932 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S FABER 
\ National Weekly Journal 1'or Country unit Suburban Home* 
Eatabl islieii isr,0 
I'nbll'hrd weekly by the Knral Ptililbhlnt Company, 338 >Ve*t 30tb Street, New York 
H I'uBERT W. COIMNOWOOD, President and Kdltor. 
John J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. Dillon, Secretary- Mas. E. T. Rovlf., Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04. equal to 8s. 6d., or 
Xk 2 marks, or low, francs. Jlemit in money order, express 
order, personal check or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post Office as Second Class Matter. 
Advertising rates, >1.00 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 lie publicly exposed. We are also often called upon 
to adjust differences or mistakes between our snbserilicrs and honest, 
responsible houses, whether advertisers or not We willingly use our good 
offices to tliis end, but rich cases should not be confused'with dishonest 
transactions. We protect subscribers against rogues, but we will not be 
responsible for the debts ol honest bankrupts sanctioned by the courts. 
Notice of the complaint must be sent, to us within one mont h of the time of 
the transaction, and to identify it, you should mention Tut-: Rural New- 
Yorker when wilting the advertiser. 
The average human being has little use for your 
troubles. Most of vs have a full supply of ovr own. 
When you are prompted to start a tale of woe, re¬ 
member one good old-fashioned word which gasoline 
is driving out of the language — whoa! 
5k 
I am writing to inquire concerning the vehicle law of 
New York State highways, in regard to the width of 
tires and the amount of capacity, and how the law 
reads, whether I can carry 2.000 lbs. on a 2-in. tired 
wagon, net or gross weight. Is the same law required 
on trucks? H. M. 
New York. 
T HERE have been several questions much like 
this, and we referred the matter to the State 
Highway Commissioner, who says: 
There is no general so-called wide-tire law in the 
State of New York. The county law provides that the 
counties may enact local laws limiting the weight to be 
carried on tires of a certain width, and such local laws 
h^ve been enacted in a few of the counties. 
The motor vehicle law of the State of New York, Sec¬ 
tion 282-a, prohibits the operation on the public high¬ 
ways of the State outside of cities of any auto truck or 
trailer having a width of truck and load or of trailer 
and load of more than 25.000 lbs., the load to be so dis¬ 
tributed that, there shall not 1 m* more than 800 lbs. per 
inch in width of tire on any one wheel, such tire for the 
purpose of this section being measured at the base. 
The highway law also provides that whoever in¬ 
jures any highway or bridge maintained at public 
expense shall forfeit treble damages. Thus, while 
there is no law expressly limiting the weight which 
may be carried per inch of tire on a wagon, a driver 
should make sure that his load does not exceed the 
weight given in the above statement. 
5k 
W E have many questions along the following 
line: A. scrub male animal breaks into a 
pasture containing purebred females, with the usual 
result. What damage can the owner of the females 
claim? Our lawyer has been able to find only one 
case partly bearing on this point This case was 
decided in 1889. Certain buck lambs broke into a 
field containing purebred sheep. The court held that 
the measure of damage was the difference in value 
between ewes for breeding and other purposes.as 
they were before the trespass. It is not a simple 
matter to decide. The court would probably hold 
that both bull and cows were to be held responsible 
for the trouble, and it. would come down to a ques¬ 
tion of the line fence. Was it of legal height and 
strength, and who was responsible for building it? 
As a matter of fact, no bull should run at large 
where there is danger of this sort. It is far better 
to keep him up during the day. 
O N page 789 we printed the questions which the 
Farm Bureau Federation submitted to its 
members as a referendum. Farm Bureau members 
were to vote yes or no, and the result was to he 
accepted as giving the opinion of American farmers. 
In New York State there seems to have been a fail- 
vote, though not as large as it should have been. 
On the question of a great waterway through the 
lakes and the St. Lawrence 00 per cent of the voters 
oppose. The New York farmers have always opposed 
canal extension. We are surprised to find that 55 
per cent of those who voted favor a general tax on 
gross sales. We do not believe tliis vote represents 
the desire of farmers generally. At the same time 
75 per cent of those who voted want to continue the 
excess profits tax. Of course farm-to-market roads 
are favored almost unanimously, and the same is 
true of the truth-in-fabrics bill. That was to be 
expected, although only a small proportion of our 
farmers now raise sheep. All farmers are uniting 
against adulteration or the sale of unmarked sub¬ 
stitutes. It is reported that 77 per cent of these 
voters favor the prohibition of all tax-exempt 
7b* RURAL NEW-YORKER 
securities. Only those who have ever tried it know 
how difficult it is to obtain a fair statement of 
opinion through such a referendum. W T e do not 
believe this vote fairly represents farm opinion on 
the sales tax, but probably it is a reasonable expres¬ 
sion on the others. 
