524 
July 8, 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
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. 
Dr. Walter Van Fleet, | . „ . . 
Mrs. K. T. Roy le, ( Associates. 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04, 
equal to 8s. Gd., 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 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 Pearl Street, New York. 
SATURDAY, JULY 8, 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. 
♦ 
PRIZES FOR GARDEN PLANS . 
We offer prizes of $5, $3 and $2 for the best three 
plans for a farmer’s garden. We want a drawing show¬ 
ing how the garden was planned, and a brief statement 
of the vegetables grown, the work required and some¬ 
thing about the product. We want only plans of 
farmers’ gardens, showing how a good supply of vege¬ 
tables can be provided year after year without inter¬ 
fering with the regular farm work. We do not want 
essays on amateur gardening or stories of special work, 
but simply accounts of plain farmers’ gardens. The 
drawings and essays must be here by August 1. 
★ 
Nearly every day we read of some brave man or 
woman who saves a child’s life at the risk of their own. 
They rush into danger of some sort, and quickly pluck 
the child away. Such people deserve the credit and 
glory they receive. Yet the bravery they show is no 
finer than that of the man or woman who takes a little 
child into the family and brings it up to be a good citi¬ 
zen. There are often long drawn-out sacrifices and dis¬ 
appointments about such an experience that are never 
considered by the public. It still remains a fact that the 
farmer who takes a homeless waif and gives it a loving 
home, and trains it for good citizenship, does more for 
his country than any soldier who kills an enemy in 
: battle. 
* 
It is nearly time for the annual contest between fruit 
buyers and fruit growers over the prospects for apples. 
The buyers start reports every year showing that the 
country is full of apples. Their plan is to talk “big 
crop’’ and discourage growers into selling at a low 
figure. Ten years ago the growers were nearly helpless 
in the face of these reports, for they had poor facilities 
for learning the facts. Now they are well organized, 
and collect reports for themselves. As a rule those 
reports are fully as accurate as those collected by buyers, 
and they have saved a great deal of money during the 
past few years. While it is early yet to give any really 
accurate estimate of the outcome, every report thus far 
indicates a smaller crop than last year. In western New 
York everything points to a loss of nearly 50 per cent 
of last year’s crop. The wet weather has caused scab, 
and many trees have produced large crops for several 
years. This year they will take a rest. It would not be 
safe to make final figures now. but there is every indica¬ 
tion of a short supply of apples. Now we shall see what 
the buyers have to offer. 
* 
The Arizona man who refers, on page 525, to the 
alarming spread of tuberculosis, says, rightly enough, 
that victims r f the disease are not blameless in this 
, matter, since they drink from public cups in the cars 
and expectorate freely about the floors of cars and 
depots. This is perfectly true, but why expect a higher 
standard of public decency from a person dying of pre¬ 
ventable disease than from another? Take a short 
railway journey on any warm day, and watch the pro¬ 
cession of travelers, young, old, healthy, diseased, clean 
and dirty, who constantly drink from the one common 
drinking cup. In most cases there is no real need for it; 
it is habit rather than thirst. An antiseptic cup of 
parchment paper costs 2 l / 2 cents, and can be carried in 
a pocket book, but apparently it is too much trouble to 
avoid promiscuous drinking. As for the promiscuous 
expectoration, the fact that special crusades by city 
health boards are necessary to suppress it makes 
one fear that Dickens was painfully accurate in some 
offending passages in “American Notes.” Every 
reform in public manners must begin with the indi¬ 
vidual. It is not the tuberculous alone, but the public 
as a mass, who must be educated to higher standards 
of sanitation. Start every child with his own individual 
towel and wash-cloth, and he will soon resent a com¬ 
munistic drinking cup. 
* 
Before the great naval battle much depended upon the 
success of the Japanese fleet in concealing its harbor. 
