1194 
The Rural New-Yorker 
TUE nVSlEES^S FAmiEKH PAPER 
A National "Weekly Journal for Country and 8uburban Homes 
Establishf^d I8o0 
Pablbh^d w^«* *kly by tbi* Rtiral Pnbliithinir ('ompany, S.'IS »>*t SOfli Street, New fork 
IlKRBKRT W. CorxiNGWoop, President and Editor. 
John J. Dillon, Trea'^urer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. Dillon, Secretary. Mrs. PI T. Royle, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION : ONE DOLLAR aT^YEAR ~ 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04, equal to 8s. 6d., or 
%\'2 marks, or lOig francs. Remit in money order, express 
order, personal check or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post Office as Second Class Matter. 
Advertising rates, 75 cents per agate line—7 words. References required for 
adverti.sei's unknown to us ; and cash must accompany transient orders. 
“A SQUARP: DEAL’* 
We believe that every adverti.sement in this paper is backed by a respon¬ 
sible t>ei^on. We use every possible precaution and admit the advertising of 
reliable houses only. J3ut to make doubly sure, we will make good any loss 
to naid subwribers sustained by trusting any deliberate swindler, iiTCspon- 
eible advertisers or mi.sleading advertisements in our columns, and any 
such be publicly exposed. We are also often called upon 
to adjust differences 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 
transactmns. W e protect subscribers against rogues, but we will not bo 
responsible for the debts of honest bankrupts sanctioned bv the courts. 
Notice of the complaint must be sent to us within one month the time ot 
the tran.saction, aiid to identify it. you should mention The Rural New- 
Yorker v.’hcn writing the advertiser. 
I AM away from home much of the time. My atten¬ 
tion has just been called to the renewal of C. Owen ; 
he is my son. and is in the war. We cannot get along 
without The K. N.-Y., so here’s a .$1 bill inclosed. 
I*lease_ charge to my name. Son was just starting our 
home into a berry farm. I .shall continue it now. 
Maine. K. P. OWEN. 
F we were to print all the letter.s like this there 
would he little else in the paper. Again and 
again we hear the story hoAv Dad and the boy 
started to make the farm hum with new life. Now 
the hoy is in France, but Dad will keep the farm 
going till the boy comes back. How proud we are 
to think that both Dad and the boy call The K. 
N.-Y. their third partner! 
T his war has prov(Ml a blessing to many older 
school-teachers. Some of them were at the 
point of being crowded out of the schoolroom to 
make place for “new ideas” and new instances of 
modern education. Many teachers have gone into 
war work, and this creates a demand for the vet¬ 
erans. Many of them are back in the schoolroom 
doing fine work. We welcome these “old-fashioned” 
methods. With both teacher and doctor, except for 
special work, we prefer the experienced judge of 
human nature to care for our children. 
T he facts seem to be that the coal shortage will 
be a little worse than last year. The fuel con¬ 
ditions in Now York and New Jersey will be about 
the same as last Winter. These States have been 
promi.sed a little more coal, but most of it will go 
to promote war bu.siness. The chances ai’e that the 
larger cities will be taken cai'e of first—along with 
certain “essential” lines of busine.ss—but that the 
country and smaller towns will have less coal. This 
will give farmers who have wood to cut a good 
chance to dispose of it at a fair figure. There will 
be need of this fuel. It would be a good thing for 
tlie farmers of a community to get together and 
open a woodj’ard in town. Then they can haul in 
logs or poles and have them cut up to suit the trade. 
* 
W E have (piite a serious complaint against the 
Food Administration from a man in New 
Jersey. We were ready to take up the ca.se, but our 
friend jiromptly says: 
“Do not, under unij circumstanecff, mention mu 
name in eonueetion iviih it.” 
But liow can we iiossibly get any hearing or make 
any progress unless we give the facts and prove 
them? No one can expect the administrators to 
settle a .supposed wrong unless the person making 
the complaint Avill stand up and face the situation. 
We are ready to follow such things up to a finish 
one way or the other, but Ave must have backing, 
and the mtfn who makes the complaint must stand 
for it. 
Necessity for increasing the poultry industry of the 
United States is emphasized by Canadian food reports. 
According to a recent announcement of the U. S. Food 
Administration, storage holdings of fowls in Canada on 
Aug. 1, 1918, were so small as to be almost negligible. 
The decrease since last year exceeds 94 per cent. 
N this country the shortage is at least 30 per cent 
from last year. The poultry ruling of last 
Spring forbidding the killing of hens and pullets is 
\er.v largely responsible for this shortage. The 
trouble Avas that poultrymen never kncAV Avhat Avould 
come next, and they cut doAvn their flocks rather 
than take chances. Next Spring Avill see a rush 
back into the business, and most breeders Avill haA’e 
better stock than ever before. The War Industries 
Board has decided that “those engaged in the essen¬ 
tial food production, connected Avith raising poultry 
and eggs, as Avell as marketing poultry, are in an 
essential industry.” 
