1048 
Ci6c RURAL NEW-YORKER 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S TAPER 
A Natlonnl Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Ilomea 
Established isso 
riiblishod irerklj by tb« Koral rnbliiihlnfir Company. 333 West 30lh Street, New Vork 
HERifF.BT W. CoLHNGwooD, I’residciit and Editor. 
Jon.s J. Dn.i/)N', Treasurer and General JIanager. 
■\Vm. F. Dn.LON, Secretary. Mrs. E. T. Kotle, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION; ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, 82.0t, equal to 8s. 6d., or 
Sis marks, oi- lois francs. Hemit in money order, express 
order, personal check or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post Office as Second Class Matter. 
Advertising rat<s!. To cents per agate line—7 woi'ds. Pefcrenccs required for 
advertisers unknown to us ; and cash nmst aecomi)any transient orders. 
“A SQUAHE DEAL” 
■\\ e holieve that every advertisement in this paper is backed by a respon- 
siblejreison. e use every possible precaution and admit the ativertising of 
reliable houses only. But to make doubly sure, we will make good any loss 
to paid subTOribera sustained by trusting any deliberate swindler, irresiion- 
sible adyertisei's or misleaiiipg advertisements in our columns, and any 
such swindler will be publicly expos<‘d. We are also often called uiion 
to adjust dilferences or mistakes between oui’ subscribers and honest, 
responsible houses, whether advertisera or not. We willingly use our gooil 
oniees to this eml, but such cas<,*s should not be confused witli dishonest 
transactions. We protect subscribers against rogues, but we will not be 
res|)onsible for the debts of honest bankrupts sanctioned by the courts. 
Notice of the eomplaint must be sent to us within one month oi the tima of 
the transaction, and to identify it. you should mention The Rural New- 
1 tiRKER when writing the advertiser. 
Dai/lif/h t Saviufi! 
K want to let (laylif^ht into the qiie.stioii and 
find the truth aliout it. In tliis issue one 
Ohio correspondent (page 1040), says the plan has 
heconie a nuisance. On ])age 10.‘>0 another corre¬ 
spondent in Iowa says daylight saving is a fine 
thing, since it has brought town helpers out to the 
farm. We find this wide difference of opinion run¬ 
ning all through our reports, with the anti-daylight 
men far in the majority. But with this difference of 
opinion how would it be possible to line up the farm¬ 
ers for national legislation on the subject 1 
T he annual Fall conference will be held at the 
New York College of Agriculture, Ithaca, N. Y., 
during the week of October 2S to November 2. This 
is for “extension specialists,” farmers’ ins<^itute 
workers and county agents. The object of the con¬ 
ference is to bring the.se teachers together for con¬ 
sultation and .study. ’Fhey can thus agree upon a 
line of instruction, and learn new suggestions or de- 
\ elopments at the college. The idea is a good one if 
i! will help carry Avhat the college has to offer out to 
the people in a practical way. What the college now 
lacks is a set of interpreters who can tell her story 
in the language of the people and get them interest¬ 
ed in it. Evidently the old farmers’ institutes have 
1 ot for some time been doing this. We have done our 
best to find practical formers who want these insti¬ 
tutes continued. Where are they? 
■k 
T housands of farmers all through the Easteiai 
States grew a few acres of wheat this yeai-. We 
know of one New England community where not one 
])erson in 10 ever saw wheat gi’owing until this yeai‘. 
There have now been harvested 5,000 bushels of 
wheat in that section, and more will be started thi.s 
Fall. Many poultryinen Avho believe wheat is a 
neees!3ity for their birds, grew a few aci'es of wheat 
;ind will feed it out in the .sheaf. Having pi'oved th.at 
Avheat can be grown on their faians, the.se men will 
increase their .seeding. Yeai's ago wheat was a stand¬ 
ard crop all through the East. When the price fell 
below $1 Eastern formers abandoned it. Now, with 
the price at $2.40, it becomes once more a good crop. 
Take the following figures for Connecticut for com¬ 
parison : 
1SG7. 
Wheat . 75.000 Ibishels . 
Bye . 031,000 Bushels 144.000 Bushels 
Buckwheat . 348,(M)0 Bushels 52,0(X) Bushels 
Last year Connecticut produced so little wheat that 
no estimate is made by the Department of Agilcul- 
ture, while only 16 per cent of the rye crop of 50 
years ago was produced last year. In 1867 Connec¬ 
ticut, with about 500,000 inhabitants, produced 1,345,- 
(.(►0 bushels of the broad grains, exclusive of corn, 
and provided her people Avith a better quality of Avar 
bread than they had last AVinter. Last year the 
State produced about one barrel of rye flour for 
each 400 people, and a feAV buckAvheat cakes. This 
A' ar is to force NeAV England iiito increased pi’oduc- 
tion of Avheat and rye, and it Avill be one of the best 
things that ever happened to that section. 
W E Stated last Aveek that rye Avould be made a 
substitute for Avheat in mixed tloui'. Noav the 
Food Administration rules that mixed Avheat and rye 
flour .shall contain three pounds of Avheat flour to 
not less than two pounds of rye flour. That Avill 
make one of the best “Victory flours” the houscAvife 
can use. At home we have been eating mixed rye 
and Avheat bread for months and find it excellent. 
