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THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
March 10, 
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 York, 
Herbert W. Collingwood, President and Editor, 
John J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
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 
8 s. (id., or 8^ marks, or lO^ 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 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 our columns, and any such swindler will be publicly ex¬ 
posed. We protect subcribers 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. Notico 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. 
* 
We have given a statement of the experiments at 
the Connecticut Experiment Station with the chicken 
disease known as white diarrhoea. The evidence shows 
that the germs of this disease may come from the hen 
and are often in the egg when it is laid. So many 
chicks die of this disease that poultry keepers are 
eager for a remedy. Several parties are offering a 
positive “cure.” The Connecticut authorities who, 
after their careful work, ought to know if anyone 
does, say there is no definite cure for the trouble yet 
discovered. 
* 
There has been a great development in public opin¬ 
ion regarding the value of Sweet clover. Up to this 
season most farmers who ever saw it growing have 
regarded it as a weed. Many have seen it growing 
along the line of railroads and classed it with burdock 
or ragweed. It now appears that Sweet clover is one 
of the hardiest of the legumes, that it will grow in 
poor soils where other clovers die, and that it is one 
of the best crops to introduce Alfalfa. The Sweet 
clover is winning its way to a fair place among the 
plants to be tested. We expect to give it a trial. On 
page 3G2 is a picture showing how a “sandwich” for 
cows is made in Vermont. Dry corn fodder and 
Sweet clover hay are forked into the cutter together 
—and the cows enjoy it. 
* 
One of our readers has received a' very plausible 
letter from a concern dealing in “nitrogen producer.” 
In this letter he finds the following offer. He wants 
to know what we think of it: 
We will send you one bottle of Concentrated Nitrogen 
producer, enough for one acre, and one share of stock in 
our company, par value $5, for $3, or one bottle without 
the stock for $2. Mark; the reason is simply this, that 
after you have convinced yourself of the value of bacteria 
inoculation you will be a stanch advocate of this method of 
giving new life and productivity to the soil for two 
reasons: first; because you believe in it, and, second; 
because you are a stockholder, and with all others will 
profit by the increased sales of the company. 
The “nitrogen producer” may be a fair quality of 
the bacteria for inoculating seeds or soils, but we 
would not bother with the stock. There seems no 
good reason why these benevolent citizens should give 
you $5 for one dollar. Our standing advice is to keep 
out of such stock-jobbing propositions. In the ma¬ 
jority of cases such offers are merely well-cut pieces 
of bait. 
* 
We have referred several times to the Lupton bill 
for compelling commission merchants in New York 
to take out a license and give a bond. Word comes 
from Albany that this bill is in danger. The com¬ 
mission men think they have buried it deep in a com¬ 
mittee, and it surely will remain there unless the 
farmers dig it out with their pickaxes. Many of the 
commission merchants claim to be trying to get rid 
of the fakes and frauds who have given their business 
an evil reputation. Yet they lined up at Albany to 
try to kill the only means of compelling the frauds 
to play fair. Trade papers .have advocated honest 
business methods, yet when real opportunity came 
for doing something they were client as clams. The 
bill is now buried—the commission men being the 
gravediggers. It is not dead, and farmers can still 
dig it out and air it. We do not like to have it said 
that New York farmers stood still and let the com¬ 
mission merchants legislate for them. Let us take a 
hand in the game, and force that bill out of the com¬ 
mittee. How does your Assemblyman stand? 
There are three of what are called secondary agri¬ 
cultural schools in New York. These schools are 
connected with established colleges and were designed 
to give practical instruction in good farming—with- a 
shorter and simpler course than that at the agricul¬ 
tural colleges. These schools are experiments. V hile 
it is hoped and believed that they will fill a worthy 
place in agricultural education, their true value has 
yet to be demonstrated. For that reason it is not wise 
to establish any more of these schools at present. 
There are bills at Albany providing for several more, 
and in localities where a real farm school is needed. 
We think, however, that the State should adopt a 
fixed policy to wait until the present schools prove 
themselves before establishing more. Some of the 
problems which come up in those secondary schools 
are peculiar. For example, it is impossible to teach 
a boy how to feed a balanced ration, or how to tell 
the value of a fertilizer unless that boy understands 
the principle of percentage. Yet quite a number of 
these students do not know what per cent really 
means. They must actually study these things before 
they can understand the instruction in agriculture. 
This is only one problem out of many, and before 
passing final judgment the public must remember that 
these schools are new and must handle a new class 
of raw material. 
The Sunshine List. 
Four more members of the “Nightshade Family” 
are named on page 357. It gives us great pleasure to 
print a much longer list of papers which have not 
printed the advertisement. The following leading 
farm publications may be put in what we call the 
“Sunshine List:” 
Gleanings in Bee Culture. 
Farm, Stock and Home. 
Farm Journal. 
Wallace’s Farmer. 
Farm and Fireside. 
Ohio Fanner. 
Michigan Farmer. 
Farmers’ Guide. 
The Country Gentleman. 
Practical Fanner. 
Progressive Fanner. 
Pacific Rural Press. 
Indiana Fanner. 
The Florists’ Exchange. 
Horticulture. 
Many other papers with more local circulation have 
also lined up in the “Sunshine List.” We know per¬ 
sonally that many of these papers absolutely refused 
the advertisement, though urged to accept it. This 
refusal meant an actual loss of money to them, but 
they stood firmly for a principle, and have given char¬ 
acter to the farm press by doing so. The way the 
thing was finally presented there could be no middle 
course. As we predicted, the more influential farm 
papers recognized the true character of this Wonder- 
berry boom and its influence upon farm journalism. 
