858 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Novomhi-r i. 
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, Mew York. 
Herbert W. CollinGWOOD, President and Editor, 
John J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. Dillon, Secretary. 
Dr. Walter 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. 6 d., or 8*2 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. 
Advertising rates 50 cents per agate line—7 words. Discount for tim# 
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 suberibers against rogues, but wedo 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. 
* 
Can you tell us anything about the cash value of 
good corn silage in your section? If it is ever 
bought and sold, what is paid for it? If you had a 
chance to buy a silo full of good silage, what would 
you be willing to pay for it, and how would you plan 
to get it to your stock? 
* 
Be sure to read the letter about the Connecticut 
deer slayer on page 854. They tried to convict him 
because he fired shot out of a rifle when the law 
mentioned “shotgun.” Next week we tell the story 
of a similar case in Rhode Island. The question is 
whether a farmer shall have the right to protect 
his property when wild animals would destroy it. 
In New England the courts say he has such rights. 
* 
We have a good many letters from western men 
asking about the cheap farm lands in New York and 
New England. The prices asked for some of these 
lands are attractive to men who live in sections 
where $100 an acre is cheap for good farm land. 
Probably these western men do not understand what 
these abandoned or “retired” farms are, and it may 
be hard for them to realize without coming to see 
the land. We have some articles coming that will tell 
as fairly as can be told on paper what these farms 
are and what a stranger can expect to do with 
them. 
* 
The R. N.-Y. has fought the battle for a fair pri¬ 
mary election in New York almost alone. If any 
of the other farm papers have given any help we 
have not noticed it. We shall stay by this question 
until New York people have a chance to select their 
candidates by ballot rather than by caucus. We be¬ 
lieve this principle lies at the foundation of any 
effort to bring about real reforms. Some defects 
have been found in the primary elections laws of 
other States. These can be • remedied, but the prin¬ 
ciple of direct nominations is what we are fight¬ 
ing for. 
“Apple Day” was celebrated this year on October 
20, and there was a more general observance of the 
day than usual. The great objection we have to this 
holiday is that it doesn’t come often enough. Every 
day in the year should be Apple Day, and every 
American citizen should celebrate every one of them 
by eating his five apples. Yet it is not so easy for 
consumers to get the apples. The retail price in most 
markets is extortionate, and a good many barrel pack¬ 
ages are so miserably packed that they destroy con¬ 
fidence in the trade. Now is the time for some 
association of eastern fruit growers to put boxes of 
good fruit on the market at a fair price. Great will 
be their reward. 
* \ 
Now THAT the election is over it is well to re¬ 
member that the New York Legislature is to elect 
a United States Senator next January. Who shall 
it be? We believe in electing United States Senators 
by popular vote, and before many years that is the 
way it will be done. In the meantime, we believe 
in an expression of popular desire. Who do the 
farmers of New York want in the Senate? Is there 
any strong man in the State who sizes up to the 
ideals of country people? If you have such a man 
in mind, we ask you to name him and give us your 
reasons for doing it. It will do us all good to come 
out in the open and learn, if we can, what sort of a 
man ought to represent New York in the Senate. 
Every day there comes a new story about Alfalfa 
which a few years ago would have been unbelievable. 
In Arizona and New Mexico Alfalfa is changing 
the business of the country. Thousands of sheep 
which were formerly fitted for the market in other 
States arc now driven to the Alfalfa region to pas¬ 
ture the green crop and eat the hay. This makes 
a good market for the crop and improves the land 
for garden or fruit crops. In parts of California 
Alfalfa has already done wonders. The fearful 
drought of the past season seems to have made suc¬ 
cessful dairying impossible except where Alfalfa has 
been started. The cows are being driven into these 
districts, bringing prosperity with them. On a 
smaller scale, the same things will follow wherever 
Alfalfa becomes a regular crop in any district. Let 
it find a place on every farm in a township or 
county, and you could not keep prosperity away 
from it. 
* 
The horticultural societies are learning to make 
the evening sessions of their annual meetings more 
attractive to town people. That is wise, for people 
who live in town are consumers of fruit. They are 
not particularly interested in fruit growing, and 
would not, from choice, listen to a dry discussion of 
method or theory. They like to be entertained, and 
it is a good thing to have them come and see the 
fruit exhibit. It is good business policy therefore 
to plan the evening meeting with a view to attract 
town people. Last year at Hartford the Connecticut 
Pomological Society provided apples, which were 
passed around among the audience. At the next 
meeting the Society expects to serve apple pie, baked 
apple and similar delicacies to the people who come. 
This will make a new market for fruit, for it would 
be a hard man who, after eating a few New England 
fried pies, would not become a life member of the 
Apple Consumers’ League. 
* 
The Republic of Brazil has established an agricul¬ 
tural bank unlike anything started before. The plan 
is to organize a system of loaning money on farm 
securities. This national bank, handling government 
funds, is to be connected with State banks which 
will be established by the governments of the Bra¬ 
zilian States. The capital of the national bank is to 
be $9,000,000, and it can use an amount equal to its 
capital out of the reserve funds in the government 
savings bank. The business of this bank is limited 
to extending credit to the agricultural interests by 
handling notes or other paper based on securities of 
land or crops. The great complaint among farmers 
or planters in Brazil has been that they are unable 
to borrow money on their land. They need capital 
to conduct their business, but being unable to get it 
they have been at the mercy of the coffee buyers, 
who finally come to own them along with their 
crop. This bank is designed to help these growers 
get away from the “buyers” by securing working 
capital at a low rate. Another agricultural bank has 
been started in Manila. In Australia for years the 
government has made it easy for farmers to borrow 
needed money on their land—at long time and low 
interest. Now in many parts of this country, par¬ 
ticularly in the South, farmers are in much the 
same condition as the planters in Brazil. They have 
land, but are without working capital, and conse¬ 
quently cannot farm to advantage. In order to 
raise just enough money to enable them to live they 
must pay high rates of interest and sign agreements 
which take away their manhood rights. These 
Americans need the help of agricultural or land 
banks even more than the Brazilians or Australians 
do. First of all they need working capital, and this 
most of them cannot obtain unless they can borrow 
for long terms on the security of their land. Any 
careful study of farm conditions in this country 
will demonstrate the advantage of government loans 
on farm property. 
