S08 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
June 13, 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Home*. 
Established 1S.V). 
Publluhcd weekly by the Rural Publixbirifr Company, 409 Pearl Street, New York. 
HkkbbrtW. Collingwood. President and Editor, 
John J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. Dili-ON, 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. tid., 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. 
“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 swindlerwill be publicly ex¬ 
posed. Weprotect 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 progreseive, 
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. 
* 
Readers are responding to the call for crop and 
market reports. As usual they give us just what we 
want, as you will see by the notes on the next page. 
Let us hear from your section, telling the things 
you would like to know about other places. 
* 
Gov. Hughes has signed a bill authorizing a trial 
of the Torrens system of registering land titles in 
New York. Under this system a search of the title 
to property is made by State officials, and when 
certified goes with the deed. As we have often 
pointed out, the “searching” of titles every time a 
piece of property is transferred becomes an expensive 
nuisance. The Torrens system ought to end that, for 
an official search will stand as long as the property. 
* 
Several parties are offering a so-called “blight cure” 
for fruit and particularly pears. They make strong 
claims for their remedy, which is to be put in the 
ground around the trees much like a fertilizer. There 
have been claims that sulphate of iron used in this 
way will “cure” Pear blight or delay its spread, 
but our best scientists do not advise its use. We ven¬ 
ture the guess that the basis of these so-called 
“remedies” is sulphate of iron. The best report we 
can get from unprejudiced observers is that the trees 
treated with the remedy “do not appear to be any 
better or worse than the untreated ones.” We would 
not pay for any such remedy. 
* 
We would like to agree with those hopeful friends 
who claim that the San Jose scale and Potato beetle 
arc disappearing, but we do not yet believe it. Some 
go so far as to claim that the scale has entirely dis¬ 
appeared from certain sections. Others claim that 
because there were few Potato beetles in the early 
part of last season that insect is dying out! Last 
year was a hard season for many insects. For sev¬ 
eral seasons past, in our section, the weather has 
been unfavorable for the early crop of Potato beetles. 
Last year there were so few that we did not spray, 
yet, as it turned out, we would have made money by 
spraying as usual. This year we see the hard-shelled 
beetles at work, and there are many egg clusters 
already. Do not be deceived into thinking that either 
the scale or the beetle will “die out.” They may have 
a “period of depression” for a few years, but back 
they will come again hungrier than ever. Keep up 
the fight. 
* 
The efforts to change the New York law relating 
to bovine tuberculosis resulted in nothing when Gov¬ 
ernor Hughes vetoed the bill passed by the last Leg¬ 
islature. The Governor was justified in his veto. The 
bill provided for a couple of political jobs, and made 
no funds available for paying for slaughtered cattle. 
It did one good thing, however—started a discussion 
about the character of the disease and methods of 
detecting and handling it, which will be sure to result 
in good. We intend to carry on this discussion so 
that before the next meeting of the Legislature 
farmers may understand definitely what they want 
and how to obtain it. The great point at issue is the 
use of the tuberculin test. It is true that this test 
will often reveal the disease in a cow before it has 
gone far enough to cause any change in her health. 
No one short of an expert would notice anything 
wrong with her carcass after slaughter. We do not 
blame farmers for objecting when cows which to 
every appearance are in good health are condemned, 
and either burned or buried or made into fertilizer. 
They know that animals in a worse condition than 
some of their cows are being killed in slaughter 
houses and used for meat. The Federal Government 
has a strict set of rules and regulations governing the 
inspection of meat at slaughter houses. They permit 
the use of meat from animals with mild cases of 
tuberculosis. If some vital organ is slightly affected 
this is removed and the meat held to be safe. In 
Germany, where inspection is very strict and thorough, 
such meat is also passed for use. Some of the States 
in this country propose to regulate the local meat 
supply on the plan that the general government em¬ 
ploys at the large slaughter houses. The question will 
soon arise whether New York should not have a meat 
inspection law administered by the Agricultural De¬ 
partment. There is no doubt that in the past a good 
many cattle have been killed which were not at all 
dangerous to health, yet they were destroyed like the 
worst infected cases. . The meat of these cattle was 
perfectly good, yet it was wasted. As for the use of 
tuberculin, Prof. Pearson, the new Commissioner, will 
not compel its use. If a dairyman ask for this test it 
will be given, but its use will not be compulsory as in 
the past, and unless tuberculin is called for a physical 
examination will be given. 
