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July 3, 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S FA PER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Home#. 
Established 1850. 
Published weekly by the Rural Publ'nliiof; Company, 409 Pearl Street, Hew Pork. 
Herbert W. Colli no wood, President and Editor, 
John J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. Dillon, Secretary. 
Dr. Walte r Van Fleet and Mrs. E. T. Roylk. Associate Editors. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04, equal to 
8 s. (id., or 8^2 marks, or 10 h; 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 subcribers against rogues, but wedo not guarantee 
to adjust trilling differences between subscribers and honest, respon¬ 
sible advertisers. Neither will we bo responsible for the debts of 
honest bankrupts sanctioned by the courts. Notice of the complaint 
must be sent to ns within one month of the time of the transaction, 
and you must have mentioned The Rceal 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, wc 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. 
* 
Re sure to read the letter from Mr. Stubenrauch 
on the next page. Read it and then, if you have any 
experience or know of any, write Mr. Stubenrauch 
about it. This is an important thing—not confined to 
Texas, but wider than the country. 
* 
A report, which seems to be authentic, is that Sec¬ 
retary of Agriculture Wilson will soon retire and that 
Congressman Scott of Kansas, will succeed him. 
Our remembrance is that Mr. Scott is quite favor¬ 
ably disposed toward oleo. He is the author of 
a bill to prevent gambling in farm products by pro¬ 
hibiting the use of mails or telegraph or telephone 
lines for transactions in “futures” or produce not for 
actual delivery. 
* 
We have now waited a month for Luther Burbank 
to tell us what proof he demands. He offers $10,000 
to anyone who will prove that the Wonderberry is a 
b'ack nightshade. We have proof which we think will 
satisfy any reasonable man, but as Burbank offers the 
money he should have the privilege of naming the 
conditions. He has thus far failed to respond to our 
requests for a definite statement of what he requires. 
We shall now go ahead and give the facts, leaving the 
public to decide whether we earn the $10,000 or not. 
* 
The next Connecticut State Fair promises to be a 
lively one. It will be an agricultural fair —not run as 
a money-making fake proposition, but in an effort to 
give some real benefit to farmers. With this idea in 
mind the managers will go back to some of the old- 
fashioned events, which made former fairs in New 
England so interesting. There will be a plowing match 
and other contests characteristic of farm work. We 
would like to see a horse-harnessing race for women, 
corn cutting, potato digging or hoemg matches for 
hired men, and other contests which would make it 
necessary for the contestant to have some skill at 
farm work. We believe the people are ready for such 
things—preferring them to some of the modern con¬ 
tests. The new managers of the Connecticut Fair 
have a good chance to show the way. 
* 
We ask you as a fruit grower to study the picture on 
the first page. Do you think it any advantage for a 
tree to have such a root system? Have you any trees 
in your own orchard that are rooted like this? Some 
years ago we found that the mere mention of the name 
of “Stringfcllow” was enough to make most fruit 
growers snort. Those who made the most noise were 
usually the ones who knew least about what String- 
fellow advocated. We well remember when H. H. 
Haaff began to advocate dishorning cattle. The fight 
against him was a hot one, but now dishorning is so 
common that no one thinks of discussing it. As for 
the roots shown on the first page, we have nothing to 
add to the statement here printed. It pays us to plant 
trees that way, and we do not know of any other 
method of growing the deep tap root shown. 
* 
It has often been said that if English farmers could 
grow com (maize) as we do in this country the dairy 
and meat problem of Great Britain would be settled. 
The English “silage” is green grass pressed down 
into a silo. If these silos could be filled with well- 
matured corn and fed with the dry hay more than 
double the stock could be fed. For many years ex¬ 
periments in corn growing were tried, but without 
much success, for the wet climate of Great Britain 
does not suit this crop. The rising price of grain, 
however, has forced English farmers to try again, 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
just as our Eastern farmers have been led to plow 
meadow and pasture and plant corn. The Mark Lane 
Express tells us: 
Owing to the uncertainty of our climate, it is not likely 
that maize will ever be a general crop in this country, bur 
those people who favor it and are prepared to take some 
risks will now he occupied with the operation of sowing. 
Maize is a child of sunshine, rejoicing in hear, and in 
dry Summers it lias proved to be a Godsend to dairy farm¬ 
ers who must have milk at any price, and more than 
once when climatic conditions have suited it maize has pnt 
all other green crops into the shade. Early .Tune is a 
go oil time to sow in drillls 20 inches apart, and a bushel 
and a half of seed is sufficient for an acre. Owing to the 
rapid growth of the plant, weeds have little chance of 
making headway, and cultivation is therefore not costly, 
but returns depend entirely on climatic conditions. 
