396 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
May 13, 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 1850. 
Herbert W. Collingwood, Editor. 
Dr. Walter Van Fleet, f , 
Mrs. K. T. Rovle, ^Associates. 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04, 
equal to 8s. (id., or 8% 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 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 he 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-Yorkicu when writing tDe 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, MAY 13, 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 fence wire question is now becoming more popu¬ 
lar. Several of the agricultural papers have taken up 
the subject, and the bureau of steel investigation at the 
Department of Agriculture is working. We said some 
months ago, when we were alone in the field, that after 
our readers once got fairly started they would force 
the other papers to help out. Here they come, and as 
usual claiming pretty much the whole credit for the 
work. 
* 
We are glad to have the Morgan horse brought to 
attention again. Any man who has ever had a horse 
with this blood in its veins knows there is no better 
animal for farm service. It is one of the most remark¬ 
able things connected with American farm history that 
this noble breed was permitted nearly to run out. With 
the improvement in New England farming we hope 
the Morgan horse will return to prominence. Next to 
her men and women, the Morgan is the best specimen 
of live stock New England has given to the world. 
* 
As we may read on page 390, Kansas is to use the 
county poor farms for experiment work. Something 
of the sort has already been done in Iowa. As out¬ 
lined by Prof. Ten Eyck, the plan seems an excellent 
one. The poor farms are public property, and some 
of them are sadly neglected. If the principles of agri¬ 
cultural science are practical these poor farms offer a 
grand opportunity for the experiment station people to 
demonstrate the fact. It seems to us that the salvation 
of one of these farms would be of far greater benefit 
to the majority of farmers than experiments conducted 
on the soil of some highly successful farmer. 
* 
Some of those men who told us a dozen years ago that 
horses were dead property and that horse breeding was 
doomed should go out and try to buy a good jiorse to¬ 
day. Such animals never were higher or harder to find. 
Just why this is so is a great mystery. The theory of 
a dozen years ago was perfect. Automobiles, trolley 
cars, electric trucks and bicycles have all taken up work 
that was formerly done by the horse. Yet in spite of 
the vast increase of these things good horses and good 
hay are higher than ever 1 Here is a case where fact 
has destroyed theory, and who will say to-day that 
horse or mule breeding is not one of the most promising 
branches of farming? 
* 
We recently referred to the fact that 10,000,000 people 
in this country must depend more or less upon charity. 
A friend in Connecticut states the matter as follows: 
“Your editorial beginning “The majority of readers,” 
on page 360, comes mighty near the real seat of pres¬ 
ent-day troubles. Glib professional writers on subjects 
economic are fond of ascribing dull periods, with at¬ 
tendant hunger to workers, to overproduction. Such 
a term is an insult to intelligence so long as masses go 
without food and clothing. The only real and endur¬ 
ing prosperity is based on the ability of the great mass 
of people to live well and make purchases. Our pres¬ 
ent system is crude, artificial and unreasonable. It 
seems to me the heart of the matter is distribution of 
products. This brings the question back to railroads, 
where all investigators eventually arrive. With good, 
honest railroad service, and special favors to none, in 
connection with a parcels post, the plenty of one sec¬ 
tion could more rationally be put at service of the 
needy section. And every soul concerned would be 
benefited.” 
* 
More farm work is done by the day now than ever 
before. In some sections the entire system has changed, 
banners plan to do less than formerly, and arrange 
their work so as to do as much as possible by the labor 
of their own family. When extra work is required 
they hire by the day if possible. Thus the following 
question from a reader in Maine becomes interesting: 
Would it not be a good idea to get the price of wages paid 
per day of 10 hours to farm hands where they board them¬ 
selves? Here (he wages are from ?1.35 to $1.50, 10 hours’ 
work; boys 12 to 14 years old $1. 
We would like to have statistics from other sections. 
We shall probably find that the price of a day’s labor 
at farm work has increased. The expert hand who can 
do farm work well is now making about as much as a 
good mechanic in the city. He is making more, if you 
consider the possibilities for saving. 
