and per¬ 
fected gun, and with the exception of a few destruc¬ 
tive species they may well be preserved as the friends 
and companions of man. It should never be forgotten 
that humanity has as yet barely emerged from bar¬ 
barism. We all feel a recurring desire to go out and 
kill something, or at least overreach somebody in 
one of the many devious ways of legal robbery which 
constitutes modern business. It is well to restrain 
these savage longings as much as possible. While 
progress is slow toward human refinement, neverthe¬ 
less real advancement is taking place. One of the 
hopeful opportunities for substitution of artistic in¬ 
terest for cruelty is the pursuit of wild creatures with 
the camera instead of the gun. Accurate and vivid 
photographs of birds and animals have been caught in 
their natural surroundings by skillful and patient 
amateurs. To secure such pictures requires the ex¬ 
ercise of the highest ingenuity of woodcraft, and is 
a pastime worthy of the most ardent lover of nature. 
To capture a successful portrait of a wary denizen of 
the field or forest is a satisfaction that far transcends 
the brutal exercise of the slaughtering power, and 
does the timid subject no harm. 
• 
The proprietors of transportation companies were 
quick to see the advantage in their controlling grain 
elevators and other storage facilities. They were 
thus able to handle the grain, and could practically 
freeze out those who tried to put up elevators along 
their lines. While much of the profit thus made is 
legitimate, and merely the result of business methods 
which looked into the future and studied the possible 
relations between carrier and the produce carried, yet 
there is no doubt that in numerous cases they have 
taken an unfair advantage of the grain farmer, who 
was obliged to depend upon their storage and suffer 
from their manipulation of prices, in some sections 
of the West farmers are forming associations and 
putting up elevators of their own in which they can 
hold grain independently of the railroads. They have 
no quarrel with the latter, but are simply meeting 
business methods with business methods, and this 
seems much nearer to common sense than any at¬ 
tempt to pose as martyrs, or urge the enactment of 
laws prohibiting carriers from engaging in any out¬ 
side business. 
ft 
This is an era of giving. Hardly a week passes 
without the report of some wealthy man who has 
given millions to the cause of education—in fitting 
out schools or libraries. It is one thing to gather a 
fortune ana then give it away, but quite another to 
give it away without gathering it. Those who do this 
are seldom mentioned. One such man is Prof. S. M. 
Babcock, of Wisconsin. It is safe to say that his in¬ 
vention of the milk test bearing his name revolution¬ 
ized the dairy industry of this country. The Wiscon¬ 
sin Legislature presented him with a bronze medal, 
and in the course of his remarks Gov. La Pollette 
said: 
A colossal fortune was within his easy grasp. He put 
it aside and gave to the public the priceless product of 
his genius and disinterested labor. In the midst of the 
commercial spirit In which we live, surrounded by the 
sordid desire for wealth; Its unscrupulous methods of 
attainment, idolatrous worship, its unworthy power, we 
have in this act an example of pure-minded, honorable 
conduct, placing a public benefactor high in the confi¬ 
dence of the people, above all suspicion of taint. And 
this dedication of his invention to the public possesses 
even a greater moral than money value. 
The rich men who give their millions do well, but 
they would do better if they gave less accumulated 
money and more scattered opportunity. The world 
would be better off in the end if the rich and shrewd 
would improve conditions, so that poor and middle 
class would need less of their money! 
* 
Fob centuries mankind has endured the mosquito 
—not willingly, but because there seemed no help for 
it. This little pest has made human life a burden, 
and has also been the means of spreading malaria, 
yellow fever and probably other diseases. We failed 
to fight the mosquito successfully because the warfare 
was conducted against single adults. They were 
screened out of the house with partial success, and 
now and then one was caught in his bloody act and 
killed. This process proved about as effective as the 
plan of emptying the ocean with a tablespoon. Now 
the fight against this pest has been changed from In¬ 
dividual combat to wholesale slaughter. The scientific 
men have shown us how to destroy the baby mosqui¬ 
toes. Their quiet study of its habits has been more 
effective than all the groans, slaps and bad language 
which the practical men have indulged in. The in¬ 
sects breed in still, fresh water. They will not breed 
in running streams or in salt water. If all the little 
pools and stagnant ponds in a neighborhood can be 
drained the mosquito crop will surely fail from 
drought. Where this drainage is impossible a thin 
film of kerosene oil over the surface of the water will 
put an end to the “wigglers.” Of course this plan re¬ 
quires the cooperation of neighbors in order to make 
it effective—for that matter so does every effort 
against pests which injure us, be they mosquitoes or 
men. By taking care of all water holes or stagnant 
places on our own premises we may do much good, 
buc this work of fighting mosquitoes is a public ser¬ 
vice in which all should take a hand. The so-called 
“board of health” to be found in most communities 
might just as well enforce sanitary laws against the 
mosquito as to quarantine patients who suffer from 
contagious diseases. It is reported that the city of 
Winchester, Va., has been made nearly “mosquito 
proof” by the enforcement of an ordinance requiring 
people to use kerosene in all vaults and sinks. Form¬ 
erly the insects were so bad that guests were driven 
away. On Long Island an area containing 25 square 
miles has been examined by an engineer and every 
stagnant pool or pond will be drained or oiled. These 
things show that people are moving against the mos¬ 
quito, and it is high time they did so. Science shows 
how the work may be done, and now provides a mo¬ 
tive for doing it by proving that this winged and 
spurred enemy is responsible for spreading disease. 