5k 
About those “road hogs.” 
What’s the matter with paying them in their own coin? 
While they are rummaging through the orchard and 
garden, why can’t the farmer go out and annex their 
spare tires, lap robes, lunch boxes, tool kits, pumps, 
etc.? 
These are the same people who leave broken bottles, 
papers, tin cans, etc., in the parks and along the road 
after they are through pienicing. They have no re¬ 
ligion, no Americanism, no sense of responsibility. No 
treatment is too severe, and I should like to see some 
rural vigilance committee give a few of these outlaws 
the “beating up” they deserve. C. w. o. 
New York. 
'8 a rule we notice that some lazy member of 
the gang usually stays in the car while the rest 
are foraging. We would have as much right to strip 
the car as these thieves have 1o steal our produce, 
but we would not treat them that way. The trouble 
about “fighting the devil with fire' is that you give 
him the choice of weapons, and thus hand him the 
advantage. On any farm where there is a good 
water pressure we advise catching these thieves in 
the act. and then lining them up in some corner and 
turning the hose on them. Soak them well—they 
are 'usually of the “wet” persuasion. In case this 
form of water cure is not. available we would recom¬ 
mend a whip or a shingle. This will be called harsh 
and “ungentlemanly” treatment, but as things are 
working now we must come to it if we expect to save 
our property. One farmer caught a woman stealing 
his berries and bundled her off the premises. “No 
gentleman would treat a lady that way,” she said, 
“And no lady would steal my fruit,” was the answer. 
Then she screamed to her husband that she was be¬ 
ing insulted. The husband sized Tip the husky 
farmer and concluded to let the insult stand. They 
never came back. 
5k 
I have before me your issue of May 28, in which you 
write about the condition of country cemeteries. I take 
this opportunity to compliment the country people of 
New York on their well-kept cemeteries. Wo drove out- 
car from here to Fredonia last Fall, and were much im¬ 
pressed with the good care of the cemeteries. Of course, 
however, these were community affairs. A. L. S. 
Virginia. 
OT all the rural cemeteries are as well kept as 
they should be, but there has been great im¬ 
provement during the past few years. The cemetery 
and the schoolhouse in their appearance will give 
a stranger a good idea of the community spirit of 
any neighborhood. It may seem odd to look into 
the cemetery for evidences of community life, hut 
there is where they are found. 
5k 
N July 2 a plain working man with a wife and 
two children walked about the City of New 
York searching for work. He is not a skilled work¬ 
man. but strong and honest, and willing to do any¬ 
thing. He has long been out of work, his children 
have no food and rent is overdue. Yet this willing 
worker—a husband and father, with a man’s^ love 
for his family—was rebuffed at every point and 
denied the God-given right to labor and provide for 
his loved ones. And on the same day thousands of 
other men, similarly situated, were also vainly hunt¬ 
ing for a job. At this very time, barely 20 miles 
away in New Jersey, in a vacant lot, 90,000 men and 
women were crowded around a ring in which two 
human brutes attempted to pound each other into 
pulp. These people paid over $1,5*0,000 to witness 
this performance. The winner of the tight was paid 
$500 for each second of time that he fought, or about 
$”0,000 per minute! What a commentary upon mod¬ 
ern life! The poor man must go home to hungry 
children because no one will give him a chance to 
exchange his honest labor for the price of food. 
Yet within a cannon shot of Avhere this tragedy is 
being enacted, men and women rush to throw their 
money away at a brutal and useless exhibition. Per¬ 
haps the most suggestive and sinister thought con¬ 
nected with the whole thing is that the daily news¬ 
papers gave pages to the prize fight, but not a line to 
the far more heroic battle which plain and humble 
men are making for the poor privilege of supporting 
their families. Has the American public no sense of 
shame, that such things should he? 
