1370 
RURAL NEW-YORKER 
December 7, 1918 
PUBLISHER’S DESK 
Chas. Dillenbeck, claiming to come from 
Alberta, Canada, is selling Alberta Clus¬ 
ter seed oats in 10-bushel lots for ,$37.50. 
He has buyers sign a contract made out 
in note form (I asked for a blank form 
but he would not let me have it). The 
oats are shipped by Geo. K. Higbie & 
Co., of Rochester, N. Y., and as the Can¬ 
adian Government holds all the oate in 
Canada (so he said), they are this year 
grown by someone in Palmyra, N. Y. Do 
you know' anything about him? He had 
a sample w-hich he called oat .straw, and 
all bound up, w'hioh looked a good deal 
like broom-corn seed. We did not buy, as 
I feel he is a sharper in some way, and 
as so many around here have bought in 
Camden, N. Y., and Canastota, N. Y., I 
thought if they had any luck we could 
buy .seed of them next year. This man 
claims they will be able to grow 140 bush¬ 
els per acre. I hope they do, but doubt 
if they will. E. J. E. 
Oneida Co., N. Y. 
Here is a variation of the Geo. K. Hig¬ 
bie seed oat scheme as jiracticed in the 
southern portion of the State. The Mam¬ 
moth Cluster oat is sold at ,$3 per bushel, 
but hhe Alberta Cluster is being offered at 
.$3.75. Perhajis the only real difference in 
the two varieties is the different stories 
told by the agents and the price. An’ em- 
I)loyee of the firm was quoted last week 
to have said “Easy enough to make new 
varieties with a fanning mill if you’ve got 
enough wind.” If farmers want to pay 
for “wind" in the fanning mill or that 
emitted by the salesman, the Higbie seeds 
are good ones to buy. Otherwi.se, the 
very be.st producing varieties can be pur¬ 
chased from the most reliable seed houses 
at le.ss than half the prices asked by Hig¬ 
bie and the other Rochester seed concerns 
selling on the same plan. 
Do you know anything of the Keystone 
Pecan Co., of Manheim, Pa., wdth a large 
pecan property near Albany, Ga.? Their 
proposition is to sell acre units which 
they plant, cultivate and replace, if neces¬ 
sary, for five years, at which time they 
either turn the unit over to the purcha.ser 
or administer it for 12)4 P<'i' cent of the 
proceeds. The price asked is .$300 per 
acre, with 10 per cent off for cash. 
New York. A. G. R. 
This is the standard “unit orchard 
scheme” that w'e have many times dis- 
cus.sed in these columns. We know' noth¬ 
ing about the Keystone Pecan Co. or the 
property which the.company is supposed 
to own, but the.se orchard schemes in¬ 
variably turn out disastrously to the in¬ 
vestors in them. We could mention a 
dozen or more such schemes which have 
been promoted with glowing prospects, 
and in every caSe those buying “unite” 
have lost all the money invested. 
T have got into a plight and wonder if 
you can tell me w'hat to do. Aboi’*- 
years ago J. J. Looker, the D. D. Cornell 
& Co. agent, came to our home and told 
me more lies in two hours than ought to 
be told in a lifetime, and I listed my farm 
with him. He said if I sold my farm 
through another agent they w’ould receive 
nothing, but the $20 I paid him was to 
help pay his advertising, and if he sold 
the farm he would deduct the $20. I sold 
my farm a few days ago and I wrote 
them so they could cancel it from their 
list. I was surely surprised when they 
sent me w'ord that I owed them two per 
cent for withdrawal fees, and before I 
could answ'er them I received a telegram 
to send the check at once. They w'rote 
me several times before I sold, asking me 
if I wanted to withdraw', and I answ'ered 
them that I would not withdraw as I 
wanted to sell. The first I knew of the 
withdrawal fee was a couple of weeks 
after I listed ray farm. I received word 
from them that if I withdrew then I 
should pay them two per cent. w. A. C. 
Pennsylvania. 
