©02 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Horae*. 
Established. 1850. 
Published weekly by the Rural Publishing Company, 409 Pearl Street, Sew York. 
Herbert W. Colungwood, 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. 6d., or 8*2 marks, or 10 H 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 our columns, and any such swindlerwill be publicly ex¬ 
posed. We protect suberibers 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. 
* 
Bear in mind that the New York State Fruit 
Growers’ Association will meet at Medina, January 
G and 7. This Association represents fruit growers, 
and does it well. 
♦ 
Reports thus far received regarding the railroad 
farmers’ institute in New York are favorable. A 
train was run over parts of the Erie Railroad. Fre¬ 
quent stops were made and lectures were given in 
the cars by the instructors from Cornell. Mr. Hunt 
on page 989 makes a fair statement about it. We 
want to know if these trains reach new classes of 
people, or if they can be made to serve a purpose 
apart from that of the farmers’ institutes. 
* 
Why not organize, on your farm, a “Protein Club’’ 
such as the Hope Farm man tells about? Eastern 
farmers simply cannot afford to pay the prices now 
charged for western grain. We might just as well 
face that fact now as to wait and lose more money 
over it. The East has got to grow more grain. 
We can take care of the corn well enough, but how 
can we provide the protein now bought in bran, 
oats, etc.? Watch The R. N.-Y. during the next 
10 weeks and see what farmers are doing. 
* 
J. W. Sanborn, a well-known farmer of New 
Hampshire, is a candidate for United States Senator. 
He ought to have the backing of every countryman 
in the Granite State. New Hampshire people should 
have had enough of the present incumbent by this 
time. Here is a chance to obtain what New England 
has lacked for many years—a farmer in the United 
States Senate. Mr. Sanborn is qualified in every 
way. His platform covers the things which farmers 
have been demanding for years. Here then is the 
opportunity for New Hampshire to carry the flag 
for the Eastern States. 
* 
Interest in that famous Jersey cattle case is not 
dying out. We hear nearly as much about it from 
our readers as we did last year. Every one of the 
Associations which register purebred cattle has, in 
consequence of the exposures in this case, tightened 
the rules and strengthened their inspection. They 
had to do it, for the public was shocked at the 
ease with which those grade cattle were substituted 
and sold as purebred. Just as we claimed when the 
fight against us was hottest, the final outcome of 
this case proves that it was one of the best things 
that ever happened to the business of breeding and 
registering purebred cattle. The people will never 
forget it. It is one of the things they ought to keep 
in memory. Gov. Hughes is not lijcely to forget 
the part he played in the case. He has a strenuous 
half hour now and then that will be useful to him 
in thinking out farm legislation. Not long ago the 
Governor was riding on a railroad train when a 
farmer approached him and asked bluntly: 
“Why did you keep Dawlcy in office when he was 
guilty?” 
That farmer went on to tell the Governor squarely 
what farmers thought of that case, and how near 
it came to preventing his re-election and killing his 
anti-gambling bill. The Governor frankly admitted 
that he was wrong in his handling of that case. The 
trouble wit 1 ' the Governor seems to be that he was 
poorly advised. The politicians and the “thinkers” 
rather hedged him in, so that the sentiment of the 
working farmers did not reach him. He got it 
finally, and he knows its true value. 
THE RURAL REW-YORKER 
We are receiving a number of criticisms and dire 
prophecies about primary elections. About every 
clipping from papers that attack this plan of selecting 
candidates has been sent us. It appears that fair 
criticisms can be made about the way the law has 
worked in some localities. These criticisms when 
pinned down are not directed against the principle 
of direct nominations, but against some method of 
conducting the election. It was not to be expected 
that an entirely new system would work just exact¬ 
ly right at first. We fully expect that when the 
method is first tried in New York there will be 
many who call it a failure. They will see the weak 
points made strong and the system made perma¬ 
nent. You seem to think New York will try the 
experiment of direct nominations? We do. We 
look for Gov. Hughes to recommend the measure, 
for the politicians to balk and for the people to drive 
them to it. What we fear is that the politicians 
will succeed in working in some little “joker” that 
will weaken or spoil the bill. But bear in mind one 
thing. Direct nominations will not t>f itself do 
any particular good unless the people will make 
use of the weapon it gives them. Let us get rid 
of the notion that any legislation will help us 
unless we can get out boldly and fight for it. All 
farmers can hope for in direct nominations is an 
opportunity to fight to some advantage. 
