1912. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
. AT27 
THE FARMER AND CO-OPERATION. 
The committee oh cooperation of the 
New York State Agricultural Society 
is not idle, though no practical results 
have yet been effected or can be ex¬ 
pected for some time to come. The 
members are studying the New York 
terminal problems, and the distribution 
facilities in the city, as a large part of 
the waste and loss occurs between the 
freight depot just outside the city, and 
the consumer’s table. It is estimated 
that 65 cents of the consumer’s dollar is 
expended in this distribution and the 
producers get on an average only the 
35 cents left. A more wasteful and ex¬ 
travagant and irresponsible system 
could not be well devised. Different 
members of the committee, including 
the chairman, are going to Europe dur¬ 
ing the summer to study the marketing 
and cooperative associations of the old 
countries, and every effort will be made, 
and is now being made, to perfect a 
new system in New York City for the 
economical distribution of farm prod¬ 
ucts all the way from the farm to the 
city table. It is now quite certain that 
a new terminal system will be adopted; 
new markets for both wholesale and re¬ 
tail trade provided, and a City Depart¬ 
ment of Markets created to supervise 
and direct the sale of food products. 
The committee is concerned in bringing 
about these reforms; and is exerting 
its best influence to secure the best and 
most effective systems. 
In the meantime the farmers will need 
to perfect local organizations among 
themselves to facilitate the packing, 
grading and shipping of products. Food 
products will be standardized in the fu¬ 
ture. Consumers must know by the 
label just what grade of goods are in 
the package without examination, and 
they must also know the amount of the 
contents in pounds. Short weight and 
measures will not go. A sub-commit¬ 
tee has been provided to suggest stan¬ 
dards and grades for produce; and in 
the early Fall a meeting of the whole 
committee will be called to fix standards 
and to adopt packages and cartons suit¬ 
able for the trade. This committee will 
be glad to receive suggestions from 
farmers’ organizations or individual 
shippers anywhere, and would especially 
appreciate information as to packages 
and cartons that have proved satisfac¬ 
tory to the trade and to consumers. 
While New York City is being first 
considered, because of its importance 
as our largest market, the committee 
realizes the importance of developing 
other cities and especially small local 
markets. Go through any small city 
or village in the State in strawberry 
time and you will find the markets 
stocked and the hotels provided with 
oranges and bananas, and California 
cherries, but seldom do you find the 
fruits of the local farmers in these mar¬ 
kets. Likewise you will find apples 
from the Pacific coast; but not one 
from the neighboring orchards. This 
is not as it should be. We must change 
it. It goes that way now because the 
western fruit growers have organiza¬ 
tions for shipping and selling. They 
can consequently supply the trade as 
needed, and the trade is not depending 
on the chance of an occasional deliv¬ 
ery from an individual grower. This 
uncertainty of supply is the great draw¬ 
back to trade with the individual grower. 
It can be overcome only by organiza¬ 
tions of producers with selling and 
shipping agents so that the trade can 
be sure of constant supply. When this 
is combined with certainty as to quality 
and grade these markets can be easily 
developed to a most profitable trade. 
Nothing like the present agitation over 
this subject of markets was ever heard 
or known in this country before. The 
protest against extravagant profits by 
the jobbers and retailers is almost uni¬ 
versal. Women are forming themselves 
into leagues of National scope and in 
some cases absolutely refuse to buy the 
goods until prices are lower. These or¬ 
ganizations are at work in the States of 
New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, 
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illi¬ 
nois, Indiana, Iowa and to some extent 
in practically the whole country. They 
have come to see, too, that the produc¬ 
ers arc imposed upon as well as them¬ 
selves, and they are endeavoring to find 
means to reach the producer either di¬ 
rect or at most with only one handler 
intervening. Mrs. Julian Fleath, of New 
York City, as President of the House¬ 
wives’ League, composed of several hun¬ 
dred thousand women, is doing much 
good, and promises some practical re¬ 
sults. In addition to the League button, 
these women now in many places also 
wear a button with the word “Farmer” 
side by side with their own emblem to 
show that in this movement their inter¬ 
ests are interwoven with the interests of 
the farmer. This good will is a whole¬ 
some influence. It is really an asset to 
the producer. It can be made a per¬ 
manent asset by cooperating with the 
people interested in it, and in furnish¬ 
ing the goods in the grades and quanti¬ 
ties needed. During the Summer we 
will tell you how this is being done by 
farmers in other countries through co¬ 
operative organizations, and it is hoped 
that the Autumn meeting may develop 
some means of putting the work in 
practical operation here. 
