THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
138 
February 1 ?, 
The Rural New-Yorker 
Tllk BUSINESS EAh MENS PAPER. 
K National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 1850. 
Herbert W. Collingwood, Editor. 
Du. Walter Van Fleet, l . . 
Mrs. K. T. Hoyle, ^Associates. 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04, 
equal to 8s. lid., or 8% marks, or 10 Yj 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 lie responsible for 
the debts of honest bankrupts sanctioned by the courts. 
Notice of tlie complaint must be sent to us within one 
month of the time of the transaction, and you must have 
mentioned The Rdral 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, FEBRUARY 17, 1906. 
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 hen men are a little slow, but they are now fol¬ 
lowing the Apple Consumers’ League. They will pledge 
themselves to call for egg or chicken in some form 
whenever they eat a meal at a public table. No doubt 
the beef growers will begin to call for steak, the hog 
men for ham and the sheep men for mutton, and so on. 
“It’s a good thing—push it along!” 
* 
And now it is asserted that the dreadful death-roll 
of the wrecked steamer Valencia in Puget Sound can be 
traced to worthless life-belts, filled with reeds, not cork; 
to unseaworthy boats, and to a cowardly crew that ex¬ 
cluded passengers from the lifeboats! It is significant 
that no woman or child was saved. Of course the 
steamer had been “inspected” by Government officials. 
Some of our public safeguards seem rather suggestive 
of shepherding lambs with wolves. 
* 
The poultry business has grown to great proportions. 
Few of us realize the size of it, or how the hen con¬ 
tributes to the food of the people. She ought to be 
encouraged. Some months ago F. Q. White spoke of 
his gasoline brooder heater. Following his note came 
a steady stream of questions about it from .people who 
have had no end of trouble with brooder lamps. As 
a result we present the whole story this week. It seems 
easy, as Mr. White describes it, but we must all remem¬ 
ber that experience is the germ of all education. You 
may have to burn up one house in order to learn. 
* 
The thousands who have tried hard to get Alfalfa 
well started on their farms will appreciate the following 
from a Massachusetts farmer: 
I have read on page 57 about the big stack of Alfalfa, 
and renew my courage, but when I look upon the next page 
and read “Why Did the Alfalfa Fail,” I am surprised. The 
land seems all right, and I should say all conditions are of 
the best, and yet a failure. 
The picture of that big stack zvas good for disap¬ 
pointed eyes, but most of us have only to go and look 
at our new seeded fields in this open Winter to feel 
our faith grow small. Let’s keep on trying though. 
* 
A few years ago stock in various rubber companies 
in Mexico was offered for sale. The most glowing 
promises were made, and we are told that hundreds 
of farmers invested. Consul-General Parsons says he 
has received over 2,500 letters from people who want to 
know about these rubber companies. He says that 
under no circumstances should one invest in Mexican 
rubber companies without a personal investigation. In 
some cases so-called “dividends” have been paid on 
stock—out of the capital and not from earnings. Of 
course this is a bait for another sale of stock. Better 
put your money in your own farm. 
* 
Reports from some Western States say that smooth-* 
talking book agents have been victimizing women in 
small communities by offering them one year’s subscrip¬ 
tion to a $1 pattern magazine for 50 cents, with a cut- 
glass dish, sent charges prepaid, thrown in as a pre¬ 
mium. On closer study of their receipts, however, the 
women found that they had paid 50 cents for an inferior 
publication issued in a western city for 10 cents a year. 
It is not just to suspect all subscription agents because 
of such incidents, for many reputable papers employ 
them, but reasonable caution should always be exercised, 
and the temptation of offers to give something for 
nothing distrusted. When preparing to subscribe to 
several different periodicals, it is always wise to send 
the list to some reliable publishing house; this gives an 
opportunity to get club rates, which effect a material 
saving, while insuring honest and careful service. 
* 
At the recent meeting of the Western New York 
Horticultural Society about 500 men admitted that they 
grew fruit and made at least part of their living selling 
it. Yet when asked how many “called for apple” in 
some form at dinner, only seven held up their hands! 
There was a body of men who had lost an opportunity! 
