140 
1 2 
iShe KUKAL NEW-YORKER 
February 2, 191S 
WOMEN ANI> INDIANS.—The mo.'^t pretentious 
method of handling the picking is found in the Co- 
('j>eratiVe Orchard, which is the world's largest sour 
cherry erchard, and consists of 700 acres. Here two 
distinct groups are found, women and Indians, The 
weinen are gathered in from nearby cities, and are 
housed in comfortable quarters in the orchard. 
They have one largo buikNng which has 
.sleeping accommodations for about 100, and 
a dining-room and kitchen that will accom¬ 
modate five 'times that number. A new hotel 
that will have sevei-al hundred beds is now 
being erected. Scattered around the main buildings 
are groups of small tents and canvas houses, which 
are used by the jiickers who are willing to try a 
taste of life in the open. Their meals are served on 
the cafeteria jdan, and cost them about 00 cents a 
day. These women invariably prove to be very good 
I'ickers. They are recruited from classes in the 
cities where they are used to hard work, and they 
(■(tnsider the life in the country enough of a novelty 
without the attractions and recreational features 
that must be jirovided for younger folk. They have 
to earn their way, and they have that stimulus to 
make them work. They are given opportunities for 
recreation, and their trips to town and about the 
country are always .suitably supervised to assure 
their being unmolested. The Indians are brought in 
from a nearby reservation, and they ‘are hard af^er 
the dollar every minute of their time. They have a 
camp in the woods adjoining the orchard, cook their 
own meals, and otherwise take care of themselves 
entirely. Whole families work together, and when 
they attack a cherry tree its load is soon gathered. 
Several other grou]ts of women pickers are brought 
into various orchard.s, some of them doing their own 
housework entirely and tinancing the whole under¬ 
taking. usually living in some house litted simply 
for their use. Ordinarily women are harder to ac¬ 
commodate than the boys, who like to rough it, but 
one woman will usually out-pick two boy.s, and in 
t!:at way they prove to be the cheai)est pickers. 
]5E.\.JAMIN JELl.XEK. 
The Prosecution of Dairymen’s League 
Officials 
1 am following with much interest the prosecution 
of oliicers of the Dairymen's League of your State 
for conspiring to rai.se the price of milk. I noticed 
in a recent issue of the New York Times a statement 
Irom the Distinct Attorney to the effect that this 
jiro.secuiion would not be interfered with by the fact 
Ihatjhe tommissiun recently ajipointed to investigate 
conditions relating to the production of milk has 
now fixed the iirice tit a higher level than that es¬ 
tablished by the defendiints. 
It may be true that under the statutes on which 
this prosecution is btised, such joint action is jiro- 
liibiteil. even though the price established be entirely 
reasonable. I have no knowledge of the facts on 
wliich this itroceeding is ba.sed, and would not pre¬ 
sume to discuss the guilt or innocence of the defend¬ 
ants wliile this case is pending. 
Two years ago the dairy industry in New York 
State was faced with a critical condition. I’ractical- 
ly every iiroducer of milk which was sold at whole¬ 
sale to the large distributing companies was operat¬ 
ing at a loss, or at best was donatin.g his own labor 
to come out even. This fact was just as well known 
to the large milk companies as to dairymen. The 
distributing companies prescribed the regulations 
which dairymen were asked to adopt and made sys¬ 
tematic inspections to see that they were complied 
with. They were familiar with every branch of the 
industry, and could easily have obtained exact data 
as to costs, iind probably did have full information. 
.\s the medium of distribution between producer and 
consumer, the milk companies should have recog¬ 
nized the great moral responsibility Avhich rested 
upon them to make these facts known and see that 
justice was done. Naturally, consumers would op- 
jtose every increase in price, to them, but high-priced 
milk is better tJian no milk, and it is axiomatic that 
no industry can survive unless it can be conducted 
at a reasonable protit. If the milk companies had 
met this situation promptly in a .spirit of fair co- 
( peration, using the strength of tlieir organization, 
tinancial iiosition and business connections, to pre¬ 
sent the plain facts to the consumers, and had aided 
the dairymen in their efforts to establish and main¬ 
tain reasonable prices for their product, no league 
would have been organized. 
