382 
Jjhe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE EVSIXESS FAE^IER’S PAPER 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Ilomc)i 
Established 1800 
riiltIUhrd orrkly by tb« Raral Publiitfalngr Company, 383 tVost 30th Strret, »it Pork 
Herbert W. Coi-lingwood, President and Editor. 
.lOHN' J. Dillon, Tre.'surer and General Maiiaprer. 
Wm. F. Dillon, Secretary. _ Mrs. E. T. Royle. Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION : ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreiirn countries in tlie Enlrersal Postal Pnion. $2.01. equal to 3s. fid., or 
Stj marks, or 10?^ francs. Remit in mone.v order, e.vpress 
order, peisioual check or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post Oflice a.s Second Claas Matter. 
Advertisintr rates, 75 cents per nuate line—7 wortls. Referenees reqtiired for 
advertisers unknown to us ; and cash must accomimny transient orders. 
“ A SQUARE DEAL" 
tVe iM-lieve tliat every advertisement in this paper is backed by a I’pspon- 
Bible jjerson. We use every ixtssible precaution and admit the a<rveita.-in(? of 
reliable houses only. But to make doubly sure, we will make Rood any loss 
to mid subscribers sustained by trustiriR any deliberate swindler, irrespon¬ 
sible advertisers or misleaditiR 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 subscribei's and honest, 
lesponsible houses, whether advertlsei’s or not. We willinRly use our good 
offices to this end, but such cases should not be confused witli dishonest 
transactions. Wo protect subscribers again.st rogues, but we will not bo 
rps|>onslble for the debts of honest bankrupts sanctioned by the courts. 
Nolice of the complaint must be sent to us within one month of the time of 
the iran.saction, and to identify it, you should mention The Rural New- 
y ohker when writing the advertiser. 
“ Vitality ” 
T fTK R. N.-Y. has a mini her of readers w'ho move 
from place to place wi^li the .seasons and have 
the jwijier go with them. Here is a letter from one 
Northern man noAV wintering in Florida: 
Yon will note I have .vour paper follow me wliere- 
pvei- I go. J am far from home, but your paper i.s with 
me; however, I really did not start out to tell .vou this, 
'hut to .say how thoroughly I apprex'iate in your 
article “In Good Company,” “We just feel the respon- 
sihiJity of havinf) such friends." That expresses the 
spirit of your paper; it i.s its vitality, and no one has 
hotter reason to say this than I, for still I remember 
your aid, and most thankfully too, in foi’cing an honest 
deal for me. A. G. PORTER. 
It i.s true that we regard the confidence which 
onr jieople have in The R. N.-Y. as a great re- 
.siKUisihility. 
♦ 
W H recently called for reports on sending eggs 
I)y iiarcel post, and have received a Hood of 
(hem. The heart of it will be printed next week. 
We are surjin'sed to learn that many peojile are 
mailing eggs successfully. The eggs carry well, but 
the postage and heavy cost of package makes the 
scheme donhtfnl profit. 
* 
M'he R. N.-Y. was in error on February 24th in 
saying that ,7udge Ward secured a hasty meeting of the 
iioard of directors of the Dairymen’s Iveague to get a 
promjit approval of the Wicks bill. A hasty meeting 
was called for another purpose, and Mr. Ward’s aji- 
pcarance came up while there. C. xr. c. 
New York. 
I F .Judge AYard has been misrepresented in the 
slightest particular it is mo.st imiiortant to The 
R. N.-Y. to correct the statement. No consideration 
would or could induce us to print an untruthful 
word about him or anyone else. We have no per¬ 
sonal gi’ievaiice against Judge Ward. Our convic¬ 
tion is that be failed in a trust. He came to 
New York Cit.y with the Wicks Committee to rep¬ 
resent the people of the State, and the producers 
and consumers of milk particularly. He left it an 
advoea-te and a clranipion of the milk trust. He is 
trying to break down and destroy the one agency 
that made the m-Wk fight successful and substitute 
an agency that would not have the authority to do 
what the existing agency can do and did do. He 
is aiding men who have held the milk iiroducers of 
this State by the throat for a generation. He is 
trying to do it in the way it has always been done, 
the only way it can he done, to divide the or.gani- 
zation that defeated the trust and totally to de¬ 
stroy its strongest factor. The meeting evidently 
was not called at his instance, and we gladly make 
the correction; but it is equally true that he made 
the most of the opportunity. The material fact is 
not changed. There never was the slightest danger 
that he could get an approval of the bill from the 
League hoard. There is no danger of it now. 
K- 
T here was a splendid exhibition of apples at 
the roughkeepsie fruit show in connection 
with the State Fniit Groivers’ meeting. It would 
be hard to beat the color and fiavor and fragrance 
of that collection. As all knoAV, a few faithful sons 
of the Hudson A^’aHey have for years boldly pro¬ 
claimed that there is no spot on earth equal to their 
home for fruit iiroduction. They will not except the 
famous Rhine Ahilley or any other valley, mountain 
or plain. For years the public listened to the.se 
enthusiasts just as it does to all who try to decor¬ 
ate the map—and kept on eating Western fruit! 
