338 
Marc!) 27, 
Ruralisms 
The Tricky Commission Man.— 
The United States postal authorities 
recently caused the arrest of two mem¬ 
bers of a New York produce commis¬ 
sion firm on the charge of using the 
mails for swindling purposes. Many 
farmers from Maine to Missouri had 
complained against the firm, claiming 
they had received no returns for prod¬ 
uce sent to be sold on commission. The 
losses to shippers by this firm’s opera¬ 
tions are said to be more than $100,- 
000. One’s first thought on reading the 
press announcements of the capture of 
these tricky dealers is that it should 
not be necessary for the farmers of a 
considerable portion of the United 
States to lose $100,000 before the career 
of such rascals is terminated. The 
Post Office Department undoubtedly 
does the best it can under the circum¬ 
stances, and has been effective in chok¬ 
ing off many fraudulent schemes be¬ 
fore great harm has been done, but evi¬ 
dence sufficient to bring swindlers using 
the mails before a court of justice ac¬ 
cumulates slowly, and is often ex¬ 
tremely difficult to obtain. Frauds of 
this kind, as .a rule, must be extensive 
and often repeated to induce victims 
to make the complaints needed to start 
official investigation. If every shipper 
who fails to get returns for his con¬ 
signments would make prompt and 
circumstantial report of the transac¬ 
tion to the postal authorities the swind¬ 
lers would have less rope and their 
frauds would not likely mount up to 
such distressing figures. 
Should be Inspected. —But it is 
scarcely the province of the Post Office 
Department, burdened with the gigan¬ 
tic task of distributing the greatest 
mails on earth, to look after every 
commercial swindler who uses the serv¬ 
ice. The good arising from postal de¬ 
tective work and resulting fraud orders 
is very great, but the particular bunco 
game of the bogus produce commission 
dealer, it would seem, could best be 
controlled by registration and inspection 
by either the National Department of 
Agriculture or the Department of Com¬ 
merce and Labor. The vast majority 
of commission dealers everywhere do 
more or less interstate business and 
could, doubtless, be placed under Fed¬ 
eral control. Those transacting busi¬ 
ness entirely within the State of their 
residence could be left to the operation 
of local laws. An efficient system of 
registration and inspection of accounts 
would rapidly weed out irresponsible 
and tricky dealers, and afford the very 
numerous honorable ones better chances 
of doing a satisfactory business. It 
would stop serious leaks in the incomes 
of hardworking producers, as it is of 
little avail to expend energy and cap¬ 
ital in growing crops or developing live 
stock products if the commission dealer 
is suffered to retain for his services 
more than a fair portion of the selling 
price. The banker who undertakes the 
care of depositors’ money must, under 
all State and national laws, furnish 
reference and security, and submit to 
frequent rigid examinations. The com- 
mission merchant soliciting consign¬ 
ments of produce to be sold at his 
discretion should be compelled to do 
no less. Rascality would not be elim¬ 
inated in either case, but opportunities 
for fraud, it is presumable, would be 
reduced in 'the commission business, 
in substantially the same proportion as 
they have been among bankers. Cer¬ 
tain abuses, that honest dealers deplore, 
but which they feel compelled to prac¬ 
tice, such as settling with a shipper 
on the basis of the average price of 
the day for a given product, rather 
than the actual price received for. each 
sale, have grown up in the commission 
business, and there appears little chance 
for reformation until taken hold of 
by the strong hand of State or national 
authority. Obviously, the honest dealer 
who returns the full amount,’ less ex¬ 
penses and a reasonable commission, 
has little chance to compete save in 
the greater volume of business at¬ 
tracted by a reputation for fair deal¬ 
ing, with the tricky one who returns 
little or nothing. The produce com¬ 
mission business needs regulation from 
the bottom upwards. As with the 
banker, the first proved misdemeanor 
should be the last. There should be 
THE RURAb NEW-YORKER 
no accumulation of $100,000 worth of 
petty swindles by a single firm, dis¬ 
tressing and blighting farm homes over 
half the nation, before adequate steps 
are taken to put the swindlers out of 
business. 
