1096 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BP/ilNESE FAEMEITS PAPER 
A >ntloiinl WeeHy Journal Tor Coiiiitry and Suburban Ilomeii 
Estabtished iSSO 
Piiblbbrd iT»rkljf by the Rural PablkhlnE ('ompnny, 883 West SOth Street, Sew lork 
Herbert W. Collixgwood, PreMdeiit and Editor. 
John J. Dillon, Treatnirer and (ieneral Manager. 
SVm. F. Dillos, Secretary. Mr."!. E. T. Royt.e, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION : ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
7^ ■ reign countries in the Universal Postal Union, <2.04, equal to 8s. td., or 
marks, or 10>s francs. Kemlt in money order, express 
order, peraonal check or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post Office as Second Cla.ss Jtatter. 
Advertii-ing rates. 76 cents i>er agate line—7 words. References required for 
advertisers unknow n to us j and cash must accompany tranMent orders. 
“A SQUARE DEAL” 
We believe tliat eveiy advertisement in this paper Is backed by a respon¬ 
sible iierson. We use every pos-sible iirecaution and admit the advertising of 
reliable houses only. But to make doubly sure, we will make good any loss 
to i»aiti sub!^iibei*s sustained by trusting any oeliberato swindler, irrespon¬ 
sible adyeiti.sei's or mislea<iing advertisements in our columns, and any 
such swindler will be publicly exposed. We are also often called upon 
to adiust ditfei’ences or mistakes between our subscribers and honest, 
responsible houses, whether advertisers or not. We willingly use our good 
offices to this end, but such cases should not be confused with dishonest 
ll•ansa<?tlons We protect subscribers against rogues, but we will not bo 
resijonsible for the debts of honest b.ankrupts sanctioned by the courts, 
>otlce of the comiilaint must be sent to us within one month of the time of 
the transaction, and to identify it, you should mention The RrnAL New’- 
Yokkkr when writing the advertiser. 
A lJOidD many of our New York readers liave 
as^ked liow they can sell their wheat to ad- 
vanra}re this year. The T’. S. drain Coi*poration 
has now made tlie followinir ruling: 
That in Xew York State the drain Corporation 
would acc?])t con.signinents of oo-ojioratively loaded 
mixed eais of ungraded wheat, and would grade the 
wheat on arrival at it.s store.s and remit to the indi- 
A'iduals making up the ears. 
The State Federation of Farm liureaus has de¬ 
veloped this .situation. Of eourse, the di’ain Cor¬ 
poration eannot well handle small individual lots 
of grain direct. It can handle carload lots made 
up of .several or many small shipments. Thus this 
grain must be handled co-operatively. The farm 
bureau agents of each county will have charge of it. 
* 
T he iirst-page picture brings to mind a scene 
now quite common in fruit sections. Tliat 
means ]daces where peaches are grown—or eaten. 
Who would have dreamed 10 years ago that people 
would be urged to save and collect peach pits? No 
one then imagined that poisonous gas Avould or 
could be employed in warfare. With the use of this 
gas came the need of a proper defense against it. 
The gas mask resulted, and the peach jiit is a neces- 
.‘^ity in iireparing it. So the call comes for peach 
pits, and all over the land Ave are learning to save 
and collect them. The boy in the picture cannot 
serve his time in the trench—standing up to face 
the dark cloud of poison which comes crawling 
toward him. Itut this boy can furnish the peach 
pits needed to make the gas masks which will save 
his brother and others from this hideous, craAvling 
death. One is a soldier of the pit, the other a 
siddier of the peach—both enlisted against the 
Kaiser. 
» 
O NE of the strange.st things we have yet heard 
of is the state of mind evidenced by some of 
the fai'iner.s’ institute workers. Because we are try¬ 
ing in every way to find out Avhether farmers want 
the institutes or not, the.se Avorkers declare that Ave 
are opposed to such forms of education. AYe Avant 
the farmers of New York to have Avhat they need 
and Avhat they de.sire in farm education. AA’e have 
gone out of our Avay to urge people Avho believe in 
tlie institutes to advocate them. That does not mean 
that we oppo.se them, but that aa'G do intend to have 
the truth about them developed. Can anj'one tell 
us Avhy all these people cannot stand fair criticism? 
Wlien Ave point out evident mistakes or failings of 
some of the individuals Avho head farm organiza¬ 
tions they at once jump in to say Ave are trying to 
de.stroy the organization—Avhen Ave are far more 
anxious than they are to haA'e it live and groAv. As 
for the institutes, if any reasonable number of real 
farmers Avant them they ought to be continued, and 
we offer all such farmers a chance to make their 
argument. 
