612 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes 
Established tsio 
Published weekly by the Rural Publishing Company, 333 West 30lh Street, New Vork 
Herbert W. Colmnowood, President and Editor. 
John J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. Dillon, Secretary. Mrs. E. T. Royer, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.01, equal to 8s. 6(L, or 
S'* marks, or 101* francs. Remit in money order, express 
orderf 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. 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
tilities. As passed it seems to be a permanent thing. 
Owing to the fierce opposition on the part of the 
farmers the bill carrying appropriations for the Agri¬ 
cultural Department carried an item or “rider” 
which repealed this bill and brought us back to the 
old time. Congress failed to pass this bill, and thus 
the daylight-saving law remains in force. It may, in 
our opinion, rightly be classed as fool legislation. If 
the workmen in town and city want to get up an hour 
earlier, why do they not. do so, without waiting for a 
law to compel early rising? The farmers still have a 
chance to force a repeal of this bill. 
“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 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 « 
$150 For Best Milk Plans 
K. BRADLEY FULLER, counsel for the Dairy¬ 
men's League, said in a speech at the Utica 
meetin gon March 22 that the operations of the 
League were fundamentally wrong. He gave out a 
new plan which we print in full on page 613. He 
submitted it to local branches for criticism and dis¬ 
cussion. Farmers do not understand it, and are 
asking for delay and advice. 
To bring out the best thought on the subject, we 
offer $150 in prizes for the best three plans. For 
the first, $100; for second, $35; for third, $15. The 
articles for the first three prizes may defend or crit¬ 
icize the official plan in whole or in part, but it 
should be constructive; that is, it should present a 
complete plan. It should be limited to about. 1.000 
words. 
Have manuscripts typewritten if you can; other¬ 
wise, write plainly on one side of paper. Sign it 
with your full name aud address. The prizes will be 
awarded for a practical plan rather than for literary 
merit. 
All manuscripts must be in our hands by April 14, 
to be printed April 26. 
* 
C OLUMBIA Co., N. Y., leads this country in rye 
production. For many years the combination 
of grain and straw made rye a more profitable grain 
than wheat in the Hudson Valley. The rye farmers 
are now greatly disturbed over the grain situation. 
The Government has made a guaranteed price for 
wheat, but has done nothing for rye. The rye grow¬ 
ers fear that in the event of a big wheat crop the Gov¬ 
ernment agents will be so anxious to dispose of it 
without loss that rye will not have a fair chance in 
the market. The Board of Supervisors of Columbia 
County recently passed the following resolution: 
Resolved, That this board is in favor of the enact¬ 
ment of a bill setting aside a sum of money to be used as 
a fund to protect the price of rye, and that a copy of 
this resolution be sent to the Senator and ( ongressman 
representing this district, and that they be requested to 
procure such legislation as is necessary for the protec¬ 
tion of the rye farmers. 
The Government has provided a fund of $1,250,000.- 
000 to finance the wheat crop, and, if need he, main¬ 
tain this guaranteed price. The demand of the rye 
growers is just. They have as much right to protec¬ 
tion as the wheat growers. They answered the call 
for an increased crop, 'and sowed the grain which on 
their farms would give most food. It will he the 
meanest sort of injustice if, in order to dispose of the 
wheat, the market for rye is destroyed. We were un¬ 
able to sell our own rye at anything like a fair com¬ 
parative price for wheat, though the demand for rye 
bread was good. Rye should he provided for the 
same as wheat, and Congress should definitely assign 
a share of the wheat guarantee fund for the pro¬ 
tection of rye prices. The rye growers must not be 
crowded out simply because there are comparatively 
few of them. 
* 
T HERE is some little mix-up over this daylight 
saving law. It was, we understand, introduced 
and pushed through by Senator Calder of New York. 
