878 
The Rural New-Yorker 
TUF. liUHlSKSFS FARMER’S PAPER 
A National Wookly Journal for Country and (suburban Ilomeii 
Established isso 
I'nbibhrd iii-rklj hj the Rural Piibllshini; Company, SS3 W>«t 80lh fitreet, N»w Fork 
IlKRBKRT W. COLMNOWOOD, I’resulont and Eclitor. 
John' J. Dillon, Tre.'«urer and fieneral Manager. 
>" M. r. DiiaixjN*, Secretiiry. Mks. K. T. Koylk, Associate Editor, 
SUBSCRIPTION : ONE DOLLAR A YEAR ^ 
To forfiKn countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04, equal to 8s. 6d.. or 
81^ inai'ks, or 101^ francs. Kcniit in money order, express 
order, jiersonal clieck or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post Omce as Second Claas Matter. * 
Ad vertlsinpr rates, 7r. cents per apatc line—7 words. Keferenccs required for 
ativci’tisei's unknowu to us ; and casli must accompany transient orders. 
“A SQUARE DEAL” 
We believe that every advertisement in this paper is hacked by a respon- 
rtble peiwon. Y e use evei-y possible precaution and a<imit the advertisinir of 
rchanle housen only. But to make doubly sure, we will make ijood any loss 
to paid Kubscribers sustained by trusting? any deliberate swindler, irrespon¬ 
sible advertisers or misleafUnp 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 subscrtbeis and honest, 
responsible houses, whether acivertisers or not. We willincrly \ise our eooci 
omces this end, but such cases should not be confused with dishonest 
transactions. We protect subscribei-s aprainst rojrues, but we will not be 
iTsponsiblc for the debts of honest bankrupts sanctioned by the courts, 
IsoticG of the complaint must be sent to us within one month of the time i>i 
ft?' it, you should mention Tmk Kukal New- 
Yorker when writintf the mlvertiser. 
N ow we know sometliins more about tbo.se 
jioisonous beans Avhich were mentioned last 
week. "J'liey iire known to tlie trade as “Bnrina,” 
‘•KaiiRoon,” “.Tava” and “Ki-atok.” Tlie beans are 
of Lima bean .species (Phaseolns Innatns) and tliere 
is no question about tlie ])ossi]de dan>?or from eat¬ 
ing them. Before the present >var, France and 
(lerinany aecejjted the.se beans under strict super¬ 
vision and insjiection, but now tliese countries take 
no ciiances and refu.se entr.v to the bean.s. Tliey are 
not lit for bninan food, and tiiis country will jirop- 
erly liar tlieni out! 
* 
U XDiOll tlie new retail prices for milk in New 
York City the consumer pays 12 and 12 cents 
a ipiart He pays more than that, for at least one 
million and a half of peojde eat at restaurants or 
I'lililic dining rooni.s. Milk is a favoi-ite food at 
these places and it costs, as served, 15 cents or 
more. XTow when the producer gets four cents a 
<piart for this milk Avhat ])art of the consumer's 
dollar does he receive? We have in mind two 
I)rotliei-s. One lives in New York and pays 12 
cents a quart for milk.' The other is a dairyman and 
receives a little more than four cents. Yon will 
have a job to convince tliese men that the 25-cent 
dollar is “//ic vain repetilion of an economic fal- 
lacp.’' 
Oie RURAL NEW-YORKER 
the war and then hack ont? Has not the govern¬ 
ment told ns that this enlisting for farm work was 
the same as enlisting for fighting? Mliat about it, 
T'ncle Sam? 
* 
O X page S18 Ave printed a note from an elderly 
farm couple in I’ennsylvania. They have spent 
long years trying to keep on top of fanning, only 
to fail. X"ow comes another: 
Yes, there are plenty others in the cla.ss with M. ()., 
page SIS. We were married the same year, 1S70, 
worked hard, early and late, 40 years on a farm; fin¬ 
ally paid off the mortgage. Lately sold the farm, got 
hardly enough to buy ns a hon.se in a village; noth¬ 
ing doing now on the farm, house vacant. The cem¬ 
etery we may go to later, but not the poorhouse, for 
Ave have quite a family of children ail doing well. 
