THE RUHAIi NEW-VORKER 
The Business cf “ Licking a Stamp” 
By that of course ve mean writing a letter which 
properly expresses yen* feelings when the time comes 
for protest. This is a legitimate part of farming. 
“Licking a stamp’’ puts a rrinn on the public map, and 
extends his influence if the work is done right. This 
week we print a couple < ? rood samples of the stamp 
licker’s art. They do not require any comment: 
The “ Packer” Well racked/ 
The New York Packer: 
Gentlemen:—I write to say that I do not at all 
agree with the position yon t-' 1 ' x regard to Foods and 
Markets Department as r.i; md on by Commissioner 
Dillon. I have known Mr. Dillon for many years, and 
know him to be an upright, straightforward and hon¬ 
orable man in every sens- ■ * tlm word, nr. I I am 
firmly convinced that he is using h's very best efforts 
to assist farmers in.securing a fair price for their 
products. 
The management of your paper must he fully aware 
of the difficulties farmers have had in previous years 
to obtain for example a fair price fo>* their apples. 
You know full well that nearly every year false in¬ 
formation is sent out all over the State, creating the 
impression that the apple crop is much larger than 
it really is. Mr. Dillon’s efforts are aimed honestly 
to secure for farmers fair market prices. Let me say 
also that there is no paper in the United States so 
favorably known as The It urax New-Yokkeu, and it 
seems to me you are making a grave mistake, to make 
an attempt to place it in disrepute, and I believe it 
will reflect upon your own circulation and the value 
of your paper. I am firmly convinced that Mr. Dillon 
has sacrificed to a large extent his own business in¬ 
terests to carry on the good work he has undertaken. 
Many men, allow me to say, throughout the United 
States, who raise farm crops, will take the same views 
I have noted above. It is conceded already that you 
consider the commission man and the middleman’s in¬ 
terest to be paramount to that of the persons who pro¬ 
duce the crops. 
Respectfully yours, 
Maine. J. HENRY JUNES. 
That is one way to do a good job, and if you want 
a little variation try the following: 
A Guide Post for the Fruitman’s Guide. 
The Fruitman’s Guide: 
Dear Sirs.—The first copy of my new subscription 
to your paper has arrived, and would say that I very 
much disapprove of your editorial policy regarding 
Mr. Dillon, and through him the State Foods and Mar¬ 
kets Department. I have been taking the “Packer,” 
hut owing to its unjustified and cowardly attacks on 
Mr. Dillon and the Department I decided to drop it 
and take up your paper, but I sec you are both tarred 
with the same stick, and if this is to be your future 
policy kindly return my subscription money. If you 
and other papers of like nature represent the views of 
any considerable number of farmers then indeed I have 
need to be ashamed of my profession. Can see no use 
in the tactics you and the “Packer” are using, as if 
the auction is such a worthless thing it will die of its 
own accord, and if it is a good thing the howling of all 
the trade papers in the country cannot kill it. 
Yours very truly, 
New Jersey. geo. m. iioffman. 
Auction Notes. 
The apple market has improved during the past week. 
The quality has ruled better and prices have advanced. 
Arrivals have not been large. Some of the choicest 
varieties from the W. S. Teator orchard at Red Hook 
have been on the market this week, and sold close to .$5 
a barrel for the best specimens. In the auction sales 
Spy sold for $4.70 a barrel, and Baldwins for $3.25, 
$3.00 and $3.70. 
It is probable that the great bulk of the small ship¬ 
ments of medium and poor quality are now in. Some 
lots are yet corning, but our correspondence indicates 
that a better class of shipments can be expected from 
now on. The prices for the medium and poor grades 
have not been high; but the open market has furn¬ 
ished an opening for them, and growers generally have 
at least laid a ready market. It is possible that an 
occasional sale may fall below the common level, no 
matter what system of selling is used, or what agency 
conducts the sale. All we can say for the auction is 
that the sales are open and there can bo no question 
of a square deal. The seller gets what the buyer pays; 
and in our experience and in our judgment the auction 
sales bring the high level for grade and quality of 
goods offered. 
Last week we had an unique experience with a ship¬ 
ment of fancy white hennery eggs from a high-class 
shipper. They ought h> bring 63 cents. Our sales¬ 
man got 35 cents for them. The shipper complained 
good-naturedly. We looked up the inspection and found 
the report that eggs were fancy but turpentine liavored. 
We explained but frankly admitted a possible, or even 
probable, error if not deception of inspection. The 
shipper, however, remembered that the case of eggs was 
exposed to turpentine and assumed his responsibility. 
Sometimes we forgot that eggs absorb odor as readily as 
butter. The case illustrates how easily any of us may 
make mistakes, but we are all inclined to blame the 
other fellow for the consequence of them until our own 
responsibility is made clear. 
