384 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
December 0, 
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 Flket, | . , . 
Mrs. k. t. Boyle, ^Associates. 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, S2.04, 
equal to 8s. Gd., or 8% marks, or 10 Yj francs. 
“A SQUARE DEAL.” 
We believe that every advertisement in this paper Is 
backed by a responsible person. Hut to make doubly sure 
we will make good any loss to paid subscribers sustained 
by trusting any deliberate swindler advertising in our col¬ 
umns, ami 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 bv 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. DECEMBER 7, 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 PRIZE PHOTOGRAPHS. 
We never realized until we came to study the prize 
photographs the difficulty in deciding why one picture is 
better than another. After a careful study the judges 
awarded the prizes as follows: 
C. A. Bacon, Massachusetts. 
Grace Mounts, Ohio* 
R. G. Ackley, Vermont. 
Many of the. pictures show considerable skill in 
grouping, and well convey the desired feeling. We 
expect to print some of them. Others, while well 
grouped, were so dim that they could not possibly be 
engraved. One striking thing observed about this con¬ 
test was the great respect shown for elderly people, and 
the large number of family groups. The contest called 
out some of the best pictures w r e have ever received, 
and we wish to thank all who took part in it. 
* 
It is evident that Hon. Thomas C. Platt is not going 
to lie awake nights planning ways of getting a parcels 
post bill through Congress. Some of our readers re¬ 
gret that they cannot get at Senator Platt directly. But 
they can get at the Legislature if they live in New 
York. I he Legislature is the Senator-factory, and the 
people supply the raw material for the Legislature. 
Why not have the Legislature “instruct” Senators Platt 
and Depew to favor a parcels post bill? Such a reso¬ 
lution would receive a heavy vote if farmers put some 
postage stamps on their representatives. The way to 
do it is to begin right now! 
* 
We agree with The Farmer’s Guide in the following: 
TaR parcels post be established, and merchants would take 
advantage of it to send to the farmers small packages which 
they might telephone or write for. It would prove such a 
convenience that they would feel ashamed for having de¬ 
prived themselves and their farmer friends from the use 
and benefits of it. 
Some of the country merchants would find a genuine 
parcels post very useful. They could order many 
classes of the goods they sell in thfs way, get them 
quickly and cheaper than they now do. The present 
outcry against the parcels post in rural papers is inspired 
by the express companies and other interests which 
have always fattened upon the farmer. 
* 
Among the many questions asked about the great 
crops of grass grown by Geo. M. Clark are those about 
fertilizer. When five tons of hay are taken from one 
acre the crop carries with it nearly 100 pounds of nitro¬ 
gen, 25 of phosphoric acid and 130 pounds of potash. 
While Mr. Clark’s soil is naturally good, this enormous 
drain must be made up in some way. Thus a mixture 
of equal parts of nitrate of soda, ground bone and mu¬ 
riate of potash is used freely. It is easy to understand 
why so much nitrogen is used, because we all know 
that Timothy demands nitrogen in order to make a 
rapid growth. But why so much potash? Mr. Clark’s 
answer is that the potash makes the plant “stand up 
strong,” and is particularly necessary in heavy grass 
where large dressings of nitrogen are used to make the 
grass grow rapidly. Without large quantities of pot¬ 
ash he says his grass will lodge badly and rot. This 
action of potash in stiffening the stems of grass or 
grain has often been noticed. In some cases salt gives 
something of the same results. The action is quite dif¬ 
ferent. The salt appears to hold back the action of 
the nitrogen so as not to give a soft, weak stem, while 
the potash works with the nitrogen and strengthens the 
rapid growing stem. 
* 
Mr. Manchester’s article and pictures make the 
clearest story of the way to find a good dairy cow that 
we have seen. It will be followed by equally good ad¬ 
vices about raising the dairy calf. The shape of the 
good cow is easy to distinguish, but we cannot always 
tell what the calf will make. The most striking picture 
of the lot is the one of the narrow cow and her son— 
showing how a defect can be handed down. There was 
an old breeding rule which stated that the progeny 
would “look like father and act like mother,” and acting 
upon it many poor, worthless mares and cows have 
been used for breeding. That is responsible for a 
good many misfits and failures in the harness and at 
the pail. Use only the best of their type for breeders. 
