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THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
July 22, 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established. 1850. 
IIehbkut W. Colling wood, Editor. 
Du. Walt eh Van Fleet,! . 
Mus. K. T. Kovlk, (Associates. 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04, 
equal to 8s. (5d., 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 trilling 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 Rubai. New-Yobkek when writing the adver¬ 
tiser. 
Name and address of sender, and what the remittance 
is for, should appear in every letter. 
Uemiltances may be made in money order, express order, 
personal check or bank draft. 
TI1E RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
409 Pearl Street, New York. 
SATURDAY, JULY 22 , 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 tile 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 . 
* 
Practically every report that comes to us states 
that the apple crop will be short. We have never 
known a more uniform statement. It is all one way, 
and seems reliable. It will be interesting to see what 
the apple buyers sav. 
♦ 
Suppose you were to put the following sign up in 
a prominent place in your barnyard: 
The boss considers himself fully able to do all the 
rum-drmking, all the lighting, all the • swearing , and a 
good share of the story-telling that will ever be neces¬ 
sary on this farm! 
What would be the result of such a suggestion ? 
'1 he absolute necessities of the farm in these depart¬ 
ments may be represented by 0 . The boss would not 
have a hard job. 
* 
Pr is now stated that the oleomargarine people will 
try a new attack. They have been beaten in their 
efforts to use coloring matter so as to make oleo look 
like butter. Now they will try to prevent the use of 
coloring matter in butter. 'Their argument will be 
that since they are deprived of the right to use artificial 
color the dairymen should be made to stand on the 
same footing. The fact is that probably for centuries 
coloring matter of some sort has been used in butter 
making. It has therefore become an established usage 
—a legitimate part of dairying. The natural color of 
butter is that which comes from the most natural food 
*—grass, and any addition of color has for the object 
the retaining of this natural color. The natural color 
of oleo is light and the object of coloring it is to make 
it appear unnatural. 
* 
So far as we know the question of insect injury in 
sod or cultivated orchards has never before been dis¬ 
cussed just as it is in this issue. This question is of 
great interest to many readers. It is admitted that there 
are some real advantages in sod culture. There is less 
labor about it, and the time has come when a man may 
use this argument without being called lazy. Are 
, insects more likely to give trouble in sod? Can we 
call the plow and the harrow insecticides? The ento¬ 
mologists who talk this week, appear to answer yes to 
these questions. They are not entirely agreed, however, 
though the majority reason that cultivation will help 
keep the insects in check. Most of these men reason 
from the habits of the various insects. It will be fair 
to say that what they advance is largely laboratory 
evidence—useful, but not conclusive. Before calling 
the question settled we want to hear from practical 
men, who own orchards, spray and have had chances 
to observe practical conditions. It is one thing to know 
the habits of insects—it is another and in a way more 
important to know just what the insects do under 
practical conditions. What do the fruit growers say? 
From our own experience we are not prepared to accept 
some of the conclusions reached by the entomologists. 
* 
It seems that each year a larger proportion of city 
people go to the country rather than to the seashore. 
It has become a habit with thousands of people to pay 
out money for vacations. We are glad to see the farms 
getting their share. In our own county population is 
more than doubled in Summer, and boarders are met 
at every turn. '1 hey give our farmers new markets, 
induce them to raise more vegetables and fruits, and 
to add conveniences to the house. The Summer board¬ 
er crop is like every other—with good and bad points. 
We have said before that a man to succeed with this 
crop must have the self-control of Job, the courage 
of John L. Sullivan, something of the diplomacy of 
Secretary Hay. He must be blind and deaf at times, 
and at others supernaturally acute In sight and hearing. 
'I he Summer boarder brings cash to the farm. Some¬ 
times he helps draw the boys and girls away. 
* 
"July is an awful month,” said a farmer recently. 