The section which causes the trouble is as follows; 
Sou 3 That at two o’clock antemeridian of the 
last Sunday in March of each year the standard time of 
each zone shall be advanced one hour, aud at two o clock 
antemeridian of the last Sunday in October in each 
year the standard time of each zone shall, by the retard¬ 
ing of one hour, be returned to the mean astronomical 
time of the degree of longitude governing said zone so 
that between the last Sunday in March at two o clock 
antemeridian and the last Sunday in October at two 
o’clock antemeridian in each year the standard time in 
each zone shall be one hour in advance of the mean as¬ 
tronomical time of the degree of longitude governing 
each zone, respectively. 
We find nothing in the bill to show that it is a 
“war measure,” to be abandoned at the end of hos- 
* 
T HE State Food Commission is now abolished by 
a law signed last week by Governor Smith. Two 
years ago, when farm opposition developed against 
the appointment of George W. Perkins as head of 
the Council of Farms and Markets, the Food Com¬ 
mission was suggested by a bright woman as a 
means of finding a place for Mr. Perkins, and it was 
created for that purpose, and no other. Later Mr. 
Perkins was nominated for head of both bodies, but 
could not be confirmed by the Senate, and John 
Mitchell got both places. The commission spent 
about six hundred thousand dollars. 
* 
T HE affairs of the Dairymen’s League have now 
reached a point where all the wisdom and skill 
of its members are ueeded in order to prepare solidly 
for the future. In rneny respects the Dairymen’s 
League is the most promising organization of farmers 
ever attempted in this country. America astonished 
the world by gathering untrained boys from town 
and farm and in a few months welding them into a 
lighting machine which walked right through the 
boasted military organization of the Kaiser. In its 
way the hastily gathered organization of the Dairy¬ 
men’s League was no less remarkable. These men 
held together through sheer loyalty aud determina¬ 
tion, and by doing so upset every calculation of the 
middlemen and politicians who have for so many 
years robbed and cheated the farmers. An army 
that can win such a victory is capable of the highest, 
service to agriculture if it can be trained and organ¬ 
ized so as to be most efficient. We realize the 
immense importance to all lines of farming that the 
Dairymen’s League should now build its future on 
the strongest possible foundation. The old pro¬ 
gramme does not measure up to present needs, and 
for that very reason the new plan should be dearly 
understood by all the members before it is adopted. 
In a great democratic organization such as the 
League ought to be both power aud plans should 
come up from the bottom and he a part of the com¬ 
mon thought of all the members. Tt is with this 
idea in mind that The It. N.-Y. offers prizes for the 
best programme or plan for the future of the 
League. v We feel that in this way it will be possible 
to obtain the clearest statement regarding the wishes 
of the members. In fact, such a statement can 
hardly he obtained in any other way. The offer is 
made openly and sincerely, with no strings tied to 
it in any way. We welcome any expression of 
opinion, but it should he constructive and free from 
any disturbing criticism. The League is now on 
trial even more than during the milk battle, for 
reconstruction and building for the future are always 
harder than fighting. We must all get together on a 
broad, enduring plan, which will reflect the desires 
of the plain men who represent the heart and spirit 
of the League. 
* 
To devote time and risk money to recover these farms 
and settle young men and their wives on them, with 
such conveniences as are possible nowadays on country 
farms, is doing more for this country, in way of health 
and happiness, than anything I know of. h. .1. 
HAT is written by a well-to-do man who is 
Interested in farming. This man, like many 
others, was raised on a farm, but has made his 
money in other occupations. Now lie sees how farms 
are being deserted or passing into the hands of 
renters or tenants, and he knows what will happen 
if this keeps on. Many of such men have a kindly 
feeling for the old town and county, and want to 
help. Some of them will bring some little manu¬ 
facturing business back to the town and they would 
like to revive the old spirit of farming. They will 
now have the greatest opportunity this country has 
ever known to repopulate many of the farms which 
in former years supported large families of self- 
respecting people. It is nonsense to talk ol spending 
any part of the proposed billion dollars in opening 
desert and swamp land when thousands of good 
farms in civilized communities are waiting occu¬ 
pants. The present Administration seems determined 
to spend money on these far Western and Southern 
projects. The repopulating of the Eastern farms 
April 5, 1910 
will have to be done largely by wealthy men who 
are interested in the old town or county. They can 
come in behind the Federal Land Bank with a 
second mortgage, or start a man with good character 
and energy on a contract. We are unable to find 
soldiers who want to spend their lives working in 
the desert or in swamps to develop waste land, but 
there will he thousands of them ready to take and 
work an Eastern farm if they can he financed rea¬ 
sonably. And here is the chance for some of our 
wealthy men to benefit farming by locating some of 
these hustling young men on the farms where old- 
time families have faded out. 
