334 
March 2, 1918 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FAJiMER'S PAPER 
Al National 'Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban llomen 
Established isso 
I’uklUhed weekly by the Koral Piiblishinf' Company, 833 Weat 80th Street, New Vo. k 
Herbert tv. Coeeingwood, President and Editor. 
JouK J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
■R'm. F. Dillo.v, Secretary. Mrs. E. T. Koyle, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION : ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, 82.01, equal to 8s. 6d., or 
8!^ marks, or 1014 francs. Kemit in money order, express 
order, personal chock or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post Office as Second Class Matter. 
Aorvertising rates, 76 cents per agate line—7 words. References required for 
advertiscis 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 peieon. We use every possible'precautlon and admit the ad vertising of 
reliable houses only. But to make doubly sure, we will make good any loss 
to paid subscribers sustained by trusting any deliberate swindler, iiTCspon- 
Sible advertisers or misleadiillg advertisements in our columns, and any 
such swindler will be publicly exposed. We are also often .ceiled upon 
to adjust differences or mistakes between our subscribers and hone.st, 
responsible 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 subscribers against rogues, but we will not bo 
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 transactionj and to identify it, you should mention The Rceal Nkw- 
Yobker when writing the advertiser. 
No. 3. 
UE'N are you going io resign? Tliis is the 
third time we put the question to Charles II. 
Betts, secretary of the New York Food Conservjition 
Coimnis.sion. Ilepresentatives of nwire than 150,000 
farmers have asked him to get out of their way. 
Every day he stays in office he draws 1,000 votes 
away from his political machine. When? 
* 
T hat report from Mr. Kipp on page 340 ought to 
stai’tle every corn grower into making a full 
test of his seed corn. Reports from everywhere are 
that the proportion of true, vital seed is very small. 
Many farmers 'who, in former years, have had no 
trouble with their seed will find, upon testing, that 
only a small proportion will grow. Make sure of it 
before you put it in the ground, for you will need the 
crop this year miore than ever before. Test the corn! 
* 
T he papers are printing articles about saving 
the home supply of sugar by growing sugar 
beets in the backyard. Last year there was some 
advice about making a crude form of syrup from 
sugar beets, and from that the new stoiy has been 
hatched in some fertile brain. Sugar beets will 
make a good crop for feeding to cows or hens, but 
those who expect to make good sugar and syrup 
with crude, homemade appliances, will be disap¬ 
pointed. A hive of bees will gather more sweets. 
* 
T he Indiana Station announces a new “dry 
method” of treating seed oats for smut. The old 
“wet” plan was to sprinkle the oats in a solution of 
one pint of formalin to 60 gallons of water. This 
made the oats quite wet, and they were sometimes 
slow to dry out. The new system reiiuires one pint 
of formalin and one pint of water. This is sprayed 
over the oats with an atomizer, and will treat enough 
seed for 20 acres. After sprayin,g the oats are 
shoveled together and covered five hours with sacks 
or blankets. Thus the quart of mixture thoroughly 
sprayed will be as effective as 240 quarts sprinkled 
on, for in either case it is the gas from the formalin 
that kills the smut germs, q'reating seed oats is 
more necessary than ever this year. 
* 
T he article this week on Alfalfa in the Hudson 
Valley ought to start up a renewed interest in 
this crop. No one who stops to think for a moment 
can doubt the advantage of having several or more 
acres of Alfalfa on the farm. No matter what we 
are producing as a money crop, be it apples, cows, 
potatoes or grain, Alfalfa will prove a great help. 
An Alfalfa field is a feed and fertilizer factory, 
every good acre capable of giving us the equivalent 
of three tons of bran and a bag of nitrate of soda. 
Evei’yone knows we are short of these things now. 
Too many farmers in the Hudson Yalle.v have tried 
Alfalfa and failed, so that they abandoned the crop 
in despair. It is worth enough, however, to justify 
us in putting up our best efforts to make it go. Mi*. 
Thew says that four things are necessary; well- 
drained soil, and abundance of limestone, a supply of 
available phosphorus and inoculation. If any of 
these things fail the Alfalfa may start and make a 
feeble or a short-lived growth, but will soon fade 
away. Let the man who confesses his failure with 
Alfalfa i*un over his record and see if all these 
things were supplied. We think there is another 
special element of success, and that is the seed, or 
variety. We do not believe that the varieties with 
the deep, single tap-roots are best suited to much of 
our Eastern soil. Those varieties with branched 
roots which seem to do much of their feeding in the 
upper soil, are better adapted to New England and 
Eastern New York. Their habit of branched rooting 
RURAL NEW-YORKER 
anchors them firmly in the soil, and they are not 
thrown out oy the frost, as the tap-rooted plants are. 
