1134 
J3he RURAL NEW-YORKER 
September 20, 1017 
The Rural New-Yorker 
TllK HVSIXESS FARMER'S PAPER 
A Natlonnt Wri'Uly Journal for Country and Suburban Ilomec 
Entablished iSM 
Fnbll«hr<l wrrkij bj thr Rural I’nhliihlng Company, S3S Writ 80<h Strrot, New Tork 
Herbert W. Colmvowood, I’resident and Editor. 
.John J. Dillon, Tre.'surer and General Manapfer. 
Wm. F. DiLiyON, Secretary. Mrs. E. T. Kotle, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.0t. equal to 8s. 6d.. or 
8^ marks, or 10^ francs, liemit in money order, express 
order, personal check or bank draft. 
Entered nt New York Post Office as Second Class Matter. 
Advertisinpr rates, 7.'> cents per aprate line—7 words. References required for 
advertisei-s unknown to us ; and ca.sh must accompany transient orders. 
“A SQUARE DEAL” 
We believe that every advertisement in this paper is backed by a respon¬ 
sible iierson. We use every possible precaution and admit the advertisinpr of 
reliable houses only. But to make doubly sure, we will make prood any loss 
to iiaid subscribers sustained by trustinp: any deliberate swindler, irrespon¬ 
sible ndvertisei-s or misleadinpr advertisements in our columns, and any 
such swindler will bo publicly exposed. We are also often called upon 
to adjust differences or mistakes between our subscribers and honest, 
reiqionsible houses, whether advertisers or not. We willingly use our good 
offices to this end, but such cases should not be confus^ with dishonest 
transactions. We protect subscribers against rogues, but we will not be 
responsible for the debts of honest bankrupts sanctioned 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 Rural New- 
Yorker when writing the advertiser. 
r llE nation needs wheat more than it needs 
work. It is better to put culture and chemicals 
and care into three acres rather than to spread 
orer five acres, partly prepared, fust so that you 
may claim an increased acreage. 
* 
I).\E defeated candidate for' the Legislature will be 
worth more to the farmers’ cause than 10,000 postage 
stainjis-—no matter how well “licked.” 
T hat i.s right, but licking the po.stage stamp.s is 
the pi-iiiiary part of the programme. Some men 
must lick a pound of stamps before they will come 
out openly and fight. The Declaration of Independ¬ 
ence never would have been written had men not had 
their training in thousands of little town meetings. 
When w'e start out to defeat a candidate let us 
make sure that w’e have a better one for his place. 
* 
C AN you not find a place for an extra acre or so 
of rye this Fall? It is now late for wheat in 
many localities, but rye may be seeded for a month 
yet with hope for a fair crop. Many potato fields 
will be dug too late for wheat seeding, but there 
will still be time for rye by scratching over with a 
disk or spring-tooth. That is one great thing about 
rye; it will stand rough .seeding and make a good 
crop—though, like any other, it re.sponds to good 
culture. Rye bread will help feed Europe, and 
the more small grain we can produce, the more 
we can cut down our feed bills. This does not 
apply to farmers who have a regular rotation. 
Including wdieat; for it often works badly to mix 
these small grains, but dairymen and fruit or vege¬ 
table farmers may well put in all the rye they can 
make room for. 
* 
E very indication at present is for a big potato 
crop. Some localities report much blight and 
rot, but taken altogether, the prospect is for a rec¬ 
ord breaker. This ought not to mean ruinous 
prices if we can all understand the situation and 
begin now to develop a full potato trade. There 
never has been a proper distribution of potatoes. 
Many city people do not eat one-fifth of the po¬ 
tatoes they would if they understood the true value 
and could buy to good advantage. This Winter the 
potato should be used as a partial substitute for 
bread and meat—both of which will remain high In 
price. The Food Administration at Washington rec¬ 
ognizes the importance of finding a market for this 
big crop. It was the first crop for which a patriotic 
appeal was made. Farmers paid higgh prices for 
seed and fertilizer in order to help feed the coun¬ 
try. Now if they do not have the best of help 
in selling this big crop, who can blame them for 
not repeating a losing game? This crop must be 
sold promptly and well, and we mu.st all help put 
it over. We must make new' markets and growers 
must grade their stock and send only the best 
grades to market. Keep the poor stock at home for 
feeding. Let everyone begin to talk potato! 
* 
S ENATOR Elon R. Brown and Mr. Geo. W. 
