566 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
July 4, 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FA EM EE'S PA PEE. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established. 1850. 
Publbbed weekly by the Itural Publishing r»in|iany, 409 Pearl Street, Sew fork. 
Herbert W. Oollingwood, President and Editor, 
John J. Dilbon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. Dilion, Secretary. 
Dr, Walter Van Fleet and Mrs, E, T, Hoyle, A ssociate 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*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 swindler will 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 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 R. N.-Y. offers this cash prize for the best 
■> 0,000 word story of American farm life submitted 
before September 15. Older readers will remember 
the great reception given Eggleston’s “Hoosier School¬ 
master” 40 years ago. It was so natural and so true 
a picture of the farm life it described that it is still 
read and admired. We want a story stronger than 
that—so natural and wholesome that it will live 50 
years or more, a credit to all of us. The great Amer¬ 
ican story is to be a story of farm life, and we be¬ 
lieve some reader of The R. N.-Y. can write it. We 
will talk it over with you if you want to try it. Manu¬ 
scripts not winning prize will be paid for separately or 
returned, for which postage should be sent. This com¬ 
petition is open freely to all who may desire to compete, 
without charge or consideration of any kind. Pros¬ 
pective contestants need not be subscribers for The 
Rural New-Yorker in order to be entitled to com¬ 
pete for the prizes offered. 
* 
In some parts of the East a good trade is being 
developed in breeding family cows. Well-to-do people 
are buying places in the country. There is usually 
grass enough for a cow, and of course they want a 
good supply of milk and cream. A grade Guernsey 
seems to fill the bill. Such a cow is usually gentle 
and quiet and gives a fair mess of milk and high- 
colored cream. Many of these family cows are sold 
for more than purebred cattle bring. 
* 
We once knew two men to be caught robbing a 
henroost. One was inside with live chickens in his 
hand. The other was outside keeping watch. This 
man tried to explain his presence but failed. Morally 
he was as guilty as the other, because he tried to cover 
the crime. “Don’t say anything about it,” he argued, 
“this is a case for silence. If you publish it and 
talk about it people will suspect every man who takes 
a walk anywhere near their henhouse!” The point 
of this story will no doubt be enjoyed by the agricul¬ 
tural papers who advise covering up all evidence of 
fraud in the sale of guaranteed or registered stock 
or other goods! 
* 
We have had some discussion about the quality of 
potatoes. There seems to be no doubt that fine eating 
potatoes will bring a special price when the quality 
can be demonstrated and guaranteed. Now we have 
another proposition. The Eastern Shore Produce 
Exchange of Virginia wants several thousand sacks 
of seed potatoes from a section free from blight. 
They reason, with justice, that the blight disease may 
be carried in the tubers, and they want to avoid it, and 
keep the blight out of their section. Now, is there 
any section of New York, Maine or other northern 
State where Potato blight does not prevail? If so, 
let us know—for seed from that section will be in 
demand! 
* 
Not all forms of education seem to educate. You 
would think enough had been said to warn farmers 
against selling goods to people who promise too much, 
yet lots of them will not learn. Nearly every week 
we hear of the same old game. Two men generally 
appear in some town and open a store—making a 
great display of goods. They call for shipments of 
eggs and butter, and offer a few cents more than the 
prices quoted in the papers. People try them with 
small lots, and are promptly paid with checks that 
are cashed at once by the local bank. Then if you 
will believe it those farmers are willing to let their 
accounts run up to a large sum. When they come to 
collect there is no “store” left, or no money in the 
bank. The goods have been sent to New York and 
sold. Sometimes the fellow goes to jail, but that will 
not pa/ the bill. After having exposed this game 
again and again we cannot muster up much sympathy 
for those who are so greedy that they disregard advice 
and gamble with their produce. 
* 
Oleomargarine is classed as a meat food product 
and thus comes under Federal inspection. By regula¬ 
tion of the Bureau of Animal Industry every package 
containing any meat or meat food products must 
bear a trade label with the words “U. S. Inspected 
and Passed.” An inspector of the Agricultural De¬ 
partment is to see that this label is attached after 
certifying that the food is pure. Now the Bureau of 
Animal Industry has served notice that on and after 
July 1, 1908, every package of oleo and butterine 
must be marked with this label! Some of the oleo 
makers have been packing and shipping oleo in wrap¬ 
pers which carry no reference to Federal inspection. 
