288 
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The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PARER 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Iloineit 
Established /WO 
PiiblUbrd nrekly by the floral Publiihlnfp Company, 333 tVrxt SOlh Strrrf, »n Vork 
IlKRBEnT tv. COLi.iNOwooD, PrpKident and Editor. 
Jons J. Dillon, Tre.’«urer and General Manager. 
tt’M. F. Diluin, Sev^t-etai-y. Mrs. E. T. Royle, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION : ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreiprii countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04. equal to 8 s. Cd.. or 
Sij marks, or IOI 4 francs. Remit in money order, express 
order, pereoual clieek or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post Oflice as Second Class Matter. 
Advert isinpr rate.®. 75 cents per njtate line—7 words. References required for 
advertis«!ra unknown to us ; and cash must accompany transient orders. 
“ A SQUARE DEAL” 
tVe believe that every advertisement in this paper Is baeked by a respon¬ 
sible peraon. tVe use every i> 08 sible precaution and admit the aiivcrtisimc of 
reliable houses onl.v. But to make doubU sure, we will make ttood any lo.ss 
to jiaid subscribei-s 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 < ten called upon 
to adjust differences or mistakes between our subscrlbei-s 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 bo 
responsible for the debts of honest banknijits 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 adverti.ser. 
P llOF. MASSEY is right in advising against the 
use of ground limestone as part of a mixed fer¬ 
tilizer. If you want to use lime, use it in large 
enough quantities to have some effect upon the soil. 
The chief value of lime is not as a plant food or 
as a “filler,” hut as a chemical and mechanical help 
to the .soil You should use at least a ton to the 
acre in order to get results. U.se lime by itself—do 
not mix it with cheniical.s. 
* 
N OW we rejieat the advice to mix ii little Al¬ 
falfa seed in with the clover for Spring seed¬ 
ing. A pound or a little more per acre will pay. 
Tliere may not he much Alfalfa to start, but all 
that comes will help, and it will all help to pre- 
jiare or inoculate the soil and make it ea.sier to get 
a good seeding when the time comes for it. We also 
advise the u.se of Alsike clover mixed with tlie Red. 
The mixture will surely give a better stand than 
either variety alone. 
* 
H ere is a new idea which we would like to 
have illuminated. Has anyone ever u.sed a 
gasoline engine on an ice saw? The metal hired 
man has performed many odd jobs. Has he ever 
cut any ice? 
Have any of your readers had any experience with 
a ga.soline engine-driven iee-snw?. I have a 2^2 horse¬ 
power engine, and would like to mount it on a low 
sled with a 20 to .^2-in. circular rip-saw driven from 
under up through the ice. w. >r. d. 
New York. 
I N spite of all we have said over and over again 
peojile continue to send us imjiortant que.stions 
without giving any name or address. Mo.st of them 
seem to be per.sonal or family (piestions. They 
would be of no interest to the public, but we assume 
they are important. In some cases a stamp is en¬ 
closed while no clue whatever is given as to the 
name or address. Of course Ave can do nothing 
with such letters, and we are forced to say finally 
that hereafter no attention whatever can be paid 
to unsigned communications. 
* 
C OM.MT’XITY’ cold storage houses! There is a 
demand from readers for information about 
them. As it is now a large share of every peri.sh- 
ahle crop must be thrown on the market at a lo.ss. 
There is no Avay of holding it Imck, and it must 
therefore be thrown into a crowded market and al¬ 
most given away. The theory of the community 
cidd storage is that tlie surjdus in any neighbor¬ 
hood of egg.s, sweet corn, jieaches or other perish¬ 
able stuff might be held off the market till prices 
are adjusted or regulated. It is a good thing to 
try out. Who can tell us about such small .storage 
buildings, and how they have worked out? 
* 
S (»ME of our readers may not be very Avell post¬ 
ed on card games, hut little knowledge will be 
needed to understand the jiicture on i)age 2S9. The 
consumer is playing the two-sjiot against the ace! 
That is what he usually does when he goes a.gainst 
a couple of card sharjis like those shown in the 
picture. While Consumer is busy examining his 
low cards and wondering why he always gets them, 
“Cold Stora.ge” is jiassing the needed ace to “Food 
Speculator.” Consumer has lost about everything 
except his basket, and will lo.se that if the coinhin- 
ation against him can hold together. Now cold 
storage Avas one of the great blessed devel¬ 
opments that modern times have known. That 
i.s, it ought to have been, because through its 
use society may provide for the lean season by car¬ 
rying OA’er the surplus from the fat ones. Through 
the schemes of .speculators and robbers this benefi¬ 
cent plan has been used for ))urposes of robbery and 
(‘xtortion, and this picture of the card game shows 
lioAV it is done. “Consumer” should stop grumbling 
oAc RURAL NEW-YORKER 
at his cards and call in the fanner who is AA'orking 
outside. BetAveen them they could kick Speculator 
downstairs and compel (told Storage to do honest 
work for them. Quit gambling Avith card shai^s 
and clean them out. 
