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THE? RURAL NEW-YORKER 
January 27, 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER 
A National Weekly Journal for Country anti Suburban Home* 
Established isso 
Published weekly by the Rural Publishing Company, 409 Pearl St., Ncw York 
Herbert W. Comjnowood, President and Editor. 
Joh: J. Dillon, Treasurer and Goneral Manager. 
Wsl P. Dillon, Secretary. Mrs. E. T. Hoyle, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union. $2.(M. equal to 8s. 6d., or 
8;4 marks, or 10><f francs. Remit in money order, '-npress 
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 time 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 respon¬ 
sible person. But to make doubly sure we will make good any loss to paid 
subscribers sustained by trusting any deliberate swindler advertising in our 
columns, and any such' swindler will be publicly exposed. We protect sul>- 
scribera against rogues, but wc do not guarantee to adjust trifling differences 
between subscribers and honest, responsible advertisers. Neither will we be 
responsible for the debts of honest bankrupts sanctioned by the courts. 
Notice of the complaint mist be sent to us within one month of the time of 
the transaction, and you must have l lentioned The Rural Nkw-Yorkkr 
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. 
* 
New Yorkers think Southern Canada quite far 
north, but we hear of a florist in New Ontario, 400 
miles north of Toronto, who is raising Chrysanthe¬ 
mums, roses and carnations of unusually high qual¬ 
ity. New Ontario, almost an unknown territory ten 
years ago, is producing some of the finest vegetables 
and cereals grown in the Dominion. 
* 
We have had many calls for information about 
these farms which the State of New York will offer 
for sale. They were acquired through foreclosure of 
United States Deposit fund mortgages. There are 
250 parcels of land in 45 counties. The State Comp¬ 
troller, Mr. Sohmer, tells us these farms will be sold 
at public auction after a full advertising. Lists are 
not yet ready. The State should give the widest ad¬ 
vertising, for home-seekers will be likely to pay most 
for the land. 
* 
We have this suggestion for speakers at farmers* 
institutes. When you come to a town of fair size, 
go' quietly to the store and buy like a regular cus¬ 
tomer a half peck of apples or potatoes, a pound of 
meat or anything which the people buy at retail. Be 
fair and do not get a high or a low bargain, but just 
what the consumers pay. Take the goods right to the 
institute and figure out the producer’s share. No 
more popular thing can be done than this, and it will 
help solve the “consumer’s dollar” question. 
* 
One of our readers in New Jersey wanted informa¬ 
tion regarding compensation when sheep are killed by 
dogs. The town authorities were going by a law 
passed abouf 30 years ago. They did not know this 
law had been changed. At the last session the New 
Jersey Legislature enacted that the money collected as 
dog tax shall be used to make good any damage 
through the destruction or wounding of “sheep, lambs, 
domestic animals or poultry.” This applies to all 
civic divisions except cities. As will be seen, this in¬ 
cludes poultry killed or injured by dogs and would 
probably include cats! When a person sustains such 
damage he must have his loss appraised and certified 
and then submit the account to the governing body 
of his town. This law now seems clear and brings 
the damage right home to dog owners. 
* 
I hope Virginia may be saved from the inflated values of 
orchard lands in some parts of the West, and from the 
horde of speculators that have fattened there on the 
money of gullible Easterners. During the past four years 
most of the money in some Western fruit sections has 
been made by selling orchard land and orchards to people 
from the East, rather than in raising fruit. In other 
words, it has been more of a real estate proposition than 
fruit growing. I hope we may be spared a similar fate in 
Virginia. 
That is part of what Prof. S. W. Fletcher of 
the Experiment Station said at the Virginia State 
Horticultural meeting. He referred to the proposi¬ 
tions for selling “unit” and colony orchards which are 
being exploited. It does us good to see a public man 
come out flat-footed and square in this wav. We do 
not see why public institutions supposed to be w®rk- 
ing in the interests of agriculture should not speak 
out when the people need warning. Far better do this 
than to dodge into silence or even to try to give some 
little character to the fakes and promoters. The audi¬ 
ence at that Virginia meeting applauded Prof. 
Fletcher. They were practical growers, and they 
knew that what lie said is true. 
In regard to parcels post I wrote the two Maryland 
Senators. Isidor Rayner and John W. Smith, and the 
Representative from my own district, the Fifth. John W. 
Smith made no reply. Isidor Rayner replied as follows: 
•‘I have received your letter, and will gladly give my 
attention to the matter you write me about when it reaches 
the Senate.” 
