i92 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
March 2, 
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. Coli.inowoop, Editor. 
Dr. Walter Van Fleet, I . , 
Mrs. E. T. Hoyle, i A! ' i ’ 0 Cla '»s- 
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 8% marks, or 10^ 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 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, MARCH 2, 1907. 
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. 
* 
One of the most interesting fruit meetings held in the 
country is the National Apple Growers’ Congress. It 
will be held this year at St. Louis, Mo., in August. 
There is always a good programme, and usually a trip 
through the apple-growing sections of Missouri or Ar¬ 
kansas. More eastern growers should attend these 
meetings, and arrangements will be made this year for 
an excursion from Buffalo. Clark Allis, of Medina, 
N. Y., will help arrange the trip and can give all needed 
information. 
* 
We are asked by a number of readers if it really pays 
to use soil from an old Alfalfa field to “inoculate” a 
new seeding. The theory is that the soil of the old field 
will contain the bacteria which are held to be necessary 
to the Alfalfa plant, and which may not be in the new 
field. We do not care to answer these questions with 
an opinion. Facts are wanted. Will those who have 
used such soil tell us how much they used, when and 
how they put it on, and the results as compared with 
fields that were not “inoculated?” 
* 
The American Apple Consumers’ League has helped 
fruit growers. Started as a sort of joke, it has spread 
and grown into a serious crusade, which is developing 
markets and introducing health, temperance and good 
living. Able hands will now carry it on. We feel like 
launching a new order. Let us call it Knights of the 
Fostage Stamp! Those who join will agree to spend 
50 cents each year for stamps in sending plain, sensible 
letters to public men. We are not only to ask men to 
do tfieir duty, but to commend those who actually do it. 
Details later! Who joins the Knights of the Postage 
Stamp? 
Prof. Russell, of Williams College, is quoted as 
saying that if conditions in Bible times had been as they 
are now there would have been an eleventh command¬ 
ment to cover snobs. He may be right in view of his 
definition of a snob. 
Snobs are those who prostrate themselves before the rich 
and influential and consider themselves better than thoso 
who do not. Tosition and wealth are worshipped by the 
snob. 
Good! The snobs seem to have made their way into 
about every department of life, including agricultural 
journalism! 
On page 168 Mr. Kurtz tells us what he has done with 
an “abandoned farm.” Some of our city friends who 
turn over in bed at seven o’clock for another dream of 
that home in the country which they expect to make 
may ponder over what Mr. Kurtz writes in a private 
letter: 
At present my occupation is so strenuous as to leave me 
only enough time to glance hastily at the evening papers, 
and sleep. I have no help on the farm now, get up at 
2.30 a. m. and keep pegging away until 7 p. m. With 11 
cows to curry and milk, horses to feed and care for and 
get off on my milk route by 5.40, it keeps the blood in 
circulation. 
Indeed it does. Before the city man goes to the 
country he should know the price. 
As noticed on page 172, the Spencer Seedless Apple 
Company now abandons all claim for their apple except 
tnat it is practically seedless, a long keeper and of good 
quality. At first thought those who have tasted the 
apple may object to the description of quality as “good.” 
In “The Apples of New York,” Ben Davis is classed 
as “good,” Baldwin as “good to very good,” and North¬ 
ern Spy r as “very good to best,” and so on. The “nov¬ 
elty” feature of the apple or its lack of seeds will not 
commend it as a commercial variety. In appearance it 
certainly is not superior to dozens of better varieties. 
The company is to be commended for meeting the pub¬ 
lic frankly with regard to the true merits of the apple. 
They realize fully that the earlier, extravagant claims 
never should have been made. The company states 
where Mr. Spencer obtained the apple. We suggested 
to the company that this part of the story may be con¬ 
tradicted, but they give it in reply to our famous ques¬ 
tion. 
