May 5, 
398 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 1850. 
Entered at New York as Second Class Matter. 
Herbert W. Collingwood, Editor. 
HR. WALTER VAN FLEET, I . . _ 
Mrs. k. t. Hoyle, f AS8 °ciaies. 
John J. Hillon, Business Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries In the Universal Postal Union, $2.04, 
equal to 8s. 6d., or 8% marks, or 10 l /j 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 he 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 he made in money order, express order, 
personal check or bank draft. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
409 Pearl Street, New’ York. 
SATURDAY, MAY 5, 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. 
* 
SUBSTITUTES FOR HIRED MAN. 
We offer prizes of $5 and $3 for the best articles on 
handling the hay crop with least hand labor. We want 
actual experience, not theory, showing how improved 
machinery has enabled a farmer to dispense with the 
hired man in handling this heavy crop. There are cases 
where a light man with a boy or girl to help him has 
raked, loaded and unloaded a large crop of hay. We 
want the experience, with a list of the needed tools. 
The articles must be here by May 15. 
* 
We shall soon begin the publication of what we con¬ 
sider the most useful articles on Alfalfa growing we 
have ever read. They are by H. M. Cottrell, of Illi¬ 
nois, who is in every way qualified to discuss the 
subject. Mr. Cottrell has managed a dairy farm in 
the East, has farmed in Kansas and Iowa, and has 
watched Alfalfa grow under all conditions. His arti¬ 
cles will inspire many eastern farmers to “hang on” 
and try again to start Alfalfa. It is worth while to 
do so. 
* 
A friend tells of a real tragedy in poultry life. A 
hen “stole her nest” in the manger of an unused cow 
stable. The manger was tightly boarded all around, and 
so high that the chickens were not able to get out. As 
no one happened to go in that building for several days 
the poor little chicks starved, and the hen could do 
nothing but jump in and out, clucking in helpless misery, 
so long as a chick remained with life enough to peep. 
It is best to make sure that there are no out-of-the-way 
traps of this sort accessible to the hens. 
* 
“Cast thy bread upon the waters” has been a favorite 
text for many public characters. They seem to regard 
every act which may possibly benefit others as a great 
act of self-sacrifice. They make it very evident that 
they have an eye on the reward! A colored preacher 
in the South gave a fair description of them: “Some of 
dese fellers takes de poorest, most ornary piece of bread 
dey has, and frows it in de lake. Den dey goes down 
to the wharf every day and says: ‘Is you see dat big 
loaf of angel cake what belongs to me a sailin’ in?”’ 
The average man owes just about all he has to society, 
and he tries hard to pay as little as possible back. 
♦ 
Some of our readers are receiving letters and cir¬ 
culars describing a wonderful scheme for clearing a 
tree of insects and fungus diseases. Among other 
things the circular states: 
A medicated preparation of gas. Its invigorating powers 
are forced through all sap pores to the fibers of the tree 
b.v the gas imparter at the base of the trunk—destroying 
worms and all insects, invigorating the tree, stopping the 
rot and premature ripening: will make tree healthy and 
fruit grow larger. 
A county right to sell this wonderful thing is worth 
$100. It cannot be possible that any reader of The 
R. N.-Y. will pay money for any such absurd proposi¬ 
tion. The wonder is how and where such people sell 
their goods. Who buys them? 
Every year the chemical fertilizer question works 
farther west. We have several questions from Kansas 
asking what chemicals to use with stable manure. 
Twenty years ago farmers in the Middle West hooted 
at the use of chemicals. Now, in the State of Missouri 
alone, over $2,000,000 worth of such fertilizers are 
bought each year. Such use started with bone, tankage 
and other wastes of the slaughter house. This was 
what might be expected, since live stock represented 
most of the fertilizing drain away from those farms. 
Now there is an increasing demand for potash in the 
West, and this is the best indication that chemicals are 
gaining in use because potash, except in the form of 
wood ashes, must all be imported. 
