4 
<P* RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
prefer to sow the Soy beans separately in an adjoin¬ 
ing field, but under favorable conditions the two 
crops planted together will yield good results. Inocu¬ 
lation is usually necessary for Soy beans and insures 
their making maximum growth. A mixture of one 
bushel of cow peas and 10 quarts of Kaffir corn per 
acre, sown broadcast, makes a splendid Summer 
forage. The Kaffir corn serves as a support for the 
cow peas, and makes cutting easier. 
WHEAT AND VETCH.—Adding 20 lbs. of vetch 
to a bushel of wheat per acre may be used as a very 
desirable cover crop in northern latitudes, or it may 
be cut green for Summer forage or, again, allowed 
to mature and harvested with the reaper. The ordi¬ 
nary wheat thrasher will thrash the vetch, and 
machines are now on the market for separating the 
two grains after thrashing. At the present high 
price of vetch this would be a profitable practice on 
many farms. A mixture of rye ;yjd vetch produces 
a very resistant cover crop, and is the most satis¬ 
factory for that purpose on the poorer types of soil. 
In latitudes where Crimson clover, making a fair 
growth during the Fall, is not too seriously injured 
by Winter weather, the seeding at the last cultiva¬ 
tion of the corn helps to keep down weeds, supplies 
some nitrogen to the corn roots and improves the 
fertility of the soil for succeeding crops. A one- 
horse drill is excellent for seeding Crimson clover in 
corn, since the seed is covered to a greater depth 
and develops more vigorously. 
SOU. INOCULATION.—The seeding of a small 
amount of Alfalfa with clover and Timothy helps 
to inoculate the soil for a possible future crop of 
Alfalfa, improves the nutritive value of the hay and 
increases the yield per acre. As a rule no inocula¬ 
tion is needed for cow peas or the clovers, but 
Alfalfa and vetch require the addition of this 
material under ordinary conditions. Inoculation 
consists in applying the bacteria that gather nitro¬ 
gen while subsisting on the roots of the plant, and 
each legume must have its particular kind of bac¬ 
teria applied. Inoculation may be secured by apply¬ 
ing soil from a field which has previously grown the 
crop in question or by moistening the seed with 
commercial culture. Many other instances of desir¬ 
able legumes and non-legumes grown as companion 
crops might: be cited, but those mentioned have 
proved their worth and are practiced on most farms. 
By utilizing the tiny bacteria plants we are really 
growing nitrogen for the use of two valuable crops 
and leaving the soil in better condition than when 
we started. The use of such crops, accompanied 
with reasonable applications of lime, has proved its 
usefulness as a part of our system of permanent 
agriculture. william b. duryee. 
“The Man Back Home” 
The American Farm Bureau Federation held its 
annual convention at Indianapolis December (1. Mr. 
(trey Silver, the Washington representative, told of 
bis work at the capital. The Federation keeps Mr. 
Silver like a watch dog on guard. His job is to keep 
track of farm legislation, find out what members of 
the Federation want, and arrange for bringing influ¬ 
ence to bear upon Congress whenever that is needed, 
lie rightly says that Washington is a peculiar city. 
“A native Washingtonian is a rare specimen.’’ Peo¬ 
ple come from everywhere to make politics and 
lobbying a serious business. Mr. Silver says he can 
name a dozen cases where some particular lobby for 
some special bill has been going on for 15 or 20 years. 
The average Congressman is used to this system 
and is naturally suspicious when any new subject is 
brought up. When individuals write him about pro¬ 
posed legislation he says lie will give it “careful con¬ 
sideration,” weaving a few words around that, like 
the frame around a picture. Tie cannot do much of 
anything else. There " ill he some 15,000 bills intro¬ 
duced, and the average man cannot possibly come to 
understand thoroughly more than 200. Therefore. 
Congressmen “jolly” their correspondents until the 
pressure gets so hard that they have to get some 
action. 
Mr. Silver says lie tells Congressmen “We have 
nothing to sell Congress” when they come and ask 
‘ What, is the farmer trying to put over, anyway?" 
Mr. Silver says the Farm Bureau is simply trying to 
sell Congress a big idea. It is the biggest thing 
affecting our social life and relationship today. To 
quote his own words: 
I am selling Congress the idea that these United 
States of America must wake up and come t<> a realiza¬ 
tion of the fact that in order to endure permanently 
and to continue to prosper, adequate provision must be 
made to feed and clothe our own people, and that this 
can never be completely, satisfactorily and permanently 
accomplished here in America unless we provide the 
licessary conditions and readjustments to support and 
encourage a satisfying and profitable agricultural life 
comparable in every respect with that offered by the 
industrial centers. 
In order to talk that way one must know exactly 
what the farmer needs most, and what he is pre¬ 
pared to stand fox-. 
