1913. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1329 
Most of the feeding experts say that it does not 
pay a dairyman to grow Timothy hay. What they 
mean of course is that it does not pay in 
these times to feed Timothy to cows. The corn 
crop, through the silo, gives an abundance of 
carbohydrate or starchy food, and the hard prob¬ 
lem is to provide the protein or muscle-makers. 
Timothy is more of the nature of corn, and for bal¬ 
ancing a ration clover or Alfalfa will be far more 
valuable. Yet on many Eastern dairy farms Tim¬ 
othy is one of the most valuable crops. In many 
cases, it can be sold for .$20 or more per ton. A 
two-tou yield means $-10 to invest in cotton-seed 
meal or other concentrates to feed with the silage. 
This plan of growing a number of acres of Timothy 
in order to provide the money for buying grain is 
followed with success on some good dairy farms. 
* 
Tite Department of Agriculture is doing good work 
in squeezing a little of the guff out of the claims 
which some of the seedsmen are making. It ap¬ 
peal's that the so-called “Shalion pea” is being 
boomed on the claim that 8acres produce 70 tons 
of hay, and 250 bushels of seed. The Department 
states that this pea is nothing more or less than the 
Asparagus bean or Yard-long bean. It is a close 
relative to the cow pea, many botanists considering 
it a cow pea variety. Careful tests have shown *1 at 
not one of 20 varieties of Asparagus bean could com¬ 
pete with cow peas as a forage crop. The stems are 
usually more slender and vining, and the long pods 
cannot be harvested by machinery. This bean takes 
its name from the fact that long green pods are 
used as a vegetable. They have something of the 
flavor of asparagus. It may come into use as a 
vegetable, but as a forage crop it is inferior to our 
common cow peas. The seed of this Shalion pea 
is offered at $5 a pound. In France the same variety 
is offered by seed men for 25 cents a pound. Surely 
the man who pays $5 a pound for this so-called pea 
would take French leave of his money, and this is 
but one example of the way the guff handlers. in 
horticulture try to get rich too fast. It is fine work 
for the Department to show these things up promptly 
and effectively. The work ought to be done while 
the thing is new, and before it gets gray-haired 
through taking money from the people. In too many 
cases such exposures are printed long after the peo¬ 
ple have made their own experiments and lost their 
own money. It takes more courage to nip these 
things in the bud, but that is the time to nip them. 
* 
We believe there are literally millions of people able 
to buy and near enough to Long Island to get cauli¬ 
flower fresh and crisp, who never tasted and who do not 
know how healthful and delicious it is. Our organiza¬ 
tion is purely a growers’ organization for the marketing 
of the crop. We do not have large sums of money avail¬ 
able for advertising purposes, not sufficient to be of 
any use in regular newspaper advertising. We do, 
however, have booklets, post cards, recipes, etc., of 
which we have distributed many thousands during the 
past two years. Can you offer us any suggestion that 
will help us to reach that multitude of persons who 
would be only too glad to eat cauliflower if they could 
only be shown how good it is? 
long island cauliflower association. 
l T ou cannot expect to develop this trade without 
spending some money. In all your advertising, 
whether in papers or in pamphlets state that you 
will send a sample cauliflower by mail. Figure the 
parcel post rate so as to make a price that will be 
an inducement and have some neat packages for 
mailing. The novelty of this offer will appeal to 
many who will try a cauliflower. Send a good talker 
to the city with samples and a good supply of cards 
and pamphlets. Let him go through the large office 
buildings and stores. The other day we met a man 
with a good-sized bag containing samples of apples, 
lie was selling box and barrel lots by sample just 
as he would have sold books or brushes or brooms, 
lie said he was disposing of his entire crop in this 
way. 
We know farmers who have worked up a good 
direct trade by selecting names from the telephone - 
book and sending letters and samples. It takes 
some judgment to select the right names. For cauli¬ 
flower. probably English, German and French peo¬ 
ple would be most likely to want this vegetable. 
Lawyers and doctors would be as likely as any 
to have families. Try 1,000 likely names from the 
telephone book, mail them your literature and ask 
them to send for a sample. Most of those who 
bought and were satisfied would be willing to send 
you the names of half a dozen friends who would 
buy and if you follow them up you can develop 
this into an “endless chain.” Well placed newspaper 
advertising will pay best but if you cannot do that 
we know that the plans here suggested have sold 
other kinds of farm produce. 
I enclose the latest follow-up on that Burbank book 
agent scheme. They had the Congressman work some 
Burbank dope into the Congressional Record, probably 
under “leave to print,” and they are sending it out un¬ 
der the Congressman’s frank free of postage as a fol¬ 
low-up on their scheme. Great, isn’t it? Wonder if I 
couldn’t get free postage on my seed catalogue that way? 
This is from a well-known American seedsman. 
The inclosure is a speech on “Luther Burbank and 
his work,” delivered in Congress by lion. Evens A. 
