120 
THE RURAL NEVV-VORKER 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER’S PAPER 
A National Weekly Journal for Country an«l Suburban Homes 
Established iSSO 
Published weekly by the Rural Publishing Company, 333 West SOth Street, New York 
Herbert IV. CoLmngwood, 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. 1:2.01. equal to 8s. 6d., or 
8}<j marks, or 10>4 francs. Remit in money order, express 
order, personal cheek or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post Office as Second Class Matter. 
Advertising rates 00 cents per agate line—7 words. References required for 
advertisers unknown to us ; and cash must accompany transient orders. 
“A SQUARE DEAL” 
IVe believo that every advertisement in this paper is backed by a respon¬ 
sible person. But to make doubly sure wc 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 exposed. We protect sub¬ 
scribers against rogues, but we do not guarantee to adjust trilling differences 
between subscribers and honest, responsible 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 maintain tlie improvement and enlarge¬ 
ments that we are now planning for The R. N.-Y., we 
should have a circulation of 200.000 copies weekly. 
We must depend on our old friends for this increase. 
To make it easy for these friends to introduce the 
paper to other farmers who do not now take it we 
will send it 10 weeks for 10 cents for strictly intro¬ 
ductory purposes. We will appreciate the interest 
of friends who help make up the needed increase of 
subscriptions. 
* 
The New York Experiment Station reports finding 
as high as four to six per cent of sand in samples 
of “screenings” used with wheat bran or middlings. 
Sometimes these screenings are sweetened and sold 
as molasses feeds. These screenings often carry 
seeds of the worst weeds which afflict our farms, and 
it has been shown that a fair proportion of such 
seeds live through the manure pile. Now sand may 
be a good thing to use as “grit" in a hen’s gizzard, 
hut why feed it to the good old cow? Perhaps they 
want to give her grit enough to face the screenings, 
splinters and trash in her feed I 
* 
In a season such as the coming one promises to 
be, there will be much study of orchard heating. 
The year past was one of sudden and violent 
changes, with untimely frosts. Artificial means of 
creating heat in orchard or garden will be needed 
in many situations. In parts of the West the oil- 
burning orchard heaters have given fair satisfaction. 
They do best in protected situations, or where the 
night is still, so that the heated air is not blown 
rapidly away. In situations where the wind has 
a clear sweep, the heaters are not generally success¬ 
ful. They seem to do best in “pockets” or protected 
valleys where there is poor air drainage. We ex¬ 
pect to have the experience of men who have tried 
those heaters under all sorts of conditions. 
* 
B. F. Mason, of Mercerville, Ind., is placing peach 
trees in Southern Ohio that he calls “Shipper’s Late 
Red.” He claims to have originated this variety, says 
that it is immune from yellows, brown rot. etc. He 
puts these trees in the hands of planters, and in a cer¬ 
tain number of years is to receive 50 cents per tree for 
them. 
We do not know Mr. Mason or his peach. If he 
is making these claims he is simply giving out a 
quantity of second-hand guff of naturally poor quali¬ 
ty. There are no peach varieties “immune from yel¬ 
lows and brown rot.” The plan of selling at 50 cents 
for future payment is part of a scheme used by 
many fakers. We warn our readers not to do busi¬ 
ness with any man who makes such claims for his 
trees. You will surely be disappointed if you are 
unwise enough to believe them. 
* 
The prospects seem to be favorable now for start¬ 
ing some good farm cooperative work in the State 
of New York this year. Following a conference with 
Gov. Glynn, Geo. C. Van Tuyl, Jr., Superintendent 
of Banks, has appointed a Special Committee on 
Agricultural Credits to work in connection with 
the Banking Commission, which is charged with the 
duty of revising the banking laws of the State. 
Members of this committee are: Robert B. Van 
Cortlandt; Charles LI. Sabin, vice-president of the 
Guarantee Trust Co.; Henry Burden, banker, Cazen- 
ovia, and John J. Dillon, publisher of The Rural 
New-Yorker. This committee is expected to perfect 
a hill to create a system of land bank credits and 
have it ready for the consideration of the New York 
State Agricultural Society’s convention. January 20. 
