604 
THE .RU HAb NEW-YORKER 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homea. 
Established 1850. 
Published weekly by the Hnral Publishing Company, 409 Pearl Street, New Pork, 
Herbert W. Collin GWOOD, 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*9 marks, or 10 l a 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. We protect subcribers 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. 
* 
Given in cash for the best 50,000-word story of 
American farm life submitted before September 15. 
We do not want a statement of crops, a history of 
any particular farm or the biography of a farm— 
but a strong, interesting novel based upon some 
wholesome problem which country people will under¬ 
stand. Manuscripts not winning prize will be paid 
for separately or returned, for which postage should 
be sent. This competition is open freely to all who 
may desire to compete, without charge or considera¬ 
tion 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. 
* 
A few months ago Mr. J. Grant Morse wrote a 
brief history of the Jersey cow, and an argument 
for her as a dairy animal. This week we finish an 
article on the Ayrshire by C. M. Winslow. Later we 
expect to present the case for the Holstein, Guernsey 
and Short-horn. When a farmer is hunting for the 
best milk-making machine he ought to have the facts 
to guide him, so that he can make the cow fit into 
his conditions. 
* 
The American Jersey Cattle Club has issued a 20- 
page pamphlet entitled “The Case of the Expulsion 
of Frank E. Dawley.” As readers remember, the 
Directors unanimously voted to expel Mr. Dawley, 
but the proposition must be submitted to the members 
for voting. This pamphlet contains a strong and fair 
synopsis of the evidence upon which the Directors 
judged Mr. Dawley guilty. It substantiates every 
charge made by The R. N.-Y., and more besides, and 
our readers have already read the evidence. 
We are now informed that on July 14 the Smith 
Agricultural Chemical Company secured another in¬ 
junction against the Ohio State Board of Agricul¬ 
ture. The Board is prohibited from taking samples 
of the Smith Company’s goods, demanding license 
fees from them, or doing anything that will interfere 
with their business until the new Ohio fertilizer law 
is tested. Under the old law the Board for many 
years collected samples, had them analyzed and 
printed the analyses. The court decided against this 
law, and the Legislature at once passed a new law 
designed to make the Board a legal State institution, 
and to give it legal power to exercise fertilizer con¬ 
trol. It was clearly the intent of the people of Ohio, 
acting through their Legislature, to authorize this 
Board to do this fertilizer work, so that the Smith 
Company, by its action is combating the expressed 
wish of the people of Ohio, for no honest buyer wants 
fertilizers that are not subject to some sort of State 
control. Thus this contest has become of national 
importance, and the farmers of Ohio must settle it. 
* 
We hope you will read carefully the article by 
Mr. Lewis on page 508. He gives a very fair and 
conservative statement of the way the primary nomi¬ 
nation law works in Iowa. You will see that the 
result in Iowa promises to be just what we have 
claimed would happen in New York. At present 
the members of the Legislature and other public offi¬ 
cers know that they owe their nominations to the 
politicians. Therefore the people who do the voting 
have no chance to reach the candidates directly be¬ 
fore they get on the party ticket. We all know how 
hard it is to defeat an unworthy candidate after he 
is once nominated. True, there have been cases 
where, as in the case of Wadsworth, such a defeat 
has been brought about, yet had there been such a 
system of nominating as we advocate, Mr. Wads¬ 
worth would never have made the run on his party 
ticket. No one really believes that such State Sen¬ 
ators as Allds, Wemple, Cassidy or Wilcox could 
ever be nominated if it were left to the voters of 
their party to decide. It is doubtful if any one of 
them would ever attempt renomination if he knew 
the people had a chance to shoot their ballots straight 
at him. The country people of New York need many 
things which the Legislature should, in justice, give 
them. These things will never be given until the 
people have direct control of their representatives. 
Just as long as the politicians act as middlemen 
between the Legislature and the people, the latter 
will take the leavings. Every farmer who has re¬ 
spect for his calling should help push this primary 
nominations bill. 