1 am a member of this organization, being the 
owner of a dairy farm in Tioga County, and have 
followed its work with great interest. Sheer neces¬ 
sity comiielled the dairymen scattered over the whole 
State to unite in self-protection. The efforts of the 
League to ])lace milk ]trices on a fair basis and save 
the industry from destruction, met with strong op¬ 
position from the distributing companies, which 
.should have co-operated with them. It was not until 
the League became strong enough to compel recog¬ 
nition that the officers of the mijk companies began 
to talk about co-operation. 
Undoubtedly, credit is due the League for such 
measure of relief as has been secured. Furthermore, 
a strong organization with facilities for collecting 
statistics, furnishing information as to better meth¬ 
ods of production, and jiroviding means for present¬ 
ing collectively the views of dairymen on all ques¬ 
tions affecting their general interests, will ju.st as 
surely tend to iiromote the future prosperity of this 
industry as it has already done in other lines of 
business. In fact, it is safe -to say that the dairy 
business has been practically the last industry of 
this magnitude to organize. 
Perhaps the League officers have in their zeal in¬ 
advertently violated some statutes against combined 
action. I hope they have not. However, the undis¬ 
puted fact remains that the price which they helped 
establish is actually less than the price which the 
commission, after full investigation, has established 
as justly due the producers. Even though they may 
have technically violated some obsolete statute, and 
for this reason may perhaps have to suffer to some 
extent the penalty prescribed therein, the point is 
that, considered from an economic standpoint, their 
only failui’e consisted in not being able to get a 
higher jirice. The injustice of .such a law is ap¬ 
parent from the mere statement of the situation. 
Sut)i>ose the courts should decide, as the.v may liave 
to under this law, that dairymen may not lawfully 
act to.gether in agi-eeing upon and esiablishing per¬ 
fectly fair and reasonable price.s. What, will be the 
result, if dairymen are compelled to act individually? 
Is there an.vone familiar with this long contro- 
vers.v who is simple enough to believe that anything 
short of united action by the dairymen would have 
secured such consideration as has been given the 
milk question since the organization of the League? 
Of course not, and if this privilege is denied, in a 
few years Ave will be back to the old destructive 
prices and chaotic conditioms. The responsibility will 
not, however, rest upon the District Attorney, who 
is merely performing his duty under the law, nor 
upon the courts, avIio are compelled to construe stat¬ 
utes according to -their terms. It Avill rest sipiarely 
upon the lawmakers Avho enact such statutes and 
keep them in force. This is a period of co-operative 
action. The old competitive system has broken » 
doAvn. The stre.ss of Avar has show its Aveakness 
everyAvhere. Keference need only be made to the 
methods adopted by the Federal Government in 
dealing Avith 4he railroads, and the coal mines, and 
in fixing prices of copper, iron ore, pig iron, steel 
products, and other basic commodities, to .shoAV that 
efficiency and maximum production can only be se- 
uired through united action; and that the corrective 
measure to be adopted is governmental regulation 
and control, rather than destructiA^e statutes de¬ 
signed to iirevent co-operation. 
Dairymen should be encouraged to act together 
and to do .so through organizations formed for the 
express purpose of promoting the best interests of 
their business. They ought to be encouraged in 
adopting accurate methods of accounting and better 
and more eflicient means of production. This being 
done, it naturally follows, to begin Avith, that dairy¬ 
men are themselves in the best position to formulate 
and establish fair and reasonable prices for their 
products. A commission or board of exjierts should 
be appointed and maintained by proper govern¬ 
mental authority Avith full poAver to revioAv, regu¬ 
late and control the prices so established. In this 
Avay all just comiilaints could be heard and re¬ 
dressed, Avhether affecting the rights of producers or 
consumers. Accurate information Avould he aA'ail- 
m 
able for public discussion, and Ave Avould be spared 
reading misleading editorials in metropolitan papers, 
ba.sed largely on prejudice and superficial knoAvledge 
of the facts. 
'Phe production of milk in quantities sufficient to 
meet the market requirements is a matter of suci 
vital importance that it cannot safely be left to the 
old slijishod method under Avhich disorganized, scat¬ 
tered dairymen, none of them having much financial 
strength, are left Avith no other markets than to sell 
their milk to a fcAV strong distributors, Avho have 
the poAver, and, if Ave may judge from their past acts, 
the intention, to force prices beloAA’ the cost of pro¬ 
duction. Noav legislation is needed and I hope this 
journal, Avhich has always stood for the best inter¬ 
ests of dairymen and farmers, Avill use its influence 
to see that is secured. avilliam v . nEi.uEN. 