What he meant was that this year more than the usual 
amount of work has been crowded into July. The cold 
Spring held things back. Then the rain delayed culti¬ 
vation, and when suitable weather came, it was time 
for haying, harvesting, and half a dozen other jobs 
which demanded attention. Thus July this year is 
“awful” to farmers who take pride in their work and 
desire to keep their farms clean. To face such a situa¬ 
tion a man must have full control of head and hand. 
He must stop to plan things, and arrange so that the 
various jobs will not conflict. Nothing is more de¬ 
moralizing on the farm at such times than indecision 
or bad planning. Let us give the best comfort we 
can to man and beast, and above all remember the 
women folks in the house. The “awful” July is hard 
on them. They should at least have equal rights with 
the hired man. 
* 
A familiar old question comes from Indiana—this 
time from a woman: 
Can you tell ine where I can secure articles or booklets 
on the raising and management of frogs for market? 
The only pamphlet we know of is issued by the 
United States Fish Commission at Washington, D. C. 
“Frog farming” is boomed now - and then. It is not 
quite as sensible as ginseng culture or Belgian hares— 
a good thing to dream about and forget in waking 
hours. The story told about it is plausible enough. 
Frogs’ legs bring a high price and the demand is 
greater than the supply. If that were the whole story 
there would be millions in it. There is another story— 
told by the frogs. The old frogs gobble up the young 
ones as fast as_ they can get at them. Do not listen 
to the song of those who try to make music out of 
“frog farming.” The hoarsest croak of the biggest 
bullfrog that ever lived in a swamp will not express 
your feelings if you invest money in the “business.” 
* 
'I he following letter has come to us without solici¬ 
tation. It may shed some light on the origin of the 
“seedless apple”: 
I read in The R. N.-Y. of November 26, 1904, an article 
on the “Spencer Seedless Apple,” under the signature of 
H., and the editor said it is from one of the highest porno- 
logical authorities in the country. In closing the article 
he said: “If the source from which the stock of the 
variety was obtained by Spencer could lie located the whole 
matter could, no doubt, be promptly cleared up without loss 
to the public.” In the early fifties I obtained a few scions 
of apple from a man in Virginia, called bloomless, coreless 
and seedless. I was then owning a nursery at Springville, 
Vernon Co., Wis. In a few years I had several thousand 
trees in nursery, and a few in orchard. One of Wisconsin's 
hard Winters killed the orchard trees, and hurt the trees 
in nursery so that I never sold any more trees there. Later, 
I grew a few trees in Grant County, Wisconsin, also Sac 
County, Iowa, just enough to hold this stock. In 1884, 
coming to this place, 1 bought scions and grew them in 
nursery; sold a few trees to a customer, saying. “Wait and 
see what the fruit is. The fruit is not salable, not as 
good as Ben Davis." In 1890, I went to Grand Junction, 
Colo., taking a few trees with me, letting J. P. Spencer 
have part of them. 1 left Grand Junction in 1896, not 
hearing one word of “John” developing the seedless. A. II. 
Jewett, a nurseryman here, grew a few in orchard until 
they fruited, then grubbed them up. There are two trees 
near here that I have for this year, to exhibit the fruit 
at the Lewis and Clark Fair this Fall. If “John” has an 
apple that will do what tlie seedless orange has done, “All 
hail the news.” Charles waters. 
White Salmon, Wash. 
Mr. Waters says that he is 85 years old. As a 
nurseryman of that age he can probably remember a 
good many “novelties” and the way in which they were 
introduced. Now, if John F. Spencer wishes to tell 
what became of the trees Mr. Waters gave him he can 
have the chance to do so. 
THE AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT. 