John J. Dillon, 
Chairman. 
CROP NOTES. 
Horses, $100 to $200; cows, $30 to $40 * 
pork, dressed, wholesale, 10 cents; lambs, 
$4 to $5 ; sheep, $4 to $5 ; calves for veal, 
nine to 9% cents; chickens, 12 cents; eggs, 
1 5cent»; hay. $28 to $30; corn, $5 per 
barrel; oats, 00 cents; potatoes, $1.25 to 
$1.50 per bushel; cow peas, $2 to $2.50. We 
have no silos here; no manure sold here. 
Upper Marlboro, Md. J. w. m. 
Ninety per cent of corn planted, most 
of which is harrowed once and 1 very yellow. 
Thermometer .Tune 4 said 42 degrees. Grass 
wonderfully advanced. New seeded Tim¬ 
othy and clover superb. Rye and wheat 
in this immediate neighborhood is above 
100 per cent and will be in shock July 1. 
Much in State plowed up and planted to 
corn. Fruit and berries close to none. Live 
stock doing splendidly and bringing good 
money on the farm and market. Labor 
scarce and high, much of it has inherited 
hook-worms. Living extremely high. m. 
Macon Co., Mo. 
Season is backward here. Heavy Spring 
rains have kept the work back. Gardeners 
are now getting in tobmato plants and gen¬ 
eral crops. Prices good on Rochester mar¬ 
ket. Many tomatoes contracted at $10 per 
ton; good prospects for all kinds of fruit 
and' berries. Greenings and Spitzcnburg 
apples shy, Baldwins heavy. Quite a num¬ 
ber of peach trees on dry sandy knolls 
winter-killed, due to continued severe cold 
and winds blowing the -ground bare of 
snow on the knolls and taking out the 
moisture so that the weaker trees perished. 
Monroe Co., N. Y. C. d. k. 
Crop conditions m general on June 1 
averaged for the United States slightly bet¬ 
ter (0.3 per cent) than on same date last 
year, but moderately lower (1.7 per cent) 
than the average June 1 condition of re- 
ceut years. Crops as a whole are above 
average in the North Atlantic States (due 
mostly to favorable hay prospects), and in 
tlie far Western and Northwestern States, 
being particularly favorable in Oregon ; and 
below average conditions in Southern 
States and in the North Central States 
east of the Mississippi River. In the North 
Central States west of the Mississippi River 
conditions are slightly above average. The 
condition of various crops compared with 
their average condition (not normal) on 
June 1 was as follows: 
Apples, 110.2; pears 108.7; peaches, 
108.5; pastures, 104.9; Alfalfa. 103.7; hay, 
103.5; oats, 103.1; Spring wheat, 102.1; 
cantaloupes, 101.8; cabbage, 101.4; water¬ 
melons, 101.3; clover hay, 100.6; barley, 
100.3; Lima beans. 100.3; onions, 100.1; 
rye, 97.8; cotton, 96.8; sugar beets, 96.0; 
raspberries, 95.7; hemp, 92.2; Winter 
wheat, 91.8; sugar cane, 90.7 : blackberries, 
90.2. The estimates of acreage compared 
with last year arc for Winter wheat, 88.3; 
Spring wheat, 94.2; all wheat, 90.7 ; oats, 
100.2 ; barley, 99.3 ; clover, 86.7. 
With a record breaking rainfall for the 
month of May, the total for Northern New 
York being nearly nine inches, the seeding 
season has been unusually backward. Grain 
seeding was not finished until after June 15, 
and corn planting -was still later. The wet 
season has proved very favorable to grass, 
however, and with abundant pasturage a 
large flow of milk was maintained through¬ 
out May and June. The hay crop also 
promises a large yield, as the weather con¬ 
ditions have been ideal for this important 
crop. Dairymen have been favored with 
both an abundant yield of milk products 
and high prices. On the cheese boards of 
Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties quota¬ 
tions have ranged from 13 to 15 cents 
during the months of May and .Tune. The 
biggest day’s sales on the Watertown board, 
.Tune 8, totalled 12,000 boxes, with a value 
of over $97,000. L; L. A. 
Watertown, N. Y. 
