386 
PUBLISHER’S DESK 
I enclose two advertisements, one from 
Buffalo, N. Y., and the other from Chicago, 
Ill., offering pay to women for steady work 
for copying or addressing. Are they reli¬ 
able? MRS. m. w. 
New York. 
You had better read our little book, 
Hind-Sights. It answers the question. 
The advertisements are the work-at- 
home fakes. They want to induce you to 
send them money for some supplies un¬ 
der the pretense that you can earn 
money; but you will never get any 
money from them for copying, address¬ 
ing or for any other work on these work- 
at-home schemes. 
Beauty doctors, their treatment and 
their beauty powders are advertised 
freely in city daily papers, in local 
county papers, and especially in a cheap 
class of mail order women's papers. 
Women who are tempted to Use them 
might care to know that Mrs. Laura 
Williams, of New York City, submitted 
to two treatments last month by a New 
York City beauty doctor, and died dur¬ 
ing the second treatment. The treat¬ 
ment simply consists of burning the 
skin away by caustic acids. Then new 
skin is supposed to reproduce itself. In 
this case the woman was not able to en¬ 
dure the pain of the operation, which 
was represented to be painless, and she 
died from the effects of the operation. 
Some, of course are strong enough to 
endure the ordeal, but all take the 
chance, and the only satisfactory results 
are the fees of the beauty doctor. 
I cannot refrain at this time giving my 
indorsement to “Publisher’s Desk.” There is 
nothing more deleterious to honest people 
than berng taken in by polished rogues, 
made easy by their confiding disposition. 
There is more sound religion in The 
Rural New-Yorker than some Sunday- 
school papers printing fake advertisements 
for the sake of the dollar. It must have 
taken courage for the departure, I hope it 
will not fail, and that the good and neces¬ 
sary work may continue. C. w. p. 
New York. 
It really takes something more than 
courage to do these things. It takes 
faith—faith in the integrity of the 
American farmer and confidence in his 
loyalty to step out and be counted on 
the side of decency and honesty. No 
matter how brave a publisher may be 
he would not be safe or wise in a work 
of the kind without this confidence in 
the support of his readers., The credit 
of whatever good there may be in this 
work is therefore due more to the sub¬ 
scribers and friends who are really the 
backbone of its policies, than to the 
paper itself, or its editors or publishers. 
The countrymen are not the only ones 
that need “Ilind-Sights.” The pecan and 
apple orchard fake has been doing quite a 
business here among the wise ones. There 
seems to be a Wallingford and a Blackie for 
all the surplus names. m. j. m. 
District of Columbia. 
This friend is entirely right. We hear 
all about the come-ons from the coun¬ 
try; but for one such country dupe the 
cities produce suckers by the hundred. 
Besides the schemes that are successful 
in the cities would win nothing but rid¬ 
icule in a country district. They are 
too transparent for anyone but babies. 
The rogues understand this well enough 
and use more subtle and delusive means 
to coax the cash' from his country vic¬ 
tim. The weak part of the city sucker 
is his cupidity. He will take something 
that promises a fortune over night. The 
weakness of the country victims is their 
confiding nature. They practice no 
tricks themselves and take slick- 
tongued strangers too readily into their 
confidence. The purpose of the little 
book, “Hind-Sights,” is simply to put 
these confiding people on their guard. 
I am Inclosing a pamphlet of the Chau¬ 
tauqua Institution. 1 would like your opin¬ 
ion about its reliability, and if you con¬ 
sider its bonds a good investment or not. 
It is claimed to be good by a person who 
has them for sale, and who has himself 
purchased a few. I have a small amount 
that I could invest. I would like your 
opinion as to its true value. s. b. 
New York. 
