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The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homea. 
Established. 1850. 
Published weekly by tile Rural Publishing Company, 409 Pearl Street, New 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. Royle, Associate Editors. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04, equal to 
8s. (id., or 8ki marks, or lOkj 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 ourcolmnns, 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 mouth 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. 
* 
We are sorry we cannot print the name of the man 
■who packed that barrel of “Choice New York Bald¬ 
wins”—see first page! Such men are almost as bad as 
the scale in hurting the fruit‘business, and ought to be 
thoroughly sprayed with printer’s ink! 
* 
It is safe to say that at least one of the New York 
insurance Senators knows already what is coming. 
Senator Franchot went before the Niagara Co. 
Farmers’ Club and undertook to explain his vote. 
The men who did so much to defeat Wadsworth 
gave Mr. Franchot a frosty reception. Their silence 
was eloquent. He had misrepresented them at Al¬ 
bany and they knew it, and no plausible words can 
fool these farmers. You might as well count one 
of the 15 insurance Senators out! Next! 
* 
Right now is when the northern Crimson clover 
farmer muit gird on the armor of philosophy. Ihe 
ground is hare. At night the frost crusts the sur¬ 
face about two inches thick, and by day this turns 
to mud. With each freeze the soil heaves a little, and 
when the mud settles back it leaves the clover a little 
more exposed. Too much of it will lift the plants 
out, and that will end them. The next three weeks 
will settle the fate of the Crimson clover with us. 
Th Alfalfa is also having a struggle to hold on to the 
soil. 
* 
George M. Clark, known far and wide as “the 
Connecticut grass man,” is dead, in his 75th year. Mr. 
Clark was a strong character, and he has done the 
world a great service, not only through his mechanical 
inventions but by his vigorous and persistent arguments 
in favor of intense culture of grass lands. With¬ 
out question Mr. Clark was responsible for changes 
in grass culture over great sections of country. His 
work is a shining example of what an honest man 
with courage and bulldog determination can do to 
spread new and true ideas. 
* 
Already there are serious apprehensions regarding 
future supplies of hickory wood. No satisfactory 
substitute has been found for hickory in making 
automobile and carriage wheels. It is said that the 
hickory spokes will outlast either iron or steel. Wood 
of the eucalyptus and crowfoot elm from Australia 
comes nearest to having the quality of hickory, but 
nothing at present known can entirely supplant it. 
The supply of this wood is rapidly decreasing, while 
the demand both for hickory timber and hickory 
nuts is constantly growing. All this indicates op¬ 
portunities in forestry which might well appeal to a 
young farmer. 
The Babcock test for milk made it possible to con¬ 
duct the dairy business with scientific accuracy. To¬ 
day no manufacturing industry could prosper if it 
were obliged to buy raw material without knowing 
what it contained. Before the Babcock test there 
was no quick sure way of knowing whether 100 
pounds of milk would make three or six pounds of 
butter. The test lias also enabled dairymen to select 
the cows which produce most fat, and thus by 
breeding from them improve the herd by selection. 
Now we are to have a similar test for casein, a cheese 
test. Up to this time the fat test has generally been 
used not only for butter but for cheese making. The 
theory was that the amount of casein or cheesy ma¬ 
terial is in uniform proportion to that of fat, so that 
when one was known the other would follow. It 
has been found that there is no such definite propor- 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
tion—some cows giving a milk very rich in casein. 
In the Babcock cream test the casein is dissolved in 
sulphuric acid. Then the sample of milk is whirled 
about and the fat rises in a tube where it can be 
measured. In the casein test the fat globules in 
the milk are dissolved by adding chloroform. Acetic 
acid gathers the casein, so that after the test 
bottle has been shaken up and whirled the 
casein gathers in the tube, where it can be meas¬ 
ured. The chloroform is put in first, then the acid 
and then the milk. This test is easy and very accu¬ 
rate. It will do much for cheese making and also, 
without doubt, help develop families of cows noted 
for the production of casein. This test is well de¬ 
scribed in a bulletin from the Wisconsin Station. 
* 
We regret to record the death of Prof. Willis G. 
