712 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
July 9, 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal lor Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 18!i0. 
Published weekly by the Hnrol Publishing Company, 409 Pearl Street, New York, 
Herbert W. Oom-ingwood, President and Editor, 
John J. Diuuon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. DlLLON, Secretary. Mbs. K. T. Hoyhb, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2-04, equal to 
8 s. 6 d., or 8 H 2 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 must 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 ourcolnmns, and any such swindler will be publicly ex¬ 
posed. Woproteet suberibers against rogues, but wedo not guarantee 
to adjust trifling differences between subscribers and honost, respon¬ 
sible advertisers. Neither will wo be responsible for the debts of 
honest bankrupts sanctioned by the courts. Notice of the complaint 
must bo sent to us within one month of the time of the transaction, 
and you must have mentioned The Rubai. Nkw-Yoekkb 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 want descriptions and sketches of homemade 
devices used in handling poultry. There are hundreds 
of such tilings in use which have never been given to 
the public. Ingenious men have thought them out. 
They save labor and add to the comfort of man and 
hen. Now we want sketches and pictures of them, 
and we can make it worth your while to send us any¬ 
thing you know of in this line. 
* 
For the gardener or small farmer within reasonable 
distance of a town there is no more promising crop 
than asparagus. That is why we have so much to 
say about it. No one in the city ever has too much 
asparagus. Good “grass” is hard to find, and there is 
no prospect that the market will be glutted, because 
the highest skill is required to grow it properly. Bet¬ 
ter realize what that means before you try raising 
“grass.” 
* 
From now until the end every issue of The R. N.-Y. 
will contain an argument for parcels post. You might 
as well get used to the subject. Congress did nothing, 
but we shall not adopt the do-nothing policy. Tf we 
sit and wait for Congress to act we shall become a 
part of the chair. We have simply got to make those 
Congressmen understand what parcels post will mean 
to country people. They will never antagonize the 
express companies until they find themselves actually 
confronted by a stronger power. We shall stay by 
them until the end—that is, until Congress gives us 
parcels post. There is no other way. Congressmen 
understand. While at the end of the session the 
Washington mails were nearly swamped with “franked” 
matter, there were no large articles which in former 
years were sent free. 
* 
Every now and then we have a round with an en¬ 
thusiastic city man who is determined to invest his 
little savings in a farm. We try to prevent him from 
doing so, for it does not require five minutes’ conver¬ 
sation to show that his figures are based on nothing 
more substantial than wind. Never having kept a 
chicken, he plans to make a profit of $5 per bird. He 
has never been nearer strawberry culture than eating 
the fruit, yet he plans to grow 25,000 quarts on one 
acre and sell them at 12 cents a quart.’ There are 
other schemes equally preposterous, yet you cannot 
shake his belief witli all the wisdom of experience. 
These men often have families who know less than 
they do about farming or life in the country. These 
people are victims of the “Back to the Land” cry, with 
all its big stories and foolish inducements. We do not 
know of any worse thing that can happen either to 
city or country than to induce these poor misfits to 
give up their city jobs and chase rainbows into the 
country. If they can realize the hard struggle and 
patient study that is ahead there is some hope for 
them, hut chasing after $5 hens and $1,000 strawberries 
is worse than hunting mermaids. 
* 
There will be needed about $300 to carry the Bel¬ 
lows milk case up on appeal. Our people have al¬ 
ready offered about $30. The R. N.-Y. will help, but 
our idea is to make this fund a popular one, so that a 
large number of dairymen can be interested. There 
are several other things which will be suggested 
later, and which will need an organization. By getting 
together and appealing this milk case we may lay the 
foundation for a great campaign which, sooner or later 
must come. You will find more letters on page 713. 
The new bill, mentioned last week, puts the inspection 
of dairies in the hands of the State—where it ought 
to be. It is not likely that the city will call off its in¬ 
spectors even with this new bill in force. Even if the 
State had full control the Bellows case must be car¬ 
ried up and settled. There is no other way of obtain¬ 
ing a judicial opinion as to what is a “proper and rea¬ 
sonable inspection.” That is what is needed by all 
parties, and we must get the higher courts to decide 
how far an inspector may go in his work. The city 
will make no effort to find out, because their inspec¬ 
tors now do about as they please. The legal demand 
for a definition must come from the farmers, and this 
case gives them the chance to find out. Do not leave 
a few faithful ones to fight alone, but come in and help. 
