12 
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, Sew York, 
Herbert W. Collingwood, President and Editor, 
John J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. Dillon, Secretary. Mrs. E. T. Koyle, Associate Editor. 
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. 
Advertising rates 60 cents per agate line—7 words. Discount for tim< 
orders. References required for advertisers unknown to 
us; and cash must accompany transient orders. 
"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 swindle** 
advertising in our columns, and any such swindler will be publicly ex¬ 
posed. We protect 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 Thu Rural New-Yorker when 
writing the advertiser. 
TEN WEEKS FOR 10 CENTS. 
In order 1 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. 
* 
Right nozv is the time to get after your Congress¬ 
man ,about parcels post. The enemies of this measure 
see that the people are aroused and they are organ¬ 
izing as never before. The people must meet them 
out in the open. Do not bother with petitions or 
form letters, but get right after them in your own 
language—in black and white. 
* 
On page 1078 we paid our respects to the New 
England Mineral Fertilizer & Chemical Co. This con¬ 
cern has a high per cent of “guff” in its literature, 
while analysis shows mighty little plant food in its 
fertilizers as compared with the price. This company 
must not be confused with the New England Fer¬ 
tilizer Co. The goods mixed by this last-named house 
stood high in the report of the New York Experiment 
Station, and we believe it is doing an honorable busi¬ 
ness. A geographical name cannot be registered or 
copyrighted, so these “mineral” people cannot be pre¬ 
vented from using what belongs to the other concern. 
* 
If all limestone were alike the question of what 
form of lime to buy would be easy. We could figure 
that 100 pounds of limestone contains 56 pounds of 
lime, and the same weight of slaked lime 75 pounds, 
and figure from the quoted prices which gave the 
cheaper pound of lime. But limestones vary greatly 
in composition. In Connecticut there are deposits 
which vary from 23 to 55 per cent of lime, and it is 
doubtful if, when crushed, the average buyer could 
tell which was better. The trouble in buying ground 
limestone is that unless you can have a positive guar¬ 
antee of the per cent of lime you are quite likely to 
get something hut little better than road dust. There 
is less risk in buying burned lime, for you are more 
likely to get a guarantee, and the lime dealers would 
be less likely to burn a low-grade stone. We believe 
it is possible to practice great frauds in the sale of 
limestone unless a strict guarantee is given and sam¬ 
ples are analyzed. 
* 
There is abundant evidence that the express com¬ 
panies see the writing on the wall at last. Stock¬ 
brokers all over the country find that small blocks of 
express company shares are being offered quietly. 
Formerly there were few of such sales except where 
interested parties sold to each other in order to record 
a high price. The present effort to sell stock is 
different. It seems like a genuine case of trying to 
unload while the price is good. During the prohibi¬ 
tion campaigns in Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee and other 
States there came a time when brewers and distillers 
saw that the fight was against them, and they began 
to offer their stocks in just this way. Stock brokers 
who watched the market knew that these brewery 
stocks were being unloaded because the brewers knew 
their day was done. These brokers size up the offer¬ 
ings of express stock in the same way. The express 
companies now see that the public is aroused as 
never before, and that parcels post will surely come 
in time. That will mean death to their hold-up 
monopoly and extortionate profits. If they can work 
their stock off on farmers tfiey will do it. It is 
hard to think of anything more pigheaded than the 
action of these express companies. They might have 
killed off much of the demand for parcels post had 
they been willing to offer fair rates for their ser¬ 
vice.. Instead of that they have done all they could 
by boldly holding up the public to feed the flame for 
better mail privileges. Give a hand of squirrels a 
THE RURAt NEW-YORKER 
bushel of corn and they will carry a share of it away 
to hide for their Winter store. Give it to hogs and 
they will eat all they can at once and trample the rest 
into the mud. The express companies lack the in¬ 
stinct of the squirrel, and must now stand up and 
face the frost. 
A GREAT POLITICAL OPPORTUNITY. 
The Democratic party in New York is on trial. 
