684 
September 8, 
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. 
Dr. Walter Van Fleet,) . 
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. 6d„ or 8y 2 marks, or 10 y 2 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 be sent to us within one 
month of the time of the transaction, and vou 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, SEPTEMBER 8, 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. 
* 
Du not think, gentl reder, that The R. N.-Y. has 
lost its dikshunari, or is suffering from sofening ov 
the brane; we ar merli atempting tu folio our reverd 
President in speling reform. This is a sample, but thare 
ma be wurse tu kum. Aftur awl, wot is the dick- 
shunari aiming frends? 
* 
This hired man question was brought to a head by 
A. S.,” who, on page 534, told of the woes of the man 
and gave the masters a scoring. Perhaps the most not¬ 
able article in reply was written by “A Farmer’s 
Daughter.” It will interest many to know that the 
worm has turned—in other words, “A. S.” has come 
back at his accusers with an interesting life story. He 
paid his “respects” to “A Farmer’s Daughter,” and she 
has had her say back. We shall print this word duel in 
a week or so, and it will make the dog days more 
enjoyable! 
* 
What are the facts about beet sugar culture in New 
York? We are told that there is a larger acreage than 
ever before, but there is another side to this. This 
statement is made to us by a grower : 
The smaller growers who depended on their own help have 
mostly discontinued the business. The larger growers have 
increased their acreage, as they depend on the Italians com¬ 
ing in and doing their hand labor by contract at so much 
an acre, weeding and thinning in the Spring and topping 
them in the Fail, earning on an average from $1.50 to $2 
per day. Last year I paid for this labor $13.50 per acre, 
this yield 15 tons per acre. This year I have in 35 acres. 
Tf this is true we can see how beet culture seems 
likely to go into the hands of growers who can afford 
to do business on a large scale. There seems to be 
no particular place in this for the small grower. 
* 
We have received the following note from a well- 
known fruit dealer: 
Your editorials are read by many people who rely upon 
them, and we are therefore astonished at one on page 652 
regarding the apple crop. Certainly whoever wrote it was 
misinformed. The apple crop of 1905 was 27,000,000 bar¬ 
rels, and the lowest estimate of this crop (by the growers) 
is 56.000,000, while the apple dealers estimate it at nearly 
76,000,000. We have reason to try to be well posted, and we 
are satisfied that this is the largest crop ever produced in 
the United States. a. c. worth & co. 
We are in constant communication with hundreds of 
the best apples growers in the country, and we print 
their reports as they come. Our only object is to learn 
the truth. We do not know of any class of men better 
able to judge conditions than those who report to us, 
and we stand by their statements. 
* 
Report of a curious labor trouble comes from the 
Massachusetts Agricultural College. A law was passed 
making eight hours a day’s work at State institutions. 
The college employs farm laborers to milk and do other 
farm work. If one of these laborers starts to work at 
six o’clock and put in six hours before dinner and takes 
an hour’s nooning, he will be through his day’s work 
by three P. M. —and who is to do the night’s milking? 
The eight-hour day will not work out on the farm. We 
once heard of a case where a man in this city put in 15 
days’ work in one week. He was a ship carpenter on a 
rush job with an eight-hour day He would work eight 
hours, go home and take a few hours’ sleep—then back 
for eight hours of work and so on. In a country town 
we met a Swede who put in three working days where 
others found two by working days on a milk dairy and 
at night in a foundry, but most farm hands will not 
use their idle time that way. The Massachusetts law 
ought to be changed so as to exempt State institutions. 
* 
What J. H. Hale said about the Seedless apple at 
that advertising banquet (see page 529) seems to have 
troubled the Seedless people greatly. It may be as well 
to repeat what Hale said here: 
Now, I noticed recently one or two pictures in one of 
our farm papers, or rather a combination of farm papers, 
together with a great big article that had all the earmarks 
of a paid writeup on it, telling of a certain worthless seed¬ 
less apple that is going to be foisted on the market pretty 
soon. By advertising of this sort probably some gullible 
people will .buy that thing, and probably a few million dol¬ 
lars will be spent on them. Now. a few million dollars out 
of the pockets of the farmers of the United States- won’t 
hurt them, becaues they have got it: but if you take two 
or three million dollars out of the pockets of the nursery¬ 
men, it will hurt them, and it is advertising of this kind 
that does it. The majority of these men are clean, and for 
every dollar that the newspapers get out of that kind of 
advertising they lose ten dollars from the honest nursery 
trade of the country. (Applause.) 
