1584 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S FABER 
A National Weekly Journal tor Country and Suburban Homes 
Established isso 
Published weekly by the Rural Publishing Company. 333 West 30th Street. New Vorb 
Herbert W. Collingwood, President and Editor. 
John J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wa F. Dillon. Secretary. Mrs. E. T. Royle, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in tlio Universal Postal Union. $2.04, equal to 8s. 6d, or 
8k marks, or 10k irancs. 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 eiders. 
“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, ypu should mention TnE Rural New- 
Yorker when writing the ad. ertiser 
I do not know how many of these men may subscribe. 
They all need your paper, the only farm paper of today, 
and I have tried a lot of them. A dollar invested in 
your paper is worth five hundred in the bank. 
Pennsylvania. h. sprague. 
HAT comes with a good list of names of farmers 
who “ought to take The R. N.-Y.” What an 
army of friends we have. How cheerfully they go 
out of their way to help us. It is great to realize 
that people feel that way about us. We could print 
some experiences that would just about prove the 
statement in that last sentence. May our good friend 
always have at least $499 in the bank, and $1 for his 
subscription. 
* 
On page 1349 you ask, “Is there anything in the pres¬ 
ent situation in State or nation to lend courage or hope 
to agriculture?” Possibly the inclosed editorial para¬ 
graph from the Boston Herald of September 23 may in¬ 
dicate an answer: “Politicians with ears to the ground 
report the formidable tread of organized farmers.” 
Vermont. "s. s. C. 
HAT gives opportunity, if not hope. These poli¬ 
ticians have good ears, and they can tell wheth¬ 
er the farmers are keeping step or marching each one 
for himself. It is said that a regiment of soldiers 
marching exactly in step might shake the great 
Brooklyn bridge, while 50.000 walking (each for him¬ 
self) would hardly make it tremble. The politicians 
do not care how much noise the farmers make with 
their boots, provided they are all out of step. When 
the sound of these boots comes like "Tramp, tramp', 
tramp, the bops arc marching ,” the politicians will 
get under cover. 
* 
I F someone had told grandfather that in this year 
1919 thousands of honest hens would be fooled 
into laying extra eggs by the use of bright lights in 
the henhouse, we can easily imagine the old gentle¬ 
man’s language. Yet the plan of lighting the hen¬ 
houses has now gone so far that probably half the 
commercial poultry plants in New Jersey will “light 
up” this Winter. Doubters may grumble and object, 
but there is no such thing as stopping a change in 
farm practice when experience shows that men have 
made it pay. Nor is the hen “fooled” by these 
bright lights! She does not lay more eggs because 
she thinks the days are longer. It is a matter of 
food. After the long Winter nights the cold morn¬ 
ing finds the hen hungry to the point of starvation. 
Nature has not provided her with a “bread basket” 
large enough to carry a day’s supply of food. Morn¬ 
ing finds her with an empty stomach. She is more 
concerned about filling her crop than she is about 
filling a crate of eggs. Who can blame her? Years 
ago. when we had to get up long before daylight to 
milk, it was common practice to chew a mouthful of 
wheat or rye before breakfast. The lights in the 
henhouse enable the hen to walk about and eat 
later at night and earlier in the morning. That 
makes a shorter fast and a quicker recovery, and 
that seems to be about all there is to it. Of course 
this means a little more feed, but one extra egg in 
December will pay for the extra feed for a full 
month! There are still some things about this light¬ 
ing proposition which must be worked out. It is a 
form of forcing process and probably does the hen no 
good as a breeder, but with present prices of eggs 
and of feed the hen becomes more than ever a ma¬ 
chine to be run at full speed during her short life. 
* 
Will you give me all the unfavorable points you know 
of regarding that county? The people there pointed out 
the advantages. I want to know what the disadvantages 
are. Can you tell me? s. E. a. 
HAT comes from a man who thinks of locating 
in a county of Central New l T ork. It is a fair 
question, but who can answer it fairly? Rest as¬ 
sured that the people who are trying to sell a farm 
can tell him all the good points—and a few extra. 
But who can tell the disadvantages without prejudice 
Tbt RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
and with honest purpose? This man is wise in try¬ 
ing to get the dark side as well as the bright. The 
average back-to-the-lander forgets to ask. But who 
is qualified to criticize without “knocking”? 
