3 80 
THE RURAb NEW-YORKER 
July 4, 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FAKHE!?S PAPER 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes 
Established ts.w 
Published weekly by the Kurni Publishing Company, 838 West 80th Street, New York 
Herbert W. COLUN'Gwoon, President and Editor. 
John J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. Dillon, Secretary. Mas. E. T. Rotlk. Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION : ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union. $ 2 . 01 , equal to 8s. 6d.. or 
8 (£ marks, or lOJs francs. Remit In money order, express 
order” personal cheek or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Tost Office as Second Class Matter. 
Advertising rates, (10 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. We use every possible precaution and admit the advertising of 
reliable houses only. But to make doubly sure, wo will make good any loss 
to paid subscribers sustained by trusting any deliberate swindler, irrespon¬ 
sible advertisers or misleading advertisements in our columns, and any 
such swindler will be publicly exposed. We are also often called upon 
to adjust differences or mistakes between our subscribers and honest, 
responsible houses, whether advertisers or not. We willingly use our good 
offices to this end, but such cases should not be confused with dishonest 
transactions. We protect subscribers against rogues, but we will not he 
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 to identify it. yon should mention The Rural New- 
Yorker when writing the advertiser. 
W E have a friend who is interested in farming 
at two ends of the country. Not long ago 
it was necessary to sell some live hogs on 
the far Western farm. The price was 7% cents 
per pound. On the very same day another bunch 
of hogs on a farm in the Hudson Valley was offered 
to a butcher. These hogs were rather better than 
the others, and were 1.700 miles nearer the real 
market for finished pork. Yet the price offered was 
just the same—7% cents per pound! On the same 
day people in New York City paid 28 cents per 
pound for roasting pork, and 30 for ham and bacon. 
The Dakota man secured just as much for his live 
pork as the man in the Hudson Valley, while we 
see what the consumer paid. In many cases a com¬ 
parison of prices paid for live beeves would lie 
worse yet against the Eastern farmer. Yet there 
are men in Congress who want a law compelling 
every farmer to raise at least two steers every 
year! 
* 
T HE big live stock event of this Summer will be 
the meeting of the Connecticut Poultry Asso¬ 
ciation at Storrs on July 29. 30 and 31. There 
will be full opportunity for studying the egg-laying 
contest, and of course there will be a full pro¬ 
gramme of practical poultry discussion. In addi¬ 
tion to this, Tom Barron, the English breeder, will 
be on hand and make several speeches. We do not 
understand that Mr. Barron pretends to lx 1 an ora¬ 
tor. but he will be right there with his Wyandottes 
and Leghorns on hand. If anyone thinks these 
birds are hybrids he can get right up and see if he 
can prove it. We understand that Mr. Barron comes 
prepared to open his records and explain everything 
he knows about his birds. We believe this will be 
one of the most interesting poultry meetings ever 
held in this country. Let us all go and see if we 
can learn how these English Wyandottes are able 
to pull the tail feather out of the American Eagle! 
$ 
T HEY have now found another factor in the suc¬ 
cess of Mr. Hitehings and others who have 
succeeded with sod orchards. Prof. Hedrick 
on page 8S7 states that the annual rainfall in Onon¬ 
daga Co., N. Y., is 25 per cent, or more greater than 
in the lake counties where intensive culture of or¬ 
chards is properly advocated and practiced. Thus 
in the Hitching’s orchard. Nature supplies an extra 
amount of water, so that the grass cut and left as a 
mulch will hold this moisture in place. In the lake 
counties Nature is more stingy with the water sup¬ 
ply and therefore man must work to hold as much 
of it as possible in the soil. That is one reason why 
sod mulch may he an ideal system in one locality 
while thorough culture is the only safeguard in an¬ 
other. It is astonishing to see how the annual rain¬ 
fall may vary in localities less than 100 miles apart, 
and this variation will make all the difference in the 
world with crops and methods. 
* 
T HE Utica (N. Y.) Observer prints a good let¬ 
ter from a New York man who went to the 
Far West after “cheap” land. Among other 
things he says: 
I know something of farms in Central New York. 
But especially have I knowledge of farms in Oneida 
and Herkimer counties. I would dare wager that if one 
of yonr 10-doll a r-per-aere farms of Oneida County was 
placed in any part of this “last best West” there would 
be 1.000 men clamoring for possession of it at a figure 
five times greater than is now asked for it. 