Thomas Parran replied as follows: 
“Yours of the 8th to hand. I do not see any reason 
Why I should not support the bill to which you refer, how¬ 
ever. it will receive mv careful consideration when it comes 
up.” 
These look to me as though there was very little enthu¬ 
siasm in the Maryland Congressmen for the parcels post. 
I respectfully suggest that you call the attention of Mary¬ 
land readers to this state of affairs and urge them particu¬ 
larly to assist their Congressmen to a definite affirmative 
attitude towards the bill. e. c. m. 
Maryland. 
It gives us more pleasure than we have the space to 
fully express to do so. We hope our Maryland read¬ 
ers will make life a burden to those public gentlemen 
until they wake up and cut out “careful consideration.” 
They will not do it until they feel obliged to, and 
nothing will fix the obligation hut drops of ink at 
the point of a pen. Get right after them and state 
plainly what you want. We are glad to name one 
Maryland Congressman who does not need this 
punching in ink. David J. Lewis of the Sixth district 
goes the limit for parcels post. Back him up! 
* 
It has been generally understood for some time 
past that Gov. Dix would appoint Calvin J. Huson 
to succeed Raymond A. Pearson as New York Com¬ 
missioner of Agriculture. On January 16 public an¬ 
nouncement of the appointment was made. Mr. Pear¬ 
son, in resigning the office, stated thet lie wished to 
visit Europe to make a study of agricultural condi¬ 
tions. In accepting this resignation Gov. Dix paid a 
high tribute to Mr. Pearson’s administration. It was 
undoubtedly the desire of many of our best farmers 
and of strong organizations that Gov. Dix should re¬ 
appoint Mr. Pearson. It became evident, however, that 
political considerations would make this inexpedi¬ 
ent. Mr. Pearson goes out of office with the respect 
of all who have had dealings with the Department. 
He entered upon his duties under most trying circum¬ 
stances, and handled a hard situation with judgment, 
tact and sound ability. Not a breath of scandal has 
touched his work, and the Department is far stronger 
and more effective than ever before. Mr. Huson, the 
new Commissioner, lives in Yates County. He is a 
lawyer by profession and conducts a 300-acre farm. 
He is master of his Pomona Grange" and strongly 
identified with live stock breeding interests. Mr. Hu¬ 
son is Avell qualified to give a strong business-like ad¬ 
ministration of the Department. We hope he will 
keep it out of politics and make a feature of the plain 
business side of farming. 
* 
The sensation of last week was the suggestion 
from Postmaster-General Hitchcock that the Federal 
Government assume control of the telegraph system 
and conduct it as a part of the postal system. The 
plan would be to buy out the present telegraph com¬ 
pany at a fair valuation, and manage the business as 
a public function, as is done in England. It is said 
that President Taft does not endorse the plan, but 
we hope Congress will have a chance to act upon it. 
The first telegraph line in the country was operated 
by the Government for three years, and never rhould 
have been given up to private ownership. Under an 
old law the Government has the right to acquire the 
telegraph lines and operate them. In England and 
Europe the Governments exercise such power, greatly 
to the benefit of the people. The so-called “vested 
interests” could make no complaint if they were paid 
a fair price for their fixtures. It is doubtful if they 
ever had any “good will” for the public. Congress¬ 
man Lewis of Maryland has a bill before Congress 
to settle the parcels post problem in much the same 
way. He would buy out the express companies and 
simply continue their business as part of the postal 
system. Government control of telegraph and tele¬ 
phone service is a big proposition, but it is only a 
question of time before it must be worked out. The 
American people will not remain much longer taking 
the dust from every other civilized nation. 
* 
The most satisfactory business I have ever conducted is 
direct business through correspondence, hut the average 
nurserymen don’t know much about su h correspondence. 
I personally have customers with whom I have been doing 
business by mail for more than 30 years. They return 
and bring their friends with them. That is the idea and 
that is the foundation upon which to build for the future. 
That is from one of the most successful nursery¬ 
men in the country. We advocate direct business, 
and have for months asked the tree agent nursery¬ 
men to state publicly how our readers can obtain a 
better bargain for trees through their agents. W r e 
have had some 50,000 words in correspondence, hut 
not one such nurseryman has accepted the invitation 
to prove his claims in print. They say that our 
position is dictated by a desire to obtain advertising. 
That is very cheap talk, and they know it well. The 
subscriber comes ahead of the advertiser with us. 
