1912. 
U'HS RURAL NEW-YORKER 
lisa 
NOTES FROM ALBANY, N. Y. 
The State Commissioner of Agriculture is 
in receipt of a suggestion that a State 
maple syrup and sugar association be 
formed. The maple products of this State 
are of sufficient importance to warrant such 
an association, for the last available census 
figures give 20,567 farms reporting 413,159 
gallons of syrup and 3,623.540 pounds of 
sugar as the production, the total value 
being $631,000. New- York ranks second 
among the States producing maple sugar 
and syrup. 
New York was the first State to hold a 
conference to consider the ravages of the 
chestnut bark disease, and the idea of the 
meeting of foresters from adjoining States 
held in this city last October was mainly 
due to Geo. G. Atwood, Chief of the Bureau 
of Horticulture. Commissioner Iluson, him¬ 
self unable to attend the Harrisburg, Pa., 
chestnut tree blight convention, very prop¬ 
erly delegated Mr Atwood to represent the 
State in his place. Mr. Atwood's report of 
the proceedings at Harrisburg will doubtless 
determine the nature of the campaign to be 
pursued against the blight. 
The reported determination of the State 
Fair Commission to abolish all complimen¬ 
tary passes and free admissions to the State 
Fair meets with decided approval except 
from the few beneficiaries of former years. 
Nothing makes the average man madder 
than to see a “deadhead” enter an exhibition 
without paying while compelled to “plank 
down” a hard-earned silver piece. The 
abolition of free railroad transportation a 
few years ago met with great popular ap¬ 
proval and the only wonder is that the 
State Fair Commissioners have but now 
concluded to adopt the anti-graft principle 
—for the giving and acceptance of free 
admission was only a form of petty graft. 
The Crop Improvement Committee of the 
council of graiu exchanges representing the 
boards of trade and produce exchanges of 
19 of the principal States of the East and 
Middle West with headquarters at Chicago, 
has most ambitious plans for reestablishing 
barley, oats, wheat and rye in those sec¬ 
tions of these and other States where once 
these grains were successfully grown. The 
animating idea is not to ask the farmer to 
work any harder or to cultivate more acres, 
hut to use modern scientific methods in¬ 
stead of his grandfather’s old “rule of 
thumb,” to obtain larger yields of better 
grain The various grain exchanges have 
contributed thousands of dollars to inaugu¬ 
rate this campaign of education and in¬ 
struction and are seeking to establish farm 
bureaus in the various grain growing coun¬ 
ties of the State with a competent man 
in charge of each. The Department of 
Agriculture at Washington is assisting with 
money and men and the State Department 
of Agriculture will doubtless cooperate, 
Commissioner Iluson now having the mat¬ 
ter under consideration. Farm bureaus 
have already been established in Jefferson 
and Steuben counties, meetings are being 
arranged in other sections of the State; 
the railroads are contributing; the Legis¬ 
lature has before it a bill enabling county 
boards of supervisors to appropriate moneys 
toward the support of the bureaus, and with 
the widespread interest which is being 
aroused it looks as though success would 
attend the efforts of Mr. Bert Ball, secre¬ 
tary of the committee, who is in charge 
of the entire movement. 
The Conservation Department states that 
it will welcome information from bird 
lovers with reference to enforcement of the 
laws protecting wild birds as well as the 
result of observations of migration, breed¬ 
ing, numbers and variety in various parts 
of the State. 
The Conservation Commission in a re¬ 
cently issued bulletin states that there are 
about 2,300,000 acres—8% of the State’s 
total area—which now have no profitable 
growth. All this is virtually idle soil 
and should be planted to forest, for which 
it is best adapted. A bill now before the 
Legislature seeks not only to enlarge the 
State’s authority with reference to the re¬ 
foresting of public lands; but also aims to 
encourage tree planting of private land 
owners. 
The State Highway Commission in its re¬ 
cent report to the Legislature recommends 
among other things the planting of shade 
trees along the State and county highways; 
abolition of toll bridges and grade crossings; 
that an additional $50,000,000 bond issue 
be made for the construction of more new 
roads. The commission points out that 
5.907 miles of county road and 1,340 miles 
of State highways will have to be con¬ 
structed ; therefore the reason for the ad¬ 
ditional $50,000,000. Last year 932 miles 
of road work were started and 540 miles 
completed as compared with 513 miles begun 
in 1910 of which 430 miles were con¬ 
structed. This year the commission says 
it will begin work on 1,800 miles of State 
and county roads at an approximate cost 
of $22,000,000. 
New York State Legislature. 