* 
“The hook of i,ooo pages!” That is what a com¬ 
plete volume of The R. N.-Y. for 1908 represents. 
We never printed so many pages in one year before, 
yet we realize that quantity is of less account than 
quality. If we have not put something worth while 
on each one of these 1,000 pages we have to that 
extent fallen short of an ideal. “The book of 1,000 
pages” carries our best—not alone in performance 
but in promise and hope. The past year has been a 
strong one, and from it we have gained fresh con¬ 
fidence in the ability of the plain people to gain the 
place, in American affairs which belongs to them. 
While a new volume of The R. N.-Y. begins with 
the next issue the numbers go right on. This is 
No. 3074, next week will be No. 3075. That is 
the way we like to think of friendships. Years may 
come and go, and birthday after birthday pass, yet 
the old love and confidence which bind friends to¬ 
gether go on without looking at the milestones. We 
want it to be the same in our relations with our 
readers. We know you and you know us like 
neighbors who have lived close together for 40 
years. Your neighbor does not need to come across 
the road on New Year’s Day and say, “John, I am 
going to stand right by you this year.” You do not 
need to be told that, for years of test and trial have 
shown you that through sunshine or storm you can 
always depend on Henry or William. We ask noth¬ 
ing better than to have you feel just like that about 
The R. N.-Y. Thus we make no promise except 
to say that we shall try to be worthy of just that 
sort of confidence. As for saying “Good bye” to any¬ 
one—in the face of the flood of subscriptions now 
pouring in upon us, nothing could be more out of 
place. So we just say “Good luck!” as sincerely as 
we can. We do not pretend to be master of any 
language—rather the servant of somewhat halting 
English, but with the help of friends we make our 
greeting go as far as possible. Good luck; auf 
gluck; buena ventura ; bon voyage; god lycka; buona 
fortuna; dobroe cracmae. 
* 
For some time past we have felt that the New 
York State Dairymen’s Association needed the serv¬ 
ices of a well-equipped “candid friend.” An asso¬ 
ciation with such a name ought first of all to be 
able to represent adequately the men who live by 
milking cows. The question which ought to be set¬ 
tled now is, does the N. Y. Association really do 
this? When they undertake to tell the Governor 
and the Legislature what dairymen want, can any¬ 
one detect the sound of the cow or the tinkle of 
milk on the bottom of the pail in their voice? Prac¬ 
tical dairymen who have attended several meetings 
have made the suggestion that the name should be 
changed to “The State Office Holders’ Mutual Ad¬ 
miration Society.” That puts in a few words a 
whole volume of criticism. This year we decided to 
try an experiment. We asked Mr. J. Grant Morse 
to attend the meeting, listen to the addresses and 
get the full sense of it. We consider Mr. Morse 
qualified, because he is a practical dairyman, a good 
observer and not in any way connected with the 
State Agricultural Department. His instructions 
were* to go without prejudice and make a study — 
not a report. He was to interview as many prac¬ 
tical farmers as he could reach and learn from 
them, privately, just exactly how they regard the 
Association and its work. This has never been done 
before, yet it is the only test that is worth while of 
December 26, 
the value of a public meeting. Mr. Morse’s report will 
be found on the next page. In our judgment it 
represents the honest opinion of the vast majority 
of the people who milk cows for a living. 
We intend that for once at least the Dairymen’s 
Association shall know the truth—may it set them 
free! 
