1014 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
August 15, 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER 
A Tintlonnl Meekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes 
Established tsso 
Published weekly by the Knral Publishing Company. 888 West 30tb Street,New Vorti 
Herbert W. Coujnowood, President and Editor. 
John J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Ww. F. Drr.LON, Secretary._Mns. E. T. Royle, 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 10kj francs. Remit in money order, express 
order, personal check or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post Office as Second Class Matter. 
Advertising rates, 7o cents per agate line—7 words. References required for 
advertisers unknown to us ; and cash must accompany transient orders. 
“A SQUARE DEAX,” 
IVe believe that every advertisement in this paper is haeked by a respon¬ 
sible person We use every possible precaution and admit the advertising of 
reliable houses only. Rut to make doubly sure, we 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 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 to identify it, you should mention The Rural New- 
Yorker when writing the advertiser. 
W E have had many requests for information as 
to building a good vegetable cellar. The 
greatest trouble seems to be over ventilation. 
It seems that conditions of climate, soil and conven¬ 
ience vary so that general rules are not of great 
value. We would like reports from people who have 
operated such cellars successfully. Tell us how you 
would make another to improve upon any you have 
seen. 
* 
T HE country storekeeper has many troubles, and 
earns most of the money he gets.' What I object 
to is the method of charging cash customers with 
the interest on investment, bookkeeping, and fre¬ 
quent losses from the credit customers’ accounts. The 
mail order house enables the cash payers to put into their 
pockets what would otherwise go to the “slow pays” 
and dead beats. In a discussion with three merchants 
in a neighboring town two admitted that they could sell 
for 10 per cent, less if all sales were for cash, and the 
third said that the figure would be between five and 10. 
D. 
There is pretty much the whole thing. It will be 
hard to convince me that it is my duty to pay my 
neighbor’s bills or the interest on them. Yet that is 
what I do when I pay cash promptly at most country 
stores. The price charged is large enough to cover 
losses from bad debts or delayed payments. Mer¬ 
chants have often admitted this. None of them will 
be likely to deny it if you offer cash and ask for a 
fair discount on their prices. In their own buying 
they know they can do better when paying cash. 
4c 
O N page 94S we suggested that two kinds of sta¬ 
tion bulletins might be issued—one of a pop¬ 
ular nature written by practical and success¬ 
ful farmers. Some of our station workers do not 
seem to take kindly to the suggestion. We meant 
it merely as a constructive criticism and we think 
the plan worth a trial. Some of our scientific men 
do not seem to realize the wide gulf which stretches 
between their knowledge and the thought of busy 
farmers. A reader in a Western State sends us an 
important question—and writes: 
I have sent to the Experiment Station of this State, 
but their answer, which I enclose, is so patched up that 
I have no faith in it, thinking it was done by the of¬ 
fice boy. 
The answer is sound and accurate but written in 
scientific or “class room” language so that the farm¬ 
er may well he excused for not understanding it. 
The agricultural scientist will tell you that his chief 
work should be “research.” We might suggest that 
the careful search of a good old volume will reveal 
the following: 
“Thou thyself art a guide to the blind, a light of 
them which are in darkness” 
* 
L ET us talk to you once more about the danger of 
signing contracts or leases which you do not 
understand. Some people rarely read over a 
paper before signing it. Later they find that they 
have bound themselves to impossible conditions. 
We have a case where a man in the West signed a 
five-year contract to pay $50 a month for a farm in 
New Jersey. This man knew nothing about the 
farm, and when he moved on found that he could 
not possibly make a living on it. Hardly a week 
passes without a letter from some one who has 
signed a paper he did not understand and now finds 
himself tied to a hard bargain. In the majority of 
these cases there was no good reason why these 
papers ever should have been signed without an 
investigation. On the other hand trouble usually 
comes when two people agree to do a certain thing 
in partnership, but have no papers at all to show 
What the agreement is. Trusting to memory in such 
cases is a sure introduction to trouble. The safe 
Way is to have some good lawyer draw up an agree¬ 
ment which both parties understand, and have both 
sign it. 
I UNDERSTAND you have stated that all wealth in 
this country came from the farmers. Where is 
your proof for such a ridiculous statement, when 
we all know that the cities contain most of the 
nation’s wealth? s. J. K. 