Somehow the Seedless people resent this talk. An 
agent called in the country to sell some of the trees, and 
he paid special attention to Hale. How did he get 
around it? About as follows: 
See what Hale says: “A few million dollars out of the 
pockets of the farmers won’t hurt them, because they have 
got it; but if you take two or three million dollars out of 
the pockets of the nurserymen it will hurt them.” You 
see, Hale would just as soon see the farmers buncoed out of 
two or three million dollars as not. 
That is the way they seem to be talking to customers. 
This man seemed to have dropped the claim that the 
apple is a novelty. He was about as silent as John F. 
Spencer when it came to telling where the apple came 
from. According to his story the apple has great com¬ 
mercial prospects. This is a safe claim, since it will take 
eight or 10 years to demonstrate it either way. By the 
way—nothing has yet been heard from John F. Spencer! 
* 
“MULCH METHOD” OF GROWING TREES. 
l’OR some years The R. N.-Y. has discussed what is 
known as the “mulch method” of growdng fruit trees. 
We have described some orchards where this method 
is practiced, and urged fruit growers to try it—in a 
small way at least. We have been at times criticised for 
doing this, some going so far as to say that we were 
doing great injury to the business by advising people 
to try a “lazy man’s” method. Somehow, as we practice 
this method in our own orchard, it does not seem well 
suited to a lazy man, and we have always had confi¬ 
dence in the good sense of our readers to take sugges¬ 
tions in a conservative way. So we have advised the 
mulch method, confident that the scientific men will in 
time realize its value. Now comes the Ohio Experiment 
Station with a bulletin which demonstrates more than 
we have ever claimed. Apple trees were planted and 
cared for in four different ways. In one case absolutely 
clean culture was given—that is, tillage tools were used 
all through the season. In another culture was kept up 
until late in July, when a “cover crop” like clover or 
cow peas was seeded and left to grow. On still another 
a circle around the trees was kept stirred with a hoe, 
while all grass or weeds growing on the field were cut 
at intervals and left to decay where they fell. On the 
last this growth of grass and weeds was cut and all 
piled around the base of the trees—the trunk being 
protected by a band of wire cloth. The trees were 
planted on sloping ground, and the thorough culture was 
a failure from the start, because the rains washed and 
gullied the surface so that it was necessary to stop the 
cultivators. The best results were obtained where the 
grass and weeds were cut and piled around the trees. 
These trees not only made a stronger growth, but came 
into bearing earlier than the others. That is what we 
should expect from the behavior of our own trees, but 
the Ohio Station has gone further, and hit another bug¬ 
bear of the mulch method. We have been told that 
where trees are mulched the roots are all at the sur¬ 
face, even rising into the mulch itself. From this it was 
argued that if we fail to keep up the mulch, or if it is 
burned, or if the orchard is plowed, the trees will be 
ruined, since the roots must die. We have never be¬ 
lieved this, yet it‘has been accepted as the truth by most 
growers because it seems reasonable. The Ohio Sta¬ 
tion, after digging up soil from under these trees, and 
carefully studying the roots, shows that the mulched 
trees have on the whole a deeper and better root system 
than those that are cultivated. In addition to the sur¬ 
face roots, which have deceived so many, there are deep 
strong roots in addition. It seems to us that anyone 
who will fork a pile of grass or weeds away from a 
tree will easily see why this is so. The ground is moist 
and cool, and deeply worked by insects. It is easily seen 
that the moisture and plant food are not all at the sur¬ 
face. It seems 4o us that this demonstration by the Ohio 
Station is one of the most important that fruit growers 
have had in a long time. We feel very sure that the 
rough hill lands are to play an important part in future 
fruit growing. 1 borough culture is impossible on many 
of these hills, since heavy rains wash the loose soil 
away. They can be put in sod and the growth used 
around the trees as a mulch. We are satisfied from 
our own work that this plan is practical and the Ohio 
experiments show that the yoilng tree can be grown to 
bearing age without cultivation. A plan of this kind 
will give new value to thousands of acres of cheap land, 
and in time change the character of fruit growing in 
the East. 