Hayes. It is sent out free under the “frank” of 
Mr. Hayes. This gentleman says that it is a duty 
and ought to be a pleasure to publish to the world 
the great blessings which Mr. Burbank’s efforts 
have produced. That's fine, but why did not Mr. 
Hayes pay for his own pleasure and not saddle the 
price upon poor old Uncle Sam? The speech con¬ 
tains some 10 pages and is apparently taken right 
out of a Burbank catalogue, and some of it will be 
voted guff by Mr. Burbank’s most ardent admirer. 
Why are the seedsmen and nurserymen of this coun¬ 
try missing such au opportunity? They ought to 
get some Congressman to stand up and read their 
catalogue: then have him print it and send it out 
for them free! Why not be a wizard of legislation 
while you are about it? Congressman Hayes, we 
understand, was oue of the wise owls who opposed 
parcel post because the postal system did not pay! 
He surely ought to be a life member of the Luther 
Burbank Society. 
* 
BALDWIN APPLES OF SILVER. 
We have heard more or less about high-priced and 
profitable apples, but the following seems to stand 
up head. This statement is taken from the Franklin 
(N. II.) Journal-Transcript and is vouched for: 
“Last Fall. 1912. E. N. Sawyer of Salisbury, N. II., 
took a barrel of Baldwin apples to the fruit show at 
Alton, and won an $85 solid silver pitcher. Later that 
Fall, in November, he took the same barrel of apples 
to the New England Fruit show in Portland, Maine, 
and won a $50 silver cup and $75 in cash. He then 
sold these apples for $8. This year Mr. Sawyer took a 
barrel of Baldwins to the New Hampshire Fruit show 
at Laconia and won the $85 pitcher for keeps (as it 
had to be won two years in succession to become the 
property of a person,) also $25 in cash for best barrel 
of apples at the show of any variety in the State of 
New Hampshire. This same barrel of apples then went 
to Boston in a truck (85 miles! to the New England 
Horticultural exhibit and won $25 cash for best barrel 
of Baldwins at show from New England, also the 
sweepstake prize of $100 in cash for best barrel of any 
variety from any State in New England. These two 
barrels of apples were raised on trees set out by Mr. 
Sawyer 25 years ago when he was in Franklin high 
school and were picked from practically the same trees. 
There have been three New England Fruit shows at 
Horticultural Hall in Boston, one in Portland, Maine 
and one in Hartford, Conn., and Mr. Sawyer has taken 
first prize at every one of the five. He also took this 
year in Boston the third prize, $75, in cash on best 
50 boxes of apples. The barrel this year in Boston 
scored 981 points in 1000. Thus two barrels of apples 
have netted Mr. Sawyer $36S. It is needless to say 
that Mr. Sawyer is a big ‘sticker’ on spraying.” 
These were certainly what you may call, “prime 
goods.” What a possibility this opens up to the gen¬ 
tleman of guff who seeks to sell stock in a “unit or¬ 
chard” to some back-to-the-lander! These apples 
average $184 per barrel. This is a fact to be used 
as a foundation. You can, without any trouble find 
plenty*of honest men to swear that they grow 250 
barrels of Baldwins to the acre. There you have 
another solid fact. Multiply these facts together 
and you have the neat sum of $45,200 per acre as 
income! The guff in all this would be the skillful 
inference that this is easy, based upon solid facts, 
and that all a back-to-the-lander has to do is to give 
up his money, keep his job for a few years, and 
then see the prize-winning apples come off his trees. 
Of course this guff does not include mention of the 
fact that Mr. Sawyer is one of 50,000 apple growers 
and that no ink or pen could possibly describe the labor 
and thought he has put on that orchard. Then too 
with all her brains and skill New England turns out 
about as many apple growers like Mr. Sawyer as 
she does poets like Whittier, Lowell or Longfellow. 
There are several million fruit growers who are 
made, but comparatively few who are born to the 
job. 
* 
This potato quarantine has come to be a big for¬ 
eign issue. It is probaby more important to our 
farmers than the Mexican question. As we have 
stated, a rule of the Department of Agriculture pro¬ 
hibits the importing of potatoes from Great Britain, 
Germany,'Austria and Canadian islands. This quar¬ 
antine does not extend to Belgium or Holland, and 
it is believed that German potatoes have been sent 
to Belgium for reshipment to this country. There 
is therefore a demand that Belgium and Canada 
be included in this quarantine, thus practically 
shutting out all important imports of potatoes. On 
the other hand, representatives of various European 
governments have come asking that the quarantine 
be lifted entirely so as to let potatoes freely enter 
our ports. A public hearing will be held at the 
Department of Agriculture on December IS to give 
all sides a chance to argue. In this country such 
matters are investigated by a Federal Horticultural 
Board which reports to the Secretary of Agriculture. 
