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'THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
December 13, 
The Rural New-Yorker 
' THE BUSINESS FARMER’S PAPER 
A National Weekly Journal lor Country and Suburban Homes 
Established iSSO 
Published weekly by the Rural Puhlhdiinfr Company, 338 West 30th Street, Sew York 
Herbert \V. Collingwood, President and Editor. 
Jons' J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manaprer. 
Wm. F. Dillon, Secretary. Mrs. E. T. Roylk, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, ($2.04. equal to 8s. 6d., or 
8H marks, or lOj^ 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 a#ate line—7 words. 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 hacked 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. Wo protect jfuo- 
ccribers against rogues, but we do not guarantee to adjust trifling differences 
between subscribers and honest, responsible advertisers. Neither win we be 
responsible for the debts of honest bankrupts sanctioned by the courts. 
Notice of the complaint must be sent to us within orniinonth-of the time of 
the transaction, and you must have mentioned Thk Rural jsew -1 ORKKk 
when writing the advertiser. 
The Northern Nut Growers’ Association at its re¬ 
cent meeting in Washington did a very pleasant and 
worthy thing in electing Prof. H. E. Van Deman an 
honorary member. Only one other man has received 
this honor—Henry Hales, who recently died. Thus 
Prof. Van Deman is the only honorary member at 
present. We are glad to record this recognition of 
liis long and unselfish work in horticulture. 
* 
Help in this region, near Chicago, is hard for a 
farmer to get, even at wages which he cannot afford. 
My tenant has been paying over $50 a month with board 
all Summer. At the same time the United Charities 
are trying to raise $350,000 to feed the 100,000 out of 
a job in Chicago. H - u - F. 
The same thing is more or less true of sections 
near most large cities. We hear from farmers almost 
daily who see their property injured or idle because 
they cannot get competent help, and yet are asked 
to contribute money to feed idle men in the cities! 
The truth is, however, that many of these men would 
he nearly useless on a farm. They either have no 
trade at all or have worked at a machine or some 
part of a trade which would he of no use in the 
country. It is useless to compare a $50 dairyman 
or hired hand with one of these city workers. The 
latter might he willing, but he would not know 
whether to go to a cow’s tail or horns to milk. Then 
there are many farmers who do not or cannot make 
Winter work for the man, and he drifts into the 
city—often to be fed. 
♦ 
The New York Legislature recently appropriated 
money to pay for cattle slaughtered by the .State as 
being afflicted with tuberculosis. We have had sev¬ 
eral complaints from farmers who think they are 
unfairly treated. In these cases the cattle were 
condemned and killed before the act providing for 
payment was passed some years ago. There seems 
to have been nothing in this act to provide pay¬ 
ment for cattle previously destroyed, and in author¬ 
izing payments the law is construed to cover only 
those cases which occurred after the passage of 
the law. We had a somewhat similar case two 
years ago where several glandered horses were 
killed. The owner could not obtain compensation 
from the Agricultural Department because his 
horses were killed before the law was passed. The 
State of New York was clearly responsible, how¬ 
ever, and this man got his member of the Legisla¬ 
ture to introduce a special bill appropriating the 
money. The Legislature passed this bill and the 
money was paid. This seems to he the way open to 
farmers who are in a like trouble. 
* 
The Portland (Oregon) Union Stock Yards will 
supply a pig to every school in Oregon and Wash¬ 
ington that cares to take one. The requirement is 
that some one at each school shall keep an accurate 
record of what the pig eats and how it is cared for. 
The stock yards will buy the pig hack when ready, 
and pay the market price to the school. As an 
educator the hog has his many good points. We 
had a classmate who went through college on a 
sow’s hack. When he started his brother put aside 
one good sow. The sale of her pigs—fed on farm- 
raised food—with what this boy earned paid his 
expenses. Watching the pig extract a square root out 
of his food will help the children all the way from 
mathematics to morals. As the Oregonian says: 
We should not be surprised to see within the next 
10 years every country school supplied with a flock of 
fowls as well as with pigs and milch cows. The chil¬ 
dren will no doubt spend a part of their time keeping 
the grounds in order and attending to the culture of 
flowers and grain, while they will not neglect the wants 
of their animal charges. 
Well, why not? The poet who spoke of seeing 
“sermons in stones” has been applauded. Why not 
sermons and lectures by our barnyard friends? 