The auction sales for two days last week were as 
follows: 
APPLES.—32 bbls. Spy $4.70; 9 Baldwin $3.70; 
2 $3.20; 2 $1.70; 2 $3.60; 1 Greening $2.90; 7 Bald¬ 
win $2.10; 7 Spy $3.60; 2 Baldwin $2.30; 5 Baldwin 
$2.65: 1 Fall Pippin $2.55; 1 Winter Pippin $3.10; 
7 Baldwin $2.55; 10 $2.35; 14 $2.30; 2 $2.10; 2 Tol- 
man $2.50; 1 Baldwin $2.45; 1 $1.90: 1 $1.80; 37 
Baldwin $2.85; 20 $2.35; 8 Seek $2.15; 3 English 
Streak $2.60; 2 Pound Sweet $2.40; 6 Bellflower 
$2.55; 5 Gilliflower $2.45; 8 Russet $2.20; 2S Green¬ 
ing $2.30: 3 Spv $2.35; 9 King $2.20; 11 $1.95; 10 
Spitz $2 50: 21 Baldwin $3.15; 140 $2.80; 15 $2.30; 
23 82.03; 5 Baldwin $2.55; 4 $2.13; 11 $2.03; 23 
Wolf River $1.80; 9 Spy $1.80; 3 King $2.03; 3 
Greening $1.73; 2 $2.15: 2 $2.25; 4 Newtown $2.20; 
2 Baldwin $2.75; 2 $2 < ~ 12 $2.75: 1 $3; 9 New¬ 
town $1.95: 3 Russet $2.55; 1 Box Baldwin $1.50; 6 
boxes 90 cents; 4 bids. $1.75; 1 $1.05; 4 $1.85; 1 Spy 
$3.10; 4 Baldwin $2.65: 2 $2.20; 1 Sutton $2.95; 1 
Baldwin $3.10; 1 Newtown $2.50; 13 Baldwin $3.15; 
4 $2 05 • 5 $2.65 ; 2 $2.70. 
.ONIONS.—8 bits. 35 cents; 3 150-lb. bags $1.25. 
Oranges at Auction 
The feature of the Jalifornia orange market this 
week was the remarkable price obtained by P. Ruhl- 
man & Co., for the Old Mission brand of Valencias. 
The firm sold a number of cars at $9 to $9.50 the fore 
part of the week, but they broke all previous records 
today when they obtained $10.10 per box for fancy 126 
Valencias. On the same day they obtained an average 
of $4.65 per box for culls, which was also a record 
breaker and was specially satisfying. 
The above report of a sale of oranges on November 
26 is from one of the produce trade papers. It is 
true that th se prices were received; but it is not true 
that the orauges were sold by P. Ruhlman & Co. The 
oranges were sold in an open auction market to the 
highest bidder by one of the auction companies. If the 
old system of private sales by commission dealers were 
yet in vogue, these oranges would be selling around $5 
a box. When oranges were first sold at auction the 
same arguments that are now urged against the auc¬ 
tion sale of apples were used against the auction sale 
of oranges. When New York apple growers follow the 
example of California orange growers, and assemble 
their fruit in neighborhood associations, and sell the 
bulk of it at auction, they will begin to realize some 
of the pleasant experiences recorded in the above record 
of sales. But why didn’t the trade papers admit that 
this was an auction sale? 
Farmers and Western Railroads. 
We fruit raisers of Nebraska met November 26 with 
representatives of other organizations to organize pro¬ 
per means of resistance to the order of the railroads, or 
rather two of them, the Union Pacific and the Burling¬ 
ton. It is a question of serious import to the fruit and 
vegetable interests, mainly apples in the Southwest 
and potatoes iu the Northwest. The Farmers’ Union 
is organizing rapidly in this part of the State. If 
after looking into the matter you can see your way 
clear to give us a good word we would be obliged. 
Nehama Co., Neb. kakx aldrich. 
It. N.-Y.—Sxmdy we give a good word to this, and 
would gladly help. The fact is that these railroads 
propose establishing the following rules: “Peddling or 
retailing of fruits and vegetables or other commodities, 
from the cars in the yard of the railroad will not be 
permitted .” Many farmers or their organizations un¬ 
dertake to travel on freight cars through the State 
selling direct from the car to consumers. It is a good 
way to dispose of produce, bringing the farmer right in 
contact with the consumer, and giving the latter a 
chance to buy at lower prices. It seems that the 
wholesalers and dealers object to the plan, and they 
intend to force the railroads to adopt the rule. The 
Nebraska farmers are organizing to tight it. The rail¬ 
roads owe more to tbe farmers than to the dealers—• 
but the latter are well organized! 
