*242 . • ^ -Ghe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
remarks ooncerninff tlio Rochester 
X lie XVUl ai 1 >1 C W 1 UlKer 1^ Ifcrnu on pa?e 1281. This time it is steers in 
Indiana, and the IJrrahl starts off Avith a blunder of 
about J2.500 in its figurine. It seems remarkable to 
us that this paper persists in repeating these .stories, 
which are so OA’idently false or foolish. Most of the 
city pajAcrs get wise after two or three exposures of 
this .sort, but the llrrohJ goes on trying to prove that 
the fanner is a millionaire in disguise. 
THE ErSHXESS FARMER'S PAPER 
A Xatlanal Weekly Journal lor Country nn<l Suburban llomeo 
Estalilished fsso 
rnblUhrd weekly hy the Riir»l rnhliuhtnc Company, .l.'l.l «>«( SOeh Street.Xem lork 
Hekbert AV. Colun-gwood, President and Editor 
__ Jons J. niu/)K, Treasurer and General Alantiper 
, /3k F. PlLtxiX, Seci etary. _ AIbs. E. T. ItOYLE. . Vssociate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION : ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
Cb foreiim eonntries in the Universal Postal Union. 82.(M. equal to *s. 6d., or 
8^ niarkSy or fraucs. Keniit in money order, express 
order, personal check or bank draft. 
Entered at New A'ork Post Oflice as Second Class Matter. 
Advert^inff rates, ,5 cents per atrate line—7 words. References required for 
^ advertisers unknown to us ; and cash imist^aceompany' transient orders. 
“A SQUARE PEAL-’ 
advertisement in this pajxir is backed by a respon- 
* ovei*y poHsIblo j)r€‘caution and admit the advertising of 
pliable houses only. But to make doubly sure, we will make (rood any loss 
su.dain«l by tnistinpr any deliberate swindler, irrespon¬ 
sible advertisers or misleading advertisements in our columns, and anv 
publicly exposed. AVe are also often called upon 
JP adjust differences or mistakes between our subscribers and honest. 
whether aiivertisers or not. AVe willingly use our good 
I.']'* xv**’ hut such cases should not be confused with dishonest 
1,1," subscribers against rogues, but we will not be 
/^ehts of honest bankrupts sanctioned by the court.s, 
the ”’•' 5 ''* ? r within one month of the time of 
YoRKgk whin wrim^ the ^ mention The Rcrai, New- 
I XEVER believed in sending boinjiiets to a man after he 
, i« dead. My idesi is to hand them out Avhile the person 
is alive. Then he can see his efforts .are appreciated. 
Noav for the bouquet. Last AA'eek “Hope Farm Notes” 
struck me a.s .so forcibly good I cut it out and it is on 
its Avay to France to mj' son, Avho has been oA’er about 
one and one-half years. I knoAv he AA'ill apjireciate it 
as much as I. The old R. N.-Y. hold.s it own all right. 
IVith best Avishes for the entire R. N.-Y. family. 
I\ ayne ('o.. N. Y. E. E. JtiNisox. 
Surely “taffy” is bettor than “ojiitaffy.” Tho.se of 
lis AA'lio caiiiiot go “over there" in iierson are glad to 
go in .siiirit. The R. N.-Y. “holds its OAvn” beean.se its 
fine old friends .stay Avitli us and make it tlieir busi- 
nes.s to keep the fire.s of fiuendship burning. 
Last Spring, Prof. .7udkiu.s, through The R. N.-Y., 
sent me some hiuts iu regard to butter making. I have 
found them of great assistance, and by following your 
instructions I haA’e been able to .sati.sfy .a very high-class 
trade in sweet butter, for which I receive 70 cents per 
pound. •vv. ir. Mackenzie. 
T HIS is only one of many. We believe the advice 
given by IT’of. .Tudkins on feeding and practical 
dairying Is very sensible and msefiil. M’e do not 
knoAv of anything in this line superior to It. This 
sc'i-vicc is for yon if you need it. M’e iioaa^ have. Ave 
believe, the most complete group of farm advisers 
ever brought together hy any paper in the Av^orld. 
They are ready to help you at any time. 