Oic RURAL NEW-YORKER 
E know a Grange Avhere the following plan 
for securing speakers has Avorked out Avell. 
Early in the season Patrons are asked to suggest 
the names of people they Avould most prefer to hear. 
These names are po.stcd, and at a suitable time a 
vote is taken, each Patron expressing first, second 
and third choice. - First choice counts three, second 
Ivvo, and third choice one, and the speakers receiving 
the larger number of points in this election are ac¬ 
cepted as the choice of the Grange. Then the officers 
do tlieir best to obtain these speakers. This plan 
has Avorked out Avith great satisfaction, and some 
first-class talent has been obtained in this way. 
* 
T he gas ma.sk has uoaa' become a necessity in 
Avarfai’e. The deadly gas Avould soon drive 
our soldiers off the battlefield, or leave them dead. 
If it Avere not for the carbon in tlie gas mask. This 
carbon al)sorbs the fumes, and. in their search for 
the best form of carbon for tliis purpo.se, the chem¬ 
ists liaA'e found the folloAving raAv materials best: 
I’each stones, apricot pits, ])i’nne ]nts. olive pits, 
date seeds, cherry pits (if native), plum pits. Brazil- 
nut shelhs, the sliells of hickorynnts, Avalnuts and 
butteiTuits. Wlien a peach or prune pit AA'ill help 
save an American soldier from horrors like those 
of the bottomless pit. it is our duty to save every 
one. The American Red Cross Avill collect them. 
INCE we began to talk about those hill farms 
Ave have received at least 100 letters from 
]ieople Avho Avant further information. They come 
from Florida to Wisconsin, and fi'om Maine to 
Kansas. All sorts of people are represented—the 
city clerk, the retired professional man and the 
farmer Avho Avants a change. A number of people 
have sold tlieir farins to adA’antage and Avant a com¬ 
plete change of scene before settling again. We are 
.surpri.sed to see how many people think of moving 
back from the.South. We did not expect that in 
these Avar times there would be any such interest in 
the hill farms, hut it has come, and Ave are satisfied 
that noAv is the time for the State and for the Farm 
Bureaus to get busy and let the Avorld know Avhat 
Ave have. 
>•< 
Unconditional Surrender 
HAT Avill be the reply of the .Vmei'ican people 
to the German proposal for an armistice. The 
German rulers have plunged the Avorld into the most 
hideous Avar of all history. They are responsible for 
the horrors and bloodshed of the past four years. 
No other nation Avanted Avar. No other nation Avas 
prepared for it. The Germans had been preparing 
for years Avith the fixed determination to conquer 
Europe, menace this country, and make-ns all pay 
the price needed to buy for Germany “a place in 
the .sun.” 
This diabolical i)lot to enslave the Avorld Avas Avell 
laid and carried out Avith the highest human efli- 
ciency. It has failed because a higher than human 
poAver has intervened to save the Avorld for better 
things. The Gorman Avar lords uoav kuoAA' in their 
hearts that they Avill be “beaten to a fi’azzle”— 
that the end of their autocracy is just ahead. And 
so they come with a characteristic evasive trick ask¬ 
ing for an “armistice” in Avhich to talk ihiiigs over. 
There should be nothing to talk about except 
'‘unconditional surrender” —the same as for Bulgaria, 
Turkey and all the rest. Prnssianisni and Avhat it 
stands for must be put out of the Avorld—forever and 
ever, amen! 
We have the utmost confidence that President 
Wilson and the leaders of our Allies Avill handle this 
situation right. They Avill expose the hypocrisy and 
trickery of the German Avar lords, and blast them 
out of the Avay on tlie march to Berlin. Our case is 
in good hands. It is not oiir business to advise our 
leaders Avhat to do. It is our business—the busine.ss 
of every American citizen—to back up the Govern¬ 
ment noAV as never before. The Avar is not ovei\ 
Germany can and will fight desperately before she 
is crushed. Every dollar Ave can spare Avill be needed 
to force this Avar to a finish. It is part of the Ger¬ 
man trick to get our people to relax their efforts in 
this T-iberty bond campaign. It Avill Avork the other 
way. We uoav see hoAV our dollars are paving 
the road over Avhich our soldiers Avill march 
into Germany. It is uoav more necessary than 
ever to fioat this loan. That Avill be tlie best 
possible ansAver to Germany, for it Avill prove that 
the heart and the pocket-book of Ainei'ica are both 
behind our soldiers and onr I’re.sident for a fight to 
a finish. "Unconditional surrender!” Buy more 
bonds! 
