86 
February 1, 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established, 1850. 
Published weekly by the Rural Publishing Company, 409 Pearl Street, New York. 
Herbert W. Collin Gwoon, President and Editor, 
John J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. 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 
8s. 6u., or 8*3 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. 
"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 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. 
* 
In printing the series of articles on “A Bag of 
Fertilizer,” our ambition is to present the clearest 
statement of the subject that has yet been given. 
This matter of using the station’s analyses to aid in 
buying fertilizers is an important one. Any question 
that will make the subject clearer will be answered 
if possible. 
* 
If a man tried to plow an acre or so of such Al¬ 
falfa as is pictured on the first page both he and his 
horses would call it the root of all evil. Yet how can 
we expect any crop to give us the equivalent of four 
tons of wheat bran per acre and keep on doing it 
year after year unless it is spiked down hard to the 
ground? The R. N.-Y. talks Alfalfa on all occa¬ 
sions and in all ways, because we feel sure that where 
it can be made to grow it will prove a blessing and 
increase the value of the farm. It is our ambition 
to have such Alfalfa roots on our own farm, but the 
satisfying of that ambition seems a long way off. 
* 
It seems that there are two sides to this dwarf 
apple proposition. Prof. F. A. Waugh recently told 
us that he would plant 10,000 dwarf trees if he could 
get them, but they are not to be had. Prof. Waugh 
would plant them 10x12 feet, or even closer. He 
says the secret of success lies largely in pruning 
and heading. He also thinks the dwarfs can be used 
as “fillers” in standard orchards. It is evident from 
our correspondence that many people do not under¬ 
stand just what a dwarf tree is. We refer to trees 
which are propagated on roots which naturally make 
a slower growth. All know that the quince makes a 
smaller tree than the pear. When the pear is worked 
on the quince root we have a pear tree obliged to 
depend on a smaller and feebler root system for 
water and food. As a result the tree is starved into 
a much smaller annual growth than would be the 
case if the pear tree had normal roots. Nature adapts 
the tree to the situation by making it a dwarf and 
driving it to early bearing. A dwarf apple in the 
same way is some standard variety worked on a stock 
which naturally makes but a slow growth and never 
reaches large size. Here again the root system is 
too small and feeble to permit the tree to make the 
full growth it would upon standard roots. 
* 
We have many questions regarding the property 
rights of married women. A married woman may 
take title by deed or bequest as a man, and may con¬ 
vey, give or bequeath it without restriction. She has 
a dower right in all the real property owned by her 
husband since the marriage, which right or estate 
begins at the death of the husband and lasts for her 
life. Dower gives her one-third of the income of the 
real property owned by her late husband, and no act 
of the husband or other can hinder her in the en¬ 
joyment of it, except divorce from her. A widow’s 
rights to dower will follow the land, though it be 
conveyed many times from the husband. Therefore 
in the purchasing of realty see that the wives of all 
the sellers for generations joined in the deeds, other¬ 
wise any one of them may claim her dower rights at 
the death of the husband. If the will of the husband 
gives her a sum equal to the dower right in the prop¬ 
erty she may accept that in lieu of dower. When a 
wife signs a deed she forfeits her right to dower. 
The husband’s right in the realty of his late wife is 
conditional upon the birth of a child alive, and that 
she make no will or conveyance. That is, the wife 
may convey or bequeath her property as she wishes, 
yet if she does not and there was a child the husband 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
has the income of same for his life. Thus, a hus¬ 
band need not join in the deed of the wife. We ad¬ 
vise all married people having real property to exe¬ 
cute their wills, especially if there are no children. 
This is the law in nearly every State, and in England 
and Canada. 
* 
THE DANGER OF THE INSTITUTES. 