* 
I T looks as if it were all over but the cackling in 
that Vineland egg-laying contest. At the end of 
the forty-ninth week the score stands as follows: 
J 
Underhill Brothers, R. I. Reds. 2.348 
Prospect Poultry Farm, White Leghorns. 2.234 
Fred J. Mathews, White Leghorns. 2.223 
C. S. Greene, White Leghorns. 2,202 
P. G. Platt, White Leghorns. 2,201 
During this forty-ninth week these Reds laid 37 
eggs, and the nearest Leghorn 32, so it seems impos¬ 
sible for the Whites to pass the Reds and gain 114 
eggs in 22 days! The race for second place is a good 
one, with a chance for any of the four pens named. 
The Reds, however, have fairly beaten everything in 
the contest. They have given the most remarkable 
performance ever framed inside of feathers. And, 
more remarkable still, is the fact that no one. not even 
Underhill himself, knew what these Red birds could 
do until they were put into the contest. We believe 
there are other flocks of very superior layers un¬ 
known because they have never been given a fair 
test. The Vineland contest has paid for itself many 
times over by bringing out into the limelight several 
flocks of remarkable layers which were never heard 
of before. 
* 
W E think the Farm Bureaus of the Hudson Val¬ 
ley are in favor of increasing the membership 
fees to $2 per year as a uniform rate, in place of the 
present rate of $1. More money is needed to do the 
bureau work properly. The work has increased and 
all expenses are higher. We also think the valley 
farmers are opposed to any large expenses at Wash¬ 
ington in maintaining permanent representatives 
there. They think the New York Farm Bureaus 
should send live men to Washington whenever occa¬ 
sion for such visits arises. The men to be sent on 
should be selected from time to time and have the 
entire State represented. From our experience we 
doubt if the Washington politicians are very much 
impressed by resident “watch dogs” or lobbyists. It 
is often a case where “familiarity breeds contempt” 
when the same men always show up at hearings or 
discussions. What makes a dent at Washington is 
the big popular protest right straight from home. 
When the same men keep coming to Washington year 
after year. Congressmen naturally assume that they 
are dealing with an organization and not with a 
popular demand. They are rarely afraid of an or¬ 
ganization alone. One of the best things the Farm 
Bureau can do is to train its members to write strong 
letters, just as an army is trained to shoot bullets at 
the mark. 
• 
On page 1534 an Indiana woman complains of the 
charge made by a dentist. Does she not understand that 
dentistry represents skilled labor—which always com¬ 
mands high wages? And does she not know how neces¬ 
sary the dentist is? f. h. s. 
HE both understands and knows, but she also be¬ 
lieves (as do many others) that many branches 
of farming also represent skilled labor. All of us 
will admit that a good dentist represents skilled 
labor. When he gets up close to the root the work is 
not only skilled, but drilled. But he is not the only 
citizen who offers the public skilled labor and has 
paid the price to obtain it. Many branches of farm¬ 
ing, such as fruit growing, stock breeding, floricul¬ 
ture or vegetable growing, require, in their way. just 
as much skill and patient study as dentistry. Again, 
though the teeth are necessary to human health and 
enjoyment, they are not so much so as the food which 
the teeth are supposed to prepare! Our friend makes 
the common mistake of supposing that farming is not 
to be ranked with the professions in its demands 
upon skilled labor and its need of intelligence. Turn 
the dentist out upon a farm and tell him to make a 
living at the teeth of the harrow and hayrake, and 
be would soon find a new meaning for “skilled labor” 
and a new respect for the farmer. What the farmer 
objects to is not so much that other forms of skilled 
labor can exact high prices, but that such prices are 
all out of proportion to what he is paid! 
* 
N O use talking, the sheep business is growing in 
New York State. It is a good thing, too. It 
gives farmers a new and easy "side line.” helps 
many a farmer and adds to the much-needed world’s 
supply of meat and wool. No posslMe criticism can 
be made about this growth of the sheep business. It 
is one of the best things ever started in New York 
farming. The only thing which stands in its way is 
the dog nuisance. That has got to be handled with¬ 
out gloves, unless the gloves are made of dogskin. 
October 25, 1919 
The New York law has helped somewhat, but it must 
be strengthened and enforced. “A dog has no busi¬ 
ness off his owner's land unless accompanied bp his 
owner." That is the point which we must all realize. 
