1288 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FABJIEE'S PAPER 
A National Weekly Journal lor Country and Suburban Homes 
Established tsso 
Published weekly by (he Rural Publishing Company. 833 West SOlh Street, New Vorti 
Herbert W. Colling wood, President and Editor. 
John J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. Dillon, Secretary. Mrs. E. T. Koyi.k. Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION : ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $ 2 . 01 , equal to 8s. 6d., or 
Ske marks, or 10 V, francs. Hemit in money order, express 
order, personal check or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post Office as Second Class Matter. 
Advertising rates. 75 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, 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 Nkw- 
Uorker when writing the advertiser. 
I SEE that ex-Senator Eugene M. Travis is a candi¬ 
date for Comptroller of New York. Is this the 
same Senator Travis who made such a fight against 
the bill to regulate commission men? d. s. 
The same Senator Travis! While he was in the 
Senate, and after he failed to return, Mr. Travis 
was the leading spirit in the efforts to kill or cripple 
the commission man's bill. lie sneered at farmers, 
ridiculed them, and told us personally that the big¬ 
gest crooks in business were to be found among 
fruit-growers. At that time Mr. Travis kept his hat 
on in the presence of farmers. Now he takes it off 
and asks for their votes. What Mr. Travis fought 
hardest was the proposition to bond the commission 
men. As Comptroller he would he expected to pass 
un the sufficiency of these bonds. Travis the Sena¬ 
tor with no farmers in his district, was one thing 
Travis the candidate is another. He has informed 
us that he is now highly in favor of the commission 
man’s bill and considers it a fine piece of legislation. 
As is the ease with many of us, his hindsight is very 
much superior to his foresight. 
* 
T HAT is a pretty race in the egg contest between 
the English Wyandottes and the American Leg¬ 
horns. This week the Leghorns Jire ahead, but 
the Wyandottes are pulling them down. With two 
weeks more to go it will be a close race. May the 
best birds win! Now we want to say something 
about this "Barron” stock. Mr. Barron’s success at 
the egg contests has naturally created a demand for 
his birds, or for the blood of his leading strain. Our 
American poultrymen should remember that these 
English birds are quite different in type from the 
American specimens of the breeds. It is by no 
means sure that this Barron stock will be best to 
cross upon the American birds. Our own advice is 
not to make such a cross, but to breed tlie English 
stock pure—that is, to keep it separate from the 
American. These English birds are remarkably good 
layers, but they have been bred on different-lines 
from the American, and we would not mix the two. 
Again we give fair warning that some breeders may 
offer so-called "Barron” stock when they have noth¬ 
ing of the sort. Men may buy an English rooster 
and cross him with their hens, or buy a sitting of eggs 
and use tlie cockerels for breeding, and then adver¬ 
tise the true English stock. We would not advise 
the use of such birds for breeding. Use the pure 
strain of English stock without admixture of other 
blood, or do not touch it for breeding! 
# 
C HAS. S. WHITMAN, one of the candidates for 
Governor of New York State, is reported in up¬ 
state papers in opposition to tlie Land Bank as 
follows: 
At the end of ten years, it is true, you have paid 
$1,350 (on a $1,000 mortgage)—paying $100 a year and 
the interest at 3% per cent. But you have paid $135 
the first year, $135 the second year, and so on until 
when the last year has arrived there is only $100 to pay 
and you have to pay the $135, or 35 per cent, interest. 
Altogether then the farmer has to pay seven per cent, 
interest on his loan instead of six per cent., as it was 
under the old system. 
The trouble with the District Attorney of New York 
is that he knows nothing about the subject be is talk¬ 
ing about. Any other conclusion would impeach his 
sincerity. He is talking about a 3% per cent, mort¬ 
gage for $1,000, to he paid in 10 equal annual install¬ 
ments; but he forgets that in such a case the second 
year’s interest would he on $900: the third year on 
$800, and so on, until the last year, when he would 
pay interest only on $100. The farmer would simply 
save interest on his payments; and Mr. Whitman 
would have trouble to figure him out a seven per 
cent, rate in such a case. 
