1462 
RURAL NEW-YORKER 
December 29, 1017 
sees a gloomy picture for the farm if the present 
system of small holdings is to be peiTietnated. The 
problem of supplying sufficient food for the world is, 
according to him, to be solved only by displacing 
the small holdings with the large factory farm. 
While it is true that agricultural pi’ogress and im- 
]irovement of rural life had been sacrificed for the 
more lucrative pursuits of the city; that many of 
the best men of the farms left for the cities; that 
the farmer is still permitting the middleman to 
divide with the proceeds of the farm on the baSis 
of 65 cents for the middleman and .35 cents for the 
farmer, it is al.so true that an awakening is taking 
])lace. 
Tin-: .\WAKENING OF THE FAiniER.— The 
fai'inei's everywhere are beginning to realize the ben¬ 
efits of co-operative action. The agricultural col¬ 
leges are annually filled with ambitious young men 
who are eager to learn the best method.s, and who 
are destined, if given a chance, to bring farming into 
its own. Silos are being built by the thousands and 
.\lfalfa is being introduced to sections where they 
never ex))ected to raise it. Better breeding stock is 
being developed. .Vutomobiles and modern home 
imjirovements are becoming the rule. The lure of the 
fai-m will soon become stronger than the lure of the 
city. So why be despondent? AYhat is needed is 
more publications like The R. N.-Y., where the in¬ 
terests of the farmer are presented and fought for, 
both by those responsible for the paper and by the 
progressive farmers who are its readers. 
Wisconsin. beuxard black. 
What of the Future? 
S SERFDOM COMING?—I have .just re-read the 
two articles on the future of farming in your issue 
of December 8 and am led to ask some questions. 
If we come to the co-operation mode of farming, 
what better off are the operatives than the Russian 
serfs, or the negroes before the Civil War? Have 
not the cotton growers of the South ali’eady reached 
that stage, practically; also the tobacco growers of 
Kentucky and Tennes.see? Are not conditions bring¬ 
ing the milk producers into the same state, and is 
not our school system fitting us to endure these 
things, and more? If so, how long till we will wish 
to imitate the Pilgrim Fathers and find a land 
where Ave are free from such dominition, and where 
shall we find it? 
(iRADUAL DEVELOPMENT.— Human nature 
seems to have been much the same since Adam, and 
as the “big fish eat up the little ones in the sea,” so 
the big men have got near the law making power 
and ]iut themselves in a position to take a large part 
of the earnings of the “real creators of w-ealth.” 
More than 50 years I have watched the development 
of this thing, and it seems to be moving slowly, 
steadily and as resistlessly as a glacier. Can it be 
arrested or turned aside even with 50 farmers in the 
Legislatui’e? How would it do to have some labor 
representatives to pull together with us? j. n. t. 
New York. 
R. N.-Y.—One of our readers, in discus.sing this 
question, says: “I do not think we shall see any real 
trouble of this sort, so why should we worry about 
it?” That has a very familiar sound to most of us 
Avho date back anywhere near the Civil War. In 
those days there were a few fearless and farseeing 
men who pictured, for the future, just what has 
happened in the monopoly and control by big busi¬ 
ness through what are known as “corporation laws.” 
The great majority of the people were inclined to 
smile at such prophecies and said “why Avorry about 
them Avhile the Avar issues are unsettled?” We now 
see just hoAv the present control of money and pub¬ 
lic sentiment Avas brought about and Avhat might 
have been done to prevent it, in large part! Without 
<|uestion. the evidence produced during the discus¬ 
sion of the Federal Land Bank shoAved that in sec¬ 
tions of our country the small farmers have been 
reduced to a condition bordering u])on tenant slav¬ 
ery. We Avill leave that side of the question for 
direct testimony from such tenants. No one Avill 
claim that “50 farmers in the New York Legislature” 
Avill ever cure all these evils. It Avill not perma¬ 
nently cure any of them. It Avill be a demonstration 
of independent poAver Avhich, if followed up, will 
give us a fairer chance to assert and gain the rights 
of the small holders of land. 
The Sands of New Jersey 
Toll us lioAv to make a piece of .Tersoy sand so it will 
groAv something. T. n. ii. 
Now Jersey. 
