500 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
April 15, 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FA TIMER'S PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established. 1850. 
Publilhed weekly by the Rural Publishing Compnny, 409 Pearl Street, New York. 
Herbert W. Collingwood, President and Editor, 
John J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. Dillon, Secretary. Mrs. E. T. Hoyle, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04, equal to 
8s. 6d., or 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 00 cents per agate line—7 words. Discount for timi 
orders. References required for advertisers unknown to 
us; and cr.sh irust 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 
ioss 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 Thk 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. 
* 
Mail matter recently reached England bearing the 
following postmark, “First Aerial Post, Allahabad, 
1911.” The postal authorities in India established an 
aerial post in order to show what a flying machine 
can do in carrying messages to a beleaguered town. 
Letters and post cards are carried and can thus be 
quickly delivered over mountains or lakes. This is 
the first use of the flying machine in the mail service. 
Think of it, while Indian mail is flying, parcels post in 
this land of the free crawls with ball and chain on 
its leg. 
* 
In the Canadian Northwest the contractor who was 
building a railroad found Winter suddenly upon him. 
Snow came on so rapidly that it was impossible to 
work, and he was left with a gang of idle, hungry 
men, brought there under promise of good food. He 
proposed to feed them on what is called “a stick and 
a track.” That is, he handed a hungry man a stick, 
‘■•bowed him a rabbit track in the soft, deep snow, and 
told him to hunt his meat. These "back to the land” 
boomers (land agents and “high-browed” thinkers) do 
not offer the clerks and broken-down business men 
much more substantial food than “a stick and a track.” 
Ofttimes the track on which the city men is started is 
more visionary than that of a rabbit in the snow. Some 
of these men may think we are cruel in throwing cold 
water on their farm dreams, but most of them would 
need to show twice the energy and judgment they have 
yet shown in order to make a living on a farm. 
* 
Throughout the North this is a hard season for 
“cover crops,” especially for Crimson clover. A cold 
and windy March is the most trying season for this 
crop. The plants are lifted out by the roots—and that 
ends them. Wheat has suffered in the same way, but 
rye is a tougher plant and is generally in better shape. 
■Some farmers do not appreciate the value of rye in 
such a season as the last one. With us it was too 
dry to start clover or vetch in time to get a paying 
growth, but rye, seeded late, came on and covered the 
ground. The farm is now green with it. We can plow 
it under for green manuring or let it go to straw and 
grain. We believe that vetch is the coming cover 
crop—in several ways superior to Crimson clover. 
That is why we give so much space to it. The crop 
has been of great value to many farmers. We are 
here to help extend values when we can. 
* 
What are the facts about imports of cream into this 
country? We have seen half a dozen different state¬ 
ments. President Taft told Congress that the amount 
was 731,761 gallons, worth $577,698. We find that 
this was for the year ending June, 1910. The last 
tariff bill went into effect in August, 1909. At this 
time the tariff on cream was reduced to five cents a 
gallon. We have been informed that this was the 
result of a clerical error, the tariff makers intending 
to make it five cents a pound. The effect of this tariff 
reduction was not noticed, particularly until 1910, when 
American butter makers found that they could go 
over the line and buy Canadian cream cheaper than 
American cream would sell for. The figures given by 
President Taft cover scarcely six months of imports 
due to the lower tariff. In the eight months since 
last June this country has imported 1,921,939 gallons 
of cream, valued at $1,543,759! Practically all of this 
came fropi Canada. Thus in eight months after this 
lower tariff got into good working order this country 
imported nearly three times as much cream as Presi¬ 
dent Taft told Congress Canada sends us in a year. 
This is only a beginning of the stream which will 
follow, in fact the Boston milk contractors have already 
started to cut down the price of milk to producers. 
* 
“When you buy a farm you buy a job; no more! 
It’s up to you to make good or poor wages!” j. d. 
If we were czar we would see to it that every 
“back to the lander” had that as a motto in large 
letters where he would be obliged to read it twice a 
day. It is true. There are still some hopeful souls 
who think the mere act of moving to a farm will in¬ 
sure them competence and home. Read the stories 
we are printing from people who have struggled to 
make a home on the land. They had no dress parade, 
hut a fight. Possibly you think you are smarter, or 
that in same way Nature will deal you better cards 
in the game of country life. Our advice is to get over 
that idea before you start. But do understand this: 
These men who worked hard and won a home through 
their labor have gained the noblest job that life can 
offer. It came hard to conquer the land and make it 
yield a living and more—but it was well worth while. 