* 
Under the New York law the managers of any 
county fair must forfeit their right to State funds 
if they permit any gambling or immoral shows on 
the ground. It is a good law, and ought to be en¬ 
forced. In the past few years, at several such shows, 
people have known that the law was violated, yet the 
money was drawn as usual. The excuse is that the 
managers did not know about such shows “officially.” 
You see the favorite idea is that when a man takes 
public office he cuts himself into two parts. As a 
man he may see a thing clearly, but unless some one 
goes through a lot of red tape lie never would know 
it was there —as an officer. Some years ago at the 
State Fair there was about the most indecent exhibi¬ 
tion that the immoral law allows. Several of us went 
to the managers about it, but you couldn’t get one 
of them to go near it —as an officer! Commissioner 
Pearson has now prepared a blank form which can be 
had at Albany or on any fair ground. Any citizen 
can use this to serve notice on the managers that 
any show or exhibit is unlawful. That will make 
the manager see it as an officer, and he must close it, 
if really offensive, or run the risk of losing his State 
money. 
* 
There are thousands of flocks and herds in this 
country which might increase their output by 20 per 
cent at a cost of not over five per cent. Take a 
dairy of 20 cows, giving a certain amount of milk or 
butter. By using a purebred bull of good pedigree 
and taking good care of the heifer calves, 20 daugh¬ 
ters or granddaughters of these cows could be made 
to produce one-fifth more milk or butter with five 
per cent increase of feed. Better than that, the 
beauty and quality of these improved cows would 
make the entire farm and all its methods better. 
We have seen this very thing happen—following the 
introduction of pure blood into a herd of good com¬ 
mon cows. For, when you really analyze the subject, 
you must admit that the theory upon which a pedigree 
is based is sound. Any man who is capable of ob¬ 
serving must see that the closer an animal is bred to 
a certain character or performance the surer his off¬ 
spring are to resemble him. A purebred animal can 
bring the surest thing in his breed to your herd. The 
excuse that you cannot tell when you buy pure blood 
will not answer. There never were more honest 
breeders in the country than right now, and there 
never was a sharper outlook for the breeding frauds. 
We can tell you where to go and get a reliable 
animal! 
* 
The following letter comes from New Hampshire: 
Although I have sworn off taking more papers these 
hard times, after a 10-weeks’ trial of your paper I feel 
that I owe it to myself to take such a fearless farmer’s 
friend. I like your honesty. You are not afraid to call 
a spade a spade. Farmers should stand by you, and they 
will. I will try to introduce your paper here. j. c. a. 
We know what a serious thing it is to tempt a man 
to break a rule of economy. We have, before now, 
made such a resolution, broken it, and found it a 
good investment after all. We shall try to make it 
so in this man’s case. As for calling a spade a spade, 
we have heard it called “an implement designed for 
the purpose of disturbing or turning up the ground 
or for conveying a small portion thereof.” Every¬ 
body who ever saw the soil knows what a spade is. 
They know other things, both good and evil, as well, 
and they don’t want any dodging or twisting when 
it comes to discussing these things. Every reader 
of The R. N.-Y. seems to be interested in pushing 
the paper along. Here is a little note from a Massa¬ 
chusetts reader which shows the spirit: 
I answered an advertisement of a farm in California, 
and my letter was put in the local paper of that place. 
And this lady wrote me a short letter, warning me of land 
sharks, and saying that it was not all nice, so I want to 
reward her in some way, so will send her the best farm 
paper that I know of. 
July 25, 
The wire fence situation is enough to make farm¬ 
ers desperate. There is hardly a place in the country 
where one cannot find woven wire fence only a 
few years old rusted out and hanging in strings. 
What is being done about it? When we took up the 
discussion a few years ago we were astonished to 
find that the authorities did not even agree as to 
what caused the rapid rusting of wire. Of course 
no one could tell how to prevent it until he knew 
the cause. Prof. A. S. Cushman has demon¬ 
strated that the rusting is caused by an electric 
action which is hastened by impurities left in the 
wire through careless or too rapid manufacture. He 
seeks for a remedy in two directions—a better qual¬ 
ity of wire and a paint or smear that will protect 
the wire better than the galvanizing does. A com¬ 
mittee of the American Society for Testing Materials 
is now testing different qualities of steel for fencing. 