T H-VT is a good article on “Cover Crops” by Mr. 
Teator on page 270. There have been many 
reque.sts for such an article from the Hudson Val¬ 
ley. Few men are qualified to give better advice 
than Mr. Teator. The jn-ohlem of providing humus 
or organic mattei- for the orchard is a big one. 
.Some groAvers keep a Winter dairy very lai’gely to 
jirovide Winter work and manure for the orchard. 
The cover croj> proiiosition Avhen Avell worked out 
seems to harden up the tree growth, protect the 
soil and add humus. 
* 
A S you Avill see on page .”>00, Herbert Myrick has 
sued The R. X.-Y. for libel—claiming damages 
of .$750,000. In the great majority of cases a libel 
suit is an effort to muzzle or silence a newspaper. 
The plaintiff expects to bluff or frighten the paper 
.so that it Avill keep quiet. Xo man puts a muzzle 
on The R. X.-l’^. Various parties haA-e tried it Avith 
disastrous results fo them.selve.s. A prominent Xcav 
York man tried this a feAV years ago. As his at¬ 
torney slapped the iiajAers on the desk in front of us 
he said: 
“That U'iU Jceep you quirt for aichile!” 
The world knoAvs hoAV far that bluff Avorked. Xot 
long after that .suit Avas started Ave met a farmer at 
the Xew York State Fair, and the follOAving con¬ 
versation ensued : 
“I hear this man has sued j'ou!” 
“He has!” 
“IlOAV much does he Avant?” 
“J.Ie claims .$1.50.000!” 
“Can he win it?” 
“He says so!” 
“Could you pay it if he Avon?” 
“We think aa’o can pay all he thinks he can get!” 
“Then I'm going right home to begin.” 
“Begin what?'’ 
“Suit for judgment. ’J'his man's father did up 
my Avife's first cousin in a i»oultry ih'al. Tf there 
is to be any money in the family Ave’ll start early 
to get our share!'’ 
The wife's cousin is still Avaiting! That man 
started to bring his ca.se into court scA'cral times, 
but he alAvays halted. As he Avalked uj) the court- 
hou.se stejjs he Avas conscious of a shadow which 
inarched at his side—dark, .sinister and in.separahle. 
It Avas his life’s record—the scum of tuvked char¬ 
acter AA’hich had boiled up out of the years. That 
man kncAV that Avhen he entered the court-room 
even the hlinded eyes of .Justice could see that dark 
shadow at his side—and he neA’er entered! 
Mr. Herbert Myrick also has a record—also the 
scum boiled out of the vanished years. It Avill 
follow him Avherever he goes, and all the bluffs of 
a million years can never hide it in the court-room. 
There may he holders of the Myrick stock Avho. like 
the Avife's cousin, exiiect to get their share out of 
this libel suit. They Avill have a job borroAving 
money on the “probabilities'' of this case. 
* 
J T'DriE W.^RD, the attorney of the Wicks Commit¬ 
tee, played a quick but losing hand on the milk 
producers of the State host Aveek. In some Avay he 
succeeded in getting a hasty siiecial meeting of the 
hoard of directors of the Dairymen’s League in .VI- 
bany Avith the expectation that he Avould get a 
jirompt approval of the jirovisions of the bill Avhich 
he has been drafting for some month.s. He ap- 
jieared before the board and exidained the henefi- 
cent features of the bill, but failed to secure an in¬ 
dorsement of it. .Tndge Ward Avould find it hard 
to offer a greater insnlt to the intelligence of milk 
jiroducers than his ready assumption that they 
would indorse his hill for the intei-est of milk deal¬ 
ers. He did not ask the dealers to go to Albany to 
a]>prove it. That Avas not neces.sary. He had their 
apiiroval in adA'ance. The early draft of the bill 
had been to the city under confidential auspices, 
and discussed and revised and adjusted to meet re¬ 
quirements at the office of a prominent firm of 
laAvyers at 49 Wall Street nearly tAvo Aveeks liefore 
even the chairman of the joint committee had seen 
it. It AAms there disci..<sed and reA’fsed and approved 
by the repi’esentatiA’es of the hig milk dealers. .Tudge 
Wai-d did not need to Avaste their time nor their 
expense in a trip to Alhan.y, but what a gleeful 
chuckle he Avould have shot over the Avire to them 
if he had succeeded in getting the approval that he 
Avas so anxious to put on record in faA’or of his 
bill. We cannot discuss the bill in detail at this 
time because at this Avi-iting it is not released for 
iniblication, but Ave do venture- to say that in its 
Fobrn.q”y 
present form no member of the Legislature from the 
country, who hopes to return next year, Avould ven¬ 
ture to vote for it. 