* 
S INCE the food speculators could not abolish the 
Market Department entirely, they determined to 
get possession of it. At present they have succeeded, 
but to make their position doubly secure they pro¬ 
pose now to. make it a bureau in the Agricultural 
Department and put it in the hands of a deputy 
three times removed from public influence. This 
deputy is to be appointed by a Commissioner who 
is appointed by a Council, the members of which are 
to he appointed by the Legislature for terms of 10 
years each. The middlemen put up money for cam¬ 
paign expenses, and the men who take their money 
also take their orders and put their men in these 
positions. 
As the only effective means to overcome this in¬ 
fluence Senator George F. Thompson has introduced 
legislation to again separate the Departments of 
Agriculture and Markets, and put. each under a 
single Commissioner, to he elected by direct vote. 
This brings the question out as a square issue. Shall 
we have commissioners in the Departments to rep¬ 
resent middlemen or farmers? Let us line up on 
that issue. It is a good time to let your Governor, 
Senator and Assemblyman know that, you want the 
Thompson legislation voted into law. 
* 
A FEW weeks ago we told about, the seed corn 
# business on Long Island. Tt has been found 
that Luce’s Favorite corn grows well nigh to per¬ 
fection under the Island conditions. Seed of this 
corn carefully grown and selected on the Island and 
taken to the North has proved very superior for 
growing silage. It is an economical plan to grow 
seed corn where it. will mature best. This is some¬ 
thing like a division of labor in human enterprises. 
Now much the same thing is working out with the 
seed potatoes planted on Long Island. While that, 
section produces good corn seed it. is obliged to go 
elsewhere to obtain high-class potato seed. Of late 
years there has been great trouble because various 
potato diseases have worked into the Northern 
potato fields. Varieties are mixed, too, so that it 
has become almost impossible to obtain pure and 
clean seed. After trying to induce Northern potato 
growers to clean up their fields and certify seed a 
group of Long Island farmers have secured a large 
farm in Central Maine. They will use it to grow 
the highest quality of potato seed for planting on 
the Island. Every diseased plant and every “rogue” 
will he pulled out and destroyed so as to obtain the 
finest seed available. Experiments prove that such 
seed, in the potato field, ranks in value with pure¬ 
bred stock in the barnyard or pasture. Thus while 
these Long Island farmers will supply the Northern 
dairymen with seed corn, they will in turn go to the 
North for their seed potatoes, and both sections will 
be well served by such operations. 
Brevities 
I low many people have you brought to the “sunny 
side of the barn?” 
There is one time when most of us “can do full jus¬ 
tice to our surroundings.” That is dinner time. 
It seems there are two Bolsheviks in the New ^ ork 
Legislature—if they know just what the word means. 
There will be a great planting of oats and Canada 
peas this year to take the place of hay. 
Can you tell us why the average man is more inclined 
to believe a bad report of another rather than a good 
one? 
Sudan grass gave us a good crop of fodder—much 
like millet. It was good for all stock and made a good 
growth on dry land. We concluded, however, that 
millet and fodder corn gave ns more fodder. 
Many back-to-the-landers seem to think fertilizer 
will make hay on any old worn-out field. Unless there 
is a'fair stand of grass the fertilizer will not pay for 
top-dressing. When the grass roots are destroyed plant 
food will not renew them. Unless there is a fair stand 
it will pay better to plow up the sod. plant corn and 
use fertilizers. 