I T soems to us that Mr. IIoAvard, on jiage lOSS, 
presents a sen.sible argument for the farmers’ 
institutes. It is one of the be.st Ave have seen, 
tliough it may seem one of the feeblest to many 
jiractical men. According to this statement the 
dignified institutes supplj’’ something of AA'hat Ave 
may call culture to general farm education. Of 
course. Ave knoAv there are many Avho say that 
“culture’’ has no sen.sible u.se in practical farming, 
Imt it has been our belief for some years that our 
farm education has l.iecorae too much given to ma¬ 
terial things. We need more of Avhat is understood 
as “culture’’ to add imagination and spiritual poAver, 
without Avhich any sj-stem of education' Avill make 
a man into a complicated machine. In Avhat ai’e noAV 
called “rhe good old timo.s,” one great source of 
strength lay in the academies and lyceums Avhich 
RURAL NEW-YORKER 
were.found scattered through rhe rural sections. 
These institutions did not teach men how to hoe or 
plow or plant, but they did give the farmers “cul¬ 
ture,” AAhich meant vision, imagination and knowl¬ 
edge of the gentler arts of life. There are some 
who think this culture is the chief end of living. 
They are AA'orse than the material or jiractical peo¬ 
ple. Life, in its es.sentials, is based upon bread and 
butter—not upon napkin and silvei* fork, yet most 
of us become better citizens liy realizing that both 
have a proper place in life. AA’e think Mr. Van 
Alstyne had this idea in mind, and that by reason 
of it he kept the institutes before the people longer 
than any other man could haA'e done. 
r< 
I T will pay to use fertilizer, and esjiecially avail¬ 
able phosphorus, on the Winter grain this Fall. 
In most of the Eastern States this grain often fol- 
lOAvs potatoes—the latter being highly fertilized. 
In such cases not much fertilizer is needed by the 
grain, but it Avill usually pay. This extra plant 
food increases the growth and gives the grain a 
better hold ujion the soil. There is a hard Winter 
coming, and Ave should try now to have the grain 
crop Avell anchored in the soil. Phosphorus is the 
great need of most grain crops on our soil, and Avith 
present grain prices it Avill ]iay to fertilize. It is 
about like feeding grain to a coaa-. 
U NDER the old system of private management 
great ijuantities of old railroad ties Avere 
Avasted. Instead of being used as fuel, thousands 
of these ties Avere piled by the side of the roadbed 
and burned. Noaa', Avith the railroads under govern¬ 
ment control, these ties Avill be saved. AYhen sound 
enough they Avill be given to farmers for fence posts 
or sills—farmers in exchange to moAv or plow along 
the tracks. Ties not so placed Avill be cut up for 
fuel for firing engines or given to poor jieople. 
That’s right. No use in the government’s a.sking the 
people to save fuel AA'hile it sets an example in 
Waste. 
D uring the jiast few years several diseases 
have appeared in potato field.s. They are 
diseases of the tuber and thus not fully arrested by 
spraying, as vine diseases may often be. Farmers 
A\'ho groAV table stock have usually depended on seed 
grown in the North, and up to Avithin a feAv years 
ago, found such see<l I’easonably true to name and 
free from disease. Noav there is great complaint 
both regarding disea.se and the fact that varieties 
are mixed. This is leading many farmers in the 
latitude of Noav .Jersey to test the .second crop or 
late planted seed. This second crop is giving good 
results, and a cai’eful farmer is enabled by this 
plan to pull out all diseased plants and make sure 
that his varieties are true. We are Avell satisfied 
that this plan of growing second-crop seed Avill lie- 
come general unless the Northern .seed groAvers begin 
immediately to handle their crops so as to guarantee 
certified .seed free from dlsea.se and time. The 
situation is serious, for the potato seed crop is the 
greatest asset for many Northern sections. It Avill 
be lost unless this disease problem can be squarely 
met. On the other hand, if groAvers can take the 
necessary steps to guarantee “certified .seed” it Avill 
be a greater asset than ever. 
« 
I think the Avork you are doing along the line of 
arousing farmers to their political duty (for govern¬ 
ment is a duti/ that should be shared by all. and not 
j)a.s.sed along to the professional politician) is going to 
lie a grand thing. Of course, you or rather, ice cannot 
do all AA'c AA'i.sh this year, but if the thing is .started 
right the movement Avill groAV immen.sely as time 
goes on. c. L. M. 
Allegany Co., N. Y. 
T Avill groAA', and is groAving noAv. In former 
years Avhenever Ave talked about increasing the 
laimber of farmers in the T.,egi.slature the opposition 
came from laAvyers and liusiness men. This year 
opportunity presented itself and there Avas the 
chance of a lifetime to put 30 furmors in the Legin- 
latnre. Who do you suppose fought hardest again.st 
the proposition? Not people of other interests but 
the men selected as leadern by the farmers them¬ 
selves. It is the mo.st remarkable thing Ave haA'e 
ever knoAvn in public life that officers of farm so¬ 
cieties, from the Grange doAvn, joined the politicians 
in an effort to kill off any independent movement 
by farmers. Every one of these organizations which 
in any way represents practical farmers had de¬ 
manded a larger number of farmers in the Legi.s- 
lature. If permitted to vote on the question the.v 
Avould uphold 50 farmers in the Leffislatnre by tAVO 
to one. And these leaders hnoic it! Yet, in order 
to stand Avith the politicians, they Avent about the 
State trying to kill oft’ the most hopeful independent 
action that our farmers ever started. And Avhat 
^^cpteniber 21, IPtS 
arguments they put up: They tried to make it ap¬ 
pear that anyone who dares ro be independent is a 
pro-German I One leading official undertook to 
argue that if farmers combined, labor union men, 
AA'ould do the .same and thus control the Legislature! 
