1028 
“Che RURAL NEW-YORKER 
f;ro\v varieties least suhjeet to simit and avoid using 
seed from smutty fields. Very little is definitely 
known as to the relative suscei)til)ility of the dif¬ 
ferent varieties. Dawson’s Golden Chaff is much 
more liable to smut than Gold Coin. Fultz and 
Jones' No. 6 are said to he quite resistant. The rea- 
.son that loose smut is not controlled hy treating the 
seed with chemicals is because the fungus is inside 
the seed wheat kei’nel.s. Infection occurs at flowei’- 
ing time. Infected kernels appear like healthy ones, 
hut have the fungus inside and will produce smutty 
plants if sown. 
Small Factories and Direct Dealing 
K have often intimated that the country would 
be better off if some of the small manufac¬ 
turing enterprises of 50 years ago could be brought 
hack into operation. Many of us remember the 
lime when through'New England and Eastern New 
York every little sti’eam or pond had its small fac¬ 
tory, making o.se of water i)ower. Each shop em¬ 
ployed a few workii:en, a^cl they turned out a very 
high quality of shoes. ;k/tl. woodenware, and var¬ 
ious other things which requi'^d high skill. These 
little factories were of great he^p to the neighbor¬ 
hood. ' They gave some employment to farmers, 
were conducted on strict business principles, kept 
money at home, and gave chai’acter and importance 
to the home town. Most of them ha'-’e now been 
wiped out through concentration in manufacturing. 
'I’he little shops were usually starved out through 
competition, and in place of a dozen or 20 small 
shops, there will now be found two or three very 
large ones, located in some central town. Of course 
the argument is that this change of industry has 
been a good thing for society. It means greater 
ofliciency, and ought to mean better social and fin¬ 
ancial conditions. This, however, has not always 
proved true. The sub.stitution of foreign labor 
])acked closely into the manufacturing town, has nev¬ 
er been able to take the place of the freer, independ¬ 
ent labor which made these little shops famous. It 
is sometimes argued that if this change had not 
been made, the world could not now be supplied 
with manufactured goods. "We think that claim is 
unsound. The little shops would fully have kept 
up with the demand. They would have given us 
goods of even a higher quality, the money would 
have been more evenly distributed, and the country 
or rural districts would never have lost as they 
have done. Further than that, there never would 
have been the great army of idle, unskilled or des¬ 
perate people which has unquestionably been pro¬ 
duced by our manufacturing system. We wish that 
more of the.se little enterprises could be started 
anew. Every week brings us a proposition made 
by some farmer’s family to start a small manu¬ 
facturing enterprise, yet we hesitate to advise them 
to go ahead, knowing the fate which has come to 
similar enterjirises in the past. There are many 
people of skill and good business ability who could 
develop an excellent tiade in certain lines of cloth, 
knit goods, and woodenware, if they only had a 
fair opportunity to obtain raw material, and could 
obtain a reasonable share of country trade. Now 
and then a man succeeds in this work. 
t^’e have one ca.se whei'e a man in Massachusetts 
learned how to make a fine quality of popcorn pro¬ 
ducts. He located in a small place, began in a 
very small way, and by studying the business was 
able to develop simple irachineiy for doing the 
work. One would have thought that popcorn was 
a very small item upon which to ba.se a business, 
and it would seem at once as if the larger candy 
manufacturers Avould quickly get rid of a small 
rival, yet this man has prospered, and slowly built 
up a great brnsiness. He writes us that he recently 
bought three tons of popcorn and paid cents a 
pound for it. As an old farmer, and naturally a 
close buyer, this man has found that the corn for 
which he paid 6^/4 cents, was originally purchased 
from farmers for less than three cents, and some 
of it for even one cent a pound. Now this man, 
like every other small manufacturer, finds that in 
order to make his business go, he must buy his 
raw material at a reasonable figure, and he finds 
that the middlemen control the destiny of the small¬ 
er manufacturers if dt is necessary to buy raw ma¬ 
terial through them. This man, therefore, wants 
to know where he can buy large quantities of pop¬ 
corn direct from the grower. He is willing to pay 
more than the middleman would; that is he will 
give the farmer an extra price if by doing so he 
can get the corn for less than the middleman 
charges him. Here we have the whole story of the 
small manufacturer. His hope for success is based 
iipon two things. He must turn out a supei’ior ar- 
ticb‘. which he can absolutely guarantee from day 
to day, and he must buy this I'aw material if pos¬ 
sible direct from the producer. He cannot hope to 
live in competition with the big manufacturers, and 
produce an ordinaiy grade of goods, and buy raw 
material through the middleman. We think it is 
wise for farmers and producers to support these 
smaller manufacturers and give them a chance to 
get on their feet. They deserve two kinds of sup¬ 
port, and that means direct trade both Avays. Far¬ 
mers shquld try to sell the raw matei-ial direct 
to them at a fair price, and they .should go out of 
their waj^ if need be, to buy goods made hy these 
smaller manufacturers who purchase the raw ma¬ 
terial direct. Something- of this soi*t must come 
in the future, and Ave belieA’’e it is one of the meth¬ 
ods for helping to solve the present big industrial 
ju’oblem. 