* 
What is known as the Fish bjll has passed both 
houses of the New York Legislature and gone to the 
Governor for his signature. This bill makes it neces¬ 
sary for persons in charge of any station where milk 
is bought and sold to take out a license which is to 
be granted by the Commissioner of Agriculture. The 
Commissioner is given power to reject applications for 
such a license if deemed wise, and also to enforce the 
provisions of the law. Before taking the license the 
applicant must file a statement under oath that he will 
not suffer or permit the adulteration of milk or any 
product thereof. The object of this bill is to attempt 
to prevent the present practice of skimming or adulter¬ 
ating milk. In some cases milk is bought under con¬ 
tract and delivered at stations where it is skimmed 
just enough to bring the skimmed milk above the legal 
standard. Thus while the farmers are paid only for 
milk the dealer sells both milk and cream. It has been 
found next to impossible to stop this practice under the 
present law, but the Commissioner hopes, by means of 
the new law, to control the situation. 
* 
Certain “sportsmen” in Orange and Ulster Counties, 
N. Y., are said to have made up a fund to buy and 
liberate large numbers of rabbits. The object evidently 
is to increase these rabbits so that the “sportsmen” may 
have the pleasure of hunting and killing them. Natu¬ 
rally the farmers object to any such a scheme. Of 
course a farmer ought to be content to sit still and see 
the rabbits bark his fruit trees and destroy his crops, 
but somehow he doesn’t feel like doing it. Fruit grow¬ 
ing in the Hudson Valley has become a great industry, 
but there is absolutely no sense in planting new orchards 
if rabbits are to be petted and protected. It is stated 
that over 50,000 apple trees were destroyed by these 
pests last Winter. The rabbit or the farmer must go. 
Better plant the rabbits than quit planting trees. The 
Walkill Valley Farmers’ Association has called a meet¬ 
ing at Walden, N. Y., for May 22 . The Granges and 
other farmers’ organizations are urged to send represen¬ 
tatives so that the situation can be faced and properly 
handled. The danger is a serious one. Unless some¬ 
thing is done at once Hudson Valley farmers must en¬ 
dure on a smaller scale the rabbit curse that nearly 
ruined Australia. 
* 
Mr. T. Greiner, in Farm and Fireside, seems to think 
that postage stamps will not stick to the Hon. Thomas 
C. Platt. Hear him! 
The Rural New-Yorker advises its readers to plaster 
Senator Platt with postage stamps, making him realize that 
there really is a public demand for a parcels post, which 
demand the Senator professes he has never yet noticed. We 
might better save our postage stamps. Mr. Platt is not in 
the United States Senate for fun. Will you attempt to pre¬ 
vent a duck from swimming when it finds itself in congenial 
waters? Will you try to kill an elephant by firing mud 
bullets at the big pachyderm from a hoy’s blow-gun? Yet 
these things would he just about as easy as to make the 
representatives of big corporations give up their soft snaps 
voluntarily. The time may come when United States Sen¬ 
ators will be elected by popular vote instead of by the Leg¬ 
islature. In that case Platt and other representatives of 
greedy corporations will not find it quite so easy to get into 
the Senate. In the meantime, however, why waste postage 
stamps on Platt? 
A line from Scripture will apply to Mr. Greiner: 
“Oh, ye of little faith!” 
We have seen larger men than Senator Platt stagger 
under the load of stamps which were pasted on their 
backs. The blow gun will not kill the elephant, but 
if the boy keeps blowing away the elephant will “move 
on” and give the procession a chance. No one desires 
to injure Senator Platt! The farmers of New York 
put him in the Senate, and for that reason, if for no 
other, they have the right to ask him to do their work. 
Nobody knows better than Senator Platt what it will 
mean to have 50,000 farmers convinced that he is work¬ 
ing against their interests. Therefore we say—Keep 
right at him fearlessly and without any let up. “Save 
postage stamps!” A stamp on Senator Platt’s back is 
better conomy than ten cents in the pocket, because we 
shall get the stamp back with good interest when we 
finally secure the parcels post. No! No! The R. N.-Y. 
will not sit down and grieve because Senator Platt is 
a large man and a postage stamp is a small thing. 
Keep at him cheerfully and fearlessly till he helps us 
or is stamped out of sight. 