* 
A man whose name is known from one end of the 
country to the other locates the causes which were 
responsible for this cattle case: 
“We find its origin in the political environment to 
which he has been subjected. If there is anything on 
earth that will rot the soul of the man and leave him 
hollow to the whitewash it is the average politics 
of the day!” 
That is true enough to make an amendment to the 
gospels. There is no reader of The R. N.-Y. who 
does not know of some man whom “politics” has 
spoiled. This “rot of the soul” is the most dangerous 
public disease we have in the country, for it prevents 
the plain, common people from using their true power. 
The noblest acts of legislation in our history are 
those which were compelled when country people rose 
above “politics” and forced their convictions upon 
the leaders. These same people have been responsible 
for some of the meanest legislation when they let the 
politicians lead them. When a man gets into politics 
his public usefulness is done, for then the energy 
which should go to helping his country is spent in 
helping himself and the small gang which call them¬ 
selves the party. Take those State Senators whose 
names are printed week after week. How many of 
them could ever hope to return to Albany were it not 
for this soul rot which eats up manhood? These 
men do not and never did truly represent the people 
of their districts. A dozen men could be found who 
would accomplish more for the people. They are put 
in office and kept there by little gangs of politicians 
scattered through each district to peddle out “graft.” 
These men could be wiped out of existence if the 
farmers and plain people would only use their power. 
This rot of the soul is like a class of diseases which 
breed on a “host” plant. In Africa thousands die of 
the “sleeping sickness.” The great German scientist 
Koch found that the germ of this disease is propa¬ 
gated in the blood of the hippopotamus. Flies carry 
it from this “host” to humans. The remedy is to 
destroy the creature that breeds it! The mosquito 
is the “host” for malaria germs. Kill the mosquitoes 
and the disease dies out. The Apple rust lives part 
of its life on the cedar. We cut down cedars near an 
apple orchard to destroy the “host” and prevent 
breeding the germ. The way to strike hardest at the 
disease is to kill the “host” where the germ is prop¬ 
agated. That is just the way to strike at this polit¬ 
ical soul rot. The big politicians are the “hosts.” 
They keep the germs alive and the little grafters carry 
them to the people and spread the disease. This 
Dawley case shows how the plain people can if they 
will reach into high places and make themselves felt. 
They gave Governor Hughes the most wholesome 
lesson of his life. It is possible for the farmers to 
defeat every one of the men named on our list either 
for renomination or at the polls. Do it and the State 
will get a moral cleaning up that will last for years. 
If any of these men are renominated we shall do 
our best to defeat them as we did Mr. Wadsworth— 
without abuse or wire-pulling, but by straight, plain 
arguments to farmers. 
* 
We find that quite a number of readers are trying 
to investigate the possibilities of fruit growing in 
Porto Rico. Some have already gone there, while 
others are considering an investment. There seems 
to be no doubt that the orange, lemon, pomelo and 
tropical fruits generally can be well grown on the 
island. There are many native fruits now little 
known which may be selected and improved so as 
to make good market products. With the study and 
care which a successful fruit grower at the North 
would give there can be little doubt about producing 
a crop in Porto Rico. The trouble will be in selling 
it to advantage. Present transportation facilities are 
inadequate. There is a long ocean voyage in a warm 
latitude, and thus far fruit from Porto Rico has 
reached the North in poor condition. This is not all 
due to poor steamer service, for much of the pack¬ 
ing is very poor. Fruit has been shipped that was 
too ripe to begin with, and carelessly packed at that. 