He does not seem to know that members of labor 
unions and the laAvyers hired to represent them are 
already in control! We are going to make this 
matter so clear that farmers aa'III understand just 
Avho are responsible for the result if after the elec¬ 
tion there are not 30 farmers in the Legislatare. 
When the.v once understand the farmers AA'ill do the 
rest. 
W E are told repeatedly that there are today 
lOO.OoO or more of Chinamen in France 
doing farm Avork Avhile Frenchmen are at the front. 
We haA'e been unable to obtain an.v exact figures 
about this, but it is being u.sed as an argument to 
shoAA' Avh.A' great bands of these Chinese coolies 
should lie brought into this country. One of the 
hardest problems France AA'ill have after the Avar 
Avill be hoAv to get rid of this army of Chinamen. 
I'liey cannot be assimilated into the French nation. 
Their habits and Avays of life are .such that the 
French farmer cannot and Avill not try to compete 
Avith them. They represent one of the necessities 
of AA''ar. The French regard them as such, for they 
say as little as possible about this Chinese labor. 
The proposition advanced in this country by large 
farmers and employers of labor is to bring in the.se 
Chinamen and work them in large gangs at the pro¬ 
duction of food. The object is apparently to produce 
tlieap food without regard to, Avhere it is produced 
or who produces it. It is at heart a scheme to 
cheapen and degrade farm labor and would never be 
.suggested for application to other industrie.s. For 
example, suggest that the Chinamen he crowded 
into the tOAvns and jnit to making shoes or clothing 
or munitions, so that a million Avorkers Avill be set 
free to serA'e as farm hands! IIoav far Avould you 
get Avith that suggestion? Yet it Is as patriotic and 
as sen.sible as any scheme for importing a horde of 
cheap labor to keep down the price of food. 
* 
W M. H. V-VNDERBILT never ])rerended to be 
any great literary character, yet he con¬ 
tributed one lasting remark to the Avorld’s supjily 
of epigram.s. His remark about Avhat might happen 
to the public Avill live for many years as a memoi'y 
of AA'hat railroading used to l>e. We Avi.sh the pro¬ 
fane old railroad magnate could be alive today and 
.see AA’hat is coming 1o the railroads under Federal 
control. ‘'The piihlie he served!” is the Avay history 
has edited Vanderbilt’s remark, and the public is 
seiwed because it seiwes it.self b.y running the rail¬ 
roads. 
* 
T he Noav York State fair was a great Avar-time 
exhibition—Avith a large attendance of earnest 
country people. There can be no question about 
the spirit and determination of Ncaa’ York farmers. 
Thej' realize the size of the job assigned them, and 
the.v are going at it Avithout bluster or bluff or loud 
talking, and they Avill ])ut it over. One of the best 
exhibits this year Avas the comiietition hetAveen the 
different counties. This brought out one of the 
most remarkalde disjilays of farm and garden prod¬ 
ucts ever made. Ontario County Avon first jirize. 
largel.v because of the beauty of the exhibits and 
the fine taste .shoAvn in their display. The most 
striking exhibit Avas made by Madison county in 
tAA’o bales of hay, shoAving the results of using lime. 
The entire fair Avas arranged as a Avar exhibit, ainl 
Avas very instructive—in that respect perhaps the 
best one Ave have ever attended. 
Brevities 
A HEAD .should be kept level, but a concrete floor 
should have a slope. 
Remember that in New York State “hard” cider is 
classed as an intoxicating drink. 
Italy permits one jiound of sugar per month to each 
per.son—and the Italians are quite sweet I 
Dry seed corn is not injured by freezing. The dam¬ 
age is done to the Avet ears. 
WiiAT is the difference betAveen concrete and ab¬ 
stract? Well, you can’t abstract plant food through a 
concrete stable floor! 
A DROP in the bucket amounts to nothing they say. 
Try a drop of ink and see if you Avant to drink the 
water. 
We have been reading an article on SAveet clover in 
which the author tells of the "big root.s tearing up the 
ground.” It has been a Avonder to us hoAv a plant Avith 
such small roots could ever make such a large top. 
We haA'e recently had many calls for a description 
of sled corn cutters. They Avere popular some years 
ago, but dropped out of use. The luinciple was a sled 
or loAV-down truck just the width of the roAV with a 
sharp knife bolted to the side so it .sliced ofl' the corn. 
