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THE RURAb NEW-YORKER 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMERS PAPER 
A Natloul Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes 
Established i860 
Published weekly by the Rural Publishing Company, 409 Pearl St., New York 
Herbert W. Ooblingwood, President and Editor. 
John J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. Dillon, Secretary. Mrs. E. T. Royle, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, S2.04, equal to 8s. Cd., or 
8)4 marks, or 10)4 francs. Remit in money order. press 
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- 
Bible person. But to make doubly sure we will make good any lois to paid 
subscribers sustained by trusting any deliberate swindler advertising in our 
columns, and any such swindler will bo publicly exposed. We protect sub- 
scribers against rogues, but we do not guarantee to adjust trifling differences 
between subscribers and honest, responsible advertisers. Neither will wo 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 Tub 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. 
* 
How do the Presidential candidates stand on par¬ 
cels post? We have done our best to put them on 
record. President Taft favors a trial on rural routes, 
Mr. Wilscyt favors the general principle—so do Mr. 
Bryan and Mr. La Follette. Mr. Clark and Mr. Un¬ 
derwood have not answered our letters. We are in¬ 
formed that Mr. Clark opposes. We wrote Mr. 
Roosevelt and received from his secretary a very 
polite variation of “careful consideration.” 
* 
We understand that some of our “conservative” 
statesmen are very much annoyed at the prospect of 
debating the bill to condemn the express companies 
and pay a fair price for their business. These states¬ 
men are responsible for their own trouble. They 
have known for years about the demand for par¬ 
cels post and the justice of that demand. Yet they 
have dodged and dawdled and simply given “care¬ 
ful consideration.” Now the people will ask no 
more, but will demand a most radical law as the 
only way to obtain their rights. 
* 
If any agricultural college man in the country has 
stood up squarely against the attempt to boom “unit 
orchards” and paper stock apple propositions it is 
Dr. S. W. Fletcher, of Virginia. The State Hor¬ 
ticultural Society indorsed his position, and the 
secretary was instructed to send his statement to 
all parties asking about Virginia lands. Yet here 
comes the “Red Apple Orchard Corporation” trying 
to make capital by printing Dr. Fletcher’s name in 
connection with big stories of apple profits. This is 
the limit of impudent “nerve,” and it needs spraying 
with concentrated lime-sulphur. 
* 
In many parts of the East the market milk propo¬ 
sition is being settled by abandonment. Forced by the 
low price and the stern demands of the inspectors 
farmers are giving up their dairies. Hundreds of 
such small dairies have been abandoned in Massa¬ 
chusetts alone. Farmers are leaving cows and taking 
up hens, and as milk dairying declines poultry keep¬ 
ing increases. We think this change will go on rap¬ 
idly until there is a better adjustment of the milk 
situation. In older civilized countries as the meat sup¬ 
ply became more and more limited supplies of poul¬ 
try products have increased. It will be so here, and 
upon many an Eastern farm the hen will scratch profit 
where the cow milked close to a loss. 
* * 
Several people have asked us to explain how “The 
Apples of New York” and the other fine books are 
supposed to be distributed. They are printed by the 
State printer and paid for by the State. Of “The 
Grapes of New York” 9,000 copies were printed. Of 
these 2,000 went to the Geneva Station, 2,000 to the 
Commissioner of Agriculture, and 5,000 to members 
of the Legislature for distribution among their 
friends. Those copies sent to the Station are distrib¬ 
uted with great care. Lists are exchanged with the 
Commissioner, so that duplicate copies shall not be 
sent the same person. Yet, as we all know, within 
a short time it is impossible for a fruit grower to 
obtain these beautiful books except by paying a high 
price at some book store. How do these books reach 
these stores? They do not come from the Station or 
the Department. That is absolutely certain. Some 
members of the Legislature claim the public printer 
supplies them. We doubt it. We believe some 
members of the Legislature have quietly turned part 
of their quota over to the book stores for sale. It 
is of enough importance to justify the Legislature 
in calling upon these book sellers to tell where their 
copies came from. This system of distribution is 
all wrong. All the books should be turned over to 
the Station. If members of the Legislature want 
copies for their friends let them send the names to 
the Station, but let the distribution be made from 
Geneva. The experts there have put much research 
and labor into these books. It is a fraud upon them 
and upon the State to have such volumes wasted 
and made a means of private graft and gain. 