Frank Young, majority leader in the As¬ 
sembly, avows it to be the purpose of that 
body to finish the business of the year dur¬ 
ing the month of March—a consummation 
devoutly to be hoped for—but the Assembly 
cannot adjourn without concurrent action 
on the part of the Senate, so the day of 
final adjournment cannot be definitely set¬ 
tled until the upper house completes its 
labors. No one can tell when this will be. 
Since our last report these measures, affect¬ 
ing agricultural interests, have been intro¬ 
duced in the Legislature : 
Senator Hamilton; appropriating $4,000 
for tlie agricultural station at Geneva for 
continuing the investigation of grape culture 
in Chautauqua County. 
Senator Hewitt: providing that persons 
pressing or marketing hay and straw must 
first secure a license from the State sealer 
of weights and measures, and requiring all 
Abbott-Detroit “44” 
Seven Passenger, Fore-Door Touring Car, $1800 
You Know The Farm Power Thief! 
I N YOUR farm tractor, thresher or stationary engine, you know the greatest 
thief of motive power is friction. Now, in every kind of machinery and 
automobiles, manufacturers are trying to overcome friction by the intro¬ 
duction of standard bearings and plenty of oil and lubricating grease. In 
the Abbott-Detroit friction is practically an unknown quantity. 
Low Cost of Upkeep 
Not only the bearings but the entire Abbott-Detroit construction is standard. 
Standardization means that all parts work and inter-work in perfect harmony 
—harmony that is ^uniform throughout the car. Ill-fitting joints and bearings 
in an Abbott-Detroit is an absolute impossibility. A silent, smooth running 
car with cost of up-keep hammered down to the very lowest notch is directly 
due to the standard bearings embodied in this all standard and uniform Abbott- 
Detroit. 
“The Car With a Pedigree” 
Built for Permanence 
This car will climb that hill and coast that grade—it will run through sand 
and mud, snow and slush—it’s the real power plant demanded by enterprising 
farmers who live in the rough parts of the country where only a strong, depend¬ 
able and standard car such as the Abbott-Detroit will stand up year in and year 
out. giving service, service, SERVICE, all the time. 
Send for the free Abbott-Detroit catalog—it tells you everything. 
Abbott Motor Company DETROIT^MICh! 
bales of hay and straw to be marked. Li¬ 
cense fee to be $2. 
Senator Harte: establishing the New 
York State school for rural education on 
Long Island and appropriating $50,000 
therefor. 
Senator Griffith: establishing a State 
school of agriculture at Keuka College, 
Yates County, and appropriating $50,000 
therefor. 
Senator Frawley: appropriating $200,000 
for constructing a cattle building on the 
State fair grounds at Syracuse and for the 
permanent improvement of such grounds. 
Senator Argetsinger: providing that all 
vinegar which has nert an acidity equal 
to the presence of at least four per cent 
by weight of absolute acetic acid, shall 
be deemed adulterated. Under the present 
law it must contain 4V6% of such acid. 
Senator Cobb: authorizing county boards 
of supervisors to raise by taxation such 
sums as they deem proper for the general 
improvement of agricultural conditions in 
their county and for the employment of 
persons to give free agricultural advice. 
Assemblyman Patrie : authorizing Cornell 
University to contract for the construction 
of the headquarters building for animal hus¬ 
bandry, stock judging pavilion, forestry 
section of plant industry building, and ap¬ 
propriating $329,000 therefor. 
Assemblyman Wilson : providing that the 
governing board of a county, town or vil¬ 
lage may, after public hearing, severally 
acquire for the county, town or village, by 
purchase, lease or condemnation, lands for 
forestry development purposes, and may 
issue bonds therefor. Such lands may bo 
sold or leased upon resolution of two-thirds 
vote of all members of such governing body. 
The sponsor of this bill, Hon. Thomas B. 
Wilson, is chairman of the Assembly com¬ 
mittee on agriculture, and he considers this 
one of the important bills of the session. 
It has been reported out of committee in 
the lower house, and if enacted into a law 
may become the means of a town or village 
in future years providing all current ex¬ 
penses from its own forest revenues, the 
same as is now done in many German locali¬ 
ties where the forests are owned by munici¬ 
palities and townships. 
In two cases that came before the Su¬ 
preme Court at Washington involving the 
validity of State laws taxing express com¬ 
panies the court February 19 held a statute 
of Minnesota to be a valid enactment and 
declared a law of Oklahoma unconstitu¬ 
tional. In the Minnesota case the tax was 
imposed virtually as a property tax. Al¬ 
though levied on the gross receipts the 
State law provided that the tax was to 
be an assessment in lieu of all other forms 
of taxation on the property of the corpora¬ 
tion within the State. Because of this res¬ 
ervation the Supreme Court held the Minne¬ 
sota law to be valid in an opinion by 
Associate Justice Day. The opinion in tlie 
Oklahoma case, delivered by Justice Holmes, 
held the State law to be invalid because 
a tax was imposed upon the gross receipts 
in addition to a general property tax. The 
court declared such a tax an imposition 
solely on the gross receipts from business 
the greater part of which was done outside 
of the State and was a burden on inter¬ 
state commerce and not justified under the 
taxing powers reserved to the States. 
