1S85 
The Measure of Damage for Misfit Trees 
End of a Celebrated Case 
It is of interest to frnit growers generally to know 
that a final chapter has been written in the case of 
('larence S. Lunt against Brown Brothers Company by 
a decision of the Conrt of Appeals of New York State, 
whicli was handed down on November 12. Readers of 
T)ie R. N.-Y. will recall that Mr. Lunt, who resides at 
Rochester, and is the proprietor of Cloverdale Farm on 
Lake Ontario, had an experience with misfit fruit trees, 
which resulted in an action on his part against Brown 
Brothers Company of Rochester, N. Y'., for damages. 
The circumstances of the case were as follows: Mr. 
Lunt desired to set out a Baldwin apple orchard. He 
purchased from Brown Brothers Company first-class 
Baldwin apple trees. After the trees had been set out 
several years it was di.scovered that the trees were not 
Baldwins, but were nondescript trees of various varie¬ 
ties. The attention of Brown Bi-others Company was 
called to the matter, and they suggested that the trees 
be top-worked with Baldwin stock. Mr. Lunt thereupon 
had the trees budded by an expert, but they Avere not 
adapted to budding; they were dwarfed and very hard- 
wooded trees, and were practically worthle.ss after being 
top-worked. At the time of the suit, KM of the trees 
were four years old and 58 of the trees were five years 
old. The jury brought in a verdict for $700. 
Brown Brothers contended upon the appeal that they 
should not be held liable for a greater sum than the cost 
of budding the orchard. The Court of Appeals has, on 
the contrary, adopted the rule as laid down in this case 
by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, namely, 
that the proper measure of damages is the difference be¬ 
tween what the land is worth with the tree.s as they are 
at the time the defect is discovered and what the land 
would have been worth at that time had the trees been 
true to name. 
This case was tried in June, 1915. Mr. Lunt was 
represented throughout by George 8. Van Schaick, an 
attorney of Rochester. Mr. Charles ,1. Brown, the presi¬ 
dent of Brown Brothers Company, the defendant, is the 
County Treasurer of Monroe County and is a power in 
Monroe County politics. 
The length of time which it takes to terminate a liti¬ 
gation, the expense and time involved in fighting it, all 
give a wealthy corporation a decided advantage, because 
many times a litigant who is in the right is tired out 
and financially exhausted by successive appeals on the 
part of his opponent. 
The Bright Side of Farming 
I have long been an interested reader of your paper, 
and agree with most of its sentiments. The only fault I 
have to find is your everlasting “knocking” on prices of 
farm products and the prosperity of the farmer in gen¬ 
eral. The fact is, the farmer who has good soil and a 
disposition to put on the overalls never was so prosper¬ 
ous as in 1917 and 1918. We have plenty of farmers 
here who started in working by the month who now 
have good farms well in hand. MTiy not print the “good 
things” on farm life. St. Paul says: “Finally, brethren, 
whatsoever things are of good report, think on these 
things.” I notice on page 1.329 our neighbor Seeley 
of Canandaigua has joined the army of fault-finders. He 
must have bought a poor quality of cattle or else sold 
them too cheap. I purchased four head of .steers last 
August at $05 per head; Avould weigh around 750 lb.s.; 
sold them July 1 to John Gartland of Canandaigua at 
12% cents per pound, the lot bringing $525, doubling 
my money and $5 besides. They were not fed much 
grain or hay; only soft corn and coarse fodder; turned 
out to pasture May 15; no grain after that. We have 
plenty of farmers who are selling $20 each from breed¬ 
ing ewes and have the ewe left. We have flocks of 
sheep and herds of cattle which will sell for more 
money than the land cost upon which they run. How 
do you suppose the boys can be kept on the farms, or 
who would buy a farm, if “hard times” is preached on 
all occasions? Cheer up, brother. Look on the bright 
side part of the time. The fact is, agriculture is the 
best bmsiuess today, and will be, in my opinion, for a 
long time to come. Let us do our work better, stay on 
the job the year round, never mind who is sent to the 
Legi.slature. No farmer who is on to his job can affoi'd 
to go to Albany and hang around all Winter and do 
nothing. It would be a bles.sed thing if the I^egislature 
only met once in five years; too many fool laws now. 
Yates Co.. N. Y. L. c. williams. 
