798 
the rural new-yop.ker 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER’S PAPER 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes 
Established isso 
Pnbli-hed weekly by the Rural Fnblishing Company, 383 West 30th Street, Hew York 
Herbert W. Collingwood, President and Kditor. 
Jons J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. Dillon, Secretary. Mrs. E. T. Royi.e. Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union. $2.04. equal to 8s. 0(1., oi 
8kj marks, or 10K francs. Remit in money order, express 
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. References required for 
advertisers unknown to us ; and cash must accompany transient oiders. 
“A SQUARE DEAL” 
We believe that every advertisement in this paper is backed by a respon¬ 
sible person. But to make doubly sure we will make good any loss to paid 
subscribers sustained by trusting any deliberate swindler advertising in our 
columns, and any such swindler will be publicly exposed, protect 
scribers against rogues, but we do not guarantee to adjust diffei 
between subscribers and honest, responsible advertisers. L'o'thei i 
responsible for the debts of honest bankrupts sanctioned by the courts. 
Notice of the complaint must be sent to us within oneL»'f >I }* *'h of l'*? £' ‘ker 
the transaction, and you must have mentioned The Rural New-Yorker 
when writing the advertiser. 
A movement is on foot to organize a New York 
Potato Growers’ Association. Tlie plan is to hold a 
meeting in August on the farm of T. E. Martin in 
Monroe Co., and at that time start such an organi¬ 
zation if it seems desirable. This ought to be done. 
Wisconsin potato growers have such an organization, 
and it has helped its members. “Organization" is not 
only the watchword, but the mainspring of the 
watch. 
❖ 
As we write the New York Legislature is in ses¬ 
sion to consider the direct primary bill. The politi¬ 
cal leaders are defiant, and are fighting Gov. Sulzer 
bitterly. The Democratic members from the large 
cities seem to realize that a true and fair direct pri¬ 
mary would destroy their present political power. 
By a strange form of reasoning the Republican poli¬ 
ticians in the rural counties have tried to frighten 
their followers into thinking that direct primaries 
would give New York City the power to nominate! 
Of course both views cannot be sound, but this is a 
fair sample of the way the politicians handle such 
questions. The Republicans seem to see. what they 
call “good politics” in refusing help to the Governor 
and thus aiding his enemies to defeat him. Under 
the circumstances it would seem to us better politics 
for the party to drop these small tactics and come 
out openly for a good primary bill. That would 
give them a better standing with the people than 
any other course they can follow. A new Assembly 
will be elected this Fall, while the Senators hold 
over. Some of these Senators may take the chance 
that the demand for primary laws will blow over 
before they come up for re-election. They will take 
a long chance, for if by their votes they prevent 
primary legislation now not one in 10 of them can 
ever “come back.” 
* 
Some commission men are making a great to-do 
over the cost of doing business under the new law 
and the consequent need of charging a higher com¬ 
mission. The fact is that $22 per year covers the 
added cost—$10 for license and $12 for bond. Those 
with large capital and bank balances can get the 
bond for even less. Commissions now charged the 
shipper vary from four to 10 per cent, depending 
on the product and whether handled from store, 
dock or car. We know that some goods are sold at 
an alleged commission that cannot be profitable, the 
natural conclusion being that enough—or more—is 
stolen from the shipper to make the difference. No 
reasonable farmer will object to a commission 
charge necessary to make the seller a fair profit, 
but there is uo sense in this whine over a $22 yearly 
expense, which is far more than offset by the ad¬ 
vertising the State license gives. 
* 
I have got a rather poor idea of my intelligence, 
since I have signed with these fellows, and my wife 
considers me hardly fit for business with agents since. 
But I am not the only one. lie sold to a lot of farmers. 
He showed me three books filled witn orders within a 
radius of 15 miles. It would hardly seem possible that 
he could dope all these fellows and get through with it 
safe, hut he certainly knew how to sell and tie a fel¬ 
low. One of my neighbors to whom he sold a thousand 
says he can’t see how ever a man could make him be¬ 
lieve such a story, hut he certainly did. 
That is from a man who signed a $00 contract 
with a tree agent. This man of guff sold our friend 
Catalpa trees which are to revolutiouize the lumber 
industry in a few years. Our advice is to introduce 
the next agent to the wife and give her the contract 
of settling with him. It is remarkable what some of 
these guffers can do with their tongue! We have a 
neighbor who has a simple antidote for agents’ guff. 
When they come telling him how rich they will 
make him he merely says “No—I take The Rural 
New-Yorker.” These gentlemen of the glib tongue 
all know us, and their language upsets what the 
poet intended for truth; “To know him was to love 
him." 