What we have said and what we repeat is that 
every cent's worth of property upon which this great 
city wealth is based came originally out of the land. 
It was produced by farmer, miner and forester! If 
our friend thinks otherwise we challenge him to 
name any legitimate form of wealth which is not 
originally based upon some crop or mined product. 
Let him take up the burden of proof. He ought to 
he able to do this easily if. as he says, the state¬ 
ment is ridiculous. Come forward and show us 
some form of wealth which did not originally come 
cut of the soil. No wonder the wealth of the land 
is accumulating in town and city when G5 cents of 
each consumer’s dollar goes to the handlers who 
may mostly he classed as city men. In addition to 
this a good share of the farmer’s 35 cents also goes 
back to the city to pay interest and other similar 
expenses. This unequal division of the dollar, re¬ 
ceived through many years for farm and mine pro¬ 
ducts, is what piles up the city’s wealth. We wait 
with interest for our friend to name the wealth 
which did not originally come from the land. 
* 
T HE European war is too young to have had 
much definite effect on prices of farm pro¬ 
ducts. Usually, war, with its consequent 
waste and stoppage of production, increases all 
prices of what we consider necessities. At the first 
intimation of war speculators here advanced wheat 
prices 10 to 15 cents per bushel, and other grains in 
less proportion. But in this case all of the great 
ship-owning nations are involved and afraid to use 
their merchant ships for commerce, lest they he 
seized as prizes by the enemy. So grain prices 
dropped to nearly their former level, but are now 
advancing again on the probability of some ships 
being transferred to the American Flag and others 
guarded by armed escorts on the way across. 
Europe needs our surplus grain, and will have it if 
there are any ships to carry it. 
Fifty million bushels of wheat are tied up at 
American seaboard points. With cotton growers the 
situation is more serious. The crop is large and the 
industries using our raw material in England and 
Germany, paralyzed or nearly so. Cotton specula¬ 
tors have it in their power to squeeze planters who 
must sell at once to a very low figure, unless, as is 
intimated, the Government takes some means to pro¬ 
tect the planters. 
Fruit growers on the Pacific Coast are alarmed 
at the outlook, as they depend on Europe to take 
a large amount of their finest apples, as well as 
some other fruits. Dairy and poultry products are 
hut little affected yet, except the item of imported 
cheese, which goes to a limited trade. The cheese 
market in Canada, where exports are heavy, is up¬ 
set. Our potato crop is so large that the stoppage 
of possible Eurojiean shipments is not likely to be 
noticeable. Defined sugar is up one-half cent, the 
German supply of beet sugar being cut off. Beans 
have advanced upwards of $1 per hundred, and flour 
is 50 cents or more per barrel higher. Of course it 
is to be hoped that the trouble will soon pass over 
and the world he spared the deplorable weariness 
and burden of industrial and financial exhaustion, 
and the grief of the “widows and fatherless” always 
resultant from a long war. 
* 
T HE farmers of Southern New Jersey greatly 
need a bridge across the Delaware River so 
that produce can be hauled direct to Phila¬ 
delphia. The present system of ferry transportation 
is slow and out of date. What is needed is a system 
of quick direct transportation, so that loaded wagons 
may be hauled across a good bridge direct from farm 
to market. Such a plan would help reduce the “high 
cost of living” by increasing direct trade and making 
an easier path from producer to consumer. There 
should also be a similar bridge across the Hudson 
from New Jersey to New York City. This would 
enable farmers and gardeners to load a wagon or a 
track at the farm and drive direct to New York for 
distribution. As it is, such loads must be ferried 
over the river—a slow and expensive method ol’ 
reaching market, and one which prevents direct 
trade. The problem of delivering food to New York 
is complicated because the city is on an island, so 
that approaches to it are restricted. A bridge over 
the river would make easier shipments and also 
help to increase the food supply. New plans for 
farming would he organized, and auto-truck service 
would be developed for quick distribution. New land 
along the marshes would be brought under cultiva¬ 
tion. Such a bridge is a necessity now and must be 
built in the future. 