* 
As we have stated, a law in Oregon gives inspectors 
the right to destroy market fruit infested with San Jose 
scale. We have the following note from the horticul¬ 
tural commissioner of that State: 
It is somewhat a disputed question with us as to whether 
the San J»s6 scale on the fruit is really dangerous. Per¬ 
sonally, I believe it Is* early in the season, the latter part 
perhaps not. But our chief reason for destroying scale-in¬ 
fested fruit is that this is one of the best ways to reach the 
man who will not care for his fruit or trees. Our law gives 
us power to destroy such fruit,and we find that we can 
reach careless -growers much more effectively in this way, 
than by any other. Of course, a certain latitude must be 
allowed, and fruit that is only very slightly Vnfected is 
generally allowed to pass. The law has been contested in 
the courts and upheld. I an inclined to think that there 
would lie great danger from the cuttings. I think the 
scale would survive just as long as the cuttings would have 
vitality enough to grow. w. K. newell. 
Thus, the chief value of the law lies in an extra warn¬ 
ing to fruit growers that they must take care of their 
trees. 
* 
One great trouble with the city apple trade is the 
size of the retail 'package. A man living in the coun¬ 
try can keep barrels of apples in bis cellar, but he does 
not realize that this is impossible for the “flat dwell¬ 
er” in the city. When the family is crowded into a few 
rooms it is not possible to keep any large supply of food 
on hand. The grocer, butcher and baker keep such food 
and deliver it day by day. The barrel package as it 
comes from the orchard is too large for a city home. 
The cost of apples bought by the “measure” or dozen 
is too high. The boxed apples from the Pacific coast 
cost too much for the average family, and there is 
never enough of them to go around. The men who 
buy the barrel package, unpack it and sell in lots to 
suit customers make considerably more than the man 
who sells the barrel. Lie should save a part of this 
heavy toll. He cannot do it until he puts a box of fruit 
on the market at a fair price. 
* 
Quite a number of eastern fruit growers now advo¬ 
cate planting apple trees close together—in some cases 
16 feet apart each way. “Too close!” “Ruin the 
orchard!” you will say, and yet these men have a good 
argument for doing it. Of course they know that a 
bearing tree must have room, and they have no inten¬ 
tion of leaving these trees so close together. Nor do 
they intend to cut out the fillers and destroy them. At 
five or six years old part of the trees will be trans¬ 
planted or sold. The transplanted trees are cut back 
at the top, dug out with enough root, and hauled on a 
stone boat to plant a new orchard. Thus the permanent 
trees are not crowded, and a good orchard can be 
started with the fillers. Under this system you have 
the land where the second orchard goes for cropping at 
least five years before the trees are set out. In some 
sections there is a growing demand for large trees. This 
comes largely from wealthy people who buy land, build 
a house, and want bearing orchards and shade trees at 
once. These people make fortunes in a few months 
and want orchards manufactured just as rapidly. They 
are often willing to pay $25 or $30 for an eight-year- 
old apple tree properly transplanted. We know of 
some orchards where such trees, transplanted in this 
way, have brought over $1,500 an acre. Of course this 
is not practical for the commercial orchard some dis¬ 
tance from large towns, but it shows how locality and 
market will change our methods. 
* 
The A. J. C. C. will now investigate! The President 
will appoint three men who are not to be members of 
the club, and not to be nominated by either party in 
the controversy. One is to be a veterinarian and another 
a breeder of Jersey cattle. We feel sure that President 
Darling will name three honorable and competent gen¬ 
tlemen who cannot be improperly influenced. Our single 
object has been to bring about just such an investiga¬ 
tion. Our criticism of the club now ceases. We thank 
them for taking up the matter in this businesslike way. 