The first page article shows the great value of 
available phosphates on that Maryland soil. The 
Western gentlemen who have become so much ex¬ 
cited over the use of raw phosphate rock will ap¬ 
preciate the following: 
This “ground limestone and raw phosphate” recipe 
reminds me of a rather good story told by the assistant 
superintendent of schools in Anne Arundel County. An 
old darky came up to the mansion house one morning 
and asked for “Miss Jennie.” lie complained of having 
“misery in his breast,” which, of course, means a pain 
in his chest. He showed her a large bottle of patent 
medicine. “Miss Jennie,” said the old fellow, "won't 
you done read dis yere description on dis bottle. What’s 
dis medicine good for?” “Well, Uncle,” said Miss Jen¬ 
nie, “the label says it is good for colds and bronchitis 
and pneumonia and lung trouble and diabetes and kid¬ 
ney troubles and chills and fever and other things.* 
“No, sir,” said Uncle, “Use not gwine to use any of dis 
medicine. I’se gwine right up to Doctor Tom and asK 
him to give me one ob his descriptions. Dis medicine 
sure can’t be much. It comes too high ricommind.” 
D. H. s. 
“Too high ricommind” is good. Unquestionably 
there are soils and conditions where for a term of 
years ground limestone and raw phosphate will in¬ 
duce the soil to give fair crops. Eastern farmers 
went through much the same experience 60 years 
ago with bone or superphosphates alone or with 
swamp muck. Look back into the reports and pa¬ 
pers of that day and you will find the same remark¬ 
able statements. The great trouble with these the¬ 
ories is that they are “too high ricommind.” The 
world is wide and for many years the people who 
live in the old settled sections have been hunting for 
plant food. In most cases they have started with 
some substances which provided a single element of 
plant food. For example, in sections where for 
many years live stock had been grown and driven 
away the needed element would be phosphoric acid. 
The first results from supplying this would cause 
many people to suppose that bone or rock would 
supply all that will ever be needed. That theory has 
been exploded dozens of times, for sooner or later all 
the elements of plant food are found necessary. 
* 
Through the initiation of the co-operative com¬ 
mittees of the New York State Agricultural Society 
a bill was introduced in the New York State Legis¬ 
lature at its last session directing the Commissioner 
of Agriculture to appoint a Deputy Commissioner at 
a salary of $3,000 a year, to encourage and promote 
co-operative work in the State, and to assist and 
direct the organization of co-operative societies, and 
assist them when necessary in their practical devel¬ 
opment. The bill was introduced by Assemblyman 
Marc W. Cole and Senator Franklin D. Roosevelt 
and has become a law. 
Commissioner Iiuson has now appointed Mr. Cole 
to this position, and the preliminary work has al¬ 
ready begun. It is safe to say that Mr. Cole is not 
the man who would have been selected by the friends 
and promoters of this work. Previous to his legis¬ 
lative experience he seems not to have been identi¬ 
fied with the movement, and his knowledge of co¬ 
operative work and its needs is necessarily limited. 
At the same time there is reason to expect much 
from his administration of the work. Mr. Cole 
showed great energy and perseverance in promoting 
the interest of this and other agricultural measures 
at Albany during the past Winter. lie is known as 
a worker, and he certainly has a great opportunity 
not only to demonstrate his own fitness for an im¬ 
portant work, but also to render a most important 
service to the producers and consumers of the State 
of New York. 
Great economies may be effected by the farmer 
through co-operation in production, in financing and 
in buying, but most pressing at this time is the 
necessity of co-operation in shipping and marketing 
farm products so as to secure for the producer some¬ 
thing more than 35 cents out of the consumer’s dol¬ 
lar. This is the co-operative work that Mr. Cole is 
expected to encourage and promote. It is the most 
important work undertaken by the State in a gen¬ 
eration. If the result depends entirely on Mr. Cole 
or any other one man it is foredoomed to failure. It 
is a work for the producers themselves. Mr. Cole can 
only initiate and suggest and point the way. The 
farmer must assume the responsibility and do the 
real work. 
For so important a work this contribution by the 
State comes timidly and grudgingly. It should come 
boldly and liberally. The last Legislature appro¬ 
priated nearly $3,000,000 to agricultural education 
and law enforcement—about $35 for every farmer 
of the State; all to teach the farmer to grow pro¬ 
duce, much of which rots on the ground, and more 
of which sells for less than it costs to produce. The 
need of economies and improvements in selling facil¬ 
ities has been demonstrated over and over again. 
