TIIE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
February 24, 
I 62 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE ROS1NESR b'AhMER'b PATER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 1850. 
1IKKHERT W. Colli NO wood, Editor. 
Du. Walter Van Fleet, l A . 
Mrs. K. T. Boyle, J Associates. 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal I’osial Union, $2.04, 
equal to 8s. Gd., or 8Mi marks, or 10 l /j francs. 
“A SQUARE DEAL.” 
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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 lie made in money order, express order, 
personal check or bank draft. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
409 Pearl Street, New York. 
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 190G. 
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. 
* 
A new Congress is to be elected this year. In many 
country districts candidates will make a personal can¬ 
vass, going out to the voters. That will be the time 
to hit them about parcels post. Don’t let them get 
away from you without understanding what you want. 
* 
We sometimes read statements of conditions which 
lead the “recording angel” to forget to make certain 
memoranda. One guess is about as good as another, 
and we suggest blank spaces for the following situa¬ 
tions : When a farmer quietly shoots and buries a sheep¬ 
killing dog! When a housewife makes a good chicken 
pie out of a neighbor’s hen found for the tenth time 
in her (lower garden! 
* 
According to newspaper reports, there is one Repre¬ 
sentative at Washington who ought to be willing to 
work hard for parcels post. He is said to have sent, 
under his official frank, a bookcase and a couple of 
flatirons, whereupon an unsympathetic minion of the 
Postoffice Department compelled him to contribute $72 
in real money to pay the postage. 1 his was hard, but 
he ought to be in a receptive frame of mind when the 
plain people approach him on the subject of express 
exactions and the parcels post. 
* 
People are writing us about the so-called “British 
system of preserving eggs.” Wonderful things are 
claimed for it. The price is one dollar a package or five 
dollars for half a dozen. The same concern offers 
“salyx” for putting up fruit on the ‘“cold process.” Of 
course we would not spend a cent for such things. We 
have told again and again about using water glass. Very 
likely this “British system” is the same thing with extra 
price added. As for the “cold process,” the best thing 
to do is to freeze out the men who offer it. 
* 
Few things in recent years have pleased readers more 
than the pictures and notes showing how the Grand 
Rapids market is conducted. One reader in Ohio calls 
for 25 copies to give to his friends, lie says that one 
issue will bring the proposed market in his own city 
nearer than 10 years of talk would. No question about 
it—this matter of marketing produce and dealing directly 
with customers is the great business problem of the 
farm. Wherever farmers can get together in some mar¬ 
ket place with goods enough to make it an object for 
customers to come to them they will always have an 
advantage in selling. We want to hear from other 
towns where public markets are maintained. 
* 
Samuel H. Hadley, for 20 years superintendent of 
the Jerry McAulev Water Street Mission in this city, 
died February 9. He was well known throughout this 
country and parts of Europe as a philanthropist and 
tireless worker for fallen men. During the 20 years 
more than 75,000 men, drunkards, thieves and the most 
degraded criminals, came under his influence, many of 
whom are now- leading honest, industrious lives. His 
methods were entirely free from sensationalism and the 
disagreeable features often noted in this type of work. 
... Here was a man without fortune, political power or 
f* « • 
* great business influence, who yet made history in the 
noblest and truest way. The world needs more men 
like Hadley. They cannot all deal with large affairs, 
but if they would make use of their influence just as far 
as it extends the world would be better than for the 
money they make. 
* 
Last year Wyoming passed the following law: 
Whoever shall, while under the influence of intoxicat¬ 
ing liquor enter any mine, smelter or metallurgical works 
or any of the buildings connected with the operation of the 
same in Wyoming, where miners or other workmen are 
employed, or carry intoxicating liquor into the same, shall 
be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction 
shall be lined in any sum not exceeding live hundred dol¬ 
lars. to which may be added imprisonment in the county 
jail for a term not exceeding one year. 
A good many employers would like to see that law 
enforced, not only in Wyoming, but in every part of 
the Union, and applied to every line of business enu¬ 
merated in the census reports. 
* 
We are receiving a number of questions and com¬ 
ments called out by Mr. Johnson’s article. More details 
about his methods will be given later. One man in 
Florida says this: 
I read, with great interest, Alfred Johnson’s papers. I 
admire his pluck. A man with his perseverance would 
succeed anywhere, even in the Sahara Desert. 
