46 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
January 21, 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 1850. 
Herbert W. Colling wood, Editor. 
ur. Walter Van Fleet, / 
Mrs. K. T. Hoyle, t Associates. 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal I’osta) Union, $2.04, 
equal to 8s. (id., or 8y 2 marks, or 10^ 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 anv' such swindler will be publicly exposed. We 
protect subscribers against rogues, but we do not guarantee 
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. 
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 I’earl Street, New York. 
SATURDAY, JANUARY 21, 1905. 
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. 
* 
The Government’s case against the “Beef Trust” be¬ 
fore the Supreme Court seems to us complete. 1 here 
seems to be clear proof that the packers and cattle 
buyers have combined to restrict trade, and that such 
trade is a part of interstate commerce. These things 
bring the “Beef Trust” within the United States law. 
* 
We read in the newspapers of southern farmers who 
are burning cotton because of overproduction, and then 
look across the street at a little girl whose protection 
against the biting January cold is a ragged and out¬ 
grown cotton frock, too soiled and faded to show its 
original color. Somehow we don’t like to say very 
much about overproduction until every man, woman and 
child in this nation has enough to eat and to wear. 
* 
The Department of Agriculture at . Washington 
stands ready to test samples of seeds which may be sent 
by farmers or seedsmen. Such tests will show whether 
the seed is adulterated or not, and what per cent may¬ 
be expected to sprout. The Department recently ob¬ 
tained 742 samples of Alfalfa seed, and found 23 lots 
adulterated with Burr or Yellow clover. Why not 
offer to buy your seeds this year on the basis of Govern¬ 
ment inspection? 
* 
T he College of Agriculture at Cornell feels the 
effect of the hard work done last Winter. 1 hough the 
new buildings have not been erected, and accommoda¬ 
tions for students are more crowded than ever, the 
total registration for the Winter courses thus far is 200, 
against 13G last year. There are 92 students in dairy¬ 
ing, with accommodations for only 80. Many more 
would have come had there been room. The class in 
general agriculture has been doubled. This is very en¬ 
couraging, and indicates what will happen when the new 
buildings are ready. All told there are 384 agricultural 
students at Cornell. 
* 
Mushrooms seem to have about struck bottom in the 
New York market, some having sold recently at five to 
10 cents per pound. Part of this surplus of poor mush¬ 
rooms is the fruit of those circulars scattered about the 
country for the past two years, telling how easy it is 
to raise mushrooms, and what enormous prices may be 
had for them. One even had the “nerve” to say that 
this product would sell readily for $2 per pound—quite 
a difference between this and 10 cents. We looked up 
some of the concerns sending these circulars out, but 
never found them at home. The “office” of some was 
only a letter box by a doorway, to receive mail. 
* 
The reckless auto driver has come in for a blast this 
year from many of the new governors. Gov. Roberts, 
of Connecticut, was especially severe in condemning the 
rascals who rush over country roads without regard 
for life or property. He says that some rich scoundrels 
purposely run at full speed, and boast as a cheerful part 
of their trip how they violated the law and either bought 
off the constable or paid a cash fine. Gov. Roberts 
wants the law changed so that these aristocratic crimi¬ 
nals will be jailed instead of fined! A good suggestion 
—which should be put in force at once. A few days 
behind the bars will show such people what the speed 
limit is. They discredit the worthy citizens who own 
autos and try to regard the rights of others, 
* 
Horticultural Commissioner Cooper of California, 
recently imported from southern Europe 1,200 speci¬ 
mens of a parasite which is known to prey upon the 
Codling moth. These specimens will be used for breed¬ 
ing, and as soon as possible millions of the insects will 
be distributed all over the State—wherever apples are 
grown. In their European home they are said to hold 
the Codling moth in check. If these parasites can be 
made to work in this country as they have in Europe 
it will be hard to estimate their value to fruit growers. 
Far better to set “bug against bug” if the combination 
will work. 
* 
The remarks about black-nosed Guernsey cattle show 
how a “fad” may discredit worthy and useful things. 