The Chautauqua Institute is char¬ 
tered under New York State laws 
without stock issue. It is managed by a 
board of 24 trustees who serve without 
direct salaries. We do not have tables 
of income and expenses, and without 
these it is difficult to form a good esti¬ 
mate of possibilities for the future. It 
seems they already have an issue of 
$800,000 of bonds, and this is an extra 
issue of $100,000 more. The indebted¬ 
ness is evidently increasing. They claim 
assets of over a million and liabilities of 
about a half million, but considerable 
of the assets would hardly be considered 
by an experienced investor. The mort¬ 
THK RURAh NEW-YORKER 
March 16, 
gage certainly exceeds a conservative 
basis for this kind of a risk, especially 
since the, institution seems to be in¬ 
creasing Its obligations. It is signifi¬ 
cant that the management recently had 
some connection with the E. G. Lewis 
schemes of St. Louis, not as we under¬ 
stand it, to involve them financially, but 
the connection in any degree is not re¬ 
assuring. Their willingness to profit in 
any degree by the Lewis schemes does 
not give assurances for either prudent 
management or a fine sense of moral 
responsibility. They do not even have 
the defense of ignorance of the schemes 
with which they identified the Chautau¬ 
qua Institution. They had the infor¬ 
mation. In view of the whole record of 
the management and the information at 
hand the bonds do not afford the se¬ 
curity we could recommend for the sav¬ 
ings of the farm. 
there was an agent here the other day 
representing G. U. Ilickok of Batavia, N. Y. 
.and selling Swedish Select oats just imported 
from Sweden, seal unbroken. Here is their 
proposition: Sign a contract to sow 10 
bushels oats on good ground, free from 
weeds, seed not to be paid for until Sep¬ 
tember 15, 1912, when, if I want to keep 
oats I pay for the seed, a rate of $7.50 
per bushel. They agree not to sell any for 
seed purposes the next year less than .$2 
per bushel. Should I desire they will send 
a man in Fall to help sell the crop, and I 
to pay his expenses beside furnishing a rig. 
When sold, I to be paid 50 cents per bushel 
for all sold, the balance, $1.50 per bushel, 
to be divided equally between the company 
and myself. Or, if after crop is harvested 
I do not care to pay $75 for the 10 bushels 
oats under terms of contract, I agree to 
thoroughly reclean and deliver to railroad 
1. O. B., (they to furnish bags), the crop 
entire at 50 cents per bushel. I want some 
Swedish Select oats but not as badly as 
that. It looks like a very neat job. ‘Can 
you advise me how to proceed to procure 
freshly imported stock or import seed my¬ 
self? The oat named in their contract is 
called No. 6. Any information regarding 
these people and means to procure good 
seed stock will be thankfully received. 
New York. e. e. 
This scheme is not new. It has been 
worked by the same house on seed 
wheat. You can get imported oats from 
any of the reliable seed houses. They 
may not all have Swedish oats, but any 
of them would probably get them for 
you; they usually sell for about $1.50 
per bushel in quantities. A good Swed¬ 
ish oat is of course all right. So is a 
good English oat or an American oat 
There is no magic about one more than 
another except that the foreign oat gives 
the agent a little more latitude for mak- 
ing big claims. But why any farmer 
should pay $7.50 a bushel for seed oats, 
either domestic or imported, is more 
than we can figure out. You can cer¬ 
tainly buy four bushels of equally as 
good seed oats for that money. The re¬ 
striction that you must not sell the crop 
to anyone else for less than $2, while 
their price for it is 50 cents, is illuminat¬ 
ing. The whole proposition is an insult 
to the intelligence of a farmer, and the 
surprise is that the agent does not leave 
some of the farms to hunt up a supply 
of porous plasters. 
The business of the African Ostrich Farm 
and Feather Company of Bloomsburg, Pa., is 
still booming, as you will see by the inclosed 
newspaper clipping. An ex-representative to 
our Pennsylvania Legislature and leading 
member of the Grange has succeeded in sell¬ 
ing over 41,000 shares of their stock (par 
value $1) mostly in this county. The com¬ 
pany has extended the time of sale of stock 
at par value several times already. The last 
great opportunity for the public to secure 
some of this stock was given during De¬ 
cember, 1911, and it was announced that 
after a limited time no more shares would 
be sold at the old prices. The stock of the 
company was at first fixed at $250,000 but 
later by a vote of the stockholders the 
capitalization was fixed at $1,000,000, ac¬ 
cording to reports. The amount of stock 
that any one stockholder might own was at 
first fixed at $100, but I understand that 
later this was extended to $500. Enormous 
dividends are promised to the stockholders 
of this enterprise. Those who have been 
fortunate enough to secure some of this 
stock have been assured by the promoters 
that the income from their stock will make 
them independent. I am also told that the 
promoter proposes to bring the fur seal here 
into Pennsylvania and start fur seal farms 
in connection with the ostrich industry. The 
company also owns a peat bed and limestone 
quarry, and propose to manufacture peat for 
fertilizer, and also to manufacture lime for 
various purposes. geo. w. yont. 