The Hired Man Situation 
Reading the complaint of the hired man in a recent 
number of th The R. N.-Y. is disturbing. The man is 
prejudiced. It is true that the factory man gets shorter 
hours, but the farm hand gets them short enough. On 
some farms he gets in not much more than nine hours 
as an average; sometimes much less. He ought to work 
on a farm 11 hours, but he will not commonly. His 
wages are not those of the extreme, as in a few cases, 
too many in fact, where men get $8 a day or more. 
These are few, how’ever, and will be less. The farmer 
cannot pay any such wages, but he provides much for 
the man that is never counted; fuel, milk, vegetables 
and many conveniences. It is no wonder that farm 
hands go to the towns because of the talk about short 
hours (a disadvantage) and the talk of high wages (talk 
greatly exaggerating conditions). 
We as farmers must meet the situation just the same. 
These men will go unless they can make themselves 
Oic RURAL NEW-YORKER 
comprehend the real situation. Of the considerable num¬ 
ber in my own locality who have gone to war, and the 
larger number who have gone to factories or other in- 
diLstries, I do not find one who is likely to come back to 
the farm until conditions compel them to come, and that 
will be some time, in my opinion. In a conversation 
with the president of a nearby Farm Bureau lately he 
said that in that county about 500 have gone from the 
farms. The same inquiry did not tend to prove that any 
of them will be back next year, and possibly very few at 
all. Farmers cannot compel them to come back, and 
there is small chance to coax them back. Some day they 
will see the need of going to the farm tc some extent at 
least, but I do not know how .soon. It looks as though 
we mu.st cut our production to the help we have, and 
we shall be obliged to let, even yet, some go on account 
of the disposition to see something very rosy in the d’s- 
tant town, as in the case of the man who writes his com¬ 
plaint on page 1287. ir. ti. l. 
The National Grange at Syracuse, N. Y. 
What the Grange Stands For 
Part II. 
PROHIBITION AND MILITARY TRAINING.-— 
The prohibition amendment to our National Constitution 
has been ratified by 14 of the State Legislatures, and 
there now seems to be no reasonable doubt but that the 
additional 22 States necessary to make the amendment 
effective will ratify it. In one year after the amend¬ 
ment has been ratified by the nece.seary ,3G State Legis¬ 
latures it will go into operation. From that time for¬ 
ward we will realize the blessing of a saloonless nation. 
A resolution was passed to end military training, for a 
continuance of such training will serve more as an in¬ 
centive to war than a complete discontinuance of it. 
_ RESOLUTIONS AND DISCUSSIONS.—Resolu¬ 
tions mentioned, that were introduced at former ses¬ 
sions against compulsory military training and the day¬ 
light saving plan, were adopted by the delegates pres¬ 
ent. It was reported that the National Grange has ap¬ 
propriated from Grange funds .$10,000 to its executive 
committee, to establish a bureau at Washington. D. C., 
which will co-operate with other farm organizations in 
supporting legislation they desire. The middleman who 
is doing unjust profiteering was called the autocrat in 
our country. It was said the lecturer of the National 
Grange has made an investigation that shows on 50 
selected farm products the producer receives 47 cents of 
the price the consumer pays, and 16 per cent is w.asted, 
so no one gets any benefit, in their distribution and 
transportation. There is need of a sy.stem that elim¬ 
inates this waste, and does away with speculation and 
gambling. Following the discussion was a resolution 
asking that a marketing commission be formed by Con¬ 
gress, with authority to distribute food products in a 
way that all the handlers will have a just compen.sation. 
It was recommended that branch offices be established in 
all the States that will co-operate with a United States 
Food Commission, if it can be established. 
LEGISLATION.—Congress will be asked by the Na¬ 
tional Grange to defeat the Sims water power bill, and 
the Senate coal and oil lands bill. The question of safe¬ 
guarding the wool industry, by protecting it from roving 
dogs, was provided for in a resolution recommending a 
law with more restrictions on the keeping of dogs. The 
plan to erect a temple of agriculture at Washington was 
approved of. It should be completed, it was said, in 
five years, and endowed so it Avill be self-supporting. It 
should be used for all agricultural conventions and con¬ 
ferences that might be held at Washington, and free 
office space could be furnished all farm organizations 
who desire it. 
THE GRANGE PLATFORM.—After a long debate 
the National (Jrange unanimously adopted the following 
platform calling for reforms or readjustments favorable 
to agricultural interests. In so far as consistent with 
national safety, war contracts shall be canceled, and the 
thousands of war workers be released at the earliest pos¬ 
sible moment. This will help the labor situation on the 
farms, and increase production. 
Rigid economy shall be exercised in government ex¬ 
penditures. 
