>400 
April 10, 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal lor Country and Suburban Homea. 
Established 1850. 
Published weekly by the Rural Publishing Company, 409 Pearl Street, Sew Turk. 
Herbert W. Collingwood, President and Editor, 
John J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. P. 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. 6d., or 8*a marks, or 10*2 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.” 
Wo 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. 
* 
This is what we need right now—practical ad¬ 
vice from those who know how to build and ope¬ 
rate a small limekiln. Many farmers tell us they 
can get limestone on or near their farms. How can 
they get a supply of fine lime for their own use— 
not to sell? Will it be cheaper to burn the lime¬ 
stone than to crush it? These are practical ques¬ 
tions, and we want to find practical men to answer 
them. Will you introduce yourself as such? 
* 
We have a number of letters from New York 
State men who are unable to obtain copies of “The 
Apples of New York.” On page 70 we explained 
how this work was distributed. Out of 19,000 
copies the Geneva Station had control of only 2000. 
The city members of the Legislature had no use for 
such a work. We are told that some of the beau¬ 
tiful pictures were used for children to play with. 
Some of the books were sold as junk, while others 
seem to have brought a good figure at Albany book 
stores. Gov. Hughes has twice vetoed an item for 
printing 10,000 copies more. The books should be 
printed this year and every one given to the Geneva 
Station for distribution. Keep them entirely away 
from the Legislature. 
* 
We can safely challenge the public for a sound, logi¬ 
cal reason why the Government should distribute old 
varieties of turnips and other garden seeds. Better 
reasons can be given for another distribution which 
the Forestry Service at Washington vs making. 
There will be distributed this year 100,000 basket 
willow cuttings. These are grown by the Govern¬ 
ment, and the finest specimens selected for distri¬ 
bution; half a million cuttings have been sent out 
free—the object being to encourage the growing of 
high-grade willow rods in this country. Almost all 
the best grades of baskets and willow ware are im¬ 
ported from Europe, while the rods should be grown 
and the work done here. The best grades of willow 
can be grown in this country at a fair profit. The 
Government is justified in distributing these cuttings 
and thus starting a new industry. 
* 
0 
One of the good seedsmen, who is also one of 
the cleverest horticulturists in the country, criticises 
our public expose of the Burbank so-called creations. 
He thinks we should not hold Mr. Burbank re¬ 
sponsible for the use unscrupulous men make of his 
name. That would be sound if Mr. Burbank re¬ 
pudiated the stories told in his name. If Mr. Bur¬ 
bank will repudiate the exaggerated and romantic 
stories told about the plants created by him, and 
of old plants credited to his creation, we will gladly 
give him space for the purpose, and commend him 
for doing so. The unvarnished truth of the matter, 
however, is that without the exaggerations and 
romance, not one of these so-called novelties could 
ever have been introduced at a profit in the East. 
In other words, it was the sensational description 
and not the merits of the plants that created the 
demand. To repudiate the stories would be to stop 
the sales and the profits. The trouble with our 
friend the seedsman is that in his worthy effort 
to build up a permanent and reliable seed business 
he has permitted himself to adopt some little features 
that bring cheap publicity, not to say notoriety, to 
sensational houses. The fake novelties may and 
do attract the attention and the patronage of the 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
inexperienced; but they are not attractions that will 
lay the foundation of a stable business. The wonder 
is that this simple business principle is not apparent 
to an experienced and capable seedsman, with am¬ 
bitions to build up an honorable and permanent trade. 
* 
In New Jersey, within 25 miles of New York, the 
country is dotted with little towns, built up by com¬ 
muters—or men who “work in the city and sleep in 
Jersey.” Formerly the land where these towns are 
built was used for farming, and now just outside 
the towns gardeners do a large business. They use 
considerable city stable manure, which is hauled in 
carloads from the city. Now the town people object 
to these loads of manure. In some cases the local 
board of health will pass an ordinance forbidding 
anyone to leave such manure standing within the 
town limits. Objection is -made to the smell, though 
there are some millions of us in the world who 
stand as evidence that the manure will not kill. As 
a result of these ordinances farmers are not per¬ 
mitted to unload manure, and sales of it are fall¬ 
ing off. Now we do not believe these boards of 
health can enforce such rules. If farmers could 
combine and make a test case we believe they could 
win, or force the town to provide some suitable 
place for the unloading. 