Pennsylvania. 
This all sounds very familiar. Prom¬ 
ise of future profits for present cash 
is about the easiest way to get money 
yet invented. One promoter is on rec¬ 
ord as saying that it has always been a 
wonder to him how the fools got all 
the money they had handed over to him 
in exchange for empty promises. We 
have had many inquiries about this os¬ 
trich farm. We have been unable to 
get any information that would justify 
any man in putting a penny into it. 
When a concern starts in to sell stock 
on promises, we do not care to go much 
further. If you really must gamble, you 
can take up something where there are 
better chances in your favor than spec¬ 
ulative stocks afford. j. j. d 
Right in your own grove —waiting for 
you to take them out. All you need is an 
r ‘American” Saw Mill to cut that timber 
into lumber, which you can use yourself or 
sell at a good price. You can belt the 
“American" Mill to your farm engine and 
run it yourself, turning out first-class lum¬ 
ber faster and cheaper than any other mill. 
We’ve written a b’Jok—"Making Money Off 
the Wood Lot” — which tells a number of 
ways in which you will find an “American” 
Mill profitable. We want to send you a copy. 
Write to nearest office. 
American Saw Mill Machinery Co. 
129 Hope Street, Hackettstown, N. J. 
1582 Terminal Building, New York 
Chicago—Savannah—New Orleans 
SAVE HALF Your 
Paint Bills 
By using INGERSOLL PAINT — proved 
best by 66 years’ use. It will please you. 
Only Paint endorsed by the ‘‘Grange.'’ 
Made in all colors,—for all purposes. 
DELIVERED FREE. 
From the Mill Direct to You at Factory Prices. 
INGERSOLL PAINT BOOK —FREE 
Telle all about Paint and Painting fT Durability. 
How to avoid trouble and expense caused by paint* 
fading, chalking and peeling. Valuable information 
free to you. with Sample Color Cards, Write me. DO 
IT HOW. I can save you money. 
0. W. Ingersoti, 246 Plymouth St., Brooklyn, N.Y. 
MANLOVE GATE CO. 
Automatic. _ Always in order. Opened or closed 
without assistance orstopping. Adds beauty, value, 
safety and convenience to any home and is 
approved by Government for Rural Routes. 
MANLOVE GATE CO.. 29 West Huron St., CHICAGO. ILL 
When you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. aud you'll get a quick reply and a 
“square deal.” See guarantee editorial page. 
Your Horses are Entitled 
to a Haircut Before the 
Spring Work 
Farmers and horse owners of England and France 
have done it for years and it is done now by pro¬ 
gressive owners everywhere in this country 
No way to do it so easy, so quick or so well has 
ever been devised as with a 
Stewart Ball Bearing Clipping 
oliin a The price of this splendid $*7.50 
IflaCmilC machine is only.* 
at your dealers direct. It is used in every civil¬ 
ized country, has all file hard cut steel gears, en¬ 
closed, protected and running in oil. 
Get one from your dealer or send J2 and we 
will ship C. O. D. for the balance. Send now 
Chicago Flexible Shaft Company 
143 La Salle Avenue; Chicago 
Write for onr new catalogue showing the worlds 
largest and most modern line of horse clipping and 
sheep shearing machines. _ 
SPLENDID CROPS 
J n Saskatchewan (Western Canada) 
Busheisfrom 20 Acres 
of wheat wag the thresher's re¬ 
turn from a Lloydminster farm 
during one season. Many fields 
In that as well as other districts 
yielded from 25 to 35 bushels of 
■wheat to the acre. Other grains 
In proportion. 
Large Profits 
are thus derived from the 
FREE HOMESTEAD 
LANDS of Western Canada. 
This excellent showing causes prices 
to advance. I.and values should double 
In two years’ time. 
Grain growing, mixed farming, 
cattle raising and dairying are all 
profitable. Free Homesteads of 160 
acres are to be had in the very best 
districts; 160-aero pre-emption at 
§ 3.00 per acre within certain areas. 
chools ami chnrches In every set¬ 
tlement, climate unexcelled, soil 
the richest; wood, water and build¬ 
ing material plentiful. 
For settlers’ low railway rates and Illus¬ 
trated pamphlet. "Last Best West.” and 
other Information, write to Supt. Im¬ 
migration, Ottawa,Can., orCan.Gov. Agt. 
