136 
The Rural New-Yorker 
TUE BUSINESS FARMEIVS PAPER 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Horae* 
EstdbUehed iSeO 
l>nblliih*d nrrkir hj the Knral I’nlillahlnr Oompaoj, 888 Waat 80tb Street, New fork 
IlERnEKT W. COLiJSGwooD, IVcKideiit and Editor. 
John J. Diulon, Tre.'ourer and General M.’nager. 
Wm. F. Diuxjn, Secretary. Mas. E, T. Roy lb, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries In the Universal Postal Union, $2.04, equal to 8s. 6d., or 
8)^ marks, or lOkj francs. Remit in money order, e.'cprcss 
order, itersonal check or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post O.'llco as Second Class Matter. 
AdvertlsinPT rates, 76 cents per affate 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¬ 
sible person. We use every possible precaution and admit the advertising of 
reliable houses only. But to make doubly sure, we will make pood any loss 
to paid subscribers sustained by trustini? any delibei-ate swindler, In-espon- 
sible advertisers or mislea/litiK advei-tisemenls in our columns, and any 
such swindler will bo publicly ejcposcd. We are also often called upon 
to adjust differences or mistakes between our subscribers and hones^ 
resjwnslble 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 subscribei-s against rogues, but wo will not be 
responsible for the debts of honest bankrupts sanctioned by the courts. 
Notice of the comydaint must bo sent to us williin one month of the time of 
the transaction, and to identify it, you should mention Tub Rural New- 
Yorker when writing the advertiser. 
L ast week we stated that the price to he paid for 
the 1918 wheat crop would he $2 per bushel at 
the seaboard. We now have the following from the 
Food Administrator: 
The two-dollar ($2) minimum is for the crop year of 
1918 ami obtains at interior primary points. The Uoy- 
ernnient is to pay the price for crops of 1917 which is 
to he determined by a committee appointed by the Presi¬ 
dent for that purpose. 
Tliat means $2 at interior graiu markets and not 
at the seaboard. The $2 is uot to he an export 
)»iice, and the crop for this year has uot yet been 
(hdinitely priced. 
O NE important point has, arisen under the new 
dog law. On July 1 all dogs were listed and 
tlie owners had .‘lO dajs in wliich to pay the tax and 
t.bfaiii the license. It seems that many people 
killed their dogs during July rather than pay the 
tax. The town clerks demanded the taxes in spite 
of tliese killings, and in some cases threatened fine 
and Impi'isonment. We have a decision from the At¬ 
torney General who says: “When a do{/ is dead 
there is nothing left to register or tag.” That set¬ 
tles it, and no one need pay taxes on a dead dog! 
Do not let the town clerk frighten you into paying 
this tax if the d<ig Avas killed during July. 
* 
I THINK you are doing a great work in urging organ¬ 
ization for farmers. I have noticed four items in to¬ 
day’s issue, any one of which may be worth many times 
the price of a year’s subscription to me; potato storage 
jiiul sale. Alfalfa seeding and handling, curing a leaking 
chimney, cover crops. A. E. P. 
E have many such letters. We just want to 
say that AA’hat this man says is true, because 
of the line co-operative .spirit Avhich has grown up 
among our people. They send ns sensible and prac¬ 
tical que.stions, so we may know just what they 
want. Then some one on our big staff tvill know 
just what to answer. If anything is needed to make 
it comi>lete, some one who knows ivill come forward 
with just the I’ight experience. It is all done with 
such good sjdrit that it is like living in a big, 
liearty family. 
R em EM PER that primary election contest up in 
Yates Co., X. Y. Mr. IL S. Fullager is a prac¬ 
tical farmer. He has been at Albany long enough 
to know AA’hat to do, and has gained friends and 
influence. You can depend on him to suppoi’t the 
interests of farmers. Yates County is purely agid- 
oviltural or fniit growing in her business and needs. 
Slie does uot need any lawj’er at Albany, however 
capable or honest he may be. 8he needs an intelli¬ 
gent and practical farmer. She has one now in 
Mr. Fullager. What earthly reason can anyone give 
for swapping a farmer for a lawyer? There is only 
the unearthly reason Unit the politicians want to 
shut off any movement to give farmers greater pow- 
<n- in the Legislature, Yates County farmers have 
their big cham^ this year at the primaries. They 
will rise to it and farmers in many other counties 
will envy them this clear-cut issue. 
E VERY’' year there is some demand for .shredded 
corn fodder in bales. Some poultrymeu say 
tliey prefer it for littei’, but the hay and feed trade 
discourages its use. We think the future Avill see con¬ 
siderable trade in baled fodder, hut some one Avill 
lose some money before it bec-omes a fixed market 
product. When dried distillers’ grains Avere first put 
on the market it Avas almost impossible to dispose of 
them. A few men Avho kucAV their value persevered 
until these grains ranked as a A’aluable feed. Much 
the same Avas true of dried beet pulp. For years 
apple pomace was considered a nuisance and a 
Avaste. Now it is being fed, and Ave believe that in a 
feAV years it will appear on the market dried and 
b.aggod like beet pulp. Tlnn’c are a number of neAV 
RURAL NEW-YORKER 
feeds Avhich Avill come on the market Avithiu the 
next 10 years, and farmers must not settle doAvu 
into the belief that there is nothing new just because 
the old has held on so long. 
