640 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER 
A National Weekly Journal l'or Country and Suburban Homes 
Established 4S50 
Published weekly by the Rural Publishing Company, 33:! West 30th Street, Kcw Vork 
Herbert W. Collingwood, President and Editor. 
John J. Dillon, Treasurer and Genei-al Manager. 
Wm. F. Dillon, Secretary. .Mrs. E. T. Uovle, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION ; ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union. $2.04. equal to 8s. 6d., or 
8k, marks, or 10k, francs. Kemit in money order, express 
order, personal check or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post Office as Second Class Matter. 
Advertising rates. 90 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 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. 
Referring to the matter of nostrums for increasing 
egg production, this was being discussed at a meeting of 
the farm women’s club here recently. One woman stat¬ 
ed that she had purchased a supply and gave a pill to 
each hen every other day, and after continuing this for 
a couple of weeks her liens began to lay. Another stat¬ 
ed that she had purchased some of the same stuff, in¬ 
tending to give it to her hens, but laid it up on the 
clock shelf and forgot all about it, but in a week or two 
her hens were laying very nicely, which goes to show 
that these nostrums do just as much good ou the clock 
shelf as in the chicken feed. R. G. l). 
A ND not only the “dope” for making liens lay, 
but you might include 90 per cent of the ma¬ 
terials and methods designed to change or stimulate 
the laws of nature. The “testimonial” of the lady 
who puts the “dope” up by the clock and forgets it is 
never printed, though the clock can usually make as 
good use of it as the hen. No man ever tried to cut 
the corners off natural law—or moral law—without 
cutting his own fingers. 
* 
Enclosed is a cartoon; ask your readers how long we 
are going to pay the unnecessary clerks who are eating 
up the taxes. Wliat do we get in return for the money? 
Ask the readers how long they are going to hand out 
millions for the canal. I say let those who use it pay 
for it. M. E. MEAD. 
New York. 
T HE cartoon which our friend sends represents a 
cow marked United States Treasury. Over the 
fence a tired-looking man is feeding the cow a fork 
full of hay .marked “taxes.” A man dressed like a 
fanner and marked “Congress" is milking into a pan, 
and the barnyard is filled with cats marked “clerks,” 
“secretaries” “waste.” etc.—all running to get a 
drink of that milk. It is a good picture, and we 
can tell our friend just how long the performance 
will go on. It will he just as long as intelligent 
men are willing to play the part of “Democrat" or 
“Republican” rather than that of patriot. There is 
little if any choice in the parties as at present or¬ 
ganized. The politicians who control them are not 
after efficiency—they are after power, and in order 
to gain it they are quite willing to saddle an army 
of idle or useless “workers” upon the country. 
“Congress” will continue to feed the worthless cats 
just as long as you and others let the politicians run 
the party right over your manhood. 
* 
D R. OSBORNE in his new article on vitamines 
shows anew the great value of Alfalfa and 
clover as food for animals. Of course every dairy¬ 
man who has fed hay from these plants knows how 
they produce meat, milk and energy. We have not 
known, however, just why this is. hut have supposed 
that it was entirely due to the high content of pro¬ 
tein in the Alfalfa. There is something more than 
the hare food value, for Dr. Osborne shows that the 
Alfalfa is rich in vitamines and that these strange 
elements are. after all, the essential things in our 
food. Butterfat is the standard and best form for 
supplying these vitamines in the feeding experi¬ 
ments, yet we see how nearly Alfalfa hay comes to 
providing them. We shall now have a statement 
about the food values of our common fruits and 
vegetables, hut the old question about Alfalfa as a 
food for humans comes up once more. The aver¬ 
age man will object to “eating grass,” but years ago 
asparagus, spinach, cabbage and tomatoes were all 
regarded as unfit for human consumption, if not 
poisonous! Necessity, curiosity and craving com¬ 
bined to lead mankind into the knowledge that these 
despised plants might help save the world from star¬ 
vation and disease. Alfalfa is more valuable as a 
food than any of them—too valuable, in fact, to he 
left entirely as a food for brutes. Whoever makes 
mankind understand that Alfalfa may be eaten like 
spinach or cabbage will do wonders for humanity. 
