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THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
December 23, 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established. 1850. 
Published weekly by tbo Rural Publishing Company, 409 Pearl Street, New Turk, 
H erbert W. Collingwood, President and Editor, 
JOHN J. Dillon, Treasnrer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. Dillon, Secretary. Mrs. E. T. Hoyle, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04, equal to 
8 s. (id., or 8 u 2 marks, or J0Ea 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 timo 
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 
los- to paid subscribers sustained by trusting any deliberate swindler 
advertising in ourcoluinns, and any such swindler will be publicly ex¬ 
posed. \Vc protect suberibors 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. 
H fflrrrg (Ehristmafi! 
Another year has gone, and Father Time 
Has tucked into his pigeon hole with care 
Another manuscript, and prose and rhyme, 
Folly and fact, are sadly tangled there. 
And now we take another sheet, as pure 
As is an angel’s wing, and grasp the pen 
To write the New Year’s halting record, sure 
That all our ink marks must confront us when 
The wing of years shall blow the dust away, 
And from Time's record book the Master’s hand 
Shall take our manuscript all stained and gray 
And read it so that all may understand. 
So write with care, my brothers, through the years, 
Lest, all your work be blotted out with tears. 
* 
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. 
* 
A dairy farmer wrote the secretary of the New 
York Dairymen’s Association that he would like to 
exhibit butter, but would not do so if a dealer who 
handles his butter is permitted to exhibit against him. 
In the past considerable butter and cheese has been 
exhibited by people who never crooked a finger in 
making it. This was permitted at the State Fair and 
elsewhere. In some cases persons obtained cheese 
from places with a reputation for making fine goods 
and exhibited it as their own. They actually won 
prizes as cheese makers. Such practices are worse 
than “ringing” or chasing from place to place with a 
string of exhibits. The best results will be obtained 
by limiting the exhibits to actual producers, cutting 
out the dealers and “pick-ups,” and giving the smaller, 
expert butter-makers a fair show. We hope that an¬ 
other year will see strict rules along these lines at all 
exhibitions. 
* 
In his message to Congress President Taft talks 
economy. He says the deficit in the Post Office De¬ 
partment is largely caused by the low rate of postage 
on magazines, newspapers and periodicals. He says 
the actual loss on carrying this matter at one cent 
per pound is $63,000,000 a year. The total deficit in 
the Post Office Department last year was $17,500,000. 
The President would overcome this by increasing the 
postage on magazines and papers! Why does he not 
talk about the Congressional abuse of the franking 
privilege? All sorts of goods are carried free for 
Congressmen. Cut out the pure graft in this special 
privilege and the deficit would probably be cut out. 
The President also talks about a loss of $28,000,000 
on free rural delivery. A parcels post would cure that. 
There are now some 40.000 mail wagons running with 
less than a quarter of a load. Fill up these wagons 
with mail packages at a fair rate of postage and the 
loss would change to profit. Why charge the people 
extra for carrying reading matter, and still let the 
politicians hold on to their privileges? 
* 
Hon. Sereno E. Payne, of Auburn, N. Y., is one 
of the most prominent members of Congress. He 
will have great influence in shaping legislation—par¬ 
ticularly that which concerns the revenues. The entire 
[State is particularly interested in his work during this 
session. The old conflict between butter and oleo 
is to be fought over. The oleo men are evading the 
present law, and several amendments are needed to 
compel them to sell their product honestly. They will 
also make a desperate fight to have the 10-cent tax 
on colored oleo removed. New York is the greatest 
dairy State in the Union, and it would be a serious 
blow to her great industry if the oleo men should 
succeed in their efforts. It is fortunate that our dairy¬ 
men can have such an influential man as Mr. Payne 
to represent them in Congress. Of course he will 
be only too glad to do this, for he represents a farming 
district, and it is his duty as well as his business to act 
for his people, when they tell him clearly what they 
want. It is evident that Mr. Payne can work to better 
advantage for his people if he knows their wishes 
early. We therefore urge every farmer in Mr. Payne’s 
district to write him at once and ask him respectfullv 
to work and vote for honest butter. Do not wait 
for some one else to do this. Do it now—yourself! 