Some of us who think there is no place like Jersey 
will smile at this. It is true, however, that Mr. Johnson 
did not have a bed of roses, and had he not carried a 
stout heart he would have been sorely tempted to let go. 
There certainly is a hard road before the airy fellows 
who go to the country expecting to tell all the old 
farmers how to do it! 
* 
Some of these wise Senators who are holding up a 
parcels post need looking after. Here is a statement 
from one of our readers which is like many others: 
“I went into a real estate office the other day to get a 
copy of the soil survey of - County to send to an in¬ 
quiring friend, and the agent said he could send it under 
the frank of Senator —*-, but that I would have to pay 
postuge on it if I sent it. Here is a Senator of a great 
State, making himself solid with one of his constituents by 
helping him to send out advertiseing matter at the Govern¬ 
ment's expense. 
You see the point without any spectacles. This 
Senator will send such matter free “under his frank”—• 
which means in an envelope on which his name is printed. 
The object of this is to make the man who receives the 
map or other matter believe that this great Senator 
takes a personal interest in him. Uncle Sam pays for it 
all, and this “franking privilege” foots up a total of 
nearly $20,000,000 of expense each year. Then, having 
been responsible for this great outlay Congressmen turn 
about and say the common people cannot have a parcels 
post because it will cost too much. Did you ever hear 
greater nonsense? Yet this is what people listen to! 
* 
A recent issue of the Orange Judd Farmer contained 
a paper by Joe A. Burton from which we take the fol¬ 
lowing : 
New York grows immense quantities of apples, but what 
are they? Perhaps a large majority are Baldwins, grown 
because they are easily produced, in quality a close half- 
brother to Ben Davis. Some are Greenings, an apple of un¬ 
certain quality. Some are good and some very poor. I 
would suggest to New York, if she wants Indiana to help 
eat her apples at paying prices, that she grow something 
good. Iloosiers that have just eaten their fill of Grimes 
can't be satisfied with something inferior. 
“Grow something good” is certainly good! There are 
no better apples on earth than the best New York fruit. 
As for Baldwin as grown in New York being a “close 
half-brother to Ben Davis”—it is hard to think of great¬ 
er nonsense. Spy, Tompkins King, McIntosh Red, 
Spitzenlmrg, all grow to their best in some parts of 
New York State. There are not enough Grimes ever 
in market to give the people of Indiana 10 per cent of 
the apples they want, and there is no place in the coun¬ 
try where people can buy first-class apples at a fairer 
price than in New York. Every year the State is over¬ 
run by western apple buyers, who compete for the New 
York crop because they know it will prove high in qual¬ 
ity. New York is already growing “something good” 
and Indiana people already eat New York apples by 
the carload—and enjoy them! Where else can they go 
for good fruit? Who has it to sell? 
* 
The Hepburn bill, giving increased powers to the 
Interstate Commerce Commission, passed the National 
House with only seven votes against it. It was not ex¬ 
pected that the vote against it would be so small. It 
is said, however, that some members voted for the bill 
to “make themselves solid” at home, fully expecting that 
the Senate will kill the bill or amend it. This is the 
second time the House has passed a railroad rate bill 
in response to popular demand. In a way the situa¬ 
tion is not unlike that in England on various occasions 
when the people demanded reforms. The House of 
Commons passed the desired bill but the House of 
Lords killed it. Let us see how closely the American 
Senate resembles the House of Lords. Rriefly stated, the 
Hepburn bill enlarges the power of the Railroad Com¬ 
mission. In case of Complaint of unfair rates the Com¬ 
mission will investigate and if the evidence warrants will 
make a new rate which must go into effect and remain 
until the courts decide that it is unfair. The chief 
opposition to the bill was that it put too much power 
into the hands of the Commission, that it was a step 
toward government ownership to delegate the power of 
Congress in this way. The Senate will evidently try to 
amend or change the bill in the interests of the rail¬ 
roads. The first proposed change is to give the rail¬ 
roads a chance to appeal to the courts before changing 
the rate ordered by the commission. Thus, instead of 
being forced to adopt a fair rate, (declared fair by the 
Commission) the railroads could refuse to do so, appeal 
to the courts, and keep on charging the old rates until 
the courts settled it. This might take years, and would 
seem to be but little improvement over the present sys¬ 
tem. The railroad men are evidently determined to 
prevent the Commission from securing adequate powers 
if they can. The American people expected, when the 
Commission was established, that it really had the 
powers which Congress now seeks to give it. They will 
never be satisfied until this form of regulation is given 
a fair trial. 
