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October 211, 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 1850. 
Pnbllsbed weekly by the Kuril Publishing Company, 409 Pearl Street, New York, 
HerbertW. 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 
8s. 6d., or 8H2 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 60 cents per agate line—7 words. Discount for tim< 
orders. References required for advertisers unknown to 
ns; 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 swindle* - 
advertising in ourcolumns, and any such swmdlerwill be publicly ex¬ 
posed. We protect suberibers against rogues, but wedo 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. 
* 
A Chicago man found in a barrel of apples, for which 
he had paid $4, a note that read: “Dear Consumer— 
I was paid 75 cents for this barrel. How much did you 
pay ?” If producers generally adopt this idea of com¬ 
municating with consumers, what will become of the 
middlemen ? 
That is what you may call the inside vote. It is for 
the middleman what primary nominations would be 
for the politician. This is a good idea. If followed 
out persistently it will bring buyer and producer to¬ 
gether. This man got about 18 cents of the consumer’s 
dollar. What will become of the middleman? Get 
wise—which means get honest or get out. 
* 
During the past week we have had earnest questions 
like the following: “What is the tuberculin test?” 
“What is Bordeaux Mixture?” “How do you make 
lime and sulphur?” “What do you mean by balanced 
ration?” “What are nitrogen and ammonia?” We 
have, of course, answered such questions 100 times or 
more; yet it is evident that many of our readers do 
not remember all that they read or are new at the 
business. So we answer these questions over and over, 
tiying each time to make the answer clearer and more 
interesting. Let no man sneer at those who ask such 
questions. You may say they ought to know, but if 
they do not it is part of our business to try to furnish 
the information. The chances are that each one of 
those who asks this information which you call simple 
could teach you something that you ought to know. 
* 
“Chiquenesis” is the new word coined (on page 
•1015) to describe the disease for which the various 
poultry “systems” are responsible. These “systems” 
will no doubt be rushed harder than ever this Winter, 
for the public seems able to absorb almost anything 
into its system. Why does not the American Poultry 
Association get busy and show these “systems” up for 
just what they are? They all have some good ideas— 
most of them as old as the hills, and the amateur could 
go to any old and successful poultry keeper and learn 
r.iore in a day than 10 years’ study of these “systems” 
could tell him. But the average “sucker” does not like 
the truth with barbs on it, though that is the real sort. 
He wants it in rosy-colored velvet, and these “system” 
men know how to make him pay for it, and how to 
induce the papers to lead him to the slaughter of his 
dollars! 
* 
Watsonville’s apple annual, which will open Mon¬ 
day, was boosted in the streets of San Francisco yester¬ 
day with a brass band and samples of the splendid 
product of the Pajaro valley. Two hundred citizens of 
Watsonville and Santa Cruz county, men and women 
and pretty girls, headed by a commendable band, arrived 
in this city at 12 :45 o'clock, paraded through the streets, 
throwing apples to the throngs along the sidewalks, and 
enjoyed a luncheon at the Palace Hotel. 
That statement is made in the San Francisco Call 
and indicates how the California people stimulate busi¬ 
ness for the Apple Consumers’ League. This com¬ 
pany of apple boosters left Watsonville in the morning 
and reached San Francisco after noon. ^They stopped 
to parade through several towns and threw away about 
500 boxes of apples—every one of which advertised 
the goods. That is the way they do things on the 
Pacific coast, where fruit growing is recognized as a 
great industry. Who ever speaks of California as a 
gold-producing State now? The fruit far surpasses 
the gold in value. Let us suppose Niagara Co., N. Y., 
sent an apple delegation to this city. That county can 
furnish the men, the brass bands, the prettv girls, and 
the apples. What a sensation they would make, and 
how apple eating would boom! 