Spring Blooming Bulbs. —Interest 
freshens in Spring blooming bulbs now 
that a new record has been established 
for the earliest kinds, such as the 
snowdrop and yellow Crocus, by flow¬ 
ering in mid-February. The first weeks 
of March find daffodils, tulips and 
hyacinths above ground and ready to 
push their buds if the weather contin¬ 
ues mild. The snowfall of inaugura¬ 
tion day and resulting low temperature 
gave a wholesome check to these for¬ 
ward kinds, but snowdrops continue 
swelling their seed capsules and open¬ 
ing belated buds as if conditions were 
entirely favorable. The most interest¬ 
ing feature of amateur gardening in 
northern climates is, undoubtedly, the 
culture of hardy flowering bulbs, es¬ 
pecially when partially naturalized in 
lawn or shrubbery. Bulbs tucked away 
in sheltered nooks 15 years ago on the 
Rural Grounds have formed attractive 
little colonies that annually greet us 
with their bright and cheery blooms. 
There is an appealing element of un¬ 
expectedness in naturalized bulbous 
plants that is not found in the care¬ 
fully planted bed or border. We know 
at first where to look f r them, but 
as the years slip by their actual ap¬ 
pearance each Spring comes almost as 
a pleasant surprise. Then, too, one 
feels more free to gather blossoms 
produced in such profusion. They may 
lack the individual finish of the petted 
specimens under high culture, but are 
not less charming on that account. The 
Scillas, Chionodoxas and tulips in Fig. 
131, page 327, were gathered at ran¬ 
dom by a child, and showed an at¬ 
tractive combination of blue, white and 
salmon pink, contrasting with the fresh 
green foliage. Buy the smaller and 
cheaper bulbs in quantity, and plant 
them without stint in suitable out-of- 
the-way places about the country home. 
Good Roads and Automobiles. —The 
siren sound of the “good roads” prop¬ 
aganda is less enticing to the practical 
farmer than before the advent of high- 
power automobiles. These speedy and 
enormously heavy motor vehicles rush 
through the country, plowing the soft¬ 
ened roads to their foundations during 
wet weather and scattering the surface in 
the form of irritating dust over the ad¬ 
jacent landscape in droughty times. It has 
been demonstrated here and. abroad that 
no road surface practicable in the couir 
try can withstand them. In Europe 
the automobile is more highly developed 
than here, and -the country dwellers, 
are finding to their disgust that ancient 
and perfect roads—the pride of cen¬ 
turies—are being rapidly destroyed with 
few compensating advantages. The ten¬ 
dency there is to hold users to stricter 
accountability and to tax the heavier 
machines in something like the propor¬ 
tion they wear out roads. There has 
been too great leniency in this coun¬ 
try, and farmers are realizing that while 
there are some careful drivers too many 
show slight consideration for either 
the road or its legitimate users. Country 
roads are built for moderate traffic, and 
not for the almost unrestricted use of 
private express locomotives. As the 
bulk of taxation for better country roads 
ever falls on the farm owner he should 
awake to the folly of wasting his ef¬ 
forts on road beds that may be broken 
up by the first heavy automobile that 
passes in moist weather. Better, a rutty 
roadway that may give quiet enjoyment 
to the careful horse driver than a more 
expensive thoroughfare on which one 
is continually forced to the ditch by 
reckless motorists. The automobile has 
come to stay, and will doubtless be 
greatly perfected in the future, but there 
is little need in having our roads de¬ 
stroyed during its evolution. The prob¬ 
lem of motor vehicle traffic is a com¬ 
plex one, and demands much consid¬ 
eration. Possibly in the fullness of time 
paved or metal-clad roads, free of 
grade crossings, will be needed for 
motorists, and automobile owners will 
be taxed for the purpose of building 
them. Meanwhile there is little need 
for the farmer to pay for the kind of 
road surface now demanded by ir¬ 
responsible automobile drivers. 
w. v. F. 
