©18 
November 28, 
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. Colunqwood, 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 
8s. 6d., or S'v marks, or 10 Hi 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.” 
Wo 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 ourcoluinns, and any such swindler will be publicly ex¬ 
posed. We protect suberibers against rogues, but we do not, guarantee 
to adjust trilling 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 warm Fall has wrought havoc with many a 
supply of apples. The fine weather induced many to 
pick early. The fruit was put into cellars where, 
under ordinary conditions, it would have kept until 
Spring. The weather turned warm, decay started and 
has now wiped out many barrels that would have gone 
on the market later. In many places, too, the home 
supply is gone. To mention baked apple to many of 
our friends this year is merely an aggravation. 
* 
Already people are making suggestions about the 
next Secretary of Agriculture. We are asked to 
advocate the claims of this man or that, just as if the 
office were an elective one. Now, the Secretary is to 
be a member of Mr. Taft’s Cabinet—a political ad¬ 
viser as well as head of a great department. We take 
the position that Mr. Taft should be left free to 
select the members of his Cabinet—as he is well able 
to do without much advice. Most likely he has 
already made his choice. Our opinion is that the 
voice, time and ink spent in “booming” various can¬ 
didates will be pretty well wasted. Far better use 
the energy toward securing a parcels post. 
* 
The following information comes from St. Law¬ 
rence Co., N. Y.: 
An agent of the Buffalo Fertilizer Co., I understand, 
has been to some of their buyers and paid back $7 per 
ton on a $21 grade of goods that he bought. They claimed 
when he bought it that it was as good as another kind he 
had been paying $25 per ton for. It must be that The 
R. N.-Y. has taught them different.” 
There was only one thing for the Buffalo Fertilizer 
to do—make good at any cost. We demonstrated 
from the official records that their fertilizers made 
about the poorest showing of any offered to the pub¬ 
lic. If they have now improved the general character 
of their goods it is because they were forced to do so 
by the publicity given them during the past year. 
The plaster of printer’s ink may have drawn more 
plant food into their bags! 
* 
Gov. Hughes told us that if he should be elected he 
thought a primary nominations law would be sure to 
follow. The issue was clearly made, and we think it 
had as much to do with the Governor’s election as 
any other. Do not imagine, however, that the Gov¬ 
ernor’s election settled it. • There will be fierce oppo¬ 
sition from most of the politicians, and this must be 
overcome before the Legislature will consent to the 
change. The R. N.-Y. does not believe that the mil- 
lenium will dawn, or that an era of universal brother¬ 
hood will begin with the passage of a primary election 
law. It will, however, throw greater responsibility 
upon the average voter, and give him a chance to make 
his vote count twice instead of once. We favor the 
law because we are sure the country voters will rise 
to their new responsibilities, and meet them as they 
should. 
* 
In 1905 the Legislature of Hawaii appropriated 
$1,500 for the purpose of importing and breeding the 
little fish known as top minnows. The object in doing 
this was to propagate the fish in stagnant ponds, so 
that they might kill out the mosciuitoes. An expert 
went to Texas and collected a number of the little 
fish, and after some experimenting in shipping and 
feeding sent them to Honolulu. They carried in 
good condition, and were put in ponds for propaga¬ 
tion. From 450 first received they had, in 18 months, 
THE! RURAL NEW-YORKER 
increased to several hundred thousand, and are now 
distributed all over the territory in ponds and pools. 
They have “made good” by cleaning out the mosquito 
larvae and eggs, and promise to be a great help in 
keeping down the curse of mosquitoes. It was well 
to import these little fellows free of duty, for they do 
their duty freely and without cost. There have been 
some strange appropriations for public purposes, but 
this one is about the most remarkable yet. 
