14 
January 4, 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes 
Established tsso 
Published weekly by the Rural Publishing Company. 333 West 30tb Street, New York 
Herbert "W. Collingwood, President and Editor. 
John J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. Dillon, Secretary. Mrs. E, T. Rovle, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union. $2.04. equal to 8s. 6d, or 
8% marks, or 10J£ 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 
advertisers unknown to us , and cash must accompany transient orders. 
“A SQUARE DEAL” 
We believe that every advertisement in this paper is backed by a respon¬ 
sible person. We use every possible precaution and admit the advertising of 
reliable houses only. But to make doubly sure, we will make good any loss 
to paid subscribers sustained by trusting any deliberate swindler, irrespon¬ 
sible advertisers or misleading advertisements in our columns, and any 
such swindler will 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 
transactions. We protect subscribers against rogues, but we will not bo 
responsible for the debts of honest bankrupts sanctioned by the courts. 
Notice of the complaint must be sent to us within one month of the time of 
the transaction, and to identify it, you should mention The Rural New- 
Yorker when writing the advertiser. 
Here is my dollar; keep it coming. I was a sub¬ 
scriber to The R. N.-Y. years ago, when it was Moore’s 
Rural New-Yorker. D. D. T. Moore, editor and pub¬ 
lisher, Rochester, N. Y. It cost more than it does now, 
but it was not worth as much, which is saying a great 
deal, for it was a good paper then. He did not advocate 
farmers’ political movement then. albert russell. 
Michigan. 
W E do not know of any other product which in 
the past 40 years has gone up in quality and 
down in price. Ca .11 you name one? Mr. Russell 
names The R. X.-Y. 
When Are You Going to Resign? 
L AST year, as readers will remember, we asked 
that question of Hon. Charles H. Betts, secretary 
of the Foods and Markets Commission. We told Mr. 
Betts at that time that the longer he remained in 
office the more votes he lost to the administration. 
Ilis answer was: 
"I shall never resign!” 
Perhaps the recent election convinced Mr. Betts 
that after all we had some idea of the effect of his 
olficial connection. At any rate the newspapers now 
print the following: 
Charles H. Betts resigned yesterday as Secretary of 
the New York State Food Commission. His resigna¬ 
tion was tendered at a meeting in the offices of the 
Federal Food Board, No. 0 East 57th Street. 
Mr. Betts stated that as the war is over he wishes to 
give his attention to his private business. 
A wise decision on the part of Mr. Betts! Had he 
made such a decision one year ago the result of the 
recent election might have been different. Who 
knows? 
* 
I T is a common occurrence for us to receive letters 
which contain serious charges against public men 
or people in business, or these letters will demand 
information on important public matters. In some 
eases the writers say, “I want you to print this or 
investigate it, but under no circumstances will I per¬ 
mit any use of my name!” Now a moment's thought 
should show anyone that The R. N.-Y. cannot carry 
any such thing through unless we have all the facts 
and the backing of those who complain. Suppose 
we went after some public man with a complaint, 
lie would promptly demand a full statement of the 
facts and the name of the party making the charges. 
That would be his right—it is what you would do 
in his place. Think of the position we would occupy 
If we could not give the source of our information! 
Now The R. N.-Y. is not afraid to tackle anyone or 
anything in a just and necessary cause. We think 
we have proved that statement in the past, but we 
must know all about it and have the full backing of 
those who want justice. The very first principle of 
any fight to obtain recognition or right is the willing¬ 
ness to stand up and be counted and if need be to 
take a hand right in the fight. 
* 
Haven’t we beard something to the effect that it is 
not best to put new wine in old bottles? IIow about 
this new wine that is coming back into our midst? 
Have we made ready to store it and make the best use 
of it or are we going to try to pour it back into the old 
bottles and after awhile lose it? R. B. 
T HAT is written by a young farmer who has been 
in the army—and is now home ready for work. 
