188 
TUB) RURAL NEW-YOKKER 
The Rural New-Yorker 
TIIE BUSINESS FA R ME R ' S PArER 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes 
Established ts:o 
Published weekly by Iho Knral Publishing Company, 333 'Vest 30th Street, Jiew York 
Herbert TV. Couixti’.vooD, President and Kditor. 
John .1. DILLON, Treasurer and General Manager. 
AVm. F. Dillon, Secretary. Mas. E. T. Roylk, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, 02.01. equal to 8s. 6d., or 
%% marks, or 10tf franc*. 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. 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 respon¬ 
sible 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 exposed. y>e sub¬ 
scribers against rogues, but we do not guarantee to adjust trifling 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 bo sent to us within one month of the time of 
the transaction, and you must have mentioned Tine Rural New-iorkjer 
when writing the advertiser. 
TEN WEEKS FOR 10 CENTS. 
In order to maintain the improvement and enlarge¬ 
ments that we are now planning for The It. 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. 
* 
It seems that there are various tilings sold as 
“agricultural lime.” It is generally understood to 
be ground limestone, but in some cases the dealers 
seem to scrape up the waste around the limekilns. 
This contains some ground limestone or lime dust, 
and also some burnt lime. Some of our readers are 
being told that this “agricultural lime" can be safe¬ 
ly used in the stable or in the manure pile to hold 
the liquids and ammonia. As we have pointed out, 
the raw lime or marble dust will make a fair ab¬ 
sorbent without any great chemical action to set 
free the ammonia. The burnt lime, on the other 
hand, acts to set free ammonia, so that it will be 
lost. Land plaster is a much safer material to use 
in the stables than “agricultural lime.” We think 
it a safe rule not to use this lime for absorbing the 
liquids. Certainly not without making sure that it 
contains nothing besides ground limestone. 
* 
The Supreme Court lias decided in favor of the 
California fruit shippers in the famous refrigera¬ 
tion suits. These fruit shippers had a method of 
precooling or icing car loads of fruit. When thus 
cooled, the railroads moved them. On each car 
shipped across the continent, there was a saving of 
about .$54. The railroads took this privilege away 
from the shippers and charged the extra money for 
the service which the fruit growers could do cheaper 
themselves. On complaint by the shippers, the In¬ 
terstate Commerce Commission ordered the railroads 
to do this service at what it cost the fruit growers 
themselves; that is, the railroads were ordered to 
cut down their charges $54 a car or give the shipper 
the old privilege of doing his own icing. The rail¬ 
roads fought the order and carried it up to the 
Supreme Court, which lias now sustained the Com¬ 
mission. It is stated that about 20,000 carloads of 
fruit a year will be covered by this order, and this 
means a saving of one million dollars to the Cali¬ 
fornia fruit growers. 
* 
Last week “Mapes the hen man” came back with 
the figures showing his “contest" between an aver¬ 
age of 11 coavs and 1,800 hens. He makes a great 
showing in favor of the hens, but there are some 
other things to be considered. What about the cap¬ 
ital invested? The 11 cows may be worth $1,000. We 
doubt if Mapes would sell his hens for $3,000. The 
hen houses are worth more than the barn in which 
these cows are kept. Probably four times as much 
money is invested in the hens as in the cows. Of 
course a cow investment includes far more land than 
the liens would require. In further explanation of 
his figures Mapes says: 
Egg production is a business for men of some capital, 
as well as milk production. A farmer’s own two hands 
should be the uuit from which to deduct his calculations. 
But does Mapes claim that 11 cows cover the full 
“two bauds” unit in the dairy business? Before lie 
can do that he should have all his dairy arrange¬ 
ments as efficient as those he has provided for the 
hens. A milking machine, a silo and carriers run 
by gas or electric power—all these are in use on 
some dairies. We expect to hear from men who 
handle at least 20 cows and sell certified milk. But 
Mapes certainly gives us a chance to figure. 
Corn from Argentina is apparently to be a regu¬ 
lar feature in the markets of our Eastern States. 
