1122 
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. P. 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. 6 d., or 8*2 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 GO cents per agate line—7 words. Discount for timi 
orders. References required for advertisers unknown to 
us; and cash trust 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, 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. 
* 
The first expressions of opinion on New York Sena¬ 
tor are negative. Several readers rise up to protest 
against the proposed selection of Edward M. Shepard. 
It is claimed that he is or was the attorney of the 
Pennsylvania L. I. Railroad Company and led the 
fight against Long Island people when they protested 
against increased fares. Is New York always to be 
represented in the Senate by a railroad or an express 
company? After Depew, the railroad joker, and Platt, 
the expressman, it is time to cut the wires and give us 
some one else. One or two New York men favor Mr. 
Shepard, but the country people who have written us 
oppose his selection violently. 
* 
In parts of the West a “quack grass eradicator” is 
offered for sale in pretty much the same way that the 
poultry “systems” are boosted. The “eradicator” ad¬ 
vises cultivation all the time through the season. Some 
of the western experiment stations have issued bul¬ 
letins which are just as valuable as regards methods 
of killing quack grass as this “eradicator” is. There 
are some people in this world who if you give them 
free advice to cultivate thoroughly will just about half 
do it. If you can make them pay for a book which 
gives them the same advice they may work more care¬ 
fully, with the idea of getting their money back. You 
do not need the “quack grass eradicator” to get rid of 
this pest. The R. N.-Y. has told how to do the job 50 
times. 
* 
Among other resolutions the New Hampshire Hor¬ 
ticultural Society passed the following at its last an¬ 
nual meeting: 
Resolved, That this society would endorse and does 
recommend legislation which would exempt from taxa¬ 
tion all orchards of five acres or more which may be 
planted after March 1, 1911, in the State of New Hamp¬ 
shire for a period of 10 years for apples and pears, and 
for a period of five years for quinces and stone fruits, 
namely plums, peaches and cherries. 
If there is any industry which should be given such 
special privilege in New England it is orcharding. 
Fruit culture is well adapted to many parts of New 
Hampshire. It gives a new occupation, increases the 
value of waste land, advertises the State as no other 
farm operation can, and attracts the best kind of citi¬ 
zens. Every orchard in New England helps protect 
the water supply and aids in holding the streams 
which provide water power. When a man plants an 
apple orchard he must expect to wait 10 years or more 
before the trees give him any adequate income. We 
are not sure that such exemption from taxation would 
lead to heavy planting, but there are sound arguments 
in favor of it. 
* 
Last Spring we gave the details of a glandered horse 
case. A gang of rascals was operating on Long Island 
—doctoring glandered horses, selling them in a round¬ 
about way, and keeping the victims quiet by telling 
them they would be fined or jailed for keeping a sick 
horse. A farmer sued one of the gang and beat him. 
There are no end of tricks and dodges in the horse 
trading business. We have the record of one case 
where a horse dealer sold a team, guaranteeing them 
to be good workers. They refused to pull an empty 
wagon. The farmer took them back and exchanged 
one of them and got another guarantee. Still the 
horses refused to pull and the farmer returned them 
and demanded his money. The dealer refused to pay 
it or accept the horses, but turned them on the street. 
The police put them in a livery stable, where they 
stood for six months eating up one dollar per day. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
The farmer sued to recover what he paid for the 
horses, which was $350. The jury gave him $361.14 
and costs, and the dealer had to pay over $150 to get 
the horses out of the livery stable. This trial appar¬ 
ently hinged on the question whether the farmer gave 
these horses a fair trial to see if they would work. 
* 
In the notes on the New England corn show, page 
1119, you will find the opinion of a western man on 
the future of that section. Needless to say this man 
left the East strongly convinced that it is a dismal 
failure as a farming section. He has seen nothing to 
change his mind because he has not been back to look 
at modern farming in New England. We stick to our 
proposition that with apples, corn and hens—with 
Alfalfa on the side—New England will in the future 
become one of the most prosperous farming sections 
of the country. The thing to wake up these western 
critics is to get them into a genuine corn contest. Let 
them select any 10 or 25 acres of $150 corn land in 
the West. We think we can find an equal number of 
$50 acres in New England. We suggest that owners 
of this land be left free to handle it in any way they 
like and grow corn in 1911. The yielu is to be prop¬ 
erly supervised and the contest is to be decided on the 
income and profit from these acres, not for seed corn, 
but for feeding grain and fodder at local prices. We 
would like to hear at once from New England farmers 
who will go into such a contest. 