This use of rye Avill make an increa.sed market for 
that grain and, Ave think, increase its price and 
steady the demand. Our Eastern farmers ought to 
raise more rye than they do. It is a tough, hardy 
irrain. Avorth about as much as wheat for feeding, and 
less ex])ensive to groAA'. The Eastern part of this 
country AA’as dev^^loped and the War of the Revolu¬ 
tion fought chiefly on rye and corn bread. It is a lit¬ 
tle out of fashion noAv, but all the good old things 
are coming back. With rye made a legal substitute 
for Avheat aat are assured a fair chance for selling 
our grain, and there ought to be a big increase in the 
rye acreage. 
* 
I T is stated that the War Priority Board has placed 
agricultural lime in “preferred classification.” 
That means that lime Avill be giA’en the same trans¬ 
portation rights as fuel at least during the proper 
.season for liming. That action is right, because it 
will be impossible to ])ush 75 per cent of our farm 
land to full capacity until it is sweetened by lime. 
You may think that is a large statement, but it is 
true. Do you mean to say that a good share of our 
farm land has not been pushed to capacity? AA"e do! 
Alillions of dollars Avorth of manure and chemical 
fertilizers haA^e been used at a loss because the soil 
Avas lime sick and could not utili>:e this plant food 
fully. Lime surely ranks Avith fuel in importance. 
* 
W E thiidv the Dain/men's Lcat/ue Ncics might 
AA'ell change its name. Instead of printing 
the actual ucavs about the dairy situation it fills up 
on abuse and one-sided comment. We luiA-e hei-e 
copies of many letters and re.solutions Avhich faian- 
ors haA’e sent the Neics for publication. They Aveia; 
not printed, although they expressed Avhat Ave believe 
to be the sentiments of a majority of League mem- 
ber.s. The R. N.-Y. Avill not enter upon qny cam- 
l;aign of one-sided and lying abuse. AVe have stated 
(■ur position clearly and openly, Avith a definite ))ro- 
gram for the future. The politicians Avho noAV con¬ 
trol the League machineiy cannot and d.are not 
answer our ai'guments openly and in detail. A fair 
sample of their “ai-gument” may be stated as fol- 
loAvs: 
The League rliould be conti-ollc'd l>y its members! 
.Tohn .1. Dillon is an enemy! 
The League should handle its own Imsiness! 
.Tohn .1. Dillon neA'er did anything! 
The cost of mPk distribution slioiild Ik- i-educ('d. 
.Tohn J. Dillon is a failure! 
League members should knoAV Avhei-e tlu-ir mom-y 
goes. 
.Tohn J. Itillon never did anything! 
The local branches should h;ni<ll<> some of their 
< wn money! 
.Tohn .L Dillon ncAX-r did anything I 
The best and biggest men should direct I 
.Tohn .T. Dillon never did anything! 
There should be a big distributing plant in New 
York. 
.Tohn J. Dillon never did anything! 
Noav avo Avill leave it to anyoiie if that is not a 
fair statement of the “ai’guments” i)ut up by the 
League politicians. They may have succeeded in 
jn ejudicing the minds of a feAv hai'd-Avorking fai-mers 
Avho have been so driven Avith Avork that they have 
not been able to study all sides of the question. ’The 
noise and abusing is being done mostly by men Avho 
are financially interested and Avho got something out 
of it. AVait! Keep cool! The R. N.-Y. has been in 
this business for many years, and the printed records 
Avill shoAV just hoAV Ave have come thi-ough in m.niy 
other battles for the fai-mers. Even noAV events are 
AAorking inside the League machinery to justify (-very 
vo)-d we have ..-aid, and make the plans_Ave have 
suggested absolutely nece.s.sary. A large majority of 
I.eague memboi’s Avant something beside these ))arrot 
ai'guments, and are ready to consider iilans for im- 
jrovement. 
B efore this Avar is ended Ave think the ])eopl(‘ of 
NeAV England Avill bo obliged to make .some use 
of dried peat as fuel. There are great deposits of 
peat in upper Noav England, and some years ago the 
A’erniont Experiment .Station made a full study of it. 
At one time this peat Avas bjirned, but the modern 
system of transporting and using coal put peat on 
the shelf. Coal distribution broke do\ni last AVinter, 
and there is more trouble ahead. Many of us Avill be 
forced to burn wood, and this peat, .mixed Avith other 
fuel, may be utilized, to the great advantage of New 
England, The fact is that all over the AvoiTd today 
“progress” is going backward. The Avise men are 
lummaging in the attic of the past, finding old ideas 
or methods, diusting them up and bringing them uj) 
to date. The modern gas shell is an adaptation of 
the old Chinese “stink pot”; the deadly trench mor¬ 
tar comes from an old engine lused before the inven¬ 
tion of gunpoAvder. Defensive armor Avas di.scai’ded 
centuries ago, yet uoav it appears again in the steel 
helmet and breast plate. The good old things ai-e ap- 
jicaring eAa-r.vAvhere, im])i-ov(Kl and adai)tod. and Ave 
September 7, 191S 
think dried peat will take its place as a fuel in our 
present necessities. Men now living will remember 
Avheu a majority of people believed that the general 
introduction of coal as fuel Avould “poison the air.” 