A fence paint has also been worked out, and this is 
now being fully tested. It will take a long time to 
make sure of these things, but we have every con¬ 
fidence that the fence and the paint will come so as 
to save the awful tribute to rust which farmers are 
now paying. We do not believe that iron wire fences 
are practical, but iron nails are, and they should al¬ 
ways be used. 
* 
T here is no dairy authority in the country whose 
well-considered opinion will carry greater weight 
on any public question than ex-Governor W. D. 
Hoard, of Wisconsin. The following extract from 
Hoard’s Dairyman for July 3 is therefore peculiarly 
gratifying: 
The action recently taken by the American Jersey rattle 
Club in expelling F. E. Dawley for dishonest methods in 
selling Jersey cattle, is one which has brought a pang of 
regret and sorrow to the hearts of thousands of men who 
have known Mr. Dawley for years, as the Superintendent 
of the New York Farm Institutes, and yet we cannot see 
how the Club could do otherwise. The business of breed¬ 
ing registered cattle in this and every other country must 
depend on the absolute honesty and reliability of regis¬ 
tration records. Why Mr. Dawley should have resorted to 
such practices is a profound mystery. The Rural New 
Yorker has been the moving force in the prosecution of 
the investigation. That paper is becoming “a terror to 
evil doers.” 
It is a most righteous crusade, and The Rural New 
Yorker deserves at the hands of the agricultural press 
of the country the strongest kind of an endorsement. II. 
W. Collingwood, editor of The Rural New-Yorker, is a 
man who has convictions. The advertising page has not 
yet destroyed his manhood or quenched his courage in 
standing up for a ‘‘square deal.” 
Even before the Dairyman reached us we began to 
receive letters containing this clipping. Readers wanted 
to be sure that we saw what Hoard said. These letters 
came all the way from Maine to Kansas, with such 
comments as: 
“Good stuff!” 
“Every word of it true!” 
“Well deserved!” 
“I am glad Hoard said it!” 
“My sentiments exactly!” 
It is a great pleasure to know that earnest and 
sincere people think and say these things and we 
sincerely appreciate them. Our experience with this 
cattle case has convinced us that the great body of 
American farmers demand honest and honorable 
service from public officials, and we believe they are 
capable of enforcing the demand. With the con¬ 
fidence and backing of the American farmer it is pos¬ 
sible to carry through any worthy public enterprise. 
All that seems needed is to stick to it honestly and 
cheerfully, and the rest will come. 
BREVITIES. 
TIas anyone seen Totalo beetles eating wheat? 
That Texas onion mine mentioned on page 005 is worth 
a dozen average gold mines. 
We have said about all we can in favor of some lirinff 
crop in your field after the present ones go. 
No, we do not recommend crossing Rhode Island Reds 
and White Leghorns. You are likely to get a lot of homely 
chickens. 
It may he wise to carry over three-year-old strawberry 
plants under some conditions—but the rule does not follow 
with hens. Better make pie of the old birds when they 
fail. 
The latest hen story is about a biddy which got her feet 
in cement which hardened around them. Her owner made 
her comfortable with food and water and she kept on 
laying! 
The New York Experiment Station has found that by 
screening beds of cabbage plants with cheesecloth injury 
from root-maggots can he prevented. Frames of 12-inch 
boards were made and the cheesecloth tacked over them. 
Notice that bee question on page 504. The victims tell 
us that a daily encounter with a score or more bees, de¬ 
sirous of entering the bosom of the family, and all appar¬ 
ently suffering under a sense of injury, is exceedingly try¬ 
ing to feminine nerves. 
Weather in the East has been favorable for Potato 
beetle development, and there is sure to he a late crop. 
Even though the potato vines are past injury it will 
pay to Paris-green the late bugs. Neglect of this will re¬ 
sult in saving a large supply of seed for next year's bug 
crop. 
