938 
December 5, 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established, 1850. 
Published weekly by the Itural Publishing Company, 409 Pearl Street. Sew York. 
HerbektW. Collingwood, 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 
8 s. 6 d„ or 8*-2 marks, or 10^ 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.” 
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 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. 
* 
Spend half an hour studying Mr. Putnam’s article 
on page 934 and tell us what you make of it. His 
milk, sold at the door, brought $1,041.17. The con¬ 
sumer at retail paid $2,669.65 for it. The feed bill was 
$583.76. Taking this out* Mr. Putnam figures that he 
got for labor, interest, etc., 18.92 cents of the dollar, 
the feed man 21.87 cents and the retailer 59.21 cents. 
You can hardly figure a balanced financial ration out 
of this. Try his figures on your own goods. 
* 
The following note deserves a little notice: 
I was told by a man yesterday that all this campaign 
against Senator Jotham Allds amounted to nothing. He 
was elected by the usual majority. Is that so? 
j. H. L. 
You may judge for yourself. In the three counties 
of Chenango, Otsego and Madison Mr. Taft had about 
7300 majority. Running on the same ticket Mr. Allds 
had not far from 3,000. In his home county (Chen¬ 
ango) Mr. Allds had 299 plurality, while Taft and 
Hughes had about 2200. In his home town (Nor¬ 
wich) Taft had 334 plurality, while Allds lost the 
town by 44. The figures show that in Madison county, 
where he was not so well known, Mr. Allds made his 
best run. The closer he got to his neighbors the 
poorer the showing he made. He will not be very 
likely to cut a figure 9 in the Senate. Cut the tail off 
that figure and you will come nearer to it. 
* 
Last year we began early to talk about the “reso¬ 
lutions” which had been so freely passed at farmers’ 
meetings. It had become very easy to “resolve” 
all sorts of things, and no one paid any particular 
attention to them because they seldom meant any¬ 
thing. The “resolution” crop went usually to feed 
politicians, and two cents would be a large propor¬ 
tion of what the farmer got out of the dollar which 
it bought. We expected to pull out some weeds from 
this “resolution” crop last year, but we did not expect 
the deep silence which fell upon most of the meet¬ 
ings. There never were fewer “resolutions” in the 
history of these farm organizations. The world did 
not come to an end in consequence; in fact there 
has never been a year in the history of New York 
when the farmers were able to command mOre at¬ 
tention and respect. All of which goes to show that 
the average “resolution” and “petition” is recognized 
by those who receive it as simply divided respon¬ 
sibility. The strong individual, business-like letter, 
straight from home is what counts. 
* 
New York made an experiment with the railroad 
institutes last week. A special farm train was run 
over the lines of the Erie Railroad, with frequent 
stops, during which brief talks on farm topics were 
made. The train was organized and conducted by 
Cornell University. Such trains have become quite 
common in the West and South. The plan was tried 
in New England, and we also think the Long Island 
Railroad Company has done something in this line. 
It has been a question whether the conditions of New 
York farming are such as to make such a train 
valuable in this State except as an advertisement. 
The meetings last week were well attended for the 
most part, but whether the audiences comprised much 
the same persons who attend the farmers’ institutes 
remains to be seen. We reserve judgment until we 
hear from farmers who attended the railroad meet¬ 
ings. We are in favor of any educational work that 
THEj RURAL NEW-YORKER 
will give the farmers real and substantial help. All 
sorts of persons are rushing in just now to offer their 
services at “uplifting,” and we think the farmers 
should be given the chance to say what sort of help 
they want. 
* 
Steel your heart against fakers who may offer “a 
root rubber plant” for sale. It grows in southwest 
Africa and is said to be related to the common Ameri¬ 
can milkweed. The bulb or tuber contains a thick 
milky juice said to contain a small quantity of rubber. 
