1912. 
581 
Do Not Forget Northern Spy. 
On page 428 J. S. Woodward, long 
admitted as excellent authority on fruit 
culture here in Western New York, 
gives his preference of the varieties o f 
apples he would select in planting an 
orchard for commercial purposes, and 
it is assumed it includes that for family 
use as well. It must be admitted that 
his selections arc all right as far as 
they go, but why should he fail to give 
that old-time favorite, the Northern 
Spy, a deserved position in his selec¬ 
tion? In the estimation of many it is 
considered superior to any of those he 
names. My own experience regarding 
an orchard planted more than half a 
century ago, consisting mainly of North¬ 
ern Spy, Baldwin, Roxbury and Golden 
Russets, has demonstrated that the 
Northern Spy has been the most pro¬ 
ductive and satisfactory of all for mar¬ 
ket and family use. For the two past 
seasons private customers in a nearby 
village have been anxious to secure their 
season’s supply at $4 per barrel, usually 
a dollar more per barrel than the regu¬ 
lar market price, and in preference to 
any of the above named varieties Un¬ 
doubtedly the manner of sorting had 
much to do with the enhanced price, but 
it is noticed that in the New York and 
other markets this variety is quoted at 
the present time higher in price than 
any of those under discussion. This 
variety, when grown to perfection, ac¬ 
quiring its natural growth and color, 
possessing that delightful aromatic 
flavor that no other apple approaches, 
is a favorite when fully understood. 
There is much truth in Mr. Woodward’s 
claim that the quality and condition 
of soil has a great influence on a favor¬ 
able growth of certain varieties of ap¬ 
ples. It has been often noticed that 
our Spy apple trees have made a more 
vigorous, healthy growth, and have 
produced larger and better colored fruit, 
where the soil was more of a light 
sandy loamy nature. Possibly the 
absence of such soil accounts for its 
not being included with those of his 
selection. irving d. cook. 
Genesee Co., N. Y. 
NOTES ON POSTAL REFORM. 
Part II. 
Age of Parcels Post. —England has had 
a parcels post since 1863 ; Germany for cen¬ 
turies ; Austria since middle of seventh cen¬ 
tury ; Prance since 1892; Switzerland for 
over 100 years; Japan since 1892; China 
for centuries. There is no reason why we 
have no adequate parcels post except four, 
as given by Mr. Wanamaker when he was 
Postmaster-General, “four express compan¬ 
ies.” These express companies are the main 
obstacles in the way of a parcels post 
to-day. 
Objections to Parcels Post. —It is un¬ 
derstood that there is a strong opposition 
to the parcels post from the country store¬ 
keepers. The retail merchant doubtless be¬ 
lieves that the new arrangement would seri¬ 
ously injure his business. lie fears the 
competition of the great department stores 
in the cities if we have parcels post. There 
might be some ground for this if the gov¬ 
ernment took over the whole express busi¬ 
ness. But even in that case it is probably 
true that while some business that the coun¬ 
try store handles would be taken from him 
by the department store in the distant city, 
this would be entirely offset by the increased 
calls from the farms for small articles 
that are needed at once perhaps the same 
day ordered. With the telephone and rural 
delivery there would be many calls for 
goods that are now got along without. 
There is a field for the country store and 
always will be. Probably much of this so- 
called opposition of the country store¬ 
keeper is really from the express and rail¬ 
road companies using this argument as a 
blind. This is an old trick used by “spe¬ 
cial interests” when their field of exploit¬ 
ing is threatened. But the country store¬ 
keeper counts more in the estimation of 
the average Congressman than all the farm¬ 
ers in his district, and rightly so. He is 
usually the postmaster and the leader in 
politics and controls the vote of the farm¬ 
ers, because he carries many of them on 
his ledger till the crops are harvested. 
Farmers must make their influence felt 
and not be controlled by the country store. 
Parcels Post Bills Before Congress. 
—The most important bill before Congress 
is the Moon bill, because it is the bill which 
will be supported by the House Committee 
on Post Offices and Post Roads. It con¬ 
tains a provision for a 12 cents a pound 
rate on parcels regardless of distance. 
