274 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
March 5, 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Subuibu Homes. 
Established 1850. 
Pablkbed weekly by tbe Kara] Pabli*hiag Coaipany. 4fS Pearl Street, Sew York. 
Herbert W. Oollingwood, President and Editor, 
JOHN J. DnmoN, Treasurer and Genera] Manager. 
Wm. F. Dillon, Secretary. MBS. 1£. T. Hoyle, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04, equal to 
8s. Gd., or B’a marks, or 10*2 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 most accompany transient orders. 
“A SQUARE DEAL.” 
Wo believe that every advertisement in this paper is backed 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, butwedo 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. Notioe 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. 
* 
In the local Sunday school the teacher was talking 
of Sodom and Gomorrah. Wishing to show the 
danger in leaving evil habits or thoughts alone she 
spoke of a tree in an orchard covered with San Jose 
scale. The great danger of this was pointed out and 
the teacher wanted to get the class to say that this 
tree ought to be cut out at once and burned. “What 
would you do with it?” she asked one little girl. 
She answered like a brave fruit grower: “Spray it!” 
* 
Three weeks ago Mr. Rooker brought out forcibly 
the trouble many farmers have had in obtaining 
“repairs” for machinery. A combination or trust is 
formed, several manufacturers uniting. This new 
organization stops manufacturing certain machines and 
refuses to supply broken parts. 1 he object is to 
compel farmers to buy a new machine rather than 
make the old one do by supplying one or more parts. 
A remedy for this would be for Congress to modify 
the patent laws so as to annul patents acquired by 
monopolies. In such case, the missing parts could 
be made by private foundries. 
* 
After doing full justice tp all other spraying mix¬ 
tures we must conclude that lime and sulphur in some 
form or in combination with some other substance 
comes nearest to being a “cure-all.” For scale insects 
it is known to be effective and the latest experiments 
show that alone or in combination with copper it 
gives remarkable results as a fungicide. We feel 
confident that within a few years Bordeaux Mixture 
will be largely given up, with some form of sulphur or 
sulphur and copper taking its place. r \ he work now 
being done with this mixture shows the greatest 
advance w.e have made in spraying in 20 years. 
* 
Yes, sir! We have repeatedly called for the name 
of any stock-selling fruit-growing proposition that has 
actually paid out so as to yield safe dividends for 
investors. The world is full of concerns that attempt 
to sell stock to the general public for the purpose of 
raising capital for fruit growing in some far-off 
country. It is quite possible for a few friends to get 
together, raise money and start such work. We do 
not mean that sort of a proposition, but one of the 
many which are floated upon the public like shares in 
a mine. We have called in vain for any report of 
success—therefore our general advice is to let such 
schemes alone. 
* 
On page 293 we print the essential features of a bill 
now before the New York Legislature. This bill was 
passed last year, but failed because not properly 
drawn. We understand that defect is now remedied. 
The bill applies to seeds of grain, grasses, clovers and 
forage plants sold in packages of one pound or larger. 
Each package must carry the name and address of the 
seller, the name and kind of seed and the per cent of 
purity claimed. Should there be five per cent or more 
of injurious weed seed that fact must also be stated 
on the package. We take the position that a bill of 
this sort properly enforced, does no injustice to 
reputable seedsmen, yet affords needed protection to 
farmers. We believe that the farm value of entire 
sections has been injured by the introduction of weeds 
through grain and grass seeds. The situation has been 
forced upon the seed trade by the shysters and seed 
peddlers who seem to have no regard for their reputa¬ 
tion. The publicity given by such a bill will prove the 
best possible advertising for the reputable seedsmen. 
A few days ago l reoeiwd, as usual, a package of 
“free seeds,” at Government expense, from our Congress- 
man. I am to-day returning them, asking him to sell 
them and apply the proceeds on the .$17,500,000 postal 
deficit which seems to be worrying Congress .so much just 
now. 1 write this to let you know that your fight 
against the free seed graft is causing your readers to 
“butt in.” H. *- c. 
West Virginia. 
Nothing gives us greater joy than to feel that we 
can inspire people to “butt in” on such a cause. Lead¬ 
ing the older people to “butt in” beats “teacliing the 
young idea how to shoot.” The free seeds are part of 
a petty “graft” with which Congressmen seem to 
think thej' can measure the value of a man. Give them 
a sample of your true measure by sending them back. 
