36o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
April 29, 
The Rural New-Yorker 
TUE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER. , 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established. 1850. 
Herbert W. Colling wood, Kditor. 
UR. WALTER VAN FLEET,! . , 
Mrs. K. T. Hoyle, fAb&ociaveB. 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal I’ostal Union, ?2.04, 
equal to 8s. 0(1., or 8 Vi marks, or 10 Vi 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 any' 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 tc 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, APRIL 29, 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. 
* 
People are responding to the invitation to send the 
free seeds back better than we expected. Here is a 
sample note from Michigan: 
I am returning a package of “free seeds” to-da.v to my 
Congressman after the manner shown on page 2<>2. If you 
feel so disposed, please send a marked copy for March 25 to 
lion. E. L. Hamilton, Washington, I). C. 
The Hon. Mr. Hamilton has received the paper duly 
marked. We trust he will read the article with care. 
Perhaps he is under the impression that his constitu¬ 
ents are sitting up nights in their eagerness to receive 
those seeds. Let him know that when the seeds do 
come the chickens usually eat them! 
* 
• « *• ^ 
“Goon roads!” The question of improving rural high¬ 
ways is one of the most important now open for discus¬ 
sion. In New York the people are to vote on the propo¬ 
sition to bond the State for $50,000,000 of road money. 
In road making there are certain underlying principles 
which must be understood by road builders. Knowledge 
of those principles should not be confined to a few 
engineers or experts. Highway commissioners, over¬ 
seers, farmers’ sons—in fact, those who are to (ise and 
control the roads—should understand them. It -has 
been suggested that a Winter course in road making • 
should be established at the Cornell Agricultural Col¬ 
lege. This is a good idea, and the course ought to be 
started next Winter. A meeting will be held at the 
College, beginning May 16, to discuss the matter. All 
road builders who can do so should attend this meeting. 
If the State is to spend a large sum of money on roads 
the money should be wisely spent. Here is a chance to 
help start the thing at the foundation. 
* 
In New Jersey licenses to sell liquor are granted by 
the county ; udge, who is supposed to give hearings 
before acting. When a liquor seller applies for a li¬ 
cense (which, by the way, is usually paid for by some 
brewing company'! the temperance people usually circul- 
late a petition against granting the license. This is sent 
to the judge, and that frequently ends the opposition. It 
often happens that the liquor dealer is supported by 
a dozen well-known citizens, while no one appears to 
back up the temperance petition. Judge Zabriskie very 
truly said last week that if five earnest men would 
appear in opposition to a license it would have far 
greater weight than a petition bearing 500 signatures. 
Uublic men know how to size up such things, and they 
rarely fail. There is little or no value in the average 
petition. Many people sign it to get rid of the matter. 
They do not consider their signature as carrying over 
five per cent of its weight. The same thing is true 
of other matters. Tt is the strong, personal influence 
that makes itself felt. 
* 
The New York Legislature has killed the Sheldon 
anti-docking law, which would put a stop to further 
senseless mutilation of horses in this State. Laws for¬ 
bidding the docki g of horses have usually been inopera¬ 
tive. because it is difficult to prove the offense, but this 
bill would make possession of a do._Ked animal punish¬ 
able. It provided that all docked horses in the State shall 
be registered b> their owners within one year from the 
passage of the act, and after the expiration of the year 
no more docked horses may be registered; it shall be an 
offense to have in possession, regardless of ownership, 
an unregistered docked horse. Everyone who really 
loves the horse would be gladdened by this law, which 
would cause the abolition of a cruel custom which only 
leads to deformity. The absurd little whisk-broom tail is 
ugly enough on the petted carriage or riding horse, but 
we only realize the actual brutality of the custom when 
we see some broken-down equine drudge, neglected and 
ungroomed, trying to protect himself from a plague of 
flies, when rendered helpless by the cruel fashion that 
docked him in days of youthful beauty. 
* 
We find a number of the agricultural papers printing 
articles and pictures of the “seedless” apple. The R. 