A FEIV Aveeks ago a large dealer In Scranton, 
Pa., Avas accused of rejecting a carload of 
fruit AA’ithont justification. The case seemed clear, 
and the Food Administrator decided to close the 
store. The dealer called for a hearing and at once a 
cloud of AA’itnesses apiieared. They AA'ere commis¬ 
sion men and employees, and the dealer AAms permit¬ 
ted to reopen after making a deposit and agreeing 
to arbitrate the case. M'hat Ave Avant to make clear 
is the fact that AA’henever a dealer gets into troulde 
over a shipment a great army of other dealers Avill 
proni])tly run to his rescue. It Is a ca.se of “all for 
each and each for all.” One great rea.son Avhy these 
dealers are able to control the situation is because 
they hang together in just this Avay. One great rea¬ 
son Avhy tlie farmers are robbed and held nji hy 
dealers is hecau.se they do not hang together in this 
Way. 
I N talking about the need of iihusphorus on Kansas 
soils Ave stated that the jilaces Avhere yields of 
grain, iiotatoes and similar crops have been kept up 
are whore chemical fertilizers have been properly 
used. A M’estern reader says he doubts the .state¬ 
ment. Tlie printed reports issued hy the Govern¬ 
ment are about the only evidence Ave have. These 
shoAA' that in the ^Yestern States the UA'crage yields 
nr<‘ considerably less than tliose of 25 yeai-s ago. 
Tliere are sections Avhere these yields are above the 
average, and in such cases it is safe to say that yon 
will find the farmers using phosphorus in some form. 
In the Eastern States, jiartieularly in Noav England. 
New .ler.sey and most of NeAv Y'ork. the avera.ge pro¬ 
duction of grain, and most other crops, is the highest 
In tlie country. The yields are highest Avherever the 
farmers use most fertilizer in a reasonable Avay. M’e 
can easily find great tracts of land in Gonnecticut or 
NeAA’ Jer.sey AA'hei’e the acre yield of corn or AA'heat 
is higher than any tract of equal size any M'estern 
State can shoAV. There is no question that the rea¬ 
sonable u.se of commercial fertilizers has saved the 
farming of the Eastern States. "We think the M^est 
will be obli.ged to folloAv. The use of raAA’ pho.sphate 
rock in the Mis.sissippi Yalley is really the beginning 
With commercial fertilizers. Its use Avill .shOAv the 
need of other forms of pliosphorus and other ele¬ 
ments of plant food. The u.se of fertilizers has al¬ 
ways been developed iu about that Avuy. 
W E Avant yon to read the article on -The Trade 
Relation Between Hide and Shoes” on first 
page. Get the.se figures clearly in mind. You Avill 
see how it Avorks out. A farmer sells a hide Aveigh- 
ing 45 pounds and receives .$(1.75. The tanner turns 
that liide into leather with a little side line in hair, 
grease and glue. The shoe manufacturer cuts nji 
the leather and makes it into shoes. A little later the 
farmer finds that his family need shoeing. Includ¬ 
ing tlie hired man and the neighbor, they Avill need 
at least .seA’en pairs of shoes. The original hide made 
the soA’en pairs Avith soinetliing over, and they cost 
tliat family at least .$.85, for it is good leather. 
When the farmer sold the hide to the dealer he had 
to take Avliat the said dealer offered him. When he 
honglit the shoes he paid AAhat the shoe man stated 
Avas the price. He accepted the dealer’s price or 
took his hide liome. He paid the shoe man’s price 
or went barefoot. The farmer took the $(1.75 Avhich 
lie received for the hide and added .$2S.25, or about 
the price of 1-4 hu.shels of Avheat, before he could 
got tliat hide hack in the form of .shoe.s. That is 
Avliat AA’e call a 10-cent dollar, or Avhat the hide rep¬ 
resents in tlie final cost of the shoes. We are not 
ahnsing the tanner or the shoemaker or anj'one el.se. 