Thus we take it the English fanners sow corn for 
about the purposes we would sow Japanese millet—to 
obtain a large crop of coarse fodder. 
* 
A man who has done good work on the farmers’ 
institute platfonn wants to know just what the people 
in the audience think of these meetings. To quote 
from his letter: 
I am not asking your people to say pleasant things—or 
bitter tilings for that matter, but only that good men who 
are in the audienee and not on the platform shall tell us 
just what may be the faults and the strength of the move¬ 
ment. Criticisms to be either friendly or severe, so long 
as they are candid. I believe yon would he doing a real 
service to the work. Of course mere personalities must be 
eliminated. 
We liko these suggestions and open our columns to 
the discussion. Surely the men who listen are well 
qualified to tell what they need and whether the 
speakers bring a real message. We invite farmers to 
tell us frankly just what they think of these institutes. 
We do not want opinions from the speakers or work¬ 
ers, but from the people who go to listen. Are these 
institutes worth while? Tf so, what good do you ob¬ 
tain from them? If you had charge of these meet¬ 
ings, what would you do to make them more useful? 
We want particularly to hear from the back seats, 
and we invite you to speak up clearly and without 
reserve. 
* 
The Toronto Sun gives the case of a - member of the 
Dominion Legislature from a district largely agricul¬ 
tural. This man said that during the session he did 
not receive a single letter from a farmer in regard to 
his course on public matters. At the same time manu¬ 
facturers, business men and politicians brought con¬ 
stant pressure to bear upon him. No wonder the Sun 
says: 
Farmers who so neglect their own public interests have 
themselves to blame when they find these interests ignored 
in legislation. A new member may, on going to Ottawa, he 
tilled to overflowing with the spirit of public service. Ar¬ 
rived at Ottawa he finds the air saturated with a very dif¬ 
ferent sort of sentiment. lie finds the hotels and the cor¬ 
ridors of the House crowded day and night by men keep¬ 
ing up a constant agitation for the advancement of selfish 
objects. These objects are not presented in crude form ; 
far from it; they are supported by the most plausible ar¬ 
guments and, if representatives of the people do not at 
least occasionally hear from their constituents along the 
concession lines at home it is the most natural thing in 
the world to accept the silence of these constituents as ac¬ 
quiescence in the demands made. 
That is as sensible as it well can be. In New York 
State or any other State the great majority of mem¬ 
bers from country districts would never dare oppose 
what they knew to be the real sentiment of farmers. 
They do not care much for “resolutions” or petitions, 
but the strong personal letters or face to face state¬ 
ments will bring them to time. Another thing which 
puts farmers at a disadvantage is waiting until after 
men are safely elected before trying to get them to 
vote right. The thing to do .is to go at them before 
they are nominated, and then before they are elected. 
In New York State the politicians are calling for early 
conventions. Their scheme is to put up candidates for 
the Legislature unpledged, before the people can devel¬ 
op sentiment for a direct nominations bill. They know 
that later in the season farmers could get together 
and make their demand. The object is to nominate 
while farmers are busy and then trust the politicians 
to rush the ticket through. 
* 
I like your editorial in the current issue. I have no 
fault to find with farming as a business; can makp a good 
living and something more, but this eternal howl from Sec¬ 
retary Wilson down about the enormous profits of the far¬ 
mer is wholly false, and does real mischief. I note from 
the New York Times and its colossal ignorance of all 
matters agricultural that this view is coming to be very 
generally accepted among city men. It is wrong, and it 
nurts us. J. w. 
Of course it hurts, for it puts a wrong basis for fig¬ 
uring all the important things that are based upon 
farm life. The “experts” now tell us that the annual 
food bill of the people of this country comes to more 
than $ 20 , 000 , 000 , 000 . That is figured on the prices 
which consumers have to pay. Secretary Wilson, 
with all his large figures about the value of our farm 
crops gives about $5,000,000,000 for one year’s output— 
which includes wool, cotton and other things not 
counted as food. Thus at his most favorable showing 
the producer receives about 25 cents of the dollar 
which the consumer pays. Our own figures show that 
the average is 35 cents of the dollar. This tremendous 
blowing and shouting about the great profits of farm¬ 
ing seems to be one outcome of the Country Life, or 
“Uplift” Commission. The daily papers and maga¬ 
zines concluded that “farm” literature would be 
popular, so they started in with these wild stories of 
success and profit. That would help the business of 
selling gold bricks or town lots, but it is the worst 
thing that could be done for farming. Country 
people are expected to sell at wholesale and buy at 
retail. These city wild men would like to make the 
public believe that we obtain the consumer’s entire 
dollar when we really get only 35 cents. We call at¬ 
tention to the letter on the next page—it was sent to 
Secretary Wilson from Michigan. 
