808 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S TAPER 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes 
Established (SCO 
rulillxhcd weekly by the Rural Pnblishlne Company, 333 Went 30th Street, Sen Torn 
Herbert W. Coli.ivowood, President and Editor. 
Jons J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
W». F. DllLON, Secretary. Mrs. E. T. Hoyle, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION : ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in the 1'niversal Postal Union. $2.04. equal to 8 s. 6 d., or 
81$ marks, or 104 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 DEAL” 
tv<• 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 
I'esponsible 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. 
S OME of the agricultural colleges are trying to 
arrange the college year so that students can 
have a better chance to work on practical farms. 
As it is now, the college vacation comes at the 
wrong time for many farm operations. Plowing, 
planting and cultivating are mostly over before the 
boys can leave college. They must go back before 
the important harvests, or in the midst of them. 
Of course this does not include hay and grain, but 
most of these students want work on fruit or truck 
farms, where intensive methods are followed. If 
the college year could he arranged so that these stu¬ 
dents could leave about April 1 and work until late 
September, they would get far more out of their 
course and also provide real help for farmers. 
* 
V ERY few things which we have printed of late 
have called out more correspondence than the 
statement about the new test for acid soils. 
Calls for further information are coming from all 
parts of the country. Intelligent farmers now clear¬ 
ly understand that clover, Alfalfa, Timothy, wheat 
and many other popular crops cannot pay a profit 
on sour land. You will lose a part of your time, 
labor and fertilizer so long as you put these crops 
into sour land without fair liming. As practically 
all Eastern soils that have been under cultivation 
for 50 years or more are sour, it becomes very im¬ 
portant that we test such soils and use lime intelli¬ 
gently. This new chemical test should give many a 
bright man a chance to do a good neighborhood busi¬ 
ness at testing soils. 
* 
L ET us get down to the heart of this story of the 
Western Canada grain growers. As individuals 
they are of no higher intelligence, and with no 
better financial standing, than thousands of farm¬ 
ers in the Atlantic States. Yet they have organized 
and carried to success the most remarkable co¬ 
operative trade movement of modern times. At the 
time they were doing this, and saving the money 
formerly paid to others for doing work which they 
could do quite as well, the individual farmers of 
the East were paying tribute as they are now, to 
many useless middlemen. These Canadians were 
widely scattered and had poor facilities for getting 
together for consultation. The secret of their suc¬ 
cess is that they were loyal and trusted their lead¬ 
ers. When the great test of cooperation came they 
rose to it promptly and willingly paid their own 
Company more for handling the grain than outsiders 
would have charged. The grain dealers made the 
mistake of thinking that these farmers would not 
stand together when by running apart and breaking 
up the organization they could pick up 50 cents! 
We have all got to learn the truth of this proposi¬ 
tion. AYe must have something besides intelligence, 
courage and financial standing in order to make co¬ 
operation a success. The thing which ties men to¬ 
gether in a tight knot is the willingness to face 
temporary loss if need be, and to put up a dollar for 
the sake of a principle. When men will do that the 
principle will in time take care of the principal and 
the interest. 
O UR usually good-natured friend the National 
Stockman and Farmer seems to have developed 
a tremendous “grouch” over this 35-cent dol¬ 
lar proposition. It gives figures to show that farm¬ 
ers receive 60 cents or more of the consumer’s dol¬ 
lar and then gives this: 
“The producer should and no doubt will (jet a 
larger share of the consumer’s dollar, but he trill 
get it bg studying facts and conditions, not by the 
vain repetition of an economic fallacy.” 
If any farmer wants to sit on the fence and study 
about the situation he can .do it. but our advice is 
to get off the fence and meet the situation face to 
face. Instead of accepting the figures which the ex- 
TH E RURAL, NEW-YORKER 
perts give him let each farmer figure it out for him¬ 
self. What does he raise? What does he receive 
per pound or bushel? What does the final consumer 
pay for that food or fibre? Let us do our own think¬ 
ing and figuring for awhile and see whether this is 
an “economic fallacy” or not. AA’e will leave it 
right with the individual farmers, confident that a 
fair average will prove that the 35-cent dollar is 
not an “economic fallacy” but a living truth. The 
funny part of it is that right on (he same page on 
which this “economic fallacy” appears the Stockman 
and Farmer prints the following: 
One day last week the city of Now York received 
160 carloads of strawberries averaging 225 crates to 
the car—a total of over 1,150,000 quarts. North Caro- 
lina, ATrginia, Maryland and Delaware contributed to 
this tremendous supply. Of course the market was de¬ 
moralized and producers got very little for their fruit, 
which had to be sold quickly and at a sacrifice in or¬ 
der to escape condemnation by the Board of Health. 