Since last Fall something more than 9,000,000 
bushels have arrived at New Y'ork. The distance 
shipped is about 4,700 miles, yet the importers were 
able to handle this Argentine corn profitably and 
meet or undersell our home-grown product at New 
York. As the season in Argentina is opposite ours, 
the new crop is .iust developing there, and. with the 
exception of some drought damage, indications are 
that the yield will he good. A decided improvement 
in the market quality of our corn is necessary for 
successful competition with the foreign crop. There 
must he less Nos. 4 and 5 and more Nos. 1 and 2. 
The dry kiln will prevent musty corn from rotting, 
but cannot undo previous damage. Many growers 
a- raising varieties attractive as yielders, but re¬ 
quiring too long season to be reasonably safe in 
their latitude. Sound corn is a scarce article in our 
markets. 
* 
In one way this “baek-to-the-land” proposition has 
proved a fine thing for farming. Many well-to-do 
and prominent men have bought farms and started 
to conduct them. When they began they were very 
strong for the “two blades of grass” theory. They 
expected to produce large crops and then make large 
sales. Some of them have been able to grow fair 
crops, but at a fearful cost of fertilizers and labor, 
so that the expense per pound or bushel is a ery 
heavy. When they came to sell these crops they 
learned their real lesson in agriculture. Living in 
the city these men know Avhat consumers paid for 
food and a little figuring showed them that they 
Avere receiving a 35-cent dollar for Avhat they paid 
out 50 cents to produce! They would not believe 
this until they had to pay this 15 cents or more dif¬ 
ference. “Once I was blind—now I see!” This 
practical demonstration of the 35-cent dollar is very 
largely responsible for the change of sentiment in 
many of our public men. Lawyers, merchants and 
manufacturers did not grasp the significance of this 
clipped farmers’ dollar until they turned farmers 
and felt the shears on their own coin. Then they 
woke up and began to see Iioav the 35-cent dollar not 
only affects their oavu personal farming business, 
but also their other business. For every five cents 
which is added to the farmer's dollar makes five 
cents more to buy some article or some service Avhich 
these men haA’e to offer. Many a unh-ersity grad¬ 
uate is iioav going to school to the 35-cent dollar and 
adding to his education. 
* 
Here are extracts from tAvo letters which pleased 
us greatly. This season brings many pleasant Avords 
of encouragement from our readers— Ave never had 
so many before. These two letters somehoAv come to 
the top as the cream of good feeling and service: 
I have been a subscriber since 1SG9, 44 years, and 
although I have been blind for several years from catar¬ 
act and have not been able to read or write a word for 
over three years, Tiie R. N.-Y - . habit has become so 
fixed that I must continue it. I expect my sight will 
soon be restored by an operation and then I shall have 
a literary feast in looking over the numbers for the last 
three years. L. w. goodell. 
Massachusetts. 
Our hope and prayer is that this patient and 
cheerful blind man may receive liis sight. Such a 
thing makes us regret that Ave could not have put 
more of brightness and truth into the paper that 
it might be indeed a “literary feast” Avhen the light 
once more breaks into the brain of our old friend. 
Here is the other letter, Avliicli may well be read 
Avith the first one: 
I am very much interested in farming and would like 
very much to take a course in a first-class college, but 
as I have neither the time nor money I have discovered 
a A'ery good substitute and it only costs $1 a .car fox- 
tuition, pretty cheap isn’t it? In fact it is too good to 
keep to myself so I am sending it to you so that it may 
be sown broadcast. My course of study is to read Tiie 
R. N.-Y". from beginning to end and whenever I come to 
a problem I always read the problem and then lay the 
paper aside and study the same and try to give a satis¬ 
factory answer, and then I compare my answer with 
tiie answer in The R. N.-Y r . to see Iioav near right I 
am, and then I try to reason how The R. N.-Y. se¬ 
cured its answer. I have found that by following the 
above course I am gaining a good practical knoAvledge 
of farming which I expect to put to use one of these 
days. A. J. z. 
Pennsylvania. 
This does us good, for it makes us realize how 
strong and serious minds are analyzing and weigh¬ 
ing Avhat our writers have to say. We cannot think 
of any mental exercise better than this idea of 
thinking out the problems given in The R. N.-Y. 
proving or disproving the printed solutions. For 
during the course of a year such problems Avill cover 
a range of human thought as applied to country life 
and its future. Out of such study and thought will 
come the foundation of a deep and broad culture— 
the true essential of education. 
