182 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S RARER 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes 
Established iS50 
Published weekly by the Rnral Publishing Company. 333 West 30th Street. New Vork 
Herbert W. Collingivood, President and Editor. 
John J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
NVm F. Dillon, Secretary. Mrs. E. T. Royle, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04. equal to 8s. Gd„ or 
8!£ marks, or 104 a 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 ot 
reliable houses only. But to make doubly sure, we will make good any loss 
to paid subscribers sustained by trusting any deliberate sw indler, 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 be 
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. 
A friend of mine subscribed to Tiie It. N.-Y. a while 
ago and liked it real well; thought it was the best, buy 
in a monthly paper he had ever got. After a little ho 
yoke up to the fact that this good thing came every 
neck! Was he satisfied? HAROLD D. PHELPS. 
Massachusetts. 
H E should be! When anyone gets four times wliat 
lie expected he should wear a wreath of smiles. 
The scowls are reserved for those things which 
promise greatness and then give a 25 per cent per¬ 
formance. 
* 
Is any advantage gained by sowing Crimson clover 
with oats and peas for a crop of hay and pasture for 
cows after the crop is harvested? f. m. 
Long Island. 
A A least a dozen Northern people have written us 
about seeding Crimson clover this Spring. We 
judge that some seedsman is giving foolish advice 
about this clover. For nothing could be more foolish 
than to advise farmers to seed Crimson clover in 
Spring. It is entirely different in its nature from 
lied or Alsike. It is a cool weather clover and lives 
but one season. Seed it in Spring and it will start, 
but at hot weather it will make seed and die. even if 
only three or four inches high. Its only value is for 
seeding as a cover crop in late Summer or early Fall. 
Thus it may follow corn or early potatoes, or it may 
he seeded with buckwheat in late Summer. Handled 
in that way it will grow through the cool weather of 
Fall. live over Winter and when conditions are right, 
make a rapid growth in Spring, going to seed, in 
Northern New Jersey, about the middle of May. 
After many trials of Crimson clover we discarded it, 
since in open Winters it usually kills out in March. 
Some Northern farmers continue to use it as a Fall- 
sown cover crop, and it is of immense value south of 
Philadelphia. But it is worthless for Spring seeding, 
and Northern farmers who pay $15 or more per 
bushel for the seed, and sow it with oats, will throw 
away their money. Who is giving this fool advice.'' 
* 
Tx Belgium aloue 170MOO acres of fruit orchards have 
])PPii mined, «md hundreds of thousands of acres nine 
been destroyed in France and other invaded countries. 
It was said'that France lias 175,000 acres of devastated 
land, and that more than half a million fruit trees will 
be needed to replace those which have been wantonly 
destroyed. 
T H AT report comes from the Agricultural Depart¬ 
ment and corroborates what we have stated 
over and over. There can be no question about the 
vast losses to European fruit interests as a result of 
the war. Nor can there he any question about the 
great demand for fruit in Europe. The greater part 
of that demand must he satisfied here in America, 
and the home demand will also he increased. For 
years to come there will he an enormous call for 
\merican apples of good quality. There will also be 
more and more of a development of co-operative or 
« rganized selling, so that the supply will be taken 
4 -are of. The outlook is bright enough to encourage 
any man with a good orchard to give it the best care 
lie possibly can, and we advise a conservative plant¬ 
ing this year, of good stock. 
* 
I S A U. S. Senator supposed to represent the people 
of a State, their State government—or himself? 
That interesting question arises in connection with 
Senator James W. Wadsworth of New York. The 
L. S. Senate was originally planned as a check upon 
the House of Representatives. The Senators were 
not to be directly responsible to the people, hut to 
the State government or Legislature. It became evi¬ 
dent to a great majority of Americans that Senators 
elected by the Legislatures were becoming more like 
a ball and chain on the feet of democracy, and the 
Constitution was changed so as to elect Senators by 
the direct vote of the people. New York State voted 
ly a great majority to give women the right of 
suffrage. There are two women in the present Legis¬ 
‘Ihe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
lature. Both houses of the Legislature have voted 
to instruct the State's Senators at Washington to 
vote for the Federal suffrage amendment. Senator 
Wadsworth has thus far refused to do this. Both 
the people of the State and their State government 
have gone on record, hut apparently for personal 
reasons the Senator lias refused to do as they re¬ 
quest. Does he represent the people of New York— 
or himself? 