These Hudson Valley men kept talking and now 
they have iK'giiii to move the world. No use talk¬ 
ing. the be.st consumers are now buying the Hud¬ 
son Valley fruit from choice, and are .willing to pay 
for it. With equal care in packing, it outsells the 
AVestern fruit, and will go on to higher rank and 
respect. It must be a source of great pride to men 
like Hepworth, Powell, Teator, Cornell and many 
others, to see the Hudson A'alley coming to its own. 
It means honesty and skill in packing, as well as 
.superior fruit. There were perhaps apiiles in 
that exhibition. It was the cream of the crop, yet 
ir>.0(K3 poor wormy aiiples sneaked into the pack¬ 
ages would do more to hurt the A'alley than this 
glorious collection could honor it! 
♦ 
W E now know just where Senator Chas. AA’. 
Wicks stands. Mr. A. ('. Benninger oi Go- 
Iniiihia County wrote .Senator AA'icks that the ina- 
joi-ity of farmers and dairymen in his section fit 
ored the Towner milk bill and the present Depart¬ 
ment of Foods and Markets. The Senator goes on 
record as follows: 
I am in receipt of your recent letter. The niember.s 
of the AA'icks Legislative Committee are bonding fvery 
effort to construct a bill which will conserve the in¬ 
terest of the farmers and the consumers. They have 
no otlier idea in mind. 
I eannot support the .so-called Towner hill and will 
do all that I can to pass the AA'icks Agriculture, Foods 
and Markets bill. 
Yours very sincerely, 
CHARLES W. WICKS. 
Th'at puts Judge AA'anl and Senator AA'icks out 
in the open where farmers can sjiray them with 
ink. The “hearing” on tiie AA'icks hill on Feb. 28 
proved to he a pojnilar demonstration against this 
scheme of AA^icks and Wai’d. The»politicians. many 
State employees, some “leaders” who do not lead, 
and some Avho want to expeidinent with farm in¬ 
terests, are hack of the bill. Tlie great majority of 
practical farmers ojipose it. The State House is 
full of men who are worried and anxious. The 
]ioliticians order them to siqiport this political 
measure, hut the “folks hack home.” who made them 
possible, order them to kill it. J'here will he an¬ 
other hearing on March 20. Before that rime the 
farmers must make Alhany understand or take a 
hack seat once more, just as they have started for 
the front. The R. N.-Y. has done its best to bring 
about this crisis in farm jiolitics. Now it is up to 
you to u.se your political power for your own in- 
terest.s. No matter what yoii have already done, 
get at it once more, right now, and make the Gov¬ 
ernor and the men who represent your county un¬ 
derstand that this present Wicks hill must he killed, 
and the Towner bill must be ])as.<ed. 
T he state Feed Dealer.s’ Association is reported 
di.sbauded. The reason for it is said to be that 
they wish to avoid prosecution by the Attorney 
General of the State. It is said that that official 
advised them to disband. They threaten political 
annihilation to the parties who oppose them, and 
presumably they mean trouble for any State ofii- 
cial who does not come around to their notion. 
Can it he that a suit against them is to be averted 
because of this threat? We do not know what 
strings are attached to this dissolution. Even if 
it is genuine, there are .still county associations. 
They deny that there is a National dealers’ asso¬ 
ciation. hut there is a National Feed AIanufacturer.s’ 
Association, and it seems to be as much opposed to 
farmers buying direct as is the State association. 
If the.se dealers have violated the law they should 
he punished just as much as a fanner .should who 
violates a law. It Avill be a serious blow to justice 
if these men are able to buy off their just desserts. 
That is not all; Ave should get .some arrangement 
so that farmers may be able to buy direct if they 
choose. That does not mean that farmers Avill so 
choose if they can deal fairly Avith these dealers, 
lint they need to be held from doing injustice, for 
their oavii good. Give us all AA’hat i.s right. 
* 
T II-AT Avork Avhich the chemi.sts of tlie AVi.^JConsin 
Experiment Station are doing is a great illus¬ 
tration of the seiwice Avhich science can render to 
fanning. For years in the battle between honest 
butter and oleo and other substitutes the chief ar¬ 
gument has been over the food value and digesti¬ 
bility. It has been easy for the large packers to 
find chemists and experts to testify that the sub¬ 
stitutes Avere every bit as good as butter. The 
dairymen knoAV better, but it Avas hard to find con¬ 
vincing arguments. Noav, as we see on page 369, 
the Wisconsin chemists find a ucav important prin¬ 
ciple in butter—a necessai‘y element, not found in 
other fats and oils. As Ave see from the picture at 
Fig. 151, it seems evident that this ncAvly discov¬ 
ered principle is ab.soliiterj'^ needed by youiig ani¬ 
mals and children in order to make proper groAvth. 