The New York papers report that excellent berries had 
to sell as low as three cents a quart under the neces¬ 
sity of getting rid of them before they spoiled. 
Let our friend tell us how large a dollar these 
growers received. In some cases they had to send 
money to pay freight and commission charges! 
These conditions will never !><■ changed until farm¬ 
ers realize that there is a 35-cent dollar. That is 
the foundation fact upon which we must build im¬ 
proved culture, packing, sorting, storing and selling. 
* 
O NE of the largest problems growing out of the 
European War is the future effect upon wom¬ 
an’s labor. In Germany, France and England, 
Austria and Italy, so many of the men have gone 
to fight that women and old men have been forced 
into manual labor. For instance, T\ S. Consul Arm¬ 
strong of Bristol, England, sends this report: 
The use of woman labor also came into discussion 
iit this meeting, as well as at a meeting of the Glou¬ 
cestershire Education Committee and the Gloucester¬ 
shire Chamber of Agriculture which were recently held. 
Special short courses of instruction in light farm work 
suitable for women are now being held, or arranged to 
be, at a number of the agricultural colleges and farm 
institutes in this district. It was suggested that a 
fair wage for women laborers would be 15s, ($3.65) a 
week for those living out and Ss. ($1.95) or 9s. ($2.19) 
a week for those living in. It is reported that over 
5.000 women have signified their willingness to do agri¬ 
cultural work, and in many cases these are already in 
training. 
All over the warring countries much the same 
thing is true. Women have taken up man’s work. 
AVhat will happen when the war is over and the sol¬ 
diers return? Will the women remain as competi¬ 
tors in man’s work, or will they go back to house¬ 
hold service? Even should they go back, they can¬ 
not view life as before they did a man’s work. 
* 
W IIAT is the truth about ginseng and its cul¬ 
ture? The war in Europe has created a 
shortage in certain drug and dye plants which 
are necessities in modern business. There are op¬ 
portunities for a few American gardeners to develop 
these crops. It is not a large chance, because if 
any gi’eat numbers went into the business it would 
be largely overdone. The “boomers” of ginseng cul¬ 
ture see a chance in this new interest to exploit 
their seed and and plant trade, but the ginseng sit¬ 
uation is entirely different. The trade in drug and 
dye plants is based upon legitimate demand, while 
that in ginseng is based upon a superstition. U. S. 
Consul Maynard wrote from Amoy as follows: 
For many years past foreign doctors in China have 
endeavored to convince the Chinese that there is little 
or no virtue in ginseng as a remedy beyond its having a 
slight tonic quality ; but although they have been suc¬ 
cessful in introducing foreign drugs and medicines they 
have failed to reduce the use of ginseng, as the Chinese 
still have great faith in it. It frequently happens that 
Chinese who take for ign medicines will take ginseng 
in addition; and although this may be known to the 
foreign physician no serious objection is raised, as it 
seems to be the opinion of foreign doctors that although 
ginseng does no special good it also does no harm. 
It will evidently require a long time to change the 
superstitious habits of the Chinese, and there will 
continue to be more or less demand from China. 
We want to make it clear, however, that the use of 
ginseng is based upon a superstition, and not like 
that of some other drug and dye plants upon a defin¬ 
ite business. 
* 
T HE woods and cleared places too have been full 
of advice about feeding sour milk to chicks. 
Starting with the fact that milk-fed chicks do 
well, keep healthy and make fine growth, all sorts 
of theories have been built upon sour milk! The 
Connecticut Experiment Station has thoroughly 
worked out this question of milk feeding and blows 
away most of the "guff” and theory. The nut of the 
matter is this: 
The value of milk as a food for chicks does uot de¬ 
pend upon any acids that may be present, nor upon 
any particular types of micro-organisms; but upon one 
or more of the natural constituents of the milk. 
That is, the milk makes the chicks grow strongly 
and gives them vigor the same as it does babies. 
June 12, 1015. 