“There is an overwhelming sentiment that the 
officials and teachers of the veterinary colleges are 
creating a scare for the purpose of getting more 
veterinary students, more work for the veterinarians 
to do and more money out of the State to work 
with or spend as they see fit.” 
That is the truth about public sentiment, however 
unpalatable it may be to those in authority. They 
may well ask themselves what was done at the 
Dairymen’s meeting to allay this suspicion. Very 
little if anything was said about control of tuber¬ 
culosis by cleanliness and sunshine—it was practically 
all tuberculin test. The essays or addresses at the 
convention were in many respects valuable, and 
some of them contained much food for thought. 
The tone of the meeting and the evident attitude of 
the organization toward working farmers may be re¬ 
garded as fair subjects for criticism.' If asked why 
we say that the question should be settled now we 
cheerfully reply. We intend to see to it, if we 
can, that the wishes of the men who actually work 
our farms are fairly presented to the Legislature 
and Governor. If such organizations as the State 
Dairymen’s Association are willing to fight for the 
farmers’ common rights we want them to lead— 
as they ought to. If any of the State employees that 
control it are willing to stand up and face the risk 
of loss of their office and publicly denounce evil 
when the farmers’ interests demand it we say God 
speed them and we will fall in behind and help 
with all the power we can muster. The times 
demand leaders of just that size and character, and 
there never was a better time than right now to find 
out where they are. 
* 
Several readers have asked about the following 
question: 
“What is the Record of the Buffalo Fertiliser Co. 
at the New York State Experiment Station this 
year?” 
It is found in Bulletin 304. The Station analyzed in 
all 45 brands of fertilizer for this concern. Of 
these 20 were below guarantee in one or more in¬ 
gredients. Twelve brands failed to give a “com¬ 
mercial equivalent”—that is, the value of the plant 
food found in them is less than what is guaranteed 
This shortage runs all the way from a few cents 
per ton to over $2.60. In other brands there is a 
shortage in one element and an excess in another, so 
that while a farmer thought he was buying a cer¬ 
tain amount of phosphoric acid he did not get it 
but did get more potash. This is somewhat on the 
principle of a man who buys a horse guaranteed to 
have “good mane and tail.” If he complained be¬ 
cause the mane is clipped the seller could claim the 
tail was extra long. This showing is much better 
than the Buffalo Company made at the Geneva Sta¬ 
tion last year. We judge that the publicity given 
them has had a good effect! Now comes the news 
that the new fertilizer combination or “trust” has 
for its leading spirits our two old friends the Buf¬ 
falo Fertilizer Co. and the Smith Fertilizer Co. It 
seems to us that these two concerns are well yoked 
together. It would require the services of a Phila¬ 
delphia lawyer to determine, from the Station rec¬ 
ords, which of these two concerns made the poorer 
public showing, or to find any poorer records any¬ 
where. Now the two companies which bear the 
warning brand of the Government chemists appear to 
think they can dodge public sentiment by organiz¬ 
ing a “trust!” They should have a halo around a 
fertilizer bag as a trade mark. When that halo 
was analyzed how much brass do you think would 
be found in it? _ 
BREVITIES. 
From choice we should use lime in a rotation at grass 
or grain seeding. 
What’s this ! An automobile club voting to expel and 
prosecute a member for “scorching”? In New Jersey at 
that! Must be we are dreaming! 
“Have just passed my sixty-second birthday; am eat¬ 
ing lots of baked apples and feeling fine!” Thus writes 
a reader who knows good health when he sees it. 
A would-be correspondent writes: “Through my long 
experience nothing is too difficult for me.” Thank you, 
but we prefer ordinary mortals with feet of clay! 
Gov. Dexeen, of Illinois, is to take the short course 
in agriculture at the State Agricultural College? Why 
not? A thorough study of corn and cattle judging should 
help any man to study men and conditions. 
One of the livest heads we have now on the subscrip¬ 
tion list says he began as a “dead head.” Some friend 
thought he needed the paper and sent it to him. ne 
couldn’t drop it. What about your New Year’s presents? 