A few weeks ago we asked for constructive criti¬ 
cism of the farmers’ institutes. We have thus far re¬ 
ceived several letters from institute workers, but as is 
usual when men attempt to criticise their own work, 
there is little upon which to build improvement, 
while another reason why they do not make the best 
of critics is the fact that some of them frankly admit 
that they had to play politics in order to get on the 
force. They were not acceptable to the “ring,” which 
is a combination of shrewd politicians of both parties 
which has successfully “fixed things” in the Agricul¬ 
tural Department. Unable to get a job on the insti¬ 
tute force in any other way, the men we speak of 
went home and put all the pressure they could com¬ 
mand upon local politicians. This pressure reached 
Albany in time, and the institute job was given out as 
a little political plum. In some cases the men who 
played this game were good speakers and excellent 
teachers—but they could not secure attention in any 
other way. While these men do not seem to think so, 
the best place to obtain fair criticism of the institutes is 
at the farm homes, where people have a chance to 
think things out slowly and compare what the speak¬ 
ers said with their own experience. There are some 
men in every community who feel bound to say on 
general principles that the institutes are useful and 
should be continued. Some of these have really been 
helped by what they learned. Others believe in agricul¬ 
tural education as a general proposition. A very much 
larger class of farmers have lost their loyalty for the 
institutes, if they ever had any. Many of them at¬ 
tend the meetings on the principle of patronizing a 
“free show,” or because they like to meet friends and 
neighbors. Others go for the first time in years out 
of interest in the Jersey cattle case, for, as everyone 
knows, that is the dominating point about the insti¬ 
tutes in New York this Winter. It is provoking more 
criticism and doing more to break down the institute 
system than anything that has ever happened before. 
How can it be otherwise? Farmers know that after 
two years of dispute Dawley finally met his accusers 
at Rogers’ barn. The case hinged upon the identity 
of several cows. Mr. Squicrs positively identified 
cows which Dawley sold for purebred cattle as Jersey 
grades which were born on his farm and which he 
sold to Dawley. Mr. Benedict, who handled these 
grades on Dawlev’s farm, corroborated Squiers, and 
also positively identified a cow which Dawley says he 
never owned, but which Mr. and Mrs. Rogers and 
Mr. Hunt say he identified. Now, when Dawley is 
confronted with this damning evidence, does he stand 
up as you or any other innocent man would and brand 
it false—with conclusive facts? No—he refuses to 
say a word in public, but will only go off alone with 
the commissioner and make a private statement. This 
action on the part of Dawley will settle the question 
in the minds of thousands of farmers. They have 
gone on the principle that a man is innocent until he 
is proven guilty. This implies that when the case 
against a public man is put out clearly and openly 
it is his duty to meet it with equal frankness and 
publicity. A private individual might with some pro¬ 
priety act as Davdcy did, but the case is different' 
with a public man when he knows that his silence 
must bring discredit upon his public work. It is 
claimed that Mr. Dawley has been very successful in 
drawing large audiences to the institutes. We have 
never denied the statement, but we feel sure that even 
his defenders will admit that he is now, by remaining 
in his place, giving the institute system a notoriety 
and reputation which will discredit it for years. It is 
hard to see how Governor Hughes can sit quietly and 
see this excellent plan of farm education demoralized 
in this way. 
* 
The following letter is sent from Wayne Co., N. Y.: 
I have just renewed my subscription to the best agri¬ 
cultural paper. At the farmers’ institute here, I dropped 
the following question, in the box: “Ought nut the head 
of the Institute Bureau he removed if the cows didn’t fit 
the papersf” The conductor decided the question an im¬ 
proper one, not even hinting at what the question was. 
The cattle case is creating intense interest here. A citizen 
of our town in conversation Avith a friend of mine said 
that in conversation with Mr. Dawley recently he (Daw¬ 
ley) had said that those who had defamed his character 
wanted to settle privately, but that he proposed to teach 
them an example. Success to you in exposing all forms 
of dishonesty. 1 - B - 
If that director had asked the institute to vote on 
the subject he would soon have found how proper and 
popular that question is. The future value oi the in¬ 
stitute system depends on the way that question is 
answered. If the character of the man is to have 
nothing to do with the official, we might as well start 
right now and drop all idea of morality in public life. 