J. S. CRAWFORD, 
301 E. GENESEE STREET - 
Syracuse, N. Y. 
Make Your Own 
Tile 
THE FARMERS’ CEMENT TILE MACHINE 
Makes tile 3 to 8 inches in diam., 12/4 inches long. One man or boy operates it by hand 
or power. 500 tile per day by hand, 1,200 by power. Tile thoroughly cured by patent 
process. No tamping or use of pallets. This machine and tile used by Experiment Sta¬ 
tions of Agricultural Colleges and the U. S. Dept, of Agriculture. 5,000 farmers have 
doubled the yield of land by underdrainage, and saved 75% of cost by using our Machine. 
You can do the same. Save cost of hauling and breaking. Make perfect 
tile $3 to $5 per thousand. MACHINE SOLD DIRECT FROM FACTORY 
TO YOU. TEN DAYS’FREE TRIAL. SEND NOW for 36-page Illustrated 
Catalogue. Tells you about great benefits of underdrainage, how to take 
levels and get grades, make and lay your tile at low cost. 
FARMERS’ CEMENT TILE MACHINE CO.. - Box 604 , ST. JOHNS. MICH. 
40,000 Farmers Plant li" 
WITH THIS MACHINE 
You can handle your crop economically—and properly— by 
using the Aspinwall planter, the first and best self-operat¬ 
ing Potato Planter in the world—without an equal anywhere. T W~ 
The Aspinwall Potato Planter No. 3 
S 
Of 
makes p.tato v 
. - culture profit¬ 
able. One man can run It. Built on honor, of highest grade mate¬ 
rials. Works perfectly under all circumstances. Will handle whole ' 
large or small. (We also make efficient Spraying Outfits for). 
Ask for our sprayer catalog Including valuable formulas.) Send) 
_ dress now. V 
ff ASPINWALL MANUFACTURING COMPANY), 
437 Sabin Street, Jackson, Jlich., U.S. A.—Canadian Factory, Guelph, Ont. 
World's Oldest and Largest Makers of Potato Machinery. 
or cut seed, 
every purpose. 
, name and ad- 
L. 
Cutters, Planters, Sprayers, Diggers, Sorters 
10 DAYS FREE TRIAL 
We will ship you ft 
"RANGER” BICYCLE 
on approval, freight 
prepaid to anyplace in the United States without a cent deposit in advance, and 
■ allow ten days free trial from the day you receive, it. If it does not suit you in 
every way and is not all or more than we claim for it and a better bicycle than you can get 
anywhere else regardless of price, or if for any reason whatever you do not wish to keep it, 
ship it back to us at our expense for freight and you will not be out one cent. 
I flW FARTflRY DRIPCC We sell the highest grade bicycles direct from factory 
** un iHUIUHI rilltfM to rider at lower prices than any other house. We 
save you £10 to $25 middlemen’s profit on every bicycle. Highest grade models with 
Puncture-Proof tires, Imported Roller chains, pedals, etc., at prieft* no higher than cheap 
mail order bicyclesjalso reliable medium grade models at unhear# of low prices. 
DinCD AACkITC UfAUTCn in each town and district to ride and exhibit a sample 
niucn BUCK IO If AH I CU x9i2“Ranger’’Blcyclefurnishedbyus. You wlllfbe 
astonished at the wonderfully low prices and the liberal propositions and special offer we will 
give on the first 191s sample going to your town. W rite at once for our special offer. 
DO NOT BUY a bicycle or a pair of tires from anyone at any price until you receive ourcatalogue 
and learn our low prices and liberal terms. BICYCLE DEALERS, ypu can sell our bicycles under 
your own name plate at double our prices. Orders filled the day received; 
SECOND HAND BICYCLES — a limited number taken in trade by ,our_ Chicago retail stores will 
, be closed out at once, at S 3 to 88 each. Descriptive bargain list mailed free. 
TIDCQ Pfl ACTED DDAIIC rear wheels, inner tubes, lamps, cyclometers, parts, repair* 
J lilEO, UUMO I Lll DllASVC and everything in the bicycle line at Half usual price*. 
DO NOT WAIT but write today for our Large Catalogue beautifully illustrated and containing a great fund of 
interesting matter and useful information. It only costs a postal to get everything. Write It now. 
MEAD CYCLE CO. Dept, oso; 
J .OIUJ. fTlJkD lb uvn* 
CHICAGO, ILL. 