Legi.slation that will help the farmer to make his 
business as profitable as any other industry requiring the 
same investment, ability and hard work. 
The present system of marketing and distribution is 
clumsy, wasteful and inefficient. It should be abolished, 
and unnecessary middlemen eliminated. 
The censorship on free pre.ss and free speech should 
be removed and the zone system discontinued. 
The government shall end practices of over-capital¬ 
ization and mismanagement in the conduct of railroads. 
The government shall center its activities in the build¬ 
ing of markets and post roads instead of spending money 
on boulevards that are used by the few. 
Agriculture shall be fully represented in all legislative 
bodies. 
The Secretaries of Agriculture shall be practical 
farmers. 
The Farm Land Rank shall be extended, discouraging 
land tenantry and abandoned farms. 
Munition plants should be converted to the mannfac- 
tui-ing of fertilizers, freeing the nation from dependency 
on foreign supplies. There is need of changes in the In¬ 
come. inheritance and war profits revenue tax laws. 
The urban standards of education should not be models 
for the rural schools. 
FURTHER RECOMMENDATIONS.—Other recom- 
mendatioms were the extension of co-operative shipping 
associatioiLS. the establishment by farmers’ associations 
of city retail markets, the construction of city municipal 
warehouses and terminal markets, the exten.sion of par¬ 
cel-post marketing, and the establishment of regulations 
that will effectually prevent evils that have burdened 
the farmers and comsumers. 
It was demanded that the zone system now in force, 
in respect to the mailing of periodicals, be discontinued, 
with a return to a simple system of a single rate for all 
publications, regardless of distance. It was further 
recommended that the Grange oppose the sentimental 
scheme to put returning soldiers to work on doubtful 
propositions of drainage, irrigation, etc., and that it 
favors road construction as a shock absorber in read¬ 
justing an over-supply of labor. 
The National Grange appropriated $4,000 to the sup¬ 
port of home economics, and apjtointed a committee of 
five women to further its activities. State Masters of 
Granges will appoint committees to attend to the work 
in other Granges. 
At the closing session it was voted that the next or 
fifty-third annual session of the National Grange be held 
in Michigan, and it was recommended that all the 
Granges in the country celebrate the ending of the war 
the first meeting in December. w, h. j. 
Up-State Farm Notes 
_ GOOD WORK OF FARM BUREAUS.—For the first 
time in history the dairymen have secured, in December, 
their demands for milk without any serious oppo.sition. 
’riiis Avas possible chiefly because of the practical co¬ 
operation of the farm bureaus of various‘dairy countie.s. 
In November tlm Dairymen’s League offered .sufficient 
data as to cost of production of milk to have secured 
their claims. But the Food Administration pronounced 
it prejudiced evidence, as it Avas secured by League 
members. So Avhen a disinterested factor like the farm 
bureaus secured similar, and even more conclusive evi¬ 
dence. it had to be accepted, and Avas. Surely this is 
one step forward in the cause of co-operation among 
various rural organizations, and proves the effectiveness 
of such effort. Cortland County, Onondaga County and 
several others .sent the figures of various dairy farmers 
to their fai-m bureau agent. These Avere sent to Cor¬ 
nell, and within three days the figures vere tabulated 
and sent to Washington. It remains now for farmers 
to do this systematically, as a multitude of Avitnesses 
will be necessary to establish satisfactory proof of cost 
production. And the need of keeping accounts i.s just 
as great in crop production as in milk production if 
tarmei’s are ever to receive a just reward for their 
efforts. 
NEW FARM INDUSTRY.—Papers of incorporation 
Avere filed at Albany this Aveek for the Farmers’ Standard 
Carbide Company, Inc., with a capital stock of $25,()0(). 
The company has been formed for the manufacture of 
carbide for use chiefly in acetylene lighting systems in 
rural homes. Carbide Avill be made from limestone, by 
a special process, with Canastota as the center of oper¬ 
ations. Limestone is abundant here and can be mined 
at a cost not to exceed $1.50 per ton. By next Spring 
the company expects to be in full operation. They wilt 
sell cai-bide at considerably less than the present market 
price.^ The equipment includes a stone cru-sher, an 
electric furnace and other special paraphernalia. Far¬ 
mers are buying stock at $10 per share. 
PRACTICAL WORK OP WOMEN.—At the annual 
meeting of the women of Cayuga County one paper dealt 
with benefits and cures derived from proper dieting for 
certain diseases, as Avorked out among the women of 
the Home Economics Department of the Farm Bureau 
^ that county. M. C. Burritt, State Director of Farm 
Bureaus, addressed the Avomen, as did Miss .Tennie 
.Tones of Cornell, and a visiting member of Wayne 
County’s home economics department. Women of coun¬ 
try districts are finding the work given by the home 
economics demonstrators very practical, and the work 
is being extended rapidly. 