THE RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
Under the new railroad law there will be a great 
battle over rates, especially under what is known as 
the “long and short haul” clause. In many cases the 
railroads actually charged more for carrying freight a 
short distance than for nearly twice as far 'over the 
same line. This favored certain cities or districts and 
often proved a great injustice. Under the new law 
the railroads cannot charge more for the short haul 
unless specially permitted by the Interstate Commerce 
Commission. Formerly the shipper was obliged to 
prove that the short haul should not pay more than 
the long. Now the railroad is obliged to show that the 
long haul should have a lower rate. So it is with ad¬ 
vancing rates. Under the old law the railroads made 
their rates and the commission could only review 
them on complaint. Now the railroad must prove the 
necessity for the advance before it is accepted. The 
strength of the new law lies in these two sections. 
* 
A jury in South Dakota has given a verdict for what 
is called the “expected value” of trees. It was a case 
of the United States against the M. R. & N. W. Rail¬ 
road for fire trespass. The Government sued to re¬ 
cover loss for the destruction of merchantable timber, 
and also young growth, which, at the time of the burn¬ 
ing, had no commercial value, but which would, if left 
alone, grow into value. The jury awarded damages 
for all the timber. The Government claimed a value of 
$12 per acre for the young growth, proved Ls case and 
won. It is stated that in European countries a definite 
system for measuring values of young growth has been 
worked out. This decision is important, not only as 
regards tracts of timber lands, but also in cases where 
orchards are destroyed by fire started by railroad loco¬ 
motives. If the railroad must pay the “expected value” 
of young timber trees so it must pay such value of 
fruit trees. 
* 
Twenty years ago such an article as the one on 
corn exhibits by Mr. Shamel on first page would have 
seemed almost a waste of space. Now it will be re¬ 
garded by many as one of the most important of the 
year. The science of corn breeding has developed be¬ 
yond all expectation. We need the grain as never be¬ 
fore, and we know that it is not merely a matter of 
preparing more ground and using more fertilizer or 
manure. Selected corn, with a true pedigree, will make 
as great improvement in a crop as will pure blood of 
selected pedigree in a herd of cows or a flock of sheep. 
The article referred to gives in popular form the best 
advice about selecting and fitting corn for exhibition. 
If you want to see what corn breeding and corn judg¬ 
ing can do for a section, go to the New England Corn 
Show at Worcester, Mass. You will see that “bleak 
New England” has come back as a corn section, and 
mainly through the improvement of local varieties. 
* 
In reply to a direct question we give a brief state¬ 
ment regarding the candidates for Governor in New 
York. They are both able and honorable men with 
good records. As for the parties it cannot be truth¬ 
fully said that, on their records for the past 10 years, 
either of them can look plain people of New York 
squarely in the face. Gov. Hughes tried hard to give 
the Republican party new ideals and a clean record, 
but the political “leaders” fought him and did their 
best to disgrace the party record. The Democrats held 
all elective State offices except Governor for two 
years, but did little except play politics, while their 
“leaders” in the Legislature combined with the worst 
element of the Republican party. Both of these parties 
have now “heard the call,” and they realize that the 
people are analyzing and weighing their promises as 
never before. The independent voters will settle the 
election. There are more of them than ever before, 
and they will vote for the man who seems to be most 
free from the old hide-bound political traditions, and 
most likely to get back to popular government. So 
far as promises go, the platform of the Independence 
League is far in advance of the others. 
* 
In England direct taxation has become a national 
policy. With immense foreign imports there is no 
protective tariff system as enforced in this country. 
Revenues are raised by direct taxes—very largely 
upon incomes. A large proportion of the farm land 
in England is held in great estates, some of which are 
immense parks giving but little income to the owners. 
The English tax system is somewhat along the line 
of the Henry George theory of taxation of land values 
and its enforcement is having the expected effect. 
The large land owners find that the income from their 
estates will not enable them to pay the taxes and have 
enough left to keep up their old way of living. Some 
of these “English squires” have therefore been obliged 
to offer part of their land for sale. It seems as if 
these large land owners who have no income except 
that from their farms will be forced to break up their 
estates into smaller farms. This is just what Henry 
George claimed would follow a system of taxing land 
values, for under such a system it would not be profit¬ 
able to hold idle land. It would be sold at a fair price 
to some one who would work it. The old order of 
things is passing in England, and in place of the great 
estates there is likely to be a much larger number of 
small farms owned by the people who work them. 