For the first time in 18 years it has elected a Gover¬ 
nor. Both branches of the Legislature are also 
Democratic, thus gaining the privilege of electing a 
United States Senator to succeed Mr. Depew. This 
has not come about so much through the over¬ 
powerful sentiment of confidence in the Democratic 
party and its candidates as in protest against the 
corruption of the Republican party of the State, de¬ 
veloped through near a score of years of continuous 
power. If the party in power devotes itself to the 
interest of the people without regard to partisan poli¬ 
tics, the party of Tilden may again establish itself 
in the confidence of the voters and receive a renewal 
of its present commission from the people. It can¬ 
not do this in any other way. 
The danger to the Democrats is in the political 
hacks and selfish politicians that always surround a 
new leader in a mad scramble for position. These 
office seekers have no concern for the success of the 
administration and still less regard for the interests 
of the people. An opportunity to live on the expense 
of the public is their conception of the functions of 
public service. Another danger to the new adminis¬ 
tration is the persistent demands and seductive plead¬ 
ings of the railroads and other corporate interests 
for a place for their representatives in governmental 
places. The new administration in New York is beset 
with both these elements. Therein lies its greatest 
danger. When the people of Long Island sought re¬ 
dress from the exactions of the Pennsylvania Rail¬ 
road, which controls the transportation privileges of 
the Island, it was Edward M. Shepard who opposed 
the interests of the people at Albany. Now, be¬ 
cause of his great ability as a lawyer, he is urged 
as *a candidate for the United States Senate. And, 
lamentable to relate, the other candidates pressing 
for the position give him the advantage of a had 
preference. Many of the satellites pressing for ap¬ 
pointive positions by the Governor are of the same 
general type, until it has got to a point where strong, 
clean men, jealous of their reputations, hesitate to 
allow the use of their names for the positions. This 
state of affairs in the situation is not new. It is not 
peculiar to one party or another. Every new ad¬ 
ministration has these conditions to meet. The suc¬ 
cess of the Democratic party in the State will de¬ 
pend on the skill of Governor Dix and his ad¬ 
visers in the party to put these claimants aside and to 
select for the State and national service men solely 
because of their fitness for the service, and especially 
qualified because of their freedom from association 
and contamination with financial systems and cor¬ 
porate interests. Upstate we hear a great deal about 
the corruption of Tammany Hall. The R. N.-Y. has 
no apologies to make for that institution. But truth 
compels us to say that it never made a record for 
barefaced corruption that could compare with the 
upstate political machine of the Republican bosses, 
kept in power by the votes of farmers during recent 
years. It was never in a position to put through 
corrupt deals without combining with these Republi¬ 
can politicians. Tammany Hall has an opportunity 
now to put that machine to shame. Its influence is 
strong with the new administration. Let that in¬ 
fluence be used to set aside the claims of the Shep¬ 
ards, the Sheehans, the Crams, and the Gradys, and 
to call into service men with a clean record and high 
sense of public duty. Let them cut out the corpora¬ 
tion lawyers and hack politicians for once and send 
a strong, clean, broad-minded business man or farmer 
from upstate to represent New York in the National 
Senate. The people of the State would be quick to 
approve a policy of this kind, and if followed in 
other matters an accidental lease of power would 
become a permanent commission from the people to 
the Democracy of the State and nation. The people 
of New York have come to the point where they de¬ 
mand cleaner public service, and do not much care 
which party gives it to them. 
* 
Our western friends are slow to enter that pro¬ 
posed corn-growing contest. Our proposition was for 
a number of growers in the West and an equal num¬ 
ber in the East to select an acre or a few acres of 
land and grow a corn crop in any way they please. | 
They are to use any amount of manure or fertilizer, 
and any culture they like, provided they keep an ac¬ 
curate account. The yields are to be supervised and 
determined by an exact scientific method, and the 
January 7, 
value figured at local prices for grain and fodder. 