Here is what a l>ack-to-the-lander says about his 
location in Maryland: 
The weather to-day is perfect. I am daily regretting 
that the Pilgrims didn’t find Cape Charles and Henry 
instead of Cape Cod, for every prospect pleases but every 
man is vile (here). 
But would not the Pilgrims have joined the pro¬ 
cession? If they had not been obliged to labor on 
about the poorest soil in this country they never 
would have appeared larger than the dot on the i 
in history. Where every prospect leads to pleasure 
man runs a quick race to the jumping-off place— 
and does not stop there. 
* 
There is great suffering among the peons or farm 
laborers in Porto Pico. These people are improvident 
—literally taking no thought for the morrow. They 
work for little money and spend it as they go. Much 
of their work has in years past been found on the 
sugar plantations. The new tariff bill seems to have 
stopped sugar production in Porto Pico. The plant¬ 
ers are unable to obtain credit as in former years, 
since the removal of the tariff has upset calculation, 
and the money lenders will wait and see what the 
Porto Pico planters must contend with. Thus these 
ignorant laborers are left idle, with no money and 
small prospect for work. This is a new problem, 
which must he met, for it is not likely that Porto 
Pico can compete with Cuba or with Germany in 
the production of sugar under the new tariff. 
Prof. Geo. II. Glover, of Colorado, has this to say 
about the correspondence schools which are teach¬ 
ing veterinary science by mails: 
For the young man who is paying for such a course 
and laboring under the delusion that he will receive 
credits for college entrance, we wish to advise that no 
reputable veterinary college in North America gives 
any credit for college entrance or college work, for cor¬ 
respondence school courses. 
If such a man hung up liis shingle after taking 
one of these mail courses it would become weather¬ 
beaten before it provided a roof for his family. 
There are many things which may he learned by 
correspondence. Some important points of every 
subject can be studied in this way, but some of the 
claims of the correspondence schools will not cor¬ 
respond with the facts when you face a cold world 
with them. 
* 
President Wilson comes out squarely for primary 
nomination for President. lie says: 
I venture the suggestion that this legislation should 
provide for the retention of party conventions, but only 
for the purpose of declaring and accepting the verdict 
of the primaries and formulating the platforms of the 
parties; and I suggest that the conventions should con¬ 
sist not of delegates chosen for this single purpose, but 
of the nominees for Congress, the nominees for vacant 
seats in the Senate of the United States, the Senators 
whose terms have not yet closed, the national commit¬ 
tees, and the candidates for the Presidency themselves, 
in order that platforms may he framed by those respon¬ 
sible to the people for carrying them into effect. 
We believe that a large majority of the American 
people believe in such legislation and will carry it 
still further. There is said to he some opposition 
at the South, and naturally some of the old-time 
party leaders object to giving up their power. We 
believe however that the desire for primary nomin¬ 
ations has become a part of popular thought. Noth¬ 
ing can stop it now. • 
* 
E. S. Brigham, Agricultural Commissioner of Ver¬ 
mont, has an ambitious scheme for careful potato 
growers of that State. There are parts of Vermont 
where potato diseases are not commonly found. It 
is possible, by thorough spraying and care, to grow 
a crop which will show practically no disease. Of 
course such potatoes are ideal for seed purposes. 
The other requisite for good seed is true and uni¬ 
form type. Mr. Brigham’s scheme would he to take 
Irish Cobbler and a few other desirable varieties 
and select pure, uniform seed to start with. Let a 
number of first-class growers in various parts of the 
State unite and make arrangements for a State in¬ 
spection. An expert is to go from farm to farm 
somewhat after the plan of a cow tester and study 
the crop, lie is to pull out and destroy all “rogues” 
or untrue types found growing in the potato field, 
and to see that the crop is fully sprayed and cared 
for. If at the close of the season he finds the crop 
satisfactory he will give a State certificate of 
purity. Anyone who knows how potato varieties 
are now mixed up can see what such a certificate 
would mean to a grower. It would he like the 
registry papers of pedigree to a live stock breeder, 
and in a larger way the State would receive credit 
and advertising. This is a practical business way 
of helping farmers, and we hope the experiment can 
he tried. 
The results to shippers from this year’s Thanks¬ 
giving poultry trade were the most disastrous ever 
known. The weather was soft, during most of the 
week previous, so that great quantities of dry-packed 
poultry spoiled on the way. The Board of Health 
had a large force of inspectors at receiving points 
and in stores, and condemned a great quantity, es¬ 
timated at nearly the equivalent of 50 carloads. 
