1438 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes 
Establinlied ISM 
Published weekly by the Rural Publishing Company, 833 "esi 30lh Street. .New torn 
Herbert W. Coxxikgwood, President and Editor. 
John .1. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wji. F. Dillon*, Secretary. Mrs. E. T. Koyi.k, Associa te Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION : ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries In the Universal Postal Union, $2.01, equal to 8s. 6d., or 
8k. marks, or 10)4 francs. Remit in money order, express 
order, personal check or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post Office as Second Class Matter. 
Advert inng 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 hacked by a respon¬ 
sible person. We use every possible precaution and admit the Advertising or 
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, hilt such eases 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 tlie courts. 
Notice of the complaint must lie 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. 
T HE flint corn shown on the first page was grown 
on a good farm in Orange Co., N. Y. These 
ears are fair specimens of this year’s crop. We be¬ 
lieve that farmers north of central New Jersey 
might well grow more flint corn. The dents may 
give heavier yields when the season is riglit, but the 
flints are surer in the average season to mature grain 
and give more hard corn. The flint grain is a little 
higher in protein, and the stalks are finer and make 
better fodder. Our experience is that tlie flints can 
endure a drought a little better. Farther south and 
t n rich land the dents are superior, but we think in 
New England and New York our farmers will, on 
the whole, do better with the flints if they are after 
grain and want a sure thing. 
* 
W HILE the government is searching earth and 
sea for potash let us look into our own corn¬ 
field. The New Jersey Experiment Station shows 
that most of tlie potash in the corn plant is in the 
stalks. With an average yield an acre of stalks 
will give about 40 pounds. 
Counting upon 40 pounds, which is a reasonable esti¬ 
mate, this quantity would be equivalent to 80 pounds 
of muriate of potash, or to the potash in 400 pounds of 
4-8-10 potato fertilizer. That from the stover, how¬ 
ever, might not be so readily available as the muriate 
of potash. 
Every little helps in a time like this, and we 
should all realize that potash comes largely in the 
straw and stalks of plants and in the liquid ma¬ 
nures. We can all do something to save these 
things. Let us do what we can to find potash on 
our own farms before we blame the government for 
being too slow. 
* 
These nut contests are mighty interesting things and 
I am proud to have a hand in rescuing some of these 
line nuts from perdition. Some remarkable nuts, es¬ 
pecially hickory nuts, are coming in, better than last 
year. T hope that we shall do for nuts what has been 
done for the soft fruits. w. C. dewing. 
R. DEMING is secretary of the Northern Nut 
Growers’ Association and has spent much time 
in organizing and developing the nut-growing busi¬ 
ness. Such men do the world good and frequently 
do not receive even a “thank you!” If they worked 
solely for the rewards of this world they would have 
gone to loafing long ago. The nut business is grow¬ 
ing in importance. No use talking, the meat of the 
future, or at least a good share of it, is to be grown 
cn trees. Nuts are to become more and more an im¬ 
portant part of the human diet. The development 
of the hickory will some day put the nut business 
of New England ahead of the walnut trade in Cali¬ 
fornia or on pecans in the South. That may seem 
like a large contract, but we believe it will be de¬ 
livered in good time. 
* 
T HE papers state that Dr. Stanjac, a German 
scientist, has written a song of thanks to the 
potato. This song or hymn is said to begin as fol¬ 
lows—we do not pretend to be sure of our German: 
“Singt mit mir das ehrenleid den pflanzer der kar- 
toffel.” 
“Sing with me the triumphal song of the potato 
plant.” 
There is no question about what Germany owes 
to the potato. Without it the splendid efficiency of 
the army would be broken down by lack of supplies. 
The potato provides food for man and beast, and 
alcohol for light and power. The German govern¬ 
ment realizes that the potato crop is as necessary 
as the great coal mines are to this country. The 
German government has regulated by stern law the 
wholesale price of potatoes, and also the retail 
price to consumers. Surely the humble potato 
is more deserving of a hymn in its honor than all 
the lordly cannon that ever belched murder out of 
their mouths. There is a lesson of life to this 
country in this potato history. As compared with 
European countries our crop is comparatively small 
THE RURAL IN! E W-YORKER 
because we have not yet learned to utilize the tu¬ 
ber. It is full of undiscovered possibilities for 
Americans and no time should be lost in hunting for 
them. True, prices to farmers are now fair—for this 
year's crop—but we saw last year how the addi¬ 
tion of a few million bushels brought hardship to 
many potato growers without relief to consumers. 