When you write advertisers mention Ton 
R. N.-Y. and you'll get a quick reply and 
“a square deal.'’ See guarantee. 
MADE GOOD APPLES. 
Mr. T. E. Goodrich, Grower of Fancy 
Fruits and Sweet Potatoes, Cobden.Ills., 
writes: “I used Pyrox the past season on 
apples with good results. It stuck well 
and made good apples. Expect to use it 
again the coming season.” ‘‘Pyrox’’ 
does not wash off the foliage like Paris 
Green, but sticks like paint even through 
heavy rains. Address Bowker Insecticide 
Co., Boston, Mass.— Ad<v. 
Berry Baskets 
BERRY BASKETS PEACH BASKETS 
ALL, SIZES ALL SIZES 
Best quality goods. Factory prices. 
Berry, Peach and Grapo Crates, etc, 
Write for Illustrated Catalogue 
ORDER NOW ANIJ SAVE MONEY. 
COLES & COMPANY 
109 & 111 Warren St., New York 
Established 1884 
— 99 Vioo % Pure— 
American Ingot Iron Roofing 
Guaranteed For 30 Years 
Without Painting 
The Only Guaranteed Metal Roofing ever put on the 
market. Samples free. Write for a free book showing 
remarkable tests. A way out of your roof troubles. 
THE AMERICAN IRON ROOFING CO., Dent. D, ELYRIA. OHIO 
Good’s 2srwiS?<55 Soap No. 3 
Best for spraying trees, plants, shrubs. 
Protects berries, small fruits, flowers, 
grapes, cabbages, etc. 
Kills San Jose Scale 
Sure death to all parasites and insects. 
Contains active fertilizers. 
No salt, sulphur, mineral oils or other 
substances to harm soil or trees. 
Endorsed by 
U. S. Dept, of Agriculture. 
James Good, Original Maker, 
945 No. Front Street, Philadelphia. 
This Machine 
Sprays Anything 
Potatoes, orchards, vineyards, truck, 
etc. Cheap in price, light, strong-and- 
durable. High pressure from big wheel. 
Pushes easy as it is well-balanced. Vapor 
spray, prevents blight, scab, rot and 
bugs. Doubles your crop. Brass ball- 
valves, brass plunger, strainer, etc. 
Guaranteed for 5 years. All 
Without a«eent• in ■advance. Test 
’ them with your money in your pocket, 
and then if you buy, pay us out of the 
extra profit. Don’t pay the deal¬ 
er’s profit, but order direct from 
| us and get wholesale prices. The 
Hurst Horse-Power Sprayer 
(shown below) is for large fruit. 
I grape and potato growers. “ No 
tree too high, no field too big for 
this king of sprayers.” Fitz-AU 
Barrel Sprayer fits any barrel or tank. 
Furnished plain, on barrel or on wheels. 
High pressure, perfect agitation, easy 
to operate. Brass ball-valves, plunger, 
automatic strainer, etc. Write to-day 
and tell us which machine you are in- 
I terested in—and you’ll get our Catalog 
of all-kinds-of-sprayers 
HorsePower ($3 to $100), spraying- 
, guide, and special 
free sprayer O ff e r 
for first in each lo¬ 
cality this season. 
Do it now. 
H.L.HURST NIFG.CO., 
„ - _ 45NorthSt.,Canton,0, 
Sprayer - 
OR RAPID, EASY 
“Auto-Pop” NOZZLE. 
Slight pressure on lever starts dense 
spray. Automatic shut-off. Doubles c 
pacity. Saves solution, time, labor. 
INCREASE THE CROPS 
by using the "Auto-Pop” nozzle on the 
"Auto-Spray” pump Write for factory 
prices, spraying guide and agency offer. 
r n ,-- no T.«ct Dnehocfor N Y 
The only Glass Valve Pump—never 
sticks —never fails — always re-ady. 
Also HAY TOOLS. Barn Door 
Hangers, Hay Back damps. 