There is no question about the possibilities on a 
piece of New York State land, but are there really 
any 10-dollar-per-acre farms in the State? We do 
not know where they are, and if you found them 
there would be something about the soil or situation 
which made them expensive at that price. It is a 
mistake to convey the impression that farms in New 
York are to he given away or sold at such ridiculous 
prices. There is no sense in locating strangers upon 
soil which never should have been cleared of timber. 
Any New York farm which is capable of supporting 
a family is worth a fair price and will command it. 
* 
T HE Wisconsin Experiment Station promises a 
new test for acidity in soil, which is said to 
he superior to the use of blue litmus paper. 
The new method consists of the addition to a sample 
of soil to be examined of zinc sulphide with small 
amounts of calcium chloride and water, and boiling the 
mixture in a flask held over a small flame, preferably 
an alcohol lamp. Commercial lead acetate paper, which 
can be purchased at the drug store, when held in the 
fumes of the mixture for a few minutes, will turn from 
light brown to a shiny black, according to the degree 
of acidity present in the soil. The natural color of the 
lead acetate paper is white, hence the discoloration can 
he plainly seen and will more accurately gauge the 
acidity in a soil than will the litmus paper test, now 
in use. 
This ought lo lie a good thing for the county agent 
and for all good farmers. Our judgment is that at 
least 80 per cent, of the soil on our Eastern farms 
is acid. In our own case we know that some of the 
fields are far more acid than others. A cheap and 
accurate test therefore will he useful to all of us. 
We find that this new test and its apparatus are 
not quite ready for distribution. 
* 
M assachusetts has a good tiling in what is 
known as the reforestation law. It was en¬ 
acted five years ago at the suggestion of the 
State Forester. F. W. Rane. Any farmer who has 
run-out pastures, waste lands or lands uuadapted 
to other agricultural crops may turn over an acre¬ 
age of from 10 to 80 acres by transferring the title 
of the land to the State through the State Forester, 
whereby the State Forester may accept it and plant 
it to young trees. The original owner has a proviso 
in the deed whereby he may regain the property by 
simply reimbursing the State for the cost of the 
trees and the labor in setting them out any time 
within 10 years. This law is working well. The 
principle is correct, for the State benefits from tree 
planting, while the farmer does not lose the in¬ 
creased value of his land. The land used for the 
tree planting would have very little value anyway 
unless the State took hold of it. and the farmer is 
not obliged to take it back and pay for the trees 
unless he thinks it will pay him to do so. 
* 
I AM told that in a recent issue you say that the 
bankers, the manufacturers and the railroads are 
unable to produce prosperity and “good times.” 
Is it possible you made any such statement? I)o 
not these classes control the country’s finances? Mho 
else can make “good times” if they cannot? s. B. R. 
We certainly made the statement and now make 
if again. If these classes could make "prosperity" 
we should have it with us now. Ask the bankers 
and the manufacturers if they consider business 
good today. They have been filling the papers with 
a tale of woe for more than a year. Ask the rail¬ 
roads if we are having “good times.” They answer 
lhat business is so poor that they must have an in¬ 
crease of freight rates or fail! Now all these classes 
have had a chance to give this country “prosperity,” 
yet with all their money and all their organization 
they confess that they have failed to bring it. They 
are all waiting for the farmers to buy their goods, 
borrow their money to “move crops” and raise a 
bumper crop so that the railroads and the handlers 
may he kept busy. This is all so evident to anyone 
who will give any thought that the question seems a 
childish one. If the money and the power of bank¬ 
ers. manufacturers and railroads could have made 
“good times” should we not have had them long 
ago? There is no answer to it except that these 
classes of business desired to give us all an “object 
lesson” in hard times. 
* 
O N the first page we give place to a signed state¬ 
ment by Dr. Beverly T. Galloway, who on 
August 1 will take up the duties of dean of the 
New York College of Agriculture. When we find a 
man who has for many years, successfully conducted 
a large enterprise, we like to ask him to tell us in 
a few words the most important things which he 
has found in this service. We put this question to 
Dr. Galloway: 
After 27 years in the Department of Agriculture at 
Washington, I look back with pleasure on two things 
which I trust will remain as a permanent record of 
what may he obtained by a recognition of the rights of 
men who have consecrated their lives to the cause of 
agriculture. First, the bringing together of a corps of 
men in the Bureau of Plant Industry whose loyalty to 
and faith in the American farmer has never wavered, 
and who through team work and cooperation have made 
the bureau a power for good in the Department and in 
the country at large. Second, the bringing about of a 
spirit of cooperation and friendliness between the De¬ 
partment workers and those in the agricultural colleges 
and experiment stations which I trust will go far 
toward unity and harmony of action in all matters 
affecting the farmer in the future. 