They are also better feeders under the conditions 
found in most of our Eastern farms. Besides this, 
•we think some of the Siberian varietie.s, like Ckis- 
sack, compare with Alsike clover in their ability to 
thrive and grow in a rather damp and acid soil. 
Wo must all remember that failure with other 
crops has been changed into success through the 
use of improved varieties better suited to local con¬ 
ditions, and new methods of culture. It will pay to 
try Alfalfa once more. 
♦ 
R. and Mrs. John H. Broten! Inihe great vol¬ 
ume of documents on this school law which 
have poured in upon us, the most remarkable thing 
is the interest the women are taking. In many cases 
every voter in the district or town has signed a 
demand for repeal. Most of tlie signatures are as 
above in the name of husband and wife combined. 
These women are now votei’s and they realize their 
power. It has been claimed by friends of the school 
bill that tho.se who opixise it are “pilfers, tax dodgers 
and child killers.” The documents here show that a 
majority of those who oppose it are women—most of 
them with children in school. The protests are 
from' intelligent people who are anything but “pikers 
and tax dodger.s.” So far as our experience runs 
back there has never 'been a question directly affect¬ 
ing the country people of New York which has had 
such a full backing as the demand for the repeal of 
this law. The question has come just in time and 
just in the right way to give the women voters an in¬ 
terest in public matters. A number of women have 
done far more effective work again.st this law than 
any man could have done, and they have shown 
great organizing ability. Both the Governor and the 
leaders of the Legislature profess to be in favor of 
repeal. From long experience in such matters we do 
not tru.st any politicians. Keep right after them, and 
make them under.stand what the country people will 
do if that law is not repealed. There is no other 
way. 
T he meeting of the New York State Federation 
of Agriculture at Syracuse Feb. 20 was, in 
many respects, the most remarkable gathering of 
farmers ever known in New York. There never was 
anything like it before; it was representative of all 
farm societies, suid of the entire State. This earnest 
gathering of strong, thoughtful men and women 
came together, and without any fuss or bluff or 
“fii*eworks” gave exiiression to the feeling of disgust 
and di.sapproval of the way politicians have muddled 
and tied up the food situation. The meeting was 
loyal to the cox*e, and those farmers made it clear 
that what they want is a chance to serve the country 
most efficiently and get rid of the dunce talk and 
red tape with which they have been surieited. They 
di.sappointed the politicians by going at their work 
calmly and sensibljL They made no mistakes, but 
put into their resolutions a punch which carried the 
full power of 150,000 voters. It was the biggest day 
yet in the history of New York agriculture. 
♦ 
S OME of our readers say they learn that the 
Government plans to take their canned fruits 
and vegetable.s on the ground that keeping a full 
supply of such goods constitutes “hoarding.” Rest 
assured that nothing of this sort will happen un¬ 
less some fi*aud is able to deceive you. The Gov¬ 
ernment will not touch any home-preserved goods. 
On the other hand, it encourages all possible can¬ 
ning of fruit, vegetables and meat in order to leave 
more of the general supply for the public. The 
woman who fills her pantry ■with canned goods is 
not a hoarder, she is a helper. 
♦ 
J UST at this time most of the talk about food is 
confined to the production of meat, milk, bread 
and potatoes—the staple articles needed in sustain¬ 
ing human life. Less is .said about fi*uit, and this 
may have some effect in lessening the area devoted 
to orchard planting this year. Such an outcome 
would be a great mistake. We must have the staple 
articles of food, but the apple has also become a 
necessity in the human diet. We should also pre-' 
pare for the future. When this war is over there 
will be an increased demand for expoi*t apple,s. 
Many European orchai’ds have been destroyed or 
injured and many more have been '•’eglected. It 
will be years before Europe comes back to a normal 
supply, and there will be an increased demand 
abroad. We think, therefore, that the future holds a 
good prospect for the apple grower. It will not do 
to wait a few years, because the business of a young 
apple orchard is all in the future, and a year or 
two of start in planting may make a great diffei*ence 
in the race. We think this is a good time to plant 
fruit trees. The future of the apple business looks 
good to us. We realize that some of the experts and 
leaders advise against planting any trees this year, 
but we think a moderate planting is ad'visable. 