This is the rate now to Europe, and is 
what we should have had for several years 
during which the Universal Postal Union 
agreement has been in force. There is also 
a provision to raise the pound limit to 11 
pounds which is the International Union 
limit. These two provisions will surely be 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
made law, for it is only just that we should 
pay no more for domestic than for foreign 
business. So far all postal bills introduced 
agree. In the Moon bill there is a provi¬ 
sion for a trial of a rural service at from 
one cent for four ounces, five cents for a 
pounds to 25 cents for 11 pounds, which 
is the maximum weight allowed. This rate 
is much too high. These are the rates ap¬ 
proximately that carry packages all over 
Great Britain. Again these rates will not 
apply at all on farm products, but will 
apply only on articles that are now mail- 
able at fourth class rates. It is of very 
little use to the farmer or to the people 
of the cities. Again, this bill carries a 
provision for a commission to investigate 
the whole subject of a general parcels post. 
This is an excuse to postpone the enactment 
of a genuine parcels post law. All of 
these rates are too high and do not enter 
in any wise the domain of our express 
monopoly. The 12 cents a pound rate will 
get no substantial revenue for the govern¬ 
ment. It looks as though the bill were 
drawn by the express companies or in. their 
interest. 
The Sulzer bill of the House provides a 
rate of eight cents a pound for packages 
up to 11 pounds all over the United States 
with a lower rate for rural routes of from 
five cents for one pound to 25 cents for 
11 pounds restricted to rural routes. This 
bill is some improvement over the Moon 
bill, but will not improve matters much. 
The rural route rate is too high. The eight 
cents a pound rate will only be used on 
long hauls and the express companies will 
see that they take to themselves all the 
profitable hauls and give Uncle Sam the 
long haul. 
The O’Gorman bill of the Senate calls 
for the eight cents per pound rate for all 
distances except rural routes, where it pro¬ 
vides for a rate for one pound of one cent; 
11 pounds, five cents; 25 pounds, 10 cents. 
This rural route provision is worth some- 
thing, for it is not limited to what can 
now be mailed as fourth class, but it is 
made to include farm products. This will 
help the farmer and the city or village 
dweller. What is needed in this country is 
a parcels post law that will provide for 
the placing of the perishable products of 
the farm, garden and orchard at the door 
of the consumer in the city or village in a 
fresh condition and do it without the as¬ 
sistance of any middleman. 
The Goeke bill provides for the purchase 
of the express companies by the govern¬ 
ment for $40,000,000 and operation of their 
field of business by the Postal Depart¬ 
ment. It has many good provisions. Our 
government should own and operate the ex¬ 
press business of the country. Combining 
the express business with the postal busi¬ 
ness with our rural delivery and extending 
the same would bring the farm and the 
consumer together. The Lewis biil goes 
even farther than the Goeke hill and is 
perhaps the best and most scientific bill 
before Congress. It would place us in the 
lead of European nations instead of far in 
the rear as we are to-day. 
An avalanche of letters has poured in 
upon Senators and Representatives during 
the last few weeks urging parcels post. 
The express investigation has opened the 
eyes of the country to the necessity of 
some adequate system of parcels post. A 
beginning will be made, and more than a 
beginning if our people will write and con¬ 
tinue to demand relief from intolerable 
conditions as they are to-day. Other na¬ 
tions point the way. We ought not to be 
lagging behind, but leading, and we may 
lead if we insist on justice. This legis¬ 
lation is in some respects the most import- 
ant measure before Congress at this present 
session. f. n. clark. 
Lime Spreader. 
Now about that lime spreader which C. 
S. Green described two years ago. I made 
one and it worked well, I think better than 
any high-toned one I ever saw, but I de¬ 
cided it could be made cheaper and some¬ 
what better by using a piece of cypress 
gutter for the bottom instead of galvanized 
iron. It is quite a hard job for a farmer 
to fit the two pieces of metal so that they 
Will work easily, and then they will not 
last on account of rust, etc. Take a piece 
of gutter the length you want your spreader 
and bore the holes as Mr. Green says in 
the metal, and then take a piece of hard¬ 
wood for the sliding part and bore the 
holes in that to come opposite the holes in 
gutter and fasten with iron cleats so that 
it will slide freely, and I think it will 
be more serviceable and work easier, and 
certainly will be much easier to make. 
Milford, Mass. f. m. w. 
ROOFING. 
Mineral Surface 
Needs No Painting 
I F you intend to build, use 
Amatite. You will do away not 
only with all roofing 1 troubles, 
but with all unnecessary roofing ex¬ 
pense, because Amatite needs no 
painting or attention after it is 
laid. 