It is slow to grow and of course would be killed 
north of the frost line. What we look for is that 
some fraud with a conscience like a rubber boot will 
offer this wonderful plant for sale—no man to be 
permitted to buy more than five plants. A few years 
ago an American botanist said in a joke that he ex¬ 
pected to cross the milkweed on the strawberry and thus 
grow strawberries and cream on the same plant! The 
statement actually got into print seriously, and some 
people believed it. Now be warned in time that the 
yarns about these root rubber plants will be just about 
as truthful as the cream and berry plant. Let them 
alone. 
* 
THE PRIZE STORY 
Nearly 50 people sent MSS. in competition for the 
prize story. That means over 2,000,000 words, and the 
judges worked faithfully to render a fair decision. 
The prize was finally awarded to a story entitled 
NELL BEVERLY, FARMER 
BY 
Elizabeth Jewett Brown 
AND 
Susan Jewett Howe 
Our object in offering this prize was two-fold. We 
wanted a story to give in book form to our readers. 
Each year we offer some gift which we try to make 
both useful and enduring. In other years we have 
given “The Business Hen,” “The Farmer’s Garden” 
and “The Rural Cook Book.” This year we wanted 
to give a strong story or novel which would come to 
our readers with a message so plain and true that it 
would be as useful and enduring as any practical book 
we could obtain. The easiest way to get such a story 
is to go to a professional writer, outline a plot and 
let him develop it. That is a good way to obtain a 
strong highly polished novel—made to order. The 
objection to that plan is that such a writer would 
know but little of actual farm life and could not really 
fee! in his heart and soul the scenes which he at¬ 
tempted to portray. It would be like baker’s bread. 
We wanted the homemade loaf. We think there has 
already been too much of this sort of writing for 
farmers. There should be more of a literature which 
is all their* own. It occurred to us that there must 
be among the readers of The R. N.-Y. men and 
women who have lived strong and self-sacrificing lives 
and who have the ability to tell their stories. When¬ 
ever we want help of a practical sort we always find 
it by asking our readers. So, in the hope of encourag¬ 
ing some unknown writer with natural if untried 
powers we offered the prize. As a result we have a 
real flesh-and-blood story written for rural readers by 
one of their own family. It deals with one of the 
strongest problems which country life offers—the 
struggle of a brave woman to hold together a family 
of children in a farm home. There is not a line in the 
book that can possibly harm anyone. On the other 
hand, no one can read it thoughtfully without being 
made better for the reading. Fun, pathos, tragedy and 
strong description are well mingled. We doubt if 
there has ever been written a more accurate account 
of the real daily life on a New England farm. In this 
respect and in its power of homely detail the story 
will rank with Robinson Crusoe. We feel confident 
that this simple, unpretentious tale will appeal to all 
that is best in our people, and we predict that it will 
prove the most popular gift The R. N.-Y. has ever 
sent out. 
* 
We observe a number of people who are troubled 
about the future of the tariff laws. Before election 
all agreed that no matter who was elected the tariff 
would be revised. The great majority went further, 
and believed that the rates of duty would be lowered 
—as in most cases they should be. Now there are 
some who wake up to realize that the incoming major¬ 
ity in Congress is pledged to consider “a reasonable 
profit” in revising the tariff. The idea seems to be 
gaining that Speaker Cannon and others of the old 
guard” will take this declaration from the party 
platform as an excuse to revise the tariff the wrong 
way. We do not believe it: The signs are too clear. 
It is too evident that the people demand lower rates. 
A few men like Cannon may think they can afford to 
ignore the public, but the great majority of Congress¬ 
men will never dare to do it. And Mr. Taft, too, 
knows what is demanded. We take it for granted 
that he has read Chapter 10 of II Chronicles and that 
he realizes the significance of it. Rehoboam was the 
son of King Solomon. When he came to the throne 
the people came asking for relief, “Ease thou some¬ 
what the grievous servitude * * * heavy yoke * 
* * and we will serve thee.” He told them to come 
again in three days and he proceeded to take advice. 