* 
THE BUSINESS HEN 
(The Latest Hatch) 
Nearly 20 years ago the first edition of “The Busi¬ 
ness Hen” was published. The original book was 
crude and incomplete, yet it proved to be a fertile egg, 
and a good-sized edition was handled. The book was 
popular because it gave the experience of practical 
hen men. Six years ago we published a new edition 
entitled “A New Brood.” This was mailed to read¬ 
ers of The R. N.-Y. as a souvenir and many thousands 
were distributed. Dozens of poultry books have since 
been issued, and still there are many calls for “The 
Business Hen.” Most of these poultry books seem to 
be written to exploit some personal opinion or to air 
some grievance, to advertise some dealer’s stock or 
some manufacturer’s goods, or to tell some “big story” 
and thus sell the book. In the meantime the science 
of poultry culture is developing rapidly. The experi¬ 
ment stations are studying new problems of breeding, 
feeding and housing, and practical men are testing 
theories. In view of all these things we 'concluded 
that a new edition of “The Business Hen” is in order. 
So we started a number of wise hen men at the job of 
incubating and the result is “The Latest Hatch,” 
which will soon be out of the nest and ready for dis¬ 
tribution. Our plan has been to obtain the boiled- 
down life experience of a dozen or more successful 
hen men. One man who has had great success at 
brooding chickens has written the chapter on “Brood¬ 
ing.” Others who fully understand their business have 
discussed incubation, feeding, housing and so on. 
There is absolutely nothing in the way of a concealed 
advertisement or any blow-off of mere personal opin¬ 
ion. It is a plain tale of the hen written so that any¬ 
one can understand it. We have tried to make “The 
Business Hen” the most useful poultry book in the 
language—worthy of our good little servant and friend 
in feathers. We have undertaken this work for our 
subscribers. The success of the last year has war¬ 
ranted something liberal for the year to come, and we 
have spared no expense of either editor or printer to 
make it both reliable and presentable. A copy will be 
mailed with the compliments of The R. N.-Y. to both 
new and renewal subscriptions during the coming 
Winter months. 
* 
Figures given by the Department of Agriculture 
show that the cost of carrying a bushel of grain be¬ 
tween Lake Superior and Buffalo has been greatly 
reduced. Forty years ago the shallowest point be¬ 
tween Duluth and Buffalo was about 14 feet of water. 
This depth has now been increased to 21 feet. This 
means larger boats for the grain trade. Some of them 
are six times as large as those in use 40 years ago. 
One such ship carried 413,930 bushels of wheat. Thus 
transportation is cheaper. It is said that many cargoes 
have been carried from Duluth to Buffalo as low as 
one cent per bushel, and this competition has had the 
effect of cutting down railroad rates. It is said that 
the rate on grain between Chicago and New York is 
less than half that of 40 years ago. If these figures 
are correct the difference in price of grain between 
Chicago and New York ought to be less than in former 
years, for this difference is supposed to represent the 
cost of carrying the grain to the seaboard. As a mat¬ 
ter of fact the figures show that this difference is now 
greater than formerly. Ten years ago northern hard 
wheat was quoted in Duluth at 76 cents, and in New 
December 3, 
York at 85% cents. On the same date this year the 
figures were Duluth $1.04 and New York $1.16. Thus 
in spite of the reduced cost of hauling, the margin of 
difference in price is greater. The difference between 
Duluth and Buffalo 10 years ago was 3% cents—this 
year 3 l /i cents. The cost of improving the waterways 
so as to cheapen transportation was paid by the Ameri¬ 
can people, yet how are they benefited when the entire 
saving, and more, is taken by the handlers? 