Lamp-heated Hotbed 
Your correspondent, J. U., on page 11, asks about 
heating a hotbed Avith a lamp. My first hotbeds, 
years ago, Avere heated by lamps, and they Avere a 
perfect success. I aaTsIi to tell J. U., and any other 
reader Avho may Avant an easily-managed hotbed and 
lacks experience in makingpne of hor.se manure, that 
a lanqi-heated hotbed is easily made. Hut first re¬ 
member there is danger of fire, and the hotbed .should 
never be placed Avhere it can do anj' injury if it 
burns, and heavy Avinds must not be alloAved to af- 
lect the lamp or it Avill bloAV out. 
Fig. .lb is a rough sketch of a hotbed consisiting of 
cither tAvo or three hotbed .sa.sh, as the builder may 
Avish. My lirst hotbed consisted of tAvo old AvindoAV 
sash, and the tomato plants it grcAV Avere the equal 
of any. The hotbed is made of lumber, and is lifted 
above the level of the ground by blocks placed under 
each corner. It must be above the level of the 
ground, so the operator can get under it to see to the 
lamps. I took tAVo boxes in which laid been packed 
canned corn. I took out one end of each box, sawed 
an opening as big as the opening in end of box, then 
nailed the boxes on to tlie bottom at the holes so 
that heat of one-Avick oil stove in each box could 
circulate easily and freely under the .sheet-iron bot¬ 
tom. The heat from the'lamps Avarms the dirt, and 
the Avarmth of the dirt Avarms the interior of the 
liotbed. No direct heat from the lamp enters the 
hotbed. 
1 cover the glass each night Avith a mat .of some 
sort, and, if it rains, Avith shutters to keep mat dry. 
When I Avant more heat I turn up the lamps; if I 
Avant le.ss I turn them doAvn. Heat is under perfect 
control Avith this hotbed, an advantage over one 
heated by manure. I used a one-Avick oil stOA’e. The 
sheet-iron bottom is four inches above the true bot¬ 
tom. It can be made of any sheet-iron. 1 used old 
stove pipe rtatteiied out. The sheet-iron rests on iron 
rods run crossAvays of the hotbed. If anyone Avishes 
to try such a hotbed as this, let him remember to be 
on guard against danger of fire, and ahso that heat 
Avill not circulate and the lamp properly burn unle.ss 
fresh air can enter at the liottom of the doors Avhich 
enclose the lamps (I have marked three openings on 
bottom of each door), and then pass upAvard and out. 
In other Avords, the lamps cannot burn if the loAver 
jiortion is airtight. This is a hotbed in .some re- 
spects superior to a manure-heated one, especially 
to a novice. »• 
Gouverneur, N. Y. 
City Boy Becomes a Successful Farmer 
TFDYING FOR A START.—While practical ex- 
]ierience is a Avonderful help to anyone Avho is 
starting to farm for himself, it is not an ab.solute 
necessity. This has been proven by a young man 
Avho took the three month.s’ short course in horticul¬ 
ture at the NeAv Jer.sey State Agricultural College 
during the Winter of 1914-15. He Avas a city b,oy 
Avith a determination to get out into the open fields 
and till the soil. Hefore he came doAvn to take the 
coui’se he had never had an opportunity to see seeds 
germinate nor to .see plants groAv. The mixing of 
fertilizers, the A’arious methods for the planting of 
the various crops and their culture Avere all.neAV to 
him, but intensely interesting. This, of course, made 
it necessary for him to Avork much harder than any 
of his classmate.s, but determination to learn all he 
pos.sibly could resulted in his getting excellent marks 
through his course. 
VEGETABLE GROWING.—This same determina¬ 
tion .soon re.sulted in his procuring, early in the 
Spring of Itilo, a farm of eight acres on the main 
road from Asbury Ihirk to Red Bank. N. .1. To most 
farmers this may appear to he a very small acreage, 
but the Avould-lie farmer had to begin modestly, for 
he had a very limited capital and less experience. 
Any beginner, or even one Avho has been in the busi¬ 
ness for some time, can find lots of Avays to sjiend 
money. The big problem for him Avas to get some¬ 
thing coming in as .soon as possible that AA’ould not 
inA’olve too much expense. He quickly realized that 
his best opportunity Avould be to produce vegetables. 
becau.se returns from these could be realized most 
