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The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homea. 
Established. 1860. 
Published weekly by the Knral Ftibli«hln c Company, 409 Pearl Street, Kerr York. 
Herbert W. Ooujngwood, President and Editor, 
•John J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. P. Dillon, Secretary. 
Dr. Walter Van Fleet and Mrs. E. T. Rqylk, Associate Editors. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04, equal to 
8s. 6d., or SSt marks, or lO 1 ^ 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, liufc to make doubly sure we will make good any 
Joss to paid subscribers sustained by trusting any deliberate swindler 
advertising in our columns, 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. 
* 
Agricultural Commissioner R. A. Pearson wishes 
to obtain names of all the agricultural organizations 
in the State, with addresses of officers. Even though 
the operation be confined to a single town or com¬ 
munity every farmer’s club in the State should be 
on this list. If you belong to such a club, will you 
please see that the information is sent to Prof. Pear¬ 
son at Albany, N. Y. ? 
* 
We are told of a man who has been filling a silo 
for some years, and who now has a fair corn crop. 
He now says: “The price of cornmeal is so high 
that this year I shall not fill my silo, but husk the 
corn and grind the grain for feed!” We think it 
would be hard for this man to explain how he can 
get more feed out of the crop by husking and grind¬ 
ing. When made into silage the entire stalk will be 
eaten. When husked a large share of the stalk and 
most of the cob will be lost. We should say that 
the higher the price of corn the greater need of the 
silo. Far better use silage and buy bran, gluten or 
cotton-seed meal. 
* 
The “Royal Insect Destroyer” is the latest cure-all. 
This is taken from the circular: 
Guaranteed to destroy anything that harms the tree 
and make the tree healthy and thrifty. It is a powdered 
Compound to be injected in the trunk of the tree by 
boring a hole according to size of tree, and after treat¬ 
ment, plug the hole with a green plug or Grafting Wax; 
this the sap carries all through the tree, kills the insects 
and makes the tree healthy and thrifty. 
You pay $5 for the printed right to poke this stuff 
into your trees. That is—you do it while you are 
out of your mind. This old fake has more names 
than a Spanish grandee, and more lives than a cat 
for each name. There is nothing to it except losing 
your money! 
* 
Mr. H. E. Cook has been appointed dean of the 
agricultural school in connection with St. Lawrence 
University, at Canton, N. Y. This is a new de¬ 
parture—an experiment that will be watched with 
interest. It has become an accepted theory that the 
teachers and especially the heads at the agricultural 
schools should be educators and scientists—college 
men of long training. Mr. Cook does not pretend 
to be a scientist or a trained educator. He comes 
of a race of dairy farmers, and knows how to milk 
a cow, make butter or cheese and run a farm. He 
will, no doubt, frankly admit his limitations, and stick 
to the places where he is sure of his ground. After 
all, why should not the president of an agricultural 
college be able to do farm work? We may not ex¬ 
pect a preacher to practice his own precepts, a doc¬ 
tor to take the medicine he mixes for others, or an 
editor to follow the advice he freely gives—but it is 
a good thing when we begin to think that a man who 
teaches farming ought to be able to run a farm! 
* 
By the time this is read it will be about the last 
call to seed Crimson clover and turnips in the corn 
for a cover crop. The conditions under which we 
would not seed in this way is a dry season with the 
soil so lacking in moisture that it is doubtful if the 
corn alone can mature. In such case the clover and 
turnips will do more harm than good. Assuming 
that the soil is fairly moist we would sow one peck 
of clover seed and two pounds of Cow-horn turnips 
through an acre of corn, and cultivate or harrow 
the seed in. Why add the turnip seed? In some 
way which we do not understand subsequent crops 
always show where the turnips have grown and 
rotted down. While the turnip does not add plant 
food as clover does, it forms a good quantity of or- 
THE RURAL* NEW-YORKER 
ganic matter, and with its long tap root stirs up the 
lower soil. We also think the clover has a better 
chance to winter among the turnips than when alone. 
We keep on talking about this seeding because ex¬ 
perience has proven its value, and we see too many 
fields left bare through the Winter. North of Hart¬ 
ford, Conn., there is more than an even chance that 
the clover will be dead by Spring, yet the Fall growth 
will more than pay the cost. 