* 
The New York Legislature passed a law compell¬ 
ing dealers to sell goods at net weight. Under this 
the buyer is entitled to a full pound—besides the 
weight of the package. As goods are now nearly 
all sold in pasteboard or metal the public has been 
paying from 10 to 25 cents a pound for the pack¬ 
ages. While this amounts to little for a single pack¬ 
age, the total amount is enormous. In a much larger 
way a great injustice has been done by selling cot¬ 
ton-seed meal by the large concerns at gross weight. 
The pure food laws compel retail sales at net 
weight, but the dealer must pay for the bags at meal 
prices. This may mean a loss of 30 pounds or more 
per ton, and a charge for the bags in addition. These 
little things, multiplied and expanded, act like mil¬ 
lions of small leeches to suck the blood out of the 
people. 
* 
The next President! On page 492 you find the first 
lot of opinions from Republicans. Our reports cover 
32 different States, and already more than 5,000 votes 
are represented. These statements are fair selections 
from many—of course we cannot print all. It is cer¬ 
tain that Mr. Roosevelt appeals powerfully to the 
progressive or independent wing of his party. Those 
enthusiastic Republicans who live and think in advance 
of the multitude are unquestionably for Roosevelt or 
La Follette. It would be idle to dispute this, or that 
this progressive element has its greatest and most en¬ 
during strength in the country. These men express 
themselves easily and are quick to write letters. They 
appear to lack organization, and it seems impossible to 
determine how large a proportion of the party they 
represent. Few of them seem to expect that Mr. 
Roosevelt can be nominated—the problem is—what 
will these men do in the event of Mr. Taft's nom¬ 
ination? We can find no such thing as enthusiasm 
or sentiment for President Taft. He stirs no man’s 
blood to quick action. Without question lie has the 
support of the “organization,” and the more or less 
hearty backing of business men in town and city. He 
is not strong with the farmers. The Taft men seem 
to think their candidate is certain to be nominated, 
and it is their policy to say very little and avoid con¬ 
troversy.. Senator La Follette’s strength is local. 
Many of the Roosevelt men feel that neither their 
favorite nor Mr. Taft can be elected, so they really 
favor Justice Hughes. It is understood that we are 
merely giving the cold facts about the situation as 
country people see it. Never, since the Civil War, 
have party lines been so loosely drawn. Never be¬ 
fore have the plain people been so well prepared to 
act for themselves. The politician will try to make 
the issues, but the people will kick them apart. We 
are entering the most interesting and complicated 
political battle ever known in this country. The' 
Democratic desires next week. 
* 
We wish it were possible to print 100 of the letters 
which Congressmen have written our readers about 
parcels post. Here are two from the New Jersey 
Senators. They were both asked where they stood on 
the question as a part of the exercises on parcels post 
day: 
I have your letter of the 16th Instant relative to par¬ 
cels post, and in reply I take pleasure in assuring you 
that I am most heartily in favor of a parcels post and 
shall do all in my power to bring such about at the earliest 
possible date. james e. martine. 
That puts Mr. Martine squarely on record for the 
principle. We have often stated that Senator Briggs 
gives no indication of knowing himself where he 
stands, and his secretary seems to know less: 
Senator Briggs directs me to acknowledge receipt of 
yours of the 16th inst., regarding a parcels post system, 
and to say that he will take pleasure in presenting it to 
the Senate In the shape of a petition for consideration 
and appropriate reference. frank e. evans. 
We doubt if it was with pleasure that “careful” was 
left off the front of consideration. But the farmer 
who wrote Senator Briggs does not care for any 
reference to the Senate. He wants to know where 
the Senator stands on the subject. Now he knows 
that Mr. Briggs falls down. Still we are making 
progress. Senator Crane, of Massachusetts, has ac¬ 
tually written a letter with “careful consideration” 
left out and a half promise to support parcels post. 
They come out hard, but the dynamite of postage 
stamps is bringing them. 
April 13, 
The long hammering at the express companies is 
finally breaking the/shell As we have shown, the In¬ 
terstate Commerce Commission has demonstrated how 
these companies have been fattening upon the people. 