Write today for Circulars and Prices. 
F.H. Myers ic Itro., - t Ora nr. St., Ashland, O, 
THE 
PUMP 
THAT 
PUMPS 
POTATOES PAY 
Make them pay by using the machines that 
really do the work— 
CUT, PLANT, 
SPRAY, 
DIG and 
SORT 
There’s nothing in 
potato machinery 
up to 
ASP1NWALL EQUIPMENT 
Write for copy of our free book telling how 
to make money, growing potatoes. 
ASPINWALL MFG. CO. 
437 Sabin St., Jackson, M:ch.,U.S.A. 
Pioneer Makers of Potato Machinery 
Niagara Brand 
Products 
Unsurpassed for— 
Convenience, Economy 
and Effectiveness. 
Niagara Lime Sulphur Solution — 
For Sucking Insects and Fungus. Betler than 
any other Spray material. 
Niagara Arsenate of Lead —Kills Bugs, 
Beetles, Caterpillars, Etc. 
Niagara Bordeaux Arsenate —Insecti¬ 
cide and Fungicide Combined—beats all sum¬ 
mer sprays. 
Niagara Tree Borer Paint— Controls 
Borers absolutely. 
Niagara Gas Sprayers-- Built in 7 styles. 
Send for descriptive catalogues,prices, etc., FREE. 
Niagara Sprayer Go. 
Middleportf N. V. 
The Deyo Power Sprayer 
The original. Others have copied. Our 3 h. p. air¬ 
cooled engine easily detached and used for other 
work. No Experiment. Seven Years of Suc¬ 
cess. Ask the user. Our 13j> air-cooled complete 
power spray outfit $195.00 Write for catalogue 19 
and our liberal proposition. 
R. H. Deyo & Co., Binghamton, N. Y. 
JARVIS SPRAYING COMPOUND. 
Im the Cheapest and 15e»*t. It Hum No Superior, 
Sure Cure For San Jo*e Seale. 
Buy direct from the manufacturer and save money. 
Spraying Compound ready to mix with water. One 
gallon of Spraying Compound will make from sixteen to 
twenty gallons of spray. 
TERMS In barrel lot* (50 gait*. ) SO cents per cal. 
We would refer you to J. H. Hale, the Peach King, or 
Prof. Jarvis, of the Connecticut Agricultural College. 
They will tell you there is nothing better. Address 
The J. T. ROBERTSON CO., Box R, Manchester, Conn. 
»i Tiwr mntL 
TARGET BRAND 
QUICK BORDEAUX, 
a spray material for use on trees and 
plants in foliage. The unique method of 
packing makes it entirely different 
from other prepared Bordeaux. Send 
for testimonials and opinions showing 
how to increase the yield of your fruit 
and potatoes from ;><)<£ to 100<£ by its use. 
TARGET BRAND, Box 721, Alartinsburg.W. Va, 
n.m J AQ—20 kinds (my selection) $1. Satis- 
UAnLlMO faction guaranteed. Write for full 
particulars. H. BUKT, Taunton, Mass 
PRATT’S« SC A LECTDE 
jTjL jL*4 A JLJ? JL -4 san jose scale 
and all soft bodied sucking insects without injury to the tree. Simple, more effective and cheaper than Lime Sulphnr. Not an experiment. 
Write for FREE sample and endorsements of leading fruit growers and entomologists who have used it foryears. 
“POCKET DIARY WITH SPRAY CALENDAR FREE IF YOU MENTION THIS PAPER. 
PRICES: 50 gal. bl>l. $25.00; 30 gal. tin $15.00; lO gal. can $0.00; 5 gal. can $3.25; X gal. can $1.00 f. o. b. New York. 
One gallon makes 16 to 20 gallons spray by simply adding water. Order now; spring spraying your I a3t ch ance. 
13. G-. 3F»i-«vfr* Oo. HVTtfs. CUemists, IDox^t. 3ST, 50 Church St. JSTcyw Yorli CJxty 