* 
We are asked if there is any danger from the oleo 
men. There is always danger. A bill has been intro¬ 
duced in Congress which would remove the 10 cent tax 
from colored oleo. The chairman of the House Com¬ 
mittee which has this bill told representatives of the 
National Grange that it would probably not be reported. 
President Roosevelt gave them to understand that he 
opposed the bill. That ought to settle it. Yet, at the 
same time, we realize that big and silent forces are back 
of it. For example, the cotton-seed oil men in the 
South want such a bill because they think more cotton 
oil could be sold—as butter. At a recent meeting in 
Texas guests were fed on pork fattened on cotton-seed 
meal, biscuits cooked with the oil and “butter” contain¬ 
ing 20 per cent of oil. In connection with the account 
of this banquet we are told: 
Mr. Allisou called attention to the fact that tinder the 
Federal laws no man is allowed to manufacture and sell 
butter containing cotton-seed oil without paying a tax of 
two cents a pound for the uncolored and of 10 cents a pound 
for the colored product, and, moreover, a $500 Federal 
license must be had before anyone can engage in such manu¬ 
facture. Mr. Allison believes that an injustice is thus done 
one of the South’s greatest products, cotton-seed oil, which 
is as pure and wholesome a vegetable substance as can be 
conceived. 
This is the old story gone over again and again, and 
kicked out of every court, from the office of a justice of 
the peace to the Supreme Court at Washington. As 
a matter of fact, the South is doing the greatest injus¬ 
tice to her own interests in thus supporting the oleo 
fraud. No section of the country is in greater need of 
an extension of dairying, and yet this effort to find a 
way to substitute cotton oil for honest butter does more 
to keep the dairy cow out of the South than any other 
one thing. With such backing that oleo bill certainly 
needs watching. _ 
BREVITIES. 
Don’t try to expand the blacksmith’s bills. 
The tongue will break any ordinary halter. 
It costs $2 a week to board a cat in this city. 
As the gloomy days approach—eat more apples. 
A recent list of garden and greenhouse roses gives de¬ 
scriptions of 11,()1G varieties. 
Tiie Congressman has wind in liis sails when he starts 
on his canvass. Get at him, then. 
Some people are willing to forgive their brother 490 
times if they can make him pay in some way for tiie for¬ 
giveness ! 
A pack of 30 foxhounds were sold for $2,800! That 
beats a herd of working dairy cows. “Sport” comes high, 
and farmers pay for most of it. 
A question for a debating society : “Resolved, that more 
characters have been injured by prosperity than by ad¬ 
versity.” We choose the affirmative. 
“Jail without bail"—that should he the war cry against 
big rogues. A few months behind bars with prison fare 
would make them more than thoughtful. 
Remember what we mulch strawberries for—to prevent 
the lifting out which comes from tiie heave and thaw. It 
will pay to mulch even now to keep the ground frozen. 
“We are not taking advantage of our advantages,” says 
Mr. Ditchings, referring to New York State’s facilities 
for marketing crops. How does that apply to your own 
locality? 
It is reported that the Canadian Pacific Railway Com¬ 
pany has decided to plant large quantities of young trpes 
along its prairie lines, for the purpose of supplying its own 
ties and fence posts in the future. The same principle of 
providing for the future might well be applied to the farm¬ 
er’s wood lot. 
A BILL before the Virginia legislature provides for the 
protection of the crab by prohibiting wholesale dredging 
for crabs in the Winter, when they hibernate in the mud. 
The big canners and packers of crab meat are said to he 
using so many young crabs that the future supply is in 
danger of extinction. 
According to a Californian professor, fowls can be fat¬ 
tened rapidly through the agency of electric light. Every 
three hours during the night the light is turned on. causing 
the misguided fowls to come off their perches and eat a 
hearty breakfast. It is true that you could fool a hen in 
that way, but could you fool her digestion? 