First we must know just what it is that the farmer 
needs most in order to enable him to take the first steps 
toward the ideal held in mind. Possibly lie pays in one 
form or another too big a share of the nation’s ex¬ 
penses. Perhaps he does not get. returns enough for 
what he sells, or maybe too much of his income goes 
for unnecessary or unfair selling charges. The.se ques¬ 
tions all immediately translate themselves into terms of 
taxation, financial policies, tariffs, co-operative market¬ 
ing. foreign markets, transportation, and a dozen other 
questions that demand careful analysis and constructive 
action. 
In order to find out just what is wanted the ma¬ 
chinery of the Farm Bureau is put into operation. 
Through this the inquiry goes on past the leaders 
down to the plain members who live on the farm— 
one thing at a time. This may mean support, of new 
legislation, the support of an amendment, or an 
attack upon pending legislation. Whatever a ma¬ 
jority of (he members stand for commands the power 
of the Federation. If it is new legislation, a bill is 
prepared, thoroughly examined, introduced by its 
friends and driven through if possible. If it is oppo¬ 
sition to proposed legislation, able men in Congress 
are secured to fight it by every legitimate means. 
In fact. Mr. Silver proposes to do by open and 
legitimate means for agriculture what the big inter¬ 
ests have for years done by plain lobbying. In place 
of money and political intrigue, it is proposed to use 
the plain, openly expressed desires of organized 
farmers, put into such form that no one can ever 
misunderstand them. 
l’lans are being made to organize each Stale so 
that Congressmen may understand before election 
just what farmers need and what they want. Every¬ 
one knows that less than 5 per cent of the hills intro¬ 
duced in Congress can ever receive any real atten¬ 
tion and he passed. This organization of political 
work proposes to concentrate power on a few impor¬ 
tant bills, and thus stand a fair chance of pushing 
them through. The thought is first of all to win 
Congress to the support of the principles essential to 
the pi-oper development of agriculture. That is the 
first big problem, and it must be done before fann¬ 
ers can ever hope to present a full and complete pro¬ 
gram showing in detail just what they want. 
Mr. Silver gives in much detail an account of 
some of the things his organization has worked out 
or influenced. Progress has been made. Farmers 
are now listened to as never before, but the agent at 
Washington cannot do the work alone. lie may be a 
wooden Indian or a post charged with electricity, 
just as the “folks hack home” put in their work. As 
a rule Congressmen care little for a noisy “repre¬ 
sentative” who represents little beside himself. It 
is the “man back home.” and he alone, who can put 
on the bridle and hitching straps. 
Mr. Silver makes no great promises, but sums up 
his ideas as follows: 
The next decade will be a period of surpassing in- 
terest to all students of economics and statecraft. Class 
organization has developed amazingly. There is a note¬ 
worthy tendency toward co-operation between the prin¬ 
cipal classes, but there must ever be a conflict between 
certain class interests. Just what the outcome will be 
when the class organization becomes completed would 
be hard to say. But one thing is certain : when that 
state of affairs comes to pass the unorganized group 
will get but little consideration. None too soon has 
agriculture undertaken a complete and thorough organi¬ 
zation from the ground up. 
A Chance for the Tame Rabbit 
T HE time was when it could ho said that breeders 
of domesticated rabbits could not hope to com¬ 
pete with the wild rabbit. It was then said that so 
long as people could buy the wild ones at such mod¬ 
est prices they would not look favorably on the 
hutch-fed rabbit. With the shift in all food prices 
the rabbit question has changed also, and it seems 
to me that it would pay those inclined well to look 
into the matter further. 
Not long ago wild rabbits were offered on the 
Rochester market at prices running from 50 to 60c 
each. If one really wanted a dinner got up at over 
the average cost he could easily have been accom¬ 
modated here. It is doubtful whether one carcass 
in the bunch weighed 2 lbs. in the rough, yet they 
were full-grown wild rabbits. It is not at all likely 
that any domestic breeder would have offered such 
goods on the market. For many years breeders in 
all lines have realized the importance of moving on 
the market with everything in the best shape possi¬ 
ble. The present price at which wild rabbits are 
offered should encourage the table rabbit breeder. 
If such a breeder can offer a well-fed young rab¬ 
bit twice tlie size of the wild one at a juice which is 
slightly cheaper in proportion, lie can walk away 
with the market. With young, plump, clean offer¬ 
ings. lie has nothing to fear. Whale meat, muskrats 
and various utlier creatures of the earth are being 
January 1, 1921 
requisitioned in.the demand for foodstuffs, and there 
is no reason why the venerable cottontail in domes¬ 
ticated form should not contribute generously to the 
available supply,* with liberal profits to the pro¬ 
ducers. A . h. p. 
R. N.-Y.—Few people realize that rabbit breeding 
is becoming a large and quite legitimate business. It 
takes rank with poultry in many places. Many fam¬ 
ilies near the large cities obtain a good share of their 
family meat from rabbits, and within a few years 
these little animals will jxrovide more and more of 
the country’s meat supply. 
