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TShe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
The Rural New-Yorker 
TUK BUSINESS FARMER’S PAPER 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban lIoraeH 
» Established isso 
Pnbibhrd nerkij by tho Knral Piibllibiiiir Company, S33 Wnt 80th Street, New Fork 
Herbert W. Coixingwood, IVesident and Etiitor. 
John J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. Dnj/iN, Secretary. Mils. E. T. Koyle, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION ; ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in tlio Universal Postal Union, $2.04, equal to 8s. Cd.,.or 
8^ marks, or lOJj francs. Hemit in money order, express 
order, pci-sonal check or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post Office as Second Class Matter. 
Advertising 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 backed by a respon- 
silde tjereon. We use every possible prtNNiution and ^mit tlie advertising of 
reliable houses only. But to make doubly sure, we will make good any loss 
to paid subfwribers sustained by tiaisting any deliberate swindler, irrespon¬ 
sible advertisers or misleoiling advertisements in our columns, and any 
such swindler will be publicly exiiosed. We are also often called ui)on 
to adjust differences or mistakes between our subscribers and honest, 
resixmsible houses, whether advertisers or not. We willingly use our good 
oflices to this end, but such cases should not be confused with dishonest 
transactions. We protect subscribers against rogues, but we will not bo 
resjjonsible for the debts of honest bankrupts sanctioiuKl 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 RuiLtL New- 
Yorker when writing the advertiser. 
S OME of our readers may not see the need of 
such a tester for hay or manure as is described 
by Mr. Shamel. In California many tons of Alfalfa 
hay and other material are bought for use in the 
orchards. Wliile some of our fniit growers have 
been laughing at the mulch system of handling or¬ 
chards, the Californians buy this hay to spread on 
the ground! They do not want to buy water, hut 
do want oi-ganic matter and any simple test which 
shows them how to buy what they want is as use¬ 
ful, in its way, as the Babcock test for milk. 
afe 
W E hope you will read the articles now appear¬ 
ing on farmers and the war. These will be 
continued for a time in order to make clear, if we 
can, the thought of jilain working farmers. The 
papers are full of iidvice given by city people and 
proxy fanners, but all this flood of words fails to 
represent the actual workers, who are exiiected to 
settle this war. We want brief, strong notes of opin¬ 
ion as to Avhat farmers ought to do. No long ar¬ 
ticles can he used. What Ave want is a gi'eat volume 
of short, iiointcd thought, that we may get th.e real 
farm sentiment. 
* 
T ice New .Jersey IvOgislature enacted the follow¬ 
ing law: 
1. The governing body of every incorporated city, 
borough, town, town.ship and village within this State 
shall have power to provide by ordinance for the licens¬ 
ing and regulating of roving bands of nomads, com¬ 
monly called gypsies, to fix penalties for the violation 
of the same, and to prescribe the manner of collecting 
said penalties and enforcing said ordinances. 
It does not .seem to be generally known that this 
law exists. In these times it is good to watch and 
regulate all strange characters in the crowded parts 
of the East where munitions are made and stored. 
New Jersey towns should handle the gypsy problem. 
* 
I N .spite of all we have said, last week there were 
close to a dozen important questions sent us 
without any signature Avhatever, It was of course 
impossible for us to tell where these questions came 
from, and they were not of general interest, al¬ 
though evidently of personal importance. As we 
have stated several times, we now pay no attention 
to these unsigned questions, and that will continue 
to be our policy. Very frequently we receive let- 
tei‘s Aveeks or months after these questions come 
finding great fault Avith us because no answer was 
returned. We are unable to understand why .sensible 
peojile should contniue to send anonymous letters 
when they wish to obtain .serious and important in¬ 
formation. 
* 
I AVAS very glad to read what you said about farmers 
and'the war. Please say some more, and don’t let the 
war be an excuse to forget the 35-cent dollar. J. F. 
E shall certainly see that our people do not 
forget the .35-cent dollar. That sort of a dol¬ 
lar is largely responsible for the present food crisis. 
It was the conviction that handlers and useless 
middlemen Avere getting nearly twice as much of the 
consumer’s dollar as came back to the farmer 
which led so many farmers to cut down their area 
of cultivated ground, and drove so many young men 
from the farm. The present shortage of farm labor 
is very largely due to the fact that other interests 
have been able to pay more attractive Avages to 
laborers than farmers could afford, while all labor 
is finally paid out of what is produced from the soil. 