During the discussion which has now ended efforts 
have been made to shift the issue and put us in a false 
position. The insinuation that we were trying to injure 
the breeding interests, or the Jersey breed in particular, 
is nonsense. Just as well say that because we opposed 
Mr. Wadsworth and Mr. Dryden we are trying to break 
down our representative form of government Efforts 
have also been made to show that we are trying to pull 
down one man and push up another. We positively 
deny any such intention. Had there been any such 
desire we could have made use of the weapons which 
volunteers have placed in our hands. If we felt that 
the humblest man, even with an evil reputation, had 
been denied some of the common rights which belong to 
farmers we would make a fight for those rights (not 
merely for the man) even against the most powerful 
man in the country! We have absolutely refused to 
discuss the financial side of the case. It may be true 
that one man beat the other in the deal, while the vic¬ 
tim tried to get square. We do not pretend to know 
about that, and it has nothing to do with the age and 
pedigree papers of those cows. The one thing that con¬ 
cerns the public is the identity of those cattle. We have 
held steadily that the A. J. C. C., being responsible for 
the papers, must settle this side of the dispute. That is 
all we have contended for, and we are in no way 
ashamed of our motives. If it prove to be a case of 
substitution through mistake or otherwise, or if a more 
serious fault rest upon the other side, we shall hold 
that the public has been helped by settling the case. 
* 
An artist in roguery, who describes himself as “the 
Luther Burbgnk of the East,” has been selling most re¬ 
markable seeds to amateur gardeners in and around 
New York. Rubber and lemon trees were among the 
specialties to be grown from his seed, and his adver¬ 
tising circulars were written in a style so convincing 
that purchasers blamed themselves rather than the 
seedsman when nothing ever grew. However, one de¬ 
termined woman purchased a second batch of seed and 
submitted it to an expert for analysis—to learn that 
the alleged seed was not really worthless, being a high 
grade of palm-leaf fans, thoroughly pulverized! The 
seed faker soon found himself in the hands of the po¬ 
lice, who will render him innocuous for some time to 
come. This particular line of fraud is always with us, 
in some form or other, and there is no doubt that the 
disgust it excites in the minds of swindled purchasers 
reacts injuriously upon honest seedsmen, since it may 
deter further seed-buying for a year or so. Apparently 
it never occurs to such buyers that an unknown firm or 
individual of no business standing is extremely unlikely 
to possess a novelty of merit that is not catalogued by 
other firms; as for the claims made, they are apparently 
accounted for on the ground that truth is stranger than 
fiction. It is a safe rule, when approached by a gentle¬ 
man who gives you a chance to sow palm-leaf fans and 
reap rubber trees, or who offers you boiled okra seed 
as a basis for “the wonderful Paradise flower of the 
Rio Grande,” to drop the money in the baby’s bank and 
humbly study an honest seedsman’s catalogue. 
BREVITIES. 
Do you lift or do you lean? 
It is comfortable to lean upon a fat job. 
Tub bluebirds will be welcome this year. 
The snow bank account is heavy this Winter. 
Two family needs—good bread and good breeding. 
Don’t try to grind Alfalfa meal with low power. 
The coward halts until he is well haltered, and then can¬ 
not be free. 
Yes, without doubt, the lime and sulphur wash is a good 
fungicide. 
Don’t stop for long stories or yet for short tales when 
the trees in your orchard are covered with scales. 
Those enterprising statesmen who fool with honest butter, 
are apt to take the homeward track well placed upon a 
shutter. 
Is a farmer in the East justified in trying Alfalfa unless 
he has mastered the art of growing clover in his section? 
Very doubtful. 
As an American fruit grower you should help arrange 
that German tariff; as a New York fruit grower you should 
help those evaporator men change the law. 
No man can be of any great good in public life unless 
he can carry what he believes to be the truth cheerfully 
in the face of three very busy B’s—bluff, bribery and brow¬ 
beating. 
There seems to be a great desire to try the raw ground 
phosphate. It is easy to see what a great saving there will 
be if we can make this phosphate available by any ordinary 
farm process. 
A question asked again and again is whether a disk 
harrow is better than a Cutaway. As is well known the 
latter is a disk with teeth cut out of the rim so that it chops 
as well as turns. Under what condition do you find one 
better than another and why? 
The Canadian government is asked to help build cold 
storage houses for fruit. The plan, which is likely to suc¬ 
ceed, is for the government to pay part of the cost of such 
houses as a bounty or subsidy. It is known that such houses, 
located in fruit growing sections, would help the fruit busi¬ 
ness and in that way help all Canadian industries. The 
object of such a law in Canada is to offer some inducement 
to fruit grower? to help themselves og a co-operative basis, 