If the Russians could have been sure where it was their 
plans would have been changed, and they might at 
least have saved some of their ships. It was necessary 
to the safety of the empire that the hiding place be 
kept secret. It is said that the Japanese refused to 
discuss the fleet. Even the newspapers were silent. No 
one talked—all avoided the subject. Every citizen felt 
confidence in the admiral, and all knew that he could be 
helped best in this case by silence. The result was that 
the fleet was not located. The Russians fell into the 
trap set for them. I he whole thing was an illustration 
of the wonderful self control and skillful obedience of 
the Japanese. It also shows, by contrast, the power of 
public discussion, for if silence will help keep a secret 
open discussion will let in the light. 
* 
The State of Maine derives some revenue from 
licenses to shoot game. “Sportsmen” come into the 
State to kill birds and animals, and pay the State for the 
privilege. One would think therefore that the question 
of the farmer’s rights against destructive game would 
be well settled in Maine. When we were collecting 
information about robins and the game laws we wrote 
to the State Attorney of Maine. We asked if a farmer 
who shot a robin or other bird in the act of destroying 
his fruit, would have a valid defense in claiming that lie 
was defending his crops. The following answer was 
received: 
I bare made examination of our reports, and find that no 
such case has ever been adjudicated within this State. The 
question has been, however, discussed quite extensively. 
What the court would hold in such case, I am unable to say. 
neither do I wish to express a definite opinion in relation 
io the constitutionality of the law. My impression, however, 
is that should the matter come before the courts, it would 
be held to be no defense that a person killed game or birds 
in close time, where they were destroying his crops. 
It is hard to understand why such a defense would 
not be valid. Is a man to stand by and see his property 
destroyed by birds or animals with no power to prevent 
it? The Delaware law is far better. In that State a 
farmer is permitted to shoot birds when they are caught 
in the act of destroying his fruit. 
* 
Most people who read the papers are more or less 
familiar with the disclosures regarding the management 
of the Equitable Life Assurance Society. No one doubts 
that the society is perfectly solvent and abundantly able 
to pay all claims upon it, yet all who have followed the 
developments of this case must realize that the modern 
system of life insurance is in danger. Thousands of 
men have paid money for life, insurance. Many of them 
worked hard and made sacrifices to secure the money 
with which/ to pay their premiums from year to year. 
In most cases the motive which impelled them to do this 
was a noble one—that of providing for wife and children 
in case of their death. The money which these men 
have paid in has created an immense surplus. It was 
understood that the greater part of this surplus or profit 
belonged to the policy holders. Most endowment poli¬ 
cies state that at the end of a certain time the profits 
of the company are to be paid out. Most people who 
take such a policy do it as an investment—but they find 
that the interest paid is usually no more than that paid 
by a savings bank. The money which they have paid in 
goes to enrich a few favored ones. Great salaries are 
paid, sometimes to men who do not work. Great pen¬ 
sions are kept up and salaries are even paid to the 
families of dead men. Officers are permitted to specu¬ 
late with these funds, and the money is employed in 
various questionable ways. A group of farmers may 
pay their insurance premiums—the cost often being far 
more than is needed with economical management to 
insure their lives. The money they pay may be loaned 
to promote some railroad scheme or some corporation 
which will prove directly harmful to the farmers’ inter¬ 
est. In view of the disclosures now clearly made it is 
evident that one of three things will happen. The 
present methods of life insurance must be reorganized 
and changed; the National Government will be obliged 
to take charge, or the business of life insurance will be 
wiped out. People will not continue to pay money for 
insurance unless they are assured that this money is 
safe, and that it is honestly invested. The disclosures 
are useful because they show the fearful amount of 
“graft” in the modern system of handling money. Far¬ 
mers are learning al> the time that the safest place 
to invest their money is at home in things which make 
the farm more comfortable and more productive. 
