716 
THE RURAL'NEW-YORKER 
September 22, 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 18 & 0 . 
Entered at New York as Second Class Matter. 
HBKBKRT W. UOLDINOWOOD, Editor. 
Dr. Walter Van Fleet, | . . . 
Mas. K. T. Roylb, f Associates. 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04, 
equal to 8s. Gd., or 8>/u marks, or 10‘/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 trilling 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 be made In money order, express order, 
personal check or bank draft. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
409 Pearl Street, New York. 
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 190G. 
TEN WEEKS FOR 10 CENTS. 
In order to introduce Ihe 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. 
* 
What seems to be a new game for selling nursery 
stock is suggested in this note:: 
If 3 T ou happen to know anything about the reliability of 
the company, will you please let me know what you think 
of the firm? I have just had a letter from a fruit grower 
in New Jersey who has been approached by this company 
for the purpose of testing a lot of their nursery stock, lie 
is, of course, to send $10 to pay the cost of digging, pack¬ 
ing and express. I have advised him not. to send his money 
until he gets reliable Information that the firm is all right. 
away and advertised his skill, and he now employs 20 
hands! Most of us know men who started well, but 
lost, heart to w'ork until trade really came! 
* 
There has been some question about the rights of 
constables tinder the New Jersey Automobile Law.. It 
is said that autos are often run by people who have no 
license, and it was claimed that only inspectors were 
authorized to stop them and demand that the license be 
shown. State Commissioner Smith says that a police¬ 
man or constable who has stopped a vehicle for any vio¬ 
lation of the law may ask for an inspection of the 
license. In case of refusal the officer can take his pris¬ 
oner before a magistrate, who may demand inspection 
and impose a fine of $25 if the license is not produced. 
The law does not empower the police to arrest without 
warrant persons who are merely suspected, but an in¬ 
spector may do so, and magistrates may demand the 
license if the driver is arrested for other causes. The 
object of this is to capture the reckless characters who 
sometimes take out their master’s autos without leave. 
They do great damage at times when full of liquor, and 
the law regarding them cannot be too strict. 
* 
When the State of New Jersey started out to kill 
mosquitoes the campaign was regarded as a joke. Few 
saw any economic value in such work or believed that 
any practical way of killing the pests could be devised. 
But little thought was needed to show that the destruc¬ 
tion of mosquitoes would add to the value of large 
tracts of land. Along the New Jersey coast and among 
the hills are places well located for homes or boarding 
houses. They have been rendered almost uninhabitable 
by the swarms of mosquitoes. Anyone can see that if 
these insects could be killed or driven away such real 
estate would be far more valuable. By studying the 
habits of mosquitoes methods like ditching, the use of 
oil and fish have been worked out which give good 
results on large areas. The State of New Jersey has 
appropriated $350,000 for carrying on this work. Other 
States are coming. We have bulletins from California, 
Connecticut and Hawaii in which the habits of mos¬ 
quitoes are discussed and results of experiment given. 
Few people now seem to laugh at the work, which is 
just as legitimate as a campaign against the Codling 
worm or a fungus disease. 
* 
We do not know the firm mentioned, but our friend 
was right in his advice. We doubt if this fruit grower 
would ever receive over $10 worth of trees. It looks to 
us like a good way of disposing of small lots of trees 
which probably could not be sold in any other way. 
* 
It is astonishing how many men there are in this 
country who are trying to make a living on the toil 
of others. Jhe mails are filled with letters and circu¬ 
lars offering the most alluring schemes for investment, 
d he other day we received a letter from a farmer 
which was written on the backs of three different 
letters, each offering great profits through “coopera¬ 
tive’’ schemes. It is always a favorite dodge for these 
rascals to intimate that they are sharing certain profits 
with the buyer. Strange to say, in spite of all the 
warnings that have been printed, there are plenty of 
people to bite at the old bait. Sometimes the hook is 
in plain view, yet still they bite. 
* 
As we go about the country we meet men who in a 
quiet way have done much for the improvement of 
country life. Some of them helped organize societies 
devoted to fruit growing, live stock or general farming. 