There is nothing new' in the above let¬ 
ter from the Pennsylvania subscriber. It 
shows the sort of a game D. B. Cornell 
Co., Great Barrington, Mass., has been 
W'orking for years. In similar cases Cor¬ 
nell has threatened the farmer w'ith suit 
in New' York City, alleging his residence 
is here. We understand Mr. Cornell hires 
a furnished room in the city for the pur- 
prse of making a pretense of a residence 
in order that he may frighten farmers 
into settling with him on some basis rath¬ 
er than stand the expense of a law’suit in 
New York City. MTien an up-State farmer 
sent a lawyer to New York to defend him 
last Winter, Cornell or his law'yer failed 
to appear. The R. N.-Y. asks the priv¬ 
ilege of defending any case Cornell threat¬ 
ens to bring against a farmer in the 
courts of this city at our own expense. 
Perhaps if we could once get Cornell be¬ 
fore the bar of justice his activities would 
be so restricted that farmers would be no 
longer annoyed and defrauded by him. 
Have you ever heard of Frank O. Balch, 
who used to be an editor or publisher of 
a paper in Chicago or soinew’here West? 
He is now' making a living out of adver¬ 
tising. but is developing rice mills and 
“cream of rice” at Memphis, Tenn., and 
Eagle Lake, Tex., where he has big mills. 
A friend in Buffalo is secretary, .and put¬ 
ting in all the money he can get of his 
own. He got .a friend of his to put in 
$5,000, and the mill has earned 21 per 
cent in one month. He wants me to put 
in $5,000. I thought perhaps you might 
have known of Mr. Balch sometime. He 
has sold out his paper. C. A. 
New York. 
In 1912 and for .some years previous 
Mr. Frank O. Balch published a monthly 
magazine, Ht>me Life, in Chicago. In 
connection with this publication, Mr. 
Balch sold stock in the publishing com¬ 
pany under . guarantee which Balch 
made personally to pay c'i" idends of 10 
per cent per annum for three years from 
the date of purchase, and a redemption 
clause guaranteed the holder the priv¬ 
ilege of redeeming the principal at an 
advance of 5 per cent upon the purchase 
price. The guarantee was not w'orth the 
papci it was printed on. He must have 
realized this at the time he sold the stock, 
but he presented him-self as a man of 
great w’ealth. We expressed our opinion 
of stock-selling publishers at the time the 
stock was being boomed, but notwith¬ 
standing our warning a number of our 
subscribers were taken in by the scheme. 
They reasoned that the guarantee of Mr. 
Balch fully protected them, only to find 
the guarantee was a sham and had no 
more value than the stock. The publish¬ 
ing -company finally went out of business 
and of course the stockholders realized 
nothing. In view' of his record, we could 
not recommend the purchase of any stock 
promoted by Frank O. Balch. 
I received this morning a check from 
the American Railway Express Ck). for 
$20.40 in payment for shipment of case of 
eggs lost in transit September 12, 1918. 
I l»ave not received any money for any 
other .shipments you have on your list be¬ 
longing to me; some of them date back 
near two years. It does not seem right 
for big corporations to hold up money so 
long. Don’t you think, with the tremen¬ 
dous influence your paper has among the 
farmers, you could have a law passed 
compelling express companies to settD 
claims in 60 days? There is no do. - 
that you w'ould be supported from all cor¬ 
ners of the State. J. a. s. 
New York. 
We wish all claims w'ould be paid with 
equal promptness, and there is no reason 
w'hy they slu'uld not. It is a good .‘■’me 
to agitate f law ccmpelliug payments 
within 60 days. Last year some of the 
Albany legislators pn j lised to do what 
they could to have such laws enacted, and 
now is a good time to take the matter up 
again. The consolidated company is en¬ 
deavoring to adjust the old claims, but the 
claim offices w'ere in such a disorganized 
condition many of the claims w'ere lost 
sight of, and it is necessary to institute a 
new investigation, w'hich takes time. We 
have the assurance that they will close 
them out as rapidly as possible, and they 
have, in fact, sent us a good number of 
vouchers during the mouth. We are w'ork- 
ing on all claims sent us. We do not 
write the subscribers frequently, as it 
would entail too much corre.spondence, but 
we still hope to get all of the claims ad¬ 
justed. As some payments are being sent 
direct to the shipper, please advise us if 
you receive a payment. When sending 
claims see that w'e have the express re¬ 
ceipt and all papers, and also see that 
your express station is given on the re¬ 
ceipt. 
Lice on Pigs 
T bought five pigs and on examining 
them I find they have lots of lice. J. G. 
You have found, as does everyone w'ho 
handles swine, that these animals may be 
infested with lice. In fact, no domestic 
animal is more commonly troubled with 
lice than the hog. Pour enough crude 
petroleum into the hog wallow, bath or 
pond to scum the surface with the oil. 