♦ 
There has been a great revival of interest all over 
the country in “good roads.” This is not confined to 
the demands for State aid in building stone roads, but 
applies lo the care of our common dirt roads. Drags 
and harrows are being used everywhere, the object 
being to keep the road smooth and even. The worst 
thing that can happen to a road is to have water stay 
on it. When the ruts are left and holes are made in 
the surface there the water stays. With an even grade 
to begin with and needed ditches to take off the water 
at the sides wo can casiiv see why the road drag is such 
a popular tool. When used often the ruts and nubs 
are smoothed down and water cannot stand on the 
road bed. There is great sense in the battle cry or 
“drag the road!” 
* 
These are the days when a farmer comes home at 
night simply dead tired. In spite of all our plans to 
prepare for early work Spring usually rushes upon us 
with' a dozen things to do at once. It requires good 
judgment and some skill at management to take the 
work in order and get it done. Many farmers block 
out too much work, and then find that they cannot 
get the help to carry out their plans. In our own case, 
we find that it will be impossible to care for the full 
crops of potatoes and other garden truck we expected 
to plant. Under the circumstances it seems better to 
seed some of the land to oats, sorghum and millet, and 
give the best of care to a smaller area. These are great 
days, with backache and tired knees for many of us, 
but there is after all a great satisfaction in getting at 
last down into the soil, and a great happiness for those 
of us who can see the glory of the coming Spring. 
And the humor of it comes when we read the kindly 
advice of some easy-chair farmer who tells us what 
to do with our spare time. 
* 
The Hope Farm man recently printed a letter about 
a surly postmaster. Another postmaster in Louisiana 
came forward to defend his comrades, and now an¬ 
other from Florida wants his say: 
The Hope Farm man prints a letter that he has had from 
a postmaster. Well, I have been postmaster for more than 
13 years, and can sympathize with the Louisiana man. 
Still, I never refuse to look unless I know positively that 
there Is no mail. Hope Farm man is in error: we are not 
paid so much per hour for our time. Fourth-class post¬ 
masters get only the cancellation, and in some offices not all 
of that. This office pays less than .$125 per year, but must 
be kept open six days in the week, from early morning till 
bed-time. If I should resign, it would be hard to find any¬ 
one else here to take it. The nearest office to me is likely 
to be closed because no one will have it. 
This idea of refusing a public job is a new one to 
many of us. The original matter referred to a post¬ 
master iri a large town—one who has a good salary 
and a much desired position. The fourth-class men 
do not, as a rule, have a very desirable job, unless they 
have a store, so that the mail service brings them 
customers. Of course The R. N.-Y. has no thought 
of belittling the work of any honest public servant. 
We are, however, after the inflated drones who grow 
too large for the public service—with a sharp stick. 
* 
Some people profess to be greatly surprised because 
President Roosevelt, in a recent speech, used the fol¬ 
lowing words: 
Of course no amount of charity in spending such for¬ 
tunes in any way compensates for misconduct in making 
them. As a matter of personal conviction, and without pre¬ 
tending to discuss the details or formulate the system, I feel 
that we shall ultimately have to consider the adoption of 
some such scheme as that of a progressive tax on all for¬ 
tunes, beyond a certain amount, either given in life or 
devised or bequeathed upon death to any individual—a 
tax so framed as to put it out of the power of the owner 
of one of these enormous fortunes to hand on more than a 
certain amount to any one individual: the tax, of course, 
to be imposed by the national and not the Stale government. 
Such taxation should, of course, be aimed merely at the 
inheritance or transmission in their entirety of those for¬ 
tunes swollen beyond all healthy limits. 
The President referred to enormous fortunes “gained 
in evil fashion by keeping just within the limits of 
mere law-honesty.” There is no reason why any in¬ 
telligent man should be surprised at such a statement. 
The President is quick to read the desires of the people, 
and surely any man who has talked even with his 
neighbors knows that the President has simply given 
expression to what millions are saying. The people 
of America are seeing the second and third generation 
of millionaires, and, to put it plainly, they do not like 
the breed! There is danger to the public when these 
vast fortunes are handed down to idle, irresponsible 
and pleasure-loving men and women who know nothing 
of labor or common rights. Everybody with ordinary 
sense knows that this is so, and it is in no way sur¬ 
prising that a shrewd man like President Roosevelt 
should give expression to popular thought. It is sur¬ 
prising, however, that he should stop short of the true 
remedy, when that is also commonly discussed. This 
taxation of such fortunes or a division of them will not 
cure the evil so long as they are made by unfair means. 
