1909. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1071 
A “KNOCK;’ IS A “HOLD-UP.” 
Last Spring one of our readers became interested 
in the St. John's Development Company, which opera¬ 
ted in Florida lands. After an investigation we be¬ 
came convinced that the land was such that it would 
not make a good investment. We wrote our friend 
to this effect, and he seems to have turned the letter 
over to the operating company. It was effective at 
least. The following is an extract from the letter he 
received in reply. 
We are in receipt of your favor with the letter from 
The Kuhal New-Yorker attached, and we note what they 
say in regard to our lands in Floridta. We did guarantee 
to return money to customers who were not satisfied after 
making an investigation, but we believe that in fairness 
to all an investigation would be a little further than 
writing to a personal friend in New York State, who has 
not seen the land, probably has never been in Florida, and 
who runs it cheap magazine that is practically unknown. 
If we had been using the columns of this magazine, they, 
no doubt, would have said mosf glowing things about our 
property, and we consider this •‘knock” nothing more than 
a hold-up. We will be only too glad to refund money to 
anyone who is willing to take the word of anyone so 
little known, and who has no right to speak authorita¬ 
tively on this subject. 
It is too bad about this “cheap magazine" which is 
“so little known.” The writer owns a piece of land 
in Florida directly across the lake from “St. John's 
Park.” All along the shore are deserted houses and 
ruins of orange groves. In former years these houses 
were occupied, but death lurked in the damp climate, 
and Northern people could not live there. It would 
be criminal to ask any Northern family to settle on 
such low, undrained land. We have reports front 
people who have known the land in question for years. 
They had chances to buy it, but would not touch it, 
yet efforts are still made to work similar death traps 
off on Northern people who do not know about 
Florida. 
Of course The R. N.-Y. is “unknown.” The same 
parties who worked this St. John scheme are now, 
we understand, working under contract with Luther 
Burbank to develop a large tract of land in central 
Florida. This time the great attraction offered L a 
chance to grow “thornless cactus” and other Burbank 
novelties! The R. N.-Y. is “unknown.” These gen¬ 
tlemen might ask their partner Mr. Burbank if he 
ever heard of the paper! 
We do not know that we can blame these land 
boomers for holding the view that a “knock” is 
“nothing more than a hold-up.” They have probably 
been taught .that theory by the papers, with whom 
they have done business. We are glad to have the 
information so bluntly given. It follows that the 
“glowing things” which we have read about this 
wonderful property would have been changed to 
"knocks” if the company had not put up the adver¬ 
tising. That is what we have always claimed, and we 
are glad to have it demonstrated by such high au¬ 
thority. Hereafter when we read these “glowing 
things” about “novelties” and land schemes we shall 
all understand just what they are. 
HIGH PRICE FOR LOW GRADE NITROGEN. 
The season for buying fertilizers will soon be here. 
With it comes the old question of agricultural values 
of chemicals. Each year the directors of the experi¬ 
ment stations agree upon a set of prices for trade 
vaJues of a pound of nitrogen, potash and phosphoric 
acid. Those prices do not show how much a pound 
of fertilizer will produce, but represent the average 
cost of the pound at market rates. For example, last 
year the average cost of a pound of potash as sulphate 
was five cents, and as muriate 4^4 cents. When we 
bought a fertilizer guaranteed to contain five per cent 
of potash in the form of muriate we figured on 100 
pounds worth $4.25. It is much the same with phos¬ 
phoric acid. With a guaranteed analysis we can figure 
the value, or cost. With nitrogen the case is very 
different. “Available” phosphoric acid is a definite 
term and a pound of it has a definite value. Nitrogen 
in fertilizers may be obtained from a dozen differ¬ 
ent substances. For actual plant feeding value some 
of these forms are worth twice as much as others, 
yet in the ordinary fertilizer analysis we are expected 
to figure it ail at one price. Suppose we were told 
in a general way that nitrogen is worth 20 cents a 
pound. One farmer buys a fertilizer containing five 
per cent of nitrogen—all from nitrate of soda and 
dried blood—all quickly available. He figures 100 
pounds of nitrogen worth $20. Another farmer gets 
a two per cent fertilizer with all the nitrogen from 
coarse tankage and fish or even muck. He too is 
expected to figure 40 pounds at 20 cents, worth $8. 