The Sale of Skim-milk 
H ere in the mid.st of market milk con.suming 
centers a quart of milk brings the farmer ana 
dealer more money than if it is sold in any other 
form. Occasionally Avhere one has a special market 
there may be an exception to this nile. The afore¬ 
mentioned fact has been the cause of the downfall 
of the creamery in Southern NeAV England. Recent 
figures on Ike cost of milk production in Connecticu*- 
AA'ould indicate that the aA^erage dairyman Is 
hardly breaking eA'en at present prices for market 
milk. Can the retailer naturally be expected to 
sell skim-milk on his route unless the price re- 
cived plus the price for the butter fat taken from 
the Avhole milk to produce it at least equals the 
price of Avhole milk i>er quart? 
With milk at the prevailing price of 12 cents per 
quart, skim-milk from 4% milk would haA'e to bring 
eight to nine cents to break even. One quart of 
milk equals 2.15 Ib.ss; 
2.I5x.04=:.086 lb.s. fat in 1 qt. of 4% milk .28 divided 
by ..SO equal .28 lbs. 30% ci’eam required to contain the 
.086 lbs. fat. 
.086x.50 equal .$.043 value of fat ^ 50c. per lb. 
12—.043 equal .077 price that must be received for 
remaining skim-milk which is 2.15—.28 equal 1.87 lb. 
1.87 :.077 : :2.15 :x. 
1.87x equal 16.555. 
X equals 8.8c per quart that must be received for 
skim-milk to break e\’en on gross returns. To pay 
for the work of separating the cream, etc., the skim- 
)U'ilk should bring nine cents per quart. In this 
problem butter fat is put at 50 cents per pound as a 
possible aA’erage; if sold in form of SAveet cream 
for various uses it Avould bring more; if sold for 
butter-making purposes a little less. 
Is skim-milk worth this amount when compared 
to whole milk? According to Dairy Divi.sion Milk 
Plant Letter No. 40, when whole milk sells at 12 
cents per quart, .skim-milk is wmrth 12.4 cents i>er 
quart for protein and .3 cents per quart for en¬ 
ergy. It can be seen, therefore, that for the con¬ 
sumer to get the real value out of skim-milk its 
composition and methods of using it should be un¬ 
derstood. 
Except for a .slight increase in protein and sugar, 
skim-milk is like whole milk with most of the fat 
in the Avhole milk displaced Avith water. Since fat 
is the groat energizer, this explains Avhy skim-milk 
should be u.sed mainly as a source of protein. Its 
greatest value lies in using it in cooking where wa¬ 
ter Avas formerly used. For example, to cook a cup¬ 
ful of cereal in three cups of .skim-milk adds as 
much protain as that contained in three eggs. 
The sale of skim-milk for what it is Avorth in 
the home affords the dealer a more profitable method 
of disiAOsing of his surplus milk than any other. 
So long as it is sold under proper label, and so 
long as it is advertised so that consumers use it 
Avisely, the sale of skim-milk is a good thing for all 
concerned. At present its use in the cities is largely 
confined to bakeries and the like, and here the deal¬ 
er can afford to sell it cheaper than on a regular 
route, since it is sold in large amounts in cans, and 
the cost of handling is much less. 
Connecticut. ii. f. judkiks. 
A New Jersey Farmer’s Liability 
I would like to know a little about this liability law. 
Most farmers thiuk they are exempt. Are they, or 
are they only exempt from the iusurauee? A lot of 
the farmers have been coaxing me to go in the thrash¬ 
ing business for several years past, so last year I did it, 
and thrashed on 50 or more farms. I have tAvo ma¬ 
chines thrashing; one of them is the only machine for 
miles that will handle peas and beans and such things. 
That is farm work; does that exempt me from the 
law or insurance? That is a thing that is discussed 
with a lot of farmers, and I have not found one who 
is right sure of it. I asked an insurance agent what 
it would cost me to take out an iiisurance of that 
kind, and he said it would cost me $50 and that was 
the least amount. I have a man only about two months 
Soptc'ml)er. I. 1M7 
in a year, or a little over, and I only pay out about 
a • hundred dollars for wages. T. b. b. 
NeAV Jersey. 
HIS matter has been referred to the Attorney- 
General of NeAV Jersey, and while there has 
neA^er been a case exactly like the one here men¬ 
tioned decided the folloAA'ing statement is given: 
Section fiA^e, Chapter 178, of the laws of 1017 
lii’ovides: 
5. Nothing in this act contained shall apply to an 
employer of farm laborers or domestic servants. 