* 
There has been considerable discussion about the 
practical value of dwarf apple trees. In general they 
are regarded as toys. The most promising orchard 
of these dwarfs that we have seen is located at the 
Connecticut Agricultural College. Prof. A. G. Gulley, 
of that college, has developed a group of these trees 
which will show, in a remarkable way, the possibilities 
of dwarf apple culture. By placing the trees 10 feet 
apart nearly 450 can be put on an acre. They are 
trimmed in bush form, with an open head, so that they 
are easily sprayed, while not even a step ladder is 
needed to pick the fruit. These trees were planted 
deep in the ground, so that they have a double set of 
roots—those from the dwarf stock and others which 
have come from the standards like roots from a cut¬ 
ting. It is a wonderful showing in fine fruit culture, 
and well worth the trip to Connecticut for anyone 
who is interested. Prof. Gulley deserves great credit 
for developing this orchard in a businesslike way and 
still more for not rushing into print about it until 
there were definite results. One trouble with some of 
the experimenters is that they publish so-called results 
before anything definite has been determined. This 
often sets people wrong and discredits the station. 
It takes a strong man to wait through years of patient 
observation before he will go into print with advice 
to others. 
* 
The R. N.-Y. has some mighty strong friends. Not 
a day passes without positive proof of that. These 
friends stay right up on the firing line, and like to 
hear the bullets whistle. A woman with a rare capa¬ 
city for pouring out words sent a long letter to one 
of our readers. She is a great champion of E. G. 
Lewis, and evidently very strong on contrasts. She 
pictured Mr. Lewis as an angel of light—a sort of 
modern Gabriel—calling American women to fortune 
and happiness. She then took some very black ink 
and daubed The R. N.-Y. as Satan climbing in to 
shock the beautiful Eden which angel Lewis has pre¬ 
pared. If one can briefly ’state the vocal vitriol in 
several thousand words The R. N.-Y. is, in this lady’s 
opinion, a liar, a scoundrel, a jealous wretch and a 
terrible back number. Now our friend stood up and 
took this broadside, and this is what he wrote back: 
Dear Madam : Your interesting letter at hand. I can't 
help hut think that your eonlidenee in Mr. Lewis is mis¬ 
placed. He certainly has an “entirely practical” way of 
getting money from the credulous. Anyone who would 
lie about one thing would be likely to lie whenever a Jie 
would suit his purpose. A number of persons have tried 
to prove The R. N.-Y. a liar,’but without success to date. 
In thinking The R. N.-Y. Jealous, or that it is a “back 
number” you misjudge it. At least it is not very Jar 
back. Unless the Lewis publications are ahead of it it is 
head and shoulders above any other farm paper. Though 
some molest it. none make it afraid. Enclosed find two 
clippings from last Issue of The R. N.-Y. g. 
That is good enough for us, and we should think a 
few such letters would induce angel Lewis to loosen 
the wings over his pocket-book a little and drop a 
little of “other people’s money” he is carrying. Our 
business with Mr. Lewis is very simple. We have 
some 50 claims, aggregating about $20,000, which our 
readers have asked us to collect. Lewis owes this 
money, but will not pay it, though he is working in 
every way to induce other people to send him more 
money in much the same way as the former dupes 
“came up.” It is no lie that Lewis owes this money. 
It is a great truth that we shall stick to him until he 
pays it. 