For 2 y 2 tons he, like the other man, would buy 100 
pounds of nitrogen. Yet the nitrogen in the tankage 
may not be worth half as much as the nitrate for 
growing the crop. Still you will be charged just as 
much for it! The method of “valuing” nitrogen at 
one price for all forms is wrong, because one form 
may be worth far more than another. Whenever a 
farmer buys a fertilizer low in nitrogen he is quite 
sure to pay a great price for it, because it is easiest to 
work off insoluble forms in these low grade goods. 
Your best protection in buying a mixed fertilizer is 
to get one high in nitrogen, because it is impossible 
to make such goods without using the most available 
forms. We hope the time will come when our chem¬ 
ists will value nitrogen as “available” and organic 
much as they now classify phosphoric acid as “avail¬ 
able” and insoluble. While organic nitrogen is not 
“insoluble” it is not worth as much as nitrates. Some 
of the organic nitrogen in mixed fertilizers is hardly 
worth five cents a pound for the current season’s 
crops. It is little short of an outrage to ask a farmer 
to pay 20 cents a pound for it. That is what he is 
expected to do when all forms of nitrogen are valued 
at the price of the most available form. 
“When I can Introduce into my family a clean, vigorous 
and liealthv weekly paper, in whose pages all can find 
something which may be read with profit, it is to me 
more life giving, in old age, than medicine.” 
J. W. ADAMS. 
Mark Fane Express shows a picture of Eng|ish farm 
students learning how to make a stack of grain. That 
is surely the practical side of farm education. 
EVENTS OF THE WEEK. 
DOMESTIC.—Five members of a single family, father, 
two sons, and two daughters are dead, and the mother 
of the family and her two-months-old baby probably will 
not survive the injuries they received in a collision be¬ 
tween their automobile and a street car six miles from 
Los Angeles, Cal.. November 25. The accident happened 
at a crossing, when the automobile was driven upon the 
track directly in front of a swiftly moving car. The car 
hurled the automobile forty feet. The occupants were 
thrown to the road, and the five who were killed were 
dead when passengers from the car reached them. Mrs. 
Jacobs, who held the baby in her arms, was thrown fifty 
feet and probably will dl>e, while the baby, crushed under 
its mother's body, is believed to be fatally hurt. 
Philip Allen, Jr., former vice-president of the First 
National Bank of Mineral Point, Wis., appeared November 
26 before Judge Sanborne in the United States District 
Court, pleaded guilty to four of twenty-six counts in the 
indictment against him and was sentenced to ten years 
in the Federal prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., the 
maximum under the law on one count. Allen was charged 
with embezzling $168,000 from the AIAieral Point Bank, 
lie has been in jail for several weeks, being unable to 
furnish .$50,000 bail. Allen is 02 years old. 
The coastwise steamer Argo went aground near the 
entrance to Tillamook Bay, Oregon, November 20, and 
fourteen of her passengers and crew were drowned. 
The Texas Cattle Raisers Association received November 
29 another setback in its long tight against what it al¬ 
leged to be the high rates on cattle shipped to Chicago 
when the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the 
Federal Court in Minnesota enjoining the Interstate Com¬ 
merce Commission from enforcing its order reducing from 
$2 to $1 per car the charges imposed by the eight Western 
roads for delivering cattle to the Union Stockyards in 
Chicago. The association began the tight thirteen years 
ago, when it tiled charges before the commission, whose 
order reducing the charges was declared void by the 
Supreme Court because of lack of power to make rates. 
With the additional power given to the commission, the 
association renewed the fight, resulting in a finding by the 
commission that the rate was too high by half, and an 
order was made reducing the terminal charge to $1 per 
ear. The railroads then applied to the Federal Court for 
an order enjoining the enforcement of the commission’s 
order, which was granted. The commission appealed the 
case to the Supreme Court, which affirmed the order. 
The print shop at the Mission of the Immaculate Virgin, 
at Mount Loretto, Richmond Valley, Richmond Borough, 
New York, was destroyed by fire November 29. The loss 
is about $40,000. 