This makes them better able to withstand disease 
provided they have ample chance to exercise. Tt 
makes little difference whether the milk is sweet or 
sour, though on most farms it will be sour before 
ready for feeding, and you should feed one kind or 
the other regularly. AA’e find that this discussion 
of the merits of skim-milk for chicks is having some 
effect upon the dairy business. The larger hen 
farms are gradually working into dairying as a side 
issue. A small but choice herd of Holstein or other 
heavy milking cows will give a quantity of skim- 
milk for feeding and also take care of a cream trade. 
The chicken manure is well adapted to corn and 
grass, so that a fair-sized silo can be filled from a 
few acres. Of all the uses for skim-milk, none gives 
a higher value than that of feeding to chicks. AA’e 
think this hen and cow combination will have con¬ 
siderable effect upon the dairy business within the 
next few years. 
* 
F ROM present indications hay-making this year 
will be a job requiring the best skill and judg¬ 
ment a farmer can show. With us the weather 
has been cold and gloomy, with less sunshine than 
usual, and frequent storms. The grass is rank and 
watery, and should have sunshine to mature it and 
hot winds to dry it properly. AA T e must remember 
that the wind rather than the sun is the great hay¬ 
maker. The object is to get the water out of the 
grass as quickly as possible. A large share of this 
water must pass out through the leaves of the grass, 
and it goes much more rapidly in that way than 
through the stem. Thus plants with broad leaves 
like clover will dry faster in the windrow or thick 
swath than when spread out where the sun will 
dry the leaves crisp so that they cannot throw off 
water. AA’e have heard people say that anyone can 
make hay, as if no great skill was required in the 
operation. The fact is that in unsettled weather 
few crops demand the exercise of greater skill and 
judgment than clover and grass. A man must have 
farm instinct in order to make good hay, and that is 
why it is so difficult to tell a beginner just how to 
do it. 
* 
B REEDERS of purebred cattle protest strongly 
against the action of State and Federal author¬ 
ities in valuing purebred animals which have 
been slaughtered on account of the foot and mouth 
disease. At a recent meeting of the National Rec¬ 
ord Association this clear statement was made: 
Breeders have believed, and have sold their stock on 
the assumption, that pedigrees were of some value. The 
State and Federal authorities have in practically all 
cases taken a contrary view, and have ruled that pure¬ 
bred herds, affected by the disease, should be appraised 
precisely as though their pedigrees did not exist. This 
has had the effect of destroying confidence in registered 
stock, to some degree, both on the part of new buyers, 
and on the part of bankers. The latter have held, and 
with reason, that if the State and Federal authorities 
would not put any value on pedigrees, they as bankers, 
could not afford to do so. 
The agricultural teachers from AVashington down 
to the county organizations have advised the use of 
pure-blood stock and argued that it was worth far 
more than scrub or grade stock, both for producing 
meat or milk, and for improving flocks and herds. 
Thus the government in one branch has taught the 
public to believe that the pedigree has value, while 
in another branch or department it upsets its own 
argument and claims that a pedigree is only "a 
scrap of paper,” worth but its weight in milk or 
meat. AA r here can you find a more inconsistent 
action? New appraisals should be promptly made, 
and the proper values given to the pedigree of ptue- 
blood stock. 
Brevities. 
AVisconsin growers want a new hardy apple. 
Soils where chestnut timber thrives are likely to 
be acid. 
A teaspoonful of gasoline on the crown of a dan¬ 
delion plant will rid the lawn of one “yellow peril.” 
No man can “uplift” the farmer until he has first 
made a solid foundation to stand on. 
There are still good numbers of mules in the AA’est, 
in spite of the war demand. 
Last Fall the Agricultural Department advised a 
trial in making apple syrup. Has anyone tried it? 
If so, what about it? 
In Arizona the moth of the cutworm is reported as 
a nuisance in the house. It is a night flier and makes 
for lights the moment they are lighted. 
Many questions have come about the mint marks of 
coins struck off at the various government mints. AA’e 
have answered the question many times. Here it is 
again : Coins struck at the Philadelphia Mint have r.o 
mint mark. Those struck at all other mints of the 
United States are distinguished by a small letter near 
the bottom of the coin. These letters are: “C” for 
Charlotte, N. C.. discontinued in 1861; “CC” for (’ar¬ 
son City, Nev., discontinued in 1893; “D” for Dahlone- 
ga. Ga., discontinued in 1861 ; “D” for Denver, Colo., 
coinage begun in 1906; “O” for New Orleans, La., dis¬ 
continued July 1, 1911; "S” for San Francisco, Cal. 