Me are just pointing out a great trouble in our sys¬ 
tem of distributing AA-ealth and the proceeds from 
labor. MHieii the farm retains R) cents Avhile 81 cents 
remain in the hands of toAvn and city AA'orkinen it is 
easy to see Avhat hapjiens AA’hen this single incident 
is multiplied by many millions and goes on for 50 
years. That is just Avliat has happened in this coun¬ 
try, and the incident of tlie hide and the .shoes sIioavs 
just AAhat is the matter Avitli fanning, and Avhy so 
many bright boys and girls have left the farm to get 
a fairer share of the SI eeiiLs. If anyone says that 
we have put the price of the shoes too high, Ave can 
answer that there are many people in this city Avho 
pay $1G or more for a pair. 
» 
u. s. 
T hat stands for the United States and also for 
XJnconditiotuil SurTcndcpI One reiiresents our 
lionieland, the other AA*hat Ave must demand in order 
to make that liomeland safe and secure. Any student 
of German Iiistory Avill knoAv that the present policy 
of the Kaiser’s government is not new. It has been 
attenq.ted over and over AvliencA-er Germany found 
herself on the losing side of Avar. As a victor Ger¬ 
many has alAA’ays demanded more than the pound of 
flesh arrogantly and Avith no argnnient. Noav. in 
the face of sure defeat, her policy is to dqjay and 
“talk it over” Avith the object of hriliing or coaxing 
one or more of the Allies to giA’c better terms. It is 
an old game often jilayed in history Avlien no nation 
really desired a permanent peace, and Avlien rnlels 
regarded Avar as a necessity in order to keeji thein- 
selA'es in poAA’cr. The AA'orld has iioaa' gone past tliat. 
and there must be no more .gainhling Avitli iieace or 
Avitli tlie common riglits of hnnianity. Tliis country 
entered the AA'ar for the exiiress jiurpose of initting 
the Kaiser and his Avar lords out of tlie Avar-inaking 
business foreA’or. 'riiat is AA'liy A\'e sent onr lioys 
across the ocean ; that is Avliy avo are initting up onr 
money and denying ourselves in a dozen Avays. "We 
will not stand for any jii'ace ba.sed on “eoiiA'crsation” 
or scraps of paper, for tliat Avill simply entail a more 
liorrible struggle upon our children in tlie future. 
The A-arions “notes” from Germany show tliat the 
Kaiser’s poAver is cracking and tliat he Avants time 
to patch it up. Let it not he a jiaper peace, but a 
lieace Avith a punch, decided and dictated by the 
military leaders. All over the country “Uncondi¬ 
tional Surrender Glubs” are being organized, and 
they Avill serve a .good purpose in concentrating inib- 
lic opinion and keeping menibers of Gongress up to 
tlieir duty. Let us have no illusions aliout any pain¬ 
less peaet^. Tho.'^e of us Avho offer the best Ave have 
as a .sacrifice kno\A’ that the only peaceful peace Avill 
he the one prodded home Avith tlie huyonet. The 
Kaiser and the war lords made tlieir mistake in fail¬ 
ing to realize the true .spirit of tlie American people. 
M’e should not. in like manner, make the mistake of 
siqiposing that the German people Avould or Avill act 
just as our own people Avould under similar con¬ 
ditions. The German jieople, through centuries of 
November 2, 101S 
autocratic rule, have lost or never .gained the power 
to .act like men who haA'e for generations been free 
to govern themselves. AVe are dealing Avitli the 
Kaiser and the inbred spirit of Kai.serism. and they 
can under.stand only Hvo things—a truce to reneAV 
the Avar or unconditional surrender. U. 8. stands 
for the latter. 
» 
yV HLrARlMLNr of “Farm Mechanics" Avill be 
started next Aveek, conducted by Prof. Roliert 
H. Smith. Prof. .Smitli is a farmer tlioronglily 
trained as a mechanic and engineer. He Avill discuss 
the care and application of farm machinery, ventila¬ 
tion and .similar probleni.s. The first article, to ap¬ 
pear next Aveek, deals Avith belting. Few people 
stop to con.sider that the belt is the great power 
transmitter on the American farm. Wlio can e.sti- 
niate tlie energy generated at liigh cost, but lo.st be¬ 
cause the belt does not get a full grip on the ma¬ 
chine? Thi.s article explains it nil. 