This is the condition of farming in at 
least a great part of Western New York; 
Rain till the soil is soaked with water 
since the snow went off. consequently very 
little chance for plowing and doing a great 
part of regular work; on low lands none 
at all. There is but a part of the early 
Spring grain, sown yet (.Tune 5) and corn 
and potatoes as a rule are not planted at 
all. Some farmers have given it up and 
will either sow buckwheat next month or 
depend on hay and late-sowed corn. Others 
are bravely doing what they can to get 
sowing and planting done, though well 
aware that corn cannot be made to grow 
unless it is planted in favorable weather, 
and our soil, with so much clay in it, is 
sure to receive great injury if it is worked 
when it is wet. Still if this work can be 
done all right within the next few days 
there is plenty of time for a crop of every¬ 
thing. We‘hope for a good July and 
August, and if they favor us, with crops in 
the ground to meet them, a good showing 
is still possible. There will at least be a 
big hay crop and wheat is doing well where 
it did not winter-kill. Fruits promise well, 
though in some districts it is estimated 
that there will be fewer apples than there 
were last year. Early fruits, as strawber¬ 
ries, will be immense crops, as it looks 
now. There has been complaint from cer¬ 
tain parts of the Chautauqua grape belt 
that the vine winter-killed badly and that 
the crop would be light on that account, 
but Erie County vineyardists find the vine 
in at least an average condition and already 
showing heavy promise of fruit. One rea¬ 
son for the backwardness of the season in 
the lower lake region is that the excessive 
hot weather that visited the coast districts 
in May did not appear here. J. w. c. 
LARGE PUBLIC QUESTIONS." 
[Editor’s Note.— Under this heading wo intend to 
have discussed questions which particularly interest 
country people. We do not agree with all that our 
correspondents say, but we shall give men and women 
who possess the courage of conviction an opportunity to 
say what they think about certain things which interest 
country people]. 
WHAT ROSEVELT STANDS FOR. 
The R. N.-Y. has interested me because 
of its fearlessness concerning the Lewis 
matter and such matters as are handled 
under “Publisher’s Desk,” its position re¬ 
garding parcels post and express companies, 
and its attention to political matters. I 
have followed closely each week the com¬ 
ments on the Presidential situation and 
have noted your statements concerning Mr. 
Roosevelt and the evident demand fox" him 
upon the part of the farmers. There are 
many surprising features in the candidacy 
of Mr. Roosevelt. Ilis campaign has been 
wonderful as well as spectacular. Your 
editorial in the issue of June 1 quoting 
part of a letter from a New York farmer 
leads me to ask some questions. The open¬ 
ing quotation states facts—vital truths. 
The people are waking up and demanding a 
greater part in government. 
Does Roosevelt, either on his past record 
or his present announcements, measure up 
to the requirements necessary in a leader 
of the great movement being made toward 
government by the people V Is he really a 
statesman seeking to benefit the citizens of 
this country, or is ho an ambitious and 
astute politician seeking personal advan¬ 
tage? This question is still unanswered al¬ 
though many able minds have pondered long 
upon it. His past record is very question¬ 
able where the interests of the people are 
involved. If he is nominated the Demo¬ 
crats will undoubtedly bring forth many 
things which for obvious reasons his op¬ 
ponents in the Republican campaign for 
delegates have left concealed. Do the farm¬ 
ers want Roosevelt and what he stands 
for? Does he stand for what they want? 
Does anyone know enough of what he reallv 
stands for so that one can say, “We arc 
not blind to his faults, and wo are for what 
he represents rather than for him person¬ 
ally?^ Is there in his utterances, leaving 
his actions out of consideration, ground 
for believing his election will tend to re¬ 
lieve the conditions which are, as you say, 
causing “the ocean itself to rise in its angry 
might?” Has he given any assurance that 
lie would even favor the measures advo¬ 
cated by The R. N.-Y. ? He has so far 
sidestepped attempts to place himself on 
record in regard to many vital questions. 
Having in mind his record while Governor 
and while President I, personally, doubt his 
sincerity. I hope I am mistaken. Do not 
think mo pessimistic or that I favor Taft. 
Very little of value has come from the 
present administration, yet I believe a care¬ 
ful analysis will disclose that Taft has se¬ 
cured as much from Congress with his 
pacific methods as did Roosevelt by swing¬ 
ing the “big stick.” Progress has been 
made and Congressmen are much more in¬ 
clined to listen to the public. 
II. F. KENDALL. 
This was submitted to the New York 
State farmer who wrote the item referred 
to. He sends the following reply: 
Reply by a New York Farmer. 