DMMON MISCONCEPTIONS.—There are thou¬ 
sands of acres of Jersey sand that are already 
groAving something. In fact, many of these sandy 
acres Avill put the much-advertised fertile acres of 
the West in the shade Avheu it comes to producing 
food crops and making profits. I do not kuoAv why 
it is, but many people from other States have an 
idea thafNew Jersey is nothing but a big sandbar 
furnishing good bi’eeding gx’ound for mosquitoes, and 
that the inhabitants manage to exist on profits made 
from boarders who come during the Summer mouths, 
and by working for big corporations in Winter. It is 
true that A\’e have sandy acres, Summer boai*der.s, 
c*orporations, and sometimes a mosquito or tAvo. I can 
conceive boAv any man Avho makes a 60-mile-an-hour 
ride from I'hiladelphia to Atlantic City might get 
the impression that Ave had nothing moi’e, and that 
our sandy soil would produce no profitable crop, but 
if some of the trucking sections are visited he Avould 
surely change his mind. He Avould meet men Avho 
had learned hoAv to make these sandy acres produce 
tons and tons of vegetables each season and AVho do 
it at a pi’ofit. He would find men who are getting 
gross returns of $200 to $400 per acre from tomatoes, 
asparagus, eggplant, peppers, Lima beans, etc., gi’own 
on sandy soils; soils that are often spoken of Avith 
a .sneer by men Avho do not know of their possibil¬ 
ities. 
BUILDING UI’ HAND.—A really truly sandy soil 
cannot be made to grow crops by any hit or miss 
system. It needs to be bandied carefully and farmed 
intelligently. A few things must ahvays be kept in 
mind. There should ahvays be a Winter cover crop, 
and crop rotations should be planned .so as to keep 
adding to the humus content of that soil. It costs 
money and takes time to build up a sandy soil, but 
it is Avell AAmrth the effort. There is no fixed rule of 
procedure. The underlying principles are the same 
for all successful efforts. A brief outline of one pos¬ 
sible method is given below. Suppose Ave have a 
sandy field too poor to grow a good crop of “.sand 
buns.” Suppo.se abso that Ave start our Avork of fer¬ 
tility building in the Fall. The first crop to plant 
.should be rye. This is for a Winter cover, and for 
.soil in this condition no other ci*op Avill quite fill the 
bill. The folloAving Spring, Avhen the rye is about 
ready to come out in head, it should be turned un¬ 
der and the ground harrowed in preparation for 
coAA”^ peas, Avhich should go in about June 1. On the 
very poorest sandy soils the entire crop of coav peas 
shoxild be turned xinder and folloAA’ed by rye again 
for Winter cover, but if some cash returns are de¬ 
sired and the soil has produced a fairly good growth 
of cow peas, they can be cut for hay, and rye sown 
in the stubble. If manure is aA’ailable, an aixplica- 
tion of 12 tons per acre each Winter (and esi)ecially 
the first) on the rye,.Avill pay Avell for money invest¬ 
ed and hasten the time Avben paying ci'ops can be 
secured. The second Hpring the rye can be turned 
under a little earlier and early tomatoes can be 
planted. 
TOMATOES FOLLOWED BY CLOVER.—The 
crop Avill be off by about August 10. There Avill most 
likely be a fair gro.vth of crab grass along Avith the 
tomato vines. All can be turned under, the land 
rolled and harroAved and one to tAvo tons of ground 
limestone or its equivalent applied per acre. After 
seed bed is Avell firmed, clover and Timothy, to¬ 
gether Avith some SAveet clover and Alfalfa, can be 
soAved about September 1 to 10. *lf a stand is se¬ 
cured AV’e can be happy, for Ave are then beyond the 
point of unprofitable yields. We can cut the clover 
one year, then folloAV it Avith cantaloupes. AA’hich do 
AA’ell after clover sod in sandy soil, or Ave can sub¬ 
stitute some other truck crop. From noAA"^ on our 
aim should be to produce some crop that aauII bring 
large cash returns but take off as little fertility as 
possible, and that Avill permit xis to keep adding to 
the humus content of our soil by use of cover crops 
and catch crops. When the soil has reached the 
clover stage we should use leguminous cover and 
catch crops as much as possible, ahvays remembering 
that maintaining the humus content is the one most 
important thing in the successful farming of Jer¬ 
sey sand. TRUCKER, JR. 
Value of Inventories on Rented Farms 
SATISFACTORY I'LAN.— Inventories may be 
found very useful on rented farms. Often a 
tenant rents a farm Avith an understanding that he 
is to leave as much hay, grain, or stock as Avere on 
the farm AAdien he took possession of the farm. IIoav 
much more satisfactory it Avould be if an inventory 
of the per.sonal property Avas taken, and the values 
assigned to it by the oAvner, the leaving tenant and 
the tenant Avho expects to take possession of the 
farm for the next j'ear or longer! In case the OAvner 
himself is leaving the farm and renting it to a ten¬ 
ant, a third uninterested party may help to appraise 
the property, although it is not necessary in most 
cases. On nearlj' all rented farms the amounts of 
grain, hay, corn fodder and straAV are roughly esti¬ 
mated and no record made of their values at that 
time, and even the amounts left to the memoi-ies of 
parties concerned. The result is not alAA'ays satisfac¬ 
tory. 
PRICE FLUCTUATIONS.— The prices of grain 
and hay fluctuate considerably from year to year. 