The National Department of Agriculture has made 
a great feature of its crop reports. The cotton crop in 
particular has received great attention, and the reports 
issued during the Summer have much to do with making 
the price of cotton. These reports are secretly com¬ 
piled, and are supposed to be given out so that all may 
know the situation at once. It is easy to see that in 
case of a considerable change in the prospects for a 
crop the knowledge of such a change 24 hours in ad¬ 
vance would be of great advantage to a cotton broker 
or buyer. In June Richard Cheatham, secretary of the 
Cotton Planters’ Asociation complained that there must 
be a “leak”—that is, that some one who knew what the 
figures were was giving them out in advance. Secretary 
Wilson at first declared that such a thing was impossible, 
but the evidence was so strong that he was finally 
obliged to start an investigation. As a result the 
“leak” was found, and one man, Edwin S. Holmes, has 
been dismissed from the Department. The evidence 
shows that Holmes, through a go-between, gave out the 
figures before their publication, so that certain brokers 
were able to buy or sell cotton and make an enormous 
profit. It would also appear that reports and figures 
were changed so as to give these brokers an extra ad¬ 
vantage. 
Such a disgraceful thing would be bad enough in any 
National Department, but it is worst of all in the De¬ 
partment of Agriculture. That department has been en¬ 
larged and built up solely because it claimed to “do 
thin vs for farmers.” It has posed as the special cham¬ 
pion and teacher for the American farmer. Whenever 
large appropriations were wanted its great deeds for 
agriculture (including these wonderful crop reports) 
were paraded with great advertising skill—and they 
rarely failed to draw the dollars out of Congress. Yet 
all the time, those crop reports were being manipulated 
not to help the farmers, but actually against their in¬ 
terests. 
There has never been a time when this great secrecy 
about the crop reports was either necessary or useful. 
What good is possibly gained for farmers by holding 
the figures back until a certain date? The farmers 
would stand in a better position if they were told the 
facts as they are received. If the Department is in busi¬ 
ness to serve the stock and produce brokers it may well 
look to them for support. If it is doing business, as it 
claims, for farmers, it should change its plan at once; 
give up the “secret” reports and stop playing into the 
hands of those who intend to reap where others sow. 
Secretary Wilson said that it was “impossible” for any 
one to give out the figures ahead of publication. The 
failure of his methods ought to demonstrate to him 
the failure of the system of secret reports. 
I he trouble with the Department of Agriculture can 
be stated in a few words. It is after an appropriation. 
The ability to get money from Congress for the purpose 
of establishing new bureaus or making places for new 
workers seems ,to be the chief aim of those in charge. 
In some lines it has done very useful work, but all 
through it runs something which does not seem to ring 
ir tune. 1 here has been too much self-praise—too much 
of an effort to “boom” its own work for the sake of the 
popular effect upon Congress. For example, take the 
furore that was made over “soil inoculation.” The most 
extravagant things were printed about it, evidently for 
the purpose of advertising the Department’s work at a 
time when money was wanted from Congress. This 
course of airy bluff is destroying the usefulness of the 
Department s work. It has antagonized the experiment 
stations by trying to take credit and work which prop¬ 
erly belongs to them. The Agricultural Department 
needs a thorough shaking up, and a reorganization on 
more sensible lines. Tf that is not done quickly, in the 
face of this disgraceful “leak,” its true usefulness will 
be destroyed, for few will have any real confidence in 
its work. 
BREVITIES . 
Not how much, hut how well. 
Don t try to chase the cows home by dog power! 
Money makes the mare go—failure to pay as agreed 
makes her balk. 
All have judgment, hut some will not exercise it until 
it creaks like a rusty hinge. 
The average breakage in glass bottles in the bottled 
milk trade is five per cent or more. 
Din any man ever hand down to his son great wealth 
and strong character bound together? 
A note from Massachusetts.—“Business Hen all right. 
Rose hush wintered without harm and without protection, 
beyond light cover of leaves.” 
There is some discussion about damage from the second 
brood of the Codling moth. North of the latitude of New 
York we doubt if it will pay to spray with Paris-green the 
second time. 
Visitors at the Lewis and Clark Exposition in Oregon 
tell us that they frequently meet R. N.-Y. subscribers. 
When two strangers find that they both “take The Rural” 
a bond of good feeling is at once established, though one 
be from Maine and the other from Mexico. 
