424 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S TAPER 
A Notional Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Home* * 
Established tsso 
Published weekly by the Rural Publishing Company, 333 West 30th Street,Rew Vork 
Herbert W. Collint,wood, President and Editor. 
Joitv J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. Dillon, Secretary.__ Mrs, E, T. Royi.k, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION; ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in tlio Universal Postal Union, $2.04, equal to 8s. 6d.. or 
8i.i marks, or 10 U francs. Remit in money order, express 
order, personal check or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post Office as Second Class Matter. 
Advertising rates, 00 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 subscribera sustained by trusting any deliberate swindler, irrespon¬ 
sible advertisers or misleading advertisements in our columns, and any 
such swindler will be publicly exposed. We arc 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 ot the tune of 
tile transaction, and to identify it, you should ment'on The Rural New- 
Yorker when writing the advertiser. 
I bare tried to get a man near here to take Tiie It. 
N.-Y., without success. lie seems to fancy lie is su¬ 
perior to his neighbors who read it, but really lie is a 
very poor farmer. I saw an article of about one-third 
of a column in The R. N.-Y. that I am sure would have 
been worth $10 to him if he had heeded it. A. M. c. 
OT T must remember that there is considerable 
difference between reading and heeding. The 
substitution of two letters makes a great change. 
Reading without heeding passes thought through the 
brain like a cloth over dishes. Heeding engraves 
thought so it must remain. We try to make people 
think. 
* 
P ROF. G. F. WARREN of Cornell has reports 
from 3.775 representative New York farms, 
which show that the number of people on these 
farms decreased 3 per cent during the past year, 
while the number of hired men decreased 17 per 
cent: 
Of the men and boys who were doiug farm work on 
these farms last year. 650 have left farming for other 
kinds of work, and only one-third as many have left 
other kinds of work to take up farming. If_the same 
ratio holds for all farms in the State, about 35.000 men 
and boys left farming to go to other industries, and 
about 11.000 men and boys went from other industries 
into farming. This is a more rapid movement from the 
farms to other industries than took place in the early 
part of the war, for, according to the school census, the 
number of persons in this State who left farming for 
other industries during the year ending February 1, 
1018. was 21.430. and in the same period 13,894 persons 
left other kinds of work to go to fanning. 
This is, no doubt, a fair statement of New York as 
a whole, and of the other Atlantic slope States. 
There has been a steady movement of desirable labor 
away from the farm. That is largely because the 
other interests and the State and National Govern¬ 
ments have advanced the price of labor beyond what 
the farmer can afford to pay. The effect of this will 
surely he a decrease in the production of food—just 
as would he the case with any other product through 
a shortage of labor. The shorter working day. “day¬ 
light saving” and many other proposed changes in 
old-time industry can only have the same result—de¬ 
creased production. Our city friends may well begin 
to wake up and think what will happen if this con¬ 
tinues to go on. They can wear old clothes, patch 
and cobble their shoes, walk instead of ride, but they 
cannot eat their dinner and still have it in the pan¬ 
try for supper. The food production will not increase 
until workers go back to the farm. They are not 
likely to go back until the farm can pay as well as 
the factory. That is not likely to happen until the 
farmer gets more of the consumer’s dollar. 
* 
Some village Hampden, that with dauntless breast 
The little tyrant of his fields withstood. 
N Gray’s Elegy that is the brief sketch of the 
man who really makes history. Most men are 
content to grumble and fight at long range. They 
will curse the opposition party, or some trust, or 
some big politician, who will never get Hose to them, 
hut they do not like “infighting” or openly attacking 
the men who represent evils at home. In our corre¬ 
spondence we get too many letters with something 
like this: “I want you to show this man up. but do 
not under any circumstances mention my name. It 
would make trouble for me.” The “Village Hamp¬ 
den” that the poet refers to did not go hunting for 
trouble, but when the rights of the community were 
trampled on he came right out and stood his ground 
against the “big man” of the neighborhood. What 
the world needs is more men of that stamp. There 
are many of them now, but we need more of them. 