T he “new wine” he refers to is the spirit and new 
view of life which the soldiers will bring back with 
them. A good many of these soldiers were boys on 
the farm working for father as a sort of favored 
hired man. They were not paid much more than 
common laborers—some of them had no regular 
wages. They just lived with father and mother, in 
many cases from a sense of duty, having little to do 
with the farm management. Since they were drafted 
father has learned the value of his boy through being 
forced to pay higher wages for inferior help. Now the 
boy is a man, hardened and broadened and matured 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
in the great school of the army. His ideas of life 
are changed and he has picked up new associations 
through contact with new and trained friends. At 
home the girl of his youth has waited for him and 
she too has grown. Perhaps she has taken some 
new job or learned the value of organization in the 
Red Cross. When these young people with their 
spirit and glory and knowledge come back to father’s 
farm it will surely be like “new wine,” which the 
plainest common sense will tells us cannot be kept in 
“old bottles!” It is doubtful if many older men 
need worry over what they can do for these young 
soldiers. It is more likely to be a case of what the 
young soldier will do to the older man. We have all 
got to realize that life can never again settle down 
into the old groove. We must all adapt our plans 
to suit the returning army, for “youth must he 
served.” 
* 
T HIS year hundreds of farmers are having The 
I i. N.-Y. sent to their tenant or hired man as a 
New Year’s present. We never had so many of these 
subscriptions before, and we greatly appreciate them. 
It will please us if we can do or say something that 
will give the owner and the worker a common ground 
for conference. One man in Maryland makes the 
following suggestion—a new one to us: 
To every employer I would say: “Subscribe for The 
R. N.-Y. for your hired man and if you see he is pleased 
then pay him living wages and you have a good man. 
If he docs not take any interest in The R. N.-Y. you 
would better get rid of him, for he will not take an 
interest in your place.” 
As a sort of Babcock test for the hired man Tiie 
II. N.-Y. may have a new value which we had not 
thought of. At any rate we stand ready to offer our 
services in 100,000 cases! All the case requires is a 
dollar aud a hired man’s name! 
* 
I N a certain New York town recently a milk com¬ 
pany wanted to secure milk contracts from far¬ 
mers. As part of their plan they distributed circu¬ 
lars calling for a meeting. Below is a part of that 
circular exactly reproduced to show some of the 
“inducements”: 
At that time a number of the Company Officials from 
the New York office will address you. We will have 
lots of music, both vocal and instrumental. Refresh¬ 
ments will be served, also cigars for the men. flowers 
for the ladies. Come all and have a good time. We 
■want to meet you. 
Now possibly this company thought that these in¬ 
telligent dairy farmers would run for the chance to 
obtain free cigars, “refreshments” and flowers, and. 
under the excitement of this great liberality, sign 
almost any contract that might be presented. In 
years past it must he admitted that free men have 
handed over their rights and privileges and seen 
them go up in smoke—through cigars or other forms 
cf “good will.” We are living now in a new age, 
when men are beginning to realize that, they do not 
want free cigars and flowers, but they do want a 
large enough share of the consumer’s dollar to enable 
them to buy cigars and flow r ers if they need them. 
Acting upon this new spirit one farmer sent this 
circular and wrote on it, “Will you walk into my 
parlor , said the spider to the ftyt” We like to see 
people go back into the classics for inspiration! 
* 
W E have had considerable discussion over that 
misfit tree case mentioned on page 1383. Sev¬ 
eral parties want to know just what the New York 
courts have decided as the measure of damages. So 
we repeat: “ The proper measure of damages is the 
difference between what the land is worth with the 
trees as they were at the time the defect is dis¬ 
covered, and what the land would have been worth at 
lhat time had the trees been true to name” We 
think that will stand hereafter, and that it is what 
growers and nurserymen must expect. The nursery¬ 
men will, no doubt, object to any such measure of 
damage as excessive. Yet why should a grower he 
compelled to stand the entire loss? Until a tree 
comes into bearing its value is prospective—a mat¬ 
ter of years—and when a man has come to he 50 
or over the years count up. There will always he a 
difference of opinion regarding the value of orchard 
land and the earning capacity of a tree. Some¬ 
times the nurseryman claims that the trees have not 
been well cared for, and that they have little value. 
If he can prove it he could obtain justice under this 
new measure of values, because if the trees were not 
well grown they could not add value to the land. 
The grower must remember that he will have no 
case unless he can prove without any question that 
the “misfit.” trees actually are the ones lie bought 
from the nurseryman. There have been cases where 
the grower had planted several lots of trees in the 
same orchard, and could not positively separate them. 
