1064 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER 
A National Weekly Journal l'or Country and Suburban Home* 
Established 1650 
Published weekly by the Kura! Publishing Company. 1133 West 30th Street. New York 
Herbkrt W. Collingwood, President and Editor. 
John J. Dillon, Treasurer nnd General Manager. 
Wm. F. Dillon, Secretary. Mrs. E. T. Royle, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.01, equal to 8s. Gd., or 
8}£ marks, or 101* francs. Remit in money order, express 
order, personal check or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post Office as Second Class Mattel - . 
Advert ising rates. 75 cents per agate line—7 words. References required for 
advertisers unknown to us ; and cash must accompany transient orders. 
“A SQUARE DEAL” 
Wo lx-lieve that every advertisement in this paper is backed by a respon¬ 
sible person. We use every possible precaution and admit the advertising of 
reliable bouses only. But to make doubly sure, we will make good any loss 
to paid subscribei-s 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 
transact ions. 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 Tiie Ri rai. New- 
Yorker when writing the advertiser. 
O UR advice to fanners north of New York City 
lias been to sow Hairy vetch before September 
1. We now have letters from people as far 
north as Syracuse asking if it will be safe to seed 
the vetch as late as October? No, we would not 
advise it. Rye alone would he safer. 
* 
I N parts of New York peddlers are now going about 
with bulk shipment apples. The wagons are built 
high with side boards, and the apples dumped in 
like a farmer going to cider mill. This fruit was 
shipped here in box cars and sold for what it would 
bring. It is peddled at a low price so that thou¬ 
sands are eating apples who otherwise would not 
touch them. This works both ways. It hurts the 
sale of barreled stock while the rush lasts, but it is 
the greatest advertisement for apple eating that 
could be thought of. 
* 
S OME of the daily papers have begun a systematic 
campaign in praise of the express companies and 
their work. They make a special point of the 
free collection and delivery service. They must re¬ 
member that these city conditions are not found in 
the country. About one-luilf of the people in this 
country cannot have any such express service. They 
must go to the town or the railroad station to send 
or receive packages. The parcel post delivery at 
the farm house does save many a long trip during 
the year. The city man must remember that “there 
are others.” The very convenience of his express 
service has been forced by the competition of parcel 
post 
* 
T HE study of this potash situation will lead to 
increased uses of lime. The scientists do not 
fully agree as to the value of lime in making 
soil potash available, but it is true that the use of 
lime will enable many crops to make a more vigor¬ 
ous growth. Therefore, we think more lime than 
ever before will be used. Let us understand that 
“ground limestone” is the raw lime rock as taken 
from the quarry, crushed or ground to a powder. 
“Slaked” lime is the lime rock first burned and then 
“slaked” by the addition of water. This water 
causes the burnt or lump lime to crumble into pow¬ 
der. On the great majority of our Eastern soils our 
advice would be to use the slaked lime rather than 
the ground limestone. In some cases lime caw be 
bought in one form cheaper than in another. We 
should figure to buy the cheapest pound of lime and 
remember that two pounds of ground limestone 
must be used to obtain the effect of one pound of 
burned lime. 
* 
A T this time it seems to be without question that 
the war in Europe will prevent shipments of 
potash from Germany. At present there is no 
other source of potash for the greater proportion of 
our fertilizers. Small quantities of wood ashes and 
nitrate of potash are used, but with the German sup¬ 
ply cut off our manufacturers cannot make what has 
been considered in the past a “complete fertilizer.” 
There is, of course, a small quantity of potash now 
in the country, but naturally the supplies for next 
year’s crop would have been shipped here dur¬ 
ing the Fall and Winter, and are now held up. 
There is no use considering the potash deposits 
in this country. They are mostly in the form 
of rocks and minerals, and so unavailable that 
the expense of preparing them for plant food will 
put them out of reach. Certain kinds of seaweed, 
particularly kelp on the Pacific Coast, will provide 
some potash, and, of course, all ashes from wood 
fuel should be saved. In general, however, it is a 
ease of using a small quantity of potash or none at 
all, and trying to utilize the stores of this element 
THfcC RURAL NEW-VOK.KEK 
now in tlie soil. The first of a series of articles dis¬ 
cussing this question is found on page 1047. Dr. lap- 
man outlines some of the tilings which may he done 
to make the soil give up its potash more freely. 