W HEN we expressed the opinion that a Wyan¬ 
dotte hen of the dumpling-like shape shown 
in the “Standard of Perfection” will not 
prove a heavy layer we had no idea how hard the 
fanciers were hit. A prolonged howl about “slander¬ 
ing a worthy breed” and “a rude slap” is going 
through the poultry press. Well gentlemen, your 
words will never settle it. There is one final test— 
that is a pen at one of the recognized egg-laying con¬ 
tests. It is time to stop this childish scolding. Why 
not play a man’s part, if you believe these dumpling¬ 
shaped birds can make a heavy record, and come 
forward with 10 of your “ideals?” Of course you 
know The R. N.-Y. is not “slandering” Wyandottes 
or their breeders. We are for the most useful hen 
that can be found, regardless of her shape. The next 
contest starts November 1. Will you get into it with 
a pen of your dumplings, or do you just want to 
talk? 
* 
F RESH from school, I absolutely refused to live on a 
farm. Then it meant to me hard work, little 
spending money and being deprived of all the 
things I considered most needed for happiness. 
Now I have come around to Washington’s view of agri¬ 
culture. More sense, considerable time spent in teach¬ 
ing in comfortable farm homes and regular reading of 
The R. N.-Y. account for the change. e. s. 
We think more and more city people are taking a 
sensible view of farm life and country living. At 
one time the “hayseed” idea predominated. Theif 
came the “back-to-the-lander” nonsense of making a 
fortune on a farm, whether prepared for farming or 
not. Both of these have blown out, and sensible 
town people realize the limitations and the possi¬ 
bilities of the farm home. Those of us who live 
in the country realize that there are drawbacks and 
'inconveniences. It is not all a world of sunshine 
and pleasant dreams, this living on a farm! Yet 
after a fair analysis and honest consideration of ad¬ 
vantages and discomforts, we become more and more 
attached to farm life, and would not be separated 
from it. 
4 = 
I N parts of Western New York there has been a 
scourge of plant lice this season. Our reports 
indicate that nothing like it was ever known 
before. Many growers did not realize the serious 
nature of the trouble until their trees were covered 
and all ordinary remedies failed. We have received 
some criticisms of the experiment station because it 
has not devised or suggested a sure remedy. It must 
be admitted that the aphis is a difficult insect to 
control. It seems that last season the insect was 
not abundant, and as a result few orcliardists 
sprayed, this year, as advised by the station. As a 
result in a season favorable to the work of plant 
lice the insect multiplied enormously and in many 
cases reached a point beyond help from sprays be¬ 
fore fruit growers realized it. Early in May the 
station sent out a letter of warning, and gave the 
best treatment known at that time. Here is part 
of the advice then given: 
Efforts to protect bearing apple orchards from plant 
lice are, as a rule, failures. These are due mostly to 
the manner of spraying and the lateness of making the 
applications. Most orcliardists do not spray until the 
insects are abundant and the leaves are curled. Little 
benefit is derived from treatments under such circum¬ 
stances as not many of the lice are destroyed, and be¬ 
sides there is always great danger that the most of the 
injury by the insects is done. The foliage on which the 
lice have been feeding becomes weakened and may prove 
susceptible to further injuries from spraying mixtures. 
Instead of waiting until injuries begin to show, the 
grower should spray before many of the leaves have 
curled and the lice have developed to formidable 
numbers. 
Those who are inclined to criticize the station 
should be fair. Did they follow the advice to spray 
early? The present scourge of lice seems hopeless 
with our present knowledge, but the scientists are 
still working at the problem. 
BREVITIES. 
You may still seed barley for a Fall hay or fodder 
crop. 
Now get your eye on those pullets for the next year’s 
layers. 
Can you not plan to run water into the house before 
Winter comes? 
Septemrer 1 is about the limit for seeding Hairy 
vetch north of New York. 
A Swedish engineer has devised a scheme for burn¬ 
ing dry powdered peat on railroad engines, which gives 
to the peat about SO per cent, of the heating value of 
coal. 
A city ordinance in New York prohibits the use of 
public watering troughs for horses. This is to prevent 
the spread of glanders and similar diseases. Private 
buckets must be used. 
“Dog days” has nothing to do with dogs. “The term, 
borrowed from the Romans, who called Sirius, tin* 
brightest of the fixed stars, the dog-star. At one time 
during the Roman epoch, the rising of this star coin¬ 
cided with the rising of the sun in the latter part of 
July.” 