Now our suggestion to farmers, the Cornell agri¬ 
cultural faculty, and all others who are interested 
in trying to improve the condition of New York 
agriculture is to get right into line, loyally and with 
whole-hearted energy, and give Dr. Galloway a fair 
chance to make good. 
* 
T HE Supreme Court has just given two important 
decisions regarding transportation and the 
rights of carriers. The western railroads 
have discriminated against certain cities or sections 
charging more for a long haul of freight than for 
a shorter haul. The Interstate Commerce Commis¬ 
sion attempted to correct this by establishing cer¬ 
tain zones inside of which definite rates should pre¬ 
vail. The railroads appealed to the Commerce 
Court, which overruled the Commission, claiming it 
had no right to make rates. The Supreme Court 
has now decided in favor of the Commission and 
declared it the final power, under Congress, to 
regulate railroad rates and traffic. This is in line 
with the recent decision which gave the National 
Commission power over the State authorities to 
regulate rates. The court also decides that pipe 
lines for carrying oil are common carriers and thus 
subject to regulation, the same as railroads, by the 
Commerce Commission. This is a direct blow at 
the Standard Oil Company which must open up its 
lines to competition. These pipe lines have long 
been regarded as private property, and most law¬ 
yers expected that the Court would declare it such. 
The decision that these lines must he regulated is 
the most advanced step in asserting the right of 
Congress to regulate private business that the court 
has yet taken. 
W E never before had so many complaints about 
buying weed seeds in grass and clover. 
Again and again people send weeds for iden¬ 
tification. These are taken from fields of Timothy, 
clover or Alfalfa, and they were never known be¬ 
fore this year. They evidently came in seed pur¬ 
chased from seedsmen and supposed to be clean. 
This has come to be a nuisance and a great men¬ 
ace. The present New York law is not. as it stands, 
of any particular help to farmers. As Director Jor¬ 
dan of the Geneva Experiment Station points out, 
the fertilizer law requires a guaranty, and to that 
extent is a help. The seed law requires no guaranty 
of the amount of pure seed, but merely requires a 
label which is to be used if the seeds contain more 
than 3% of foul seeds. Even with the yearly bul¬ 
letin giving the record of seed inspection, this law 
is of little value to our farmers. The Station there¬ 
fore will try to help make the law more effective by 
making personal examinations of samples for farm¬ 
ers. Any farmer who expects to seed clover. Alfal¬ 
fa. Timothy or Red-top this year should write to the 
Station and make arrangements to have a sample 
of his seed examined. Our advice is to buy no seed 
except upon an examination by the Station. It is 
folly to put anything the seedsman sees fit to send 
you into the soil without a thorough test. The Sta¬ 
tion does good work in helping you with this inves¬ 
tigation. On the next page is a little picture show¬ 
ing the shape and general appearance of several of 
those foul weeds. 
BREVITIES. 
Stand by your beguns! 
How many eggs have you under the water-glass hen? 
The cow that comes fresh in Winter may be a profit¬ 
able Summer hoarder. 
Now it is reported that Kansas farmers are anxious 
to hire college students. It does not seem to be so in 
New York. 
The world seems to be growing together when dried 
beet pulp is sent from Spain to this country for feeding 
American cattle! 
Wiiat do you think of this proposition—that cows 
will make richer milk when they are fat and plump 
than when they are thin? 
In Cleveland. Ohio, school children receive free medi¬ 
cal inspection, and in extreme cases free glasses are 
given those whose eyes are defective. 
Currant growers make great complaint about their 
fruit “shelling.” The fruit gets about half size and 
then falls off. The trouble is not due to worms, poor 
culture or a lack of fertilizer. It seems to be an im¬ 
perfect pollenization. Bee keepers claim that a few 
colonies of bees will help. 
The demand for veal has increased so fast that baby 
cows never had such value before. It seems that thou¬ 
sands of beef calves which in former years would have 
been kept for feeding are now veuled. Formerly most of 
our veal came from dairy calves. All this seems to us 
to indicate an increased demand for poultry in the 
future. 