What he says is a new argument for the cover crop 
and for lime. Clover, vetch, rye, turnips or any of 
the others should he seeded on land that would 
otherwise be hare through the Fall. All of these 
crops will take up more or less potash. Turnips and 
rape in particular will utilize forms of potash which 
some other crops could not use. This will all go 
hack to the soil when these cover crops are plowed 
under in the Spring. Then when lime is used this or¬ 
ganic matter will decay rapidly and the lime will 
also have an effect uixm the soil. The first lesson 
which this threatened potash “famine” teaches us is 
to make sure of our cover crops this Fall, as the 
most effective way of forcing our soils to give hack 
some of the potash which we have applied during the 
past years. We have no fear but that this potash 
problem will work itself out. There are millions of 
tons of granite rocks in New England and elsewhere 
which contain potash. Necessity may drive some of 
our inventors and chemists to the point of discover¬ 
ing a process by means of which this crude potash 
may be made available at a reasonable price. We 
shall give a thorough study of the situation from 
all sides. But be sure of one thing! The fakes 
and the half-fakes will probably seize this oppor¬ 
tunity for offering “potash substitutes” or “new 
forms of potash.” We warn our readers promptly 
and earnestly to pay no attention to such offers. Do 
not buy any form of potash until the chemists at 
our experiment stations write their O. K. on it. 
* 
P RESIDENT WILSON gives the American people 
wise and timely advice when lie urges them to 
avoid passionate discussion of the European war, 
or of partisanship in taking sides with one nation 
or another: 
My thought is of America. I am speaking, I feel 
sure, the earnest wish and purpose of every thoughtful 
American that this great country of ours, which is, of 
course, the first in our thoughts and in our hearts, 
should show herself in this time of peculiar trial a na¬ 
tion fit beyond others to exhibit the fine poise of undis¬ 
turbed judgment, the dignity of self-control, the effi¬ 
ciency of dispassionate action; a nation that neither 
sits in judgment upon others nor is disturbed in her 
own counsels and which keeps herself fit and free to do 
what is honest and disinterested and truly serviceable 
for the peace of the world. Shall we not resolve to put 
upon ourselves the restraints which will bring to our 
people the happiness and the great and lasting influence 
for peace we covet for them. 
The R. N.-Y. most heartily says Amen! We shall 
take this advice just as President Wilson gives it 
and we hope all our readers will do the same. Let 
us understand as well as we can the causes which 
have led to this war, and let us have as accurate 
news as possible regarding its progress. Beyond 
that we have confidence in the ability of the Ad¬ 
ministration to handle any situation in which our 
National interests are involved. We shall spend no 
time trying to tell President Wilson what to do. He 
knows what is necessary and he will do his duty. 
Nor do we intend to make the problems of the Ad¬ 
ministration harder by stirring up race prejudices 
or hatreds. This is a time for self-restraint. We 
all have our individual opinions or convictions, but 
the issues or conditions which provoked this war are 
essentially European and do not concern us direct¬ 
ly. Let this country attend strictly to its own busi¬ 
ness. In this great crisis that business is to make 
all Europe understood that we stand fairly and im¬ 
partially for peace and honorable dealing, and also 
to do our share toward feeding and clothing the 
world. In all the history of the world no nation 
ever had a better opportunity to gain, both moral 
and material advantage, than is now offered Amer¬ 
ica. Let us all do our share to rise above petty 
hatreds or political prejudices, and make the world 
see that America is not a mere collection of Euro¬ 
pean immigrants, hut a compact great nation with 
ideals and vision and self-restraint of its own. 
* 
W E want our readers to understand all sides of 
this food distribution problem. There are 
many sides to it, all of which country house- 
wive have not experienced. On page 1059 we give 
some statements regarding food wastes in this great 
city. The author goes on with this indictment of 
many city women: 
The moving picture shows and theatres, while enter¬ 
taining and educational, are the greatest blight that 
has struck the household since the first century; women 
with three or four children will repair to the “movies” 
and stay there until they expect their husbands home, 
when the delicatessen store is the base of supply for 
the family. With housewives refusing to prepare the 
family meals and feeding their children on poorly cook¬ 
ed, inferior food from the delicatessen store, what kind 
of an army could be raised 25 years hence in this coun¬ 
try? 
This is probably true of a certain class of city 
women, but it is not true of all. There are mauy 
August Zi>, 
who are buying food economically and using it 
without waste. There are to be found false ideas 
of economy and of life in general everywhere. They 
can only be removed by patient education and good 
example. Let us till understand that wastes of food 
are like war—economic crimes which always fall 
hardest upon the producers. 