People often wonder how The It. N.-Y. can afford 
to be independent and outspoken when the crooks 
and politicians have so much power. There are two 
good reasons for it. First, Ave have at our back a 
good-sized army of these “village Hampdens.” They 
seem to he the picked men of the communities— 
unafraid and unimpeachable. They have come into 
what we call the Rural family because they seem to 
Ihc RURAL NEW-YORKER 
belong there. That means genuine power. Then we 
have lived long enough to know that the so-called 
power of the politicians and the crooks is based 
largely upon bluff and habit. Not 15 per cent of 
the people believe in the politicians and crooks, but 
most of us have got so in the habit of dodging our 
duty when it means a little trouble with the local 
“big man” that we do what the so-called “leaders” 
tell us to do. A man does not prove his manhood 
with his words, hut with his works. One honest 
grapple with the evil right in your own town is 
worth a year of shouting at a trust or at Congress— 
1.000 miles away. 
* 
A FTER 27 years of active service Dr. Jacob 
Gould Schurman retires as president of Cor¬ 
nell University. In selecting a new president for 
this great institution some facts not always con¬ 
sidered should be well understood. Cornell has be¬ 
come great largely through the power of agriculture 
and the support of farmers. It seems but yesterday 
to some of us when we were forced to make a des¬ 
perate fight for the very life of the Agricultural 
College—which was then only a small cog in the 
university machine. It was necessary to use rather 
violent or revolutionary methods in order to put any 
real fighting spirit into the Cornell authorities. 
When we finally developed popular support for the 
college and went to Albany with something of power 
we found every other college in the State lined up 
solidly against any proposition for making the Agri¬ 
cultural College what it ought to he. These classical 
and denominational colleges covered their real pur¬ 
pose under an attack upon Cornell, but at heart they 
opposed the entire scheme of real scientific agricul¬ 
tural education. They lost out on that proposition, 
and the Legislature started the Agricultural College 
on a solid foundation. The day Governor Odell 
signed the hill which accomplished this The R. N.-Y. 
went on record as saying that the Agricultural Col¬ 
lege could and Avould. in time, dominate Cornell— 
both in number of students and in popular support. 
That prophecy has come true. Cornell is no\\ r essen¬ 
tially a great agricultural university, with colleges 
of art. science, architecture and all the rest, to he 
sure, but now, and even more in the future, agricul¬ 
ture is sure to be the dominant spirit of Cornell. It 
has grown from a small cog in the machine to the 
very driving power. That being so. the Agricultural 
College very properly comes to the Legislature this 
year for support. It is entitled to a fair hearing 
and money enough to make reasonable proA’ision for 
its needs. And the trustees of Cornell must do their 
part also. They must now realize tlie truth—which 
all recognise—that Cornell is. first of all, an agri¬ 
cultural university. The new head of such a uni¬ 
versity should be a great man, big and broad enough 
to represent fairly all elassos and industries, yet in 
spirit and in the habits and practice of a lifetime 
in full sympathy Avith farmers and fully alive to 
their needs and problems. With what avc have said 
thus far avc think there will he general agreement. 
We also think there will he even more general agree¬ 
ment in the suggestion that the man for president 
of Cornell University is Dr. Liberty Hyde Bailey. 
* 
S INCE Ave printed the note about Senator .T. W. 
Wadsworth on page 250 there have been a num¬ 
ber of letters from men and Avomen. Some praise 
and others blame the Senator, and they are Avarm in 
their arguments. Now, hold on for a moment, ladies 
and gentlemen! One thing at a time. Discussion of 
Senator Wadsworth’s personal fitness for the posi¬ 
tion will come all in good time. Just now avc are in¬ 
terested in the broad question as to the duty of a 
Senator in his relation to the people of a State. IIoav 
should he represent the people? Is he their agent or 
their autocrat—their baggage man or their boss— 
their creature or their creator? Under the system 
of popular election of Senator. Avhat do avc send a 
man to Washington for? Is he to do Avhat the people 
want him to do, or shall he put his own judgment 
and desires first? That is a great question which has 
been made -prominent by the actions of Senator 
Wadsworth. Suppose Ave try to settle that before Ave 
get down to a discussion of personal qualities. 
* 
O N September 1 of this year it is planned to begin 
work on the great tunnel which is to connect 
Manhattan Island with Now Jersey. A pair of twin 
cast-iron tubes 20 ft. in diameter and more than 
5,000 ft. long will be sunk in the mud under the 
river and properly protected by stone and concrete. 
This will give a 20-ft. roadway in each direction, 
with tAA’o lines of trafiie. The total cost of this un¬ 
dertaking is estimated at $28,600,000, to be paid 
jointly by New Jersey, NeAV York and the Federal 
Government. With the expected traffic to and from 
February 2;, 3020 
Now York it is estimated that the tolls for pass.ng 
through the tunnel Avill pay all expenses in 11 years, 
with a continued gain thereafter. Those who are 
not familiar with New York conditions can hardly 
realize the immense possibilities of this great enter¬ 
prise. At present practically all food, fuel and other 
supplies must cross the river to reach this island. 
