' 3 914. 
1321 
A CRITIC OF THE LAND BANK. 
S OME months ago Herbert Myriek ventured to criti¬ 
cize the Land Bank of the State of New York, 
through the American Agriculturist, which, before 
Myrick’s control of it was a respected farm paper. A 
few weeks later he indorsed the bank and urged Granges 
and other farm organizations to identify themselves 
with it, having, no doubt, heard from farmers in the 
meantime. He even called it a Myriek victory. Now 
lie is out again in an attempt to discourage farmers 
in the use of it. Myriek clearly indicates by his criti¬ 
cism that he knows nothing about the Land Bank sys¬ 
tem. lie simply knocks it because there is and can be 
no opportunity for him to benefit himself through it. 
Here is one of his arguments against it: 
To keep the farmers out of it, the 10 member-associa¬ 
tions comprising the Land Bank, must have aggregate 
resources of not less than $5,000,000. and must put up 
at least $100,000 in cash capital to start the land bank. 
Myriek must know that forty-odd associations have 
already applied for membership in the Land Bank, and 
that at least one of them is composed entirely of far¬ 
mers. He must know that the $100,000 of capital is 
already subscribed; and that the resources behind the 
bank already are over $20,000,000. He must know that 
this $100,000 is to be invested in first mortgages on 
farms and small homes, and that this capital makes 
available $2,000,000 more to be invested in the same 
way. Myriek says the system is a good thing for wage 
earners in cities and towns, but not for farmers. He 
makes this bald statement, but does not dare state any 
reason for it. He says the banking interest “slipped 
one over on the farmer.” Will he tell us how? Will he 
explain to us how a banker is going to get any advan¬ 
tage out of the Land Bank that an individual farmer 
cannot get? As a matter of fact it is the one fiduciary 
institution in the Lnitcd States organized exclusively 
on co-operative lines, and so safeguarded that no ban¬ 
ker, capitalist or other interest, can get any advan¬ 
tage over the humblest member of it. And this is just 
why it does not suit Myriek and others of his kind. 
They want something that can be used by selfish in¬ 
terests to assemble the frugal earnings of the people, 
and place it in their hands for speculative purposes. 
Their real objection is that it does not furnish this; 
but they dare not plead for their selfish interests. They 
try to throw dust in the eyes of the farmer by a pre¬ 
tense of pleading his cause, while knowingly opposing 
his interest. The Land Bank system provides for the 
assembling of savings; and for the investment of it 
with the people who save it. It not only keeps the far¬ 
mer’s savings employed for himself in his own neigh¬ 
borhood, but it attracts capital to him from circles out¬ 
side of his own realm. 
New York State farms carry $100,000,000 of mort¬ 
gages. Including expenses they pay in excess of six 
per cent. Some of them have been in existence 70 
years. If one stands for 40 years, the farmer pays 
$00 annually for interest on every $1,000, and the 
$1,000 must then be paid in bulk. The German farmer 
paj's 5.2 per cent, for 40 years, and the mortgage is 
then wiped out. Which system would Myriek recom¬ 
mend? The Land Bank brings the German system to 
the New York State farmer. Rates are higher here 
and for a while one may be obliged to pay more than 
5.2 per cent.; but the systems are virtually the same; 
and when the soundness of our system is established, 
we will be able to equal or exceed the German terms. 
Myriek implies a criticism of the Land Bank because 
it provides for substantial capital and resources. But 
the success of the system depends on its absolute sound¬ 
ness. The bonds of the bank will be taken up by far¬ 
mers, laborers, frugal savers, and small investors gen¬ 
erally as well as by bankers and large investors. They 
must be made absolutely safe for the widow and orphan. 
Hence it was provided that a safe ratio must exist 
between the capital and assets, and the bonds the Bank 
would be allowed to issue. This is not Myrick’s style 
of financing and he could not be expected to approve 
it. Myriek borrowed money from farmers and far¬ 
mers’ wives under the pretense of giving them a build¬ 
ing certificate in exchange, which was nothing but a 
receipt for the money, and no lien on the building what¬ 
ever. When these people want their money, they are 
obliged to employ attorneys to get it. Myriek organ¬ 
ized the Homestead Publishing Company, and tried to 
sell stock to farmers. The stock cost him about $S and 
he sold it to farmers for $100. He sold them Good 
Housekeeping Company stock for 20 per cent, above 
par. He then sold the publication without their knowl¬ 
edge or consent, and they had to apply to TriE R. N.-Y r . 
to get their money. They never could find out what it 
sold for; but every publisher knows that the stock sold 
by Myriek to farmers for $120 was not worth to ex¬ 
ceed $25. Myriek was indicted by a Federal Grand 
Jury through the Post Office Department. He was 
Convicted of making false statements to the Depart¬ 
ment under oath. In the discretion of the judge he 
might have been fined or sent to a penitentiary. He 
was fortunate enough to get off on a fine. Myriek sold 
advertising space on a guaranteed circulation of 100.000 
for his publication. The Post Office suit showed that 
his real circulation was 27,000. Some advertisers made 
a demand for the return of their money, and Myriek 
was obliged to return it. 