W E must not deceive ourselves into thinking 
that the war is all over and that a return to 
old-time conditions is coming at. once. Germany has 
been beaten and well stripped of her weapons, but 
it will be six months or more before peace can be 
formally declared. There will be a hard and stub¬ 
born contest when the peace congress meets, and it 
will naturally he hard to hold the Allied nations to¬ 
gether in an agreement over the fate of Germany. 
Until this is all settled there can be no return to 
business conditions as they were before the war— 
in fact, they can never come hack just as we knew 
them 10 years or more ago. We have many letters 
from readers who ask if they may not expect lower 
prices for fertilizer, machinery and other farm sup¬ 
plies. There is nothing in sight, to indicate any such 
reduction. The end of the war came unexpectedly, 
with the full power of the nation geared up to war 
work. No one was prepared to make a quick change 
in industry, and most supplies needed for the next 
season’s work had been contracted for. We cannot 
see any hope of readjusting prices for this season. 
The demand promises to be very heavy, and our ad¬ 
vice would he to make sure of the needed goods at 
once. 
* 
A MONG the things which are surely coming to 
improved farming of the future is the produc¬ 
tion of certified special products. Every section has 
the soil and climate exactly suited for growing some 
special product to perfection. If a man wanted to 
grow a tine quality of salt hay he would not go to 
some rich and sweet upland pasture. Nor would he 
seed Alfalfa in a salt marsh. Every section has 
special crops, and the future of successful farming 
will mean hunting for the special crop of any locality 
and then learning how to grow it properly. Farmers 
on Long Island are giving a good illustration of the 
way this will work out. The dairy farmers of Cen¬ 
tral and Northern New York have found that Luce’s 
Favorite corn is the variety best suited for producing 
silage and filling the silo. Repeated tests have shown 
this variety superior. While it will produce a great 
crop of silage corn, the variety is not. sure to mature 
in that latitude, and farmers cannot depend on seed 
grown on their own farms. Now it has been shown 
that Luce's Favorite grows well nigh to perfection on 
Long Island. It may he said that Long Island farm¬ 
ers have found this seed grain best suited to their 
soil and conditions. Thus, while it. might seem at 
% first thought that Long Island could have but little 
connection with Delaware or Chenango County, N. 
Y., the fact is that island seed corn may make dairy¬ 
ing in these northern counties a safer and more 
prosperous business, provided there can be a clear 
understanding and confidence regarding this seed. 
A Suffolk Co operative Association has been incor¬ 
porated for the purpose of handling certified Luce’s 
Favorite seed corn, and thorough inspection, germin¬ 
ation and grading will lie carried out. We just refer 
to this now to indicate one of the things which will 
surely be worked out in enterprising communities. 
Farmers will hunt until they find the crop best suited 
to their locality. Then they will learn how to grow 
it properly and organize to dispose of it. 
Brevities 
This is a hide-raw-lick ram, said the sheep tick as 
lie bored into the skin of the head of the flock. 
Frost feeds on fat. Therefore it costs more to put 
meat on the hog in zero weather. 
It would be hard to find a fairer statement than the 
article by D. L. Hartman on frost-proof cabbage, 
page 5. 
Several readers write to tell us how happy they are 
to see the sheep advertisements outnumber those of the 
dog. The sheep men have hardly begun. 
Tiie woman follows the citizenship of her husband. 
If an Englishwoman marries an American she becomes 
one also. If an American marries an Englishman she 
becomes English. 
The Secretary of Agriculture announces that the Ag¬ 
ricultural Department will offer nitrate of soda to farm¬ 
ers during the coming season. The price will be .$81 
per ton —cash. What have readers to say about the last 
distribution ? 
One of the hardest things to overcome > among war 
injuries is the effect of shell shock. This is a nervous 
trouble caused by exploding shells. The victim does 
not show outward injury, but his spirit and nerve are 
broken and it is hard to repair them. We shall have 
many cases of agricultural shell shock in the next few 
years. Many men will find tiie shells of old habit, and 
prejudice shattered and it will shock them to try to 
get used to new conditions. 