Now they must stop that, and they do not like the 
ruling. It requires no argument to show that if the 
oleo people want to sell their product for just what 
it is, those words “U. S. Inspected and Passed” would 
help them, being an advertisement of quality. It is 
also easy to see that with those words on the package 
it would be harder to sell the oleo as a counterfeit of 
butter! The manufacturers are fighting against the 
enforcement of this rule, for the reason, evidently, 
that it will close another loophole through which a 
fraudulent sale of oleo might be made. This is a 
r ost important matter for dairymen, and every man 
who owns a cow should write at once to Secretary 
James Wilson at Washington and ask him to enforce 
this rule without fail. 
* 
There is no reason why any young man or woman 
of fair health should not obtain a fair education. 
Many of them will be obliged to practice rigid econ¬ 
omy and hard self-denial, yet that is really a part, and 
the best part, of an education. A young man with an 
empty stomach will not buy soda water and cigarettes, 
nor will he pay out a sweat-stained dollar for a 
merely ornamental education. An old man who has 
met with high success and worked up from the bot¬ 
tom writes us the following solid chunk of sense: 
When I see so much money wasted for what I consider 
useless education, it seems that more morals and less book 
knowledge would make a young man more successful in 
life. The determination to do everything thoroughly and 
correctly as best you understand it will give a man posi¬ 
tion when others fail. I knew a half-witted man some 
years ago; he asked my advice on what I thought would 
help him through life. I had taken his measure, and 
knew he had no mental ability. My advice was this: 
“You are strong and handy with the spade; dig ditches 
and post holes, and make up your mind that nobody shall 
beat you at the business.” He took my advice, and made 
a great success of the business, as everybody for miles 
desired his services. 
There is no college president in the country who 
can make a more sensible statement about an educa¬ 
tion. It is hard sometimes to know just what to do 
with the boy. We have little sympathy with the'idea 
that a boy should be sent through college because 
other boys go there and because it is the “proper 
thing” to do. With the great majority of young men 
a college education will be of little real use to them 
•unless they are willing to work for it. 
* 
There is not a farmer in New York who does 
not in some way feel the effects of our present meth¬ 
ods of nominating candidates. A few of them may 
think they gain a little by playing the game of politics, 
but the vast majority lose by it. Except in very rare 
cases the system of nominating through caucus and 
convention ends by putting officeholders out of reach 
of the people. Such men as State Senator Cassidy 
and Senator Wilcox knew that the people of their 
districts wanted that anti-gambling bill passed. They 
balanced the power of the people against that of poli¬ 
ticians, and decided that the latter were stronger, and 
voted against the bill. They were perhaps justified in 
their belief that under the present system the politi¬ 
cians would be able to renominate them, in spite of 
the feeling among the voters. If they bad been Obliged 
to submit to a primary election for their nomination 
they never would have dared defy public sentiment. 
No man can fail to see the danger in having office¬ 
holders feel that they are not responsible to the people. 
At any time a question of vital interest to farmers 
may arise. The politicians may oppose it, and if they 
should do so what chance would farmers have of ob¬ 
taining what they need if representatives are out of 
their reach ? The only hope for the common people 
lies in direct control of the law makers and law en¬ 
forcers. Our present system does not give that 
control. If, however, a candidate were obliged to 
submit to a primary election where every voter in his 
party could get a chance at him, better men would 
be nominated, and those who were elected would 
walk a straight line. We need this reform in New 
York. If is of special importance to farmers. They 
cannot properly defend themselves or use their power 
until they can reach public men directly. They can¬ 
not do this through the caucus and convention, but 
they can through a primary election. 
