70 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 1S50. 
rublishcd weekly by the Rural Publishing Company, 409 Pearl Street, New Fork. 
Herbert W. Collingwood. President and Editor, 
John J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. Dillon, Secretary. 
Dr. Walter Van Fleet and Mrs. E. T. Royle, Associate Editors. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04, equal to 
8 s. Gd., or 8*2 marks, or lO'e francs. Remit in money order, 
express order, personal check or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post Office as Second Class Matter. 
Advertising rates 50 cents per agate line—7 words. Discount for time 
orders. References required for advertisers unknown to 
us; and cash must accompany transient orders. 
"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 ourcolumns, and any such swindler will be publicly ex¬ 
posed. We protect suberibers against rogues, but we do not guarantee 
to adjust trifling differences between subscribers and honest, respon¬ 
sible 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 advertiser. 
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 pur¬ 
poses. We depend on our old friends to make this 
known to neighbors and friends. 
* 
“I have just read, with absorbing interest, every word 
of your premium story, ‘Nell Beverly.’ I find it to be a 
true portrayal of the farm life of real country people, 
under existing conditions. The picture is not overdrawn 
in the least—there is no attempt to add any color, and 
yet the painting is very vivid. It seems to me that this 
plain and simple story must be productive of great and 
lasting good wherever it shall go. In its all too brief 
pages are concentrated the pith and marrow of a great 
volume. May the valuable lessons taught therein live on 
many years after we are gone. I know a Nell Beverly 
under another name who is now unflinchingly facing diffi¬ 
culties even greater than those of the heroine, without 
the least likelihood of any permanent improvement for her 
here on earth, and I know a famous agricultural county 
that once was devastaled by hard cider till the people, 
many of them with a high and stern resolve, arose and 
cut down the trees and broke up their cider presses. The 
load had grown so heavy that for them that was the only 
thing to do.” J. yates Peek. 
California. 
* 
Let us not forget that the New York State De¬ 
partment of Agriculture should have the power to 
conduct its own legal business. As it is now the De¬ 
partment must wait until the Attorney-General is 
ready. Thus many a rogue feels secure in the law’s 
delay, and will continue his illegal practices. 1 he 
Legislature should give the Department the power it 
once held to enforce the agricultural laws. Begin on 
your Senator and Assemblymen right now. 
One of the best “Protein Clubs” is the present high 
price of grain and feed. These will sooner or later 
club us into the production of more protein on our 
own farms. By “protein” we mean the muscle-making 
dements which must be supplied to our stock. We 
can grow the corn if we only think so, but some of 
our farmers seem to think we must depend on others 
for protein crops. Don’t believe it. Read the articles 
which are being printed, and try some of those pro¬ 
tein crops. 
•I* 
For some years the insect known as Brown-tailed 
moth has caused considerable damage in New Eng¬ 
land. The New York authorities have been on the 
watch for it. The insect finally came from France in 
an importation of seedlings. It has been identified, 
but has not yet become established in the State. 
Nurserymen have been notified, and the inspectors 
are watching for it. There is no need of a scare or 
for sensational reports, but all nurserymen should 
unite to destroy the pest before it can spread. 
* 
A call is being issued to presidents or other officers 
of all fruit organizations to send delegates to a meet¬ 
ing to be held at the Hotel Rochester, in the city of 
Rochester, N. Y., on Thursday, January 21, 1909, at 
10 a. m„ for the purpose of forming a central organi¬ 
zation. the purposes and aims of which shall be the 
furtherance of the interests of all allied fruit associa¬ 
tions. This movement has been heartily endorsed by 
all leading growers in western New York. It is just 
the thing needed at this time. There should be one 
of the greatest meetings ever known to perfect a 
strong organization. 
* 
Gov. Hughes calls attention to the need of a 
thorough meat inspection in New York. The Federal 
Government inspects meat for export or which goes 
into interstate commerce, but does not inspect other 
meats. For example, stock slaughtered in New York 
State and sold as meat within the borders of the State 
will not be inspected. Thus nearly half of the meat 
supply of the country does not carry the official stamp 
cf the Government. Now this brand is considered by 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
meat buyers as a certificate of good character. There 
are some large meat buyers who handle western meat 
in preference to New York meat simply because the 
former has been inspected. With no suitable inspec¬ 
tion there is no doubt that some slaughter bouses in 
the State are not what they should be. We think it 
quite likely that animals so diseased that they could 
not pass a Federal inspector are sometimes killed at 
our slaughter houses and the meat sold as food. A 
thorough State inspection would prevent most of this, 
and would in the end benefit both farmers and con¬ 
sumers of meat. 
