66 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER’S PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 1850. 
Published weekly by the Rural Publishing Company, 409 Pearl Street, New Pork. 
Herbert W. Collingwood, President and Editor, 
John J. Dillon. Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. Dillon, Secretary. Mrs. E. T. Hoyle, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04, equal to 
8 s. 6d.. or 8*2 marks, or 10*9 francs. Remit in money order, 
express order, personal check or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post Office as Second Class Matter. 
Advertising rates 50 cents per agate line—7 words. Discount for time 
orders. 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 
responsible person. But to make doubly sure we will make good any 
loss to paid subscribers sustained by trusting any deliberate swindler 
advertising in ourcolumns, and any such swindler will be publicly ex¬ 
posed. We protect suberibers against rogues, but we do not guarantee 
to adjust trifling differences between subscribers and honest, respon¬ 
sible advertisers. Neither will we be responsible for the debts of 
honest bankrupts sanctioned by the courts. Notice of the complaint 
must be sent to us within one month of the time of the transaction, 
and you must have mentioned The Rural New-Yorker when 
writing the advertiser. 
TEN WEEKS FOR 10 CENTS. 
In order to introduce The R. N.-Y. to progressive, 
intelligent farmers who do not now take it, we send it 
10 weeks for 10 cents for strictly introductory pur¬ 
poses. . We depend on our old friends to make this 
known to neighbors and friends. 
* 
Prof. F. H. King of Wisconsin recently returned 
from a trip to China, where he made an exhaustive 
study of the soil and farming methods. The Chinese 
lead the world in their treatment of the soil, and their 
ability to produce large crops. We shall soon begin 
a series of articles by Prof. King in which some of 
these remarkable Chinese methods will be discussed. 
* 
Just read what Mr. Fellows says on page 51 about 
spreading manure on frozen ground. That tallies 
with our own experience. We believe “coloring mat¬ 
ter” which runs from manure piles contains consid¬ 
erable plant food. While many of our farm teachers 
state, often without qualification, that the manure 
ought to go out every day in Winter, we still believe 
that the real advantage in this lies in getting the 
work done in a dull season and thus gaining time in 
Spring. 
* 
We feel like enlarging upon this idea of exchanging 
scions of good varieties with friends in distant places. 
If some one 500 miles 'or more from your home will 
send you wood from his successful orchard you can 
top-work a few trees and in time have a constant and 
pleasant reminder of your friend. We have some 
trees worked in this way that give great pleasure. 
Be careful of scale, for that might come as an un¬ 
expected gift, but let some of your trees carry a living 
reminder of friendship if you can. 
* 
The Gypsy moth got into Connecticut, and as soon 
as discovered was promptly met by the State Ento¬ 
mologist and a gang of men. Within three days they 
had destroyed 4,500 egg masses. Such prompt action 
is the only thing to be thought of when this insect 
appears. Up and at it! The insect does not spread 
rapidly, and if the State can have a gang of men with 
no thought except extermination, on the job in time 
we may hope to hold it in check. It would be a 
• public crime to neglect to report its appearance. 
* 
Suppose 50 years ago some one had told you or 
your father that force like the explosion of powder 
in a gun would be used to drive machinery. Such a 
man would have been called a lunatic—it was before 
the word “crank” came into general use! Yet here 
we have tens of thousands of gasoline engines doing 
farm work in just that way, and inventors straining 
their brains to perfect a motor of fair cost that will 
plow and harrow and do the work of a farm team. 
Already half a dozen different forms of such motors 
are in use on large farms. Within a few years we 
expect to see them down to the price of a good team 
of horses and working profitably on 60-acre farms. 
♦ 
I see on page 1102 that in a case for damages through 
"substituted" nursery trees, the upper court has reversed a 
decision. What damages did this upper court award the 
grower? , s j. l. 
There is a misunderstanding about this decision. 
When the case came to trial the fruit-grower’s lawyer 
started" to prove damages. His plan was to show what 
the land was worth when planted to the true varieties 
and how much less with the substituted trees. The 
nurseryman’s lawyer objected on the plea that his 
client was responsible only for the value of the 
nursery trees. The trial judge took this view and 
refused to admit testimony showing damage. The 
Court of Appeals has decided that such evidence is 
admissable—it being for the jury to decide whether 
it is sound or not. Thus all the upper court decided 
is that there may be a new trial, with the right to 
show the actual crop loss due to substitution. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
There are many thousands of deer running in 
Connecticut and the other New England States, and 
they cause great damage. J. H. Hale tells us that 
they have ruined 500 young apple trees in his orchard 
near Hartford. These deer went past the peach trees, 
but chewed off the apple twigs. The State paid for 
these trees, but there is no profit in that kind of 
apple culture. Similar reports come from other 
States, and if the deer continue to increase few men 
will venture to plant orchards at any distance from 
towns. As they now are the deer are a menace to the 
most hopeful farm industry New England has started 
in years. It is believed that the next Connecticut 
Legislature will wipe out all laws for the protection 
of deer. 