N.-Y. has printed accurate pictures of the apple, but 
the papers we refer to pay no attention to this original 
work. The cross section of the fruit has been 
painted or waxed over to lide the core, and the 
deep cavity in the apple appears filled with what 
looks like putty. The papers which print such stuff are 
certainly brave friends of the farmer! We have been 
asked why a paper like (lie Scientific American prints a 
long, favorable notice of the apple! That is a ques¬ 
tion which ought to be referred to the paper in ques¬ 
tion. It is possible that it, like some other wise men, 
confines its scientific studies to laboratory practice, thus 
knowing little about practical things. We have reported 
several “seedless” apples found by farmers, and others 
as wild seedlings—some of them quite as good as the 
Spencer fruit. If the Scientific American could get 
away from its office desk for a short time it might learn 
a few things to its advantage. It might even sit still 
and read in old books that “Seedless” apples have been 
known and recorded since the first century, and always 
regarded as of no practical value. 
* 
British gardeners are preparing to present a testi¬ 
monial to Henry Eckford, of Wem, Shropshire, in 
recognition of services in the improvement of sweet 
peas. Mr. Eckford, who would probably regard Dr. 
Osier as a mere boy who will acquire wisdom with 
experience, has passed his eightieth year, but he is 
still hale and vigorous, and as busy as ever among his 
beloved flowers. He has been working with sweet peas 
for about 35 years. When he began the best collection 
consisted of five varieties only; as a result of careful 
hybridizing he has extended the list to lengthy propor¬ 
tions, a majority of the best varieties now known com¬ 
ing from his work. It usually takes about six years to 
finish a new type of sweet pea. Mr. Eckford has sent 
out a number of meritorious culinary peas, and in past 
years devoted much attention to the imorovement of 
Verbenas. He has never sought to exploit himself in 
any way,! conducting a nursery in connection with his 
work'as a-hybridizer, but he holds the affection of all 
garden lovers in his own country, and many an Ameri¬ 
can amateur gardener, as he admires the delicate beauty 
of his sweet peas this Summer, may think with grati¬ 
tude of the bearded patriarch of Wem, whose patient 
work first brought their fragrant loveliness to perfec¬ 
tion. 
* 
The frauds brought to the notice of the Postoffice 
Department each year would fill a very interesting 
volume, and give a picture of dishonesty on one side, 
and credulity on the other, not very flattering to human 
nature. Among the stars of this evil galaxy as given 
by a Postoffice Department official in The Outlook was 
the offer of seeds from Jonah’s ground, which were 
distributed among Bible students for the modest sum 
of $1 each. One persevering purchaser who failed 
to grow the first seed sent for a second, which she 
received with the advice to watch closely, as her failure 
with the first was probably due to the fact that, true 
to the Bible description it “came up in a night and per¬ 
ished in a night” thus escaping her observation. Inves¬ 
tigation proved that the failure to grow was not so 
much the result of Biblical origin as of boiling to de¬ 
stroy germinating power, the seeds being those of 
everyday pumpkin. The worst feature of this fraud 
was the fact that every dollar spent upon it took just 
that much money out of the pocket of a responsible 
seedsman, who would fill the dooryard with Summer 
beauty for the same amount. Then there was the 
Nebraska “professor” who would send the great secret 
of attracting and retaining love, “based on scientific 
principles,” for the niggardly fee of 25 cents, and who 
spoils the effect of his reply, which sounds like a page 
from “The Polite Letter Writer” by signing himself 
“Yours for suckers.” It is true that his advice does not 
seem entirely practical; after telling the inquirer that he 
must think constantly, with his whole soul’s intensity, of 
the one who holds his affections, he remarks, “in addi¬ 
tion to that you must not drink,” which suggests a 
life-long prospect of unending thirst if the lady does 
not relent. Easy-work-at-home and get-rich-quick 
frauds are of constant occurrence, strengthening the 
conviction that while the law tries to protect the honest 
and sincere, it cannot protect the credulous or avaricious 
from the effect of their folly. We should also learn to 
look with doubt upon the paper that admits such adver¬ 
tisements to its columns, and support the publisher who 
honestly tries to protect readers from “the powers that 
prey.” 
* 
In the discussion of the wire fence question we fre¬ 
quently receive letters like this: 
My experience is that the wire is worth the money that 
it costs, and it is not the manufacturer who is to blame, 
but the purchasers. The majority are bargain hunters and 
demand something cheap, only looking at the first cost; and 
the dealers, to keep up and meet the demand, call for some¬ 
thing cheaper, and the manufacturer, to protect himself, 
tries to cheapen and meet the popular demand. If you will 
scratch the men who are raising such a howl about cheap 
wire you will find the present price too high. It is not 
quality but cheapness. 