Suppose every one of them had called for baked apple 
at a hotel or restaurant! It would have made the fruit 
more popular than ever, added to its sale and estab¬ 
lished its reputation as never before. These men may 
well remember what happened at Gettysburg when the 
Pennsylvania horticulturists made life a burden for 
somebody until apples were served. Those fruit grow¬ 
ers ought to make their influence felt until no traveler 
can get away from Rochester without carrying with 
him. as part of his make-up, a western New York 
apple. That's the way to spread the gospel of apple 
eating. What’s the use of hiding the gospel under a 
peck measure? 
* 
As readers know, we have given fruit growers a full 
chance to state their experience with Bordeaux Mixture. 
Some report injury from its use, some even talk of giv¬ 
ing up spraying. We always open our columns to fair 
discussion of such matters, though sometimes when we 
do so we are accused of trying to break down old cus¬ 
toms and habits. The facts about Bordeaux seem to be 
that in some places last season conditions were such 
that foliage was injured. The weather was unfavorable, 
the mixture was too strong, the lime did not neutralize 
the copper properly, and power sprayers put on more 
material than formerly. We also believe that some trees 
have never fully recovered from the injury done them 
by the two past fearful Winters. Injury resulting from 
these causes will not justify fruit growers in giving up 
spraying. That would be a disaster. We shall keep 
on using Bordeaux. It is a form of insurance. Some 
people have been frightened away from life insurance 
by the recent disclosures, but we believe the business 
will be made safer than ever as a result. The same 
with spraying. Let us not be afraid of going to the 
bottom and stirring up all the sediment! 
* 
Last week we referred to a case at Clinton, Conn., 
where mail boxes on a rural route were condemned. 
Patrops were ordered to buy and put up new and “ap¬ 
proved” boxes. The postal authorities now state that 
boxes containing wood in their construction have not 
beerCapproved, and while suitable for city delivery will 
not be permitted on rural routes. So much for red 
tape! We are informed that these condemned wooden 
boxes are in better condition after equal service than 
the “approved” metal boxes. After three years of ser¬ 
vice the metal has been eaten by rust, with doors in 
some cases so warped and damaged that the snow drifts 
in to such an extent as to soak and damage letters. 
Some of them are worthless, while on the same route 
the boxes containing wood are in as good condition as 
they were when put up. These wooden boxes are safer 
than the rotten metal which has been “approved.” Did 
anyone ever hear of greater nonsense than this? Pa¬ 
trons are forced to take down safe and convenient boxes 
and replace them with others which they know will 
be destroyed in a few years, all because the latter have 
been “approved.” 
* 
There is a great demand for lime to be used on the 
soil. This demand has been growing for years, and re¬ 
sults have quickened the growth. Three chief argu¬ 
ments are made for its use. It is claimed that the lime 
will neutralize an acid soil, act as plant food for the 
crop, and, by means of chemical action in the soil, set 
potash free so that plants can utilize it. To some ex¬ 
tent these claims are all justified, but for practical pur¬ 
poses the first is the only one worth considering. Most 
soils contain far more lime than 1,000 crops could use, 
and unlike most of the potash and phosphoric acid in 
the earth much of this lime is available. The problem 
of supplying lime as a plant food is hardly worth con¬ 
sidering. As to its chemical action in the soil, there 
is such action, but it is usually so slight that we would 
hardly consider it in supplying potash. Experiments in 
Rhode Island were made on soil derived from granite 
rock, which naturally contains large amounts of potash. 
On such soil lime ought to “set potash free” if there is 
any practical value to the theory. Yet even when 
thoroughly limed crops grew smaller and smaller unless 
potash was added in the form of fertilizer or manure. 
On soils where potash gives good returns we should 
never think of using less of that element when using 
lime. The value of lime for sweetening the soil is be 
yond question, and gives an indirect benefit which is 
often greater than that observed from the direct use of 
chemicals. 