Every agency of our agricultural institutions should 
be put at work to increase the uses and demands for 
potatoes. Do that before greatly increasing pro¬ 
duction. 
* 
O N page 1317 we told of a man in Nebraska who 
had an opportunity to obtain the chicken ma¬ 
nure from a big poultry packing-house. We said he 
had a small gold mine if he could dry this manure 
properly and put it on the market either pure or 
mixed with chemicals. At least a dozen farmers in 
other parts of the country have already written to 
know if they can buy this dried manure. All over 
the country there is a remarkable search going 
cn for new sources of plant food, and dried chicken 
manure in good quantity ought to be easily salable. 
We have often wondered why the proprietors of 
some of the large chicken plants do not dry and 
grind the manure, mix it with the proper chemicals, 
and put it on the market as a garden fertilizer. It 
ought to be possible for them to do a first-class busi¬ 
ness in this product. 
* 
M OST of us know the story of the man who 
went through a strange country on a dark 
and stormy night. He lost his way, and in the 
darkness fell over a bank which imagination turned 
into a high precipice. lie felt himself going down to 
destruction, and in desperation caught at a small 
tree and held on. There he hung in the dark. lie 
held on until his arms gave out, uttering every fer¬ 
vent prayer he knew, and then let go expecting to 
be dashed upon the rocks 100 feet below. He fell 
just six inches! He might have almost touched 
the ground with his toes, as he hung, but the dark¬ 
ness had magnified his terror! We were reminded 
of this story by the wild action of the apple dealers 
over this auction system of selling fruit. When it 
was first suggested they raved and fought. It was 
pure socialism, it could not succeed, farmers would 
not sell that way, dealers would not buy, and so on. 
No matter if one statement contradicted another 
they hung kicking like the man 4n the dark over the 
fearful calamity which the auction would bring! 
The auction was tried, proved successful and has 
now become established. Instead of a calamity we 
have the beginning of one of tlie most useful mar¬ 
keting reforms ever started in this country. In¬ 
stead of being ruined by it these dealers will find 
the fruit auctions a great help in supplying their 
trade. 
* 
O N page 732 we told how the Pittsburgh Post 
was offering a so-called radium fertilizer to 
its readers. Five-pound lots of this stuff cost the 
people at the rate of $356 per ton! One of our 
readers sent what we printed to the Post, and re¬ 
ceived in reply a letter containing this “gem.” 
“We think ice understand their motive in seeking 
to discredit the article offered through the Post 
It should not require much thought to understand 
the motive, for this is what we said: 
The Post ought to know better than to boost such a 
proposition. If it wants to give people a fair bargain 
in plant food why not get some reputable dealer to mix 
nitrate, dried blood, acid phosphate and potash? That 
mixture will surely give results and could be sold at 25 
cents the five-pound can at 100 per cent, profit. 
As it is the Post is charging its people 80 cents 
for playing with the word “radium.” This is not 
only expensive playing, but it lays the foundation 
with this petty little foolishness for an invest¬ 
ment in larger and more dangerous fakes. The De¬ 
partment of Agriculture has no faith in this “ra¬ 
dium” fertilizer and warns the public against it. 
Papers like the Post do not test such things before 
offering them to their readers, but apparently take 
the word of some promoter and let it go at that. 
“P.ig oaks from little acorns grow,” and big and 
damaging fakes grow from just such 89-cent bluffs 
as the Post has been fathering! 
* 
S INCE we started the discussion of balanced ra¬ 
tions there have been many questions. There 
is great interest in feeding stock, and we want to be 
as helpful as possible. In order to make the most 
of this we must know all about the cows and the 
feeds on hand. In nearly every case when a request 
is made by a reader for a balanced ration for his 
cows, some of the necessary facts are wanting and 
have to be assumed by the person recommending the 
ration. Many times these assumptions may not be 
just right and the response to the readers request 
would be of more value to him if all of the facts of 
December 4, 1915. 
the case were made known. Tn asking for a bal¬ 
anced ration, one should give the following data: 
1. Rrood of cows. 
2. Average live weight of cows. 
3. Average number of pounds of milk given by cows. 
4. Average percent fat in milk if possible. 
5. Kind of roughage available. 
6. Kind of grain feeds available and prices of same. 
This data is necessary in order that the proper 
feeding standard may be determined to suit each in¬ 
dividual case. If one sends in a ration asking if it 
is balanced, he should give in addition to the above 
data, the exact kind of roughage fed, together with 
a very close approximation of the amount being fed, 
expressed in pounds, and also the amount of the 
different grain feeds expressed in pounds or quarts. 