* 
At page 217 I see a heading to an article by W. H. M. 
on “Casting Out the Hen Di*ones.” Why mix bees with 
hens and wouldn’t it be more appropriate to keep birds 
of a feather together and say “hen roosters”? This 
comment may seem hardly 'vorth while; but it strikes 
me that contributors to a farm paper should u.se cor¬ 
rect terms and not bring bees into disrepute, as a drone 
is very valuable in the bee industry; without him there 
would be none. ii. r. w. 
I F any drone thinks his feelings were hurt by 
that remark our advice is for him to go to work. 
Nothing like labor to cure .such a condition. The 
dictionary gives this definition: 
“Drone—One icJio lives on the labors of others—a 
lazy, idle felloir. 
Of course, in the economy of the hiive, the drone 
is the male bee. -V few of them would be quite 
enough, but the true workers of the hive are re¬ 
quired to feed a great army* of these lazy loafers. 
Considering the life these bees live in a community 
where constant labor is a neces.sity and instinct, we 
think their name, drone, is well applied to the hens 
and the men who live upon the labor and reputation 
of others. True, the surplus rooster is no better 
and far more expensive. We have seen 25 roosters 
in a farm flock of 100. As for the “hen drones,” we 
believe that 40 per cent of the average flock never 
Piiy the cost of their feed. They have no place in 
poultry economy except where they roam at large 
and pick up their scanty food. 
* 
O NE large and growing feature of the florists’ 
trade is the extension of their telegraph deliv¬ 
ery system. As it is now operated, a man in Pater¬ 
son, N. .1., may wish to send a box of roses to a 
friend in Mobile, Ala., or a funeral wreath to Van¬ 
couver, B. C., and all he has to do is to give his 
order and pay his bill to a florist in his home town, 
with the assurance that flowers of the grade desired 
will be furnished at the other end, with no further 
trouble to the pui*chaser. The man to whom he 
gives the order telegraphs it to another member of 
the Florists’ Telegraph Delivery Association—it may 
be in an adjacent State, or it may be some thou¬ 
sands of miles away—but proper delivery is as¬ 
sured. This system would be impossible without a 
properly standardized product and a closely oi*- 
ganized system of business, and this fact seems of 
.special interest to farmers and truck growlers. Flor¬ 
ists are held together both by social and business 
ties. They market fragile and perishable products, 
and have long been at the mercy of transportation 
Interests, but their trade organizations keep careful 
watch on both legislators and public carriers, and 
they have been able to rectify some serious abuses. 
The fact tluit a florist in one section of the country 
may take an order from a customer, telegraph it to 
a distant dealer whom, perhap.s, he has never seen, 
and feel sure the order will be filled with as much 
care as he would have given himself, speaks w*ell for 
standardized products and bu.siness ethics. This is 
the business attitude for the btisine.ss farn>er—to 
form a close organization with others in the same 
occupation, and to standardize and grade his pro¬ 
ducts to meet recognized trade demands. 
Brevities 
The hay plants for wet land are Red-top and Alsike 
clover. 
There will be a great run to make maple sugar 
this year. 
The energy required in appearing dignified would 
come to something if applied to work. 
Conservation of paper by writing on both sides 
and appareiitly on the edges, has its drawbacks. 
The price charged for spraying with a good power 
outfit vai'ies with the locality. With us one dollar an 
hour for machine, horse.s and one man is usual—ma¬ 
terials extra. 
A POUND of cottage or “pot” cheese is said to be 
equal in food value to a pound of meat. We think 
that is true, but the meat makes a stronger appeal 
to the average human. 
Large deposits of high-’grade phosphate rock have 
been found in Kentucky. There is phosphorus enough 
in our soil, enough nitrogen in the air, and we will find 
the potash! 
Now with the Food Administrator stating that the 
price of wheat bran should be 38 per cent of the wheat 
(and the wheat price definitely settled) has a miller 
any right to charge over $29 for bran at the mill door? 
We have asked that question of the Food Administrator, 
and the answer will show just what the Administration 
amounts to. 
Here is a prophecy from a maple sugar expert: 
“Unless people can be brought to see the money that 
is in the maple sugar business those Cherry-tops will 
live to see the day when a cake of maple sugar will be 
as rare as a suit of homespun ’tow-and-linen’ is at 
the present time. There will be no maple trees except 
those on the lawns.” 