They are not farmers, no, not one. Who can blame 
them ? j Q 
('onnecticut. 
Ill this case the profit came in the good crop of 
children—Avliich is ever the best crop any farm can 
liroduce. We print these doleful reports just as 
Ave jiriiit other reports of farm success—in order 
that the truth may he made knoAvn. There is a rea¬ 
son for the decay of farming Avliich has been going 
on for some years in mo.st of our Eastern States. 
It has been a social and industrial di.sease. and some 
farmers liaA'e been able to stand uji again.st it better 
than ofher.s. Tlie di.sease is faulty distribution be¬ 
tween producer and con.sumer, and its germ is the 
25-cent dollar. 
4c 
I T has been suggested that every conntiy home 
from Avliicli a man enters the Fnited States 
XaA’y, may Avell have the following card in the 
AvindoAv: 
“A MAN FROM TIIIS HOUSE IS XOAV SERV¬ 
ING HIS COUNTRY AT THE FRONT IN 
THE UNITED STATES NAVY.” 
■\Ye might suggest another appropriate card for 
the AvindoAV of a farnilionse: 
The man of this house is in a hark field and the 
iroman is in the kitchen—both serving their coun¬ 
try l))j serving humanity. 
S EVERAL jieople Avrite asking about fhe gar¬ 
bage ashes at the great NeAv York hotels. 
There i.s, Avithont doubt, a vast amount of jilant 
food going to Avaste from this source, hut it cannot 
he handled by indiA’idnals. The hotels Avill not 
bother to ship it, but Avould be glad to have it taken 
aAvay each da.A'. The only Avay to handle it suc¬ 
cessfully Avill be to organize some company for col¬ 
lecting the ashes. This company can operate for 
some organization of farmers and ship in carlots 
as wanted. The ashes are here and they can lie 
obtained at a fair price, hut the hotels Avill not 
ship them or spend any time over the Inisiness. 
Some large organization like the NeAV York State 
Fruit GroAvers could organize this business prop¬ 
erly, and obtain cheap plant food for its uiemher.s. 
* 
I HAA'E kept .sheep, poultry and a rifle a good many 
years; have .shot a good many dogs for killing both 
sheep and poultry and in every case Avhere the owners 
of the dogs were responsible they have iiaid the dam¬ 
age. AVhere the owner did not huAm anything the town 
paid the- damage, Kesides, the ‘Sheep Rroedors’ Asso- 
ciation gives a reward of $10 for every dog shot chas¬ 
ing sheep. This is the way Ave do business in Con¬ 
necticut. s n TV 
Rristol, Conn. 
I -r looks like good business, too. Of cour.se every 
intelligent man knows that a laiv may go sailing 
through the Legislature and carry the Governor’s 
signature and still proA'e a big fizzle unless the jieo- 
ple help enforce it. A dog hnv Avill not he Avorth 
one single bark unless the farmers put a groAvl into 
it. The Connecticut Avay looks good. There is .spice 
in it and no wooden nutmeg at that. Vo dog has 
any husiness, or right, roaming at large off his 
oirncr's farm! 
* 
XXT’E hear a good many reports of Avorkmen in 
VV factories avIio have “.slumped” on farm la¬ 
bor. Last Sjiring these men volunteered to go ont 
during A'acation and AA'ork for farmers. At that 
time they claimed their action Avas just as patriotic 
as that of men avIio volunteered for service in the 
trenches. Noav, Avlien the farmer calls for help in 
fighting Aveeds and for haying, these jiatriots hack 
out and refuse to go. Some of them boldly and 
impudently say they never intended to go. They 
Avere just hlnffing—trying to get the farmer to 
“speed up” and put in more of a crop than he could 
properly care for. Great patriots these are! What 
does the government do to soldiers who enlist for 
I N spite of the war and fhe European need of food 
other than luxuries, this nation exported .$.‘14,090,- 
.229 Avorth of nuts and fruits during the 10 months 
ending in April of thi.s year. At the end of the 
Avar the exports of fruit Avill he greatly increa.sed 
for, Avithont question, many of the fine orchard sec¬ 
tions of Europe have been devastated and ruined. 