* 
At many of the larger horticultural meetings boxes 
of apples from the Pacific coast are exhibited. The 
plan is to buy such a box in the regular market, and 
then put up the best local apples by its side for com¬ 
parison. There is great satisfaction when the mem¬ 
bers pronounce the local apples superior. Yet when 
they go to sell their fruit they usually find that the 
Western apples bring more money and find quicker 
sale. We know of cases where the Western fruit, 
after being carried 3,000 miles, brought 75 cents a box 
more than the best local fruit. At first thought this 
might seem discouraging to the Eastern grower. Yet 
he should remember that this great reputation for the 
Western fruit is the result of long and patient years 
of study and work in building up a good reputation. 
We can raise the fruit here, but the reputation must 
be gained slowly and honorably. Keep at it—and 
throw out the culls. 
* 
We have given records of several cases where 
farmers have brought suit against seedsmen or nur¬ 
serymen to recover damages for “substituting” or 
selling weed seeds. Now we are not trying to present 
any one-sided argument. Nurserymen sometimes say 
that such cases are “pure blackmail”—that the farmer 
tries to hold them up by misrepresenting the facts. 
If we could have a clear case of this we would expose 
it just as readily as we would fraud or deception 
on the part of a seller. In the case of nursery stock 
we are on record as saying that if only a small pro¬ 
portion of trees came untrue to name we should 
realize the great liability to make mistakes in budding 
or packing, and be lenient. In a case of wholesale 
substitution—where half or more of the trees are 
wrong—we should hold the nurseryman responsible, 
and expect him to pay for his serious blunder. 
* 
Such diseases as cholera, roup and white diarrhoea 
have caused great loss to poultry keepers. Some of 
them have felt almost hopeless over the last-named 
disease, and are ready to grasp at any straw which 
promises relief. Whenever any such trouble as this 
prevails men come forward offering “sure cures” or 
remedies. Some of these may possess merit, but as a 
rule they are untested. It is a serious business to 
play or experiment with these diseases. Recently a 
“sure cure” for the poultry disease mentioned has 
been offered. The fowls are to be inoculated with 
the material, and it is claimed that this will produce 
lifelong immunity from the disease. This is a tempt¬ 
ing offer to poultrymen. It seemed too good to be 
true, and we submitted the claims to the Bureau of 
Animal Industry at Washington. The following opin¬ 
ion is written by Dr. J. R. Mohler, Chief of the 
Pathological Division. 
On the face of it, any claim on behalf of a remedy 
that it will produce lifelong immunity to cholera, white 
diarrhoea and roup, would be regarded as preposterous 
by the scientific world, and would call for the strongest 
kind of experimental substantiation before acceptance. 
Fowl cholera is positively known to be caused by a bac¬ 
terium, Bacterium avicida. White diarrhoea is caused by 
a cocoidium, Coccidium tenellum, a form belonging, not like 
the bacteria, to the vegetable kingdom, but to the animal 
kingdom. Concerning roup, nothing has yet been accepted 
as definite with respect to its cause. It is difficult enough 
to secure an immunizing remedy against a bacterial agent 
at the present time without making claims for a polyvalent 
article that adds powers against an intestinal animal para¬ 
site, to say nothing of additional powers against an, at 
present, unknown cause. 
In commenting on President Taft’s message re¬ 
garding postal rates we suggested that abolishing the 
franking privilege held by Congressmen might make 
up the postage deficit. This was an error, for we 
now find that this franking by Congress costs $500,000, 
while for the departments $2,225,000. As a matter 
of correct bookkeeping this franking cost should be 
charged to Congress and the Departments. President 
Taft suggests increasing the rate on second-class 
matter, which would mean larger rates on magazines 
and papers. It is said that the cost of carrying this 
mail matter is nine cents a pound. If that is so the 
Government pays more than the express companies 
do. One result of an increase would be to throw 
more business to the express companies. The maga¬ 
January 15,' 
zines and some weekly papers could be sent in bulk 
by express and distributed privately in towns and 
cities. The Government would lose considerable mail 
in this way. If, as is said, the magazines and papers 
are carried at a loss, on the other hand their corre¬ 
spondence enables the Government to make a profit 
of $S 0 ,000,000 on letters. For instance, take a paper 
like The R. N.-Y., and figure the postage paid on 
letters sent to and from our readers or by them to 
advertisers. It means a profit to the Government 
several times as large as any possible loss for mailing 
the paper at present rates. And this loss would be 
greatly reduced if the Government would make as 
good a bargain with the railroads as the express 
companies do. It is quite likely that all this outcry 
is something in the nature of a “big stick.” There 
is great dissatisfaction with Congress, and particu¬ 
larly with Speaker Cannon. Many papers and maga¬ 
zines are preparing a campaign against certain Con¬ 
gressmen that will long be remembered. Quite likely 
this talk about increased postage is a little hint that 
it will pay the papers to “be good.” That sort of 
bluff will not work, however. 