Perkins have spent most of the past 10 days in 
throwing printer’s ink at each other. These verbal 
snowballs have become very tire.some to the public. 
It is now clear that the i^eople do not want Mr. 
Perkins as food administrator, and that they have 
no confidence in Senator Brown. If the controversy 
Involved any principle, we should say that Perkins 
has the advantage of Brown in argument, for the 
latter’s record is such that he cannot pose as a 
pjitriot oi friend of the producer. We frankly be¬ 
lieve that Senator Brown’s methods and policies are 
the more dangerous to the public. We cannot see 
that either man has any sympathy for the farmers, 
or any real conception of their p ''uliar problems. 
The meanest part of this entire foolish business is 
that it puts our farmers in a false position. The.v 
opposed the bill on principle, and that also directs 
their opposition to Mr. Perkins. Yet Senator Brown 
rushes in to make it appear that the farmers ai’e 
supporting him. They will give him the support 
of a pitchfork, and it must be run in deep, for he 
has tied himself up to the question so that he 
can pose as “the farmers’ fidend.” There is only 
one possible cure for all this deep-seated trouble. 
That is the organization of an independent, non¬ 
partisan farmers’ organization to put at least GO 
fai'iners in the I.egislature—every one pledged to 
support a definite programme. Perkins and Brow'n 
have done a great public service by making this 
necessity clear. Let us lose no time abusing either 
of them, but get to business at once. 
» 
A t the New' York State Fair one of the lighter 
tractors gave a good exhibition of a mower 
attachment. An ordinary mower knife, about 10 
feet long, w'as fastened so as to receive pow’er 
direct from the tractor, and it was under control 
the same as any mow'er knife. The tractor had a 
limited space in which to work, but it did w'ell and 
,showe<l what it could do in a meadow'. These 
machines are developing rapidly. As more and 
more farmers put them to practical use, their de¬ 
fects are .seen and remedied. They are going right 
along the course follow’ed by dozens of other ma¬ 
chines which, starting with a crude or clumsy 
model, have been adopted until they are farm neces¬ 
sities. The tractor is evidently coming that way— 
winning its place on the farm just as the car has 
done by good, practical performance. 
W HENEVER this food distribution question 
comes up Senator E. R. Brown always fires 
off his .statement about the $500,000,000 invested in 
the business of speculators and middlemen. He 
seems to think that just because money is invested 
in a business which serves the public, that business 
must be considered sacred—no matter w'hether it 
ser\’es the public well or ill. We will all agree that 
many of the people who handle or distribute are 
necessary; we might even agree that they do their 
work hone.stly and economically, and therefore they 
should continue to serve the public. We must also 
agree, how'ever, that many more of the.se middlemen 
are not honest and not economical. In their re¬ 
lation betw'een producer and consumer they are rob¬ 
bers rather than helpers! Now when men invest 
money in a business which is not economical, and 
w'hich does not .serve the public in any useful way, 
w'hy should the public .suffer in order that .such 
investments may prosi>er? There have been great 
sums of money invested in slaves, in disreputable 
places, in saloons and other things which give the 
public no really economic .service. The public will 
consider it no injustice w'hen such things ai*e wdped 
out for, since they give no real service, wdiat right 
have they to exist? A large proportion of the $500,- 
000,000 which Senator Brown prates about is in¬ 
vested in speculative lines or unnecessary handling 
W'hich give no needed service to the public. Both 
producers and consumers would be better off if this 
part of the middlemen’s business were wiped off the 
slate. 
T he Federal and State governments have for some 
years encouraged co-operative organizations of 
farmers for the purpo.se of selling farm food products 
direct to consumers. The potato growers of New 
York and other States are now organizing for this 
purpose. They are in position to fill the large orders 
required by the State for the militia and by the Fed¬ 
eral government for its camps of soldiei's. So far 
these orders have been filled by dealers. Now is the 
time for the agents of the government to show their 
sincerity and their prudence. The dealers’ profits 
and extra handling can be saved by placing orders 
direct with the grow'ers’ associations. On the Fed¬ 
eral committees, however, we find some of the largest 
potato speculators and market manipulators in the 
country. Will they permit direct trade between po¬ 
tato growers and the army? 
Thebe is no truth in a widely circulated statement 
that the Government expects to take food supplies from 
any family. Both the Food Administration and the De¬ 
partment of Agriculture join in a statement to counter¬ 
act what seems to be a deliberate propaganda to the 
effect that the Government intends to take from every 
family all canned goods put up in excess of 100 quarts. 
