The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1363 
Things To Think About 
The object of this department is to givo readers a chance to express themselves on farm 
matters. Not lonrr articles can he nsefl—just short, pointed opinions or suggestions. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER does not always endorse what is printed here. You might 
call this a mental safety valve. 
Killing an Urttagged Dog 
I have had a licensed dog shot by a 
neighbor. This dog did not have his tag 
on at the time he was shot. I would like 
to know if a dog is obliged to wear a tag 
all the time, or if anyone has a right to 
kill a dog without his tag on. This dog 
was doing no damage. J. H. H. 
New York. 
The New York dog law contains the 
following: 
See. 139. Killing Unlicensed Dog. The 
fact that a dog is without a tag attached 
to a collar, as hereinbefore required, shall 
be presumptive evidence that such dog is 
unlicensed and that a tag was not issued 
and attached as so required. An action 
shall not be maintained for an injury to 
or destruction of a dog without a tag. un¬ 
less it shall appear affirmatively that such 
a dog was duly licensed under this chap¬ 
ter and that a tag was duly fastened to 
the collar of the dog and was lost or re¬ 
moved without the owner’s knowledge or 
consent. 
This does not mean that anyone can 
kill such a dog without authority. Such 
an unlicensed dog may be killed by a 
peace officer or by one designated by the. 
Department of Poods and Markets, but 
not by others unless the dog is caught in 
the act of killing or annoying domestic 
animals of value or poultry. Any person 
may kill a dog thus caught in the act. but 
unless so caught only authorized agents of 
the State can legally kill the dog. 
The Merchant and His Trade 
I am much interested in the various 
articles contained therein. In reading the 
article on page 12G2, “Observations on 
Producer to Consumer Selling.” I could 
not help some thoughts like these : The 
writer tried to sell potatoes at $3 a bush¬ 
el. which would leave the grocer a half 
dollar for measuring up four pecks and 
delivering them, possibly to four corners 
of the town, to wait more or less time for 
his pay. One cannot very well get four 
pecks of potatoes from a bushel, either, 
unless one is very careful. Not being able 
to get $3 per bushel, this friend turns 
around and sells the potatoes away below 
the market. And to whom did they sell? 
Not to the people who needed to buy 
cheap, but to people who were well able 
to pay the full price, and any money 
saved on that deal could be spent for 
theater parties, luncheons at the club. etc. 
It was necessary for all hands to work 
themselves stiff in order to fill these or¬ 
ders. As far as earning the gratitude of 
the people they sold to was concerned. I 
am inclined to think it will be forgotten 
very quickly unless they supply another 
“bargain.” I am a farmer and have been 
for 25 years, and while I believe many 
times merchants do make an exorbitant 
profit and the farmers do not get w-hat 
they should, on the other hand the mer¬ 
chants are. a necessity. The business of 
selling to consumer is good, but I fail to 
see the necessity of making such a big cut 
in price, and the trouble is the class of 
people who can afford to run out six miles 
after these things are not the ones who 
need to save the money. The “hundreds 
of often broke people” could not afford to 
hire any kind of conveyance to go after 
these things, and the merchants, in order 
to make up for what they lose on the 
sales to the prosperous ones, charge a lit¬ 
tle more to the ones who of necessity must 
buy from them. I know of countless in¬ 
stances of farmers coming into town with 
a load of produce and after peddling out 
to the merchant’s logical customers all he 
can sell, then comes to the merchant to 
sell the remainder, of possibly a perish¬ 
able article, and then complains because 
he is offered so little, or perhaps is unable 
to sell at all. simply because he has sold 
the merchant’s market away from him. I 
believe in dividing things up a little, but 
not to condemn the merchant in too harsh 
a manner. F. D. b. 
The Moon and Brush Cutting 
Speaking of the moon, T had a hired 
man who had a special day in August to 
cut brush. The moon had to be just so, 
and the day was in between two of the 
signs in the almanac. As a matter of fact 
the brush never sprouted, bat whether the 
moon had anything to do with it I don’t 
know. B. S. 
