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THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 1850. 
Published weekly by the 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. 6d., or marks, or lO^ 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 subscrit>ers 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. 
* 
We offer this cash prize for the best 50,000 word 
story of American farm life submitted before Septem¬ 
ber 15. We want a story based on the sort of life 
and living which The R. N.-Y. stands for; a strong, 
natural picture of farm life and conditions. We will 
write you fuller particulars if desired. Manuscripts 
not winning prize will be paid for separately or re¬ 
turned, for which postage should be sent. This com¬ 
petition is open freely to all who may desire to com¬ 
pete, without charge or consideration of any kind. 
Prospective contestants need not be subscribers for 
The Rural New-Yorker in order to be entitled to 
compete for the prizes offered. 
* 
We use a peck of Crimson clover and two pounds 
of Cow-horn turnip seed per acre in the corn at last 
cultivation. This answers at least 50 questions from 
readers. 
* 
Prof. King gives an interesting discussion of the 
pranks played by electricity in that Philadelphia house. 
We have no doubt that in years past, or even to-day, 
such houses would have the reputation Qf being 
“haunted.” 
* 
The last Virginia Legislature appropriated the 
money for establishing an agricultural high school in 
each Congressional district in the State. The first one 
will be opened next September at Manassas, on the 
first battlefield of the Civil War. What a wonderful 
and hopeful growth of American history that fact 
proclaims! 
* 
The most unhappy people on earth—most deserving 
of pity—are those who have nothing to do. The idle 
rich and those who no longer face the responsibilities 
of life with worry and sacrifice form the meanest and 
most dangerous classes in the Republic. One of the 
greatest blessings that can come with gray hairs is the 
desire and ability to labor at some useful occupation. 
* 
On page 556 we stated that oleo is classed as a 
meat product and as such must carry a trade label. 
The oleo men objected to this and tried to get Sec¬ 
retary Wilson to permit oleo to go unmarked. The 
Secretary has refused their demand, so that hence¬ 
forth every package of oleo must be branded “U. S. 
Inspected and Passed.” This guarantees the purity 
of the oleo, but makes it harder to sell it for butter! 
* 
The patent fertilizer man is abroad in the land 
once more. It is the same old game. You are asked 
to pay $5 (or what the patentee thinks you will stand) 
for a “process.” This will enable you to make “the 
best fertilizer in the world” for $5 or less per ton! 
Centuries ago men went about claiming to be able to 
transmute the baser metals into gold. Our fertilizer 
lriend proposes to take a few cents’ worth of plant 
food and make it into many dollars’ worth. Don’t 
plant your $5 in his pocket. Let him alone! 
* 
The State Chemist of Indiana estimates that in 
1907 100,791 tons of fertilizer valued at $2,341,842 
were sold in that State. Of this amount 68,458 tons 
were “complete fertilizer”—that is, mixtures of nitro¬ 
gen, potash and phosphoric acid. If they were all 
of like quality with those mentioned in the last three 
issues of The R. N.-Y. the Indiana farmers paid at 
least $125,000 for plant food guaranteed them, but 
never delivered. A large proportion of this fertilizer 
is bought in the Fall for wheat seeding, and now is 
the time for studying the question right before buy¬ 
ing. We are always sorry to see a farmer buying a 
low grade fertilizer—that is, one with only about one 
per cent of nitrogen. . When he does this he is almost 
sure to get his nitrogen in the form of muck or 
coarse tankage or some inferior form that will do his 
crops little if any good. He will usually do better to 
buy the potash and phosphoric acid separate and buy 
nitrate, dried blood or tankage by themselves. 
* 
South America ought to “neighbor” more closely 
with us than with Great Britain, yet in Uruguay Eng¬ 
land’s interests include the ownership of all the rail¬ 
ways of the country, four of the most important banks, 
at least eight lines of ocean steamships, gas com¬ 
panies, insurance companies, docks, water works, tele¬ 
graph and telephones, commercial houses and two 
newspapers. The foreign trade of Uruguay is more 
than $60,000,000, of which we only get eight per cent. 