The proof is so clear and complete that even the ex¬ 
press men admitted the need of reform. There will 
be a simple form of receipt, no double charging at 
both ends of the trip, and extension of delivery. The 
rates are to be cut down and arranged by zones. This 
reduction will he enough to compete with the charges 
under a fair parcels post. These reforms would not 
have been possible had it not been for the long and 
persistent fight for parcels post. Some of the fighters 
have grown weary at times—results seemed a long 
time coming. It was of necessity long, for we had 
to dig the “careful consideration” habit out of most 
Congressmen. This habit taught them to believe that 
they could bluff off the average farmer with a few 
free seeds or government reports. It nearly unjointed 
their necks to learn better, but they know it now. We 
knew that just as soon as they realized that the people 
meant business—the people’s business would be done. 
So keep right at them, gentlemen, with fresh courage. 
The express shell has been cracked at last. 
* 
We have not had quite so much to say of late about 
our “back-to-the-land” friends, yet we hear from them 
constantly. The last dry season was a hard one for 
many—a time that tried them like a fire. Some had 
to give up, but others will go on. Here is a note from 
one honest man: 
I am a back-to-the-lander, and don’t know much, }u»t 
came liere one year ago and lost every dollar last year; 
could not make the farm pay. Like every other I asked 
advice from my neighbors, but they seem like myself, don’t 
know much, although they have lived here all their lives, 
but most of them are back numbers. 
A combination of back-to-the-lander and back 
number is not so bad if one will stay back and the 
other will come back. This man still has faith in 
the land and will stick to it. He will get the experi¬ 
ence in time. People are sometimes impatient be¬ 
cause. we do not advise everyone who asks to give 
up a good job and rush to the country. We could 
hardly give more foolish, if not cruel advice. We 
know that because we have been through the 'mill, 
and know what it means to have these dreams 
ground up. If you can stand up to the grinding and 
keep your courage and temper you can bake what is 
close to the bread of life out of the fine grinding. 
* 
Here is a letter on the Eastern beef-making ques¬ 
tion which ought to interest our Western friends: 
Does it pay to make beef in the Eastern States? Yes; 
why is not more produced? Because making milk pays 
much better. We make both and have for 20 years; 
bought a meat wagon and every Saturday we run it to the 
village four miles distant and sell 600 or 800 pounds of 
beef, pork, chickens, etc., with no middleman between the 
producer and the consumer, but the milk from our 60 
cows pays better. m. c. dean. 
Connecticut. 
He gets more than 35 cents of the consumer’s dol¬ 
lar anyway. Near the large towns and good mar¬ 
kets such a plan is possible, and this is one way to 
get around the beef trust monopoly. About the only 
way to get around it is through cooperation. A 
number of farmers can combine and open a store for 
soiling meat, eggs and dairy products. The possi¬ 
bilities for such work makes one of the strongest 
arguments for buying land in the Eastern States. 
That story by Mr. Martin on page 505 is a good one. 
His father sold 28 fat steers for $2,800 and put the 
money into a dairy barn. We have no doubt many 
older readers of The R. N.-Y. could give similar 
experience. Those were the days when the people 
had such trust in the government that they permitted 
the beef trust to capture the markets. When this 
Vermont farmer got his $100 for a good steer the 
consumers paid no more for good meat than they 
do now. The farmer, the drover and the local 
butcher each made a fair profit. Instead of 10 men 
making enough for a trip to Europe 100 men made 
a fair sum for investment or for purchasing goods. 
Now the men who are denied a fair deal in selling 
cattle must cooperate and do their own selling. The 
East can produce the beef hut our farmers must 
learn to handle it themselves. 
BREVITIES. 
We have not bad a better article on strawberry growing 
than the one on page 494. 
Get over the idea that in order to feed the tree you 
should put manure or fertilizer up close to the trunk. 
Scatter it out as far as the limbs extend. 
Some of the agricultural advice is fearfully composed. 
Not long since we told a man about soaking potato seed 
in formalin to destroy scab. This man asked at a seed 
Store. They told him to dust scabby seed with lime! They 
never heard of formalin, but bad a brand of nitrogen germ 
which they said was “just as good.” 