Let Us Smile If We Can 
As I travel around the State I run into a great va¬ 
riety of situations, mostly local of course, and find men 
that one would at first say were men of sound judgment. 
Some of them today are most pessimistic, others equally 
optimistic, still others oarpingly critical of.almost every¬ 
thing that is called to their attention. This has always 
been so, to be sure, but in the 10 years that I have been 
in this work I am sure that, these feelings are more out¬ 
spoken. k. e. 
RORABLY that is a fair statement of the feel¬ 
ing in many parts of the country. Our rejmrts 
indicate much the same thing. You will find some 
men declaring that there never was a better future 
for agriculture, while others, right in the same town, 
will tell you the bottom lias dropped out of every¬ 
thing. We are certainly going through a hard ex¬ 
perience. Many of us have seen the present situa¬ 
tion coming. Tt is the logical outcome of the ex¬ 
travagance and careless habits started by the war 
and maintained by the people. We have known 
such period j of depression before—some of them 
more serious and with less of hope than the present 
trouble. We shall gain nothing by mere growling 
and quitting. That is the worst thing we can pos¬ 
sibly. do. During the jiast few years we have made 
a good start at organizing for business purposes. If 
cannot he called more than a start thus far, because 
long years are required to knit such things to¬ 
gether so that they will hold. We must show our 
faith in them during these desjiondent days if we 
exjieet them to prove enduring. We know that the 
middlemen and big interests are saying that when 
trouble comes farmers will break rather than stand 
temporary loss or discouragement. To drop hope 
and give way to gloom right now and indulge in 
savage criticism would break our farm organiza¬ 
tions or wreck them so that they would he a long 
time in recovering. “We must all hang together or 
we shall all hang separately.” Tn the darkest part 
of the war the soldiers kept up their spirits by sing¬ 
ing. “.''mile, smile smile!” 
Our Immense Agricultural Imports 
The attached clipping is rather a startling presenta¬ 
tion. even though there seems to be a discrepancy in the 
statement as to volume of imports for four months since 
June, as compared with the previous fiscal years. 
The imports of cotton, wool and hides for 1910-1020 
seem incredible in the face of prices that obtained during 
that period. Or rather the prices now seem incredible 
in the face of such volume of imports. Where did it all 
come from, and where did it go? We didn’t appear to 
be getting that wool in what passed for clothes during 
that period. 
'However, if it were not for these large imports at 
high prices I presume the foreign countries would he 
unable to pay back to us the funds which we loaned 
them and the materials we furnished them to carry on 
the war. And as the goods we furnished them to carry 
on the war were sold to them at inflated prices, and as 
the money we loaned them was made out of their neces¬ 
sities while we. to a great extent, escaped the scourge 
of the war, it is probably, after all. an evening up of 
scores. The old law of compensation works all the time, 
whether we will or no. But. somehow, the return kick 
in that law seems to have hit the farmer harder than 
Some of them today are most pessimistic, others equally 
the rest. Howard goldsmith. 
The dipping referred to contains figures showing 
imports of agricultural jmxlncts into this country. 
The figures were given out by T. W. Page, chairman 
of the Federal Trade Commission. These figures, in 
part, are: 
IMPORTS FOR FOUR MONTHS 
Wheat 12.040.541 bu.: wheat Hour, 221,989 bbls.: 
corn. 5.317,376 bu.; cotton. 40.061.691 lbs.; wool, 44.- 
435.246 lbs.: beef and veal. 10.456.861 lbs.: mutton and 
lamb. 64,623.776 lbs.: cattle. 142.130 head; sheep. 94.- 
060 head ; cow hides. 80.023.347 lbs.; calf hides. 10.782.- 
450 lbs.: buffalo hides. 3.270.450 lbs.; other hides, 52.- 
013.186 lbs.; oilcake. 128.615.571 lbs. 
The imports for the year ended June 30 were given 
as follows: 
Wheat. 4.744.712 bu.: wheat flour. 157.896 bbls.: 
corn. 10.220.249 bu.; cotton. 345.314.126 lbs.; wool. 
427.57S.038 lbs.: beef and veal. 42.436.333 lbs. ; mutton 
and lamb. 16.358.209 lbs. ; cattle. 575.328 head ; sheep, 
199.549 head; cow hides, 439.461.092 lbs.: calf hides, 
68.350.825 lbs.: buffalo hides, 14.682,-79 lbs.; other 
hides. 275.064.213 lbs.; oilcake, 145,026,632 lbs. 
As Mr. Goldsmith says, most peojxle will be aston¬ 
ished to learn of the immense amount of farm pro¬ 
duce sent into this country duty free. It makes the 
crime of the profiteers who have been robbing us 
seem all the greater, and will most likely have the 
effect of compelling Congress to pass a high protec¬ 
tive tariff on such goods! 