» 
W E know from correspondence that our readers 
have have been divided on the question of 
national prohibition. There is no doubt, however, 
that a great majority of them are more than grati¬ 
fied at the outcome of this long battle. Those of us 
who have been in it for a full generation realize 
the tremendous and revolutionary change which has 
come to popular thought. When 42 or more States 
out of 4s ratify an amendment to the constitution 
there is no use attempting to say that it does not 
express the conviction of the majority. Now let us 
spend no time gloating over the victory and then 
go about our private business leaving the law to 
enforce itself, or leaving it in the hands of either 
fanatics, enemies or politicians. A law of this sort 
is presumed to represent a moral desire and personal 
sacrifice on the part of the people. In its enforce¬ 
ment it can rise no higher than the personal life, 
the willingness to sacrifice personal comfort, and 
the personal courage of the great middle class of 
Americans We must realize that for a time national 
prohibition may mean an increase of taxation. That 
may be a good thing in the end, as it will force us 
to reduce public expenses. For the past 25 years 
there has been a constant demand for increased 
public expenses. No one has suggested cutting down 
public salaries and fees so as to require lower taxes. 
It has all been increase. We hope the loss of the 
liquor revenues will drive our people into a demand 
for a reduction of public expenses. Without question 
the suppression of the liquor business will have lor 
a time a depressing influence upon industry. During 
the readjustment of capital and labor now employed 
in making and selling liquor there will he trouble, 
and it will he somewhat reflected upon farming, it 
is also true that certain lines of farming will for a 
time he injuriously affected. We must face these 
tilings, and realize them, and insist that the laws to 
regulate this new amendment must be firm and 
just, and at the same time reasonable and clear. 
That is why temperance people, who fought for ibis 
amendment, cannot now walk away and let the law 
go to politicians for its enforcement. We think the 
fair and proper enforcement will require more per¬ 
sonal courage and patience and sacrifice than the 
battle to carry the amendment. We must all come 
out openly and squarely and help enforce it through 
personal sacrifice of habit and time. While we can 
clearly see the difficulties to he met in some localities 
over the enforcement of this law, we believe they 
will he fairly and patiently worked out. We expect 
to live to see the time when the moral and industrial 
benefits from prohibition have become so evident 
that there will be fewer to call for its repeal than 
there are today of those who would, if they could, 
recall human slavery. 
T HE great annual “Farmers' Week" will he held 
at Cornell (Ithaca. N. Y. i. this year Feb. 10-15. 
It promises to be the greatest gathering of farmers 
and of people interested in farming ever held on 
the upper Atlantic slope, if not in the country. 
While primarily an educational meeting designed to 
popularize (he class-room work of the college, 
“Farmers’ Week” has grown into a very much 
broader and bigger affair. It has become a great 
democratic farm convention, where earnest and 
intelligent farmers and their wives and children 
gather to compare notes and discuss their problems. 
In this way they are able to give condensed ex¬ 
pression to their farm needs and desires. They are 
also able to influence the thought and teachings of 
the agricultural college, and thus bring it closer to 
the people. Both those things are necessary, and 
they can he done more forcibly as moie fa. liters 
attend such a meeting. We would like to see the 
college buildings crowded to the limit this year. 
That is the way for farmers to influence agricul¬ 
tural education. 
T HE fruit growers of New York owe a big debt 
of gratitude to John Hall, for a long time sec¬ 
retary of the Western New York Horticultural 
Society. For many years, whenever the fruit 
growers of New York wanted to point out a man of 
rugged honesty, strong character and sound, fearless 
friendship they pointed to John Hall. For years. 