All this time the economists have been presenting 
the figures to prove there was no such thing as a 
.35-cent dollar. Every farmer who ever .sent a crate 
of eggs, a can of milk or a bushel of potatoes for 
a middleman to sell for him knew better. So long 
as the 35-eent dollar exists the danger of Avorld 
famine will remain, for farmers cannot be dilven to 
increase their crops at a loss. We think public 
men now realize this. The Avar has taught the 
world great efficiency in killing men. Out of the 
Avar will come greater efficiency in keeping them 
alive and well fed. The Avorld aauU never forget its 
pi’esent great lesson of the superiority of biscuits 
over bullets, and also the deeper lesson that the 
biscuit supply Avill run short unless the farmers are 
guaranteed a fair chance. 
* 
W E seem to be pretty much alone among the 
farm papers in talking about the newly dis¬ 
covered principles in butterfat. The chemists at 
the Wisconsin Experiment Station are showing that 
butter contains vital principles Avhich promote 
groAATh. These principles are not found in other 
fats, yet they are a life necessity, particularly to 
childi’en. If this discovery can be popularized and 
put into the thought and understanding of the peo¬ 
ple, butter will be I’anked, as it .should be, in a 
class by it.self—superior to all its substitutes. 
What better Avoi-k can be done for dairying than to 
make this truth clear? EA'ery dairy advocate in 
the country ought to study out this proposition and 
pi-each it. Butter is not in the same class AAdth 
oleo on the basis of its food value. It is not only 
a food but a life giver. 
* 
B efore the food commission appointed by Gov¬ 
ernor Whitman of Noav York could plan their 
Avork properly they had to knoAv just how much 
food and .seed remained on the farms of this State. 
This meant a census of every farm, and the work 
had to be done at once. Three great agencies were 
promptly hitched like a three-hor.se team to the 
job. These Avere the agrieultui'al educational sys¬ 
tem, the farm bureau, and the State educational de¬ 
partment. On April 17 th'is census Avas authorized. 
On the 10th 250,000 copies of the questions were 
lirinted and on the 2.3rd school teacher.s, pupils and 
superintendents began to take the records. By the 
25th all AA'ere taken, and by the .30th the figures were 
tabulated and given out. It Avas the cheapest, the 
quickest and probably the most accurate farm cen¬ 
sus ever taken. What will be the u.se hereafter in 
spending great sums of money on a State census? 
* 
O VER in New England a number of farmei’s are 
Avorking a bu.siness-like plan for making sure of 
a guaranteed price. They make a contract with 
some manufacturer to raise potatoes for the opera¬ 
tives and deliA^er next Fall at .$1.50 a bushel. A 
number of such contracts have been made—^'both 
sides being sati.sfied. The farmer takes a risk on 
this Avith .seed at $10 or more per barrel, and a 
season which promises anything—good or bad. It, 
is a fair rl.sk, hoAvever, and knowing Avhat he is to 
expect the farmer may go ahead with his plans in 
full confidence. That is the way to inci’ease pro¬ 
duction and provide a full supply of food. The 
farmer must have some fair guarantee of price, 
either in a direct contract like those here mentioned 
or a government guarantee of a certain minimum 
price. Why is this not fair? Every other interest 
in the country insists upon knoAving in advance Avhat 
the minimum price will be for its products. Why 
should the most import.>nt industry of all be the 
only one left out of this plan? 
O T’R readers a.sk Avhat has become of the Town¬ 
er milk bill—the most important farm legLsla- 
tion started at Albany this year. The best ansAver 
is given in the folloAving letter Avritten by Senator 
ToAvner to the NeAv York Sun: 
The responsibility for preventing a vote in the Sen¬ 
ate on the Towner milk bill must be placed on Senator 
Brown, Republican leader in the Senate, as he per¬ 
sists in his refusal to let the bill be advanced from the 
general order calendar so that the Senate may vote on 
it. 
Notwithstanding the demand of the Consumers 
League and the IIouseAvives’ Iveague and the many 
thousand consumers of milk in New York city; the 
Dairymen’s League of New York State, consisting of 
over forty thousand farmers who produce milk; the 
State Grange and the Pomona Grange, representing an 
army of producers; all of \yhich have by official action 
approved of the Towner bifi. Senator Brown persists 
in an opposition that to me seems unreasonable and 
inexplicable. 