* 
F(X)d prices are just now a sensitive barometer, and 
food gobblers delight in finding a shadoAV of an excuse 
for more pressure. In the meantime, the only patriot 
who is doing all he can and not blowing his horn about 
it is the man who raises the colonels from the soil and 
thus commands the staff of life. H. c. 8. ^ 
NCE Ave found a group of citizens in a Southern 
toAvn discussing the public Avelfare—or the re¬ 
verse. There were six colonels, three majors, one 
judge and four captains. Not one working iirivate. 
Tlie few of that grade left Avere at home—working. 
The true colonel of industi’y is the man who digs 
the kernels out of the soil. The man Avho fills the 
nation’s mouth Avith food is a better citizen than he 
Avho fills tlie nation’s ears Avith hot air. 
T he recent food hill gaA'e the President poAA'er to 
fix prices for necessities, such as food and fuel. 
His first action uiuler this hiAV is to cut prices on 
soft or bituminous coal. The ucav prices I’epresent a 
cut of nearly one-half at the mine in some cases. 
These prices are supposed to be based on cost of 
prodaetiou Avith a fair profit added. The soft coal 
is mostly used for manufacturing and by the navy, 
and does not mean tlie antlu'acite commonly used for 
iiome fuel. Tlie cut in soft coal prices Avill affect 
other grades, and another cut in price of hard coal 
has folloAA^ed. Tliis action puts ns squarely upon 
the road to price-fixing. It Avill involve the labor 
question, A’alues of stocks and bonds, and many 
other things indirectly connected with coal min¬ 
ing. Steel will probably be taken up next, and 
so, if the Avar continues, Ave are likely to have 
all the great industries under government conti’ol or 
direction. If this proves a Avise and useful thing 
in war time, fcAV Avill he blind enough to think it Avill 
he giA'en up in lime of iieaee. 
* 
An inch of limestone is neeiletl all over Eastern 
Ohio. It is needed in some parts of Western Ohio. 
The soil on one hundred and fifty thousand farms in 
this State would be benefited by lime. The lime prob¬ 
lem is here to stay. Q’his is the year to think the mat¬ 
ter over moi-e seriously, and to ask yourself whether 
you can afford not to apply lime if your soil needs it. 
HAT statement of the Ohio Soil and Crop Improve¬ 
ment Committee is true and applies to New 
York State as well. Tliere are thousands of acres In 
this State suffering from, lime starvation. They 
cannot produce satisfactory crops until they are 
limed—no matter hoAV they are fertilized or cul¬ 
tivated, They ]»roduce ciiips if manure or chem¬ 
icals can be stuffed into them, hut they Avill haA'e no 
real life until they can have their thick coating of 
lime. The limestone belt through Central Noav 
Y^ ork contains our lichest farm lands. These lauds 
are pouring the pi’oceeds from clover and Alfalfa 
farming into their cities, and creating conditions 
AAdiich pull the boys and gilds out' of the thimier 
sections where the lime has been taken out of the 
soil. Before Ave can liope to send the children and 
more of this Avealtli back to the hills we must send 
hack the lime, and give these old farms their “inch 
deep” of limestone. There ought to be lime crushers 
AA'orking constantly at every lime quarry in the 
State. 
* 
W E have told our readers .several times Iioav the 
farmers of North Dakota oWained political 
control of that State. They did it by means of the 
primary election, Avhich enabled tliem to dominate 
the Republican party. In Nebraska the farmers 
have stiirted a similar campaign and are likely to 
Avin. Would any sucli thing be likely to succeed in 
NeAV York? If managed right and AA'orked by plain 
farmers in the right spirit it AA'ould come .so close 
to success that every politician in the State Avould 
run to Albany asking what he could do for the dear 
old farmer. What do you mean? The movement 
should be non-partisan. It should he a personal 
canvass—CA’ery farmer in the State visited personal¬ 
ly several times. It should he conducted by Avorking 
farmers—no office-holders, trained politicians, graft¬ 
ers or men hunting a job of any sort. Take such a 
campaign in Jefferson Oo., N. Y'.—could it heat a 
man like Senator Elon R. BroAvn? It Avould beat 
him so that he AA’Ouldu’t knoAV he AA'as running. 
That’s Avhat it did to politicians in North Dakota, 
and human nature is the same the AA'Orld over. Will 
such a campaign ever he tried in New York? Sure 
tiling—^Avatoh for it and fall in at the call!’ 