We do not believe the moon had any¬ 
thing to do with it. nor do we think any 
special day was required .for the job. 
Our explanation is that at about this time 
of the year the brush has reached its full 
growth for the season. Much of this 
growth comes from plant food stored up 
in the roots, and at the close of the sea¬ 
son these roots are well exhausted. The 
balance of the season is usually spent in 
trying to recover. Somewhat after the 
plan of the asparagus plant, the brush or 
the small tree stores up in its roots plant 
food for another season. If the brush is 
cut right at this time it is usually unable 
to renew it during the Fall. It usually 
makes a feeble growth, aud goes into the 
Winter weakened aud unable to make a 
strong growth or sprout in the Spring. 
This is the theory of killing out brush by 
cutting it in late Summer and Fall, and 
we have never thought that the moon had 
anything to do with it. 
Silo Juice and Intoxication 
I have seen quite a lot about the juice 
from the silo being intoxicating. Don’t 
believe it. I worked in a State institu¬ 
tion where they had two big silos at every 
barn. While I was there I was asked to 
care for a sick inmate. He was very 
sick. lie wouldn’t tell for a long time 
what he had eaten, but when he was sure 
he was going to die he said he had drank 
the juice out of the silo. He had all the 
chance to -become intoxicated he needed. 
I have seen men around the silo with 
pieces of the silage, eating it with their 
jack-knives like folks eat sugar cane in 
Florida. They all say it has a peculiarly 
good taste. mrs. o. d. n. 
Michigan. 
Getting a Passport 
Will you let me know where I should 
inquire for a passport, as T intend to 
make a trip in the Fall to France? 
New Jersey. e. b. 
Under war-time requirements the appli¬ 
cant must apply to the United States 
District Court of his locality. If in doubt 
about this, the postmaster will inform 
him where it. is located. The applicant 
must, have six photographs of himself, 
3x3 inches, on thin paper, and a copy of 
birth certificate. The court applied to 
will give forms of application to fill out, 
costing about .$5 in fees. The applicant 
must, be accompanied by a witness for 
identification. The court sends applica¬ 
tions to the State Department at Wash¬ 
ington ; when the application is accepted 
the applicant gets passport at branch 
office of the State Department in New 
York or other large city. There is often 
considerable delay before the papers are 
returned from Washington. The passport 
is then vised by the French Consul at 
the port of embarkation. A person of 
foreign birth should apply at once to his 
nearest Consul or other official represen¬ 
tative for advice about securing a pass¬ 
port. At the present time it is said that 
over (1.000 persons from Eastern Europe, 
representing the .Tugo-Slavie and Czecho- 
Slavie nationalities, are in New York 
City awaiting passports and transporta¬ 
tion to their home lands. 
The Howling Dog Nuisance 
I noticed recently an editorial regard¬ 
ing the dog situation in New York State. 
How about Pennsylvania? What can I 
do to rid the community in which I re¬ 
side of worthless curs and night-prowling 
dogs? It is generally supposed that peo¬ 
ple residing in the country are privileged 
to sleep peacefully at nights, and for that 
reason 1 have always resided in the 
country. However, here there seem to 
be a few people who have no regard for 
their neighbors and keep dogs, which they 
lot loose at night. These dogs usually 
spend the nights in barking at each 
other, or at the moon, and in this way 
making it utterly impossible for the aver¬ 
age person to sleep. Unfortunately the 
type of person who 'would keep a dog 
that barks is usually of the beefy, nerve¬ 
less, phlegmatic type that could sleep 
with his dog howling directly under the 
window. Will you please advise me as 
to the State law here, and also how I 
can proceed legally to rid the community 
of these nuisances? c. h. n. 