The St. Paul mine at Cherry, 111., in which over 300 
men lost their lives, is closed in an effort to smother the 
fire, few of the bodies being recovered. The place was 
guarded by militia for a time, as there is much feeling 
against the mine owners. Had precautions been taken 
as soon as the lire was reported it is believed loss of 
life could have been avoided. A searching investigation 
is to be conducted by a State commission. 
Flames destroyed the largo manor house on Gedney 
Farm, the country place of Howard Wiillets, the well-known 
horse show exhibitor, off (lie outskirts of White Plains, 
N. Y\, November 30, causing a loss of about $300,000. 
The lire was a spectacular one and at one time the house 
resembled a pillar of lire discernible for miles along the 
Sound. The insurance was $145,000. 
.T. Walter Lobaree and George W. Emanuel, who were 
convicted in the Criminal Branch of the 1'nited States 
Circuit Court, at New York of selling stock of the fictitious 
Dos Estrellas gold and copper mines in Mexico under the 
firm name of George W. Emanuel &. Co., were sentenced by 
Judge Hand November 30 to the prison at Atlanta. 
Labaree gets two years and a half and Emanuel one year 
and three months. They got a stay pending appeal. 
The announcement is made by the Geological Survey 
that President Taft lias ordered more than 3.000,000 acres 
of public petroleum land iu California. Wyoming. Utah and 
Oregon withdrawn from entry and sale. The survey 
makes t lie statement that the Government is not only tlie 
largest owner of oil lands but it in likely to be tlie 
largest consumer. The six largest battleships in commis- 
siou or under construction in the American Navy are 
equipped for the use of either oil or coal, and the fourteen 
largest destroyers use oil exclusively. Government officials 
believe that the question of fuel for these vessels is certain 
to become exceedingly important in the near future and a 
new law, they contend, should provide a means of per¬ 
petuating a supply for this certain future need. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—An investigation into the 
charges that a combination exists to control the price of 
milk in New York City will be begun at: once by John 
Burlinson Coleman of the law firm of Finch & Coleman, 
32 Nassau Street, who was appointed a special attorney 
to conduct the search by Attorney-General O'Malley. The 
recent simultaneous raising of the price of milk by various 
companies has brought to the Attorney-General’s office 
numerous complaints from milk consumers that a combina¬ 
tion has been formed to secure greater profits from the 
handling of the milk supply, regardless of the resultant 
suffering among consumers. Mr. Coleman may ask the 
Supreme Court for a referee to hear all witnesses he may 
see fit to call. 
At the seventeenth annual meeting of the West Virginia 
State Horticultural Society held at Keyser, W. Va., 
November 25-27, the following officers were elected io serve 
for two years. Hon. John .1. Cornwell. Romney, president; 
C. V. Alkire, Keyser, vice-president ; A. L. Dacy, Morgan¬ 
town. secretary; H. L. Smith, Martlnsburg, treasurer. 
An exhibition of over six hundred plates, besides some 
finely packed boxes and barrels of apples was a feature of 
the meeting. The past season was a very profitable one 
for the peach and apple growers of this State. 
The thirty-first annual meeting of the Ontario Agri¬ 
cultural and Experimental Union was bold at the Ontario 
Agricultural College, Guelph, Canada. December 6-8. 
New York State Forest, Fish and Game Commissioner 
James S. Whipple reports 11,967 acres of forest lands 
burned by fires this Fall and the loss only $25,101. as 
against 177.000 acres burned last year and a loss of 
$644,000. There were 250 fires this year and 700 last 
year, and of the area burned this year only 198 acres 
were State lands and 11,769 acres were owned privately. 
The damage in the Adirondac-ks amounted to $10,251 and 
in the Catskills to $12,875. These good results Commis¬ 
sioner Whipple attributes to the increased efficiency of the 
Stale's fire fighting force, which this year cost about 
$40,000. 
The New York State Breeders’ Association will hold its 
annual meeting on January 11, 12 and 13 next at Utica, 
New York. 