But the Land Bank is not expected to loan at a 
3 y a per cent, rate in these times. That will prob¬ 
ably come later. The Land Bank does not propose 
THE RURAL NFAV-VORXER 
tlie kind of mortgage Mr. Whitman has in mind. A 
small percentage will be paid on the principal of the 
new mortgage in addition to the interest. The Ger¬ 
man rate is 4.3 per cent. If the Land Bank can 
loan at that rate, the borrower will pay $124.09 an¬ 
nually for 10 years, and his debt will then be wiped 
out. If he paid only $52.59 annually* * including in¬ 
terest, he would be out of debt In 40 years. Mr. 
Whitman reasons on the Wall Street basis by which 
the lender gets the benefit of interest on the accu¬ 
mulations. The farmer gets the benefit of com¬ 
pound interest in the Land Bank system. 
* 
VOTE FOR WORTHY FARMERS. 
E consider it very important that intelligent 
farmers should have a fair share in making 
and administering the laws of New York. 
Farming is one of the greatest industries of the 
State, if not the most important. During the next 
few years great changes are coming to farming. New 
laws and new regulations will be needed, and hard 
battles must be fought to prevent encroachment 
upon our rights. In the last Assembly IS members 
out of 150 professed to be farmers or fruit growers. 
Of the 51 Senators four were farmers and one 
claimed to he an “agriculturist.” The farmers in 
the last Legislature were fully alive to the needs of 
farm legislation, and were of great help in pushing 
through the four great hills which are to mean so 
much in the future. Whenever you go to the Legis¬ 
lature with a needed measure which is to help farm¬ 
ing you find the farmers in that Legislature anxious 
to help and more than willing to work. The situa¬ 
tion has greatly changed in this respect during the 
past few years. The quality of tlie men who write 
“farmer” after their names is high, and they know 
how to work for agriculture, and are willing to do it. 
It is more than ever desirable that strong and intel¬ 
ligent farmers should be elected this year. There 
are many candidates. We cannot name them all, 
but as illustration of wliat we mean, take Senator 
Thomas B. Wilson, of Ontario County, or Albert 
Manning of Orange County. Mr. Wilson is one of 
tlie most useful members of the Senate, and lie will 
go back with wider experience and stronger influ¬ 
ence. Mr. Manning is secretary of tlie Dairymen’s 
League, and lie will stand for tlie rights of milk pro¬ 
ducers in particular and farmers in general. We 
might mention many others if space permitted, but 
in general we urge our readers to vote for those can¬ 
didates who in addition to real character and intelli¬ 
gence, can honestly call themselves farmers, and 
who are in sympathy with farming. Another impor¬ 
tant thing this year is the election of delegates to 
the Constitutional convention. New York voters will 
he called upon to elect 15 delegates to this conven¬ 
tion. Here again it is necessary to take care of the 
interests of farming. Under our present constitu¬ 
tion there are several unsettled questions regarding 
the laws which are supposed to protect farmers. 
Some of these questions have not yet arisen, but they 
are sure to do so in tlie future, and this constitution¬ 
al convention gives us a chance to settle them and es¬ 
cape a long controversy in the courts. We must have 
in that convention trained men not only farsighted 
enough to know what agriculture freeds, but with the 
practical knowledge and sympathy which give men 
the courage and power to fight the battle for their 
people. The R. N.-Y. would greatly like to see our 
present Commissioner of Agriculture, Calvin J. Hu- 
son, elected as a constitutional delegate. We would 
like to have his election made unanimous or nearly 
so in the rural counties. In such an event Mr. Hu- 
son could go to the convention so clearly the special 
representative of the farmers that he could com¬ 
mand instant attention and carry great power. With 
such a backing the convention would recognize the 
fact at once that New York farmers were a unit in 
demanding constitutional rights for their business. 
The It. N.-Y. does not attempt to offer political ad¬ 
vice to its readers. They are intelligent men who 
can think for themselves. It is our judgment, how¬ 
ever, that one of the wisest things our farmers can 
do this year is to give Mr. Huson a practically unan¬ 
imous vote. 
* 
T HOUGHTFUL people are now considering the 
future effect of this awful European war upon 
the industries and society o f this country. It 
seems like a simple proposition that no matter how 
the war ends, this country must reap great material 
gain. Europe cannot lose the services of 6,000.000 
men or face the destruction of billions of dollars’ 
worth of property without calling upon this country 
to help feed and clothe her people. There seems no 
escape from the conclusion that for years to come 
the United States must supply Europe and South 
October SI, 
America. There is another side to this. What will 
be tlie effect of this war upon immigration? Shall 
we have new streams of immigrants from Belgium 
and a revival of German immigration, or will peace 
make new opportunities in Europe? Prof. Ross, of 
Wisconsin University, advances this novel predic¬ 
tion : 
I now look for a rapid increase in the immigration of 
women—widowed, or otherwise bereaved by the war. 