* 
We do not feel capable of touching up a live sub¬ 
ject any better than it is done by a friend in Ohio: 
Not. to ‘“butt in” on your editorial policy, it always 
seemed strange that no farm paper ever seriously tackled 
the question of borrowing among farmers. Next to poor 
fences, it has probably more often caused strained rela¬ 
tions between farm neighbors than any other one thing. 
The almost divine patience of men who had implements, 
tools and machinery with those neighbors who could have 
had them as well as not hut preferred to borrow is a 
revelation to a city-bred man. I don’t refer to the farmer 
who. in an emergency, asks for his neighbor’s implements, 
but to the legion of men who are either too stingy to 
buy farm tools or too shiftless to do so as long as they 
can impose upon their neighbors. 
* 
It must be said that in one way at least those Pacific 
coast apple growers deserve their success. They have 
faith in their business, take pride in their work and 
get right up on the house tops and talk apple. We 
hear some men who at public meetings get up and 
say that apple culture is “safe as a Government bond.” 
So it is, but what would the bond be worth if there 
were not faith and energy and pride back of it? A 
box of western apples is a bond. The packer knows 
what he put into that box, and it carries the best he 
has. Some eastern sections certainly can produce 
apples that are fully equal to the Pacific coast fruit, 
yet our growers must go West and learn how to or¬ 
ganize for packing and selling before they can hope 
to compete. 
* 
The question of primary nominations will soon be 
squarely before the people of New York. Gov. 
Hughes has suggested it in his message to the Legis¬ 
lature. We expect the fiercest political conflict over 
this measure that has ever been fought in New York, 
and we welcome it. The politicians fully realize what 
a fair primary, by general ballot, would mean to them. 
They know how it would drive them out into the 
open and compel most of them actually to go to work! 
On the other hand, the plain people do not realize yet 
how such a ballot will give them political opportunity 
such as they never knew before. If they did realize 
it now as they will five years hence, not a politician 
in New York would dare open his mouth in oppo¬ 
sition to the proposed law. It is because the people do 
not fully understand that the politicians think they 
see a chance to kill the bill. We find that all over the 
State they are circulating objections calculated to 
frighten the farmers. Some of these have been sent 
us, and we want them all, so that they may be 
answered. We have arranged with intelligent farmers 
in Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, Washington, Oregon and 
other States where the primary has been tried to 
answer these objections and statements. If we are to 
have a primary law in New York it must be won by 
the farmers. They are more interested in it than 
any other class. As a general proposition you can 
see the advantage of cutting out the caucus politicians 
and getting closer to the Legislature. The politicians 
will put up strong objections, and they must be met. 
Send us any argument against the bill that you may 
hear and we will send it out West where the experi¬ 
ment has been tried. 
* 
You remember that on page 10 we paid our respects 
to the New York Times. That paper asked if farm¬ 
ers wanted “all the money there is.” It said we ought 
to let the poor railroads alone. Now some one has 
touched the pocket nerve of The Times in the right 
place. It is grape fruit at 50 cents each: 
Certainly nobody who orders grape fruit at the restau¬ 
rants and pays 50 rents apiece for them—or who refrains 
from ordering them because ho thinks half a dollar too 
much to pay for what is after all only water, agreeably 
sweetened, soured, and bittorod—would have imagined 
that those engaged in its production and distribution were 
doing their work too cheaply. The mystery clears, how¬ 
ever. when one notices that the prices 1o which The Fruit- 
man’s Guide refers as lamentably low are (hose obtained 
for largp lots at auction liy what it calls “the receivers.” 
meaning, doubtless, those inlo whose hands the fruit first 
comes on its arrival from Florida. The top price paid 
of late at these sales, it seems, for any not “absolutely 
gilt-edged in quality” is $2.50 per box of 50. What the 
orchardist gets of this amount is not stated, hut the rail¬ 
ways and one or two commission men take their shares, 
and probably it isn’t very much. 
The grower has been getting about 90 cents a box 
and paying his expenses out of that. The Times 
pays at the rate of $25 a box. Comparatively few are 
January 23. 
sold at that rate, but we take the figures as they are 
given, and find that the grower gets less than four 
cents on the dollar. The Times thinks the grocers 
and fruit dealers are entitled to 100 per cent profit, 
but draws the line at 900, which the restaurant gets. 