* 
F <1W people seem to realize how the business of 
keeping tame rabbits or hares has developed. 
Thousands of people now keep these animals as they 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
would poultry for meat supply or for sale. Now this 
business has brought out a new angle in the law of 
trespass. During the Winter some breeders let these 
tame rabbits run at large, like poultry. They feed 
just enough to induce the rabbits to come home at 
intervals, but in general the animals are turned 
loose to pick up most of their living. In a Winter 
like this one such a performance means certain de¬ 
struction to young fruit trees. We have complaints 
from all over where these tame rabbits, girdling 
peach and apple trees, are becoming far more of a 
nuisance than poultry in the garden! What can be 
done about it? A tame rabbit is as much a domes¬ 
ticated animal as poultry, cows or sheep. If the 
owner claims property right in them he is respon¬ 
sible for the damage they do, and it can he collected 
the same as any other. Rabbits would come into the 
same class as trespassing poultry. If the owner 
denies ownership and does not house the animals, it 
is generally understood that they “go back to na¬ 
ture” and are to be treated as wild game. We are 
collecting the facts about this new form of nuisance 
and will print the laws of various Eastern States. 
* 
T HE city papers often print extravagant stories 
to show how much money farmers are making. 
A favorite plan is to take the income from some 
superior tree or hen and multiply it by 100, wth no 
allowance for loss or expense. We never hear the 
other side. There is one. For instance, during the 
past Winter rabbits and mice have destroyed at 
least 50 McIntosh apple trees in one of our orchards. 
These trees were just beginning to bear. In a few 
years they would have given annual crops of at 
least $30 each. We may save a few of them, but 
most are dead. Here is only one instance of the risk 
and long years of useless waiting which come to the 
fruit grower’s lot. The merchant and the manufac¬ 
turer must make a price for his goods large enough 
to eat up this loss and turn a profit, or go out of bus¬ 
iness. What can a farmer do? 
« 
W E are promised two more milk investigations. 
Last week Sheffield Farms Company posted 
signs on its country milk stations advising farmers 
that no milk would he received from new customers, 
and requesting old patrons to produce less milk. A 
copy of the notice found its way to the city, and the 
city papers have been hysterical over it ever since, as 
if it were something new. As a matter of fact, every 
producer of milk knows that the big dealers always 
discourage the production of milk in tunes of fiush 
production. . They do not always post signs, but 
short weights, low test, exacting conditions, and 
other devices always have worked to the same end. 
However, the Federal and local authorities knew 
nothing of it during all these years, and are now to 
investigate what everyone else already knows. If 
some of this money wasted in investigations were 
used to demonstrate the actual cost of distribution 
we should know exactly what delivering milk ought 
to cost under an economic system, and then there 
would he nothing more to investigate. Furthermore, 
all this disturbing agitation would disappear, and 
the consumption of milk would increase. No one 
disputes this. No one but the dealers and their 
friends opposes it. We shall again propose this meas¬ 
ure and invite open discussion by those who oppose 
it. Producers favored it before and will do so again. 
In the mean time our investigators will proceed on 
their time-honored farcical quest. 
* 
i am enclosing editorial from the Knicker uockcr 
]>ress of March 10. I do not know what is responsible 
for the change of heart in many of our city papers. 
Whatever it is, however, it should have a good effect on 
eitv people to see so much nonsense replaced by a little 
sense. w * 
Columbia Co., N. Y. 
HE editorial referred to is a good one, entitled 
“Farm Life Should Be as Attractive as City 
Life.” Among other good and true statements in 
this article is the following: 
It is not hard work that farmers object to. They 
accept that as part of their lot, and while they have 
made some money in the last few years they have made 
less and worked more than most other interests, and 
what they have made has fallen, a long way short of 
paving fair interest on the capital invested and fair 
wages on the labor utilized, to say nothing of scoring 
an actual profit over all. 
We think we can tell our friend what has hap¬ 
pened to these newspapers. It is only a demonstra¬ 
tion of the possibilities of the farmers’ programme. 
“IPe have got to do it ourselves /” The farmers have 
done it. The R. N.-Y., practically alone in its 
efforts, suggested that farmers organize a board of 
writers who can present the country side to city 
readers. This has been done, with remarkable effect. 