We wanted a square business contest between rich 
western corn land and such soil as is found in New 
England. We supposed the western men would be 
first to enter such a contest, but thus far only one 
lias offered. We can safely promise 100 New Eng¬ 
land corn growers if needed. Thus far the western 
men say that small fields of one acre or a few acres 
are mere playthings and not in their line. We think 
they can be accommodated with 10 or 20 acre fields 
if they will come into the contest. There are some 
large cornfields in New England ready to be matched 
against similar fields in the West. Where are the 
western corn growers? 
* 
You will remember the discussion with Senator 
Burrows, of Michigan, over parcels post last year. 
Michigan people began to stick a few stamps on the 
Senator. At first he paid no attention, but the stamps 
kept coming. Then he talked “careful consideration,” 
but that only brought more stamps. Then Mr. Bur¬ 
rows saw that he must do something, and he actually 
introduced a bill to try parcels post on two rural 
routes! In the primary election held in Michigan 
last Summer Mr. Burrows was defeated as a candi¬ 
date for the Senate. Congressman Townsend was 
selected, and in response to a question of where he 
stands on parcels post, Mr. Townsend says: 
I have your favor of the 13th and you may bo sure 
that I shall favor a rural parcels post to the limit of my 
ability. I am on record in behalf of it in my announce¬ 
ment for United States Senator, and I have appeared 
before the committees hero in its favor, and I shall be for 
it on every proper occasion. 
Sincerely yours, 
CII AS. E. TOWN SEN D. 
Score at least one for primary nominations. Had 
there been no primary in Michigan the chances are 
that Mr. Burrows would have been returned in spite 
of the fact that a large ^majority of the people did not 
want him. If we had held a primary in New Yo.rk 
last year the question of Senator would have been 
settled. As it is a handful of politicians are now 
deciding this question as if they owned the State. 
* 
“We do not consider this any of your - Imsi- 
ness! 
We do not know how familiar you are with appro¬ 
priate adjectives, but you may use the strongest one 
you know and will then have what we receive a 
dozen times a week. This opinion generally comes 
from gentlemen who have refused to settle with some 
of our readers. Sometimes it is for one thing and 
sometimes another, but the man who owes the money 
generally thinks he has hold of an easy mark who 
cannot protect himself or do much more than com¬ 
plain. When these complaints are sent us they are 
investigated carefully. In some cases there is merely 
a difference of opinion and no attempt to do any in¬ 
justice. These cases are easily settled. In others it 
is evident that one party, is trying to avoid paying a 
just debt or obligation. In such cases we make it our 
business to help our readers, and the first step is to 
approach the debtor in a fair and courteous way, sug¬ 
gesting a settlement. That is where we often get the 
opinion quoted above. Then it becomes our duty to 
explain where we get our authority for coming into 
the game, and as a rule we think these gentlemen 
understand before they get through. We had a case 
not long ago of a seed dealer who, it was evident, 
had compelled a farmer to pay for nearly 100 pounds 
of seed which was never delivered. The corre¬ 
spondence went to the point where this dealer "de¬ 
clined to receive any more letters from us.” We told 
him that would satisfy us, and save time and post¬ 
age, but that the whole story would he told in The 
R. N.-Y. Within 48 hours he came hack still denying 
our right to discuss the case, but saying that if we 
would postpone the printing awhile he would “take up 
the matter again” with the farmer! That is the un¬ 
printed history of hundreds of cases. We do not 
know of any better work that a farm paper can do 
for its readers. We do not worry about the “author¬ 
ity”—when it seems necessary to do so we walk right 
into such little games and take a hand. 
BREVITIES. 
If it is not in ‘‘The Business Hen”—ask for it. 
The "novelties” do not seem quite so novel this year. 
There is said to be a revival of the windmill for pump¬ 
ing power in England. 
The husband of the "Business Hen” is worth consid¬ 
ering. His crow indicates his courage. 
We would rather help any man along than club him, 
and we want to give them what they deserve. 
The woman who on page 16, started in to tell the 
truth about her hen business has our sympathy and ad¬ 
miration. If she will give us the cold facts and figures 
just as they are and submit them for analysis, it will 
make one of the most useful poultry "systems” over 
systematized. 