* 
We have given from week to week facts about the 
Smith Agricultural Chemical Co. and its conflict 
with the Ohio State Board of Agriculture. We have 
printed statements from Secretary Calvert in which 
he says that samples of the Smith goods analyzed by 
the best chemists obtainable were “universally and 
without exception” found to be “fraudulently infer¬ 
ior” from what was claimed. We have also given 
the figures from Indiana and other States. Now 
what does the Smith Company have to say in reply? 
They have filed an affidavit in which they state that 
this year they offered to sell their goods on a guar¬ 
antee. That 12 different chemists made 285 analyses 
of the goods. It is hard to see just what this has 
to do with the question. The charge has been made 
that in previous years the official records show that 
many of the Smith goods were inferior. If sus¬ 
picion of selling inferior goods rested upon a con¬ 
cern it would naturally be to their advantage, in 
fact their only salvation, to improve the quality at 
any cost. If these Smith goods make a better show¬ 
ing now than they did last year, it is a strong in¬ 
ference that the publicity given by the station an¬ 
alyses is responsible for it. The Smith Company 
then makes the following remarkable charge: 
Affiant further says that he has read the affidavit of the 
defendant, Thomas L. Calvert, and lhat it is in keeping 
with other public statements made by him that are mali¬ 
cious and false, particularly in his reference to the States 
of Indiana and Kentucky, and other places outside of the 
State of Ohio, where he claims that the plaintiff’s goods 
had been found defective. 
If this means anything at all it is a bitter .and 
foolish insult aimed at Secretary Calvert and the 
State Chemists of Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky and 
Pennsylvania. Mr. Calvert quoted word for word 
from the official reports of fertilizers analyzed in 
these States, yet the Smith Company call them 
“malicious and false!” We have had the following 
engraving made from page 82 of the Indiana report 
so that there can be no question about it: 
Ohio Farmers Fertilizer Co. Of the twenty^wo"brands Inspected’bear¬ 
ing the label of this company 15’ or 68% fall Into the “Not within 10%’’ 
column and only 2 or 9% equal In value the guarantee. Tnree of the 
brands are deficient in nitrogen and potash, the nitrogen Is one being 62% 
and in another 68% below the guarantee. Two are deficient in potash 
and avaUable phosphoric acid, the potash being respectively 55% and 62% 
and the available phosphoric acid 38% and 34% below the guarantee. 
Nine samples are deficient In nitrogen, one 68%. one 66%, one 62%, one 
68%, one 50% and three 37%. One sample is 70% below guarantee In 
potash and two samples 42% and 30% respectively below in available 
phosphoric acid. Five of the brands show a deficiency of $1.0082.00, 
six $2.00-83.00, two 83.00-84-.00, two $4.00-85.00, two $5.00-86.00 and two 
$7.00-88.00 below the value of the guarantee. 
Prof. Wm J. Jones, Jr., the Indiana State Chem¬ 
ist, says that the records of six firms "are so poor 
that special mention is considered advisable.” Out of 
these six firms four are branch companies of the 
Smith Agricultural Chemical Company! Anyone who 
can read may see what the chemists say, yet when 
confronted with the record, the Smith Company says 
that the statements of these honorable and competent 
men are “malicious and false!” Now what are the 
farmers of Ohio going to do about it? They have 
now seen the records from four States—three that 
touch Ohio and one just across the river, all of them 
showing low quality goods. The analyses for their 
own State are held up by the Smith Company. Do 
they imagine that this company would ever have tried 
to hold up the fertilizer law if the chemists of these 
four States had found the goods up to guarantee? 
Is there anyone silly enough to imagine that these 
four chemists have conspired against this particular 
company? The farmers of Ohio know better, and 
now that they have the facts they can force a set¬ 
tlement of this scandal in short order if they will 
use their power. 
* 
We ask you to read that letter from an Iowa 
farmer printed on the next page. All through the 
Central West farmers and country people are taking 
hold of public questions as they never did before. 
They are dominating public affairs, to the great ad¬ 
vantage of their private business and the public busi¬ 
ness as well. And they have learned how to do it in 
the simplest way by cutting out the politician and the 
boss and nominating candidates directly. The East¬ 
ern States are far behind the West in this, and our 
farmers must follow along the same line if they are 
ever to get what belongs to them. We all remember how 
State Senator Cassidy voted against the anti-gambling 
bills because a telegram came saying “John and 1 think.” 