Tiiis man writes from Indiana. He says he is just 
taking down some barbed wire that has stood for 20 
years, and cost 12J4 cents a pound! We have heard this 
argument before. The answer to it is the statement 
that you cannot to-day buy at any fair price wire that 
will be guaranteed to last another 20 years. What man¬ 
ufacturer will guarantee wire fence to last a term of 
years or stand a chemist’s test? There are plenty of 
people who will pay for such a guarantee. Suppose a 
number of people have demanded cheap wire at a low 
price. Why should their demand create the only stan¬ 
dard of wire? What we are working for is the chance 
to have some option in the matter. Tell the public how 
to know good wire from bad, and they will pay a fair 
price for a good article. 
* 
The great majority of our readers are well fed and 
reasonably well dressed. On a farm, with reasonable 
judgment, it is usually possible to provide three good 
meals a day for the family. Probably very few of us 
know what it is to endure hunger, or to face the alter¬ 
native of starvation or the acceptance of public charity. 
These things make it hard for us to realize that there 
are 10,000,000 people in this country who live in poverty 
—not knowing at some time where the next meal is to 
come from. The great majority of such people live in 
cities. A large proportion of them are children—who 
are to be the men and women of the future. A hard¬ 
working farmer, with a comfortable home and fair as¬ 
surance of plain comforts for his fami'y may be indif¬ 
ferent to this statement. “What is this to me?” he may 
say. “If people are in poverty in this prosperous coun- 
trv it must be because they are lazy, incompetent or 
intemperate—in other words, it is their own fault!” His 
statement will very likely be true of many of the adults, 
but not of the children, who are the most important 
part of this army of the poor. With nearly one in eight 
of all the people in this country more or less dependent 
on charity for their very bread we may seriously ask 
whether this nation is truly prosperous. With one part 
of the people wasting money and food, while another 
part suffers for the lack of this very waste, the middle 
class of plain people must suffer in the end. Let the 
man with the comfortable home read the following: 
Modern life has no more tragical figure than the gaunt, 
hungry laborer wandering about (he crowded centers of in¬ 
dustry and wealth, begging in vain for permission to share 
in that industry, and to contribute to that wealth ; asking 
in return, not the comforts and luxuries of civilized life, 
hut the rough food and shelter for himself and family, 
which would l>e practically secured to him in the rudest 
form of savage society. 
Let us suppose that all of the 10,009,000 poor could 
receive the food and clothing arid fuel that they really 
need—and no more. Does any farmer imagine that this 
increased demand would not benefit his farm and his 
business? Waive the moral argument entirely, if you 
will. It remains true that the improvement of this great 
army of poverty so that it may buy food and clothing 
offers the best industrial opportunity which farmers 
have in sight. _ 
. BREVITIES . 
Give the brooder chick a chance. 
Go fishing later on—get busy now. 
Don’t be In a hurry to plow up the Alfalfa. 
Read the potato talk on page 335. Are you gel*g to 
spray this year? 
Better let off your feelings In reading good poetry than 
in writing poor verse. 
The deaf man doesn't hear the birds sing—but that 
doesn't prove they are not piping up. 
Last year Great Britain grew 55,437 acres of Alfalfa, 
showing a decline of 7.7 per cent as the result of a bad 
season. 
Do those who are trying to sell seeds and young plants 
of ginseng not know that the Chinese refuse to buy the 
cultiv'ated root? 
The information that practically every life preserver 
used by steamboats ou the Atlantic coast has been con¬ 
demned by the Government Inspectors is not very reassur¬ 
ing to those whose business compels daily travel by water. 
A new English hybrid orchid which received the Royal 
Horticultural Society’s Order of Merit is named Brasso- 
cattieya-digbyana Schroderae-tankervllle. It is described as 
showing a delicate blush tint, which doubtless results from 
hearing its name. 
The Massachusetts Legislature is considering a law pro¬ 
viding that landowners shall cut down or otherwise de¬ 
stroy all wild carrots growing on their property or on 
highways adjoining, under penalty of fine for each day of 
neglect. Are weed ordinances usually enforced where they 
exist? 