* 
Good Luck! 
Aiif Gluck! 
Buena Ventura! 
God Lycka! 
Bon Voyage! 
Buona Fortuna! 
Dobroe craamae! 
Last year we were curious to see how many lan¬ 
guages were spoken by different employees of 1 he 
R. N.-Y. We found that they can speak and write 
“Good Luck” in seven different languages as given 
above. There are those of English, Irish, Welsh and 
Scotch descent. Swedes, Norwegians, Italians, Ger¬ 
mans, Austrians and Russians. These people have 
come from the five corners of Europe to this coun¬ 
try, all for a common purpose. All are working to 
make this paper honestly edited and .managed, hon¬ 
estly printed and honestly distributed, and all take 
pride in the part they are responsible for. We bring 
this up at the close of the year because it is typical 
of the way, in a larger sense, the future American 
is being made or blended out of the swarms which 
have come and are coming from over the ocean. 
We believe that out of the great human melting pot 
in which God is blending the races is to come a 
new American with the strong, hopeful spirit of the 
old, yet with the stern, hard lines and angles soft¬ 
ened and made more adaptable. 
Carrying the idea still further, The R. N.-Y. is 
made in another way by a vast mixture or blend of 
various elements of human character. We do not 
think there is a paper in America which enjoys 
closer or more confidential relations with its readers. 
In its more than 100,000 homes are to be found 
the grave and the gay, the cynical and the trusting, 
the hopeful and the despondent, rich and poor, young 
and old. 
Measured by their thoughts and hopes, there would 
be found a greater babel of languages than that 
among the office workers. But as these latter are 
drawn together in the common purpose of making 
the paper, so in a larger way the great army of 
readers find a common purpose in helping to give us 
encouragement and power. They have never failed 
us yet. Whenever we ask for support in a worthy 
cause they come rushing like an army of minute 
men. If we ask for practical information, some reader 
always brings it from his own experience. If we 
want hope or counsel or suggestion, we know just 
where to go for them. It is just as we have said 
about the coming American—the coming R. N.-Y. 
must be more useful and hopeful and true, because 
its readers will compel it to be so, since they give 
us their best. 
Yes, our people have never failed us yet, and they 
never zv r ll! That is why we do not urge you to 
subscribe for next year—we know you will do so. 
With your help we are growing. In 1908 we felt 
proud of our book of 1,000 pages, and 479 pictures, 
yet this year we have 1120 pages and 597 pictures. 
This is a material gain, yet, of course, we know 
that it counts for little unless every one of those new 
pages has carried something that helped our people. 
During 1910 we shall give you our best work. With 
your help that will be better than ever before. Let 
us not speak of the close of a year. This is No. 4026 
of The R. N.-Y. Next week will be No. 4027. There 
will be no stop or change or faltering. We there¬ 
fore say “Good Luck” in all the languages we can 
think of, and pray that all your years may be happy 
ones. 
* 
“I know of no pursuit in which more real and important 
services can be rendered to any country than by im¬ 
proving its agriculture .”—George Washington. 
We find that excellent sentiment printed at the 
head of the New York farmers’ institute programmes. 
Like most of the remarks attributed to the “immortal 
George” the statement cannot be denied. Washington 
was a farmer, a large land owner and ‘one of the 
richest Americans of his time. He spent time and 
thought in producing crops, and also much time and 
strong language in selling them. Had he been held down 
to 35 cents of the consumer’s dollar he might have 
been tempted to serve a third term as President in 
order to save his country by “improving its agricul¬ 
ture.” For Washington would have known that he 
who helps the average farmer to obtain honestly 10 
cents more of that consumer’s dollar renders a "more 
real and important service” to his country than he 
who adds to the size of the crop to be handled at the 
present small margin. This idea of making two 
blades of grass grow where one grew before is fine. 
We rather like the idea of getting 45 cents of the 
dollar’s worth of hay where we now get 35 cents. 