People know it and that is why The R. N.-Y. will 
sell more honest, high-grade trees than any other 
paper in the country. The nurserymen themselves 
will endorse that statement. A tree agent visited a 
woman in Maine and obtained a signed contract for 
the following: Twelve Gano apple trees, twelve peach 
trees, three plum trees, six pear trees, eighteen rasp¬ 
berry plants. The price is $30, and the company 
will force payment if possible. By direct sale that 
outfit of trees and plants could have been bought for 
less than $10. As it stands, this is highway robbery 
pure and simple, and similar cases come to us by the 
dozen. One remedy for such theft is to encourage 
people to buy direct from responsible nurserymen, and 
in any event not buy of a stranger until they have 
consulted the State experiment station for price, varie¬ 
ties and dealer. If the honorable tree agent nursery¬ 
men have a better remedy we shall be glad to pub¬ 
lish it. 
* 
On page 101 we give a synopsis of the remarks of 
Senator Travis of the New York Legislature. Mr. 
Travis is chiefly responsible for the defeat of the Col¬ 
lin hill last Spring, and the criticisms freely expressed 
by farmers evidently rankled. When he sat down a 
little incident occurred thus described by the local 
papers: 
Rising from his seat, a raw-boned gentleman then started 
to speak. 
“Name, please?” asked the chair. 
“Why I’m Lew Shank, that cheap little mayor of Indian¬ 
apolis,” replied the man, “and I want to ask this man 
how it is that out in Indianapolis potatoes could sell for 
81.30 and I could buy plenty of them in carload lots and 
sell them for 80 cents at a profit and then the commission 
men found they could sell them below 80 cents and still 
make money ?” 
Mayor Shank concluded with the following little anec¬ 
dote : “Out where I live we have a commission merchant 
who came to town 15 years ago with two mule teams and 
two drunken drivers. Now he is worth over $200,000. 
There are only three ways to get money ; to have it given 
to you, to work for it or to steal. It never was given to 
this man and he certainly never worked for it. but it is 
far from me to say how he got it.” 
There are plenty of commission men who work- 
hard and put in long hours. There are honest men 
in the business who would like to see the fakes and 
snides cut out. They will have to admit, however, 
that they have not been able to clean the business up, 
nor can they do it as things now stand. A new and 
strong law, thoroughly enforced, is needed, and in 
private conversation a good many commission men 
will admit it. They ought to be able to understand that 
if State laws will not get down to justice in the com¬ 
mission trade, a stiff Federal law will surely follow. 
We are greatly rejoiced that the spirit of this Collin 
hill walked into that great Albany meeting and made 
itself felt. Now let us all get hack of such a bill and 
push it through the Legislature right up to Gov. Dix. 
BREVITIES. 
There are 5,301 ostriches In this country valued at 
$300 each. 
This thing of using Winter wheat flour In the Eastern 
States Is coming to be a vital one. We can help the price 
of our home grown wheat by eating the flour made from It. 
A good test of The R. N.-Y.’s ability to obtain informa¬ 
tion came in that call for help in feeding fish in a small 
pond. You will see that we got just what the enquirer 
wanted ! 
There is a question this week about the most profitable 
crops to grow on an acre of good muck land under over¬ 
head irrigation. We would like a discussion of this, for 
many are starting this plan. 
We heard of one farmer in Seneca Co., N. Y., working 
hard on a mortgaged farm, who sold his 1911 apple crop 
for $10,000, paid off his mortgage and started 1912 with 
comfortable working capital as a result of that one crop— 
but don’t let the baek-to-the-landers imagine it was a case 
of blind luck. 
Northern New Jersey is said to be overrun with skunks, 
and a bill is to be introduced into the Legislature placing 
a bounty upon their heads. After seeing an unostentatious 
skunk muff priced at 820 to 855 we cannot help thinking 
the bounty superfluous; northern New Jersey shows a 
spendthrift spirit in allowing so much portable wealth to 
roam at large. 
A case of pellagra, a little-known disease which has ap¬ 
peared in the South in isolated cases, is now reported in 
Northern New Jersey. Spoiled corn is the suspected cause 
of this disease, which has appeared most frequently in 
southern and western Europe. The case now under treat¬ 
ment in the Paterson hospital is said to be the first that 
has appeared in New Jersey. 
The park commissioners of Syracuse, N. Y., not only 
prohibit the planting of poplars as shade trees, but have 
given orders for the cutting down of all poplars through¬ 
out the city. The reason for this is the damage to drain 
pipes and sewers caused by the poplar roots, putting both 
the city and property owners to heavy expense. It would 
be wise to bear this experience in mind. 