If charity will not compensate for misconduct in mak¬ 
ing these fortunes, neither will taxation give relief so 
long as the special privileges which make these for¬ 
tunes possible are left. Trace most of these fortunes 
down and you will find that they have sprung from 
some privilege granted by a useless tariff or unfair 
public franchise. Cut these off or make them fair to 
the public, and the evil in the fortune will be wiped 
out, and the public will receive its share without taxa¬ 
tion. It appears that the President’s proposed remedy 
is not new, for taxes somewhat of this nature are en¬ 
forced in England and other European countries. They 
are not, as we understand, successful in destroying the 
menace of the evil and idle rich, and nothing will 
destroy that except the killing off of unfair public 
privilege. 
The reports from farmers who have tried city help 
from the missions or benevolent institutions are not 
encouraging. Others which are still unprinted are even 
less so. We do not want any one-sided discussion— 
we want the facts for the benefit of the readers. The 
failures are most likely to be reported. It is a part of 
human nature to resent an evil, or what we consider 
an imposition. There is no question but that people 
have taken these city workers with a sincere desire to 
help them. It was not entirely a business arrangement, 
and when these men went back to their old level the 
farmers who hoped to aid them were disappointed and 
disgusted. So we were very sure to hear of the fail¬ 
ures—but are there no good reports? Has no one 
found a city helper who has proved true? Has any 
farmer saved one of them and made a good citizen out 
of him? That is what we want to know. It is quite 
evident that a man who takes one of these strays 
expecting him to equal a trained farm laborer is quite 
sure to be disappointed. Rut what is there in the 
theory that the farm can heal the wounds made by 
the city? 
BREVITIES. 
It’s great to see the Alfalfa grow. 
The Russian tariff on American fruits is 2.54 per 100 
pounds. 
Society could get along without you—but how about your 
relations to society? 
How can we bring down the present high price of wheat 
bran? By growing and feeding Alfalfa. 
The man who introduced a bill in the New York Legis¬ 
lature prohibiting the sale of toy pistols deserves a medal. 
A Maine law prohibits the use of a label on canned goods 
which states that they were packed in Maine when they 
were not. 
One of our readers seems ready to wager that no man ever 
lost $5 worth of fruit destroyed by birds. There’s a chance 
for some one who will state such losses. 
Butter containing over 1G per cent of water is “adulter¬ 
ated” In the eye of the law. The Government will now 
prosecute dealers who handle this watery butter. 
According to importers of animals, elephants are rapidly 
advancing in price, and it would be wise for intending pur¬ 
chasers to lay in a stock before the price climbs above its 
present rate of $280 a' vertical foot. 
Some years ago we printed a little verse beginning, “The 
day that pieplant gives first mess our folks feel better, I 
confess!” It is now appearing in various papers as original. 
As we never received any cash for the verse it would seem 
as If we ought to have credit. 
Horsemen say that good horses are now scarce, and 
will remain so for some time. This is a result of the fear 
that automobiles would displace them, which lessened inter¬ 
est in breeding two? or three years ago. Good animals of 
the city delivery and carriage type are excellent property. 
Prof. W. ,T. Spillman of the Department of Agriculture 
at Washington. D. C.. wishes to correspond with farmers 
who keep records of dates of planting and harvesting. 
Strange to say, few farmers seem to keep accurate records 
of such useful things. Those who do will help by writing 
to Prof. Spillman. 
To show how our 10-cent subscriptions work out. we give 
the following note from Iowa: “We represent one of the 10- 
cent subscribers. I admonished the old subscriber to give 
us 10 cents worth of chewing gum, for when that was 
chewed up it would be the end. but as it is I have to hunt 
up a dollar annually. T think it a dollar well invested.” 
Mental “chewing gum” is good. 
The Agricultural Committee of the House of Represen¬ 
tatives has decided to eliminate the free seed distribution 
provision from this year’s Agricultural Appropriation hill. 
The New York Tribune says that this action may not make 
only one rare and valuable plant bloom where half a hun¬ 
dred bloomed before, but it will deprive many American 
poultry yards of a valued source of provender. 
