1913. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1113 
We have spoken several times of the potato quar¬ 
antine against foreign countries, which acts like a 
prohibitive tariff. The object of the quarantine is 
to keep out diseased potatoes which might be used 
as s al, or which even if consumed might spread 
the disease. The English and German farmers are 
naturally greatly opposed to this quarantine, as it 
shuts them away from a lucrative market; yet there 
is no reason why our farmers are not to be pro¬ 
tested against these diseases. We have enough of 
such diseases here now. The Argentine Republic 
has also enforced such a quarantine. No shipment 
of foreign potatoes can be made into Argentina un¬ 
less it be accompanied by two certificates. One 
certificate must attest to the healthful condition of 
the soil in which the potatoes were grown. The 
other must certify a sound, wholesome condition of 
the tubers. Anyone who knows how potatoes are 
bought and handled for shipment can readily see 
the impossibility of giving such certificates, except 
in small quantities of high-priced seed. Argentina 
is right, as is our own government in protecting 
farmers in this way. Fm our own case the quaran¬ 
tine is effective not only in keeping out disease, hut 
in practically preventing imports of potatoes either 
for food or for seed. 
* 
We are filling our silos. I was in one all day dis¬ 
tributing it around; cut about 60 tons to-day. We ex¬ 
pect to make about 125 tons of silage and feed to 30 
head of beef cattle. j. a. 
This man was formerly a well-known breeder of 
purebred dairy cattle. The inability to obtain com¬ 
petent help drove him away from milking cows. 
The high price of beef makes steer feeding look like 
a good proposition. There are hundreds of other 
men who are likely to do the same thing. This will 
reduce the number of cows and make good market 
milk harder to obtain. Where one man like this gets 
out of dairying another must come iu, so that the 
business is going through a period of adjustment. 
Fruit growers and market gardeners must have re¬ 
liable help in Summer, but it is hard to find a profit¬ 
able job during Winter. With a dairy of good cows 
they can give men a year's job. They need manure, 
and there are always fodder crops which might be 
wasted without live stock. A herd of improved 
cows' will take eare of the situation. It seems to 
us very clear that the dairy development of the 
future is likely to be on fruit farms and gardens— 
comparatively small herds of choice animals. Such 
herds must be made up of improved cows. The 
owners already know what improvement or pedigree 
means in plants and trees, and they will use the best 
dairy bulls they can find. 
* 
Ax agent of the D. R. Cornell Company, real estate. 
Great Barrington, Muss.. is canvassing Orange County 
trying to get farmers to list property for sale with them. 
He claims it will be no expense to owners except an 
average expense of $80 per farm, the owner to pay one- 
third at time of listing. They agree not to hold owner 
for commission when sold by other agents. Are they 
a responsible concern? I’leaso answer through your 
paper. u. g. e. 
New York. 
As we have often told, this listing fee started with 
Ostrander of Philadelphia. Apparently no attempt 
was made to sell farms, all the effort being put into 
the work of listing them through large advertising 
and the mails, and telegraph. When each farmer 
paid from $15 to $100 for listing it is easy to see 
that there was good money in the listing. When 
The R. N.-Y'. showed up the scheme, the Post Otlice 
Department investigated and that ended it. Then 
some fake papers worked the scheme for awhile in 
connection with advertising and subscriptions, hut 
it diil not last long. 
The Strout Company modified it so that the fee 
was not collected for listing, but for withdrawal, 
and the contract provided that once listed the fee 
must be paid sooner or later; if not before, at death 
of the owner. The Strout agent listed fees that 
amounted to $20,000 to $25,000 in fees a month. 
Farmers were bound in contracts to pay these 
amounts iu cash sooner or later. The only possible 
escape was to set up a defense of fraud. The Strout 
Company did make sales, and collected commissions 
or profits, sometimes as high as 70 per cent of the 
selling price for their services; but it is clear that 
the fees vvVnihl amount to a nice income if they made 
no sales. 
This Cornell scheme is the latest along the same 
lines. If the agent can collect a fee of $26 on every 
farm for sale in Orange County, he need not worry 
about the high cost of living, but where the farmer 
experts to benefit from such a contract and payment 
is more than we can figure out. We do not hesitate 
to advise farmers to refuse to sign any contract or 
paper of any kind for the sale of farms to any so¬ 
liciting agent, and under no circumstances to prom¬ 
ise a fee for listing farms, unless the farmer is 
willing to make the agent a present of the fee. 
When the Panama Canal is open, a new industry 
is expected.—shipping Alfalfa hay from the Pacific 
coast to Europe. There is already a large demand 
for this hay in Germany and England, and this de¬ 
mand is sure to increase with an increase in supply. 