Johnson, editor of the American Agriculturist, who 
passed away on March 11. Prof. Johnson was born 
at New Albany, Ohio, on July 4, 1866. He studied 
first at the Ohio State University and later at Cornell, 
where he secured the degree of A. B. He secured the 
A. M. degree from Leland Stanford, Jr., University in 
1894. He was State Entomologist in Maryland for a 
time, and at the time of his death was a member of 
the Board of Control of the Geneva Experiment Sta¬ 
tion. He was married in 1892 to Fannie Helena 
Phillips, who, with two children, survives him. Prof. 
Johnson was a strong and energetic character, able 
and honest to a high degree. He will be greatly 
missed by all who knew him. 
* 
In Boston on March 10 Governor Charles E. 
Hughes, of New York, delivered a speech in which he 
said: 
But we have had a chance to make this clear, and I 
think that it is being understood by our people, and should 
he understood by all, that the important tiling is investi¬ 
gation, ascertainment of the facts, fair and judicial con¬ 
sideration of everything upon its merits and then sincere 
and fearless effort to do whatever the facts require. 
No honest man can deny the truth of that, but how 
do the Governor’s words fit his deeds? Nearly 100 
days ago wc submitted to Governor Hughes definite 
charges against Frank E. Dawley, an employee of the 
State. We offered to submit evidence to prove the 
charges. Instead of holding an investigation which 
he says in Boston is the “important thing,” Governor 
Hughes simply intimated that as Dawley had brought 
suits for libel against The R. N.-Y. he would do noth¬ 
ing. In the same speech the Governor also said: 
I am a firm believer in the sound judgment of the people. 
We cannot expect to be altogether free from foolish 
propaganda aud absurd vagaries, hut they will he rendered 
harmless if the facts to which they are applied are gen¬ 
erally understood. 
Now it seems probable to us that in this Dawley 
case Governor Hughes relied upon the advice of poli¬ 
ticians from the Agricultural Department and The 
Country Gentleman! Very likely they gave him to 
understand that the desire of farmers to be repre¬ 
sented by men above suspicion was part of the “foolish 
propaganda and absurd vagaries” to which the Gov¬ 
ernor refers. The "sound judgment of the people” 
is now coming to the Governor by every mail, and 
it is our opinion that before they are done the Gov¬ 
ernor will see that the “vagaries” of these farmers 
are not only harmless but the most helpful influence 
he has ever had. For we still believe that Governor 
Hughes took the action he did because he did not at 
that time realize what the true farmers stood for. 
* 
On page 265 will be found some figures showing 
how the goods of the Buffalo Fertilizer Co. stood 
the test of analysis. Taking the average of the 10 
samples reported from the New York Experiment 
Station, the difference between what was guaranteed 
and what was actually found was .55 per cent of 
nitrogen, 1.47 phosphoric acid and 2 per cent of potash. 
This company now offers to have a private analysis 
made and to pay at the rate of $3 per unit of am¬ 
monia and $1 eacli for phosphoric acid and potash 
below guarantee. Taking the average given above they 
would refund on this basis about $5 per ton. In 
their recent advertisement in the Country Gentleman 
we find the following. 
Sales 1904 . . . . 24,675 Tons 
“ 1905 . . . 36,250 “ 
“ 1906 .... 47,245 “ 
“ 1907 . . . 55,000 “ 
Should the above basis of figuring be accepted this 
concern would have refunded last year the sum of 
$ 165 , 000 ! We are informed that they were obliged 
to pay liberal fines last year and will probably do so 
again this year. One could afford to pay fines with 
any such margin of profit as is suggested in these 
figures. At six different experiment stations last year 
goods made by this concern fell below the guaranty, 
and at several have done so for three years. 
March 21, 
The Buffalo Fertilizer Co. supplied mixed fer¬ 
tilizers for the New York State Fruit Growers’ Asso¬ 
ciation, which were put out under the brand of the 
Society and were found to be below guarantee. They 
were obliged to refund the amount of the fines to the 
Fruit Growers. They also put up under contract for 
another responsible and reliable fertilizer house goods 
which proved inferior, and the analyses of which at 
the Station embarrassed that house and gave an evil 
reputation to the goods hearing their brand, just as 
the similar experience embarrassed the Fruit Growers. 