* 
What about the commercial bacteria for inoculating 
the soil? In theory they are right. We know that 
bacteria work on the roots of clover, Alfalfa and other 
pod-hearing plants. The bacteria must be there if 
these plants are to perform their function of taking 
nitrogen from the air. The proposition is to breed 
or propagate these bacteria and sell them in such form 
that they can be put on the seed at planting. This is 
practical, as has been proved hundreds of times. '1 he 
trouble is that too much is claimed for these bacteria. 
They will not help corn, potatoes or any plants except 
these which hear their seed in pods. They will prove 
worthless unless the soil is sweet from the presence 
of lime, finely prepared and well fed. In starting 
Alfalfa lime is even more necessary on some soils 
than bacteria, but not on all soils. When a man talks 
about “building up soils”'with bacteria, or improving 
all crops by their use, or claims that they will improve 
poor soils without lime or plant food, our advice is 
to let hun alone. 
* 
Saturday, March 12 
Fall In! 
It was .the noon hour at Fortress Monroe. 1 he 
soldiers were off duty. Some were playing ball, with 
a crowd looking on. Others lounged under the trees 
or sat on benches. There was no organization— 
simply a mob of individuals. Suddenly, a bugle 
sounded. Officers rushed in with orders. Attention! 
Fall in! In an instant all was changed. Almost 
before one could imagine what was going on the 
unorganized mob had grouped into a small army, 
with straight lines, compact front—ready for instant 
service. It was an emergency call for which the 
soldier must be ever ready. The readers of The 
R. N.-Y. form an army scattered about the country, 
untrained in the art of organizing for battle. They 
are held together by a common desire to help their 
country and benefit their conditions as country people. 
Their weapon is the pen, their ammunition the ink 
drop, and the force which carries it the postage stamp. 
On March 12 they will come together like a solid army 
and write letters to their Congressmen and Senators, 
demanding a yes or no regarding parcels post. We 
have heard enough already to promise the greatest 
blizzard of letters that ever struck Washington. Now 
then, are you ready? Attention! Fall in! 
* 
The Lupton bill before the New York Legislature 
seeks to regulate the commission business by issuing 
licenses to commission men. Under this bill mer¬ 
chants who do a commission business would be re¬ 
quired to give a bond for $10,000, and they would be 
subject to State regulation. The organizations of com¬ 
mission merchants are making violent opposition to 
this bill. Their chief objection seems to be that it is 
“class legislation.” So, it might be said, is legislation 
which compels bankers to submit to inspection and 
bond or put up surety to protect their depositors. 
Why should $100 cash in a bank be safeguarded while 
$100 worth of goods in a commission merchant’s 
hands be unprotected? That is the question the farm¬ 
ers who supply the goods would like to have an¬ 
swered. We can supply plenty of evidence to prove 
that many irresponsible commission merchants are 
carrying on a systematic robbery. They injure the 
good name and business of the honest men. The 
proposed legislation would sift these rascals out, and 
there seems to be no other way to do it. 
* 
We asked E. S. Black to give the nurseryman’s side 
of “substituted trees,” because we do not know of 
anyone who is better qualified. Mr. Black grew up 
in a nursery, and he knows a tree from seed to sale. 
Having now retired from the business he ought to 
be able to represent the tree men. We have given 
him a white card to go ahead on his own responsibility 
and tell his story. The FTope Farm man touches 
the other side. Let us have it all out and see where 
we stand. We cannot as fruit growers expect to 
grow all our own trees. The nurseryman is a neces¬ 
sity, and yet that docs not give him any special 
privilege to claim immunity when fairly cornered on 
an expensive blunder or to pile all the loss upon the 
buyer. Our position has often been stated. The 
buyer ought to be reasonable. When he tries to beat 
a nurseryman down to the last cent, he should re¬ 
member what he wpuld do if he were a seljer and was 
appioached in that way. If only a small proportion 
of trees proved untrue, our advice is to be lenient awl 
accept new trees to replace peach or plum, or a propo¬ 
sition to top-work apple. If, on the other hand, there 
is wholesale substitution of varieties, we would com¬ 
pel the nurseryman to settle for such an inexcusable 
blunder if it were possible to do so. At most Df the 
fruit meetings the officers shun this question as 
though it were a case of horticultural smallpox. 