We are glad to acknowledge their service in this 
public way. We are also glad to note the fact that 
“Collier’s Weekly” and “The Literary Digest” have not 
printed the advertisement. The facts were open to 
these papers as they were to the “Nightshade Family,” 
and to their credit be it said these literary publications 
did their duty while others shirked. 
* 
In response to the questions about broom corn and 
broom making we have received many excellent ar¬ 
ticles. We can now make the whole thing clear. We 
also have many letters discussing the idea of profitable 
Winter work on farms where there is no dairy or 
large hen business. Without question a return in 
some measure to the old-time plan of manufacturing 
on the farm would help solve the “leave the farm” 
problem. It is human nature for young people to 
desire some way of earning money of their own. If 
some profitable form of Winter work could be pro¬ 
vided in country neighbor-hoods the young folks would 
be far more contented. It is pitiful to see how the 
“work at home” frauds rob such young folks through 
their alluring bait. The country would be far better 
off if some of our manufacturing could be distributed 
through country neighborhoods, as it was years ago. 
* 
Mr. Black has finished his statement of the nursery¬ 
man’s side. He thinks the nurseryman will compare 
“with any other class of business men in the world.” 
Let us grant that for the sake of argument. Would 
any other class of responsible men refuse to make 
loss good if it were clearly proved that such loss was 
actually caused by the blunder or worse of the people 
who handled and sold the goods? We get the idea 
from Mr. Black’s article that he thinks some com¬ 
pensation should be made in cases where many of the 
trees are “misfits.” He would have it done by arbi¬ 
tration. Our experience in trying to settle some of 
these cases shows us that usually the growers are 
willing to be fair. They do not much care how the 
case is settled, provided their loss is recognized and 
made good. When after causing such a grower evi¬ 
dent loss of hundreds of dollars the nurseryman is 
only willing to give more unguaranteed trees no 
one can blame the grower for feeling like fighting 
the case. We open the subject for fair and un¬ 
prejudiced discussion. Let us not call names or make 
violent charges but see if we cannot find some form 
of guaranteeing nursery stock that will be fair to 
both sides. 
* 
In the farm education discussion this week we are 
told of a girl who Stands well in school but is a 
“hopeless case” at housework. The inference is that 
the school is responsible for it. Of course the school 
work may be too severe for her and occupy too much 
time, but the place to learn housework is at home. 
If a girl cannot wash dishes systematically, and yet 
likes home work, the fault does not lie in her teacher 
or in her school—but in the home kitchen! We must 
not expect too much of our schools. The best of 
them cannot and should not be expected to give a 
child the training and character which ought to come 
■from the home. If you are a farmer and your boy 
does not know how to bud or graft, or does not take 
interest in farming, it may be that you are at fault 
rather than the school. 
¥ 
We asked our readers to spend six cents in stamps 
in writing to Representatives and Senators. Some of 
them add two cents more and use it to mail us the 
replies from Washington. We have many already on 
file. The great majority indicate what is called “a 
receptive mind.” These gentlemen are on the fence, 
and it is evident that the letters are disturbing the 
serenity of their graceful balance. Some of them 
throw out large chunks of “taffy”—which are not 
swallowed. Others show true indications of waking 
up. They name the express companies and the coun¬ 
try merchants as the chief opponents of parcels post. 
Some of them try to crawl behind our old and con¬ 
venient friend “the constitution.” When we get n\ore 
of the letters we will sum the case up. You may be 
sure that Congress felt the blizzard of letters. 
* 
This thing of “milk inspection” is getting to be a 
serious matter. The figures given this week show 
what it means in a case where the stable is already 
in good condition. The dairyman receives no benefit 
from his increased expense. All such benefit will go 
to the milk consumer, or to the dealers who are now 
spending large sums of money in advertising their 
milk. It is high time the public knew this side of 
the story. Among our reports we find the following 
from Oneida County, N. Y.: 
On Nov. 30 I received a letter from the department, 
stating that an inspection had been made, etc., and that 
I scored below the standard set. As the inspector only 
asked me three questions (and went away leaving a 
gate open so my stock could get out on the highway), I 
wrote Mr. Raynor three times, asking for a copy of the 
score card used October 7 when this inspection was made. 
My first reply was a copy of the recommendations, cement 
floors, etc. The second a sample score card, and the third, 
that if I had received a copy of recommendations and a 
score card it was all the information he could give me. I 
think a farmer should he entitled to a copy of the score 
card used for his premises at an inspection. H. g. p. 
New York. 
In view of some of the arbitrary rulings of these 
various “boards” and “divisions” it is about time for 
our dairymen to find out where they are really living. 
No doubt they have thought they lived in America, 
but we have read that Russia is a country where 
people are deprived of rights and property without 
trial or appeal. Let us see if America is still on the 
map. Will farmers who have been “inspected’ please 
tell us their experience? 
BREVITIES. 
How much have you done for your own neighborhood? 
The latest tree faker we hear about is a man who sold 
“strawberry trees” which turned out to he Catalpa. 
Fou a lawn grass combination our advice is equal parts 
Blue grass and Red-top seeded with a little White clover. 
The Indiana philosopher, Abe Martin, remarks: “The 
farmer takes what he kin git, and th’ commission man 
gits what he kin take.” 
No, the world does not need any more weak-kneed peo¬ 
ple ! Such people usually lack even the power to get down 
on their knees at the proper time. 
A proposed New York law classes meat, fish, eggs, etc., 
kept uusalted in cold storage over one year as “tainted 
food” and makes the person selling it guilty of a mis¬ 
demeanor. 
The New York Legislature is asked to appropriate $75,000 
for buying and equipping a farm colony for keeping male 
tramps or vagrants. How would you like the job of 
managing such a farm? 
There will he a heavy seeding to oats and Canada peas 
this year. Good! Can we safely sow clover seed with this 
combination? We have usually failed except when there 
was a very thin seeding of peas. 