* 
T he Indiana Experiment Station shows that 
2.513,000 bushels of wheat in that State wei’e 
juined by Avheat scab. Then it is shoAAUi that the or¬ 
ganism causing this disease is the .same that is re¬ 
sponsible for root and stalk rot of corn. The scab 
in the wheat comes from the rot in the corn when the 
AAheat was seeded in old cornfields. There AA’ere no 
cases of Avheat scab Avhen the grain folloAved Soy 
beans or oats, and very feAV Avhere the corn Avas cut 
for silage. The remedy is clean seed and a change 
of rotation, so as not to seed Avheat iu standing corn. 
H: 
T he L'. S. Senate promptly passed the new draft 
bill by a unanimous V()te. Under this laAv every 
male citizen from 18 to 45 inclusiAe may be drafted 
for military .service. Efforts Avere made to reduce 
this age limit to 40 year.s, but t!ongress decided to 
))a.ss the bill at once and provide for possible exemp¬ 
tions later. The Senate also passed an amendment 
Avhich AA'ould giA'e the (JoA’erninent definite poAver 
in case sti-ikers on (Jovernmeiit Avorl-: failed to agive 
.-() arbitration, to draft .such Avorkors into the army. 
This plan Avas abandoned on the ground that undei- 
existing laws the Uovernment uoav has the m-eded 
jiOAver. The speed Avith Avhich this bill Avent through 
f'engress indicates as nothing else could the stern 
and determined spirit of this nation to smash this 
Avar through to a finish. xVt the beginning Uermany 
banked on the belief tlmt the American people neA’er 
would submit to a strict dnift laAV. The outcome 
shoA^s hoAv little they knoAV of the real feeling in this 
country. America Avill noAV organize a A’a.st army 
so strong and AA’ell equipped that Uermany Avith all 
h(r determination and poAA'cr Avill bo driA’en back and 
beaten into submission. And that beating Avill be 
the best thing that ever happened to the (Jerman 
jieople. We do not think it very likel.v that many 
men OA’or 40 aa’III be; draftcal. Soim- of that age AA'ill 
enlist, but Ave think most of tlu-m will be left here 
as AA’orker.s. 
* 
T he spirit of determination and fixed purpose re¬ 
garding this great Avar has been groAA’ing in th< 
hearts of our people. It took time to bring it, Avitb 
some, but it has come and it is rooted into life 
The only thing that counts today is the overthrowing 
of I’russianism and the rt-diiction of (Jermany to such a 
(relation to the Avorld that she will he absolutely helpless 
'in respect to military poAver forever and ever,' Amen. 
I That comes from a man Avho Avould like to go 
OA’er himself, but age sets him out of the ranks, so ho 
tends his son. 'I’hore are thousands more like hi)n, 
aHio, Avhon they read this, Avill also say. Aiix ii! All 
Ihis makes us Avondor, more and more, at the stupid 
blunder made by the Kaiser and his Avar lords in 
(•sfimating the character of the American pcoi'lo. 
They .seemed to think that citizens of a republic c.-in 
have no national feeling, and that they Avill not fivht. 
Dur i)eople criticize and discuss our oavii public (pies- 
fions frankly', and the Uermau autocrats seem to 
thiidv this must mean disloyalty’ or rebellion. They 
knoAA’ better noAV. There are .some flintheads and 
politicians Avho must learn the same lesson. These 
men think that any expre.s.sion of independence on 
the part of farmers is treason! The poor things do 
not seem to knoAv that just such independence and 
fighting spirit on the part of a farmer is the best 
asset he has in the job of feeding the Avorld. It 
ought to be encouraged instead of being condemned. 
Brevities 
The man Avithout thought is the man Avho is caught. 
Among other ticks that need (lipi)ing is politics. 
Cut out all soda Avater and order milk, to help the 
dairy business. 
8ever.\l readers report that Paris green mixed Avith 
.siilt and i)ut iu the Avoodchuck’s hole Avill boat trai)ping. 
The “chuck” is salt hungry. 
A Canadian tolls of putting SAveet clover in the silo. 
Never heard of its being done before. Can anyone re¬ 
port progress? 
This is the season Avhen a farmer, pushed to the 
limit of his strength, Avith the most necessary things, 
enjoys having a city man, on vacation, point out lohnt 
to he done! 
We have had some experience Avith “farmerette” 
labor. At picking, hoeing, Aveediug and other light 
work the girls are quite equal if not superior to most 
young men. 
The Avool selling regulations have not been under¬ 
stood. and this has led to loss. One grower writes ns: 
“I found one dealer who is not only taking out of the 
price fixed by the Government the I’/^c per pound to 
which he is entitled, as a country dealer, but also tin; 
4 per cent Avhich the Covernmeiit pays the approved 
dealer in addition to the price paid the farmer.” 