There is no evidence to show that these black-nosed ani¬ 
mals, or the strains of blood from which they come, are 
inferior as milk or butter producers. Yet fashion is 
against them, and they must be sold for less. We are 
asked in this connection if we would like to see a man 
with a flaming red nose occupy a pulpit! No fair par¬ 
allel can be drawn between the two. A red nose is 
often a misfortune, falling upon a temperate man of high 
moral character. It would require a saintly life in 
public and private to make it adorn a pulpit. 
* 
In hunting for facts about hand separators we have 
found a new business—nursing dairy calves. Dairy¬ 
men who retail milk in large towns cannot afford to 
raise calves—the milk is worth more to feed human 
youngsters. Yet such dairymen often have fine cows, 
and would like to keep their daughters. We find that 
in some cases these little things were fed a few days 
on whole milk, and then carried back among the hills, 
where a farmer has a hand separator and sells cream. 
When the calves are strong enough they are raised 
on warm skim-milk and grain, and sent back as year¬ 
lings or with the first calf to the town dairy. This 
arrangement enables a milkman to keep the blood of 
his best cows without loss of milk, and gives the hill 
farmer a better price for skim-milk than he could find 
elsewhere. Thus the hand separator serves as a wet 
nurse for milk calves and does it well. 
* 
The following cheering report comes from an officer 
of the Michigan State Grange: 
You will be interested to know, I am sure, that Master 
G. B. Horton in his annual address to our State Grange 
called attention to the need of better wire fencing, and 
the State Grange voted to work for a better galvanis- 
ing process, to be insisted upon by lazv. At our Execu¬ 
tive Committee, just held, the subject zvas placed among 
the matters for the sub-committee on legislation to 
follozv up. This is in line with zvlmt The R. N.-Y. is 
doing! 
That is the way the thing is going. It is just what 
we said at the beginning. It will be talked about for 
a while—then farmers will begin to insist. When they 
do that in earnest the end will be in sight—far away, 
perhaps, but still in sight. Keep at it! The experiment 
stations will come in time. They ought to head the 
procession; now they must take a place down the line. 
Will the New York State Grange get ori the right side 
of the fence? 
* 
lx criticising our public school system, it is well to 
remember that, just as a stream cannot rise higher than 
its source, a school-cannot well be higher in character 
and effectiveness than the community from which it 
draws its support. The school system may be faulty; 
it ignores the personal equation, both in the case of 
child and teacher, and we must be prepared for a cer¬ 
tain number of misfits in both relations, but it repre¬ 
sents the best training and knowledge at present avail¬ 
able. The parent who washes his hands, figuratively, 
of any responsibility concerning his child’s training, is 
at once the despair of a good teacher and the oppor¬ 
tunity of a bad one, but he is more willing to attack 
the system than to acknowledge his own dereliction of 
duty. With few exceptions, the children who do well at 
school are those who have been trained at home in re¬ 
spect for authority and for knowledge. It does not 
necessarily follow that the parents give actual help in 
the lessons themselves; they may be too unschooled to 
do that, yet give most valuable assistance in the forma¬ 
tion of character itself. If a school is unsatisfactory the 
community which supports it has the means of reform 
at hand, for the highest functionary in our educational 
system is but the hired servant of the State, and we have 
ourselves to blame if we permit political partisanship 
or personal feeling to befoul the very fount of learn¬ 
ing. But we must not forget that the foundation of all 
education is within our homes. Idleness, disregard of 
authority—a base materialism that seeks no higher 
things—all these are, in the public school, but an out 
ward expression of the errors of parental training, or 
of the absorption of money-getting that hands our most 
cherished institutions over to be the sport of circum¬ 
stance. 
* 
Wire! Wire! Wire! That is the cry we hear 
everywhere. Letters are pouring from everywhere. At 
every farmers’ meeting we attend we find people who 
have lost money by buying worthless wire. Wire! Be¬ 
fore long it will be war! Probably you never thought 
of the point made in the following note: 
Farmers everywhere are indignant at the fraud practiced 
on them in selling wire nominally galvanized, but rusting in 
two or three years. Wire can he and formerly was galvan¬ 
ized, so that it was practically rust-proof, and there is no 
excuse for putting out such an article as they do to-day. 