* 
T HOUSANDS of people have learned how to keep 
eggs in water glass. You take fresh eggs when 
they are worth 20 cents a dozen and put them in the 
glass solution. There they stay until the hens strike 
and eggs are worth 50 cents. Then you take them 
out and eat them! They are not “new laid,” but 
they are eggs—good for cooking purposes. We have 
records of a few failures, but for the most part 
these water-glass experiments pay. Now something 
in the same line is suggested for apples. Ordinary 
cellar storage is not very satisfactory, especially 
where the cellar is warm. Fruit goes down rapidly 
when it starts to decay. The Vermont Experiment 
Station has tried several plans for keeping apples 
and has succeeded with Bordeaux mixture and saw¬ 
dust! The mixture was made of four pounds each 
of lime and sulphate of copper to 50 gallons of 
water. Sound, clean apples were dipped in this un¬ 
til well coated and then dried. Then they were 
packed in layers of dry hardwood sawdust and thus 
put away in boxes. Stored in this way early in 
^November Baldwin apples kept well for 267 days, 
on until the following August! They were still firm 
and plump and of good quality. Of course they 
were cleaned before eating. Packed in fine dry saw¬ 
dust alone they kept 248 days. This puts apples 
in the class with water-glass eggs. A part of the 
family supply—the choicest and finest fruit—can be 
dipped and packed now, and thus kept until the next 
crop of Fall apples is ripe. In this way what is to 
prevent us from having McIntosh apples every day 
in the year—365 days of joy? 
* 
I N New York State a hunter has no right on a 
farmer’s property unless the farmer expressly or 
by implication invites him. When a farm is thor¬ 
oughly posted a hunter who comes on the farm is a 
trespasser. The farmer has the right to order him 
off and put him off if he is big enough, or if the 
hired man and neighbors will help. Legally a 
farmer has protection against trespassers, but he 
must live in a community where legal rights are re¬ 
spected. We have had several cases where public 
.sentiment did not uphold the law. In one case a 
man found one whom he considered a suspicious 
character on his premises, and put him off after 
a scuffle. The owner was arrested, tried before a 
justice and actually fined for assault. This man 
ought to appeal and refuse to pay his fine, and 
fight the ease up to the highest court if need be. 
Where the community will not unite to support local 
laws it will be difficult to have them enforced from 
the outside. Thus the only way for farmers to 
handle this question of hunters is for all of them 
to unite, post their farms uniformly and agree to 
act together against trespassers. Wherever they 
will do that they have legal relief under the present 
law. It all comes down to the thing which we have 
consistently pointed out. Farmers must unite and 
protect themselves and secure their rights—not wait 
for other classes to fight for them. When any man 
fights for you he expects to be paid big wages for 
doing it. Save his wages when you can. 
Brevities. 
Better take your medicine standing up! 
Japan has so much rice that the government seeks 
to export promptly 10,000,000 bushels. 
A pulverized form of dried beet pulp is now made 
for poultry feeding. 
There are remedies which resist hog cholera and 
others which prevent it. Do not get the two things 
mixed up. 
You may take it from me and can bet on the same—• 
that it pays to keep all the stock gentle and tame. For 
he’s but a silly and ignorant coot, who tries to put milk 
in a cow with his boot. 
Tiie war is turning Holland to “turf poeder”—dried 
peat as a fuel substitute for coal. A bulletin from the 
Vermont Experiment Station tells how this peat has 
been used as fuel for years. 
A new argument against weeds is that they harbor 
insects. It seems that many of these insects will win¬ 
ter or mature on dead weeds, if they get a chance. That 
is why keeping the weeds down or burning them over 
is a good proposition, even if it destroyed a quantity 
of organic matter. 