This will mean to many farmers a total loss of what 
was good choice poultry when shipped. One method 
of “denaturing” this condemned poultry was to 
throw on blue vitriol and sprinkle with water. 
Some commission men, seeing how things were go¬ 
ing, sent their receipts direct to the cold storage 
houses, where they will he frozen solid and opened 
and sold later when inspectors are less prevalent 
and not likely to condemn a whole package because 
of partial damage. 
* 
This business of planting so-called “hardy Catal- 
pa” in New York or northern Pennsylvania is a farce 
which easily becomes a fake. The tree is a native 
of river bottoms in the Middle West. There with 
rich soil and favoi’able conditions it grows rapidly 
and makes good fence posts. On poorer soils and in 
colder climate it fails. In most parts of New York 
it will prove a failure and a trouble. A band of 
high-class guff producers are at large selling these 
trees to farmers. They tell him what the tree does 
on an Indiana river bottom, and then try to make 
him think it will do as well on an old hillside. A 
man might come and show .you true pictures of a 
rubber tree in Mexico, and then say he had a variety 
which would grow in your old pasture. W T ould you 
believe him? You might about as well believe these 
Catalpa stories. Our advice is to let Catalpa alone 
in New York and upper Pennsylvania. 
* 
Last year the U. S. Supreme Court decided that 
the ownership of a patent does not permit a combin¬ 
ation to restrain trade by dictating the retail price. 
The court has now settled the same thing regard¬ 
ing a book copyright. A city dealer used book sales 
as a “leader”—that is. cut the price far below the 
ordinary retail price in order to secure trade. The 
publishers, through their organization, tried to pre¬ 
vent this by compelling all retailers to sell at certain 
standard prices. The dealer mentioned refused to 
agree to this and bought the books whenever lie 
could—selling at his own price. The publishers em¬ 
ployed detectives to find where he bought, and on 
learning “blacklisted” certain jobbers—that is, re¬ 
fused to sell to them. The retail dealer brought 
suit to have this combination of publishers declared 
illegal. The lower courts were divided, but the Su¬ 
preme Court has decided against the publishers. It 
appears from this that the publisher cannot control 
the price of a copyrighted hook after it passes out 
of his hands. 
BREVITIES. 
Too many pumpkin seeds will prove bad for stock. 
They affect the kidneys. 
Some of these “up to date” people look as if some¬ 
one had started the clock an hour ahead. 
IIow does a man keep out of a “rut”? By taking 
notice of what goes on by the side of the road. 
“Youth must be served”—and sometimes it demands 
attention before it has performed its own proper service. 
“Take these spineless cactus yarns with a pinch of 
salt,” says a Texas reader. We give it a pinch of 
assault! 
No. ground limestone is not best for using in a com¬ 
post with muck. Slaked lime is quicker and the sour 
muck needs active work. 
Step-savers— we want the record of any device or 
system which enables you to do useful things with a 
saving of motion, time or power. 
The French Chamber of Deputies recently received 
a petition signed by 322,072 women demanding an act 
of Parliament to limit the number of liquor-selling 
places in France. The protest is not directed against 
wine and beer, but against distilled liquors, the con¬ 
sumption of which is increasing in France. 
It is now pretty well known that bi-sulphide of car¬ 
bon will destroy the grain weevil or any other breathing 
insect if the two come together in an airtight space. 
IIow much bi-sulphide and how long a fumigation. r l he 
Kentucky Experiment Station found that 3 1-5 ounces 
of the liquid evaporated in 100 cubic feet killed all the 
insects in 10 to 21 hours. 
The Mark Lane Express tells of an English grocer 
who, when cutting a cheese, found in the center a small 
tin box. This contained three pennies and a request 
to communicate with the New Zealand maker of the 
cheese, who wished to know whether the cheese was 
bought as Canadian or New Zealand produce. It was 
sold the grocer as Canadian, so he conveyed this news 
to the New Zealander. 
A reader wants to know if there is any law to 
prevent him from buying eggs from others and then 
stamping them with his name. The law of common 
sense is against it. for you will assume great risks when 
you take responsibility for unknown eggs. There would 
be no legal objection unless your name in some way 
was used as a guarantee that your own hens produced 
the eggs. 