When a grower is producing fruit thousands of miles 
from his market his only hope is to reject all but 
the best and pack what is left with all the skill he 
can muster. The future of Porto Rico fruit busi¬ 
ness depends on transportation and packing. 
♦ 
We never had so many letters from young men 
who want advice about a college education. We wish 
they all put up a proposition as simple as the fol¬ 
lowing: 
I am a young man 10 years of age, Lorn In a country 
town and live in a county seat. I am thinking very ser¬ 
iously of my future. I like to read, have read a great 
many papers and a few hooks; I love to read about flow¬ 
ers and vegetable gardening; have read two books of 
Peter Henderson’s and take three leading practical gar¬ 
dening papers, and I grow a few flowers at home. What 
I have read makes me believe I would like to work in a 
greenhouse or follow up gardening. As I have a common 
school education would you advise me to go to high school 
two years more or keep on reading hooks on the subject 
and serve as apprentice in a floral establishment, and in a 
term of years own a greenhouse of my own ? c. H. r. 
We would by all means cut out the high school and 
spend the time with some honest and reliable florist. 
The high school can teach you nothing that will 
help you in your trade. You will have to forget 
much of what you get at a high school before you 
can make a living at anything. After you actually 
get at work in the greenhouse you may find that 
you do not like the trade after all, but the chances 
are you will stick to it. Later it may pay you to 
spend a year at an agricultural college, but we 
would take the practical training first. It is often 
argued that the boy should first go to college and 
then learn practical work. We would reverse this 
and learn to work first. 
* 
Brother Tucker of the The Country Gentleman is 
striving to earn his salary as able advocate of the 
Buffalo Fertilizer Co. He prints the figures showing 
the analyses of samples taken by the Vermont Ex¬ 
periment Station. Five different brands were exam¬ 
ined—three ran above the guarantee, one a little be¬ 
low and one considerably below—to the value of $2.60 
per ton. It is natural that the Buffalo Company 
should make a desperate effort to run above guaran¬ 
tee this year at any cost. A man caught selling in¬ 
ferior goods of any sort would be obliged to make 
a new record or get out of business. Any improve¬ 
ment in these Buffalo goods is due to our publishing 
the official figures! Bro. Tucker discovers that the 
average of the five samples tested in Vermont runs 
above the average guarantee. He forgot to print the 
following note on page 48 of the bulletin from which 
lie got the figures: 
Buffalo Fertilizer Co.'s Vegetable and Potato Fertilizer. 
_A sample of these goods drawn at Montpelier was found 
lacking in all three forms of plant food. It was resampled 
and reanalyzed with essentially identical results. The 
shortage in commercial value is in excess of 10 per cent. 
This failure to meet the requirements of the public statutes 
has been reported to the State’s attorney of Washington 
County. 
Now what good will it do the man who buys this 
fertilizer to be told that the average of five was above 
guarantee? Last year the Buffalo Company paid the 
fine in Vermont and this case may lead to another. 
Last year at the Vermont Station this potato and 
vegetable fertilizer ran $3.07 behind in valuation and 
in the year before 72 cents ahead. Neither the Buf¬ 
falo Company nor the Smith Company of Ohio of¬ 
fered to sell goods subject to guarantee until they 
were brought face to face with the worst record 
printed in the station bulletins. 
BREVITIES. 
A new broom is stiff until it has been used a little. 
Nothing wrong with the appetite of that Holstein cow. 
Don’t do it! Use the peach orchards for a henyard. 
The trees will make too much growth. 
It looks like “curing” clover and Alfalfa between 
showers. How about putting them in a silo? 
The cleanest man is not the one who will let evil dirt 
accumulate rather than touch it, hut rather the one will¬ 
ing to get into it and clean it out. 
Reports are that the western apple crop has been 
seriously damaged. It will indeed he a privation for our 
western friends to go without baked apples two years in 
succession. 
We get many questions about preserving the surplus 
fruit crop in the form of juices, syrups, etc., for home 
trade. What are you doing in this line? Details of such 
work giving first cost, selling price, apparatus needed, 
etc., would be helpful to many. 