Officers were elected February 20 by the 
New York State Drainage Association in 
session at. Ithaca during “farmers’ week” at 
the Cornell State College of Agriculture, as 
follows President, Irving C. H. Cook, of 
South Byron, Genesee County; secretary, 
Professor E. O. Fippen of Cornell; treas¬ 
urer, C. It. White of Iona. There were 950 
agriculturists registered against about 300 
last year. In a speech before the confer¬ 
ence, Dean Liberty Hyde Bailey recom¬ 
mended the formation of a New York State 
country association, to forward the country 
life movement. Professor II. J. Webber, of 
the department of plant breeding, said the 
college had propagated a Timothy that was 
yielding a ton and a half more to the acre 
than any other known kind and that seed 
will be grown to supply the farmers of the 
State. 
CO-OPERATIVE BUYING FOR ARMY 
AND NAVY.—As the result of earnest 
discussion among army and navy officers for 
some years past as to the possibility of 
duplicating in this country the system of 
cooperative military stores in England, by 
which those in the service may purchase any 
article of merchandise at a slight advance 
over the cost price, the Army and Navy Co- 
Operative Company was incorporated Feb¬ 
ruary 17 at Albany, with the approval of 
the Secretary of State, and within a short 
time the company will have a store open 
in New York City and ready for business. 
The chief purpose of the corporation is to 
“reduce the cost of living by selling the 
best articles of domestic consumption and 
general use at the lowest remunerative 
rates.” Its capital is $400,000. The advan¬ 
tages of the organization are to he ex¬ 
tended not only to the army and navy and 
all the civilian employees of both branches 
of the service, but to the State militia 
ns well, and to those who have been con¬ 
nected with the regular and volunteer serv¬ 
ice. Accordingly Major-Gen. Charles F. 
Roe, Commander of the National Guard of 
the State of New York, is one of the in¬ 
corporators. The list of incorporators is 
headed by Rear Admiral Adolph Marix, re¬ 
tired, who was formerly president of the 
submarines trial board, and the lighthouse 
inspection board and was Judge Advocate 
of the Maine inquiry hoard. The success 
of the Cooperative Wholesale Society in 
England was cited as an instance of the 
possibilities of the Army and Navy Coopera¬ 
tive Society. The English society now 
owns a number of factories, which have a 
yearly output of over $ 18 , 000,000 and em¬ 
ploy 12,000 persons. The society does a 
business of over $100,000,000 a year. The 
Army and Navy Cooperative Company will 
open its own factories aa it increases in 
strength. 
r 
'9'» SEPTEMBER 
AUGUST 
JULY 
i 9lg - JUNE 
1915 MAY 
1912 
.1912 
APRIL 
1912 
1912 
MARCH 
1912 
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■Vi* 
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30 
A Year- 
to Build ONE Watch 
Think what that means. The 
watch that you carry in your pocket 
—if it is a South Bend Watch—was 
from six months to a year in the 
South Bend factory in the course of 
construction. If your watch is a 
South Bend you know that it pays 
to spend that much time on a watch. 
There are 411 inspections in the 
making of a South Bend. Every 
South Bend Watch must run for 
seven hundred hours in an accuracy 
test before it leaves the factory. 
There isn’t anything made today 
that is more carefully made than 
“South Rend” 
J - g M watch 
This not only shows in the running 
of the watch but in its appearance , 
too. People who own South Bends 
are always ready to pull theirwatches 
out and let you see the time. That’s 
because they are proud of their 
watches. 
Ask your jeweler about the South 
THE SOUTH BEND WATCH COMPANY 
Bend—the famous watch that keeps 
perfect time even when frozen in a 
cake of ice. 
Ask him to explain to you why 
every good watch needs the jeweler’s 
regulation to the personality of the 
buyer — something every SOUTH 
BEND WATCII gets because only 
expert retail jewelers sell it. 
Write today for our free book, 
“How Good Watches Are Made,*' 
one of the most interesting books 
ever written on the subject of 
watches and a valuable guide in 
the buying of a good watch. 
The price of 
South Bend 
Watches ranges 
up to $75 (in 
solid gold case). 
(91) 
3 Rowley Street, SOUTH BEND. INDIANA 