Yet go and talk privately among the men in the audi¬ 
ence and you will find it the livest proposition off 
the programme. We have faith to believe that the 
readers of The R. N.-Y. can and will discuss this 
question until they find some fair plan for guarantee¬ 
ing trees. They will thus do the horticultural public 
the greatest possible service. 
* 
The Wonderberry advertisements of John Lewis 
Childs have contained a ‘‘testimonial” from Mr.. E. S. 
Miller, who is named as director of the Geneva Ex¬ 
periment Station. The effort evidently was to convey 
the impression that the Geneva Station endorsed the 
Wonderberry, and some of our readers evidently took 
it that way. The fact is that the experiment stations 
throughout the country and also the Department of 
Agriculture consider the Wonderberry a black night¬ 
shade and a farce. We wrote Mr. Miller, asking what 
this “endorsement” meant. Here is his answer: 
You can assure your correspondents that the experi¬ 
ment station at Geneva has not endorsed the Wonder¬ 
berry in any way to my knowledge. The words “Director 
of the New York State Experiment Station” over my 
name are an error and were used without my knowledge. 
e. s. miller. 
Mr. Miller is a member of the Board of Control 
of Geneva. For a good many years he was super¬ 
intendent for Mr. Childs. He merely said the Won¬ 
derberry made a vigorous growth. It does, indeed, 
as will surely be found when it runs away as a weed. 
Mr. John Lewis Childs is entirely responsible for this 
effort to load the Wonderberry upon the Geneva Sta¬ 
tion. Mr. Childs’ other star endorsement is from John 
Burroughs. We are informed that Mr. Burroughs’ 
experience is limited to eating a piece of pie con¬ 
taining Wonderberries, sugar, lemon and sour apple! 
One of our readers who puckered his throat with 
Wonderberries grown from Childs’ seed expresses the 
thought of the majority; 
“I’m from Missouri about that pie—you must shoiv 
me what there was in it!” 
We might introduce Mr. Burroughs to a good old 
lady who can make a pie of slippery elm bark (and 
custard), a “mock apple pie” of crackers, vinegar and 
sugar, or a tansy pudding—any of which would induce 
him to write a glowing testimonial— for the cook! 
BREVITIES. 
Two large names in “(lie nightshade family”—page 284. 
Mr. Van Deman lias it right about varieties on page 238. 
Try a piece of oats and peas—but not cow peas with 
oats. 
The “scab” is destroyed by a union of water and 
formalin. 
Can we get a crop of early sweet corn off the ground 
in time to seed to Alfalfa? We think so. 
p,B careful bow you pick your teeth. Cases of lockjaw 
are reported as starting from a tooth cavity! 
IIow many kinds of vegetables in your cellar? Go down 
right now and make a solemn vow to fill the e.flpty 
places before next year! 
We have the case of a New York man who started out 
to get 100 cents of the consumer’s dollar. He adver¬ 
tised apples and sold one barrel at $3. The express "on 
K was $3.04 ! 
go me readers speak of putting lime on top of U«? grass 
and grain this Spring. We have had but very slow 
results from that plan. Better lime on plowed ground 
and harrow in at seeding. 
The early history of most “organizations'” is much Ihe 
same. A few determined spirits must expect to do all 
the work, take all the blame and divide the credit should 
there be any. Yet, it pays. 
Now and then the city landscape gardeners go to 
farmers’ institutes in back fanning districts and advise 
tree planting along all the roads. Good-sized trees affect 
the crops for 100 feet inside the line and where fields 
are small this means a serious loss. 
Here is another “parcels poster” for life : “I sent: to 
St. Louis for one long and one short how socket to 
repair a buggy that 1 bought from a St. Louis firm. 
They did not have them at hand and expressed them 
from New York City. Cost of bow sockets, 40 cents; 
express. 90 cents; weight, two pounds.” 
A bill before the New Y'ork Legislature prohibits kill¬ 
ing pheasants except on Thursdays and Saturdays in the 
month of October. Not more than four cock pheasants 
can be taken by any one person in one year. The pos¬ 
sessor must prove that the hirds v in his possession were 
legally taken. In the counties of Suffolk and Dutchess 
the open season is to be from November 1 to December 
31 ; and in Fulton County from September 1(5 to No¬ 
vember 30. This entire pheasant question seems to he a 
contest between farmers and “sportsmen.” If these birds 
are a serious pest to farmers let us have the proof. 