Already, large quantities of this hay have been im¬ 
ported from South America, but the hay from our 
Pacific coast is of much higher quality, and with 
direct shipment through the Panama Canal, there 
is every probability that a great export trade will 
be developed. It is also evident that this hay will 
be earned by ship through the canal to our Atlantic 
coast cities, where it will have an effect upon prices 
for grain and fodder. This is only one illustration 
of the way industry will be changed by the opening 
of this canal. Without question our western coast 
land will be made to produce many things which 
now cannot be sold at a profit on account of high 
rates for freight. In like manner, goods made on 
the Atlantic coast will be shipped through the canal 
back to the Pacific cities. Apparently, the railroads 
will suffer somewhat in the loss of freight, but this 
will be more than made up in a gain to the farmers 
and manufacturers. 
* 
A congress of scientific men recently met in Ger¬ 
many to discuss the power of the “water witch” and 
his ability to find water with a “divining rod.” Many 
of our readers have seen a man walk up and down 
a field with a forked stick held in his hands, until 
the point turns down to indicate water. We have 
started a discussion of this several times. Usually 
all there is to it is one set of men who claim the 
whole thing is a fake, while others know they have 
seen water found in this way. No one seems able to 
tell how or where the “water witch” obtains his 
power. The scientific congress seemed to come no 
nearer the solution. There were faets to prove that 
the “divining rod” does often point to water, but 
the best they could say was that any explanation 
belongs to psychology or mental development rather 
than science. The New York Sun puts it this way: 
In most respects reason in the human being has 
taken the place of instinct in the animal, but the hu¬ 
man still retains numerous traces of instinct. In the 
animal the locating of water is one of the strongest be¬ 
cause one of the most necessary of the instincts. It 
seems, therefore a tenable hypothesis that certain per¬ 
sons are gifted with what may almost be called an in¬ 
stinctive perception of a place where water is likely to 
be found and that this instinctive perception is com¬ 
municated by au involuntary muscular movement to 
the twig. 
This is the most reasonable explanation we have 
yet seen. With a little thought we may all recall 
people who have genuine "instinct” for observing or 
developing certain things. It may be the weather, 
the care of animals, judgment of human nature or 
of events, or of books and study. Their powers go 
beyond reason or ordinary drill iu accuracy and 
fine distinctions, and must be compared with that 
instinct which in animals, prompts them to ilo, with¬ 
out question, the most remarkable things. This 
“instinct” iu the human seems to be acquired both 
by long practice and also by inheritance. It may 
explain the powers of the “water witch” and also 
may explain why sometimes, our children may upset 
all our calculations for education or training. 
THE UNDERWOOD TARIFF LAW. 
The new tariff bill has finally become law, after 
months of debate in Congress. While this bill makes 
radical changes in import duties, and starts a new 
system of income taxes, it has probably caused less 
public discussion than any tariff bill since the Civil 
War. It was evident to most thinking men a year 
ago that President Wilson was reasonably sure of 
election, and that the tariff was sure to he over¬ 
hauled. Most Americans accepted the last election 
as a public commission to the Democrats to try 
out their theories of tariff reduction. That is what 
they have done and only coming history can show 
the wisdom or the folly of this theory. In a general 
way the new plan is to collect part of the public 
revenue by means of a graduated tax on incomes. 
This is a somewhat complicated plan, which we shall 
explain later. The balance of the revenues are to 
be raised by means of tariffs on imported goods ar¬ 
ranged on the theory of reducing the "high cost of 
living” by admitting free of duty most articles of 
food, and others which may be called the common 
necessities of life. 
We are most interested in the “agricultural 
schedule”—which covers the ordinary products of 
the farm. All previous tariff bills have given a 
measure of protection to farm products, very largely 
to offset, ou paper at least, very much larger and 
more important duties ou manufactured products. 
The argument has been in effect that manufacturing 
provides a home market for fanners—therefore 
farmers should support a heavy duty on manufac¬ 
tured goods, and accept a much less effective duty 
on farm products. The new tariff bill boldly aban¬ 
dons that theory and puts nearly all farm products 
on the free list, with the avowed purpose of cheap¬ 
ening the price of food to city and town people. A 
few farm products still retain a tariff. Thus there 
is a duty of $2 a ton on hay, 2% cents a pound on 
butter and substitutes', 20 per cent on cheese. 10 
per cent on live animals, except for breeding pur¬ 
poses; 15 cents a bushel on barley, 10 cents a bushel 
ou peas, 50 cents a ton on straw, 10 cents a bushel 
on apples, peaches, quinces, cherries and plums, and 
also tariffs ou berries, Citrus fruits, nuts, tobacco, 
vinegar and wines. On the other hand, most of the 
articles which farmers produce are put on the free 
list. These embrace agricultural implements, live 
stock used for breeding purposes, ashes, beeswax, 
biscuits and bread, broom corn, buckwheat and buck¬ 
wheat flour, corn and eornmeal, flax straw and flax, 
hides of cattle, milk and cream, meats, potatoes, rye 
and rye flour, tobacco stems, wheat and wheat flour. 