* 
I F the soil needs potash, .so does tlie man. The 
body cannot perform its functions properly if the 
food does not supply sufficient potash. The effect 
of potash starvation in tlie man Avould be someAvhat 
like what we observe in plants. Man Huist obtain 
September 1, 1917 
most of Ms potash supply from vegetables and 
fruits, and the best and most common .source Is the 
potato. 
The most important of the mineral constituents of 
potatoes are their potash and phosphoric acid, which 
together amount to about thi-ee-quarters of the total 
ash. The potash alone amounts to about three*fifths 
or 60 per cent, of the total ash, which shows the im¬ 
portance of liberal manuring with this fertilizer for the 
crop. Soda, salts, lime, magnesia, silica and chlorine are 
also found present. 
Of the common Avatery vegetables potatoes contain 
more ash elements than any other, and that is the 
chief reason why attempts to substitute rice, corn- 
meal and other foods for potatoes will fail sooner or 
later. The potato is a nece-ssaiy part of the food for 
Americans, and the more of the skin we eat the 
better off Ave are. A big potato crop is promised 
tliis year, and every energy of food instruction 
should he exerted in .showing the public hoAV neces¬ 
sary good potatoes are. Potash gives 2 )oicer! Po¬ 
tatoes give potash! 
* 
Your editorial on page 96G concerning the spirit 
shown toward The R. N.-Y. by an old-time subscriber 
no doubt touched a very tender chord in the hearts of 
many subscribers, old and young. My grandfather 
Avas a subscriber, and father states that he cannot re¬ 
member when he began reading the paper, but he be¬ 
lieves he has been a subsciiber for more than 50 years. 
Personally, I began reading it when I v/as six years 
of age. Father used to allot me several columns a 
Aveek, and usually said: “I want you to learn to read 
something good. I don’t want to catch you reading 
those long continued stories in the weekly papers.” I 
feel I owe my present taste for good literature to his 
teachings. n. s. 
HE Hope Farm man tries to express this Aveek 
something of what Ave feel tOAvard these fine 
old characters Avho IniA^e done .so much to give us a 
past Avhich we are proud of. It is the top notch of 
satisfaction in journal:,sm to find that a paper groAvs 
along Avith the jouuger generations Avithout losing 
its hold upon the hearts and liA^es of the older men 
and Avomen. Can u man or AA'oman gU'e ns any 
finer argument for taking The R. N.-Y. than the one 
.so'frequently gh'en us: “Father used to tal<e it!” 
* 
Farming has made me too independent to teach 
school; there are too many bosses. I want to get on a 
farm of my own and then if I tell a man what I think 
of his hoggishness he can’t say: “See here, I am paying 
a good big share of your salary. You leave my business 
alone; you were not hired for that.” 
HAT come.s from a young man Avho had definite 
ideals of education Avlien he started tiyiug to 
teach agriculture in a public school. This man Avas 
brought up on a farm and knows by practice and • 
exi>erience just what farming means. He kiiOAvs, 
too, what should be tauglit if “agriculture” is to be 
of any business service to farmers. Of course he 
quickly found out that anything Avhieh will honestly 
help business farm conditions Avill interfere Avith a 
lot of graft and perquisites which have come to be 
considered as special privilege for the handlers and 
middlemen. 'When he tried to teach such things .so 
that students might understand them he Avas prompt¬ 
ly “called down” by the people A\iio pay for teaching 
“■agriculture.” This young man is going hack to the 
farm in order to be free. 'Pliere are many others 
AA'ho have had the same exjierience. Tliese condi¬ 
tions Avill he remedied Avheii farmers assert theni- 
selA'e.s*, as they are now doing, and dominate their 
education. 
Brevities 
The cat is a raise; her hack I 
Hot air seems to taste better than cold truth. 
That iioultrymim will feed on bones who goes on 
feeding grain to drones. 
The boardiiig-housc) keeper can cut mutton and 
“lamb” off the same joint. 
If Ave could only make the NeAv England farmer un- 
derstaud Avhat Soy beans can do for him ! 
We never saw anything grow in very hot weather 
like coAV peas. Sudan grass is a good second. 
Tub latest avc hear about stammering is that “it is 
evidence of a bright mind.” As Dr, Dean remarks, “It 
is hard to believe tliis—I have neA'er stammered.” 
The farm boarding-house comiug nearest to making 
a profit this year is the one in which a good supply cf 
meat Avas cauned last Winter. Such meat is in- 
Auiluahle for stcAvs, hash or “made” difshes. 
“Piio.si'iiATED mauure” is certainly fated to increase 
the Avheat crop. AVhat is “phosphated” ? Mauure 
when 40 iiouuds of acid phosphate has been iidded to 
each ton. 
We have, during the year, mauy requests for a cure 
for coAvs that milk themselves. Here is a simple one 
from Dr. Alexander: “Just put an old horse collar 
upon the coav’s neck and then note the perplexed, dis- 
appoiuiUid expression of her countenance Avheu she tries 
to rob her oavu dairy and can’t.” 