* 
If anyone doubts the real force of the temperance 
movement in this country he should read what the 
brewers and distillers have to say. For years they felt 
safe in laughing at the efforts that were made for tem¬ 
perance and prohibition. Now they are really fright¬ 
ened, for their business is meeting with serious loss. 
They have come to the point where they offer to help 
the temperance people at “reforming” the saloon. In 
a recent letter on “The Liquor Traffic,” Mr. A. Busch, 
a large brewer, says: 
Divorce the saloon from the brewery and liquor supply 
house. It is a fact that most breweries and liquor supply 
houses furnish the capital with which to start new cus¬ 
tomers in new saloons. They are forced to do this by com¬ 
petition. Self preservation in a given locality requires 
them to compete in an undesirablle contest which would 
not he necessary or possible if the law afforded reason¬ 
able regulation. If all competitors were compelled to re¬ 
frain from that kind of forced competition the public would 
still obtain its reasonable requirements of beer and liquors, 
the saloon keeper would become more independent of his 
source of supply, and the business of brewing would at¬ 
tain the ideal coudition of manufacturing and selling mer¬ 
chandise. 
Anyone who lives within 50 miles of a brewery will 
recognize the force of this statement. Probably the 
meanest part of the whole cursed business of selling 
liquors is played by the agents of the brewers and 
distillers, who run little rumshops for the “benefit” 
of working people. As they sell on commission it is 
to their interest to sell all they can of the poorest 
stuff. Mr. Busch makes other good suggestions, but 
we think they come too late. This proposition to help 
the cause of temperance will now be accepted as an 
effort to preserve what is left of the liquor business, 
while the temperance people are bent upon exterminat¬ 
ing it. As we have often pointed out, this temperance 
movement derives its force from country people. It 
is a farmers’ movement—regarded by them as both a 
moral and a business crusade. If the brewers had 
started 10 years ago with what they now propose they 
might have controlled the situation. Their very ex¬ 
cesses and ridicule have made prohibition a respected 
issue. They have simply waked up too late. 
BREVITIES. 
If anyone deserves a vacation it is the berry grower 
after the last crate is delivered. 
The plant lice crop is heavy on many apple trees just 
now. Most of the lice will disappear naturally. If they 
are too thick a spray of kerosene emulsion will fix them. 
Now they talk of spraying the base of the peach tree 
with a strong lime-sulphur mixture to kill the borers. 
The time for doing this is in late June or early July. We 
prefer digging them out. 
A coal briquette seems to be a mixture of waste coal 
and pitch pressed into the form of a brick and used for 
fuel. The time seems to he coming when the waste coal 
can be profitably used in this way. 
There may be trouble in curing oats and peas for hay 
unless you go at it right. Cut early when the first oat 
grains are soft. Do not let the vines dry out on the 
ground. Pile in cocks and keep turning them over as you 
would (lover. 
A x ember of eases of fire blight are reported this year. 
About all that can be done is to cut out the diseased 
branches as fast as they show. This will prevent the 
spread of the disease. Do not stimulate the trees into 
rapid growth. Hold them back. 
A new “sure thing” in culture is now announced—this 
time from Russia. It is “aerated soil.” You are to keep 
the soil so open that the air works all through it. We 
have found that too much air in the soil will damage 
the crop by drying out the moisture—not leaving enough 
for the roots. 
The newspapers report that a sheriff in New Jersey Is 
curing the “common drunks” in his charge by feeding 
them on bean soup. They get nothing else and are ready 
to swear off rather than keep up this diet. We have long 
thought that beans would build up brain and brawn, but 
here we have evidence of their moral power. 
One of our readers heard that large animals, like cows 
and horses, are carried on United States warships. Is 
it true? The Navy Department has informed us: “Such 
animals are not carried on board naval vessels. The only 
animals allowed on board ships are dogs, cats, goats, 
monkeys and other small animals, in limited numbers, as 
pets." Some queer pets are reported among these animals. 