* 
In a typical county of Virginia it was found that year 
by year the colored farm hands were either drifting 
away or becoming more shiftless. For a time, under 
this system, farm values declined, because farm work 
could not be profitable done under the old system with¬ 
out hand labor. Within the past few years this has 
been changed, and farm values are increasing quite 
rapidly. The negroes are still going away, and farm 
labor is scarce, but farmers are using more improved 
machinery. With this a farmer and his boys will be 
nearly or quite independent of the old farm hands, since 
the mules do most of the work. This use of better ma¬ 
chinery is gaining in the South, and is an excellent 
change, because it doubles the power of the farmer and 
his family to take care of the farm. 
* 
Prof. Phillips of Virginia on page 878 defends the 
practice of fumigating nursery stock. All readers do 
not understand that fumigation means exposing trees 
to hydrocyanic acid gas in a tight box or room. The 
object is to kill scale insects which may be on the trees. 
V e think Prof. Phillips will find upon investigation that 
the majority of fruit growers throughout the country pre¬ 
fer to take their chances with trees that have not been 
fumigated. If there is any question about this we shall 
be pleased to hear the facts from readers. Some of 
the entomologists who favor fumigation believe “that 
the digging of trees too early in the season is responsi¬ 
ble for practically all the injury that is charged to fumi¬ 
gation, and that “trees too green to fumigate are too 
green to dig.” Just so, yet these green trees without 
fumigation may mature into good ones. How is the 
buyer to know when they were dug? 
* 
1 hat ruling of the Commissioner of Internal Rev¬ 
enue which classes certain patent medicines as alco¬ 
holic liquors will be a shock to some good people who 
make a practice of dosing themselves with such prep¬ 
arations. One of our friends who took a nostrum of 
this class freely explained her faith in it on the ground 
that if tired and depressed a good dose of it revived 
her at once. Her principles would not permit her to 
drink alcoholic stimulants when labeled as such, but, 
all unconsciously, she was forming a dependence upon 
them, although her favorite “pick-me-up” masqueraded 
as an innocent household remedy. It is very possible 
that some mysterious cases of chronic alcoholism may 
be due to habits thus formed. On the whole, we think- 
anyone who desires wholesome “bitters” without a doc¬ 
tor’s prescription would better stick to old-fashioned 
chamomile tea. 
This is a good time to bring up the question of ex¬ 
hibiting grade cows at live stock shows. By a “grade” 
cow we mean one with at least half pure blood—the 
daughter of a pure-blood sire. Breeders of registered 
stock somehow want to confine such exhibitions to reg¬ 
istered animals, yet, from a business point of view, this 
seems to us a narrow policy. The grade cow is the 
business animal. A farmer cannot afford to own a full 
herd of pure-blood stock. In order to make a profit 
at selling milk or butter he must have a herd which 
represents only a modest outlay. A good grade cow, 
with the hardy constitution of her dam and the im¬ 
proved qualities of her sire is the most sensible animal 
he can find. 1 hus the grade daughters of a good bull 
make the best advertising that could oossiblv be given 
him. If a farmer could see such a bull exhibited with 
two or three common cows and several calves or year¬ 
lings resulting from the cross, he would see. as he could 
not be shown in any other way, the value of pure blood 
in his herd. We cannot think of any stronger object 
lesson, or one more likely to impress a practical dairy¬ 
man, and after all such dairymen are to provide the 
market for surplus purebred stock. Breeders cannot 
live on the sales made to other breeders. We know 
that many of our readers are looking about for suitable 
sires to place at for head of a herd, or flock. They 
would be interested in the progeny of such an animal 
as well as in his pedigree. When will breeders get 
the idea? 
* 
During the past 10 years we have often referred to 
Alfred Johnson of New Jersey. He had been galled 
“ J j le One-Horse Jersey Farmer” and his history is a 
striking one. He had been a jeweler in the city, and 
when past 50 he left his trade and bought a little farm 
of 18 acres. Hens and strawberries were his mainstays, 
and by hard work and good judgment he paid for the 
farm and laid aside a competence. Now, somewhat ad¬ 
vanced in years, Mr. Johnson finds his little farm still 
yielding a fair income, and he spends several months of 
the year in travel in this country and Europe. Mr. 