In addition to the work of this committee, a confer¬ 
ence was held at the Executive Chamber in Albany 
last week at which Governor Glynn presided, for 
the purpose of considering the agricultural needs 
of the State, with particular reference to credits 
and marketing. The sentiments of the conference 
were in favor of a bill to create a land bank on co¬ 
opera tive lines; to make some amendments to the 
Commission Bill; and to secure an appropriation to 
put cooperative instructors in the State to encour¬ 
age and organize cooperative associations where 
there is a demand for them. Ash-e from the credit 
organizations, the principal object of this work is 
to obtain for the producer a larger share of the 35- 
cent dollar. Governor Glynn was emphatic in the 
position that the producer was not getting a square 
deal in the marketing and distribution of farm pro¬ 
ducts, and he expressed a very decided interest in 
any measure that would promise better returns to 
the producer for the products of the farm. With 
his encouragement and influence, the measures will 
undoubtedly go through and an effort will at last 
he made to slice off some of the expense and waste 
in the transportation and sale of farm products, and 
to secure for the farmer a better share of the con¬ 
sumer’s dollar. 
* 
On the next page will be found a statement about 
the new income tax as it affects farmers. The 
Government estimates that 425,000 individuals will 
be taxable under this law. This means that about 
one family in 200 has an income in excess of $4,000. 
How will the fanning class average with other 
workers? This will be a good thing to follow out. 
We have heard men solemnly argue that because few 
farmers are mentioned in “Who's Who In America” 
il follows that farming is not a leading profession. 
This is nonsense, because the standard for “Who’s 
Who” is literary or professional. A man might 
l'* 1 the best practical farmer in the country and still 
fail to be known as “Who.” Another man might be 
able to write about the first man’s success and be 
recognized. The income tax, however, will sort them 
out in another way. 
* 
While the new tariff and imports of mutton from 
South America may have the effect of reducing the 
larger flocks of sheep we think thousands of new 
smaller flocks will appear. Many of our orchard 
and fruit farms can easily support a few sheep— 
in fact such flocks are needed. The sheep will clean 
up weeds better than any other animals, make good 
use of farm refuse, and prove better than hogs for 
use in orchards. They give meat, lambs and wool 
in return. Formerly the small lots of wool could not 
l»e sold to advantage, but now a system of direct 
dealing with manufacturers is developing. Under 
this the wool can be sent direct to the factory and 
traded for yarn or finished goods. This gives the 
owner of small flocks the chance to partly clothe 
his family without selling at a 35-cent dollar and 
buying with a 200-eent dollar. . 
* 
The Hope Farm man is something of a sport in 
this egg contest proposition. His scrubs seem to be- 
birds that have gone back from “utility” close to 
nature. By “utility” we mean the ability to pro¬ 
duce food—both meat and eggs—for we understand 
the chief design for poultry in the world’s economy 
is to feed the human race. These scrubs, through 
hard usage and “natural” breeding seem to have 
gone back on the road to nature, or that condition 
in bird life which induces them to lay only about 
enough eggs to reproduce their kind. They were 
entered in this contest for several reasons—one a 
desire to see just how many eggs such a bird can 
be induced to lay under the most favorable condi¬ 
tions. Now we also believe that continued breed¬ 
ing for show room points or for fancy points also 
takes a bird away from what we consider “utility.” 
The scrub goes back to nature while the “fancy” 
fowl goes further away from the strong egg pro¬ 
ducing bird which we call our egg-laying machine. 
Our own experience with prize winners has been lim¬ 
ited, but we have bought a few, and they rarely laid 
over 00 eggs a year. We find that this belief is 
shared by a large proportion of the L.en who depend 
upon eggs and meat for all or part of their income. 
We think it is now up to the American Poultry As¬ 
sociation to disprove it, as they can readily do by 
entering a pen of high scorers at one of the laying 
contests. No one questions the accuracy or fairness 
of the management of these contests. Let the A. P. 
A. enter a pen of high scoring birds, and, if they 
make a good record as layers they would silence 
the argument against “blue ribboners” and do the 
fancy breeders more good than anything else that 
could happen. If the A. I*. A. will enter such a 
pen The R. N.-Y. will agree to enter a pen of the 
same breed or of mongrels selected “from a “utility” 
type. Come, gentlemen, here is your chance to prove 
that “fine feathers make fine birds.” 
January 24, 
Mr. Stedman called Walton “a whitewashed sepul¬ 
chre of mendacity, who used a razor dipped in oil to 
part farmers from their money” and spoke about “the 
angels weeping in Heaven to-night if you give Walton 
a verdict.” 