He has power to decide about this quarantine. The 
importers are naturally anxious to bring in foreign 
potatoes, which represent the surplus crop and can 
therefore be bought cheap. They approach the 
consumers and argue that there is an American 
potato combine using this quarantine as a club to 
boost prices. This argument falls to the ground 
with all who have any memory. Do we not remem¬ 
ber other years when millions of bushels of foreign 
potatoes were brought here? The price to consum¬ 
ers was not reduced, but stories of these great im¬ 
ports were used to beat down the producer when he 
came to sell. Of course these importers make light 
of the real reason for this quarantine—the danger of 
introducing new potato diseases. The Federal Hor¬ 
ticultural Board knows that this danger is the real 
thing, and they have shown great wisdom in trying 
in the most practical way to keep these diseases out. 
Every potato grower in the country is interested in 
this, and should back up this Board in their efforts 
to protect him. We would extend this quarantine 
to all foreign countries. 
* 
The farmers of course ask and should be given no 
special privilege, such as extending to them the credit 
of the Government itself. What they need and should 
obtain is legislation which will make their own abundant 
and substantial credit resoux-ces available as a founda¬ 
tion for joint, concerted local action in their own be¬ 
half in getting the capital they must use. It is to this 
we should now address ourselves. 
This extract from President Wilson’s annual mes¬ 
sage needs no comment. It states a fact. Give us 
legislation which will enable the farmer to make his 
credit resources available and he will do the rest. 
Thus far he has not had this chance as compared 
with other interests. 
It has. singularly enough, come to pass that we have 
allowed the industry of our farms to lag behind the 
other activities of the country in its development. I 
need not stop to tell you how fundamental to the life 
of the nation is the production of its food. Our thoughts 
may ordinarily be concentrated upon the cities and the 
hives of industry, upon the cries of the crowded market 
place and the clangor of the factory, but it is trom the 
quiet interspaces of the open valleys and the free hill¬ 
sides that we draw the sources of life and of prosperity, 
from the_ farm and the ranch, from the forest and the 
mine. Without these every street would be silent, every 
office deserted, every factory fallen into disrepair. And 
yet the farmer does not stand upon the same footing 
with the forester and the miner in the market of credit. 
He is the servant of the seasons. Nature determines 
how long he must wait for his crops, and will not be 
hurried in the processes. He may give his note, but 
the season of its maturity depends upon the season 
when his crop matures, lies at the gates of the market 
where his products are sold. And the security he gives 
is of a character not known in broker’s office or as 
familiarly as it might be on the counter of the banker. 
It sets one to “thinking strange thoughts beneath 
the silent stars” to find the White House sending 
forth such doctrine and Congress applauding it. 
The R. N.-Y. has talked this as well as it could for 
25 years, and. in the past has been called all sorts 
of names for doing so. Now, thank the Lord, Presi¬ 
dent Wilson can say these things, and the entire 
nation knows that he gives expression to the thought 
of the great, powerful common people. For what 
the President has done is to twine the beautiful 
diction of the true college man around our sturdy 
old friend—the farmer’s 35-cent dollar! 
Crop Outlook. 
Secretary Strong of the Illinois Grain Dealers’ Asso¬ 
ciation issues the following report from 410 stations in 
55 counties north of the Yandalia Railroad and includ¬ 
ing the counties of Lawrence, Wabash and White, and 
including Cook, Dupage, Kane. McHenry and Lake, the 
acreage of Winter wheat is 12 per cent over last year, 
y> liich would indicate 1,590,000. If the same rate of 
increase holds good over the entire State, present con¬ 
ditions of growing crops is 97.S. Only three reports 
mention Hessian fly in wheat. Estimated yield per 
acre of corn is 28.14 bushels, indicating a crop of 297,- 
000.000. Government November report made it 285,- 
000,000 bushels. Quality runs very poor to good. The 
12 counties which were the dry zone last season show 
very poor quality. _ Based on percentage, the condition 
of the crop is S0.05. Husking returns show 80.70 per 
cent completed. 
Broomhall’s Wheat Review. 
The selling the past week, has been induced by the 
more favorable weather in Argentina and increased es¬ 
timates of the amount available for export confirmed 
advices of a large crop in Australia, with offers from 
that center large. There has also been more selling 
pressure on the part of Canadian merchants, which has 
permitted of a larger business. The large receipts of 
Spring wheat from both the United States and Canada 
continue to attract much attention; the fact of light 
rains in India has also had a bearish influence. The 
revised estimate of the Russian wheat crop, which 
shows a very large increase (874,000,000 bushels total 
crop), has failed to be confirmed by the movements 
from the interior, which is only on a moderate scale, 
and in some quarters it is claimed that this- big esti¬ 
mate is merely a manoeuver by the Government, it be¬ 
ing conceded that a loan is about to be placed. There 
is certainly no disposition in any quarter to accept this 
big official estimate as either correct or final, and most 
merchants are willing to wait and see further develop¬ 
ments. 