With potatoes, wheat and wheat flour a provision 
is made that a tariff is to be levied whenever these 
are imported directly or indirectly from a country 
which also levies a duty on these same products. 
The manufacturers must have known for some 
time what they were to expect from these tariff 
changes, and they have been at work adjusting their 
business. As is usual with every new tariff bill two 
opposite prediction are made. The high tariff advo¬ 
cates prophesy calamity and depression—though 
there is less of that talk than in former years after 
new tariff legislation. The low tariff men profess 
to believe that these lower duties will wipe out hard 
times by greatly reducing the high cost of living. 
This they claim will come through the reduction in 
the prices for food and clothing resulting from free 
trade in bread, meat, vegetables and wool—all farm 
products. These sanguine hopes are most likely 
doomed to disappointment. The fixed element in 
city living is high rents. The time has long gone 
by when food prices are determined by supply and 
demand. They are held up arbitrarily by the han¬ 
dlers and middlemen. Again, high prices for food 
are worldwide, and there will be no perceptible re¬ 
duction until farmers understand that they can re¬ 
ceive a fairer share of what the consumer pays. It 
is hard to understand how free trade in farm prod¬ 
ucts is to lower rents, cut out the useless middlemen 
or increase the world’s supply of food. This new 
tariff law is entitled to a fair trial. There is no 
chance of changing it immediately, and time alone 
can prove it. 
CROP OUTLOOK. 
Canadian Crops. 
The apple outlook is unfavorable. From British Co¬ 
lumbia to the Atlantic Coast the crop is below the 
average, and in many sections there are total failures. 
Dry weather, hail and wind caused heavy drops. In 
New Brunswick apples are almost a failure. In the 
Annapolis Valley there is a good crop of Blenheim and 
fair yields of Ribston and Fallawater. the total for the 
district promising about 500,000 barrels. In the Ottawa 
anil St. Lawrence valleys, Winter varieties have been 
greatly helped by recent rains. 
In the counties bordering ou Lake Erie and Lake 
Huron the pear yield is excellent, though the size is a 
little small. Bartlett is especially good. Ontario has 
harvested the largest crop of plums for many years, all 
nearby markets being glutted. 
Foreign Crops. 
Broomhall’s Liverpool report states: 
United Kingdom.—The weather generally is very 
fine. Thrashing is progressing rapidly and supplies of 
native wheat are increasing. 
Russia.—The weather generally favors thrashing, 
the returns of which are generally satisfactory. Ar¬ 
rivals of wheat at the ports are liberal and are expected 
to continue so. There is a large fleet awaiting sailing. 
The quality of oats in the center is poor. The outlook 
for corn is unfavorable owing to wet weather. 
Rmnnaniu.—The weather is wet and generally unset¬ 
tled. This is delaying the ripening of corn and also 
thrashing of wheat and some damage is reported 
Hungary.-—The weather is unsettled and thrashing 
is delayed. The harvesting of corn has commenced. 
Germany.-—Native offers are smaller, as growers are 
busy with field work. The potato crop yield is a large 
one. 
Potato Crop. 
Our opinion is that the potato crop will be more 
than 15 per cent short of last season. From the data 
now at hand, we would place it at 20 per cent. The 
most shortage is in the Middle West States: Kansas. 
Oklahoma. Iowa. Nebraska, Missouri, Indiana and 
Ohio. Heavy producing States west of the Mississippi 
River are slightly below normal. weaver com. co. 
Kansas. 
We believe that in Northern Indiana the crop will 
be about 35 per cent short of last season and this short¬ 
age will extend as far north as about 100 miles iu 
Michigan. Farther up the State of Michigan the late 
potato crop is looking better. In event of frost hold¬ 
ing off we figure there will be nearly as large a crop of 
potatoes in Northern Michigan as there was last year. 
Indiana. beyer Bros. co. 
We shall not have over 55 per cent of last year’s 
crop, but the quality is very good. Digging is progress¬ 
ing slowly and the market for our products is strong 
and prices continuing to advance. From information 
we have through inquiries from the Southern and East¬ 
ern States, we judge that the crop is considerably 
shorter than reported by the Department of Agricul¬ 
ture. NORTHERN POTATO GROWERS’ SALES CO. 
Moorhead, Minn. 