Such is the man who sets himself up to farmers as a 
qualified critic of the Land Rank. j. j. u. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Substituting Corn for Cotton. 
I T seems settled that there must be a decrease in cot¬ 
ton acreage in the South another year. Every pub¬ 
lic man in that sect.on is advocating such a measure, 
and probably a large area now in cotton will be 
planted in corn or other crops. One outcome from th.s 
departure would be the fact that a decrease in cotton 
acreage means a decrease in labor, as one man can 
take care of many more acres of corn than he can of 
cotton. As the result of this the corn acreage must be 
largely increased, or there w.ll be a drift of negro pop¬ 
ulation to the towns and cities. All over the Southern 
States there are now vast tracts of idle land. Some 
of this was formerly cultivated with fair profit, but it 
has gone back to scrub trees or broom s.dge. The trou¬ 
ble with most of th.s land is a lack of organic matter. 
Probably nowhere in the world can green crops for 
supplying this organic matter be grown to better ad¬ 
vantage than in the South, and thousands of these 
acres can be readily brought back into cultivation. 
Such a large increase of corn culture would have a 
perceptible effect upon the general production of that 
crop. 
Meeting of the Dairymen’s League. 
T IIE annual stockholder’s meeting of the Da : rymen’s 
League will be held in Albany on Saturday, No¬ 
vember 2S; probably in one of the rooms of the 
Agricultural Department. There are over 13,000 
of these stockholders, and it is important that the 
meeting should be largely attended, and all milk-pro¬ 
ducing sect ons of the State be represented, either per¬ 
sonally or by a representative. Of course it will not be 
possible for all these producers to assemble in one meet¬ 
ing, but the different locations will undoubtedly select 
one of their members to represent them at the meeting, 
*0- care should be taken to select level-headed men for 
this mission. It is probable that members of the board 
for the coming year will be made up of the representa¬ 
tives present at the meeting, and this is another rea¬ 
son why the selection should be made with care, and 
strong, practical men sent to the meeting. 
Producers are now pretty well organ’zed and the 
success of the organization and the methods adopted 
will be put to the test this year. A serious mistake 
will not be fatal, but it certainly would put back the 
work. The time calls for strong, able leaders, and 
staunch support for them from the members of the 
association. The League has been developed along con¬ 
servative lines by altruistic men who have given their 
time, and their thought, and their ability to the work, 
without expectation of compensation, and we venture 
the prediction that they will yet successful’y work out 
a plan and a practice to improve the business of m'lk 
production and distribution for the metropolitan mar¬ 
kets. I he new Department of Foods and Markets will 
be a powerful aid in the work when it is comnletelv 
organized. J * 
Kitchen work in ties country affects 8.000.000 
workers. A plan or a trick for saving or shortening 
steps is a national blessing! 
Advertising on Apple Day. 
T HE Hampton County, Mass., Improvement League 
made a very practical use of Apple Dav in adver¬ 
tising app’es and encouraging sales. It'seems that 
people in Springfield, Mass., were not eating near 
as many apples as they should have done. Local re¬ 
tailers were buying No. 2 apples at a dollar a barrel 
nom the wholesale houses, and charg ng 35 to 40 
cents a peck at retail. No. 1 apples, which cost them 
8 - or a little over, were being sold at 50 cents a peck 
and with these prices sales were slow. The business 
men ot Springfield were interested in using Apple Day 
oi advertis.ng Massachusetts apples. Mottos were 
displayed everywhere. “ Bat Apples and Live Forever ” 
seemed to be the favorite. The hotels, the big business 
P an » * ncludll ?S drugstores and drygoods houses, got 
into the spirit of the day and talked apple. In one 
cas £ a iL raan an< 3 a trained rooster were employed to 
nf the S n- reetS dur L- g AppIe Da y- with a basket of 
appies on his arm. No doubt the rooster entered into 
tne. spirit of the occasion with an occasional crow, 
it is said that by night the streets were covered with 
apple cores, and the consumption of fruit for that day 
was immense. I he report is that this educational work 
fullv 1 £rvy aSe p - the d f mand fo J a PPles in Springfield 
nSonSVr n P o£ CS 0f apples trom tho Producers have 
a i. ed full /r 5 cent L s a barrel, and the local crop will 
be well cared tor at. home. This is good work by the 
League. It proves just exactly what we have always 
, ; i “ e f ni t ! at matter how large the apple crop may 
ll , ' Vl11 , be fully taken care of if producers will only 
get out, show themselves and talk apple. Do not wait 
for somebody else to do this work for you; get out and 
do it yourself, and the returns will be sure. 