If Mr. Dawley can fit what The R. N.-Y. has printed 
and is printing to any evidence of fear or desire for 
private settlement he is capable of making any paper 
fit any cow! The only suggestion for any private set¬ 
tlement has come from Mr. Dawley’s friends and from 
his lawyer. The R. N.-Y. has given the facts openly 
and without dodging, while Dawley has never come 
out with any defense or explanations. As for his ex¬ 
ample we suggest the following for him figured on a 
blackboard at every farmers’ institute: 
“An institute director, on the strength of his official 
position, buys grade heifers at $30. He adds to each 
cow a pedigree which, through his membership in the 
A. J. C. C. costs him nothing, and sells the cows and 
pedigrees for $100. Question : Does this entitle him 
to be named as ‘the best director’ the State ever had? 
What must he add to a bluff to make it equal the 
sworn statement of reputable men? Can such a mem¬ 
ber be ‘defamed’ by telling the truth about him?” 
Mr. Dawley having had two years to study ihis 
problem should be an expert. 
* 
When Liebig devised the simple plan of using 
sulphuric acid to dissolve phosphate rock, agriculture 
was revolutionized. Farm lands had been steadily 
drained of phosphoric acid. Nearly 20 pounds of it 
went with every 1000 pounds of live animal. The 
only way to get it back was in high-priced ground 
bone or in guano. No addition of nitrogen could 
make up for this loss of phosphoric acid. Liebig’s 
method made it possible to use the great stores of 
phosphate rock, which had up to that time been con¬ 
sidered unavailable. Since that discovery the cost of 
phosphoric acid has depended largely upon the ex¬ 
pense of treating the rock with acid, and this process 
has been in the hands of manufacturers. Substances 
which supply nitrogen may, in time, be decayed by 
natural processes so as to make their plant food avail¬ 
able, but the phosphate rock has required the expen¬ 
sive acid. At least, that is what we have been taught. 
In Ohio and in Illinois experiments have been tried 
with crushed rock or “floats” untreated with acid. 
In Illinois these “floats” were used as other fertilizers 
would be. On soils rich in vegetable matter, and on 
such crops as clover and corn, they gave good re¬ 
sults. In Ohio these “floats” were mixed with 
manure, about one pound per day for each animal 
being used about as many farmers use plaster. The 
crops on which such manure was used showed a de¬ 
cided gain—which was evidently due to phosphoric 
acid. It thus appeared that in the chemistry of the 
manure pile something of the work that is done in 
the factory by acid is done by forces which charge 
nothing for their labor. It will prove of great im¬ 
portance if we can use our manure piles as factories 
as well as storehouses for plant food. Practically all 
the experiments with mixing acid phosphate and 
potash with manure show that it pays to do so—that 
is, wherever fertilizers are needed at all. Now we 
would like to have some chemist put a given amount 
of “floats” into manure, let it ferment for six months 
and then tell us if some of the phosphoric acid has 
been made available. Of course we know that ground 
bone would be affected by the manure. If there is 
any way of acting upon the “floats” in this way 
farmers should, bv all means, be told about it. 
BREVITIES. 
Can you tell what things cost? 
Is it the business hen this year or only a boarder? 
Governor Fort, of New Jersey, proposes a tax of $10 
or $15 on non-voters. 
It seems as if the people prefer a “yellow journal” (o 
one that flies the pirate’s flag. 
Many a child grows up with moral cold feet for lack 
of a felt slipper at the proper time. 
Sensible advice on cattle breeding by Mr. Van Alstyne, 
on page 90. Stick to line breeding. 
Here is a modest fruit request—“An apple combining 
all the good qualities of Ben Davis with color and flavor 
of Jonathan.” 
Farmers in the haying districts are beginning to fear 
for the next hay crop. A bare Winter usually means short 
hay. 
Here is a sensible Nebraskan:—“When times are out 
of fix and folks are out of work, the old farm is the best 
to tie to.” 
A miracle —wrought by the postage stamp act. The 
last issue of The Country Gentleman without ahy refer¬ 
ence to “yellow journalism.” 
The State of New Jersey has bought and will buy more 
land for planting forests. This will be necessary in order 
to preserve the water supply for drinking purposes. 
Mr. Stevens, of Nebraska, tells us he expects to haul 
nearly 1.000,000 pounds of straw or manure to mulch his 
apple trees. He wouldn’t do ‘that if he lived in New Jer¬ 
sey, where such straw brings . c '20 per ton. 