Johnson has promised to write out the story of his farm 
experience. Knowing the man and the farm as we do, 
we can safely promise one of the most useful and enter¬ 
taining stories of modest success that The R. N-Y. 
has ever printed. The story of such a man’s life is far 
more useful to our readers than that of some great mas¬ 
ter of finance. 
♦ 
1 iif.v have not had a pound of grain since last 
Spring, and since the first month or two have been 
gnawing the meadow lands bare, robbing next year’s 
hay crop. Some of them have been having a little corn 
fodder. They have lain out nights that were cold and 
stormy, and now they are giving but very little milk. 
Their owner was busy with the Fall work, and did not 
mind the gradual shrinkage, but now he is “up against 
u. ’ and has started in feeding grain, but it is too late. 
'I hey will increase a little in milk flow, but are in such 
condition that their extra feed for some time must go. 
to build up and restore that depleted condition that was 
brought on by carelessness and neglect, and the failure 
to see that a good lot of future money could have been 
had by spending money earlier for feed! \Ve have 
seen a lot of this kind of men in the last month, and 
have heard their hard luck story, and the small profit 
m dairying. One in particular is recalled to mind. He 
found fault with the creamery, the butter maker, man¬ 
ager and everything else; was being robbed on the test, 
and no one was right but himself. Yet he wouldn’t buy 
a tester to test his own cream, or take care of his dairy 
cows to see that they paid. If he had spent half the 
lime during the past year in studying how to improve 
and better care for his dairy that he has in'kicking, the 
creamery now would have had more peace and the far¬ 
mer more money. 
BREVITIES. 
“A Poor sire is the whole herd.” 
The cowed cow cannot do her best! 
Ax Ohio hog recently sold for $2,000. 
Among the ties which hold fair prices to produce Is 
advertise. 
We are surprised to see how many fruit growers are 
experimenting with the “soluble oils" for spraying. 
The people of this country are pretty well tired of great 
expositions. There is enough local interest to carry small 
ones. 
Can you help us with experience, in answer to the ques¬ 
tions on page 890? What about silage alone as roughage 
for cows? 
If you had a pond with the banks so full of muskrat 
holes that a horse breaks in—what would you do to the 
muskrats? 
The Ontario Fruit Growers’ Association, at its recent 
meeting, decided in favor of a standard size of baskets for 
small fruits. 
“The Story of an Express Package”—page 855, is stir¬ 
ring up a great correspondence. Wonderful how many pack¬ 
ages have gone wrong and are still being “investigated.” 
In North Carolina an apple was used to poison a woman 
and two daughters. Arsenic was put inside the apple_ 
the poisoner knowing that no more attractive package could 
be given. 
The auto drivers of Massachusetts claim to number 
15,000 voters and “all politicians.” They intend to push for 
a law increasing the limit of speed and securing other 
“rights” for autos. Can 15,000 men well organized beat 
150,000 unorganized? 
The R. N.-Y. has readers in nearly every foreign country 
where people who read English are to be found. The usual 
reason given for subscribing is that The R. N.-Y. gives them 
the best expression of the progress of American farming. 
One of our Russian readers will soon tell of his attempt at 
farming in Transcaucasia. 
The chief of police of a southern city sends us a list of 
a dozen names to which the Thanksgiving issue is to be 
sent. We wouldn’t mind if he sent his policemen out to 
arrest these parties and handcuff them to The R. N.-Y. 
Dimes would do it. 
Some Swiss scientists have experimented with heating 
milk. Here’s a sample: “Storch’s paraphenylcnediamin 
test gave negative results when applied to milk heated mo¬ 
mentarily at 80°. five minutes at 75°. 30 minutes at 72.5°, 
or five hours at 70°. The total destruction of the super¬ 
oxydase. upon which this test depends, occurred, therefore, 
sooner than the complete coagulation of the albumin. In 
general Storch’s reaction ceased precisely at the point where 
the cooked taste manifested itself." That’s what you do 
when you warm up the cow by putting the dogs after her. 