* 
We come back again to this question of Canadian 
loans for farm drainage. A very clear statement of 
the facts is found on page 1003. Let any New York 
farmer with a wet farm think this over. He knows 
that if these wet fields could be drained his income 
would be at once increased and his farm made more 
valuable and more salable. Here we are at a time 
when the demand for food is increasing out of all 
proportion supply. With such an outlook a manu¬ 
facturer would prepare to enlarge and rebuild his fac¬ 
tory. The railroads are calling for increased rates— 
which simply means that the people will hand them 
more money with which to provide new tracks and 
cars. Draining the farms will increase the food sup¬ 
ply and give the farmer a better income. But drain¬ 
age is one of the things which requires cash—perhaps 
more than any other farm operation. Where can the 
average farmer obtain cash with only unproductive 
land as security? In Ontario he could borrow of the 
state, through his township, drain the land and have 
20 years in which to pay. The question is—Why 
should a New York farmer be denied such a privilege 
when a Canadian on the other side of an imaginary 
line enjoys it? 
* 
I wish to present my congratulations on your brave 
stand for good government in New York. Your columns 
on fakes ought to be expanded and translated into a 
Federal department. Nowhere can it better be realized 
that the people need a protector in their business deal¬ 
ings. Why should not these flagrant frauds be hunted 
down by the power of the government, punished and 
forever rendered innocuous? The present age js so cor¬ 
rupt that a Federal policeman is needed in every depart¬ 
ment of business. It strikes me the work your paper 
is doing is almost quixotic in its altruism. If all your 
beneficiaries had a proper sense of obligation, you should 
have the greatest corps of loyal workers of any paper 
in the land. l. j. 
The Federal Government can punish fakes and 
frauds when the evidence against them is clear and 
indisputable. It cannot act on presumption or with¬ 
out positive proof. This is right, for otherwise great 
injustice might be done. The great power of the 
Federal Government is a terrible weapon and should 
never be misused. The newspaper or private indi¬ 
viduals, if sure of their ground and willing to stand 
for what they say, can attack the fakes and frauds 
and it is their duty to do so. Most of these rascals do 
their damage and capture their plunder before the 
Government could make a case against them, yet it is 
clearly evident that they are doing a fraudulent busi¬ 
ness. Our plan is to make sure of the nature of their 
game and then attack them openly. We need thorough 
work on the part of the farm and other papers more 
than any enlargement of Federal activities. We have 
already “the largest corps of loyal workers of any 
paper in the land.” There is no paper in the country 
that receives truer backing than we receive from our 
readers. 
BREVITIES. 
Louisiana is now producing peppermint oil. 
Argentina even has a temperance society which is 
working for prohibition. 
The man who goes fishing for trouble always gets 
a bite. 
We have been asked if ferrets will drive skunks out 
of their holes. One ferret breeder says they surely will, 
while another says they “are no good at the job.” Who 
is to decide when breeders disagree? 
If the State assumes the care of rabbits on my farm, 
does it not also assume responsibility? If these pro¬ 
tected rabbits kill my fruit trees, should not the State 
pay for them? 
It is reported that a Chinese rubber-producing tree is 
now being tested for hardiness at the Arnold Arboretum, 
Boston. Look out for stories of great rubber plantations 
projected for the abandoned farms of New England. 
Settle your differences outside of the courthouse if 
you can. The judge and jury will require complete evi¬ 
dence to convict or give damages. In many of the 
personal cases submitted to us there is little or no 
real legal evidence. 
The Colorado Experiment Station reports success with 
a cement cistern lined with paraffin. Two coats of 
cement in water were put on the cistern and then a 
thin coat of paraffin melted and put on with a paint 
brush. Vinegar was kept in this cistern. 
The Biological Survey of the United States Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture has opened a determined campaign 
against the timber wolves of the upper peninsula of 
Michigan. These animals kill more deer annually than 
the huuters do, and are a danger as well as a nuisance. 
“Plowing with dynamite” is becoming quite common. 
The plan is to bore two-inch holes almost four feet deep 
in hard clay and explode a half stick of dynamite in 
this hole. In some cases this breaks up the hard pan 
down to gravel and gives drainage. 