* 
A few years ago we gave a full account of the so- 
called Torrens system of registering land titles. Under 
this system the title to a piece of real estate becomes 
a part of the deed. Upon application of the owner a 
careful search is made by the authorities. This is certi¬ 
fied to, and is made a permanent record against the 
property—no further search being necessary. When the 
property is sold there is no need of making another long 
and expensive search, because the official records go 
with the deed. 1 his plan is in operation in parts of 
several States and after once established has proved 
very satisfactory. Here is a case which shows what 
would be saved by this system. A piece of property in 
a town near New York bordered on an open brook. 
The owner mortgaged the property to build a house on 
it. 1 he Loan Association which lent the money ordered 
a thorough search of the title—the lawyer charging the 
owner $50 for making it. A few years later a sewer 
is built through the brook, and special taxes are assessed 
upon the property. The law authorized another search 
of title and the owner is now actually forced to pay $25 
more for it! Probably every time the property changes 
hands there will be a demand for a new search at a 
price depending upon the size of the owner’s pocket- 
book. Under the Torrens system such things would not 
be possible. The official record would show that the title 
was clear and there would be no need of making a new 
“search.” A new character would be given to property, 
and thousands of dollars would be saved every year to 
buyers. 
* 
It is a popular thing to abuse a nurseryman and 
charge him with blunders. There are two sides to every 
discussion. Here is an actual case. A farmer ordered 
some trees and grapevines and also 200 strawberry 
plants. The goods were packed and shipped. In due 
time the farmer wrote giving mild praise for the trees 
and vines, but complaining that the strawberry plants 
were not in the package. The nurseryman knew those 
plants were packed and sent, but the farmer was so 
honest in insisting that they did not come that there 
seemed nothing to do but pocket the loss. Then there 
came the following explanation. The hired man opened 
the package. He saw a bunch of straw on top, took it 
out and threw it over the fence. Then both he and the 
farmer looked carefully for the strawberry plants, but 
could not find them. J wo weeks later the farmer hap¬ 
pened to see the bunch of straw. As it did not look- 
well he lifted it with his fork and on shaking it out fell 
the missing strawberry plants! As the weather was wet 
they were still alive and, when planted, made a good 
growth ! The hired man had without knowing it, picked 
them up with the straw and thrown them away. The 
farmer was an honest man, who wrote at once and 
admitted the blunder. We are sorry to say that some 
men could hardly bring themselves to admit that they 
had made such a mistake, and would not have notified 
the nurseryman. We print this story to show how care¬ 
ful men should be in making complaints about nursery 
stock. The nurseryman has been and always will be 
abused for making blunders. Give him credit at least 
for the good he does. 
BREVITIES. 
Prevention is easier than destruction. 
The sticky fly paper is stuck with castor oil. 
We have great faith in the future of the poultry business. 
The Delaware crop of Crimson clover seed is short and 
high. 
Think of a man witli a noble education selling it to help 
ignoble things. 
It sometimes requires a ton of trouble to pound in an 
ounce of prevention. 
Mr. Jamison’s experience with dynamite caps is worth 
committing to memory. 
A most unfortunate man is he who has no way of enter¬ 
taining himself, and must go to others for entertainment. 
Mr. Sylvester Johnson, of the Indiana Horticultural So¬ 
ciety, writes: “I am 82years old and still eating apples.” 
Now Mr. Rich Man, wouldn't you, if you could, keep the 
power of your wealth away from your son until his char¬ 
acter is formed? 
The Connecticut Experiment Station advises tobacco grow¬ 
ers to sow Hairy or Russian vetch as a catch crop after the 
tobacco has been harvested. 
The people of Fiji, who have just been introduced to the 
automobile, call it “the father of all devils.” They have- 
not yet suggested anything more appropriate for the road- 
hog chauffeur. 
A New York milkman was recently jailed for 15 days for 
selling watered milk. He had previously been fined for a 
similar offense, and it is said that in future such offenders 
will be discouraged in this way. 
The Bureau of Fisheries is asked to investigate the grad¬ 
ual disappearance of the mackerel from New England waters. 
Perhaps New England has hurt the mackerel’s feelings by 
giving the Cape Cod turkey first rank. 