Poor mail and steamship facilities are given as the 
chief reasons for our failure to hold South American 
trade. 
* 
On July 25 there will be a Civil Service examina¬ 
tion in New York for candidates for Conductor of 
Fanners’ Institutes. This is open to men only. There 
will be a written examination on “agricultural condi¬ 
tions and requirements,” a thesis or essay and a 
record 'of personal qualification and experience. Ap¬ 
plication blanks may be obtained from the Chief 
Examiner, State Civil Service Commission, Albany, 
N. Y. There will be no Director of Institutes to 
succeed Mr. Dawley. The Institutes will be managed 
by the Commissioner of Agriculture, with frequent 
conferences by the various conductors. 
* 
For many years there have been announcements of 
new machines for picking cotton. All thus far have 
failed in practical test. The finger and thumb of the 
farm hand still supports the cotton growing industry. 
A new machine is now offered. It works on the 
vacuum plan, and is to suck the cotton from the plant 
through a hose, much like the principle of the ma¬ 
chines for cleaning carpets or floors. It remains to 
be seen what this machine will do. The principle 
seems a good one. Few people in the North are able 
to realize what a successful cotton picker would 
mean to the South. The colored farm hand would 
lose his monopoly, and production would be enor¬ 
mously increased. 
* 
Last week we told of a man who wants to make a 
specialty of growing Prizetaker onion sets for trans¬ 
planting. The seedsman sent him the wrong seed and 
hurt his trade. This seedsman simply offers to send 
him more seed without a guarantee of any sort! It 
must be clear to any man that such an offer amounts 
to little or nothing. How is the farmer to know that 
the new seed is any better than the old? The seeds¬ 
man will not even guarantee them true to name! 
Where everything depends on having the genuine va¬ 
riety and where the variety cannot be told when the 
plants are shipped, how can any seedsman expect a 
farmer to buy seeds and take all the risk? The 
blunder of a clerk in sending the wrong seed might 
mean a loss of hundreds of dollars to the grower. 
We do not know of any other business in which the 
seller would not be held at once liable for such loss. 
* 
The sentiment against those State Senators whose 
names we have printed so long grows stronger every 
day. They will have to play every political trick 
known to the game before they can be renominated, 
and even then they are likely to be defeated. Not 
one of them could ever be renominated by a popular 
vote of the members of their own party. It is doubt¬ 
ful if a single one would dare go before the people 
in this way. The voters understand that this is the 
best possible argument in favor of a primary nomi¬ 
nation law. Here we have a set of men who know 
they are not wanted by a majority of their people. 
They expect the politicians to nominate them, and 
they reason that the people will grumble a little and 
then turn in and elect them. Now it must be clear 
to any farmer that under such a system he is at a dis¬ 
advantage. 'There never can be anything like the old- 
time political power of the country town until the 
voter can influence the candidate directly. Just so 
long as the politician is more important than the peo¬ 
ple the latter will take a back seat. Under the present 
system they are about as far back as they can get. 
You cannot beat the politicians at their own game, 
because you have got to make a living by working 
for it. Your best hope is to get rid of the caucus 
and have a chance at the candidate directly. That is 
w'liat a primary nomination law will give you. The 
average man may say: “What can I do? I have little 
influence—I am only one of thousands.” You can do 
more than you think. Talk about the need of such 
July 18 , 
a law, study it, and wherever you go discuss it. 
That helps make public sentiment and that is what we 
must have before we can hope to have the law. When 
the English took hold of Egypt they found a nation 
of cowed, inoffensive people utterly unable to protect 
themselves. Within a few years there was an Egyp¬ 
tian army capable of defending their country. The 
credit was not due to the commanding officers, but to 
the sergeants and petty officers who took little squads 
of soldiers and drilled them. As Kipling says: 
‘‘lie drilled a brown man white, 
And lie made a mummy fight.” 