Now gentlemen, run over the list of characters you 
have ever met and see which one could fit properly 
into this description! This language was used at a 
recent court trial at Batavia, N. Y. Bert Walton of 
Indiana is a tree agent. lie bought Catalpa trees 
at about $3.50 per-1000, wrapped them well in guff 
and sold them to New York farmers at $20! After 
learning how they had been treated the dupes re¬ 
fused to pay and Walton brought suit against James 
Pettibone to recover $40. A little story of the trial 
is told on page 110. The above remarks were made 
by lawyer Stedman, who represented the farmers. 
Can you beat his description of the guff-dispensing 
tree agent? Walton lost his case, and richly de¬ 
served to, and he may yet he prosecuted criminally 
for false statements in selling the trees! In this 
trial the lawyers for the agent tried to make 
much of the point that farmers who bought the 
trees knew just what they were doing. One farm¬ 
er on the witness stand is said to have made this 
naive statement: 
I just believe this much, that I was a darned fool 
when I signed the contract for trees, because any man 
who would believe fence posts could be grown in two 
years from seedlings don’t know he’s living. 
A first-class guff-slinger can make a man believe 
black is white until he gets the black letters of his 
name upon the white paper. Those Batavia farmers 
who combined and fought this tree agent have set 
us all a good example in cooperation that has teeth 
in it. 
* 
I have often read in the farm papers that before buy¬ 
ing fertilizer one should submit a sample to his State 
Agricultural Department for analysis. I did so. and am 
informed that “this being a public institution we do 
not do analysing for private parties.” That is all the 
State Department amounts to for me. I send sample 
of same stuff to you. Will you please tell me what 
it is? • a. B. K. 
West Pike, Pa. 
The substance seems to be ground limestone. It 
would require a chemical analysis to determine 
whether it contains phosphoric acid. The R. N.-Y. 
has not stated that the experiment stations will 
make free analysis. We think they ought to be re¬ 
quired to do so, and furnished with money enough to 
enable them to carry out the work. At present the 
departments and the stations collect samples of fer¬ 
tilizer and have them analyzed. The figures are 
printed, but they are only of general use to a farm¬ 
er. For example, a farmer is to buy fertilizer this 
year All he can get is the record of hist year's 
goods. This of course indicates the general reputa¬ 
tion of the manufacturer, but he cannot tell just 
what he is buying unless he pays for an analysis 
out of his own pocket. The same is true when he 
buys lime or ashes or waste substances. The fer¬ 
tilizer laws are designed to protect him, but under 
the present method it is an indirect protection. He 
must pay for any direct benefit. In Florida the 
State chemists are required to make analyses of 
commercial fertilizer or fertilizing substances sent 
by farmers. We think something of the same plan 
is followed in Massachusetts. It would be impossi¬ 
ble foi the stations in the States where fertilizers 
are heavily used to analyze everything which farm¬ 
ers sent them without a great increase of chemists 
and expenses. We think the States might well af¬ 
ford to spend the money needed to give farmers this 
direct protection. 
BREVITIES. 
Running water saves walking mother. 
As the twig is bent by a bad example the tree becomes 
crooked. 
A few years ago little if any corn was grown in 
Manchuria. Now there is a market for corn shelters. 
A good reading circle gives a country neighborhood a 
square deal at reading. 
• 
Remember this Alsike clover can endure on an acid 
soil far better than Red clover or Alfalfa. The next 
article on acid soil will show how some plants get their 
food. 
The questions about handling muck are pouring in. 
There never were so many before. People who have 
been trying fertilizers which have been brought from 
many corners of the earth begin to realize what is in 
the old swamp. 
Many Northern farmers are fighting the meat trust 
with frost. Instead of selling *a fat cow for what the 
buyers will give they slaughter, sell the hide and freeze 
the carcass, and keep it packed in snow—cutting from it 
as wanted. Usually neighbors will take one or more 
quarters. 
We have followed up that report of profit in raising 
Belgian hares. It is apparently correct as to special 
prices obtained for the hares, but we find that many of 
them were sold as breeders to foreigners, who keep them 
in city quarters. Few were actually sold as meat, and 
wo doubt if the meat market alone would make the busi¬ 
ness profitable. 