COAL SHORTAGE ACUTTE IN SMALL TOWNS. 
—Farmers and .small town residents of the State are 
very much exerci.sed over fuel matters. They have 
waited in vain all the year to have local dealers lay in 
coal so that it could be placed in cellars in advance. 
None_ has been sent to small towns, and only tho.se farm¬ 
ers living near the cities have been able to get any. 
County administrations have been appealed to, and have 
done their best to secure stock for such dealers, with 
little effect. Noav that the wood ruling forbidding any 
coal to farmers having timber is in effect, the situation 
stirs much resentment. Valuable maple trees or timber 
intended for lumber should not be cut, as this order 
would demand, and the cold Aveather makes the situation 
very acute in many rural homes. Sufficient heat is hard 
or impossible to get, and protests are many. 
, maple sugar makers TO ORGANIZE.—Cort¬ 
land County IS a big producer of maple products, of high¬ 
est quality. I or several years past the best premiums on 
these products at the State Fair have gone to this coun¬ 
ty three of the best ones this year. In December 
the makers of this section will meet at the Farm Bu¬ 
reau office for the purpose of organizing their forces, 
one of the first moves of the kind in the State. 
---: i —i^eeeinuer au i ror. 
Kae. federal Avorker in the interests of greater honev 
production, avUI speak to Cortland County beekeepers on 
practical topics connected Avith Winter care of bees 
etc. I‘rof. line Avas through Central New York in the 
Summer on a campaign of this sort and did much to 
promote the bee industry. The more the beekeepers 
learn of practical methods the more interest is dis¬ 
played in many way.s. This is one very practical sort 
ot work done by the Food Administration this year, and 
its continuance is hoped for. 
SOLDIERS AND SAIT.ORS HONORED.—The 
Syiacuse Chamber of Commerce have acted promptly 
and imist suitably in their efforts to honor the boys 
tiom ()nondaga County Avho have given their serA'ices 
and lives to their country. On NoA’^ember 11 next, the 
anniversary of the signing of the armistice, they expect 
to dedicate a memorial arch Avhich shall bear four tab¬ 
lets Avith the names in four-inch letters of their boys avIio 
made the supreme sacrifice. The arch Avill serve' a.s an 
entrance to a mammoth comnuinity hall, large enough 
to seat all persons avIio would iiaturallv take part in any 
sort of community efforts. This hall will typify the 
splendid _ community spirit that has prevailed in this 
county since the war, and in it in mosaics the names of 
all the boys of the county who entered service will be 
di.splayed, betAveen 8,000 and 9,000 in numbei*. The 
plan is ex-Congressman John R. Clancy’s, and has been 
adopted unanimously. 
BIG BARGE LAUNCHED.—After assui’ances that 
contracts had been awarded for sufficient barges to do a 
big business on the barge canal, the first concrete barge 
was launched at Ithaca November 22 The boatyard 
was open to the public and prominent Federal and State 
officials and officers of the transportation company 
lunched A\dth the Chamber of Commerce, and several 
leading oflicial.s gave addresses. Coming so soon before 
the canal must be closed for the year, and the first and 
as yet the only one, it seems a pity that more coal and 
grain and other bulky freight could not have been trans¬ 
ported this season. 
INCREASE IN GARDENS.—Where last year the 
boys and girls of the State had 50,000 gardens, this year 
an effort will be made to secure 300.000, each pledged to 
grow $10 Avorth of products. Headquarters will be es¬ 
tablished in Albany to supervise the work by the Fed¬ 
eral Commission, and the Woman’s Division of the State 
Council of Defense will help the State Education De¬ 
partment in the work. 
GRANGE EXCHANGE GRf^WING.—The activities 
of the New York Grange Exchange are Avideuing daily. 
Its co-operative buying noAV includes feeds, fertilizers, 
groceries, farm machinery ,silos and other practical 
things needed on farms. W. I,. Bean, treasurer of the 
State Grange and a director of the ncAv exchange outlined 
its Avork in a talk before Pomona Grange of Cortland 
County. He urged the importance of farmers taking .$K) 
shares, as the Avork must necessarily be limited by its 
working capital, and farmers were urged to place their 
needs before the exchange, Avhich effects a considerable 
saving on cash purchases. g j- 