The Pennsylvania dog law does not 
seem to be as stringent as the New York 
law. In New York it may be definitely 
stated that a dog has no legal rights 
when found off hie owner’s property 
alone. Even in New York, while you 
might compel the owner to keep his dog 
at home, there is no law to prevent a 
dog from howling! In Pennsylvania and 
New Jersey the dog has greater freedom. 
A howling or barking dog as a nuisance 
enters into the same class as a German 
baud, a midnight “oelebrator” or a group 
of so-called singers attempting a serenade. 
If the dog comes on your property and 
howls you can safely take a shot at him. 
If by accident you hit him you would 
probably be justified, particularly if you 
buried him quietly beside some tree" or 
bush. If he stays on his owner’s place 
and howls you have no redress except 
what you might have in abating any other 
nuisance. You can complain to the owner 
and ask him to keep the dog quiet; but 
how can he do that without killing the 
dog—if he is determined to howl? You 
can apply for a legal injunction to have 
the nuisance abated. Possibly some 
judge might grant it, but who could en¬ 
force it? In one case we understand a 
group of sufferers dubbed together and 
bought ui> several of these howling dogs. 
They never howled again, but the former 
owners bought new dogs! What, you say 
about sleepers may be true. Deaf men, 
tired farmers aud those who make a busi¬ 
ness of sleeping do not often mind the 
howling dog. There are many nervous 
victims of insomnia who would give half 
their wealth. In that New York case the 
dog owner said he turned his dog loose 
because he liked to hear the aaiimil howl 
or “bay.” 
Bush and Bog Plow 
Put that boggy, bushy waste land into cultivation with the Clark “Cut¬ 
away” Bush and Bog Plow. This tool cuts and turns the soil deep— 
chops its way through ground impossible for an ordinary harrow or a 
mouldboard plow. 
Clark “Cutaway” Disks are of Cutlery Steel, forged sharp; frame and 
axles of special steel. Two sizes—one for four horses, one for two 
horses. Larger size cuts 5 feet,wide; smaller size, 4% feet. \ ery strong 
and sturdy. Light draft. . _ , _ , 
Ask your dealer about the “Cutaway” Bush and Bog Plows. If he 
hasn’t them, some nearby dealer has. Free book, “The Soil and Its Till¬ 
age,” yours for the asking. 
Makers of 
the Original 
’CLARK 
Disk Har¬ 
rows and 
Plows 
THE CUTAWAY 
661 MAIN STREET 
Tractor Harrows 
Horse Harrows 
Other Disk 
Implements 
Extension Head 
Harrows 
HARROW CO. 
HIGGANUM, CONNECTICUT 
Orchard Plows 
Right Lap Plows 
Makes Every Ounce 
of Fertilizer Count 
JOHN DEERE-VAN BRUNT 
Lime and Fertilizer Sower 
Covers a strip of ground eight feet 
wide each trip across the field, 
carries ten bushels, and distributes 
150 to 8,000 pounds per acre of 
crushed lime rock, slacked lime, all 
brands of standard commercial 
fertilizer, nitrate of soda, land plas¬ 
ter, granulated calcium chloride, 
dry wood ashes. 
The Van Brunt improved rotary 
wing force feeds are so constructed 
that lime or fertilizer does not 
drift, but is sown evenly from each 
feed. 
The double feed shaft with direct 
wheel drive allows the operator 
to disengage both feeds for trans¬ 
porting, or one-half the machine 
independent of the other, simply 
by releasing the pawls on either 
wheel. 
Effective oscillating agitators, for 
handling unusually sticky fertilizer, 
are furnished when ordered. 
Free Book— “Better Grain Yields From the Same Fields,” contains 
information of value to every farmer and describes this sower. Write 
today for a copy. Ask for package L- 427. 
John Deere 
GET QUALITY 
AND SERVICE 
Moline, Ill. 
JOHN DEERE 
TX “*•* O* OWAllTV 
MM luMDMMlMMOO 
DEALERS GIVE BOTH 
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When you write advertisers mention The R. M.-Y. and you’ll get a 
quick reply and a “square deal.” See guarantee editorial page. 
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