October 19, lots 
HE world has passed through several “ages.” 
We have had the stone age, the iron age, the 
gas age and the age of gold. Just before the war we 
were getting into the age of “pep.” There had come 
into life a feeling that only the force and enthusi¬ 
asm of youth can ever bring success. This was called 
“pep,” and the feeling Avas started by Dr. Osier's re¬ 
mark that man originates but little after 40 and 
should be chloroformed at 00. This Avas regarded as 
a joke by the thoughtless, but it meant a sad trag¬ 
edy to many a gray-haired man. Unless a man had 
the “pep” or blaze of youth he was di.scarded. Act¬ 
ing on this supposed value of “pep,” many lines of 
business and some schools and colleges proceeded 
to Avork off the older men and stock np with young 
fellows who had little beside untried knowledge and 
the blaze of youth. The coming generation was in 
danger of getting too large a do.se of “pep,” and it 
would have proved disastrous to many young people. 
The Avar is changing this, since it has SAvept many of 
the younger men into the army. Many of the older 
men have been called back into service, and, for¬ 
tunately Ave are to have less “pep” and more salt. 
“Pep” is the blaze of life. “Salt” is the real fire of 
experience. The blaze may attract attention, but 
the fire of life is wbat makes the engine move. In 
this war the young fellows at the front supply the 
“pep,” but gray-haired men direct it and supply 
wbat we call the “salt.” This is as it should be, for 
Ave Avere driving so much to “pep” that we were for¬ 
getting the “salt” of experience and memory. Thus 
one o'f the great things this war is doing is that of 
proving the value of older men who were being lost 
out of the shuffle of the busy years. Every elderly 
man should try to keep himself interested in some 
part of the Avork so that he may keep on growing. 
* 
The plant food rcmov'od from Kan.sas soil during the 
past 5.0 years in the wheat crops alone has been worth 
about seven hundred million dollars, or more than the 
farmers of Kansas recewed for all the wheat grown 
during the last eight years. As this Avheat has been 
largely milled outside the State, and as the bran and 
shorts, as well as the flour, have been fed outside the 
State, this fertility has nearly all been taken away, to 
the permanent injury of Kansas soils. Even the wheat 
straw, worth more than tAV'elve million dollars for the 
plant food it contains, has been largely burned or other- 
Avise Avasted. The result of such a system of farm 
practice can easily be foretold. 
HE result has been worked out and definitely 
settled in every State on the upper Atlantic 
slope. The above quotation is taken from Bulletin 
220 of the Kansas Experiment Station. It is shown 
that since 1869, figuring on five-year iieriods, the 
wheat yield of Kansas has fallen from 16.90 to 13.90 
hnshels per acre; corn from 36 to less than 15 
bushels, and oats from 35 to 24 bushels. The meth¬ 
ods of culture are probably better noAv than 50 years 
ago, yet the average acre yield has steadily declined. 
Over 30 years ago The R. N.-Y. pointed out that the 
yearly exports of livestock and grain from the West¬ 
ern States Avonld sooner or later make it necessary 
for Western farmers to use phosphoriis as commer¬ 
cial fertilizers. We Avei-e laughed at for even sug¬ 
gesting tliat the inch Western soil Avould go the 
same Avay as our thinner Eastern land. Now the 
fact is evident to all. A ton of live ox Avalks off 
Avith 40 pounds of phosphoric acid, and a ton of 
Avheat removes more than 15 ponnd.s. For 50 years 
this gi-eat drain of plant food has been going on 
until, as Ave see, there is a loss in crop acreage of 
from 25 to more than 50 per cent. For the lack of 
.suitable fertilizer the Kansas farmer is losing one- 
fourth or more of the labor lie puts on his crops. 
On onr Eastern farms the land has been under culti¬ 
vation for a century or more longer than that Kansas 
soil, yet it averages higher in crop yield, and, instead 
of losing, the yield per acre, is increasing. This is 
certainly true in sections Avhere chemical fertilizers 
are most largely used. In these sections farmers 
have learned to use manure or green crops with the 
fertilizei’s. The Kan.sas Experiment Station Avisely 
advises farmers -to use steamed bone meal or acid 
phosphate, and not-to depend on raAv rock for prompt 
results. 
Brevities 
Take the slack out of the slacker. 
Talk without action gets nowhere. 
A ciriLD in the house this Winter will take off some 
of the human chill. 
We Avonld punish the pro-German by taking the 
protein out of his food. 
Peanut bread—made from peanut meal and flour—is 
the latest substitute for cake. 
In parts of Utah there are beds of shale rock so full 
of oil that a splinter ignited with a match Avill burn 
like a candle. 
A NOTE from Arizona speaks of holding a Farm Bu¬ 
reau “rodeo.” We take that to be a general round-up of 
the human live.stock. 