It has a wear-resisting mineral 
surface on top instead of paint. 
Amatite is easy to lay, fire re¬ 
tardant, attractive and'absolutely 
waterproof. 
Send for sample and make roof¬ 
ing comparisons, and 
know roofing before 
you buy. The man 
who knows, buys Am- 
atite — always. 
w 
Barrett Mfg. Co. 
New York, Chicago. 
1 hiladelphia, Boston, 
tvIa P U1S » Cleveland, 
Pittsburgh, Kansas 
U’lty, Cincinnati, 
Minneapolis, 
New Orleans, 
Beattie, Lon¬ 
don, England 
ern aid 
m 
Fernald Mfg. Co., 
Inc. 
North East, Pa. 
An instantaneous shaft 
con pier. Pnsh down the 
lever to release—pnll np to 
fasten. Safe, silent, durable. 
Fits any pole or shaft eye 
and any buggy, old or new. 
No rattle; no tools; no 
effort. 85c. per pair at hard¬ 
ware, carriage and harness 
dealers or 85c. from us. 
Quick- 
Shift 
Dynamite 
Doubles 
Yields 
of corn, cotton, cere¬ 
als, and all frails and 
vegetables. 
Ordinary plowing turns 
over the same shal¬ 
low top-soil year after 
year, forming a hard 
and nearly impervious 
* ‘ plow sole ’ ’ that lim¬ 
its the waterholding 
capacity of the land and 
shuts out tons per acre 
of natural plant food. 
Dynamiting the subsoil 
makes this plant food 
available, aerates the 
soil, protects vegetation 
against both drouth and 
excess rainfall, and soon 
repays its cost in saving of 
fertilizer expense and 
largely increased yields. 
There is a new and better 
farm right under the 
old one. Subsoiling 
with Red Cross 
Dynamite gives 
yon 6 feet of top 
soil instead of 6 
inches. 
Write lor 
Free Booklet 
To learn how pro¬ 
gressive farmers are 
using dynamite for 
removing stumps 
and boulders, plant¬ 
ing and cultivating 
fruit trees, regener¬ 
ating barren soil, 
ditching, draining, 
excavating and road¬ 
making, ask for 
New Farms For Old,” 
No. 30 
DU PONT POWDER CO. 
PIONEER POWDER MAKERS OF AMERICA 
WILMINGTON, DEL. 
GOODHUE 
WINDMILLS 
Less than 2V2C per dajr 
for five years will not only buy an 8’ Goodhue Windmill 
and 80 Steel Tower, but will pay for all your pumping, 
buy all your repairs, and furnish you with a new mill and 
tower if yours is destroyed within five years by cyclone, 
tornado, run-away teams or any other cause except 
willful abuse or neglect. 
You cannot even pump your water for that sum In any 
other way. The time you lose starting and stopping 
your engine will amount to more than that. You simply 
cannot a fford to use any other power for pumping. 
Goodhue Windmills are strong, durable and 
safe, are self-oiling, close governing and will get 
the most power out of any wind. Write ua to¬ 
day for our catalogue and the details of our 
really remarkable proposition. Delays are 
f expensive. Do not delay. 
APPLETON MFG.CO., 327 Fargo St.. Batavia, III. 
_ _ _ _ 
Wa ter int h e House 
You Can 
Water on Tap Everywhere 
If you have a spring, a brook, or a well, you can have water 
on tap in the barn, in the barnyard, in the kitchen or bathroom 
■everywhere you need. It will save you, your wife and 
your men time, strength and hundreds of steps every day. 
Get a Goulds pump and you can keep your tank 
in the attic filled with little effort. That’s because 
GOULDS PUMPS 
are equipped with carefully bored and polished cylinders; valves 
and working parts that fit—the whole pump designed to give the 
best possible service and to last. 
We make hundreds of different styles to meet every farm condition. 
Let us, with our sixty years’ experience, solve your water problem. 
The whole subject of water supply for the farm is taken up in our 
FREE BOOK—“Water Supply for the Home 
Tells the difference between pumps, how to select the right one, how to 
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MFG. CO., 58 West Fall Street, Seneca Falls, N. Y. 
Largest manufacturers of t>umt>s for every service ” 
*»♦**»% v •xvatQpn 
99 