* 
Last year there came to this country from foreign 
shores 1,055,834 persons. This was 247,577 more than in 
the year before. To get a comparative idea of what this 
means it may be stated that this crowd would fill two 
cities like Baltimore, replace all the people in Connec¬ 
ticut, with 100,000 to spare, and with the previous year’s 
immigration added repopulate Connecticut, Vermont, 
New Hampshire and part of Rhode Island. This immi¬ 
gration of one year nearly equals all the residents in the 
old Southern States that were born in the North ! One 
bad feature is that 70 per cent of these immigrants came 
from southern Europe and Russia. There were 284.967 
Huns and 268,441 Italians. This represents about the 
lowest types of European life, and the crudest form of 
labor. The worst feature of it all is that this vast 
stream of human life does not spread out over the coun¬ 
try, but mostly remains in the large seacoast cities. In 
the country and on the farms the need of laborers is 
pressing. Men and women are overworked, and needed 
improvements stand still for need of helpers. The for¬ 
eigners who are coming here could if they would scatter 
over the country, lend a hand at worthy enterprise and 
better themselves. They prefer to crowd into the city, 
living from hand to mouth, or becoming objects of char¬ 
ity, and what is worse, gaining no idea of the spirit 
which is supposed to belong to an American. This pil¬ 
ing up of ignorant labor in the cities is one of the 
darkest shadows lying upon the future. It entails a 
higher obligation upon the farm home. 
* 
Every day brings new recruits to the army that is 
fighting for parcels post. The great daily papers are 
taking it up. Wm. E. Curtis makes the following state¬ 
ment in the Chicago Record: 
To-day a grocer.vman or a general storekeeper in any village 
of the United States can send a package of merchandise, 
excepting explosives and liquids, to Calcutta or Zanzibar 
or Ladysmith, South Africa, or I’otosi. Bolivia, for less than 
one -half the postage he would lie required to pay if lie sent 
the same thing to a faimer living two miles from his store. 
This seems incredible and absurd, but it is nevertheless true. 
When I was returning from a trip around the world two 
years ago I wrapped up all the guide books and other books 
that had accumulated during the journey and mailed them 
to my address in Washington from Hongkong, because if I 
had kept them until I reached San Francisco I would have 
been compelled to pay double the amount of postage. From 
Hongkong I was allowed to send 11 pounds in a package: 
from San Francisco or any part of the United States I could 
not have sent more than four pounds. 
Most of us cannot afford the luxury of going to some 
foreign country to mail packages to our friends. iWe 
want the privilege of doing so at home. The continual 
hammering for this parcels post is driving the nails in 
so that they hurt. Roth President Roosevelt and the 
Postmaster General now say they favor such a post. 
The latter wants to make the Postoffice Department 
pay its way, and he sees that the quickest way to do this 
is to increase the revenues from carrying merchandise. 
As a first step Congress should pass a bill consolidating 
third and fourth class matter so that it may be carried 
at the rate of one cent for two ounces. Then authorize 
the mailing of five-pound packages over rural routes 
from their starting point. When this is well estab¬ 
lished extend the service. It will come in time if we 
keep at it cheerfully and without fear! 
BREVITIES. 
Give us your trouble—perhaps we can fix it. 
We regard the article by Mr. Bollinger on page 135 as 
very sensible and useful. 
Decomposed— an amateur poetical composition after a 
faithful editor has done his duty with it. 
There are honest tree agents, but bow can you test their 
honesty until their trees fruit? What’s the test? 
An Ohio reader says he is taking a “sort of one-horse 
agricultural course” in reading the agricultural papers. 
Cold water thrown upon a hot ambition is the test for 
the temper of the ambition. If it is true it will not crack. 
As you will see some of the hen men are telling Mi. 
Mapes where he Is wrong in his methods. Many others have 
written. 
Here is a characteristic note from Sylvester Johnson, 
treasurer of the Indiana Horticultural Society : “84 years 
old to-day and still eating four apples per day.” 
It appears from Mr. Van Alstyne’s statement, page 134. 
that the milking machine is actually milking. At present 
it Is far beyond the reach of the small dairyman. 
One of the beet sugar manufacturers opposing the Philip¬ 
pine tariff bill says that Wisconsin farmers now getting ?•'. 
a ton for beets could afford to raise them for much less witli 
improved agricultural equipment. Would anyone besides the 
manufacturer profit through this reduced cost of raw 
material? 
On January 31 one of our readers gathered snowdrops in 
bloom in the open garden a few miles out of New York City, 
and on February 3 the same person suffered from frost-bile 
during a short walk in zero temperature. Anyone seeking 
change of climate may get it nearly every day in the week 
right here. 