Mr. K. asks “Do the farmers want 
Roosevelt and what he stands for?” and 
“Does he stand for what they want?” 
Combining the two queries and varying the 
proposition a little, hundreds of thousands 
of farmers have answered that they want 
Roosevelt and what he stands for so long 
as he stands for what they want. And 
every day the rank and file, the men of 
brains and brawn, the intelligent, thinking 
farmers of this country, as well as men in 
other occupations, are coming to a clearer, 
more definite understanding of what they 
want and what they mean to have. 
In the statements and questions preced¬ 
ing and following the two noted above 
Mr. K. challenges the intelligence, discern¬ 
ment and judgment of these same farmers 
and other workers who join with them in 
giving to Roosevelt the support which 
makes the campaign he is leading (not his 
campaign) wonderful and spectacular. Un¬ 
wittingly, aparently, Mr. K. to some extent 
has absorbed, and his point of view is in¬ 
fluenced by the Taftonian idea that the 
plain people need a guardian who, if not 
born to the people, is of a superior class. 
Space will not allow even a resume of 
what Roosevelt has accomplished as Gov¬ 
ernor and President. We in New York 
probably Appreciate his achievements more 
than the residents of other States. Had 
we a decent primary law and when our so- 
called primaries were held had the issue 
been Taft or Roosevelt, the results would 
have told a different story. As it was 
more than one organization man of those 
who were delegates to the State Republi¬ 
can convention at Rochester knows that he 
was permitted to go on the understanding 
that delegates to the National Convention 
at Chicago should not be instructed for 
Taft. They were not instructed despite 
the strenuous efforts of the Taft men to 
bring that about. Among the delegates 
from this State to the Chicago convention 
are men who expect to be candidates for 
various offices at the approaching election, 
and they will have a determined electorate 
to reckon with if they misrepresent their 
constituency. This is why the New York 
delegation will not be solid for Taft, rep¬ 
resentations to that effect to the contrary 
notwithstanding. 
Two achievements of Roosevelt T will 
speak of, one State, one National. He un¬ 
horsed the Barnes machine at Saratoga 
in 1910 and placed a good nominee and a 
good platform before the voters of the 
State. They foolishly threw away the op¬ 
portunity to establish a cleaner State or¬ 
ganization and to continue the Hughes 
style of administration. “Abuse of the 
plaintiff’s attorney” in a bad case suc¬ 
ceeded then, but the same tactics will not 
fool the people a second time. He formu¬ 
lated and gave impetus to a National move¬ 
ment of great interest to us farmers—the 
betterment of country life. Under Taft it 
has fallen into “innocuous desuetude.” 
The fond hopes raised in many breasts that 
to agricultural and horticultural interests 
opportunities would be vouchsafed to ad¬ 
vance and in a measure range abreast of 
manufacturing, commerce, transportation 
and finance, all of which have made seven 
league strides under the stimulus and pro¬ 
tection of fostering legislation, have failed 
of realization. Instead, the Canadian reci¬ 
procity treaty was sprung upon us and 
jammed through Congress by “big stick” 
methods. Millions of country people would 
have been adversely affected by the unjust 
provisions of that treaty, which would have 
forced farmers and fruit growers to sell 
their products on a basis of free trade com¬ 
petition, and to buy at tariff prices. I 
venture to say that a larger percentage of 
our population would have been injured by 
the free trade features of the treaty than 
by the removal of the tariff on woolen 
goods or on iron and steel products. What 
a furor would have been created had Taft 
proposed any such action ! In conclusion, 
when Hercules undertakes to clean out the 
Augean stables, people with sensitive noses 
and delicate sensibilities are apt to be 
made uncomfortable. Pitchforks and 
shovels are the tools required, and con¬ 
siderable dust is liable to be raised. 
CHANGING PRICES FOR MILK. 
I inclose a circular letter sent out to 
patrons here by the Merrell-Soule Co. The 
old basis of figuring was 15 per cent churn 
gain. 25 cents per 100 for skim, and 2(4 
cents per pound out for making. The new 
basis means a loss of 10 cents to 15 cents 
per 100 to patrons according to price of 
butter and test of milk. Can you tell us 
what was done by the New York Mercantile 
Exchange on May 13 that makes it neces¬ 
sary to cut the price of skim-milk five 
cents? It looks as though they had de¬ 
cided that the farmers could live on a little 
less. r. h. s. 