* 
Last Winter we had a call from two good farmers 
who had gone out to investigate an investment for 
their neighbors. It was the Seaboard Portland Cement 
Company. This concern had issued one of the most 
beautiful pamphlets we ever saw and our visitors 
offered it in evidence to prove the great value of their 
investment. They claimed that the company had 
bought 700 acres of land worth $1000 per acre, and 
that a great factory was being erected. They knciv 
that this concern could put cement in New York City 
cheaper than any other, and thus have a monopoly 
of the business! These men were on their way home 
to induce their friends and neighbors to invest in a 
“sure thing.” We did our best to stop them—point¬ 
ing out the danger to a small investor in any such 
enterprise. Last week a receiver was appointed to 
wind up the affairs of this company, lie finds no 
buildings, no machinery, no manufacturing plant— 
nothing but the 700 acres of land, on which there is a 
mortgage of $87,000 with interest unpaid. The com¬ 
pany sold bonds to the value of $1,818,000, but it had 
all been spent, so that the receiver was obliged to put 
up a few hundred dollars of his own money even to 
start an investigation. A large part of this squandered 
money was obtained from farmers or people of mod¬ 
erate means. The bait was an old one, but highly 
colored, and they took it. During the past few years 
we have exposed hundreds of similar schemes. As a 
rule they are all alike. In some cases they have a 
patent and a barrel of wind—in others not even the 
patent is in evidence. This Seaboard Company sold 
$1,818,000 worth of bonds and seems to have paid 
about $500,000 in “commissions” to the various con¬ 
cerns which sold the stock. Most of the “directors” 
who received this money were also directing the Sea¬ 
board. This is only one case of hundreds—but the 
principle is always the same. These rascals are after 
your money. From the very nature of the case they 
cannot make good. They may run a few months or 
even years with a good front, but the heart of the en¬ 
terprise is rotten or hollow, and sooner or later it will 
fall and bury your investment forever. We venture 
to say that everyone of the people who disregard our 
advice and buy these stocks and bonds could invest the 
money right on their farms in improvements so that it 
would pay safe and permanent interest, and also help 
legitimate business. 
* 
Just before the “Wonderberry” battle opened last 
Winter we were told on what seemed good authority 
that John Lewis Childs had determined to test the 
power of the agricultural press. He intended to 
show that The R. N.-Y. could not materially affect 
the sale of the Wonderberry. He reasoned, as we 
understand, that if he came out boldly with new 
claims and “endorsements” we would become dis¬ 
couraged and quit. He is said to have spent $20,000 
in advertising. A bold fighter, Mr. Childs hanked 
his entire advertising campaign upon the Wonder- 
berry. lie expected to silence the farm papers with 
advertising space and gain respectability by using 
the magazines and standard weeklies. It did look 
like a sure tiling, for who would suppose that The 
R. N.-Y. alone, with its Knights of the Postage 
Stamp, could stand against the avalanche? It seemed 
like a forlorn hope, but we stood to the job as best 
we could. Three weeks ago we received the follow¬ 
ing report which came very straight from headquar¬ 
ters : 
"The R. N.-Y. ruined the Wonderberry advertising 
campaign.” 
A little later a man who is supposed to know about 
the Wonderberry business was asked how the deal 
came off this Spring. His reply may be considered 
more forcible than elegant, but we think it is about 
right. 
“Nothing doing! John L. got it in the neck and 
got it bad.” 
We understand that Mr. Childs still considers the 
Wonderberry a good thing. He must now be con¬ 
vinced that the public at least has ceased to be “a 
good thing.” * His belief in the Wonderberry may be 
based on a realization of its medical properties. In 
homeopathy, on the principle that like cures like, 
black nightshade is thought to benefit a stiff or in¬ 
jured neck. We fought this battle practically alone 
so far as actual open fighting goes, though we had 
the moral support of the scientific men, the respectable 
seed trade, some of the best farm papers, and farmers 
and gardeners. Our friends of the nightshade family 
have our sympathy in the full doses of “medicine” 
they have been obliged to take to get the effect of this 
advertisement out of their systems! 
BREVITIES. 
The young turkeys fade away. 
Do not feed millet hay to horses. 
Go out into the highways and byways and cut the weeds. 
Oh— hut it Is good to see the water pouring out of the 
tile drains. 
In a wet season like this one a good hay cap will help 
prevent an explosion of temper. 
We want all the experience in frost fighting either with 
bonfires or “heaters” that wo can get on record. 
Now we want to know how the “Kevitt” method of 
close planting strawberries, or any modification of it, came 
out. 
Under a new game law in New York, a place of refuge 
for game may be established in any township on petition 
of citizens. 
The farmers did not get all they fought for in that 
Boston milk war, hut they got something. It is time to 
organize elsewhere. 
The advocates of a sane July 4 who object to the 
present methods of making a noise might advocate any 
of the following—popping the question, shelling peas, dis¬ 
charging duty. 