Yet $3,000 is all the State has been willing to invest 
in this momentous problem. But this is a start, 
and the work will develop. 
June 28, 
Dr. L. H. Baxley, dean of the Agricultural Col¬ 
lege at Cornell, has resigned his position. Two 
years ago Dr. Bailey wished to retire, but finally con¬ 
sented to remain in order to reorganize the college. 
We know that for some years Dr. Bailey has desired 
to he free from college work and take up several 
lines of study which appeal to him, but which will 
demand his entire time and thought. 
* 
Country' raised boys will x’emember the fights at 
the district schools between factions or localities. 
These senseless feuds have done much to prevent 
neighborhoods from co-operating or living on good 
terms. Another thing about as sensible is the fool¬ 
ish antagonism between the freshman and sopho¬ 
more classes at colleges. One of the most hopeful 
things we have heard lately is the action of the 
freshman class at the Iowa State College. This 
class, nearly at the end of its year, passed the fol¬ 
lowing resolution: 
Be it resolved. That this class of 1916 in the Iowa 
State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts hereby 
expresses its emphatic disapproval of the idea of fur¬ 
ther continuing the traditional attitude of antagonism 
or unfriendliness between sophomores and freshmen, 
and records itself as favoring an attitude of friendli¬ 
ness and helpfulness. 
We, the members of the class of 1916, hereby pledge 
ourselves collectively and individually to use our best 
influence to prevent all acts of lawlessness or violence 
against members of the class of 1917, and assert it to 
be our purpose to assist the members of the incoming 
class to become well established in their work as 
promptly as possible. It is our desire to hold friendly 
contests with the incoming class, such contests to be 
arranged by a joint committee. 
These young men luay not i - ealize it, but they are 
helping to make the right sort of history. By act¬ 
ing to break down a foolish and useless social cus¬ 
tom they do more than they think and set an exam¬ 
ple which many of their elders might well copy in 
politics and business. We cannot get together as 
we should until we can cut out foolish prejudice 
and worn-out traditional habits. 
* 
We spend much time each year reading the vari¬ 
ous addresses and sermons spoken to gx*aduating 
classes at our American colleges. The message 
which these trained young men and women are sup¬ 
posed to take with them may be regarded as the 
ideal which rises out of our educational system. It 
must be said that these graduates receive a vast 
amount of advice with practical wisdom running 
through it in about the proportion of fat to milk. 
The best address which we have read this year is by 
President Thomas of Middlebury College. This fine 
old Vermont institution is classed ns a classical col¬ 
lege and is maintained by farmers—its students being 
very lai’gely farm-bred boys and girls. President 
Thomas took up the problem of Vermont’s small 
hill towns which since the war have been steadily 
losing population. These towns are of vast impor¬ 
tance to New England, for the manhood they pro¬ 
duced in old days was what made the section great. 
President Thomas preached the doctrine that the 
redemption of these back towns means manhood 
sacrifice—the free offering of the best brains and 
the best training that VeiTuont colleges can give. 
“Why not social settlements in the logging towns of 
Vermont? The idea, as I understand it, is to go among 
people and live there, not to preacn to them but to 
share their life. Who of you will go to live in a hill 
town of Vermont—not where there is the best job, 
but where there is the greatest need? 
“Why not take your training and your spirit there 
and work out the problem? Not to live as they live and 
be contented as they are contented, but to show first 
yourself how a more generous livelihood can be ob¬ 
tained and more generous thoughts cultivated and then 
to communicate these to others. 
“One man of the right calibre and the right power, 
consecrated to the work as only religious faith can con¬ 
secrate him, could lift a whole community. One com¬ 
munity so inspired would change a whole county. One 
county leading the way the whole State would follow. 
“Not to preach to them but to share their life!'’ 
That sentence tells the entire story of what is 
really needed in our back country agriculture. We 
have asked repeatedly what our agricultural colleges 
have done to fight the battles of the common farmer. 
What do you expect us to do—is the answer thus 
far received. We want you to teach young men 
and women so that they will do cheerfully and with 
courage just such work as ITesident Thomas points 
out to his graduates! Can you not see that the 
glory of agricultural achievement will grow from a 
farm in a back town rather than from a comfort¬ 
able olfice job? 
BREVITIES. 
The June culture is what makes the corn. 
The milch goat seems to be solving the dairy prob¬ 
lem of Alaska. 
We have not heard so much this year about the col¬ 
lege boy as a farm hand, but he is still at work. 
Strong alum water, applied freely, is a remedy foi 
ivy poison, given by a correspondent at Southampton, 
N. Y. 