February 1, 1919 
as secretary of the old society, John Ilall, with 
William C. Barry as president, stood like rocks for 
what was right and best in fruit-growing. The 
younger generation cannot fully realize what the 
great industry owes to these men, for they gave it 
more than financial prosperity and power. They 
gave it character and dignity which we are now 
learning are the essential elements in putting agri¬ 
culture and horticulture into the place they must 
occupy. On the reorganizing or combining of the 
two great societies Mr. Hall resigned the position 
lie has long filled with such ability. We rejoice at 
the opportunity to give this public expression of the 
admiration and respect which fruit growers have 
for John Hall—gentleman! 
* 
O UR readers have noticed how the daily papers 
are filled with statements by produce dealers 
and middlemen about breaking up “price-fixing.” 
Behind all this is an evident attempt to induce the 
Government to break the pledge to the wheat farm¬ 
ers and its promise to the hog growers. The farmers 
were not in favor of “price-fixing.” They protested 
against it. hut the so-called minimum price of wheat 
was forced upon them, and they were told to show 
their patriotism by accepting it without complaint. 
They did so. though they would have been many mil¬ 
lions better off if prices had been left to “supply and 
demand.” Last year it was expected that the war 
would continue, with increased demands for food. 
Therefore the Government entered into what we re¬ 
gard as a solemn and legal contract with our farm¬ 
ers to guarantee them a mimimum price of $2.2(5 
per bushel for the 1019 crop. There had to he such a 
contract, or farmers could not have taken their 
chances on the crop. They have now invested their 
labor and capital in that crop, thus carrying out their 
part of the contract. The present move on the part 
of the middlemen is designed to make the consumers 
believe that farmers are responsible for the high cost 
of food. They hope through this to bring pressure 
upon Congress so as to force that body to repudiate 
the contract and refuse to pay the minimum price of 
$2 2(>. It is a very slick scheme, designed to give 
the handlers control of wheat supplies at their own 
price. It will succeed unless farmers can make their 
Congressmen understand. 
W E have not in the past encouraged the heavy 
sowing of Spring wheat in the Eastern States, 
and we still consider it a doubtful experiment south 
of the latitude of New York City. Reports from 
Central and Western New York show that last year 
seed of Marquis wheat grown in the Northwest gave 
very good yields. There is likely to he a heavy 
seeding of Spring wheat in these sections this sea¬ 
son. Aside from farmers who grow wheat for 
human food there will be many poultrymen who are 
prepared to try Spring wheat for chicken feed. 
These last are prepared to increase their stock of 
poultry, and will seed the wheat, confident that it will 
provide for their flocks. The culture of Spring wheat 
involves just about the same preparation of the land 
end fertilizing that you would give for a good crop of 
oats. Tlie Spring wheat should he put in as early as 
possible, and a good supply of phosphorus is neces¬ 
sary. We think it well worth trying north of New 
York. South of that latitude, we have our doubts. 
Brevities 
This is a great season for hauling out manure. 
You ought to have the garden seeds under way by 
this time. 
“Farmers’ and Housekeepers' Meet" is what they 
call the annual meeting in Arizona. 
We have the year's supply of wood all cut and housed. 
The latter condition is what makes comfort. 
The British have fixed a maximum price of 11 cents 
each on fresh eggs. 
The man who-succeeds is the one who cans all the 
can'ts. 
Connecticut is said to he one of the few States out 
of debt. It ought to spend more money for good roads 
—and the back roads at that. 
Legume plants carry their seed in pods. They carry 
the bacteria which take nitrogen from the air—shell 
ir out, as you might say. 
The New Jersey Experiment Station figures that 
enough seeds of tomato, pepper and eggplants will he 
sown in February by New Jersey farmers to produce 
i ver 200.000.000 early plants. 
More wood than ever before has been burned as fuel 
this Winter. The ashes will represent about all the 
potash available on many farms. Better use most of it 
on the garden. 
It is hard for many poultrymen to believe even the 
reasonable stories about the use of artificial lights in 
(in' henhouse. The fact is that when reasonably used, 
with proper care and feed, the lights induce the hen to 
lav a larger share of her year's output of eggs in the 
Winter. Of course, the lights cannot take the place of 
feed and warmth. 