•> 
“A'o man is miser for his learning." 
'^HAT doctrine Avas laid doAvn hy .Tohn Seiden 
-I more tlian three centuries* ago. It Avas true 
then, and has been gatliering truth CA’cr since. M'e 
have all seen learned men avIio make fools of theni- 
selyes Avhen they undertake to talk about things 
Avhich haA’e not burned their hajids in jiractical ex¬ 
perience. Learning ’ AA'ithont house .sen.se and ex¬ 
perience is .sterile and Avor.se than “ignorance” com¬ 
bined Avith judgment and a knoAvledge of human 
nature. The trouble with nnich of onr modern edu¬ 
cation is the, idea that a book is ,a liA’ing thing— 
carrying brains and judgment to the student, Avhen it 
is only ,a collection of ink inark.s on paper, with no 
life until its mesisage is Avorked out in practical liv¬ 
ing. The trouble aaTHi some of onr agricultural teach¬ 
ers may be that they have too much learning and too 
little wl.sdom. 
My family ami I are very anxious to get a farm, but 
death and illiie.ss have been mighty close friends the past 
few .A’ears, and my husband ha\’ing a good position, aa'o 
haA’e decided that our only chance to secure that farm 
is to exchange the comforts of a real home, with good 
food and care, for same. Surely there must be some¬ 
where a lonely old man or Avomiin who needs ju.st such 
a liome, and AV’ould be glad to knoAv that they would 
have no more responsibility. I would like you to tell 
me if one .sliouid have a legal contract drawn up, if suc¬ 
cess should croAvn our efforts, or ju.st take someone with 
the good intent Avliich croAA’ns our purpose. MRS. M. M. 
I ''Ills AA’oman’s proposition is to bring her family 
X to the farm and care for tlie elderly oAvner. 
making a contract to do thi.s and in excliange receiA’o 
the farm on tlie oAvner’s death. We have had sev¬ 
eral propo.sitions like this of lute, but aa’c cannot take 
the re.siion.sihility of encouraging them. It Avouhl 
he a great risk for any elderly man, either alone or 
AA’ith his AAufe iiA’ing, to enter into any such contract 
Avith unknown people. The best of “references” 
Avould he of little value in sucli a case, and onr 
earnest advice to such old people AA'onld be ncA’cr 
to sign any contract or to deed uAvay tlieir property 
in exchange for “board and care.” In theory siieli 
an arrangement Avonld lie ideal. The old people 
Avonld receive the care wliicli tlieir oavu children 
.slionld give tbeni, and deserving jieople AA'ould have 
a elianee to obtain a good liome. Unfortunately, tlie 
element of life knoAvn as “lininan nature” too often 
upsets such beautiful tlieories. and Avitliout dis- 
I’-araging the inotlA'es of Avortliy jieople, onr adA'ico 
to elderly farmers AA’oiild be to aA'oid entering into 
any such contract. 
Brevities 
“Let us then be up and doing I” 
Gonsulting a “quack” aa’III usually deduct from your 
income. 
Plenty of mou knoAv how to butt iu, but can’t soav oii 
a button. 
The Avork of the idle, “retired” farmer cannot be 
called essential. 
The man Avjio deliberately marries a school teacher 
knows Avhat to expect. 
R.ats and cats! They rhyme, but the full poetry 
conies Avheu the rat is inside of the cat. 
Rabbit-rokk sausage is the latest delicacy. First, of 
course, you must catch your rabbit. Then mix his meat 
Avith pork, pepper and sage. 
M’’e have always advised our readers to u.se neatly 
printed stationery—anuoiinciug their busiuess. This is 
Avhat one Pennsylvauia reader states on his letter heads: 
"Propagandist of Avheat aud potatoes.” 
It is now admitted that Kansas soils need phos- 
phorus, Avhile tlie eastern part of the St.ate needs lime. 
AVe can remember the time when fertilizers Avere re¬ 
garded about like poisons by Kan.sas farmers. 
A corresponpent tells of using cobblestones on top 
of the coal grate to make a Avood fire prolong its heat. 
Some of us have seen Indians boil Avater in a bircdi 
bark dish by heating stones and dropping them into 
the water. 