A dog license merely gives a man the right to keep a 
dog. That is just what it means, and the license 
does not mean that the dog is permitted to run all 
over the neighborhood. That is clearly the intent 
and purpose of the law. No man has the right to 
turn his dog loose to range the country. No man 
should keep a dog unless he will keep him at home. 
* 
W E have many questions about the legality of 
using barbed wire in making division fences. 
There seems to be quite a mix-up over this point. 
The New York law covers it as follows: 
Barbed or other wire may be used in the construction 
of any division fence, provided, however, that the person 
or corporation desiring to use much material shall first 
obtain from the owner of the adjoining property his 
written consent that it maj be so used. If the owner of 
the adjoining property refuses to consent to the building 
of such a fence, it may, nevertheless, be built in the fol¬ 
lowing manner: The fence shall be of at least four 
strands of wire with a sufficient bar of wood at the top ; 
and the size of_ such top bars and of the posts and sup¬ 
ports of such fence, and their distances apart, shall be 
such as the fence viewers of the town may prescribe, 
and with the posts no further apart than 14 feet; and 
such fence shall be otherwise substantially built and a 
reasonably sufficient inclosure for holding the particular 
kind or class of cattle or animals usually pastured on 
either side of the fence. 
Some of our readers say they intend going ahead 
and using barbed wire as they please, without con¬ 
sulting the neighbors. We advise them against any 
such policy, for the law as quoted is clear. On page 
1592 will be found a statement of the common fence 
laws. 
* 
W E are asked if the men who take prizes at 
fruit shows are always the best fruit growers. 
No: some of the best growers never exhibit. While 
some of them are experts at growing, they are not 
always able to select the best specimens. Selecting 
fancy fruit is something like selecting good pullets 
for an egg-laying contest. The man with an artistic 
eye can select prize-winning fruit. There was one 
case where a fine grower failed to win prizes until he 
engaged an expert to select specimens for him. It is 
far too frequent a custom for people to buy fine fruit 
and exhibit it as their own. These “ringers” ought 
to be ruled out everywhere, but as a rule the prizes 
for fruit will go to the few men who are able to select 
the most approved specimens, which may be half a 
dozen apples taken fi*om 100 bushels. 
* 
O YER in Canada the farmers have started a 
strong political movement inside the old par¬ 
ties. They are after definite things, and will get 
them. This is the result of “class legislation” put 
through for many years by “an organized crowd of 
lawyers and capitalists.” Charles C. Nixon tells 
mis story of how the movement started: 
A Cabinet minister in the late Laurier government, 
defeated on the reciprocity pact, made the exclamation 
to a friend of mine the morning after the 1919 election : 
“John, the farmer is an ass; he is going to be ridden; 
we may as well get on and ride!” 
And they did get on and ride, just as the politi¬ 
cians on this side of the line have done. They 
charged more for the privilege of riding than was 
ever paid to the people who did all the work. The 
Canadian farmer seems to have found that the 
politician is a parasite—and has kicked him off! 
We are a little slower to find out about these riders, 
but their day is ending. Watch Wayne County, N. Y. 
Brevities 
When a man loses his courage where does he look for 
it? Where he lost it? 
Most people have little use for a “knocker,” yet 
pounding the iron gives it new character. 
When the wrongs of half the universe upon you seem 
to creep, our advice is to forget them and try to go to 
sleep. 
It is said that at 65 years 95 per cent of men are de¬ 
pending on their daily earnings or on their children for 
support. Do you believe it? 
Before you go into court with your neighbor, remem¬ 
ber that it means a declaration of war between you. 
Have we not all had war enough? 
One of the biggest mistakes a live stock man can 
make is to assume that the hog is naturally a filthy ani¬ 
mal. You give him a chance to keep clean and he will 
pay for it. 
A few years ago it was claimed that the tendency to 
buy thrashing outfits was all one way—which meant big 
outfits for the township. In Ohio it is said that small 
groups of farmers are buying small separators, which 
can be run by the ordinary tractor. 
In many parts of the country good crops of sunflowers 
were grown this year for experiments in feeding. The 
sunflowers will be mixed with corn in the silo as a sort 
of ‘ham sandwich” for the cows. A few experiments in 
former years have shown considerable value for the sun¬ 
flowers. 