It Avill he man.v years before these orchards can he 
brought hack to full production, and Europe Avill de¬ 
mand fruit. 
♦ 
A WRITER in the Forum, Avho seems to have the 
fact.s, sa.vs it AA'ill he impossible to “stai'A'c ont 
Germany.” It is true that most of the German peo¬ 
ple haA'e been forced to restrict or change their diet, 
hut this seein.s on the AA’hole to haA'e been something 
of an adA'autage. It ai)iiears tliat German scientists 
haA'e long known that the national diet Avas not 
satisfactory. The people ate more than they really 
needed and too much of fat. The Avar has made it 
jiossible to change this diet and the result has been 
good. It is said that the Germans as a people are 
better for the change and that certain diseases 
Avhich result or are made AA'orse by over-eating liaA’e 
largely disaiipeared! This is a cheerful view of 
it at least, and aa’c helicA^e there is truth in it. 
The aA'erage adult (either man or Avoman) eats too 
much. By that Ave mean more than they need to 
sustain a fully-formed body and to provide for daily 
energy. Eating becomes a habit Avith most of ns 
and during the latter part of life usually dcA'elops 
into a bad habit. Diet or die may be the decree for 
an individual or a nation. 
He 
Y OU find the daily papers Avell filled these days 
Avith “reiiorts” about farmers. All these try 
to shoAv the poorest, meanest side of human nature. 
X"ow it Avill be scolding the farmers’ aaMa'CS for 
wasting food. Next Ave hear that farmers are groAv- 
ing rich by holding back food and demanding ex¬ 
travagant prices. Then comes Avord that farmers 
are cheating their helpei-s, refusing to buy Liberty 
lionds or refusing to fall in Avith some of the man.v 
schemes Avhicli are being organized to “help the 
farmer.s.” M’e helicA’^e there is a Avell-organized 
movement to spread these “reports” in an effort 
to discredit and injure country people. The object 
is to make the consumers in town and city believe 
that the farmers are I’esponsihle fur high jirices 
and expeusiv'e living, so that attention Avill be taken 
from the schemes of speculators and middlemen. 
The proposed food bill Avill not state any definite 
policy, but Avill put great poAver into the hands of a 
few men. We believe there is a clear, definite move¬ 
ment on the part of certain city interests to preju- 
July 14, 1917. 
dice the public mind against farmers so that the 
food laAvs Avill be enforced against farm interests. 
M’e think the plan Avill fail, hut the daily press is 
a strong and dangerous Aveapon for such schemes. 
I he AA'ay to fight it is for farmers and country jiec)- 
ple to get right into the papers Avith their own side. 
♦ 
^piIE game being played by the big milk dis- 
1 trihutors in Noav York City is uoav clearly evi¬ 
dent. By boosting the retail price of milk in the 
city they expect to reduce the consumption. There 
can he onl.A that result nnles.s effort.s are made to 
show the public that milk, even at the higher price, 
is a most economical food. Consumption Avill he re¬ 
duced, but the dealers figure that tliese high prices 
AA'ill induce farmers to hn.v or raise more coaa's and 
thus increase the supply. This may not be done 
at once, but the reasoning is that high retail prices 
Avill lead to this. Tlien, Avith decreased demand 
there is sure to he a surplus of milk and unless the 
organized dairymen are prepared to handle it the 
dealers can AA’ork hack into tlie good old times AA'lien 
they had tilings their oavu Avay. This Avill surely 
happen in the future unless farmers prepare for it 
at once. The Dairymen’s League should he hard at 
Avork f.rganizing plants for pasteurizing and ship¬ 
ping milk direct. In that Avay alone lies safety. 