* 
The New York State Legislature finally broke the 
deadlock which had existed for three months and 
elected Judge James A. O’Gorman as U. S. Senator 
to succeed Chauncey M. Depew. The R. N.-Y. had 
hoped that the leaders of the Democratic party would 
go up State and select a farmer or strong business 
man with farm interests for this position at this time. 
We hoped that the party might seek the man for the 
service rather than accept the man who sought the 
place. The dream was altruistic, but it came half 
true. Judge O'Gorman did not seek the position. It 
came to him unsought, and while no man could de¬ 
cline such an honor, the acceptance in his case was 
not without sacrifice. 
The election of Judge O'Gorman has been received 
with different emotions by the varying exponents of 
party expression. Those who held up the hands of 
the insurgents who caused the deadlock praised the 
new Senator and called it a victory for the opposition 
to Tammany Hall. Others called it a complete sur¬ 
render of the insurgents and the triumph of the 
Tammany organization. The impartial analyst saw 
in it a happy solution of a difficult situation. The 
majority went into the party caucus with their modern 
Cincinnatus, not from the plow, but from their own 
membership, and not only preserved the principle of 
majority rule, but the dignity and privilege of party 
control. The insurgents defeated the first choice of 
the majority and demonstrated the independence of 
county representation. The State profited in the se¬ 
lection of an honest and able representative. 
Judge O'Gorman has been on the Supreme bench 
in the First Department for the past 11 years. Pre¬ 
vious to that he served for six years as judge of the 
Municipal Court. Few men have enjoyed greater dis¬ 
tinction as a jurist among his associates, as a lawyer 
among members of the bar, or as a man among his 
neighbors and friends. His most conspicuous service 
as a jurist was probably rendered in the hearing of 
the franchise tax cases, which resulted in the collec¬ 
tion of some $40,000,000 of back taxes and a great 
saving to the city and State. For ability Senator 
O’Gorman will measure up well with his associates in 
the U. S. Senate. As a man of integrity and high 
ideals, he will have no superior. If he were a farmer 
we could ask nothing more; but he has already an¬ 
nounced his position in favor of parcels post, and we 
hope to find him later on the right side of the agri¬ 
cultural interests. He goes to Washington with bright 
prospects for the continuation of a useful and brilliant 
career. 
* 
No doubt tlie “corn contests” have helped wake up 
the interest in corn growing. Some of the reported 
yields are so large that people may well ask what it 
was that was measured, what is “corn” anyway? We 
are through talking about milk, as if all specimens 
were alike. We know that they run all the way from 
less than two per cent to six per cent fat—the latter 
being worth about three times as much as the former. 
The same with “corn.” When we hear that some man 
produced 150 bushels of corn on one acre it is time to 
go after him just as they are chasing those $12 hens. 
Dr. Jenkins, of the Connecticut Experiment Station, 
has been doing this very thing. He found that the 
plan was to weigh the husked ears in the Fall and 
then figure that 70 pounds of ears would make a bushel 
of shelled corn. It was found that some of this corn 
contained over 20 per cent of water. Five samples 
varied from 16 to 22.22 per cent. Anyone can see the 
folly of comparing such specimens of corn as if they 
were just alike, or of calling any of them dry corn. 
In order to make these samples even 30 pounds of 
ears were dried and shelled so that each sample con¬ 
tained 14 per cent of water and no more. They were 
then alike as “corn,” and 56 pounds was taken as a 
bushel. Now see what a difference this made. The 
first column gives the yield as figured at a “corn con¬ 
test” while the other shows the actual corn. 
70 lbs. ears 
to bushel. 
123.5 
110.0 
72.9 
120.0 
116.0 
56 lbs. shelled 
corn to bushel. 
63 
90 
68 
104 
90 
So that hereafter when a man comes forward with 
a big corn record we would like to know how many 
pounds of extra water there are in a bushel. We can 
raise water with a pump—no use paying a cornstalk 
to do it. 