There could not be a clearer illustration of the way 
the politicians rule New York. “John and I” rule 
the district, and they presume to do the thinking for 
August 8, 
Senator Cassidy and the voters as well. Under the 
present caucus and convention system such politicians 
as “John and I ’ arc actually able to say in advance 
just who will be nominated and what will be done. 
With a nomination made by direct vote “John and I” 
and others like them would find themselves very small 
political quantities, and the smaller they are made the 
larger the chance for the average voter. Most men 
when asked to take a new step in public matters want 
some sort of a “sign” before they begin. The eastern 
farmer will find all the signs he wants in every west¬ 
ern State where direct nominations have been tried. 
The system is needed in New York even more than 
in Iowa. Demand it and keep at it and we shall 
have it. 
* 
Do not buy a low-grade fertilizer for wheat seed¬ 
ing. By “low grade” we mean one containing about 
one per cent of nitrogen. Unless you can be assured 
by positive guarantee that this small amount of nitro¬ 
gen is available you take a good chance of paying 
18 cents or more per pound for unavailable nitrogen 
in peat, leather or coarse tankage. Such stuff will 
not help your wheat. It will depend somewhat upon 
your rotation, but if the wheat comes anywhere close 
to a clover sod or after potato 1 -: that were well fer¬ 
tilized the soil will be pretty well supplied with nitro¬ 
gen enough for the Fall growth. The great need for 
the nitrogen on wheat is in the Spring. Instead of 
buying low-grade nitrogen for Fall use it would be 
better to use potash and phosphoric acid in the Fall 
and nitrate of soda alone in the Spring. You can¬ 
not make too sure of the fact that the best way to 
avoid paying for worthless nitrogen is to buy the 
high-grade fertilizers. In order to guarantee four 
per cent of nitrogen the manufacturer is obliged to 
use the most soluble forms. He cannot work in peat 
and leather unless he makes low-grade goods. 
* 
Both Presidential nominees—Mr. Taft and Mr. 
Bryan—say they favor publishing the names of cam¬ 
paign contributors. Neither party should now evade 
the issue or keep back the facts. The people have a 
right to know who puts up the money to provide their 
political education. They will insist upon having 
their rights. Hereafter the men whose votes settle 
elections in this country will never shut their eyes to 
even a suspicion that a few interested men are pay¬ 
ing election expenses. They understand that no man 
puts up a large sum of money to elect a President 
unless he expects to get more out of it than he puts 
in. That insurance investigation was a great educa¬ 
tor. We all learned more than we liked about secret 
campaign contributions. The exposure of the Harri- 
man scandal showed more, and the people are dis* 
gusted at the whole story. Congress made a great 
mistake in voting down the bill compelling publicity 
of campaign contributions. Since Congress denied 
them the people will now make new demands upon 
the party managers. The names of contributors and 
the amounts they subscribe should be made public be¬ 
fore the election—not after it is over. That is the 
only way to avoid the sickening stories that one side 
or the other is trying to buy the election, or that 
interests which have long fattened upon the public 
are paying the expenses as an investment for the 
future. Men lose faith in their country and its insti¬ 
tutions when such charges stand unanswered. The 
only way to settle them is to let everyone know just 
where the money comes from and what is done with 
it. There are legitimate expenses connected with an 
election. Some of them require large amounts of 
money, and no one will call the expenditure of such 
money dishonest. During the past three elections 
vast sums of money have been collected by all sorts 
of secret schemes, and poured out in ways that would 
not look well in print. Both parties did this and 
both have lost respect and confidence because they 
did it. They will both find that the sentiment of the 
people has now so changed that this question of who 
pavs for the election will overshadow every other 
in importance. 
BREVITIES. 
To be sufficient it must be efficient. 
“Sweet are the uses of adversity!” The trouble is that 
most of us insist upon souring them. 
Any time is “flytime" for the “fly-by-night” dealers who 
get your goods on pretence of paying higher prices lhan 
others will. 
Dodder, dodder, curse of dodder—spoils the clover for 
seed or fodder. Surely the seedsman who leaves it in 
should be held up for his fraud and sin. 
The Board of Education has a strict rule for the new 
normal school in New Jersey. Students must agree to 
teach for at least three years or pay the State for their 
education. No marrying at once after graduation. 
Commissioner Pearson points out that under the new 
law the agricultural societies of New York “shall be 
deemed as agents for disbursing” the money appropriated 
by the State “for the promotion of agriculture and do¬ 
mestic arts.” 