This may have a serious and lasting influence upon the 
social position of woman in this country. Such an in¬ 
flux might break down barriers the trades unions have 
tried to maintain against the employment of women in 
“men’s work !” From the standpoint of the employer, 
bereaved immigrant women, lashed by hard necessity, 
would be quite ideal strike breakers. 
As is well known, the women in Germany and 
France have for years done “man’s work” on the 
farm or in shops. During the present war European 
women are doing the work of home defenders, and 
should the war continue for several years much of 
this change of industrial society will become perma¬ 
nent through habit. Here then is a new thought and 
an entirely new problem for this country. 
* 
W E believe that this “Favorite Hen” entry at 
the egg-laying contest will prove one of the 
most attractive features yet introduced in this 
popular event. The hens are fair representatives 
of good utility farm stock. They do not come from 
“fancy” or liigli-pedigreed flocks, but have been de¬ 
veloped under the care of intelligent farm women, 
with such resources as a good farm can provide. 
Thus these hens, taken from 30 widely scattered 
farms, will give us a fairer idea of tlie merits of the 
true American hen than either the picked represen¬ 
tatives from leading hen farms or the “scrubs” or 
“culls” taken from tlie market. We expect a most in¬ 
teresting contest between these “favorite hens.” We 
have long believed that some of these farm flocks, 
unknown to fame, contain hens of unusual laying 
ability. We expect this contest to demonstrate this 
belief. Tlie poultry business has gained rapidly in 
importance since these contests were started. So¬ 
ciety must look to the hen more and more for its 
food. In a report from Manila we are told that 
poultry are not bred for size or egg production as 
they are for fighting: 
The fact that no Filipino of the common class regards 
himself equipped for living without at least one male 
chicken explains why the islands, although raising so 
many chickens, still import eggs. As in all cock 
fighting countries, the fighting bird in the Philippines is 
a personal pet which the owner carries about during 
practically every idle moment of the day, and on which 
lie lavishes enough care to raise many laying hens. 
While the Filipino trains his fighting bird and buys 
eggs tlie American will “swat the rooster” and take 
off liis hat to the American hen! We hope that 
among these 30 Favorite Hens there may be found 
several capable of making a new egg record. 
•’fi 
E FFORTS will be made to sell substances which 
are said to contain potash—such as “stone 
meal,” mineral fertilizer and similar things. We 
warn our readers against an investment in any of 
these things until they have been analyzed and en¬ 
dorsed by the experiment stations. Pay no attention 
to the wild stories told about these things. The pro¬ 
moters will try to take advantage of the present 
shortage in potash to sell their stuff. Pay no atten¬ 
tion to them—you will pay dearly for it if you do. 
BREVITIES. 
No frost yet on our hills. 
In attempting to dispose of this big apple crop, do 
not forget your own home market. 
Tiie boom is coming in the hen business. Tie a stone 
to it for ballast. Do not let it all be gas. 
The latest suggestion for teeth cleaning is to oat a 
mellow apple after each meal. The apple as a tooth¬ 
brush ought to appeal to fruit consumers. 
In 1013 Pennsylvania turned 6.702.449 tons of sand 
and gravel into glass and buildings. In the same year 
Missouri made $6,412,861 worth of clay products. 
Now we have writers appearing who tell us that 
swamp muck will take the place of potash. Nonsense! 
The striking feature of muck is that it has little or no 
potash! 
One scheme for encouraging the use of cotton is to 
handle flour in cotton sacks instead of the usual sack 
of jute. The problem is to find new uses for cotton and 
thus increase its sale. 
The public usually lines up into two sides on most 
public matters. We may call them the “pro” and the 
“anti.” Can you tell us why the “anti” people are 
usually the more rabid and violent in their statements? 
The nursery business seems to be one of the many 
affected by the European War. At least some of the 
nurserymen begin to claim that they must have higher 
prices because some supplies are shut off. With very 
few exceptions American nurserymen can supply prac¬ 
tically every demand from home-grown stock. Much 
that, is usually imported can he grown here. It will 
require enterprise and effort to do it, but is feasible. 