* 
San Francisco, Dec. 29.—The trustees of the Carnegie 
Institute have decided to withdraw their $10,000 a year 
contribution to the work of Luther Burbank, the plant 
wizard of Santa Rosa. Word to this effect was received 
to-day from Washington. The commercialism which, it is 
alleged, has been a feature of the experiments of Luther 
Burbank, is given as the cause of the withdrawal of the 
institute’s support .—New York World. 
Five years ago we told how the Carnegie Institute 
was to give Luther Burbank $100,000 in 10 annual 
payments. This money was to be spent in keeping 
accurate scientific records of Mr. Burbank’s work. 
We are told that the appropriation was obtained 
through the efforts of politicians and “California 
boomers” rather than at the suggestion of scientific 
men. It was this magnificent gift which started the 
foolish and sickening praise of Mr. Burbank and his 
work. He had an opportunity for useful service which 
few men in all history have enjoyed. With this sum 
of money added to his legitimate earnings Mr. Burbank 
might well have dropped the part of plant peddler or 
land boom advertiser. The very object of the Car¬ 
negie Institute is to assist and encourage scientific 
research and experiments likely' to be of general value 
and not of personal profit. Instead of acting in ac¬ 
cordance with this spirit Mr. Burbank used the great 
reputation gained through this fund to exploit himself 
and his own interests. A long series of such “com¬ 
mercialism” culminated in the ‘obstinate folly of the 
1 “Wonderberry” and in acting as advertising “bait” for 
a Florida land scheme. We were told six months ago 
that payment of this Carnegie fund would be stopped, 
but we do not think the trustees intended to make the 
announcement at this time. That new catalogue from 
John Lewis Childs with a new “boom” for the “Sun- 
berry” was like flaunted defiance in the faces of these 
trustees. We do not see how they could continue the 
fund and preserve any dignity. The R. N.-Y. could 
not ask any stronger vindication of its course in this 
Wonderberry controversy. This outcome must be a 
hard blow to Mr. Burbank. Yet we do not believe 
his best friends will say it is undeserved. As for 
John Lewis Childs, we venture the opinion that he 
will feel a very much larger “withdrawal” from the 
great institute of the American people. 
BREVITIES. 
When the “worm’’ finally turns he is worse than a lion 
to tackle. 
Passenger airships carrying 40 persons are promised in 
Germany by next June. 
The big Christmas snowstorm cost New York City 
$400,000 for snow removal. 
An old reminder from a Texan: “The R. N.-Y. fits me 
better than the papers fit the cows 
“Ignorance is bliss!" It is. eh? Try that defense be¬ 
fore a law court and see where you come out!” 
Words may be piled up like a brush heap to conceal an 
idea—or put out like coals of fire to burn the brush up. 
At a recent “agricultural sale" in the island of Java 
10,000 pounds of quinine were sold at about $5 a pound. 
How much of the consumer’s dollar does the producer get? 
The German Post Office Department has decided to 
hasten rural delivery by the use of motorcycles, while 
city parcels post will be handled almost exclusively by 
automobiles. 
A small new American industry is the production of 
the metal, cadmium, found in zinc ores. Cadmium melts 
at a low temperature. Out of one alloy is made a “trick” 
spoon which actually melts in a cup of hot tea! 
Out in Kansas they have coined a new word, “hyper¬ 
immune.’’ This means “more than immune.” You couldn’t 
get the germ of an influence or a disease into such a 
character. Question—What seedsman do you consider 
“hyper-immune ?” 
A new Federal law compels interstate shipments of 
liquor to state the contents on the outside of the package. 
Formerly such liquor was sent unmarked. No one knew 
but that the package contained a Bible—except the packer 
and the owner. Now the liquor must be named; 