Sulphuric Acid vs. Better Farm Practice. 
It occurs to me as I sit and look with amazement 
at the prices the fertilizer companies are to charge us 
that maybe our farm management as well as our Na¬ 
tional management will be improved by the Great War. 
We have been using large amounts of sulphuric acid 
in most of our chemical fertilizers, and now that it is 
needed for killing men instead of feeding them it lias 
risen to a price beyond our reach. Importations of 
other fertilizers are inhibited by the danger of capture 
of other nations, so we are unable to get any kind of 
plant food from abroad. This condition cannot help 
making us look about us for home substitutes, and as 
always, we will find a way out of the difficulty. 
There is one kind of material that we have in suffi¬ 
cient amounts which may be used without the sulphuric 
acid, and although it is not called a plant food, never¬ 
theless it acts as the acid does—makes plant food avail¬ 
able. I allude to lime. There is no harm that can 
happen to us from the using of this, provided we use 
brains and muscle as a diluent. Lixne, as we have 
all read, does many things, some of which are as fol¬ 
lows: It causes a reaction or condition in the soil fav¬ 
orable to the growth and reproduction of bacteria; it 
effects a more crumbly structure in clay soils, thus 
improving the tilth; it acts as a base to unite with 
acids of the soil, such as nitric acid, thereby holding 
the plant foods in a salt form; it makes nitrogen avail¬ 
able both by retaining it in the salt form and by 
hastening the transformation of the humic material into 
an available form of plant food ; it really serves as a 
plant food for legumes, or perhaps other plants, on 
soil practically deficient in it, and there are some such 
soils. Lime docs these things, and some others, and 
if but for these it is worth tbe using. Now, the thing 
that must be done to prevent any possible injury is 
to apply with the lime humic material, something that 
will supply humus for the lime to work upon, and re¬ 
place that which is consumed by it. 
We have heard the dangers from the application of 
lime in the burnt lime form, and there are some, but 
even these can bo controlled if humus is supplied. 
Applications in any amount, even to the covering of 
the ground, of finely ground limestone, can never be 
harmful. Along with the applications of lime we 
must apply’improved or at least increased cultivation. 
We must learn that the increased surface area of soil 
particles means more plant food; we must learn to 
conserve our soil moisture for plant use. We must 
realize that soil in a saturated condition cannot sup¬ 
port plant life, and that such soil will pay for the 
laying of tile drains inside of two or three years. 
Dean Cook in agricultural educational work advises the 
boys from clay farms to spend their fertilizer money 
in tile draining. 
The making of more manure is another factor in in¬ 
creased plant food production. And here again we farm- 
1465 
rfcrs want to hesitate before we buy cottonseed meal at 
the outrageous price set by those who have it cornered. 
The protein may be worth the price they ask for the 
grain, but it is a price beyond reason, and is high 
for the purpose of making all that can be made, and 
not because its value has increased. Nevertheless, feed 
the stock well, make, care for, and apply all the manure 
you can make or get. The future improvement of our 
farms is foretold in a few words: Cultivation, calcium, 
cover crops, cows, drainage.' w. j. hagar. 
New York. 
Game Laws and Gun Toters. 
You are possibly aware that conditions making for 
safety, freedom and the pursuit of happiness in the 
open country, are generally assumed to far excel simi¬ 
lar privileges to be enjoyed in the city. We are urged 
to hie ourselves away to the “tall timber,” become a 
baek-to-the-Iander or anything else with a rural set¬ 
ting, in order to escape the dreadful consequences of 
noise, smoke, contamination of the multitudes, or sud¬ 
den death from disputing the right of way with a high¬ 
speed motor. Some of us who jive in the open country 
are becoming loss sure that some of tbe factors of 
safety which we assumed to enjoy are not slipping 
away. The reason for my present anxiety will appear 
in the following narration. 
This happened in an adjoining town within the last 
10 days. So far as is now known, the life of a horse 
and a man was at issue. The man was in his field 
gathering potatoes when the crate he was using at his 
side was pierced by a high speed rifle ball. Thinking an 
attempt had been made upon his life he made a hasty 
exit from the field. Not far away, a horse had been 
grazing in the usual manner in a field near the farm 
buildings. Later it was observed in great pain, and an 
examination showed a bullet wound in the hip. It was 
removed for possible treatment to a veterinary hos¬ 
pital but was found beyond help. As near as can be 
determined these two incidents occurred at about the 
same time. Curiously enough, no one seems to have 
heard a gun discharge. Needless to say, the communi¬ 
ty is somewhat wrought up. 