* 
We have received a long printed statement from the 
Smith Agricultural Chemical Company. This is the 
concern which, by injunction, has held up the Ohio 
State Board of Agriculture, and thus prevents the pub¬ 
lication of fertilizer analyses. On the other hand, the 
Attorney-General of Ohio has brought suit to annul 
the charter of the Smith Company. The concern ad¬ 
mits that it sells goods under the following names: 
Ohio Farmers’ Fertilizer Co., Abbot & Martin Ren¬ 
dering Co., Chicago Fertilizer Co., Hardy Packing 
Co. and Western Agricultural Co. We understand 
the Attorney-General claims that the object of having 
all these companies to sell goods from the same pile 
through different agents is to work up a fictitious 
competition. The Smith Company makes the follow¬ 
ing explanation : 
By having subsidiary or branch companies we are able 
to give a dealer the exclusive agency for the brands of 
one of these companies and another dealer can have the 
exclusive agency for the brands of another company, etc., 
thus establishing in each community, if desired, five agents 
instead of one, and at the same time protecting each 
agent in the right to the exclusive sale of his particular 
brands. 
There are of course a number of ways of whipping 
the devil around a stump. The Smith Company is 
charged with bribing an employee of the Board of 
Agriculture to “switch” or substitute good samples in 
the place of poor ones for analysis. In answer, they 
make the reply, very familiar to us, that when they 
once get into court they will prove this is false! 
As to the quality of the goods made by the Smith 
Company, as they have held up the Ohio figures, we 
cannot give the Ohio analyses. The Indiana Station 
has sampled these goods, and some of the figures 
appear on the next page. It looks as if they would 
run a close race with the Buffalo Company for the 
poorest official showing. No wonder these concerns 
offer to sell on private analysis! 
* 
The following letter comes from Long Island: 
I am given to understand that there are some milk 
bottie inspectors operating in this section, inspecting as to 
weight and measure of bottles. They are also charging five 
cents a bottle for the inspection. I would like to hear 
if this is a legitimate charge. As new bottles cost only 
from four to .six cents it seems very excessive. It cer¬ 
tainly is a strange way to collect for anyone’s work ; be¬ 
sides, it is no joke to pay full value for inspection of 
1.000 bottles. I have always supposed inspectors were 
paid out of Government or State funds. e. c. t. 
Such “inspectors” are probably frauds. We are un¬ 
able to learn of any such service for which such a fee 
is charged. Do not let them “inspect” anything— 
least of all any of your money until they show their 
authority. Do not be satisfied with a “badge,” but 
make the man show his license and a copy of the law 
under which he claims to work. If he is a lawful 
inspector he can show his credentials. As was stated 
last week, there are a number of fakers around trying 
to frighten people into having trees sprayed with 
some expensive material. All these rogues want to 
inspect is your pocketbook. They have no authority 
from the State to take your money, and you must 
not let them bluff you. Make them show their creden¬ 
tials before they crook a finger in handling your 
goods. It is possible that the men you speak of rep¬ 
resent the Department of Weights and Measures. 
That Department ought to know better than to make 
any such exorbitant charges. It will simply drive 
farmers back to the old practice of dipping milk. If 
the glass bottles are short the authorities should get 
after the manufacturer and dealers, and at any rate 
give full and ample warning before making any 
such charge. 
BREVITIES. 
Tiie robins got our cherry crop. 
Which do you prefer, a poor law or none at all? 
Corn seems to do better when planted on an acid soil 
than any other grain—with oats next. 
The little kingdom of Holland exports tulips and other 
bulbs to the value of nearly $3,000,000 per year. 
Tiie Garber pear! We want the opinion of those who 
have fruited it as to its quality and general desirability. 
We are told that crows scatter the seeds of poison ivy. 
We never knew those black rascals to do so much damage 
as they have this year. 
A California cow is said to earn $1.70 per day for her 
owner—more than is paid the milker. We have not yet 
seen the papers which fit this story. 
Take those high-testing cows. Will they or their de¬ 
scendants make more milk or butter on a ration which an 
ordinary farmer can afford than other cattle? 
A giant oak tree 60 feet high was recently trans¬ 
planted at Ampere, N. J. It was lifted from the hole dug 
around it by an electric crane, carried 600 feet over a 
specially built railroad spur, and then replanted. 