ft 
We know of a farmer who was started into better 
farming by the questions of a little child. He was a 
good-natured, easy-going man whose great fault was 
a lack of system and purpose. At times he would 
wander aimlessly about doing a job here and another 
there, without thought or careful planning. His lit¬ 
tle child tagged him about with one simple question: 
“Father, what are you going to do next?” She saw 
her father turning from one thing to another, doing 
nothing thoroughly—making so many turns and 
changes that her little mind was confused. “Father, 
what are you going to do next?” This question was 
asked again and again. At first it annoyed the man, 
but he was naturally good natured, and the child was 
so persistent that at last the man fell to asking him¬ 
self the same question. He began to see the folly of 
talking about “the next” thing before the thing in 
hand was done. He also saw the loss that was sure 
to occur in taking up the next thing before it was 
well thought out. This little tale is true. The farmer 
was driven by his child to ask himself the same ques¬ 
tion, and in time he was able partly to organize his 
plans, and make the connection between the present 
job and the next one more businesslike. What are 
you going to do next? 
BREVITIES. 
Of all the flowers from roses down to tansy 
There’s nothing hits me like unto the pansy. 
Them little posies—jest like people’s faces— 
Keep noddin’ to ye in their proper places. 
Proud, patient, smilin’, happy, sweet an’ sour. 
Why, I can sit an’ watch ’em by the hour. 
An’ note their changes; when the sky is bright, 
They jest beam out with cheerfulness and light; 
But let a cloud come skipping o’er the sun. 
An’ off their face the happy look will run. 
An , like a man that wrinkles up his brow 
When trouble comes, them leaves are crinkled now. 
An’ so they change, from sorrow up to gay. 
An’ back again the whole day long; I say. 
We got no use for any other flowers 
Except them pansies in that yard of ours. 
Don’t let the hogs suffer for water. 
Too many milch cows are filch cows. 
An unboiled dish rag becomes a rag weed. 
Read the “Household tests” for oleo—page 430. 
Wb would like to know how you cool and handle your 
milk. 
The best thing a ‘‘wet blanket”—human or fiber—can 
do is to dry up. 
How can you give your work a ‘‘square deal” without 
cutting the corners? 
C. D. L. speaks a good word for the despised skunk 
in his fruit report on next page. 
It requires a strong antidote of shingle or slipper to 
correct the doting of some fond aunties. 
We want Information about automatic stable cleaners 
or any devices for handling the manure quickly. 
Why not make the expensive farm machinery so strong 
and durable that the manufacturer need not expect to 
sell to the same man twice In a lifetime? 
Our fruit crop reports Indicate that the wet weather 
has been a great hindrance to spraying, and insect 
troubles are likely to be a serious matter in consequence. 
At one, time Holland led Europe as a dairy country. 
It began to encourage the oleo factory, while Denmark 
encouraged the cow. Of course, the Danes now lead the 
Dutch in dairying. 
The patron of a cheese factory will often refuse to 
buy cheese because it would cut down his monthly check! 
Yet he will use some of that money to buy meat or more 
expensive food. 
It seems that poultry men now sell large numbers of 
little chicks just as they are hatched from the Incuba¬ 
tors. This plan is said to suit many buyers better than 
purchasing the eggs. 
This is the way one reader puts It: ‘‘The R. N.-Y. Is 
a treasure house of joy to the intellect and a source 
of profit to the pocketbook. May the kicker at Hope 
Farm be the only one in Its clientage!” 
No! There are patriotic kickers who serve their coun¬ 
try with their toes. 
San Francisco has Instituted quarantine against cases 
of consumption entering that port. This disease is ex¬ 
tremely common in the Philippines, due partly to the 
climate, and partly to the susceptibility of the natives 
to the disease. 
Wb know of one farmer who cut potatoes for two 
acres, having all preparations made, expecting to plant 
the next day. Rain set In, and he was unable to plant 
for three weeks. Although the seed was rolled in plaster 
and spread out It decayed, and was a total loss. 