We have .said several times that the worst poli¬ 
tical enemy the farmers and dairymen of New York 
State have is Elon R. BroAvn of Watertown. The 
strange part of it is that he represents the famous 
“North Country,” where dairying is the chief busi¬ 
ness; and where farmers demand a trial of the 
Towner law. Senator Brown is giving a double ex¬ 
hibition—personal and political. He makes it clear 
how, under our present State political system, one 
man—the “leader” of his party—can hold up legis¬ 
lation and prevent a fair expression of what the 
people want. We understand that Senator Brown 
defies criticism and states that he is master of his 
district and that no one can beat him. Will the 
May 12, 1917. 
farmers of the “North Country” and Jefferson 
County in particular, stand for that? They haA’e 
far greater reason to fight BroAvn than the dairy¬ 
men had to fight Wad.SAvorth a few years ago. We 
think the time has come to organize a campaign 
against Elon R. Brown, and see whether the far¬ 
mers Avill whitewash him or blackball him. While 
we are waving the red, white and blue, let US not 
forget the enemies in brown. 
4c 
W E know Avhat it means to talk about trans¬ 
planting Alfalfa roots as you would cab¬ 
bage. Most of us have come to regard grass. Al¬ 
falfa and cloA’er as crops for thick seeding, and it 
.seems great non.sen.se to talk about setting these 
plants out. Yet Ave feel inclined to stake our repu¬ 
tation as a jirophet (Avhich we admit is not worth 
much) by saying that 10 years from noAV trans- 
lilanting Alfalfa will be a common pi’actice on our 
smaller Eastern farms. We do not advise anyone 
to “plunge” on this practice or .spend too much 
money on it, but Ave would like to have trials made 
on a small scale. We think Cossack and Grimm Al¬ 
falfa handled in this way Avill greatly help on poul¬ 
try farms or gardens. The indications are that the 
Semipalatinsk Alfalfa can be made A^ery useful in 
building up old pastures. Noav just understand fully 
our position on this. Personally Ave believe there are 
conditions under Avhich this transplanting Avill pay. 
We realize the feeling against such radical inno¬ 
vations, and simply suggest a fair trial at moderate 
expense. 
4c 
T WO weeks ago we advised a New England man 
to rai.se buckwheat on his idle farm land. 
This man had feAV facilities for cultiA'ating or hoe¬ 
ing a crop, and he needed one Avhich dispensed Avith 
hand labor. Where a farmer is able to give a croj) 
fair attention he may well plant a few extra aci'es 
in corn. This crop Avill give at least a fair yield on 
rough meadoAv or pasture if reasonably fitted and 
limed. Some of the flint A'arieties, long groAAUi in 
Noav England, Avill yield more bread-making food 
on Avild land than any other grain. This flint corn 
is usually hard and sound, and makes good meal. 
The stalks are slender and make fine fodder. Tluuv 
are thousands of Eastern farms on which a foAA'^ 
extra acres of .such corn can be groAvn this year 
Avithoiit great expense. It ought to be well fer¬ 
tilized if possible, but if that cannot be done a 
light application of acid pho.sphate will pay. We 
shall need every bushel of corn that can be groAvn 
this year. This is not only to provide bread, but 
to keeii doAA’ii the feed bilks. Nothing AA’ill bring 
the price of feed doAvn to earth but a bumper corn 
crop. We can all help at this with small cost. 
* 
They needn’t worry about the farmers. They will 
do their share and then some, but some of us prohibi¬ 
tion farmers feel rather discouraged at the idea of 
growing more grain as long as six hundred million 
bushels of it is being Avasted in booze. n. f 
Iowa. 
HE smallest part of our worry has to do with 
the farmers and Avhat they will do in providing 
food. They knoAV their duty and have never yet 
failed to respond. Give them a chance and they 
will make this problem of feeding the world a sure 
thing. The great majority of our grain giwers 
Iwe in States AA’hich are already “dry” or jiretty 
well parched. That is Avhy they feel as they do 
over this use of bread-making grain for booze. And 
who can blame them? In all the great plans noAv be¬ 
ing made for “efficiency” in saving bread-making 
food this Avaste of grain for liquor-making is both 
foolish and Avicked. The liquor men are now claim¬ 
ing that only a veiy small part of the country’s 
grain crop is used for breAving and distilling. They 
are ansAvered by their OAvn figures. A few years 
ago they Avere printing the figures to show how 
farmers could hardly live if the nation’s booze Avere 
cut off. Why not try the experiment by turning 
this grain into bread for a feAv years and give booze 
a rest? 
Brevities 
Plant common sense along with your garden seeds. 
M"e have all got to change our food habits to some 
extent. 
Some farmers do but imitate a mule by holding fast 
to some exploded rule. 
And now the price of ice is to be raised. Can any 
human being give a reason for it? 
True political club Avork means clubbing together 
so as to u.se a club on the enemy. Who is the enemy? 
Anyone Avho steals your rights. 
The county agent of Cochi.se Co.. Arizona, offers a 
bounty of five cents a pint for house-flies. With fly¬ 
traps and stables and back-doors thousands of these 
flies may be caught. 