This act AA^ent into effect on .Inly 4, 1917. Thus 
farmers are exempt from the provisions of the in¬ 
surance act, but this does not mean that they are 
exempt from the liability act. Therefore, a New 
.Tersey farmer is responsible for injuries to his em¬ 
ployees, blit he is not required to take out insurance 
to protect himself unless he desires to do so. Opin¬ 
ions in other .States go to show that people using 
thrashing machines are not classed as farmers or 
employees of farm labor. If this same ra.o should 
hold in New Jersey it would 'eeai necessary ^ r 
you to take out insurance •inder the New Jersey 
law passed last 'Vi^inter, it seems as if .$.50 is too 
high a figure ccnsic’eilng the small size of your 
pay-roll, and pc 'haps some other company aaTU quote 
you a lietter ngure. The statements here made do 
not represent the formal opinion of the Attorney- 
General. No e.:tensiA’e investigation has been made, 
yet Avf think that the matter as here stated will be 
found '“orrect. 
The New York State Rye Crop 
HE report of Secretary of Agriculture Wilson 
gave the rye crop of last year in New York as 
1,773,472 bushels. It AA'as distributed through the 
State, by counties, as folloAA’s: 
County. 
Rye (bu.l 
.Vlbany. 
135,790 
Onondaga . .. . 
15,445 
Allegany. 
6,636 
Ontario. 
42,996 
Broome. 
9,778 
Orange. 
43 185 
Cattaragus. 
4,427 
Orleans. 
15,904 
Cayuga . 
18..522 
OsAA'ego. 
14 .841 
Chautauqua. .. . 
7,235 
Otsego. 
5,272 
Chemung. 
29,971 
Putnam. 
4,2.50 
Chenango. 
2,316 
Rens.selaer . . . 
. 177,403 
Clinton. 
5,083 
Rockland. 
6.3.53 
Columbia. . . 
238,445 
St. Lawrence.. 
5,911 
Cortland. 
2,003 
Saratoga. 
Schenectady... 
90.058 
Delaware. 
5,214 
. 37,125 
Dutchess. 
61,760 
Schoharie. . . . 
.33,287 
Erie. 
45,164 
1,883 
12,064 
Schuyler. . 
29 576 
Essex. 
Seneca. 
10 650 
Franklin. 
Steuben. 
62,336 
Fulton. 
4,714 
30,2.85 
Suffolk. 
26,826 
Genesee. 
Sullivan. 
22.972 
Greene. 
51,851 
Tioca. 
13.992 
Hamilton. 
162 
Tompkins. . .. 
16.970 
Herkimer.. 
2,414 
3,913 
Ulster. 
65,596 
.Tefferson. 
Warren. 
2,933 
I.fewis. 
1,183 
Washington. .. 
71,605 
Livingston. 
47,981 
Wayne. 
34,129 
Madison. 
2,699 
Westchester... 
13,780 
Monroe. 
80,884 
Wyoming. . .. 
11,301 
Montgomery.... 
5,931 
11,060 
25,821 
6,859 
Yates. 
36,728 
Niagara. 
Oneida. 
1,773,472 
We recently .shoAved how nearly 90 per cent, of 
the NeAV York Avheat crop comes from about 20 
counties running through the central part of the 
State. The rye crop is groAvn chiefly on the rougher 
lands. In the Hudson Valley a dozen counties pi*o- 
duced about 60 per cent, of the total. Columbia 
County led, Avhile this county ranked forty-first in 
Avheat production. It is not likely that the wheat 
counties Avill increa.se their output of rye. It would 
not pay to do this, but on the I'ougher lands of the 
dairy or fruit counties a large increase in rye pro¬ 
duction will pay. The grain will bring higher prices 
Avhile Avheat is high, and the straAV is valuable. The 
advice to ploAv up I’ough old land and seed to wheat 
is not sound, for that grain requires good soil and 
good culture. Rye AAdll groAv and give a fair yield 
under conditions Avhich would just about ruin wheat, 
Avhile the grain, either sold or fed, will bring 
nearly as much per acre. Rye, too, is one of the 
best grain crops for seeding to grass. It will be 
good practice to increase the rye crop on many farms 
Avhere the land is rough. We are planning to seed 
about 10 acres extra of rye. Aside from filling the 
land the expense will not be great, and we think an 
increase of i-ye for most of the East will pay better 
than extra wheat. 
The Missouri Station shows that about 30 per cent 
of the grain feed is saved when hogs have good pas¬ 
ture. Probably about the same is true of hens. 
Let these men Avho want to fight whenever you ad¬ 
vise the use of burned lime remember this. The 
burning does not injure the lime and what it drives off 
would not serve as plant food! 
Regarding that plan for pulping paper for fuel 
bricks the chemist writes, “Why waste the energy to 
pulp them? Merely dampened, rolled tight and dried 
they will burn, with a good draft, like punky wood. 
Avhich is exactly what they are. That is, wood has 
had its resinous parts removed and the remainder 
spread thin, and Ave then call it ‘paper.’ ” 