Let’s try improving agriculture with a few more ulti¬ 
mate dollars. 
* 
The French trade in flowers has grown from $57,- 
000,000 to $77,000,000. The reason for it is stated in 
a consular report: 
The extension of the parcel-post privileges to the 
shipment of cut flowers is considered as one of the 
principal causes of this increase. 
Now, if we could have any such parcels post in this 
country there would be an even greater increase in 
the business of mailing all classes of goods. How 
do you like to have your country go plodding on 
behind the procession in the dust of all Europe? 
* 
“Otherwise the plaintiff contracted to place himself 
at the mercy of the defendant, and the courts will not 
adopt a construction having that effect unless com¬ 
pelled to do so by the language used. ... If the 
courts arc to suffer the unwary to be caught by con¬ 
tracts prepared and submitted as this was, it should be 
only when they have their oivn carelessness to blame, 
i. e., when the language of the contract is unmis¬ 
takable.” 
That is from the opinion by Justice Miller in that 
substituted tree case. You should read the whole 
thing cm page 1102. We are glad this case was ap¬ 
pealed, and it should now be fought out to a finish. 
Let any man go to a large nursery in budding or 
shipping season, and he will see how comparatively 
easy it might be to mix up the labels. In our own 
orchards we have had a few cases of substitution. 
The great majority of our trees thus far have proved 
true to name, and realizing the chances for mistakes 
in the nursery we have not felt disposed to make 
serious complaint. It is a very different thing when 
there is any such proportion of “misfits” as in the 
case reported this week. A great loss is involved. 
Merely replacing the trees is no recompense. The 
nurseryman is clearly at fault, and in such a case he 
should be compelled to “make good.” 
* 
Have we not a branch of the State Government that is 
supposed to look after the grain (?) feeds sold to farmers? 
1 hear talk in my store of finding quantities of white rock 
in hominy and big chunks of salt in gluten and stone in 
wheat feeds, etc. If a farmer’s milk is a little off lie 
is called on the carpet, hut these feed dealers are not 
molested. J. A. n. 
There are two branches of the State government 
which attend to such things. The State Experiment 
Station at Geneva samples all feeds sold under lie. use. 
examines them and prints its report. An account of 
its last bulletin is given on page 1117. On complaint 
the State Agricultural Department at Albany will in¬ 
vestigate charges of fraud in selling feed. If the 
facts are capable of proof the Department will report 
to the Attorney General for prosecution. One defect 
in the system is that the Agricultural Department 
cannot prosecute its own cases. It must depend on the 
Attorney General to do this. It is not likely that the 
adulterations you speak of are common. The greatest 
“fake” is in the sale of mixed or “compounded” feeds. 
In these are worked off hulls, weed seeds and stuff 
about as digestible as sawdust. As will be seen on 
page 1117, the farmer has a personal remedy for this. 
The various commercial brands are named, with the 
trash they contain. With this evidence before him 
we cannot see how any farmer can continue to nay 
his money for hulls, weed seed and trash. How can 
any government save a man who would do this from 
being cheated? 
BREVITIES. 
A great country this—strawberry picking has begun in 
Texas. 
We understand that in Germany and other European 
countries oleo must contain at. least 10 parts by weight 
of sesame oil. The law compels this, so that detection is 
easier when the oleo is mixed with butter. 
Dr. Twitchell tells of a Maine town wherein 165 auto¬ 
mobiles were sold the past season. On the other side, 
95 mortgages were put on farms and homes to pay for 
these cars. That is laying up future trouble for the 
“Contented State!” 
Suppose 20 years ago some one had prophesied that 
one day there will he in Southern Alaska a city as large 
as Pittsburgh with a business in distributing coal and 
metals as large as that of the Pennsylvania city! lie 
would have been voted a lunatic—yet his vision may yet 
materialize. Alaska has wonderful stores of coal, with half 
a continent for a market. Sitka is hut a few miles north 
of Edinburgh or Copenhagen. Keep your eye on Alaska. 