* 
N OTING communication of S. ,T. K. on page 1014, 
taking exception to your statement that all 
wealth in the country comes from farmers, I think 
that you are hedging when you repeat the state¬ 
ment, but add to it the miner and forester. We pre¬ 
sume by giving the matter a little further thought you 
will add the fisherman, and there may be others that 
you might want to add as you go along. I am only 
too glad to admit the great part the farmer plays iii 
our civilization, but I agree with S. ,T. K. that your 
statement that all the wealth of the country comes from 
the farmer is ridiculous. j. m. 
We have never claimed that all wealth came from 
the farmer. There is no “hedging.” S. ,T. K. tried 
to change what we did say. We do claim that it all 
came originally from the soil. Our friend speaks 
of the fisherman. Will he tell us of any value in 
the water which was not originally washed out of 
the land? What do fish live upon if not from the 
land’s products? You might name ice as a commer¬ 
cial product, which does not originally trace back 
to the land, but where do you find another? We are 
not “hedging” but have stated distinctly that all 
wealth comes from the land. So it does! 
* 
T HERE are many calls for “Grimm” Alfalfa seed. 
This is a superior variety grown in the North¬ 
west. Last year there was much complaint 
over frauds in selling this seed. Some of the seeds¬ 
men advertised early that they wanted to buy the 
“Grimm,” and then later offered the seed for sale. 
They had little of it, hut the buyer usually receives 
some inferior seed with a little of the “Grimm” 
mixed with it. The Department of Agriculture 
gives us the following statement about this seed: 
There is now a considerable quantity of seed of this 
variety being produced in the western part of the United 
States. It is true, of course, that there is being offered 
on the market a large quantity of seed of common 
Alfalfa under the name of Grimm; but if reasonable 
precaution is exercised, the true variety can be pro¬ 
cured at a cost of from 25 to 75 cents per pound. There 
will doubtless he several hundred thousand pounds in 
the market. The production of Grimm Alfalfa is being 
taken up quite extensively in South Dakota, Montana, 
and Idaho, and so far as we are able to determine there 
is no material difference in the results from the seed 
produced in these States 
* 
O N page 1015 I find a statement that the New York 
State hay crop will not be as large as last year, 
and on the day I received Tiie R. N.-Y. the Syra¬ 
cuse Post-Standard contained a statement that 
the hay crop was 2 , 000.000 tons greater than last year. 
Where does the misleading statement come from! for 
certainly one is misleading. o. L. b. 
Canton, N. Y. 
The first statement referred to the New York hay 
crop, which, according to the New York State De¬ 
partment of Agriculture, is smaller than last year, 
though larger than for several previous years. The 
clipping from the Post-Standard was a report of the 
New York State Hay Dealers’ meeting at Syracuse, 
where it was said that the State crop is 2.000.000 
tons above last year. At this season buyers of farm 
products see very large , crops of their specialties, 
and are sure that the price to the producer should 
he low. The National Government report, the result 
of unbiased investigation, gives the hay yield for the 
entire country as 1.1 per cent, less than last year, 
and the crop condition 4.9 per ceiit. better. The 
dealers’ estimate of 2,000,000 tons excess in New 
York State certainly needs discounting. 
BREVITIES. 
Very likely your word box needs clearing out. 
We never had so many people writing to ask where 
they can buy wheat direct from farmers. 
Alfalfa meal is all right, but why pay the miller MO 
a ton for grinding it when the cow will do her own 
grinding if you give her the hay? 
The United States Department of Agriculture will 
fully examine specimens of wheat plants to see if they 
have been attacked by the Hessian fly. 
The South Dakota Experiment Station has developed 
a “60-day oat” which is said to ripen so early that it 
can be harvested before barley or wheat. 
The latest is an organization known as the Farmers’ 
Congressional League. It aims to candidates for office 
who are farmers or editors of farm papers. 
Tile Belgians have certainly shown great spirit and 
energy in the present war. One of our readers says lie 
has some Belgian potatoes growing on his farm. lie 
adds: “I am going to feed them to my boys.” 
Here’s a kindly spirit—there might be more of it : 
“Hope your crop will beat mine every way. That will 
not reduce mine any in size or quality. Better weather 
for them here this year than last, but it remains to be 
seen whether the mangels will do better. F. b. I).” 
Here is one we would like to have answered: “Lust 
year I canned a basket of peaches brought from the 
hills in an automobile truck. They were beautiful big 
peaches, very ripe, but most terribly bruised all over, 
and clingstone beside. The canned fruit looked as if it 
had been chopped. Is that always the result of fruit 
marketed in an auto truck?” 