* 
And now this celebrated Guernsey cow case is com¬ 
ing to a head. After repeated calls for Missy of the 
Glen to “come back," Mr. Hammond, the lawyer who 
secured that famous injunction for Mr. Taylor, comes 
forward with a long statement. The first part of it is 
found on page 506. We are very glad to give Mr. 
Taylor a chance to state his case. What is the use, 
however, of all these words when a few pailfuls of 
milk right from the cow would settle the business for 
good, provided the milk was as fat as it should be? 
Granting that Missy cannot repeat the great record 
which we print on page 504, let the public see how fat 
her milk is right now. We venture to say that until 
some more of that nine per cent milk is made, openly 
and honestly, 95 per cent of our dairymen will refuse 
to accept the Supreme Court injunction, and regard 
that test with suspicion. Mr. Hammond’s statement 
gives us opportunity to review the test and examine 
that milk analysis. We shall come as near as we can, 
without actually milking Missy, to learning whether it 
is possible for a cow to give 1151.20 pounds of milk 
testing 9.07 per cent fat in 30 days after milking 11 
months! That is what every cow man wants to know. 
* 
It will be generally admitted that we chase after the 
fakes and frauds with a persistence which must often 
seem tiresome to them. We find it necessary to do this 
in order to give them their deserved punishment of 
publicity. Yet why not advertise the good as well as 
the evil in men? If publicity makes a stern punish¬ 
ment it may also be used as a fair reward. So we 
make no excuse for printing this letter: 
I was more tbau pleased with your kindly notice of my 
dear old friend J. S. Woodward. I, too, owe him a big 
debt of gratitude. When I was a poor boy just struggling 
to get hold of the science of agriculture, that I somehow 
had faith in, I read somewhere that J. S. Woodward had 
become rich farming, and that idea of “a rich farmer” 
stuck to me until, with a few hard-earned dollars, when 
17 or 18 years old, I made a trip out to Lockport and in¬ 
troduced myself to Brother Woodward and went plumb 
at him right off with this question : “1 hear you have be¬ 
come rich farming, Mr. Woodward, and I would like to 
know how you did it.” In his kindly way he took me in 
his buggy all about his farm, and showed me everything he 
was doing and how he did it, which was finally boiled 
down into this one bit of advice, which lie said he got from 
his father in his early days: “Jabez, never sell a load of 
clover, nor ever let one drive by your farm.” 1 am sure 
that first and leading advice from Mr. Woodward has been 
u large controlling fnetor in my farming operations. I 
have maintained a close personal friendship with him from 
that day to this and his kindly greeting of "John,” as he 
always calls me, when everybody else says "Hale” or 
“J. II.,” always gives me a mighty good feeling, and again 
I thank you for the kind words you have for oue of the 
original big agricultural men of America. J. h. hale. 
Connecticut. 
BREVITIES. 
The sweet-tongued rogue is a sugar beat. 
There are six experiment stations on the island of 
Madagascar. 
Raw potatoes at this season help the cows. Cook 
them for hogs. 
A German experiment in keeping seed potatoes is to 
pack them in crushed coke. 
No one seems to come forward and find fault with 
Mrs. Houdan for claiming to be the “frost-proof lien.” 
In Holland street refuse is to be ground and crushed 
into bricks with tar and used as fuel for public heating. 
If you cannot grow Alfalfa and the clover did not 
catch, oats and peas will fill the hole up. Go and sow 
a good-sized patch. 
Every farm child should learn to know the lady- 
beetle and recognize it as a friend. No gentleman will 
destroy the lady-beetle. It kills thousands of plant lice. 
Great Britain imported last year $50,598,105 worth 
of fruits and nuts, of which $10,654,272 were for apples 
and $11,035,105 for oranges. It might well be twice as 
much for apples and still not enough to go around. 
A dozen big ragweeds growing close to a young tree 
may rob it of enough water to spoil its season's growth. 
Full these weeds and pile them around the tree and 
they hold moisture and give the tree a drink. You 
might call this the difference between a sucker and a 
succorer. 
March 1 the New York Milk Exchange reduced the 
price of milk to the producers, and immediately there¬ 
after a great “quick lunch” company in New York raised 
the price of “hot rice with cream” (very thin cream, 
loo), which is a favorite dish in such places, from 10 
to 15 cents. Just where does the “ultimate consumer” 
come in? 