* 
In a long speech delivered at Buffalo, N. Y., Gov. 
Hughes explained the direct nominations bill. As 
an argument for the principle of direct nominations 
the Governor’s speech is unanswerable. The tirades 
of the politicians and the learned essays of Dr. 
Schurman seem like childish prattle before the Gov¬ 
ernor’s clear logic. We believe that a great majority 
of New York people stand squarely with the Gov¬ 
ernor when he says that the people should select 
their own candidates. When he comes to discuss 
methods of nomination and argues for his political 
committees the Governor is not so convincing, and 
fails to prove his case. He makes it clear that our 
present troubles are due to thb power which politi¬ 
cians have over conventions and practically every 
man who is not an office holder or an office hunter 
will agree with him. Then he goes on to offer as a 
substitute an imitation convention —for that is just 
what the political committee will amount to. The 
Governor does^ not, in our judgment, prove this part 
of his case. His bill carries a splendid principle, but 
ties it up to a method which makes its failure al¬ 
most certain. Ask any man familiar with politics 
in rural New York what these political committees 
would come to! Ninety per cent of them will say 
at once that within two years the politicians would 
control them all. The hope for direct nominations 
in New York lies in nomination by petition—getting 
away entirely' from the convention plan or any imi¬ 
tation of it. Another weakness of the bill is that 
it gives no opportunity for expressing a choice for 
United States Senator. The Governor’s argument 
is that the Legislature should be left to elect the 
Senator. During the past 12 years the Legislature 
has permitted New York to be misrepresented in 
both morals and business. This condition ‘would 
have been impossible under the primary laws of 
Iowa, Kansas, Wisconsin or Michigan. The Legis¬ 
lature ought to execute the will of the people. The 
Senator at Washington is supposed to represent the 
people and not the Legislature. The direct primary 
bill as it stands is not satisfactory. It should be 
amended so as to give nomination by petition and 
a vote for United States Senators. The people are 
ready to support such amendments, and sooner or 
later they will have to come. 
* 
When Charles iof Sweden invaded Russia he 
found untrained soldiers to oppose him. With his 
compact and well-trained army he defeated the Rus¬ 
sians at will. Finally there came a day when in¬ 
stead of retreating the Russians executed a skilful 
movement and got away in safety. Charles at once 
exclaimed: “We have taught the Russians the art 
of war!” This saying came in mind upon receiving 
this invitation: 
Come to the New England Apple Show at Boston next 
October, and see the big red apples with the flavor of 
quality, none of your western water-and-sunsbine kind, 
that are only good to look at, but the kind that are good 
to eat. a. w. b. 
Our apple growing friends on the Pacific coast 
have had things pretty much their own way. They 
are now teaching the New England apple men “the 
art of war” —that is the art of talking apple. When 
these Yankees shake themselves free from habit and 
prejudice and really begin to boom apple eating there 
will be a lively struggle. If the New England 
housewives will add their skill and work a few 
Baldwins and Greenings into pies, sauce, baked fruit 
and pan dowdy, there will be nothing else to it. 
In Vermont and Maine cow-testing associations 
are becoming popular. A number of farmers club to¬ 
gether and hire a tester. This man sees that the 
milk from each cow is properly weighed and tested 
for fat. Records are kept in herd after herd through 
the neighborhood and the robber cows are spotted. 
At the Vermont Farmers’ Week Mr. G. H. Terrill 
gave an account of one of these associations—at Mor¬ 
ristown. This association comprises 26 men and 500 
cows. Mr. Terrill made this statement: 
As a result of the three months' work a cow buyer lias 
been able l’eccntly to buy quite a number of cows for 
shipment to Boston. lie boasted that he had picked from 
a certain dairy the cream of the herd. As a matter of fact 
the dairyman knew from bis records, which he doubtless 
did not show to the buyer, that the latter had really 
got the skim-milk of the herd. 