For years these societies barely kept alive—carried by a 
few clear-headed and enthusiastic men. Slowly, almost 
imperceptibly, those societies have grown strong, until 
now they make a strong power for good, changing his¬ 
tory and giving hope and confidence to thousands. Some 
of these older men do not realize what their work and 
influence has meant. It may seem humble enough to 
them, yet this faithful service to detail work is the 
foundation of progress. We could fill The R. N.-Y. 
with the names of men wdio in their quiet way have 
made the road easier for those who follow. Would that 
those who come after them could understand it! 
* 
At the recent Colored Business Men’s League one 
speaker gave one reason for his success: “I live econ¬ 
omize and economical.” Another said when he was a 
boy he wanted to cross a river, hut could not swim. “I 
took a ox, Old Ball; caught hole of his tail, and we 
jumped into de ribber—me holdin’ on his tail. But, Old 
Ball—he begin kickin’ and he kep’ on tell I jes’ had ter 
swim. Dat’s de way I got into business—I jes’ had ter.” 
And he stayed in until he now owns 300 acres of land. 
There are a good many rich fathers who would give 
much for the power to shake off their sons and make 
them learn to swim alone. Another man at this conven¬ 
tion learned the tailor’s trade and opened a shop. He 
waited a week for customers, and yet kept himself busy 
night and day ripping one pair of pants apart and sewing 
the pieces together again. This industry kept Satan 
On page GG8 one of our readers spoke of seeing 
Government free seeds used for fuel. Here is further 
testimony: 
I note Hie reference on page GGS and wish to add my tes¬ 
timonial as to the superior quality of the Government free 
seeds for furl. I have given them a careful test many times. 
They will burn. Some time since a friendly and philan¬ 
thropic postmaster kindly dumped near a hundred hales of 
these seeds (carefully wrapped for mailing) in some large 
baskets 1 had at liis office. I carried them home with care, 
and (hey all went up in smoke—the best possible use to make 
of them. Why cannot our Government supply all our fuel 
In this way? It would be a great boon. gardener. 
Dutchess Co., N. Y. 
Of course they will burn! It may be a good thing 
to use them for fuel. If they were permitted to grow 
in a garden they might so raise the temperature of the 
gardener that his wife and children would suffer. Burn 
them by all means. Certainly! It is just as much the 
duty of our Government to fill our coal bins and vine¬ 
gar barrels as it is to furnish garden seeds. It is just 
a poor, petty form of “graft,” which demoralizes all 
who touch it. 
* 
The Fall season brings a new 7 demand for purebred 
live stock. Farmers see the various breeds at fairs, and. 
fresh interest is aroused. Fall is a good time to buy. 
Some breeders find themselves short of room or Teed, 
and are ready to sell their surplus at low figures. Many 
farmers like to buy animals in the Fall. Winter gives, 
them a good chance to study the breed, and Winter 
breeding is practiced now more than formerly. For 
these and other reasons we expect our readers to buy 
more purebred animals this Fall than ever before. 
Therefore we want to impress upon them again the 
importance of the most scrupulous honesty in the reg¬ 
istry papers. You might put two cows side by side. 
They look much alike and one will give quite as much 
milk or butter as the other. Yet one is an “accident.” 
•She was sired by a purebred bull, and looks like him, 
but her mother w 7 as an ordinary cow, and no one knows 
her grandmother. The other was sired by the same 
bull, but her mother was registered, and it is possible 
to trace the record of her ancestors back for a dozen: 
generations, and know that they were all good animals. 
The same might be true of two bulls. Would any 
breeder who sought to improve his herd pay as much, 
for the “accident” as for the other? Of course not, 
because he knows that the well-bred animal is far more 
likely to hand down the good qualities he has taken, 
from his ancestors than the other is or could. In a way 
this illustrates the value of a true pedigree. We are 
told of cases where good-looking grade cattle have 
been substituted for purebred stock. In some cases the 
pure animal died, while in pthers the false claim was. # 
made that there were twin calves. The temptation 1o 
do these things is very strong, and some breeders weakly 
fall before it. The various live stock associations should 
watch the records of registration like hawks. This is 
the very life germ of their value to breeders and the 
public. When a fair complaint is made it should be 
investigated at once, for any suspicion of favoritism or 
cowardice in doing this will destroy confidence. The 
business of stock breeding is one in which a man’s per¬ 
sonal reputation for character comes to be his strongest 
asset. 
