e« io 
July 10. 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMERS PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 1850. 
Published weekly by the Rural Publishing Company, 409 Pearl Street, New York. 
Herbkrt W. COLLIN GWOOD. President and Editor, 
.John J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. Dillon, Secretary. . 
De. Walter Van Fleet and Mrs. E. T. Hoy le, Associate Editors. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04, equal to 
8s. Gd., or Sks marks, or XO'n 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 onrcolumns, and any such swindler will bo publicly ex¬ 
posed. We protect subcribers against rogues, but wo 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. 
* 
The discussion of the cost of producing a quart 
of milk now going on shows that many milk pro¬ 
ducers must be working at a loss. Put anything 
like a fair price on a farmer’s labor and on the hay 
and grain he grows and feeds and the cost of pro¬ 
duction laps over the wholesale price. The handlers 
divide up between them from two to three times as 
much as the producer divides with the hired man, 
the feed dealer and the tax collector! We have got 
to get rid of a lot of unprofitable ‘’critters.” Some 
of them are in the barn eating feed and not paying 
for it in milk. Others are hanging between the farm 
and the consumer. Don’t forget the robber cows 
while we are after the middlemen. 
* 
In fruit growing or potato sections farmers are 
familiar with sulphate of copper and Paris-green or 
other forms of arsenic. In parts of the West, notably 
the Dakotas, sulphate of iron is as familiar-to farmers 
as arsenic is to a fruit grower. The sulphate of iron 
is used for spraying to kill weeds, and thousands of 
tons of it are sold in many western towns. We have 
not yet at the East done much with this method of 
weed killing, but it is a standard method in Dakota 
and Minnesota. It is said that agents and dealers 
have in some cases forced the price of sulphate of 
iron up to three cents a pound. The price should not 
go above 95 cents to $1.03 for 100 pounds in large 
lots and excessive prices for this weed killer may 
be set down as “graft.” 
* 
Many of us in this country read about the benefits 
of a parcels post in England or Europe, yet we do 
not understand what it would mean to us. Here is 
part of an advertisement in an English paper: 
FRESH KISH 
FROM THE 
SEA TO YOUR DOOR 
Mr. Knott, one of the pioneers of the fish by post 
trade, has solved the problem of fresh fish being supplied 
lo your door direct from Grimsby. 
Really fresh fish is at once appetizing, nutritious and 
wholesome. The Standard Fish Company, of which Mr. 
Knott is the founder, will send to your door a sample 
hamper of six pounds of assorted fresli fish, cleaned and 
ready for cooking, on receipt of P. O. for 2s. Write to¬ 
day. You will be delighted. No matter where you live, 
you will receive the fish fresh by return. No inferior 
fish kept. Absolute freshness with the SMELL OF Till*: 
SEA on it. 
This fish is sent by mail. For 87 cents you can get 
14 pounds of fish post paid. It is promptly delivered 
in good condition as are also meats, butter, eggs and 
fruit. Think for an instant what a convenience this 
would be in our country. Think how you as a farmer 
oi gardener could develop a direct mailagc trade with 
people in your town! Then think how this privilege 
is denied you because the express companies and poli¬ 
ticians have a “pull.'’ 
* 
We have advised our people to plant corn and many 
of them have planted. There will be thousands of 
acres this year in corn which have for a long time 
before been in poor pasture. This is good, but now 
comes the next step. After that corn crop is har¬ 
vested do not let the soil remain bare through the 
Fall and Winter. By the time the corn stops grow¬ 
ing the tough old pasture sod which you turned under 
will be decaying and giving up nitrate or the most 
soluble form of nitrogen. That always takes place 
rapidly during late Summer and Fall. The sod is 
then warm and usually moist—which makes just the 
<THE RU RAF NEW-YORKER 
condition for this nitrate formation. If the soil is 
left bare after the corn is cut a large part of 
these soluble nitrates will be washed out of the soil 
in both surface *and drainage waters. If you can 
have some close-growing, living plant to follow the 
corn much of this nitrogen will be saved, for the 
young plants will use it before it is washed away. 
The loss of nitrates, through leaving the soil bare, 
will sometimes run to $5 or more per acre. A "catch 
crop,” which means one seeded in the corn, will save 
practically all of it. We shall discuss the different 
crops used for this purpose in time for using them, 
but now we ask you to begin to think about sowing 
something in that corn. 
LUTHER BURBANK AND THAT $10,000. 