* 
Another Washington firm—Golden & Co.—has been 
convicted of misbranding eggs. This concern sold 
crates of eggs marked “Strictly Fresh Eggs.” Now 
the hen is very strict in her definition of the word 
“fresh,” and Uncle Sam does well to accept the hen’s 
ideas on the subject. These eggs were examined by 
the chemists and found to be stale. Here is part of 
the report: 
The albumen in some of the eggs clung to the shell mem¬ 
brane ; the size of the air chamber varied from one-fifth 
to almost one-lialf the size of the egg, showing a large' 
amount of evaporation. Minute rosette crystals were in 
the albumen of each egg, and large rosette crystals were 
in the yolk of each egg. 
Now the hen never put these “rosette crystals” in 
the egg. She would have a better name for them— 
“rotten.” She never blew up those air chambers. Those 
eggs had evidently been roosting in cold storage for 
months, and “strictly fresh” was the worst sort of a 
libel on the Business Hen. Golden & Co. were fined 
$75—and served them right for toying with the hen’s 
reputation. Thetee eggs were probably bought for 
about 13 cents a dozen. The “strictly fresh” was ex¬ 
pected to sell them for 40 cents or more. It would be 
a great thing for the poultry business if storage eggs 
were all branded as such when they are sold. The only 
fancy or fresh egg is the one O. K.’d by the hen. 
* 
There is a revival of interest in the use of swamp 
muck as fertilizer. On many farms there are swamps 
and low places which have for years been gathering 
the drainage from the higher points of the farm. 
The black soil or “muck” contains considerable nitro¬ 
gen, and it will often pay to use it. There are two 
methods. One is to drain the swamp thoroughly, 
apply lime and plant crops. The other is to haul the 
muck out, “sweeten” it and use it like manure. Muck 
soils are naturally very sour. There may be excep¬ 
tions here and there, but it is safe to assume that 
most of them are sour. While fairly rich in unavail¬ 
able nitrogen these soils have little if any potash, and 
usually only a trace of phosphoric acid. This shows 
us how they should be handled. The object is to 
sweeten the muck and start fermentation, so that the 
nitrogen will become available. Lime is the best 
thing to do this, and the muck should be heavily limed 
as it is hauled out. To start the ferment which will 
make the nitrogen available hen manure, rich horse 
manure, or even rich soil may be sprinkled over the 
muck. Then if it is left in a compost heap the muck 
will sweeten or “cook” and be ready for use in four 
to six months. It rarely pays to spread raw muck 
on a field. We must remember that all it provides is 
nitrogen in small quantities, and that this must be 
made over before it will feed plants. 
* 
Hearings on the tariff are now being held by the 
Ways and Means Committee of the National House 
of Representatives. If newspaper reports are correct, 
nearly everyone who has yet had a chance to talk 
wants his particular part of the tariff raised or kept 
where it is! The understanding before election was 
that there would be a general lowering of rates of 
duty. The tariff was to be “revised by its friends” 
and the public accepted that to mean reduction. We 
believe it will come. There probably will not be enough 
of it to hurt the monopoly enjoyed by some of the 
trusts, but there will be a start at last. Farmers are 
being urged to “rally” so as to secure a higher duty 
on potatoes, cabbage and a few other products. In the 
end they will probably find that this is meant as a 
little bargain—the farmers to be content with these 
petty advantages and then be asked to give in ex¬ 
change tariff advantages worth 1,000 times as much 
to some trust. That is about the sort of a tariff 
bargain the farmers have been asked to make in the 
past. Every time the tariff is taken up the need of 
some better method of revising it is evident. There 
ought to be a permanent commission to take up the 
tariff schedules one at a time. These duties should 
be considered from all sides without regard to politics, 
so that the public might know the truth. As it is now 
tariff revision is much like a political wrestling match. 
No one can ever defend a tariff bill entirely, because 
it is at best a bargain between various interests. A 
special commission could take the tariff out of politics 
and make it what it should be—a business proposition. 