This adds to the cost of supplies, and causes great 
delay and loss to much farm produce. It also en¬ 
ables the middlemen and handlers to maintain a 
monopoly of distribution. With the completion of 
this great tunnel, farmers and gardeners anywhere 
within 100 miles of this city can load a wagon or 
truck at the farm and drive direct into the heart of 
the city to deliver their load. Tt Avill then be abso¬ 
lutely necessary to build and maintain great ter¬ 
minal markets, and the present uneconomic system 
of distribution aa-111 disappear. Just as the present 
passenger tube under the river has changed business 
by giving Avorkers a chance to live in the suburbs, so 
these freight tubes will change city and country life 
by making a more direct entrance of food and fuel 
from the country. 
* 
F VRMERS In Northern New Jersey are quite 
stirred up over a report that a big plant for man¬ 
ufacturing tractors av i 11 be opened there. It will em¬ 
ploy 5,000 workmen and pay such wages that farm 
help will be at a higher premium than "ever. Many 
years ago, when manufacturing was an “infant in¬ 
dustry." many farmers considered it a great privilege 
to live near a manufacturing town. Now the advan¬ 
tage of having a nearby market is destroyed by the 
labor competition which the factory brings about. The 
fact of high prices for farm products becomes merely 
an aggravation when it is impossible to hire labor 
with which to produce. Here AA r e have the singular 
condition of a business supposed to produce labor- 
saving machinery for farmers depriving them even 
of the labor required to run the machines. 
» 
T IIE sugar shortage will drive many farmers to 
studying for the degree of M. B. S. This means 
maple, bees and sorghum. A maple tree, a hive of 
bees and a patch of sorghum Avill help fight the 
sugar trust, and give us a greater trust in our ability 
to do it ourselves. The R. N.-Y. Avill try to give full 
help. The article by Mr. Ormsbee now being printed 
is, we think, the most complete of its kind avc have 
seen. We shall have a complete article on bee keep¬ 
ing by Mr. Weaver, and several people are to tell us 
hoAV to grow sorghum and Ihiav to make syrup. We 
claim that nothing is too good for our friends, and 
we will try to help them keep sweet, regardless of 
sugar prices. 
A NEW department starts on page 414, “The City 
Man Talks.” We are obtaining a large number 
of city subscribers, and Ave begin to hear from them 
freely. Most of them knoAV little or nothing about 
farm life, and our purpose is to put the truth before 
them. In order to do this properly we must have 
their point of vieAv. The way to get that is to give 
them a chance to present it. They Avill, no doubt, 
say some things which most of us knoAV to be wrong 
or prejudiced, but let them luiA’e it out, so that we 
may know just what their trouble is. Then we will 
try to find a remedy, if there be one. We have had 
enough of city and country standing back making 
faces at each other. That may serve the politicians, 
but it doesn’t serve production. 
* 
Brevities 
Our advice is to plant, the old-time standard varieties 
of apples for home use. 
One proposed remedy for chilblains is to soak the feet 
in potato water—that* is, the water in which potatoes 
have been boiled. 
The flame throwers used in the Great War were tried 
in this big city in an effort to melt the snowdrifts. They 
failed to make any practical dent in the snow ! 
Reports are that a considerable number of robins are 
wintering in Ohio this season. These birds are mostly 
from Canada. The Ohio Summer robins winter in the 
South. 
The famous blizzard Winter of two years ago is hav¬ 
ing a close competitor for honors this year. You never 
can remember just ho\A’ uncomfortable you were in far¬ 
mer years, but certain days this Winter have been close 
to the limit. 
Quite a number of back-to-tlie-land friends say they 
wanted to soav rye last Fall, but were too late. Now, 
shall they seed Winter rye this Spring? No; they 
will he disappointed if they try it. There is a Spring 
variety of rye which gives fair results, hut oats or barley 
will be more satisfactory than Winter rye. 
Some of these baek-to-the-landers who insist that we 
tell them whether they should farm or not may be like 
the Pennsylvania man who intended to build a barn, 
lie called everyone in to discuss the subject he could 
get together and then politely told them he merely 
wanted to hear them talk, as he had his plans all made 
and intended to build as he pleased unyAvay. 