* 
The National Grange closed its annual meeting at 
Atlantic City with some strong resolutions on public 
matters. We have often expressed our opinion re¬ 
garding the value of “resolutions.” They may be mere 
verbal froth or words without meaning, or they may 
be as deadly as a broadax descending upon the neck 
of evil. It all depends on what the men back of the 
resolutions will do with hand, dollar and vote to back 
up their words. It is to be regretted that Grange 
resolutions do not carry the weight they should in 
consequence of the unhappy quarrel in the organiza¬ 
tion. A band of shrewd politicians headed by the 
Master has fastened upon the Grange “machine,” and 
are working it for their own interests. There is a 
strong body of “insurgents” in the Grange, but thus 
far they have been unable to make headway against 
the “leaders.” The result is that the Grange has no 
real leader—no one to take a strong, dominating stand 
for the farmer’s interests. The machine leaders do not 
represent the ideals or the desires of the men and 
women who fill the Subordinate Granges and who 
comprise the real strength of the order. It is time to 
shake up this machine and select leaders who represent 
something besides themselves, or the order will lose its 
influence and power. 
* 
On page 1046 a correspondent refers to Section 3892 
of the Revised Statutes of the United States, which 
prohibits private express companies from carrying let¬ 
ters or packets. He then says: 
If it means anything, it means it is unlawful to receive 
or carry any letter or packet which is mailable. Any¬ 
thing weighing less than four pounds is mailable, and 
therefore mail, and is covered by statute. It is plain 
that practically the entire business of the great express 
companies is contrary to law. 
We have waited for some one to come forward and 
deny either the law or the statement here made, but 
we have waited in vain. Now if the express com¬ 
panies have no legal right to carry mailable packages, 
why does not the United States Government enforce 
the law and thus secure this business for the Post 
Office Department? In that way it could soon wipe 
out the deficit, and have a surplus which would justify 
a reduction of postage. If the above statement is true, 
the express companies are robbing the Government as 
well as the people. Why not hold up the robbers? 
The R. N.-Y. has held on to this parcels post propo¬ 
sition week after week for years. We have often been 
alone in the fight. Now we have plenty of company, 
for it is easy to see that the end of the long fight has 
begun. Our people have stood by us manfully and our 
little army of “Knights of the Postage Stamp” is 
mainly responsible for the present awakening. 
BREVITIES. 
Of course you have dug the peach borers out. 
The richer the soil the more water it will hold. 
English farmers have actually shipped 800 tons of 
sugar beets to Holland. 
No man has any need of the poultry systems who will 
read “The Business Hen.” 
Where is the northern seed potato grower wh'o will 
guarantee pedigreed seed? There ought to be good busi¬ 
ness for him. 
In a Fall like this one there will be a loss of nitrates 
in the drainage water all through the season until the 
soil is frozen solid. 
The latest adulterant is “enzyme flour”—a substance 
for millers to put into wheat flour. It is guaranteed 
that the chemists cannot detect it. 
No, the hill strawberry plants are not so likely to be 
“heaved out” as the matted rows. The hills are 
anchored tight by big root cables. 
The English claim that barley does better on the sea 
coast than other grains because it can stand the salt 
breezes. Some of that Rhode Island corn seems to enjoy 
the salt. 
No one can doubt that potatoes feed to better advan¬ 
tage when cooked than when raw. It is doubtful if other 
feeds are greatly improved by cooking, except where warm 
food is needed. 
Prof. James Dryden says that the trap-nest in the 
henhouse has, for the practical poultry keeper, “made 
the Standard of Perfection look like 30 cents.” What 
he means is that the feathers and color which might dis¬ 
qualify a “purebred” bird give no help whatever iu 
selecting laying stock. 
On one place near New York 80 large shade trees are 
being planted. They cost on the average about $14 
each. This merely shows how the nursery trade is de¬ 
veloping when a single institution will spend nearly 
$1,200 for large trees. All this spells opportunity for 
the men who can grow the trees. Thirty years ago such 
trade would have been impossible. 