* 
Hon. James W. Wadsworth is a farmer. For a cen¬ 
tury or more the family has been large land owners and 
engaged in agriculture. Mr. Wadsworth himself owns 
a large creamery, grows ordinary farm crops and fattens 
live stock. If this is so, can it be possible that such a 
man does not fairly represent agriculture in Congress? 
We think so—that is why we oppose him. This opinion 
:s shared by many of the best farmers in the country; 
that is, those who make any study of the legislation 
which affects agriculture. On the oleo question we give 
Mr. Wadsworth credit for sincerity for taking a posi¬ 
tion which he thought was sound. The men who had 
put their very lives into the fight against oleo had 
agreed upon a plan of action. Mr. Wadsworth opposed 
this plan, and thought his own way better. He came 
near killing off the bill, which finally passed, and which 
saved the dairy business—not because he was a friend 
of oleo, but because he wanted his own way. It was 
much the same with the meat inspection bill. Granting 
that Mr. Wadsworth sincerely wanted a sound bill—he 
again wanted his own way. We could give other in¬ 
stances to show that Mr. Wadsworth has opposed the 
expressed wishes of farmers and their representatives. 
But does not his long service at the head of the Agri¬ 
cultural Committee prove that his work is acceptable? 
No—for there have always been protests. Speaker 
Henderson was flooded with letters asking him not to 
reappoint Mr. Wadsworth. The latter could point to 
his great majority as proof that farmers endorsed him. 
I herefore, as we have said, it comes back to the voters 
of his own district to settle it. Heretofore the question 
has been so tied up with party politics that the voter 
had no way of expressing his wish as a farmer. With 
an independent Republican endorsed by the Democrats 
it would be possible to separate party from principle, and 
Mr. Wadsworth will be surprised to see how many 
will do so. Tiie R. N.-Y. will continue to oppose Mr. 
Wadsworth, not on any personal or political grounds, 
but because, in his position at Washington, he has not 
in our judgment fairly represented agriculture. We 
put the rights and needs of agriculture above every¬ 
thing else. __ 
BREVITIES. 
No, gentlemen it s too lute to sow Alfalfa after August 
20 . 
Miio wouldn’t fie an American hired man in preference 
to a Russian office holder these days? 
How can you expect a man, a family or a nation to re¬ 
form anything unless the individuals first reform themselves? 
A Chicago coal man w-as recently arrested for selling a 
ton of coal 460 pounds short. This is wfiac we meant by the 
weigh of the transgressor. 
Let us see how many first-class hired men rise up through 
this discussion of the labor question—hunting a job. As a 
rule such men are hunted instead of hunters! 
This is a good time of year for planning that new ice¬ 
house. In our neighborhood we are now paying 70 cents a 
hundred pounds for ice. Wonder how- much our Maine 
friends receive for it? 
I’ Roe. Brewer, of Yale, speaking before the. American 
Veterinary Medical Association, highly endorsed horseflesh 
as food, asserting that it is much more wholesome than the 
flesh of bovine animals. This is where the horse is still 
superior to the automobile. 
The conference of the British National Urban District 
Councils Association recently passed a unanimous resolution 
urging the government to tax motor owners, and to make 
a grant towards maintaining and watering the roads with a 
view to reducing the dust nuisance. 
• From a respected Rural reader: “Our life is almost as 
strenuous as that of the Hartmans’. With all the house 
work for my family of three, the poultry, dairy and bees, 
we are now preparing a 1.200-pound shipment of fancy 
honey and have 1.000 pounds more in the house. I have 
very little leisure for reading or writing. Am not com¬ 
plaining ; the work is largely of my own choosing, and I 
glory in the health that enables me to do it.” 
Here is an incident reported by an Ohio reader. This 
country is assimilating all sorts and conditions: “Two 
brothers (the younger considerably taller than the 
other one) came into a merchant tailoring establishment 
owned by a Frenchman who speaks English brokenly, to get 
measured for suits of clothes. The mother of the boys 
came in next day. and while examining the goods that were 
to go into those suits the Frenchman remarked : ‘Madame,, 
your smallest son is the biggest one!’ The tailor’s wife, 
being present, noticed the break her husband made, and came 
to his aid, saying: ‘Madame, you must excuse my husband 
he no speak English good; him mean your youngest boy is 
the oldest one.’ ” 
i 