New York has a Superintendent of Weights and 
Measures—Dr. F. Reichman. He is appointed by 
the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor and Secretary of 
State. He keeps the standard of weights and mea¬ 
sures for the State, and is expected to compare the 
standards used throughout the State at least once in 
10 years. The work of this department ought to 
be done with the greatest care. Anyone can see 
what frauds can be perpetrated on the public if the 
weights are tampered with. The “pound” handed 
out by some dealers would make barely 13 ounces 
when put on honest scales. Dr. Reichman says that 
where no regular inspection exists about 75 per cent 
of weights and measures are faulty—with only five 
per cent to the detriment of the dealer. He says 
this shortage is due to three causes—inherent dis¬ 
honesty, acquired dishonesty and ignorance. Neither 
he nor anyone else has found a cure for inherent dis¬ 
honesty. The State ought to appropriate money 
enough to enable the Superintendent to enforce the 
law all over the State. As Gov. Hughes told the 
convention of “Sealers” last Winter, “A false balance 
is an abomination to the Lord." 
* 
We are still of the opinion that the rich need inves¬ 
tigating no less than the poor. The evils and sor¬ 
rows which grow from a lack of money are very evi¬ 
dent without any particular investigation. There are 
greater evils which come from an excess of money, 
but many of them are politely covered up until some 
rude hand rips*up the cover and shows “the root of 
all evil” feeding upon the very foundation of society. 
After an investigation of the causes of poverty very 
few of the rich seem inclined to follow the divine ad¬ 
vice, “sell all that thou hast.” Many rich men, how¬ 
ever, know well enough that hard, grinding poverty is 
the only school that would bring out what is best in 
their own sons. The poor and those in moderate cir¬ 
cumstances often envy the rich. This envy and the 
foolish desire to imitate do much to destroy moral 
force in society. A thorough investigation of the 
rich—just as exhaustive as those which pry into the 
affairs of poor people—would prove an eye opener to 
many. A study of the petty, aimless lives, the lack 
of ambition, the poverty of soul and of the real 
things that make life worth living, if forcibly pre¬ 
sented would do great good to society. Many a 
sturdy, ambitious man and woman would feel ashamed 
of themselves for envying a life so empty of real 
progress and service. By all means let the rich be 
investigated. They as a class need an “uplift” even 
more than farmers do. 
* 
Be sure to read the first articles on “The Farmer’s 
Share,” printed on the next page. When we called 
for volunteer testimony we knew what would follow. 
Now we do not want the worst showing that can be 
made alone. We want a fair statement of the actual 
conditions. These are bad enough at best, and we 
shall gain nothing in the end by trying to make the 
situation worse than it is. We stick to our proposi¬ 
tion that a farmer who is forced to reach his final 
customers through a long line of middlemen will do 
well if he receives 40 cents out of the dollar which 
the consumer pays. We see from the figures given 
this week that in some cases the farmer’s share is 
less than 30 cents. Before we get done we expect to 
prove to the satisfaction of the Country Life Com¬ 
mission that they will make no permanent progress 
until they get down below the surface and base their 
work on the fact that the farmer’s share is too small. 
As for a remedy, we are confident that one will be 
found when the facts are demonstrated so clearly 
that they cannot possibly be denied. We have started 
out to make that demonstration and we ask all farm¬ 
ers who are selling goods through middlemen to send 
us the actual figures showing prices and expense of 
sales. We can all help in this important matter. The 
figures already printed give us an idea of what a 
fair parcels post would do for us. If we had the rates 
now prevailing in England and France our system 
of selling many articles would be changed to our 
advantage. This will be more and more apparent as 
we continue to figure out the farmer’s share. The 
time has come to begin that dead-set fight to a finish 
for a fair parcels post! 
BREVITIES. 
Yes, yes! The dollar which the consumer pays does 
look like 30 cents by the time the producer gets it. 
One port in Nova Scotia—Yarmouth—shipped $53,806 
worth of blueberries to Boston last year. Most of it 
went to poor people who picked in small lots. 
Many farmers are sending us copies of the letters they 
wrote to the Country Life Commission. Most of them 
are clean cut and sensible, with well-expressed ideas. A 
large proportion say that the money now spent for war¬ 
ships ought to be spent building country roads. At any 
rate, whenever a new ship is built a sum equal to its 
cost should be put into road building. 