Do it noAAL 
* 
W E are making .‘loiiie prosi-ess in regard to 
Senator Elon R. BroAvn and .Tefferi^on Co., 
N. Y. The question is, Avliy do the .Teffer.son Comity 
farmers continue to send Mr. BroAvn to Albany? AYe 
have had .scA^eral reasons. Here is one endorsed by 
a number of parties: 
“Our people know Mr. Brown for a bluffer and a 
dominating politician. They know him and do not like 
him, but he can jjot more jobs than anybody at Al¬ 
bany, and gets more money for roads and public ‘graft’ 
V*t" men we conld send. We know he has 
little use for ns as farmers, but he has a machine built 
on public jobs and public money that is hard to boat.” 
Probably this frank statement has much ti*nth, 
jet it seems hard to helieA’e it AA'lien aa'c con.sider 
.Tefferson County and its jieople. The Grange is 
very strong up tliere, and the great “North Coun¬ 
try’ has a fine reiintation for independence and hon¬ 
esty. The chief, or only, business in .Teffer.son 
(’ounty is dairying. Life and about all it stands 
for is tied up to the coaa'. The dairj'inen knoAA’^ that 
Senator Brown has not befriended them—hut that 
he has turned them down and is es.sentially their 
enemy. Who then expects ns to believe that in ex¬ 
change for a few dozen .small jobs and a few thou¬ 
sand dollars of public graft these strong and intel¬ 
ligent men Avill support BroAvn—the enemy of tlieir 
husiness? AAliat is the ansAA'er? Why does Jeffer¬ 
son County continue to endorse BroAvn? Will some 
one come foi-Avard artd claim that Senator Brown, 
on his record, is a true friend of the farmers? 
Ht 
“3’eR your American egg producers to hold on. 
I mean the men mho have hred their hens to Jay." 
T hat is taken from a letter from Tom Barron, 
the famous English breeder, yve shall soon 
jiriut a statement from Mr. Barron shoAAdng Avhat 
the AA-ar has done to the English laying hen. War 
cirts ont the Ava.ste and the non-essentials, and the 
farm stock Avhich does not pay passes out. Many 
of the English poultrymen are prosperous, but ap¬ 
parently the fancy or exhibition breeders are haAdng 
a struggle. In Avar times few care to feed good 
grain for the production of handsome tail feathei's 
or a comb exactly true to .shape. “Utility” is the 
lesson AA'e shall learn from English experience. A 
good many American hen men are facing a hai-d 
problem. Every poor laying hen they keep over 
for another season Avill carry them a little nearer 
ruin. With the present outlook for the corn crop 
Ave can see little chance for lower grain prices. Yet 
in the present slaughter of poultry the men Avho have 
the capital and the nerve to hold on will finally pay 
ont. 
Brevities 
The copper-plated potato vine laugh.? at the blight. 
The time to kill the goo.se i.s when the high co.st of 
feed puts the golden egg out of business. 
AA’-iieatless days for the hen. Barley, oats and 
beef scrap should take the place of wheat. The poul¬ 
try experts should give ns the fullest experiments 
Avith barley. 
Sea^eral of our New Y'ork readers have asked if the 
operation of capoiiizing poultry requires a license in 
that State when the operation is done for others and 
for pay. We understand that legally capoiiizing is 
cla.ssed as a veterinary operation. When such opera¬ 
tions are done for pay a license is required, as is the 
ease vuth dishorning cattle. The question has never 
been taken up we understand, and the custom has de¬ 
veloped so that anyone doing caponizing for others may 
make a nominal charge for the operation. As matters 
now .stand, it is not likely that anyone will be molested 
by the authorities for going ahead and doing thi.s v'ork 
for other people. 