Naturally enough, incidents of this sort make a man’s 
blood boil a little, and if he has any equipment above 
his collar button lie is likely to question the use of a 
burdensome system which will permit or encourage a 
man to tote a gun at any season. Any man with com¬ 
mon sense knows there is no game worth hunting in 
New York State. The above incident occurred in a 
thickly populated community. What right has the law 
to turn loose an ignoramus with a Winchester that will 
kill far beyond the reach of its sound of discharge? 
The horse is dead; who will pay for it? If the farmer 
had been killed, would the State compensate his family 
and the community? In licensing these ill-bred maraud¬ 
ers.^ the State should assure an obligation. 
Then tell us please, what reason there is for game 
protect on anyway? W-> are impertinent enough to 
ask what there would be left of this whole game busi¬ 
ness if the politics were squeezed out of it? Will some 
one who is “on the inside,” give us a statement show¬ 
ing an economic return from game in this State? After 
deducting the cost of the system from the food value 
of game products (excluding possibly lisli) is there 
a profit? That is the only basis to consider it on. The 
business has no sentimental associations to bo given 
credit. _ In light of the above incident, they cannot 
be considered. Why protect game? Who ever heard 
of farmers wantonly killing game? A short time ago, 
a farmer was “pinched” for killing a skunk out of 
season. He should have engaged the local game warden 
to watch his henroost and thus have avoided the dis¬ 
grace and fine. The farmers produce and care for 
what game we have, but the other fellow comes along 
with the privilege to kill. 
A lot more could be said, especially as regards the 
nuisance of hunters and their destruction of fences, 
walls, gates, etc. With a sufficient number of farms 
posted, could not the hunting nuisance be abated en- 
tirely? H * u 
Tompkins Co., N. Y. 
New York Crops. 
The New York State Department of Agriculture un¬ 
der direction of Commissioner Charles S. Wilson has 
been collecting statistics of New York State crops dur¬ 
ing the growing and harvesting season and the esti¬ 
mates from a large number of correspondents of the 
department throughout the State show a production 
practically the same as that indicated by the reports of 
the federal department. The grain crop is the largest 
raised for many years. Potatoes, apples, beans and 
onions show a very material decrease in quantity from 
191 1. Taken in detail the principal crops and prices 
at the farm are about as follows: 
ion. 
1915. 
Crop. 
Estimate 
Price 
Estima te 
Price 
bushel. 
per bn. 
bushel. 
per b-i. 
Com . 
22.5no.ooo 
$ .87 
21.700,000 
$ .81 
W1 eat . 
8.11)!), 000 
1.04 
10,550,000 
.99 
Oats . 
40.102,000 
.50 
54.080,000 
.44 
Parley . 
2,100,000 
.71 
2.400,000 
.71 
KncI;wheat . 
«. 302.000 
.70 
6.004,000 
.81 
Potatoes . 
53.215,000 
.43 
22.300,000 
.79 
Apples (ban-el). 
10,533,000 
1.40 
8,530,000 
2.25 
Keans . 
1,080,000 
2.50 
700,000 
3.60 
Onions . 
0,507,202 
.00 
4,534.887 
.85 
Hay (tons) .... 
5,584,000 
10.00 
5.270.000 
17.80 
The estimate of the onion crop for the I’nited States 
for 1915 is 13,SOI,7>9 bushels as against 21,901,014 : n 
1914. The excessive moisture in the great onion pro¬ 
ducing States of Ohio, Indiana, Massachusetts and 
Michigan reduced production in those States to 10% 
of an average crop in Ohio; 25% in Indiana; 50% in 
Michigan and 70% in Massachusetts and the keeping 
qualities of the crop in about an equal proportion. The 
bean crop of the State for the same reason is reduced 
to about 40% of the ten year average, which would 
indicate a crop of about 700.000 bushels for 1915. 
Canadian Apple Prices. 
MONTREAL.—Spy, hbl.. $5.50 (iv $6; Baldwin, 
$4.50 (a $5; Greening, $4 Co $4.50; McIntosh, $6 @ 
$6.50; Russet, $4 (a $5. 
TORONTO.—Spy and King, $5; Baldwin and Green¬ 
ing, $4; Russet, $4.50. Box, as to quality, $1.50 (a) 
$2.50. 
OTTAWA.—Spy, $5.50 @ $6; King, $4 @ $5; 
Pewaokee, $3.50 (a $4; Cranberry Pippin, $3.50 (a). 
$4; Stark, $4 (rj) $4.50: Baldwin, $4 (a $4.50; Snow, 
$5.50 Ca $6; Ben Davis, $3.50 @ $4. 
QUEBEC.—Spy $5 Co $6; Greening, $4.25 @ $5; 
Baldwin, $4.50 @ $5.25; Fameuse, $6 @ $7.50. 