T he Department of Agriculture has been obliged 
to send that statement out to counteract inimors 
which are being spread through the cor.ntry. It has 
been claimed that the government has urged its 
campaign for canning and drying f''^'d in order to 
ic ze this food later and ship it out q the country. 
The statement is a lie, and should be sterilized at 
once. No .such course has ever been contemplated 
by the government. Our advice is to go ahead and 
save all the food possible and also save all fuel. 
This is only one of a long list of rumors calculated 
to make trouble and w’aste food. Waste no time over 
them! 
♦ 
I T is surpr'sing how useful most of the Farm 
Bureaus have become. As their oi’ganization is de¬ 
veloped, the manager gets in touch with farmers all 
over the country and in this w'ay business is de¬ 
veloped which could not be done in any other way. 
For years it has been so that one farmer might have 
a serious need which another farmer only a few 
miles a W'ay could satisfy. One man missed a sale 
and the other lost a bargain because they did not 
know of each other. The Farm Bureau brings the 
two men together and this is only one instance of the 
good it may do through organization. There are many 
larger things than this personal exchange w'hich the 
Farm Bureau may bring about if it is kept as a 
farmers’ organization. 
♦ 
I T would be ea.sy to w'ork up a newspaper “boom” 
over beef production in New England. We have 
many letters from men who think they see a great 
future in this. With a little encouragement they would 
try to borrow money w'ith which to start. It seems .so 
easy to the beginner to buy a cow, a sheep or a hen, 
put the feed before them and then let them chew 
cheap fee<l into money! There is no cheap feed now, 
and these animals will simply chew up the money 
unle.ss the man w'ho feeds it knows what he is doing. 
In tliese days of high prices there is no substitute for 
experience. We think there is a good future in beef- 
making, but only for the man who knows how—eith¬ 
er by natural ability or training. Mr. Greene’s reply 
to the w'ould-be hen man on page 870 has no fire¬ 
works in it, but no one will burn his fingers by fol- 
low'ing the advice. 
* 
“Just What Is This Country Doing in the Production 
of Potash?’* 
T hat question comes to us every week. The best 
answer is given in the following figures from 
the U. S. Geological Survey. This gives the produc¬ 
tion of American potash for the first six months 
of 1917. 
Available 
Source. potash 
Natural salts or brines. 7,749 
Alniiite and dust from cement mills 
and blast furnaces. 1,867 
Kelp .2,143 
Distillery slop, wool washings, and 
miscellaneous industrial wastes.. 2,153 
Wood ashes . a 111 
Value at 
point of 
shipment. 
$2,808,240 
746.576 
1,348,095 
876,714 
84,414 
Totals 
14,023 $5,864,039 
Of course this does not cover all the wood ashes. 
At least half a million dollars more should be added 
from that source. This is about 10 per cent, of 
the average yearly consumption before the war. 
It may seem .small, but the year’s production will 
be over two and a half times that of 1916. We mu.st 
remember that when Germany cut off exports we 
were producing practically no potash at all—except 
that in ashes. Thus w’e have found the materials. 
organize<l the industry and will-produce nearly 
$12,000,000 worth this year. Peace may end many 
wartime industries, but peace cannot stop potash 
production. 
Brevities 
When in the Pall, the hen says “brood” she’s good 
for little except food. 
When Mistress Hen stops laying eggs and starts into 
her molt, then Hoover says “off with her head,” or she’ll 
give him a jolt. 
It is surprising how many farmers planted large fields 
in beans this year—as a new crop. As a result they 
have a big crop on hand—which they do not know 
how to harvest and thrash! 
Here we come with our annual advice to start the 
stoves or heatei's early. With open fireplaces great 
comfort can be had these chilly nights without expensive 
heating. 
In Central New York the cost of silo-filling machinery 
has been heretofore about 75 cents an hour. A corn 
harvester and team has cost $2.25 per acre. This year 
the price is higher. 
We like cow peas as a Summer cover crop for an 
orchard. Seeded in drills, good culture can be given 
and at the same time a large crop can be grown. This 
can be plowed under in September and rye and clover 
seeded. 
Farmers write us about mixing acid phosphate with 
fine ground hen manure and offering it for sale. There 
ought to be a good business in that, but if they charge 
.$10 or more for it they come under the fertilizer laws 
and must have samples analyzed and inspected—and 
probably pay a license. 