* 
Brother Tucker of The Country Gentleman still 
maintains that profound silence. One of our readers 
in western New York puts it this way: 
“Bro. Tucker will have to be a checker player to 
move out of that corner he has been backed into.” 
In one scene of “The Old Homestead” two men 
sit down to play a game of checkers. After some 
minutes of play one man sits silent in a dejected 
attitude, with his eyes fixed on the hoard, while the 
other motions him to move. The leading character 
in the play approaches the group, and the following 
dialogue is spoken: 
“What’s the matter, Si—got him penned?” 
“ Can’t make a move without losing three men!” 
Now then—it’s Brother Tucker’s move! Would 
he like to lose Dawley? 
* 
The Farmers’ League of Maryland asks the Leg¬ 
islature of that State to pass a “pure seed” law. some¬ 
what on the lines of the State fertilizer law. The 
design, as we understand it, is to compel seedsmen 
offering seeds for sale in Maryland to have their goods 
“analyzed” or inspected and to print a guarantee 
of such analysis on the packages. The object is to 
prevent the sale of weed seeds in grass and clover. 
Of course, everyone knows that it is impossible to 
analyze seeds as the chemists do fertilizers. It is, 
however, possible to determine what weed seeds are 
present, and what per cent of the seeds are dead. As 
for telling whether varieties were mixed, it would be 
impossible except with grains or grasses. There can 
he no doubt about the great damage done to many 
farms by the introduction of noxious weeds in buying 
farm seeds. We have obtained samples this year that 
were very dirty. It is a question if more damage is 
not done to the farms of New York by the intro¬ 
duction of foul weeds in purchased seeds than in the 
importation of tuberculous cattle. Yet the State 
claims the authority to exclude the latter. We feel 
sure that the near future will demand strict laws to 
prevent seed adulteration. That w 11 work to the 
advantage of the honorable seedsmen who clean their 
seed. 
BREVITIES. 
The Apple Consumers’ League. 
What time's that clock a sayin’? What? You don't say! 
Half past eight? 
My stars! I hadn't no idee that it had got so late. 
It’s mighty close to bedtime! This here book beats 
all! Say, John, 
Go down and git some apples while ye got yer slippers on ! 
I’d feel played out to-morrow ef I didn’t clear my head 
With two good, meller Baldwins jest afore I went to bed. 
An’ don’t forget them Pippins on the west side of the bin, 
An’ half a dozen Greenings—don’t forget to throw them in. 
I haven’t touched no physic for a score of years or more, 
Since this here apple eatin’ got to he a certain chore. 
Come, mother, eat an apple ! John, you orter handle three. 
An’ Bill, you eat a couple more an’ leave the rest to me. 
You don’t catch me a-braggin’ of no high domestic wealth. 
But Dr. Baldwin Apple, sir, will guarantee our health. 
What, nine o’clock? It’s bedtime! John, jest wind the 
clock! That’s right! 
Now, all hands eat an apple! Take the candle, boys! 
Good night! 
We are all ready to learn how you came out with that 
experiment in ventilating stables by using muslin screens 
in place of glass. 
Cax we safely feed the small potatoes? Yes—they are 
worth about one-fourth as much as cornmeal. For hogs 
they should be boiled and mixed with bran. They can he 
fed raw to cattle. 
Don’t seed oats in a young orchard. You will surely 
regret it if you do, for the oats will steal the moisture 
from the young trees. The one exception to this rule is 
in the case of a very damp field where there is too much 
moisture. 
A reader planted some apple trees last year and is not 
sure of the varieties—thinks the nurseryman mixed them. 
Shall he pull them out and replant? If they had made 
fair growth for us we would let them stay and top-work 
later from hearing trees. 
There ought to be an Improvement Society in your 
town to develop a respect and desire for neat grounds 
and houses, shady roads and pleasant places. Why 
don’t you start it if there is not one now, and make your 
own place neater at least. Neatness pays—always has 
aud always will. 
One of the first things to cut out is the tempting offer 
to “lost heirs” or lost fortunes. Certain benevolent people 
offer to collect such fortunes and are always sure that 
you trace right back to a large slice of property. You 
are to pay a “small fee in advance” for their services. 
Don’t do it. Far better send it to the heathen. 