The case of Luther Burbank and his Wtmderberry 
may be briefly stated as follows: Mr. Burbank 
claims that he “created” this plant; that there is noth¬ 
ing else like it on earth and that it was produced by 
combining Solanum guineense and S. villosum. He 
also says that this Wonderberry was introduced and 
sold by John Lewis Childs. In a letter to Joseph 
Meseck Mr. Burbank made a definite offer of $10,000 
to anyone who will prove that this Wonderberry is a 
black nightshade. We take up Mr. Burbank’s chal¬ 
lenge and intend to earn that $10,000. 
We have tried to get Mr. Burbank to state what 
he requires as proof, but thus far he has failed to 
do so. We are left to assume that by "black night¬ 
shade” he means the plant described by Gray as fol¬ 
lows : 
8. Nigrum. Linn. Black or common nightshade. Low 
weed of shady grounds, much branched, nearly smooth, 
with ovate wavy-toothed or sinuate leaves, very small 
white flowers, and globular Mack berries, said to bo 
poisonous. 
Seeds of the Wonderberry Mere bought from John 
Lewis Childs and carefully planted in greenhouse so 
as to fruit them early. There can be no doubt that 
the seeds were Wonderberry and that these seeds 
grew into the same identical plants which were ex¬ 
amined by Dr. Wheeler and Prof. Corbett. They both 
pronounce the plants black nightshade, and so do 
others in Louisiana, Texas and Mexico, who have 
been able to fruit the plant in that warmer climate. 
We claim therefore to have demonstrated that the 
Wonderberry seeds bought of the introducer, John 
Lewis Childs, grew into plants which the highest au¬ 
thorities pronounce Solanum nigrum or black night¬ 
shade. Having met Mr. Burbank’s challenge in this 
way we now call upon him to put up the $10,000 or 
state what further proof he demands. 
There are some other matters connected with Mr. 
Burbank’s “novelties” which we arc ready to enter 
with him when lie settles this $10,000 offer. We 
believe in sticking to one thing until it is settled. 
The Wonderberry, as we have tested it, is a worth¬ 
less thing, and thousands who bought it on Burbank s 
statement will be disgusted. We are not discussing 
the quality of this berry or the merits of -Burbank's 
other self-praised “creations.” We will take that up 
in good time. Just now we are working on the 
botanical character of the Wonderberry, for the $10,000 
offer hangs upon that point. We invite a careful 
reading of Mr. Burbank’s letter. There may be public 
men who could write a more egotistical epistle, but 
we do not remember to have seen their remarks in 
print. Mr. Burbank tells us three times in this re¬ 
markable document that his words are very valuable. 
We hope we are able to appreciate the benevolent 
spirit which prompts our generous friend to present 
us with this $150 article. If such men as E. W. Bull 
or Jacob Moore could have received $100 per column 
for praising their own “creations” they would not 
have ended their days in want and sorrow. Mr. Bur¬ 
bank says we must state the price we will pay before 
we can expect any more of his words. The laborer 
is worthy of his hire, and we promise Mr. Burbank 
$1,000 if he will tell us what proof he demands that 
the Wonderberry. sold by John Lewis Childs, is black 
nightshade. He is to pay this $1,000 to himself so 
as to be sure of it and send us only $9,000 of the 
sum he has offered. We think that Mr. Burbank, in 
dodging away from his offer, fails to take the good 
advice of his old father, for he has surely stepped into 
a hornets’ nest. 
* 
Ten years ago such an article as J. Grant Morse 
writes on page 661 would have been regarded as too 
radical by many farmers. It will now be called a sen¬ 
sible statement. This merely shows how rapidly pub¬ 
lic sentiment is being made in this country and how 
clearly country people have come to realize the situ¬ 
ation. It is the general opinion wherever we go that 
if the public had really known what Congress would 
do with the tariff bill, Mr. Taft never would have 
been elected. It all comes back to the great truth 
that in order to get what they need the people must 
control their public men through direct nominations. 