* 
In 17.32 the people of Holland were horrified to learn 
that the dikes which had for three centuries been formed 
of woodwork were in great danger of decay. A small 
insect had bored into the beams until, when discovered, 
it seemed as if many of them would go down before a 
severe storm. This would mean ruin to Holland, and 
great alarm prevailed. This tiny worm, which, at the 
time threatened disaster, really proved to be a benefit. 
Forced to think and act in order to save their country, 
the Dutch discovered a new and better way of facing 
the dikes with earth and rock, thus making a stronger 
dike. There are many cases in history where what 
seemed like disaster has forced men to exercise their 
powers and build a benefit upon calamity. The history 
of the San Jose scale in some localities may be given 
as an illustration. Fighting the scale has forced us to 
dwarf our trees and bring them closer to the ground, to 
use dwarf apple stocks, to discard certain varieties and 
depend on young and vigorous trees for our fruit. 
Many of these things are very useful to fruit growers, 
and some of them would not have been seriously consid¬ 
ered in our generation but for the scale. 
* 
The R. N.-Y. is not a political paper. We cannot 
therefore make use of all the letters and material con¬ 
cerning James W. Wadsworth which readers are sending 
us. There is without any doubt a deep-set and bitter 
opposition to him in his district. It is not our place to 
discuss local issues. 1 here is only one reason why 
The R. N.-Y. is justified in entering the contest at all. 
As chairman of the House Committee of Agriculture 
Mr. Wadsworth is a National character. Judged by his 
record he does not fairly represent agriculture. As we 
put the rights and needs of agriculture above all other 
public questions we have a right to appeal to the voters 
of the Thirty-fourth District to defeat Mr. Wadsworth, 
and let it be remembered that we do so upon this ground 
alone. On the next page we print an extract from the 
Congressional Record—a speech by Congressman Henry 
of Connecticut. We are frank to say that we think 
Mr. Henry should head the Agriculture Committee, and 
we wrote Speaker Henderson urging him to make the 
change after the first oleo bill failed. Mr. Wadsworth’s 
record on that hill was briefly stated, as follows: 
He was at all times an outspoken opponent of anti- 
cileo legislation. In the Fifty-sixth Congress he delayed 
■committee action until by a majority of one the bill was 
taken out of his hands and placed in Mr. Henry’s charge. 
It then passed the House, but too late in the session to 
pass the Senate. Most of us remember what an outcry 
was made against Mr. Wadsworth’s action. Many of 
us thought Speaker Henderson had ignored our pro¬ 
tests, but he did not. He quietly named a Committee 
on Agriculture with a majority pledged to report an 
effective oleo law. Mr. Wadsworth was again chair¬ 
man. and did his best to hold up the bill, but the gun 
behind him was loaded, and blew him out of the way. 
Is it any wonder that dairymen distrust a man with such 
a record? What a chance the farmers of the Thirty- 
fourth District have to vote straight for agriculture! 
BREVITIES. 
What does your year's blacksmith’s bill amount to? 
It Is not yet too late to buy bulbs for Fall planting 
either indoors or out. 
We hope that our friends have all risen 1o their oppor¬ 
tunities in destroying the Fall web-worm. 
Yes, we shall keep throwing (lie chicken manure on the 
strawberries until ihe Winter mulch is put on. 
That Catalpa caterpillar referred to on page 698 is a 
forbidding creature; we met with It on Laurel-,leafed 
willow. 
Most of the development of new countries seems to be 
done by tlie “tenderfoot.” The old settlers are something 
like Dr. Osier’s man of 45. 
A coupt.e of hired men have started up to deny that 
Lh.e.v or their class are drinkers, or that rum has much to 
do with the trouble. They must live in ideal communities. 
This is what lots of fruit growers are saying: “When 
we sell a horse or other animal and get a good price we 
must give a guarantee. Why should not a nurseryman 
who sells us trees guarantee his stock true to name? 
What good does It do us after waiting to find the trees 
false in fruit to receive an equal number of young trees?” 
We recently stated that it is too late to sow Alfalfa, 
hut a reader at Syracuse, N. Y., says: “The above Is 
wrong for this region. Five years ago I had a piece of 
Alfalfa sown the early part of September. It is the best 
piece I have and so much better than that I had sown 
■earlier and so much better than the average Alfalfa I have 
seen that I have had more sown this week.” 