Arthur Meeker and several other prominent Chicago 
men, inspired with (lie idha by the International Stock 
Show, which opened November 27 at the Union yards, 
have started a movement for the organization of what 
will be called the “Farmer's Club of Chicago.” The club 
is to be formed on the linos of the New York Farmers’ 
Club, to encourage the breeding of fancy grades of cattle 
on file large country places that surround Chicago. 
The Indiana State convention of the Farmers’ Co¬ 
operative and Educational Union adjourned November 26 
after a three days’ session. A constitution and by-laws 
were adopted. The constitution practically is the same 
as that governing the Illinois farmers. In the election 
of officers the following were selected : President, W. W. 
Myers. Knox county: vice-president. J. D. Elkins. Daviess 
county: secretary-treasurer, Stanton Johnson, Knox 
county; chaplain, the Rev. Albert Preston, Pike county; 
doorkeeper. Rent Bradford. Greene county; executive 
committee. W. A. Brown, Owen county; Emanuel Brown. 
Martin county; J. D. Barker. Pike county; James Wells, 
Green county, and .T. II. Castro. Gibson county. The time 
for the next meeting was fixed for next August, but the 
place will be left to the executive committee. That bodv 
also will appoint the several State organizers at a meef- 
ing which will be held at Vincennes shortly. 
No, you cannot buy bees of the bee faker without 
getting “stung.” 
IMPORTED POTATOES AND AMERICAN 
PRICES. 
I note the government report shows approximately 
90,000.000 bushels more potatoes this season than last. 
1 cannot believe this, unless potatoes are a very much bet¬ 
ter crop in other sections than they are in Western 
New York. My own crop and all of my neighbors’ was 
no more than last year, and I hardly think as good. .My 
own observation in other parts of Western New York 
shows about same crop. However, granting the report to 
lie true, how many potatoes were imported into the United 
States last year? If we knew this we would know some¬ 
thing about how much more tlie country would have to 
absorb this year to take care of the 190!) crop, than they 
did last year, taking our own crop plus the imported 
stock. There is a larger population and also a larger 
consumption now than a year ago. This should give 
us an idea of what to expect on price. c. i. 
New York. 
It does not seem possible that there can be 90,000.000 
bushels more this season than Inst. We know this year’s 
crop is larger, but Ibis increase seems too large. During 
the eight months ending September 1 there were imported 
into this country 7.502.723 bushels of potatoes. The total 
imports which influenced last year’s crop reached about. 
10.000,000 bushels. This was barely live per cent of the 
American crop, yet it made a difference of over 25 per 
cent in prices obtained by farmers who ship to the sea- 
coast cities. The European crop was heavy, and when 
the wholesale price in New York readied $1.75 these po¬ 
tatoes began to come. The ocean freight and the tariff 
of 25 cents a bushel could be paid out of that price and 
leave some profit. Reports of these heavy imports were 
used to beat clown prices, and there is no doubt that many 
farmers were frightened at the prospect, and threw their 
stock on the market in a lump. In this case, there is no 
doubt that the 25 cents tariff prevented a still greater 
slump in price. Had the tariff been higher, the wholesale 
price would have gone up. Yet retail prices were about 
as high last season as ever. Anywhere within fair ship¬ 
ping distance of the seacoast the retail price was kept 
up, and the price paid to farmers kept down. It was 
not so much the actual imports of potatoes as the reports 
that great quantities were coming which decided the 
price. This enabled importers to obtain cheap foreign 
potatoes, and/ at the same time cut down the American 
wholesale price. Few potatoes are now coming from 
Europe. The crop over there is not as large as usual, 
but we must remember that Germany alone produces over 
seven times as many potatoes as this entire country. A 
large share of this foreign crop would naturally lie used 
for making alcohol, starch or “potato flour,” but at any 
chance for profitable cash sale on this side large ship¬ 
ments can lie made. What we want to make clear is 
that comparatively small imports can be manipulated so 
as to decide the price here. 
STATE DAIRYMEN’S MEETING. 
The New York State Dairymen’s Association meets at 
M atertown December 14-16. The following programme 
has been prepared: 
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 8 P. M. 
Address of Welcome—Mayor F. M. Hugo, Watertown. 