Clean up, disinfect and whitewash the 
pens and all rubbing places. Hog oilers 
are useful. Tub the pigs in a bath of 
coal tar dip made according to directions 
given by the manufacturer, or spray it on 
the pigs and rub it in with a brush. Re¬ 
peat the treatment in 10 days to kill lice 
hatched from the “nits.” A mixture of 
one part of kerosene and two parts of 
machine oil, or cottonseed oil, applied 
with an oil can to act behind the ears 
and along the backbone is fairly ef¬ 
fective, Do not use it on pregnant sows. 
A. s. A. 
Applied Patriotism 
Woman h'.s made herself 
indispensable to the Nation’s 
war activities. Iliis is being 
demonstrated daily in many 
splendid ways. The telephone 
operator takes her place in the 
front ranks of our “national 
army” of women. 
Back of the scenes, invisi¬ 
ble, her war work is to make 
telephone communication 
possible. Through her the 
Chief of Staff in Washington 
speaks to the Cantonment 
Commandant in a far-off state. 
The touch of her fingers forges 
a chain of conversation from 
Shipping Board to shipyard. 
Quartermaster General to 
supply depot, merchant to 
manufacturer, city to country, 
office to home. 
Without her this increasing 
complexity of military, busi¬ 
ness and civil life could not 
be kept smoothly working. 
Hers is patriotism applied. 
She is performing her part 
with enthusiasm and fidelity. 
The increasing pressure of 
war work continually calls 
for more and more telephone 
operators, and young women 
in every community are an¬ 
swering the summons — 
cheerfully and thoughtfully 
shouldering the responsibil¬ 
ities of the telephone service 
upon which the Nation de¬ 
pends. Each one who an¬ 
swers the call helps speed 
up the winning of the war. 
American Telephone and Telegraph Company 
And associated companies 
One Policy One System Universal Service 
That’s Enough 
For Any Engine to Weigh 
Any engine that weighs more than 60 pounds per horsepower 
is too heavy for farm work. It wastes gasoline, material, 
time and eneroV. 
, Cushman Engines weigh only one-fourth as much as 
ordinary farm engines, but they are balanced so carefully and 
governed so .accurately that they run even more steadily and 
quietly. They are also themostdurablefarmengines in the world, 
on account of improved design and better material and construction. 
CUSHMAN 
4 H. P. weighs only 190 lbs., being only 48 lbs. per horsepower. ESSV tO MOVO from Job tO Job 
Besides doing all ordinary jobs, it may be attached to any gram 
binder, saving a team, and in a wet harvest saving the crop. Also it 
may be used on corn binders and potato diggers. 
8 H. P. weighs only 320 lbs., being only 40 lbs. per horsepower. 
For all medium Jobs. Also may be attached to hay presses, coru 
pickers, saw rigs, etc. 
1R H. P. weighs only 780 lbs,, being only 62 lbs. per horsepower. 
Iw For heavier farm jobs, such as 6-hole corn snellers, en:.ilage 
cutters, large feed grinders, small threshers, etc. 
H. P. weighs only 1200 lbs., being only 60 lbs. j^r horse- 
M w pov/er. For heavy duty jobs, such as shredders, shellers, grain 
separators, heavy sawing, etc. 
Cushman Engines do not wear unevenly and lose compression. Every 
running part protected from dust and pr^erty lubricated. Eiquippea 
with Throttling Governor, Carburetor, Friction Clutch Pulley and 
Water Circulating Pump. Ask for Book on Light-Weight Engines. 
Ashman Motor Works Lincoln, Nebraska 
Roofing Products 
Fu/l weight^ 
Galvanized'^ 
In country or city—for farm buildings or resi- J 
dences, metal roofing is positively unequaled. 
Apollo-Ketstone Copper steel Galvanized Sheets are the most dur- ''' 
able, rust-reslstlng galvanized sheets manufactured. Actual weather TEl W/tSSs 
tests have proved the superiority of this material for Roofing, Tanks, 
Culverts, etc. Keystone Ooppeb Steel is also unexcelled for Roof¬ 
ing Tin Plates. Look for the Keystone added below regular brands. 
Sold by loading dealers. Send for free “Better Buildings” booklet. 
AAUERICAN SHEET AND TIN PLATE COMPANY, Frick Blds..Pittsbiirsb,Pa.f 