February 7, 
Some of our readers have heard that the U. S. 
Supreme Court has decided that it is unconstitu¬ 
tional for a State or city to collect a license fee for 
the sale of goods! We have had this carefully 
searched and find no such decision. Some of the re¬ 
ports of legal decisions which go floating through the 
papers turn out to be fancy tales. We liaA'e stated 
many times that farmers are free to sell the pro¬ 
ducts of their farms on any public highway provided 
they do not interfere witli travel. When they han¬ 
dle products which they do not grow they are classed 
as peddlers, and are subject to a license. 
* 
The latest report is that the Agricultural Depart¬ 
ment is working with the postoffice to use parcel 
post to cut the cost of living. A number of contain¬ 
ers for eggs, butter, and other farm products have 
been devised, so as to make it possible to ship these 
goods in satisfactory packages. Thus far, ship¬ 
ments of eggs have not been satisfactory. The 
breakage lias been too heavy. There has also been 
much discontent regarding shipments of butter. It 
is hoav claimed that containers cheap and durable 
have been devised for handling these products. The 
Agricultural Department, after settling this matter 
of packages, Avill begin to find mawtets for standard 
farm products. For this purpose, the rural carriers 
and the machinery of the Avhole Post Office Depart 
meat, Avill be employed. Both departments, as well 
as all avIio huA'e studied the matter, knoAV that the 
greatest trouble comes from a lack of standardizing 
farm products. Before anything like an effective 
service can be built up, there must be a uniform 
standard of goods sent from the farm. People in 
the cities and towns must know just what they are 
buying, and what they are to receive by parcel post. 
As soon as farm products can be bought and sold 
by a definite standard, the parcel post trade is sure 
to develop wonderfully, and Avill in time, without 
question, have a distinct effect upon cheapening the 
price of food, but no great progress can be made 
until the purchaser can be absolutely assured about 
the quality of goods he is to receive when he buys. 
One of the most important things therefore, con¬ 
nected Avitli this enlarging of the 35-cent dollar, is 
to establish a definite standard, by which food may 
be bought and sold, and then to organize so that 
these standards may he definitely maintained. 
♦ 
A new era has been inaugurated at Albany. Last 
Aveek. after the Agricultural Convention. Governor 
Glynn opened Avide the doors of the Executive Cham¬ 
ber and invited representative farmers to enter and 
discuss Avith him the needs of agriculture. They 
did so fully and without reserve. The discussions 
Avere neither personal nor academic. They em¬ 
braced comprehensive policies and fundamental 
principles. It was an effort to develop a system of 
organized self-help; a system of cooperation, by 
Avliich the producers of wealth may control and re¬ 
tain for themselves the full value of the wealth 
they create. The significant thing about it Avas 
that the men were not speaking so much for them 
selves as for their neighbors. The men there did not 
need personal credit for themselves. They carry 
bank accounts and have ample bank credit. They 
do not need a land bank. Their farms are free from 
mortgages. They Avould profit by a modern market 
system but they have made the most of the market 
facilities they now have. They Avere successful, 
prosperous farmers, seeking means to better the 
conditions of farmers less fortunate than themselves. 
There may have been men there who came doubting, 
and others avIio left not realizing the full signifi 
cance of the sentiment they had created, but feAA- 
men could be there without catching something of 
the altruism of the hour, and no man could realize 
the spirit of the occasion and not go away a better 
man than he came. They gaA-e of themselves and went 
away enriched by their oavu generosity. It Avas a 
day of encouragement and hope to humanity. There 
may be those who Avill say this conference Avas in¬ 
spired by politics, but if this be politics, for pity’s 
sake let us have more of it. 
BREVITIES. 
Time to think about the Spring grafting. 
These are, or ought to be, Avoodpile days. 
Price Co., Wis., is said to be practically free from 
tuberculosis. 
A TABLE-CLOTH worth $0,500 was the subject of a 
recent legal suit in New York. 
Drain the concrete cellar if there is danger of AA’et 
in Spring. Let tile take the moisture away. 
\Ve liave never used a manure spreader to put the 
mulch on straAvborries, but it has been done successfully 
in this Avay. 
Now Kansas intends to increase her yearly poultry 
value by $10,000,000. This means better blood and 
something besides corn. 