New York State News. 
Quarantine in Syracuse.— it appears 
that the control of the rab'es situation in Syracuse 
is to be left with the city authorities provided they 
. carry out the instructions of the State Commis- 
sioner of Agriculture. There hus been a difference of 
op;nion as to whether the city should be quarantined or 
a j * by State authority, and Commissioner TTuson visit¬ 
ed Syracuse last week to investigate conditions. Upon 
assurances from the City Commissioner of Publ'c Safe¬ 
ty that he would handle the situation without establish¬ 
ing a quarantine, the Commissioner advised him to go 
ahead but laid down certain conditions which must be 
observed. As a 1 fce s tuat'.on may ar se elsewhere the 
conditions laid down by the Commissioner may lie' of 
general interest. ATI dogs running at large must be 
properly muzzled. otherw’se they will be captured and 
disposed of. No do~s within city limits must be taken 
out ot the city. Prompt reports must be made to the 
office of the < ommiss’oner of Agriculture regarding dogs 
captured and the d'spos'tion made of them. The Com¬ 
missioner impresses the fact upon the Syracuse author¬ 
ities that many muzzles now in use afford no protec- 
tion. This must r^DH'diod. 
FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE.—Information hav¬ 
ing reached the office of Commissioner Iluson that the 
foot and mouth disease was prevalent in certain coun¬ 
ties in Michigan and Indiana, he has issued a notice 
and order forbidding the importation into this State 
of any horses, cattle, sheep, swine, goats or poultry, 
trom the counties named therein. The fine for the vio¬ 
lation of this order is $100 for each offence In Michi¬ 
gan the counties quarantined against are Cass. Van 
Buren and Berrien and in Indiana St. Joseph. La Porte, 
Starke, Marshall and Elkhart. It appears that Illinois 
has also issued quarantine against these counties. Gov¬ 
ernment quarant'ne has a’so been established. 
GOOD POTATO CROP.—What is claimed to be the 
largest potato field in the State is that of E. C. Gleason, 
of Malone, which contained 43 acres in one solid potato 
patch. Mr. Gleason harvested about 11.000 bushels from 
the 43 acres. They were of excellent quality. 
APPLES IN ONONDAGA COUNTY.—The mana¬ 
ger of the Onondaga County Farm Bureau estimates the 
apple crop in that county at 100,000 barrels. This is 
about 10.000 more than last year. Practically all the 
fruit will be consumed locally. He also says‘that !• ss 
than one per cent, of the trees in that county ; re 
sprayed. If that correctly reports the farm agent he 
would seem to have part of his work cut out for li in 
for another year. We of New York State should ent r 
no complaints about competition with the northwe. t 
when we let all but one per cent, of our trees go un- 
spiayed. 
NETV FARM BUREAU.—Orange County will have 
a farm bureau. At a meeting of farmers and others in¬ 
terested in the project, held at Goshen, October 24, Mr. 
Burr tt, State Super ntendent of Farm Bureaus, was 
present and expha ned the methods of organization and 
the purpose and work of the Farm Bureaus. It was 
yotod to or^arnze ant! officers woro elpofpd : Pres- 
t 1 ^; Farley, of Hamptonburgh ; vice-president. 
John II Ar man, of Middletown ; secretary, C. B. Cole- 
man ot Goshen; treasurer, Howard D. Seeley, of 
Goshen. C. B. Harlow, of Stonv Ford, was elected 
representative of the countv Grange, and Albert Man¬ 
ning, representative of the Board of Supervisors. 
MR- MANNING APPOINTED.—Albert Manning, 
ot Ot sville, has been appointed by Gov. Glynn as a 
member o! the Bov.ne Tuberculosis Commiss’on, which 
was created by an act of the Legislature at its last 
sess on. Gov. Gp-nn has called a meeting at the execu- 
tne chamber on Friday, November 6, for the purpose of 
organizing the commission. j. w. d. 
Grain Notes by Experts. 
B ROOM HALL reports large wheat crops in India 
and Australia, and heavy receipts at Liverpool, 
where wheat : s selling at $1.25 to $1.30 per bushel, 
11Dfl oats ’ ‘: s to ‘°, e ents. la Hungary the import 
duty on all grain has been removed, yet prices are in- 
eieas ng rapidly, wheat at Budapest being $2 per bushel 
A report from The Hague g v^s the German wheat 
5 % om V 182 - 000 . : r T e ’ *.<01X00 tons, and oats, 
D.tL .1,000 tons, a total grain shortage of 1.7«4.000 tons 
trom last year. The potato crop is about 6.000.000 tons 
Jess than last year, but as ad exports are forb'dden 
German authon .es state that there will be ample food 
for home use. * 
Clement, Curt-s & < 'o„ say: “Our returns on the corn 
yield show a slight gain ot—r last month and am irrd : - 
ent ng a crop around 2.700.000.000 bushels. The largest 
gains over last month am in Giro, Iowa and Minna- 
t* bosses from the indications of October are largely 
in Illinois and Indmna.” 