The substitutes may provide fats as food, but good 
lintter alone furnishes this growth element, and is 
therefore a necessity, especially for children! The 
March 10, 1017 
di.scovery and working out of this principle of life 
will prove of incalculable value to dairy fanners 
and blitter makers, for it puts butter in a class by 
itself. Avith no question about its superiority over 
oleo and other substitutes. It is this fundamental 
Avork, for which the chemist often receives scant 
credit. Avhich begins a rcA'olntion in industry. 
T Illl Avar in Europe has finally come down to a 
contest between the German and the Engli.<h 
fii.niers. .Soldiers at the front do the .spectacular 
p.irt of the fighting, but the men in the grain and 
potato fields at home will finally settle the AA-ar. 
Naiioleon said an anny marches on its stomach, 
and in .spite of all the development of Aveapons for 
killing men it is still true that food and forage—■ 
bread, meat and potatoes—^Avill decide the war. On 
the whole the English soil and climate are superior 
for farming piinioses to the German soil. On the 
other hand, German agriculture has taken higher 
rank than English, since England has negleeted 
fanning for nianiifaetnring .ind trade. The Ger¬ 
mans haA’e vast quantities of potash and are ob¬ 
taining nitrogen from the air, but they are probably 
.short of phosphate.s. The Engli.sh have little or no 
))ota.sh, but are well supplied Avith phosphates and 
nitrogen. Germany probably has the better organi¬ 
zation and also the higher farm spirit and the 
])ower of government to compel farm Avork. Eng¬ 
land is at la.^t aAA'ake to her food danger, and has 
guaranteed her farmers definite high prices for five 
years at least. Thousands of acres of English sod 
—1‘ich old lawns and pastures—are being ploAved 
np for planting. AAniile le.ss spectacular and bloody 
than the battle of the soldiers, this contest of far¬ 
mers Avill have e\’en greater effect upon the world's 
liistnry. The outcome aa’III decide the war. and 
greatly affect the history of England and all other 
nations Avho haA-e in years past supplied her Avith 
fond. 
• 
Recently I have hoard two farmers .say that prob¬ 
ably very few potatoes would be planted this season, 
booau.se of the high prices for which they can be sold; 
and, therefore, the present shortage is likely to be con¬ 
tinued through another year at least. I belie\’e that it, 
is possible to save .seed from potatoes that are eaten by 
cutting off and drying slightly, the seed end. If a small 
price were offered for .seed no doubt man.v small con-' 
sumers in country towns could be induced to save seed, 
and thus contribute to relieve the prospective short- 
.igo. F. .T. )!. 
New York. 
E look for a heavy planting of potatiAcs. 
Some of the seed used Avill be poor, but the 
crop Avill be cared for better than usual. There 
Avill be a great increase in garden and small lot 
planting—so great that it Avill affect the market. 
Most of the seedsmen have had more orders than 
usual even at the high prices. In fact some of 
them are tempted to sell most of their seed stocks 
for eating purposes. We think this Avould be poor 
business and bad policy. Our own reports indicate 
that there are still good .supplies of potatoes held 
hack largely through a shortage of cars. These 
will come upon the market later. AA^e shall not 
he sniTi'ised if .some who are holding potatoes back 
expecting even higher prices Avill hold too long ami 
find themselves badly liitten. AA’hen the consum¬ 
ers I'feally find that they can substitute rice ami 
cornmeal for potatoes they Avill not fully drop the 
habit, and in the end the pre.sent extravagant prices 
will injure potato groAvers. As for the plan of sav¬ 
ing tlie .«eed ends for planting it can be done on a 
small scale Avhere you are .sure of the variety. The 
seed pieces can be dusted with plaster and sulphur 
nr jiacked in sand. On garden scale they may he 
started in flats and the plants transplanted like 
lomatoes. The 'great trouble with buying .such 
pieces from town or A'illage people is that ymi 
would never he sure of the variety and might get 
a dozen varieties—early and late—in the same field. 
Brevities 
Do not overwork the soft horse. 
Gia'E the mother pig a fair chance. 
The knife for black knot—used below the knot! 
People who live in gla.ss houses should change their 
residence. 
IvOOK out for the man who has so much “snap” to 
him that he makes a snap judgment 
Lime is not “killed” or ruined by exposure in a pile. 
There is just as much “lime” left, but it is not in as 
good condition to spread, and may lump up in the field. 
Does any agricultural college attempt a correspond¬ 
ence course in advertising and salesmanship? For a 
modern farmer that would seem a mo^ necessary part 
of farming. 
The .school for colored people at Fort Valley, Ga., 
recently held a “Ham Show” at which were exhibited 
1()(M) hams and 100 dozen egg.s collected from negro far¬ 
mers. A fine demonstration of what to do AA'hen the 
boll AA'eevil has reached that section. 