Enclo.sed find clipping from Ffica Press. It seems 
to me that if Senator Wicks i.s as anxious as he ap¬ 
pears to be to please his constituents, he Avould in¬ 
quire how they A'iew his proposed marketing and milk 
legislation. ,j. .j. dart. 
Madison Co., X. Y. 
The cli])ping contains the following: 
“Hon. Charle.s W. Wicks. State Senator representing 
Oneida County, is anxious to learn as accurately as 
may be the consensus of opinion hereabouts oii this 
matter. Evidently he desii-es to represent his con¬ 
stituents and express their views as thoroughly as he 
can by a vote in the Legislature. Accordingly he makes 
the formal request that citizens of this county who hat’e 
any ideas or notions about the proposed .State con¬ 
stabulary shall Avrite him and tell him what they 
think, for his information. The invitation is a gen¬ 
eral one, and in it CA’erybody is included. 
That’s good! Xo one can serve as a wick in the 
lamp of legislation unle.ss he can pull up the oil 
of public opinion. It may be all right to create 
State constables to protect us, but most farmers 
Avould prefer to get something to protect first. Then 
the thieves are not all in the henhouses. For years 
various well-dres.sed thieves have been at the milk 
cans, the butter tubs and the cheese boxes. We have 
started after them—why not finish this job before 
starting new ones? We Avant Senator Wicks to is¬ 
sue a similar call for information from farmers and 
dairymen. Wo Avill issue the call for him in order 
to save time. Will every Xew York I’eader of The 
R. X.-Y. write Senator Charles W. Wicks. Albany, 
X. Y., and tell him just Avhat they think about 
marketing and milk legislation? Ask him in particu¬ 
lar Avhat he thinks of Senator ToAvner’s bill for es¬ 
tablishing a State market in Xoav York. T’se a 
postage stain 1 ) in a good cause! 
A 
L IXCOLX'S Birthday brought a ucav story of 
(he great Pre.sident, .shoAving his character and 
strong common sen.^ic. It seems that just hefore 
Lincoln Avas nominated for the Presidency he AA’as 
nffered the position of general counsel of the Xcav 
York Central Railroad at $19,000 iier year. Such a 
])o.sition Avould probably bring $1.50,000 uoaa-, but 
nearly GO years ago $10,000 Avas con.sidered a very 
lar,ge salary. When the offer AA-as first made Mr. 
Lincoln said at once: 
“What could I do Avith $10,000 a year? It Avould 
ruin my wife and boys to haA-e that much ineome. 
.\bout .$1,000 a year is all T get. year in and year out. 
as my share of my firm’s practice. I don’t believe 
I Avould better considei- it.” 
He finally refused the position chiefly because he 
felt that an income of this size Avould ruin his fam¬ 
ily! They had been brought up to Avork and econ¬ 
omize. and Lincoln Avas Avise enough to see that, not 
having been trained to make a good use of pro.s- 
perity, the Avife and boys Avould be ruined by this 
.sudden increa.se of aA-ailable mone.A-. It Avould be 
Avell for the countiy if some of the men Avho, onci* 
a year, have so much to say about Lincoln, could 
realize and practice more of the strong, houndy 
virtues Avhich he stood for. Too many men and 
Avomen of moderate circumstances are trying to ajie 
the manners and thought of the rich. Very fcAV 
peojile can stand sudden prosperity. !More people 
are ruined by riches than by poverty. You cannot 
find a man Avho has groAvn rich rapidly Avho is evi'r 
hajiity or truly patriotic. The curse of great Avealth 
Avould Avear it.'^elf out in one full generation if men 
and Avomen of the middle cla.ss Avould only realize 
that Lincoln’s greatness lay in his Avise judgment of 
human nature, and his practice of the homely vir¬ 
tues of common life. Let us quit envying and ajiing 
the idle rich, and be content to train our children 
as men and Avomen—not as monkeys and parrots 
Avho merely imitate and say Avhat they hear from 
the so-called “upper classes.” 
Brevities 
Alfalfa hay is groat stulT for brood soavs. 
Xot much u.se trying to reseed the bare spots in an 
old Alfalfa field. 
Hoav many stamps have you pasted on the .Albany 
statesmen? We printed their addresses several weeks 
ago. They Avant to hear from you ! 
Evera’ ton of stable manure might Avell have 25 
liouuds of acid phosphate scattered over it. The ma¬ 
nure is a great carrier for phosphoru.s. 
Every year brings us a great demand for mangels 
for stock feeding. With some of the big yields Ave read 
about there ought to be some money raising this crop. 
The facts about wool auctions in Xcaa' York .‘<tate 
are that they have been held in Otsego, DehiAvare and 
E.ssex f'ountie.s—not in Clinton. All were aided 1 
the Farm Bureaus. 