Response on behalf of the Association—Geo. W. Sisson, Jr., 
Potsdam. 
Response on behalf of the Dairymen of Jefferson County— 
I. L. Hunt, Adams. 
WEDNESDAY. DECEMBER 15. 10 A. M. 
Annual Address of the President—Prof. H. II. Wing, 
Ithaca. 
Appointment of Committees. 
Business Session. 
Practical Results of Co-operative Tests of Cows—Prof. 
W. A. Stocking, Jr.. Ithaca. 
Discussion, led by E. II. Dollar, Ileuvelton. 
WEDNESDAY, ^DECEMBER 15. 2 P. M. 
Control of Tuberculosis Through Existing Laws—Dr. .T. F. 
DeVine, Chief Veterinary, Department of Agriculture. 
Craem-ai Methods of Improving Sanitary Conditions of 
Butter and Cheese Factories—Prof. II. A. Hoarding', 
Geneva. 
The Relations of the New York City Board of Health to 
the Milk Producer—W. E. Burton, Health Commissioner's 
Office, New York City. 
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 8 P. M. 
Address, The Outlook for the Dairymen—A. R. Eastman, 
Waterviile. 
Address. Some Things We Need—Dean II. E. Cook, Canton. 
THURSDAY", DECEMBER 16, 10 A. M. 
Economy in the Cost of Production, From the Standpoint 
of the Producer—Edward VanAistyne. Kinderhook. 
Economy in the Cost of Manufacturing, From the Stand¬ 
point of the Manufacturer T. M. Ware. Meridale. 
Discussiou. led by Harry Knox, Canton; L. S. Pitkin. 
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2 P. M. 
Report of Committees. 
Business Session. 
Dairy and Factory Sanitation—Com. R. A. Pearson, Albany. 
How May Our Markets Be Extended?—Mrs. E. II. Mar¬ 
shall. Ithaca. 
Co-operation in Milk Selling—John G. Geroe, Washington- 
ville. 
Discussion. 
Special session for butter makers in adjoining room. 
The Moisture and Content of Butter—John Sollie, Dairy 
Division, U. S. Dept. Agrlc., Washington, D. C. 
Discussion. 
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16. 8 P. M. 
Annual Banquet of the Association. 
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17. 10 A. M. 
The Outlook Respecting Oleo Legislation—Hon. Geo. L. 
Flanders, Albany. 
Discussion. 
Special session for cheese makers in adioining room. 
Practical Problems of Cheese Making—Hon. J. A. Itud- 
dick, Ottawa. 
Discussion, led by Pref. C. A. Puiilow, Ithaca; W. H. 
Vary, Watertown._ 
AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS FROM CUBA. 
Can you obtain for me a statement of the total airri'- 
eultural exports from Cuba 
the difference since the U. i 
New Monmouth, N. J. 
The agricultural products 
the years 1906-7 aud 1907-8 
Product. 
Tobacco . 
Sugar . 
Sugar . 
Molasses. 
Preserves, etc. . ..... 
Cocoanuts . 
Oranges . 
Pineapples . 
Bananas . 
Other fruits . 
Cacao (chocolate) . 
Coffee . 
Beans . 
Potatoes . 
Other vegetables . 
since the Spanish War and 
3. Army withdrew? 
a. w. jr. 
exported from Cuba during 
were as follows : 
1006-7. 
1007-8. 
$31,270,368 
68,040,581 
54.805.434 
004',838 
780.813 
021.312 
800.868 
33,047 
44.613 
255,647 
211.801 
1 2.350 
40,683 
710.300 
010.474 
1,156.401 
805.064 
30.277 
1 23.307 
818,052 
240.868 
1.274 
SI 2 
3.518 
5.862 
3.724 
130 
167,435 
277.612 
$102,591,198 $90,519,799 
To this should bo added about 50 per cent, which 
would represent the home consumption. The figures for 
the fiscal year .iusi past are not yet prepared. From 
the above data the total agricultural production of Cuba 
from 180‘) to 1008. both years inclusive, would lie about. 
$ 1 , 386 , 000 , 000 . r,. j. c a nova. Chief of Bureau, Agl. Dept, 
Havana, Cuba. 