The great fertilizer case in Ohio seems to have 
been ended. You will remember that the Smith Fer¬ 
tilizer Co. secured injunctions restraining the Ohio 
State Board from issuing its fertilizer reports. The 
company also brought suit against the Board and its 
members for damages. On the other hand, the State 
of Ohio sued to take the charter away from the 
Smith Company and to stop it from operating “sub¬ 
sidiary” companies. It had been in the habit of 
operating several so-called companies selling the same 
class of goods under various names and tlii-.s work¬ 
ing up a form of “competition.” The end of all this 
litigation is given in the following news report: 
By an agreement reached Between the State, through 
Attorney General Denman, and the company, judgment 
%vas entered in the Supreme Court debarring the <<>inpany 
from operating its subsidiary companies and from vio¬ 
lating the fertilizer laws. All that the State asked for 
except the taking away of the charter* is granted. The 
Smith company agrees to dismiss all the suits brought 
by it against the State Board of Agriculture, and its in¬ 
dividual members, and to pay all the costs of the case. 
The Smith Company is directly forbidden to 
violate the inspection law or to sell fertilizers which 
are below standard or short in weight. Thus any 
future violation of the fertilizer law will render the 
Smith Company not only liable to civil suit, but to 
action for contempt of court. The State Board of 
Agriculture was justified in its fight last year. If 
the case had been presented to Ohio farmers as it 
should have been and might have been, the Smith 
Company would, without doubt, have quit long ago. 
* 
We originated the term “Bashful State” as applied 
to Vermont, and no one has yet found fault with it. 
It seems that the people are not all so backward about 
asserting their rights and desires. There was to be 
a Grange gathering, but the day brought one of the 
worst storms of a stormy season. This is the way 
the local paper puts it: 
Time and again, some husband would look out ou the 
landscape and declare, “Well, we can’t go to Sheldon’s 
to-day!" But the wife was quick to speak up. “If you 
can’t go just hitch up the horse and I will go.” It re¬ 
sulted in both going in spite of the rain, which came 
down in torrents. 
Of course it resulted that way when the wife had 
decided to go. We hear much about the down-trodden 
farm woman, yet the great majority of farmer’s 
wives are able to manage things so that they rule the 
destiny of the household for good or ill. 
* 
Alfalfa leaves as human food! Thus far the won¬ 
derful stories about Alfalfa have been based upon its 
value for feeding animals and the soil. Are we now 
to go further and look for Alfalfa-fed men to do the 
great work of the world? Prof. Cottrell tells us on 
page 659 that this is probable, and he makes out a 
good case. We have scoured the country for infor¬ 
mation which will show the actual use of \ltalfa as 
human food, but this is the nearest we come to it: 
As to the use of Alfalfa meal iu the West for human 
food, I know from experience of nothing of the kind. 
I read a short time ago of a meeting of manufacturers 
of Alfalfa meal, in Kansas City, I think, where eaeli 
guest at the banquet was supplied with two biscuits in 
which Alfalfa meal formed the important ingredient. Tin- 
account went on to state that one of these biscuits was 
to l>e eaten at the banquet and the other taken home as 
a souvenir of the occasion. In reality, the account goes 
on to say, practically every guest was so fond of the 
dainty that he ate both of the biscuits and had nothing 
to carry home with him but tlie memory. Of course, we 
know people do strange tilings at banquets, and that they 
may have confused their eating and drinking to such 
an extent as to forget the souvenir’feature. This is all 
I know of the use of Alfalfa meal for such purposes. 
We believe fully that the day of cheap bread has 
gone. High prices for grain are reasonably sure to 
continue and as a consequence new forms of food 
will be utilized. Some of the immigrants who come 
from Southern Europe do the hardest work on a diet 
that includes little or no meat. As is pointed out on 
page 659, Alfalfa leaves form a good chemical sub¬ 
stitute for meat and cheese and surely Alfalfa-fed 
animals have strong bodies. We are certainly ready 
to try the meal when some one gets ready to pre¬ 
pare it. _ 
BREVITIES. 
DO WE EAKN THAT $10,000. 
Yes, most sandy soils are lacking in lime. 
Drink plenty of water, and do not forget the horses. 
My— but the fruit and vegetables from the garden help 
out! 
Gov. Hughes has appointed L. L. Morrell, of Kinderhook, 
a member of the Board of Control of the Geneva Station. 
No better man could be found for the position. 
Many readers have asked us to print the mixture of 
grains which O. W. Mapes uses as a dry inash for liens. 
Mr. Mapes is not yet ready to make his formula public, 
lie considers it a "trade secret.” 
Here is a Connetieut nutmeg—not of the basswood va¬ 
riety : “I think that good men can be made even better 
by reading The R. X.-Y., and therefore request that the 
following named intelligent farmers be benefited by having 
The R. X.-Y. sent to them for 10 weeks.” 