The old men advised him to be kind and “speak good 
words.” The younger men gave contrary advice, and 
acting upon it when the people returned Rehoboam 
said: 
“My father made your yoke heavy but I will add 
thereto; my father chastised you with whips but 1 will 
chastise you with scorpions.” 
Things are reversed somewhat in this age. Older 
men like Speaker Cannon may advise Mr. Taft to 
ignore the demand of the people. 1 he younger and 
more hopeful men know better, for they look more 
to the future, and they cannot help but see the feeling 
of deep unrest. We have every confidence to believe 
that Mr. Taft has studied history enough to know 
how it repeats itself. The story summed up in Verse 
16 has been wrought out hundreds of times in history 
and would be in this country: 
“And when all Israel saw that the King would not 
harken unto them, the people answered the King, say¬ 
ing, what portion have we in Davidf and we have 
none inheritance in the son of Jesse; every man to 
your tents O Israel, and now David, see to thine oivn 
house.” 
* 
Many New York farmers have already expressed 
their choice for New York Senator. Letters are 
coming every day. Some merely name their choice, 
while others go on to give their reasons. The fol¬ 
lowing is a fair sample of the briefer notes: 
I am for Mr. Elihu Root for Senator from New York 
State, first, last and all tlie time. I think he is the real 
goods. d. G. G. 
Onondaga Co. 
The letter which follows is a fair sample of 
many. It is written by a practical farmer and ex¬ 
presses the views of the majority of those who have 
thus far written: 
Replying to your suggestion that farmers express their 
preference for U. S. Senator to succeed T. C. Platt, I 
believe there are several good reasons why Theodore 
Roosevelt is the man for the place. He is strong and 
progressive, and would keep the conservative Senate stirred 
up. Probably there are men in the State of ability 
who would represent the farmers better, but. I do not 
know who they are, and besides, the probability of elec¬ 
tion would be small. It would be a very suitable pro¬ 
vision for an ex-President to give him a seat in the 
Senate, and the country ought thereby to reap the ad¬ 
vantage of his experience. By all means, we do not 
want T. L. Woodruff. He is simply another machine 
man, like Platt. Root has ability enough, hut is too 
much of a corporation man, and would undoubtedly work 
in their interests. We have enough of that in the Sen¬ 
ate now. Give us Roosevelt now, and then fill Depew’s 
place with a good strong, honest farmer, as we will have 
popular election of Senators by that time. J. a. j. 
Cayuga Co. 
The R. N.-Y. has no candidate to present at this 
time. We are simply trying to give the farmers and 
country people a chance to express their choice. We 
knew they would take enough interest in the matter 
to do this if given a chance. A few of our corre¬ 
spondents prefer Gov. Hughes,, but the majority ap¬ 
parently want him at Albany two years more—and 
do not like Mr. Horace White, the next Lieut.- 
Governor! 
BREVITIES. 
Feexch growers have formed a Walnut Growers’ Asso¬ 
ciation. 
Can anyone tell us of a Paragon chestnut tree that has 
proved hardy in western New York? 
The worst sort of a farmers’ meeting is a mutual ad¬ 
miration society with hot air on tap. 
In Holland railroad locomotives are compelled by law 
to burn or swallow their own smoke. We would not 
argue against such a law directed at human tobacco users. 
The fog and mist which has hugged New York so 
long has at least brought the conditions which stirs up 
our Crimson clover and rye. They are now jumping, and 
will be large enough to winter well. 
We recently mentioned the plan of the Connecticut Pomo- 
logical Society to offer an apple feast at its next meet¬ 
ing. The Indiana Horticultural Society is ahead after 
all. At its annual meeting on December 2 will be hold 
the “Annual Social and Banquet of the Apple Consumers’ 
League !” 
In Germany live fish are sold in the fish markets. They 
are carried long distances in casks or tanks. The Ger¬ 
mans are fond of carp, and many Ions of this fish are 
floated up and down the rivers in scows which below water 
are made of slats through which the water flows. The 
carp keep well in these scows and the cost of transpor- 
dation is light. 