That’s not so bad for the bashful State! It costs 
one dollar per year for each cow in the association. 
It was worth $5 or more to get rid of these robbers. 
And this cow association does more. Once banded 
together to study cows the members take up other 
forms of cooperation, such as buying feed and fer¬ 
tilizer or seed. It seems to be a great thing to rally 
round the cow. 
* 
We have tried to learn the true value of “floats” 
or ground raw phosphate rock. We have no pre¬ 
judice for or against the “floats,” our only object 
being to learn the truth for our readers. At first 
thought the plan of mixing these "floats” with stable 
manure seemed a reasonable one. We know that the 
chemical action in the manure will break up organic 
matter and make an impression upon bones. If it 
would render the phosphoric acid in the “floats” avail¬ 
able farmers would receive great benefit. We dis¬ 
cussed this and urged a thorough chemical test. As 
this progressed it became evident that the alkaline 
fermentation which occurs in the manure pile would 
have little or no effect upon the ground phosphate 
rock. We have stated this and as a result have been 
accused of trying to injure the business of selling 
these “floats.” The Buffalo Fertilizer Co. is respon¬ 
sible for a circular in which we find the following: 
Prof. Moore, of the Virginia Experiment Station, writes: 
“The manure seems to render a large part of the phos¬ 
phoric acid available. Further experiments are being con¬ 
ducted, hut nothing now in print.” 
We wrote to learn if Prof. Moore had any further 
facts to give, and received the following reply: 
Your letter toi “Professor Moore,” Virginia Experiment 
Station, has recently been sent to me. So far as I am 
aware, I have never recommended the use of rock phos¬ 
phate either as a preservative for the nitrogen of manure 
or as a means of rendering the phosphoric acid of the rock 
available. 1 have, on the other hand, carried out very 
exact laboratory experiments with manure and phosphate 
mixtures, well fermented, with.evidence which appeared to 
me to be conclusive that the manuie did not render the 
phosphoric acid of phosphate rock available to the slightest 
extent. I have also checked up the laboratory work with 
field experiments, and have been unable to detect any 
increase in the availability of the phosphate rock fer¬ 
mented with the manure over the phosphate rock not 
fermented. I expect to publish the details of these ox- 
peiiments at an early date. Phosphate rock is extensively 
mined in this State, and as our soils are generally in 
need of phosphoric acid, I would heartily welcome a 
method of getting available phosphoric acid cheaper than 
is possible at the present time. Thus far I have been 
disappointed in ground phosphate rock, and can recom¬ 
mend it only under exceptional conditions. According to 
our experimental, evidence, • which has been obtained on a 
variety of soils, and following the best recommendation 
for the use of phosphate rock, the increase in the yield 
obtained from acid phosphate over the increase in the 
yield obtained from rock phosphate will generally more 
than pay for the acid phosphate, a result which of course 
leaves no possible profit to rock phosphate. 
Tennessee Experiment Station. c. a. mooerS. 
We will leave the Buffalo Fertilizer Co. free to 
explain when and where “Prof. Moore” made his 
famous statement! At the Pennsylvania College prac¬ 
tical tests of keeping the “floats” mixed with the 
manure for months showed no gain in available phos¬ 
phoric acid. We wish we could assure farmers that 
the chemistry of the manure pile will save them the 
cost of dissolving phosphates. We think, however, 
that the raw fact is better than the well-cooked fable. 
BREVITIES. 
It is a fair estimate that 100 well-fed hens will, in a 
year, provide manure equal in value to about half a ton 
of a high-grade fertilizer. 
Will some one who has succeeded in plowing under a 
strong and well-rooted Alfalfa sod tell us how they did it? 
What plow and power were required? 
Another fann train or institute on wheels will run 
through central New York. It will start from Syracuse 
April 5 and continue two days—under charge of teachers 
from Cornell. 
Two valuable dairy cows are offered as prizes for the 
best essays on “How clean and wholesome milk may be 
produced at the least cost for the New York market.” This 
contest is open to any farmer or member of his household 
who ships milk to New York. The essays may be sent to 
Milk Prize Committee, Commissioner of Health, New 
York. This plan of offeznng a cow for a prize is good. 