The fluctuation of prices of all commodities Avill be 
greater than usual for the next feAV years. A tenant 
may sign a lease iioaa' that he AA’ill leave as much per¬ 
sonal property as he found on the farm when he 
moA’ed on it. The stock, grain or forage probably 
were produced at much cheaper rates than they can 
possibly be produced one, tAvo, or more years later. 
At present time the cost of production is constantly 
increasing. The time may soon come AA’hen cost of 
production Avill begin to decrease. 
VARIATIONS OF QUALITY.— Furthermore, the 
quality of all products A’aries from year to year. For 
instance, a tenant may find hay of first-class quality 
on the farm, and leaA’e inferior hay, or vice versa. 
It is an injustice to ask the tenant to leave a greater 
value of personal property than he found on the 
farm, or to haA’e the landloi’d accept less AAdien a 
tenant moves off his place. Under the pre.sent system 
there is no inducement for a tenant to leaA^e prop- 
ei’ty of any better quality than he accepted AA’hen he 
first signed the lease of a particular farm. Unfor¬ 
tunately, it does not seem to be human nature to im¬ 
prove the quality of produce or stock under such 
conditions. For an example, if a tenant on a stocked 
aairy farm kneAV that he AA’ould share in the in- 
crea.sed value of the dairy herd Avhen he left the 
farm he Avould strive harder to improve the quality 
of the herd of cattle. 
CAKE OF RENTED PROPERTY.—Personally, I 
believe that this method of renting could be carried 
a step further to an adA’antage. The same principle.-s 
could be applied to the renting of real estate. Then 
if a tenant destroyed part of the real estate, or 
neglected to do something Avhich he should hav’e 
done, these Avill cau.se him a loss. Such loss or 
los.ses should be adjusted in a sati.sfactory manner 
for both parties. On the other hand, if the tenant 
makes uncustomary improvements he should be re¬ 
imbursed for it l)y the landlord. This will encour¬ 
age the tenants to take a greater interest in rented 
property. At the same time, it Avill check the ex¬ 
tremely high or unnecessary rate of depreciation of 
I’ented jxropert.A’. 
A SUGGESTED 3IETHOD.— As a landlord of a 
rented farm I am fully conA-inced that the proposed 
method is a more satisfactory Avay than the custom¬ 
ary manner of I’enting farm.s. This is especially true 
on farms Avhere a certain amount of personal proper¬ 
ty is left on the farm Avhen the tenant takes pos¬ 
session of it and is to leaA’e the same amount Avhen 
he moves off the farm. The proposed system of 
renting not only benefits the landlord and the ten- 
ant.s, but indirectly CA’cryone. In brief, it is a more 
businesslike method of renting farm.s. The folloAving 
example Avill illustrate hoAv to record an inventory on 
a rented farm: 
An inventory of personal property left on the farm 
OAvned by IIoAvard Bailey and rented by James E. I.ord: 
March 25— 1014 1017 
CoAA’.s, 20 at .$70.$L400.(X) 
Heifers, 5 at .$40 . 200.00 
Calves, 2 at $18. .36.00 
Bulls, 1 at $90. OO.(X) 
Grain, 5 tons at $80. 150.00 
CloA’er and Timothy hay, 15 tons 
at $18 . 270.00 
Timothy hay, 8 tons at $20. 160.00 
Oat straw, 4 tons at $7. 28.00 
Wheat straw, 5 tons at $5. 25.00 
Hilage. 25 tons at .$5. 125.00 
Corn fodder, 40 bunches at 50c.. 20.00 
March 25— 
CoAvs, 18 at $100. $1,800.00 
Heifers, 8 at $75 . 600.00 
Calves, 3 at $75 . 75.00 
Bulls, 1 at $150. 1.50.00 
Grain, 8 tons at .$45. .360.()0 
('lover and Timothy hay, 12 tons 
at .$18 . 216.00 
Timothy hay, 10 tons at $19. . . . 190.(X) 
Oat straw, 7 tons at $7. 49.00 
Wheat straw, 6 tons at .$6.. .3(5.()0 
Silage. 30 tons at .$7. 210.00 
Corn fodder, 40 bunches at 50c. . 20.(X) 
$2,.504.00 
Gain or increase in value of per¬ 
.sonal property . 1,202.00 
$3,706.00 
.$3,706.00 $3,706.00 
Such figures Avill furni.sh an accurate basis for ad¬ 
justment. AVALTER M. PEACOCK. 
Massachusetts. 
Sea’ER.al readers ask if it is laAvful in New York for a 
farmer to “doctor” or treat his neighbors’ animals. No 
one has a right to treat such animals for pay unless he 
has a veterinarian’s license. He can do such work if ho 
does not charge for his services. For instance, it Avould 
be unlaAV'ful for one farmer to dishorn another man’s 
coAvs and charge for doing it. 