Every day we receive clippings showing what farm 
March 27, 1020 
men and women are writing for these newspapers, 
and how, under the influence of this strong appeal, 
the papers are changing their tone. Before we are 
done with it practically all the papers outside tne 
great cities will he presenting the farmer’s side 
fairly. The influence of this will be beyond com¬ 
pute. From time to time people have written us 
that, it was no use to try, since the city papers are 
dominated by politicians or middlemen. We have 
felt like saying to such faint hearts: “Oh. ye of 
little faith!” The farmer has been praised for his 
power with the plow. Now he is showing his power 
with the pen. Got to do it ourselves. Stand by the 
inkstand. 
* 
T HE revolution in Germany seems to have re¬ 
sulted in a “flash in the pan.” In this country, 
and with the censored news from Europe, it is hard 
to understand the situation, or to apply it. to any 
conditions we have here. Apparently the so-called 
constitutional government of Germany has its 
greatest strength in the working people, “organized 
labor,” as we call it here. The revolution seems to 
have been started by the “junkers” or military 
group—composed chiefly of large land-owners of 
Prussia. The workmen seem to he ending the revo¬ 
lution by exerting a power greater than that of war. 
They refused to work, and in that way paralyzed 
Industry and defeated the revolution without great 
loss of life. Some years ago there was threatened 
war between Norway and Sweden. The workmen 
of both nations simply refused to fight each other. 
In the Andes Mountains, on the line between Chili 
and Argentina, stands a great monument erected by 
the women of both countries as a pledge that there 
shall never he war between them. We think the 
German people have had enough of war. There will 
not he war if they can keep the war lords and the 
“junkers” sawing wood, as their leader now seems 
to he occupying himself. Still, there will be for 
years a conflict between the old military government 
and the liberals. There will probably he occasional 
“revolutions.” but on the whole we think the German 
people have had all they want for some years to 
come! 
* 
G OVERNOR SMITH of New York appointed 
George Fitts of McLean. N. Y.. as State Fair 
Commissioner to succeed Charles E. Wieting. It is 
a good appointment. Mr. Fitts is a young man and 
a farmer. He has been successful as president of 
the Tompkins County Farm Bureau Association, and 
of the County Dairymen’s League. lie was elected 
by the tate Federation of Farm Bureaus, the 
Dairymen’s League and many other organizations. 
As State Fair Commissioner lie will have a wider 
field for service and a bigger chance to make good. 
The farmers put ' leir trust in him when they 
backed him for the position, and now it is up to him 
to stand by their interests whenever occasion 
demands. 
* 
A T the recent meeting of the American Farm 
Bureau Federation in Chicago the New York 
delegation attended “with hells on.” There were 
four directors and 20 delegates from New York, and 
practically every one real farmer—working his 
own farm. Among other evidences of New York’s 
power, profit and pleasure ' hose delegates took along 
a barrel of McIntosh Red ■■ »ples. Well they might 
carry this finest of all good rifts. New York organ¬ 
ized the first Farm Bureau and the first State Feder¬ 
ation. New York has led the movement, and has 
organized a plan for Bureau work which is becoming 
the standard all over the United States. Further¬ 
more, the policy of the New York Bureaus has been 
to strengthen the Grange and similar organizations 
whenever they work in the same territory. Some 
of the Western Bureaus may regard New York as 
too conservative, but she has the longest history in 
the movement, and the second largest membership. 
The members may well eat McIntosh apples and get 
ready to press on ahead. 
Brevities 
A reaper in New Y T ork State says there is no need of 
any “scientific search for a peach” in his country, for 
“every schoolhouse contains one.” 
AVe have been fairly swamped by questions about 
making maple syrup and sugar. Anything that has to 
do with sweets is popular just now. 
Wiiat about an organization of consumers pledged to 
eat the cheaper cuts of meat in stew or hash? AVe learn 
of a woman who sued for divorce because her husband 
was so inferior as to like beef stew ! 
Here’s another thing that will hold up production. 
Thousands of farmers who usually haul out the ma¬ 
nure every day during AATnter have been unable to do it 
this season. Now the work will interfere with plowing 
and fitting the land. 