* 
As The R. N.-Y. has pointed out, the price this 
year for potatoes in this country will depend on the 
European crop. If there were no competition from 
foreign countries, so that the American demand had 
to be met by American supply, there is no telling to 
what figure the price would go. The European crop 
is large and a large part of it is used each year for 
making alcohol or starch, or for stock feeding. For 
example, the price in Germany is so low that the 
potatoes can be put in New York, duty paid, for one 
cent a pound! This goes to show how improved 
transportation has broken down many of the old 
barriers, and brought the nations together in the 
markets. Last Winter corn went so high in price 
that a shipload was sent here from Argentina. In 
New York City one can find all sorts of produce— 
sent from other countries or from distant parts of 
this country whenever the price warrants it. For 
instance, pineapples from Hawaii have been sent as 
far as Chicago and sold at a profit in competition 
with pines from Florida or Cuba. These pines arc 
sent by steamer to San Francisco and there repacked. 
The Hawaii Experiment Station states that over 
2,000 acres which a few years ago were thought un¬ 
fit for anything except grazing are now in pines. 
The business of shipping to this country will now 
be developed. Now the chances are that there will 
be a like development in dozens of other crops, and 
farmers must expect closer competition as more dis¬ 
tant sections drain into this market. We shall all 
of us probably be obliged to give up some of our 
crops and concentrate upon the things which we can 
grow to best advantage, and with which we can best 
stand competition. We have also got to secure a 
larger proportion of the selling price of farm 
produce. Taken as a whole, the producer does not 
get 40 cents out of the dollar which the consumer 
finally pays for food and fibre. The remaining 60 
cents goes to the various handlers who stand be¬ 
tween. With that proportion left unchanged the 
advantage is more and more with the middlemen 
as the competition from distant markets increases. 
The way to uplift the farmer is to see that he gets 
a larger share of the dollar. 
* 
As these lines are written we do not know who 
will be elected Governor of New York or which 
party will control the Legislature. Whatever the re¬ 
sult may be we now give warning that the farmers 
of New York will demand several reforms. One of 
the first to be presented to the next Legislature will 
be a change in the law so that the State Department 
of Agriculture shall have authority to prosecute vio¬ 
lations of the agricultural law. This authority be¬ 
longs to the Commissioner of Agriculture and he 
exercised it before the politicians appropriated it as 
a political asset in the Attorney General’s office. The 
Department is charged with the enforcement of the 
agricultural law. but when violations are discovered 
the Department is deprived of the means of prose¬ 
cuting the offenders. As now arranged, the case 
must be turned over to the Attorney General’s office 
for prosecution. Here it is placed in the hands of a 
deputy, who rarely serves more than a couple of 
years. Then the work is again turned over to a 
successor, who is entirely unfamiliar with the work. 
The Attorney General’s office is occupied with other 
legal affairs of the State, and the agricultural cases 
stand over for weeks and months at a time without 
attention. Whether it be the indifference of the deputy 
or inability because of other duties, the result is the 
same. The offender, finding prosecution deferred, 
grows bold and continues the offenses. Others fol¬ 
low his example and general violation of the law is 
encouraged. The moral effect of a prompt prosecu¬ 
tion would discourage transgression, where the in¬ 
difference and delay actually encourage them. Be¬ 
sides all this there is the objectionable feature of 
divided responsibilitv. When complaint is made of 
failure to enforce the law, the Agricultural Depart¬ 
ment is in a position to blame the Legal Department, 
while the Attorney General charges the failure to 
the Commissioner, or his assistants. The Depart¬ 
ments of Excise and of Forests, Fish and Game 
control their own legal work. The Department of 
Agriculture should have the same authority. Much 
of the legal work is of a technical nature, and a 
legal staff under the direction of the Commissioner 
would be especially prepared for a successful prose¬ 
cution of its cases. The oleo interests are resorting 
to every technicality to defeat the laws preventing 
the sale of their product in imitation of butter, and 
a prompt and efficient prosecution of these viola¬ 
tions is absolutely essential to a restriction of their 
activities. We must put this legal work back into 
the hands of the Commissioner of Agriculture, and 
we will then be in a position to expect and demand 
prompt prosecutions. 
BREVITIES. 
The like of this warm, dry Fall has never been known 
in our section. The Crimson clover will grow at every 
sprinkle and then stand still. 
We have been watching a flock of sparrows at work 
in the cabbage field. We feel sure that these birds destroy 
large numbers of worms without injuring the cabbage. 
In 1854, when the Concord grape was introduced, the 
vines were sold at $5 each and $40 a dozen to the trade. 
The next year they sold at $3 each and $24 a dozen. 
See what Mr. Bollinger says about saving apple pomace 
—page 851. The great development of fertilizing in the 
next 50 years will he in saving things that are now 
wasted. 
Grasshoppers pass the Winter in the egg stage. Where 
they have been numerous enough to make them a pest Fall 
plowing or thorough harrowing of grass fields will destroy 
the eggs. 
Special attention is called to the article on first page, 
by MT. Black. Even the men who would never think of 
making a root-graft will see how thoroughly the story is 
told. A model article. 