Oscar T yle est mates the following distribution of 
th.s country s corn crop : 
Ar ... _ Bushels. 
for city use. 136.476.000 
M Us for farm use. 107.CB0 000 
Glucose and starch . 40.140.000 
D st lLd 1 cuors. 21 408 000 
Malt liquors . 1&380.000 
-heed in towns. 117.744 000 
l’eed, horses and rnules on farms. 722 520 000 
Hogs on farms . 717.168 000 
< attle on farms . 251.544.000 
M leh cows on farms . 230.136.000 
Sheep on farms . 58 872 ( 00 
Poultry on farms.!! 96‘.336 (DO 
bead on farms . 21.401.000 
Exports, etc. 141.828,000 
Total 
Our estimated stc 
the following table, 
rels: 
Wheat- -C’orn- 
. 2,676.000.000 
tool s of grain in store"e arc shown in 
the figures being thousands of bar- 
New York . . , 
Boston 
Philadelphia 
Paltimore . . 
New Orleans 
Galveston .. . 
Buffalo . 
Toledo . 
Toledo afloat 
Detroit .... . 
Ch'cago .... 
Milwaukee .. 
Duluth . 
Minneapolis . 
St. Louis . . . 
Kansas City 
Peor'a . 
1014 . 
2.879 
112 
1,501 
2.757 
2.781 
2.865 
3 432 
1,784 
'•ioo 
5,096 
428 
8.814 
13.713 
3.517 
8,452 
3 
1913. 
1,329 
20 
442 
288 
125 
473 
19.600 
1,215 
20 
76 
9.303 
314 
10.443 
13.835 
1,835 
8,231 
1914. 
456 
27 
110 
186 
78 
193 
439 
75 
ii2 
910 
71 
'' b 
00 
74 
1913. 
13 
00 
116 
110 
10 
761 
790 
* iii 
4,050 
39 
’ '24 
220 
Indianapolis .... 
Omaha . 
On lakes. 
614 
960 
2,926 
25 
327 
1.473 
1,640 
24 
88 
64 
1 AQ 
. -u 
3-12 
362 
207 
9 
Canal and river. 
Total. 
Increase . 
Decrease. 
63.149 
2,993 
53,505 
S96 
3,074 
’9Si 
7,075 
'277 
-Oats- 
Barley- 
New York . . . 
Boston . 
Philadelphia . 
Baltimore . . . 
New Orleans 
Buffalo . 
Toledo . 
Detroit . 
Chicago .... 
Chicago afloat 
Milwaukee .. 
Duluth . 
Minneapolis . 
St. Louis ... 
Kansas City . 
Peoria . 
Indianapolis 
Omaha . 
On lakes .... 
Canal and 
river. 
JfVM 
1913. 
1914. 
1913. 
1,735 
1,254 
493 
61 
Q 
• ) 
17 
2 
627 
93 
1.085 
445 
42 
i 
-138 
158 
2.710 
2,153 
498 
1,037 
S64 
906 
50 
136 
11 
12.631 
14,053 
915 
S4 
102 
471 
466 
305 
290 
1.505 
1.4 as 
1,244 
1.792 
3,763 
3.510 
958 
1,128 
4 C 'S 
1.440 
16 
37 
761 
1.133 
1.307 
1,639 
374 
280 
2.302 
2,420 
46 
28 
582 
.... 
409 
992 
218 
298 
95 
172 
32,016 
31,830 
5,033 
4.S55 
6o7 
1.0S4 
.... 
.... 
69 
907 
Increase ..... 
Decrease .... 
Rye (1914).—New ' ork, 242.000; Boston, 35.000; 
Baltimore. 644.000; Buffa'o. 29.000; Toledo. 4.000- De¬ 
troit, 33.000; Circago. 79 000: Milwaukee, 66.000;’Du¬ 
luth. 172 000; Minneapolis. 2S8.000; St. Louis, 3,000; 
Kansas City. 11.000; Peoria. 2.000; Omaha, 41.000; 
on lakes, 291,000. Total. 1.940.000 bushels; decrease! 
_ Kye (1913).—New York. 16.000; Boston. 1.000; Buf¬ 
falo. 100.00; Toledo. 11.000; Detroit. 44 000; Chicago 
231.000: Milwaukee. 290.000; Duluth. 361,000; Minn£ 
a polls, 535.060; St. Louis, 41.000; Omaha, 62,000 To¬ 
tal, l,hbb,O0O bushels; increase, 11,000. 