* 
1 here has been quite a little complaint from farm¬ 
ers at the price charged for “nitro-culture.” It was 
first stated that a packet of the culture cost the Gov¬ 
ernment four cents. Now we find the following state¬ 
ment made by the bacteriologist of the Virginia Experi¬ 
ment Station: 
In order to protect the farmers of Virginia from having to 
pay this enormous price, the Experiment Station at Blacks¬ 
burg is preparing for distribution this Spring pure cultures 
of Alfalfa bacteria. There being no funds available for this 
purpose, a charge of 25 cents for sufficient quantity to inoc¬ 
ulate an acre will he made, which is about the actual cost of 
manufacturing, packing and mailing 
This is six times the cost as stated for the Govern¬ 
ment “culture.” The Experiment Station is able to use 
members of its staff for the work without extra cost. 
Suppose they were obliged to hire people to do this 
work, and also pay advertising expenses and fair 
profit, as all private enterprises must do. Naturally the 
cost would be greater. No private concern can com- 
• pete with the Government. 
* 
Some of the papers are again talking about silk culture 
for American farmers. The figures are certainly start¬ 
ling. This country imports, great quantities of raw 
silk—-nearly 90 per cent of it from Japan, Italy and 
China. In order to produce the silk here in large quan¬ 
tities there must be some class of American farm la¬ 
borers who are willing to work after the fashion of silk 
producers in these foreign countries. We do not think 
there are yet many Americans who are willing to do 
this. There are, however, in the South a good many 
farm women who might easily make $30 or more each 
year by feeding some silk worms. This is already being 
done, to some extent, in North Carolina. Such work 
does not interfere greatly with ordinary farm work, 
and enables farm women to earn a fair amount of pin 
money. We do not believe that many of them would 
care to go into silkworm breeding as a business. If a 
large number of such people can be induced to hatch 
and feed a fair number of eggs—about as they would 
keep a few swarms of bees—the output of raw silk 
in this country may be slowly developed. We do not 
see any other chance for it. One trouble is that the 
great stories printed in the papers give sharpers a 
chance to “boom” silk culture as an industry. 
BREVITIES . 
The Frances peach seems to rot badly on the tree. 
The sun and high winds were good for the cherry bloom. 
What are the objections to keeping sheep on a dairy farm? 
Prof. Slingerland describes a plan for self-mixing Bor¬ 
deaux on page 391. 
Lime and sulphur or pure carbolic acid is the “wax" wo 
suggest for “grafters.” 
We learn on page 391 that the prepared limes are val¬ 
uable. Preparation pays in anything. 
“The Passing of the Noon Hour,” page 391. There were 
some good things about that old noon hour too. 
When you find the farmers of a section following some 
general practice you can make up your mind that it is pretty 
nearly right ! 
Do you know of any case where corn silage has been sold 
for a cash price? What did it bring per ton? We want 
figures on this point. 
It is reported that peach stones from California can¬ 
neries are dried and sold for fuel. They are said to give 
out more heat than coal in proportion to weight. 
At a hotel in Charleston, S. C., we found baked apples 
and strawberries on the card for breakfast Careful obser¬ 
vation showed that the majority called for apples. 
The Attorney-General of New York has ruled that only 
premiums paid in cash are to be considered in distributing 
money from the State to the county fair associations. 
The papers state that burglars induced a Scotch collie 
dog to desert his duty as guard by offering him milk. We 
don’t believe a word of it. Collies are not made that way. 
We have letters now and then from people who praise the 
Government free seed distribution. The chief argument is 
that the seeds are good for a poor man because they cost 
nothing! 
We hear of a fat man so fleshy that life became a burden. 
He tried to commit suicide by jumping into the water, but 
was so fat that he floated! He started in to reduce his 
weight so he would sink, but the exercise made him feed so 
much better that he lost all desire to die! 
A Kansas woman has filed a suit to compel a neighbor to 
confine his bees. She complains that every wash day the 
bees come in her yard and walk on the clean clothes with 
their muddy feet. In the face of such aggravation she 
doubtless feels that the bee man ought to keep his live stock 
chained up. 