Now this primary nominations law will be made 
possible by just such men as you are working among 
your neighbors and friends, and showing them what 
it will mean to farmers. Show them how under the 
present system a politician always stands between the 
public man and the people. Then show them that if 
the people themselves can select the candidate he will 
be obliged to listen to them. 
* 
On page 592 is an interview with a practical dairy¬ 
man and breeder of purebred stock. He answers one 
of our questions with another: 
What in the name of common sense is the use of the 
State of New York paying out its money for premiums 
on dairy cattle when the real dairy cattle are excluded 
and only expressly bred and fitted “show” animals can 
stand a chance to win ? 
If anyone can answer that question we offer 
him the space required. It is a great mistake that 
there should be two types of dairy cattle—one for 
show purposes and the other for business. A man 
might have to mortgage his farm to buy one of the 
fat and smooth prize winners, but it would not be 
likely to pay up the mortgage for him at the pail or 
churn. We are convinced that the appearance of 
these show animals affects farmers as this breeder 
states. The great dairy State of New York should 
do better than that in educating dairymen in the 
value of pure blood. 
* 
A few weeks ago a reader asked a question which 
we submitted to the experts. They were unable to 
give a satisfactory answer, and we said so. Now 
comes a Massachusetts woman with just the experi¬ 
ence needed. She states her reason for offering it: 
Now insomuch as you have very kindly helped me sev¬ 
eral times, I can’t hear to have any of your people feel 
that you are ever unable to help them out in any experi¬ 
ment the farm may suggest, for that is the charm of 
farm life. 
Another side of the case is suggested in this note 
from Vermont: 
It has always seemed rather rude to me for intelligent 
persons to ask so many questions through the columns of 
papers. Since taking The II. N.-Y. and finding so many 
useful answers to sensible questions, my views are modi¬ 
fied greatly, and I have run up against a problem which 
so far I have not solved. 
These sensible questions are the most useful part 
of The R. N.-Y. They show us just what our friends 
want to know, help keep the paper original and bright 
and enable readers to offer their contributions of 
experience. It has been said that there is no problem 
of country life that cannot be started on the road to 
settlement by the experience of some one of our 
readers. We believe that is true. Our people know 
that we will respect their questions and their troubles 
and help them if possible. 
BREVITIES. 
Good health and a good job. That is the sum of human 
desire. 
A good way to furnish “molasses feeds” for the stock 
is to raise sorghum for fodder. 
“Stovepiping” a barrel of apples! Did you note what 
our correspondents say on page 567? 
The Tussock moth is doing considerable damage in the 
apple orchards of Western New York. 
One good friend says The R. N.-Y. has the spirit of a 
ripsaw. It is the power back of the ripsaw that gives it 
value. 
A correspondent on page 557 refers to “white imitation 
com.” We have met with something that tasted like imita¬ 
tion corn in city restaurants . 
Piute Indians for hired men, page 573. Is the noble 
red man a solution of the farm labor problem? The Puri¬ 
tans at Plymouth had the Indians at work within 25 
years after the settlement. 
J. II. Hale sends the following peach tip: “I would 
not advise thinning the Carman very much, as it is inclined 
to grow too large, and does not keep as well as they do 
where the trees are allowed to overload themselves and the 
fruit is rather under natural size.” 
We have known people to whip a child who gave evi¬ 
dence of being left-handed. Such people deserve a whip¬ 
ping themselves. The children cannot help it—the left 
side of the brain has developed ahead of the other. The 
elder who whips them has not brains left. 
Ip the man who makes two blades of grass grow where 
one grew before deserves well of his fellows, what is due 
the man who allows “paint brush.” wild carrot, wild pars¬ 
nip, etc., to go to seed on his farm, and so spread to tin* 
farms of his neighbors who are trying to keep their land 
clean?” 