When Uncle Sam buys armor plate he has an inspector on 
hand to see that it is all right. Farmers collectively buy 
wire amounting to many times the bills the Government 
pays for armor plate, but there is nobody to see that the 
work is done honestly. It seems to me that the Department 
of Agriculture should investigate this matter, and find out 
what should be done, so that when the farmer buys galvan¬ 
ized wire he may get galvanized wire, and not an imitation. 
Keep up the agitation, as the farmers are all with you. 
Where would our boasted navy be if the armor plate 
were not carefully inspected? Right where thousands 
of wire fences are now. If Uncle Sam inspects armor 
plate why should wire fences pass without inspection? 
Who is to do it if not the public institution conducted 
by public money? Of course we shall keep up the agi 
tation. Wait and see the agricultural papers and the 
stations come into line! 
* 
We have at least a dozen letters from readers who 
have received notice that they have “won a prize.” The 
letters for typewritten circulars) state that the person 
addressed is entitled to a piece of jewelry, and that for 
a small sum to cover postage or packing it will be sent. 
What puzzles most people is the fact that such letters 
contain a little slip of paper with their own name and 
address written on it. The signature is evidently genu¬ 
ine, and people who know that they never tried to 
win any prize cannot see where that signature came 
from. It is not hard to explain. All people write busi¬ 
ness letters. These are kept for a while, and then sold 
for waste paper. A man may go to a junk dealer and 
buy thousands of such letters for a little money. It is 
easy to clip off the signature and send it back with one 
of these circular letters. It may be that John Smith 
five years ago wrote a letter which he has now forgotten 
all about. It would be easy for somebody to buy that 
letter as waste paper, cut off the signature and send it 
back to John Smith with the information that he has 
“won a prize.” It is a sharp game for selling goods. 
There are some people who reason that probably a 
mistake has been made—that some one else won the 
prize, and that they will say nothing but secure the 
goods. That is just what the man who sends the letter 
figures on. Is the jewelry valuable? It costs you 
35 or 95 cents “to pay for packing.” That price will 
cover the original cost of the jewelry, packing, postage 
and also a big profit for the dealer. That will give you 
an idea of its value. Prizes that we know we never 
won are not likely to prove very satisfactory. 
BREVITIES. 
Arh you eating two apples a day? That is the minimum 
dose. 
In order to answer a question off-hand you must have the 
information on band. 
A gentle hint from each of 100 R. N.-Y. readers will 
make a good-sized "kick." 
This weather makes the man with a large gang of men 
at work hunt for profitable jobs. 
Weeds that grow in the mind—“envy, hatred, malice and 
all uncharitableness.” Clean cultivation is needed. 
Wiiat about it? Other things being equal, are insects 
more destructive in sod or in cultivated orchards? 
Cement shingles are the latest. They are made of Port¬ 
land cement put on a metal frame, with loops at the side 
for nailing. 
The yearly bill for farm machinery in this country is 
8100,000,000. How much of this did the “weather" eat up 
on your farm? 
This is what we call an expressive postscript from a New 
York friend: “Kick the auto red devil for me, and also 
the fence wire manufacturer." 
Those butter records on page 42 put the Dutch Belted at 
the bottom of the list. Has performance at the pail been 
sacrificed, for the distinctive marking? 
Chop off one-third from every long speech at that agri¬ 
cultural meeting and give the time to questions and discus¬ 
sion. Never mind if the speaker does get prodded a little. 
It will do him no harm. 
Telephone trespasses and line fence questions seem to 
cause much friction among rural property owners, judging 
from our correspondence. The great corporations often show 
a disposition to ignore private property rights. 
“Let mercy be tempered with justice,” we said on page 
928. “Why not justice by mercy?" asks a reader. It 
usually is. All the advice we have seen on the subject runs 
one way. We thought it was about time to give the other 
side a chance. 