Jamestown, N. Y. 
The Circular: 
On May 13 the New York Mercantile Ex¬ 
change made new rules governing the grad¬ 
ing and scoring of butter. We are, there¬ 
fore, obliged to make a change on the basis 
for figuring the price that we pay for your 
milk. Owing to the large number of patrous, 
we find it necessary to simplify the work 
as much as possible, and have decided to 
pay on the basis of the average price, fig¬ 
ured twice a month, on the highest daily 
quotation for creamery extras in New York 
as given by the Producers’ Price-Current, 
with no overrun or deduction for manu¬ 
facturing, and with an allowance of 20 
cents per 100 for skimmed milk, figuring 
80 pounds skimmed to the 100 pounds milk 
delivered. This basis perhaps will not fig¬ 
ure the same as the past, but considering 
the expense of hauling we believe it will 
prove entirely satisfactory. The above will 
take effect on May 21. Any patron deliv¬ 
ering his milk on our platform at factory 
will be allowed five cents per 100 addi¬ 
tional. MEKRELL-SOULE CO. 
All the Mercantile Exchange did was to 
change their grading. They had a grade 
of butter called “special.” This was their 
top official grade. They decided to drop 
this grade and class all the butter formerly 
graded in this way under “extra.” When 
it comes to paying milk producers under 
this readjpustment of prices, it will depend 
upon how much of the fancy butter is in¬ 
cluded in the official price quoted as “extra.” 
The figures given in the Price Current do 
not cover all sales of any of the grades, 
although they are used in adjusting prices. 
There is always a question of uncertainty 
as to just what relation the top price 
quoted for extra will have to the entire 
volume of sales of that grade. It has been 
demonstrated many times that prices of 
this sort are more or less manipulated, and 
are not always true indications of the ac¬ 
tual figures of reaL sales. A creamery buy- 
ink milk on the basis of these sales will bo 
quite sure to discount any uncertainty re¬ 
sulting from this new adjustment. They 
will make themselves safe by allowing for 
a large margin, and no one can tell at 
present just what changes will be brought 
about. The new arrangement may work 
to the patron’s disadvantage, or it may 
not. No one can tell until the new plan 
has been working for several months; then 
a good idea of the situation can be ob¬ 
tained, but at present no one could give 
more than a fair estimate regarding the 
outcome. 
Coming Farmers’ Meetings. 
Indiana Apple Show, Lafayette, Novem ; 
her 13-19; secretary, C. G. Woodbury, La¬ 
fayette, Ind. 
Field meeting of the New Jersey State 
Horticultural Society, Woodcliff Lake, N. 
J., July 17. 
International Dry Farming Congress, 
Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada; Congress of 
Farm Women, week beginning October 21. 
The second annual training conference 
for rural leaders will be held at the New 
York State College of Agriculture, Cornell 
University, June 25-July 5 inclusive. 
Massachusetts Fruit Show, under aus¬ 
pices of State Board of Agriculture and 
Massachusetts Fruit Growers’ Association, 
Horticultural Hall, Boston, Mass., Novem¬ 
ber 7-10. 
TRADE WITH CANADA. 
“No statistics are available showing the 
enormous importation of foodstuffs from 
the United States and eastern Canadian 
points, but most of the poultry and eggs 
used in western Canada come from tile 
eastern Provinces and the United States, 
and the larger cities of western Canada 
yearly face a dearth of dairy products. 
During 1911, the milk shortage in this 
region became so acute that the border 
States of the United States were called on 
to supply the deficiency. It is estimated 
that the imports of milk for Winnipeg dur¬ 
ing November, December, January and Feb¬ 
ruary averaged $45,000 a week in value. 
The United States was also called upon to 
supply potatoes; although these are the 
most productive crop in western Canada, 
they were not raised in sufficient quantities 
to meet the demand.” 
This is taken from a report from Consul 
J. E. Jones, of Winnipeg. During the hot 
argument over the effect of Canadian reci¬ 
procity it was shown that farmers of New 
England would suffer if Canadian dairv 
products were admitted free. On the other 
hand, as shown above, such reciprocal 
trade would benefit our Western dairymen. 
We have no auction sales here, but cattle 
are selling from $30 to $60; hay $12 per 
ton in barn. Meal and corn $1.95 nor 100; 
milk six cents per quart; potatoes $2.75 per 
barrel; seed peas 40 cents per quart. 
Dennysville, Maine. h. p. 