Now let The Times continue its investigation with 
food of all sorts. Tell us the cost of life and we can 
quickly show what part of the dollar goes to the 
producer, and how much the handler takes. There is 
no more vital question to-day than this. It is a good 
subject for the daily papers. How is the producer's 
dollar split up, and who does the splitting? In the 
celebrated 80-cent-gas case the gas trust claimed that 
it could not pay six per cent profit at that price. It is 
now found that the trust was buying gas at 35 cents 
per 1000 feet and trying to make the people pay one 
dollar! This 35 cents includes all cost and 10 per cent 
profit added. The most important thing to do now is 
to show up the handler’s share! 
* 
“The Apples of New York” is a large two-volume 
work prepared at considerable expense by the State. 
There is nothing in print equal to it for information 
regarding apple varieties in the North. A number 
of readers in other States have written us asking how 
they can obtain the book. There were 19,000 sets 
printed to he distributed as follows; 2,000 sets were 
given to the Experiment Station at Geneva, 2,000 
more to the Commissioner of Agriculture, 10,000 
to members of the Legislature and 5,000 to the Com¬ 
missioner to be held for the Legislature. Thus 15,000 
sets were given to the Legislature and only 2,000 to 
the Station. Nearly half the members of the Legisla¬ 
ture come from cities, where few if anyone cares for 
such a book. Thus many copies have gone into the 
hands of people who have no possible use for them, 
while others who need the information cannot get 
the book unless they buy it. We are informed that 
Albany book stores sell the book at about $5 a set! 
The method of distributing costly books of this sort 
is wrong and should he given up. It is a form of 
“graft” that can never be satisfactory. The books 
are prepared by the Experiment Station and ought 
to be distributed from there, for in no other way 
can they be placed in the hands of those who need 
them most. Hundreds of fruit growers in New York 
have never been able to obtain a copy. Twice already 
has the Legislature ordered 10,000 additional copies, 
but the Governor has vetoed the item to save ex¬ 
penses. Our friends outside the State will evidently 
have to buy the book. 
BREVITIES. 
It requires grit anil grace to do things that are worth 
while. 
We are feeding molasses to the old horses as an experi¬ 
ment. They like it, and it seems to like them. 
“Tiie committee on nominations” at the average con¬ 
vention comes about as near to being cut and dried as 
anything can. 
Tiie man who goes out of his way to address you as 
“brother farmer” is pretty likely to be a brother-in-law 
of the farm. 
The Uravenstein apple has done much to give Nova 
Scotia apples a reputation, but that does not prove it the 
best variety for you. 
What is the matter with the sterile tree—plum, peach 
or apple? It will not bear fruit even when treated just 
like the others. We get that question every week. 
It is said that the “Chinese incense sticks” are made 
of ground elm bark mixed with water and moulded into 
sticks. The bark is mixed with ground sandalwood and 
perfumes. 
The Georgia peach growers have organized an associa¬ 
tion for the purpose of obtaining better shipping and 
transportation facilities. They have put up $50,000 and 
secured the men needed. 
We understand that the farmers’ institutes in New 
York are well attended, and that the interest is fully 
kept up. This institution has become larger than airy man 
or set of men, and is a settled department of farm edu¬ 
cation. 
It is reported from Loudon that the destruction of 
Messina has caused a groat advance in the price of staple 
commodities from that town, citric acid, essence of lemon, 
oil of sweet orange and oil of bergamot Increasing enor¬ 
mously in value, and being held for a still higher ad¬ 
vance. 
You could hardly call Oregon and Washington “bashful" 
States when it comes to talking apple. Vermont can raise 
better apples than either State—no doubt about it. Yet 
Vermont is “bashful,” and her people frankly state the 
truth about the deer. Have our western friends any faults 
at all? 
Speaking of “uplift” commissions we have known city 
farmers—men who bought places in the country and then 
started in to uplift their neighbors by showing them how 
to live. The example they set is demoralizing and harmful 
to poorer people who think they must follow their rich 
neighbors. 
England has begun paying old-age pensions to persons 
over 70 years old, the number of pensioners expected be¬ 
ing about 500,000. It is estimated that the pensions will 
cost the country $35,000,000 annually. The highest pen 
sion is $1.25 a week, paid to applicants having an Income 
of less than $105 a year. 