5k 
E seem to be making some headway in this 
campaign to substitute milk for a part of the 
ocean of “soft drinks” poured down the great Amer¬ 
ican throat Manufacturers and dealers in these soft 
drinks are complaining. They say we have no right 
to interfere with their business. Well, if we prefer 
July 16, loaii 
milk or apple juice to “pop” or ginger ale or “soda.” 
haven’t we a right to say so? If we can show 
that the food value of milk is about four times the 
value of “pop.” who can have a better right to ad¬ 
vocate its use? If we can prove that increased con¬ 
sumption of milk will benefit the largest and most 
deserving single class of workers in the country, 
who is going to stop us from saying so? We are 
prepared to do these very things, and we shall con¬ 
tinue to do them! 
5k 
T is a good time now to put trespass signs on the 
farm. To be legal these signs must be one foot 
square. There is no particular wording required. 
The signs should announce “No trespassing on these 
premises,” and be signed by the farm owner or ten¬ 
ant. Put. them up on the line, particularly at places 
where people usually enter. As a rule, the local 
printer or newspaper can supply printed notices all 
ready for nailing up. There ought to be a good 
business in furnishing these signs. The County Farm 
Bureau agents ought to see that such sigus are pro¬ 
vided. 
5k 
8. ABBOTT, secretary of the oleomargarine man- 
• ufacturers of America, evidently got “all bet up” 
at. the recent oleo convention in Atlantic City. He 
said oleo is the victim of 
The most insidious propaganda over conceived by 
the mind of man. . . . The tide of selfish ngricul- 
tural class interest and the storms of satanic propa¬ 
ganda. 
The oleo men are to raise a large sum of money 
for publicity to overcome the public feeling now 
growing for milk and honest butter. Among other 
terrible things these oleo men intend to prevent the 
publication of papers and books which contain un¬ 
truths about oleo! The thing which has stirred the 
oleo people hardest is the discovery that milk and 
butter contain the needed vitamines, while oleo does 
not. That fact puts butter in a class by itself—into 
which oleo is denied entrance. It would he worth 
millions to the oleo industry if some chemist could 
discover vitamines in the mixture of fats and oils 
which is substituted for butter. Thus far they have 
not been able to do so. Colored grease does not con¬ 
tain vitamines, and we know that these vitamines 
are essential to growth and health. The trouble 
with the oleo men is that they know how the knowl¬ 
edge of these facts is putting oleo out of the game. 
5k 
HAT we say now has nothing to do with 
political economy, marketing or scientific 
agriculture. Yet it. may help keep the peace in some 
farm family—and what is more important than 
domestic peace? It refers to apple sauce, which is 
—next to milk—the great humanizing food. This 
will be a short, apple year, and sauce will he scarce 
unless we can find some new economical way of 
making it. Here it is: Wash the apples and cook 
them soft, without paring or coring. Strain through 
a colander and add sugar. That’s all. The best 
part of the apple is in the skin. With this method 
you get it all. 
Brevities 
He who signs a contract must stand for his writes. 
How many glasses of milk have you consumed today? 
Give up soap and water if you want your life to be 
shorter. 
Reports are coming of deaths among chicks from eat¬ 
ing rose bugs. 
The Minister of Agriculture at London, England, 
has just ordered 3 lbs. of Ilubam clover. 
The new crop of Ilubam clover seed is ajready on 
the market. It was grown in Southern Texas. 
South Dakota has bread clubs with 500 girls en¬ 
rolled. Their slogan is “More home-baked bread from 
home-milled flour.” 
Is any reader capable of digging or’superintending 
the digging of 50 acres of seed potatoes? If so, we 
know where he can get a job. 
Some Missouri farmers paid $5.50 a bushel for what 
they supposed was a “superior new wheat.” At harvest 
they found five different varieties mixed in. 
Keep old paint cans and brushes out of reach of the 
cows. The average cow delights in licking up old paint. 
Why they do it is a mystery, but if they get at it 
they will surely paint their tombstone! 
There was a time not so many years ago when at 
every State fair there was a forest of windmills whirl¬ 
ing around to show their power. 'Alien came the small 
gasoline engine, and the windmills faded from view. _ 
Now they seem to be coming back. We have a wind-* 
mill that has worked faithfully for nearly 25 years. 
Now comes the season for fleas. They are brought 
into the house mostly by cats or dogs, and these animals 
and their sleeping places must he cleaned if we would 
kill the fleas. Dip the dogs in sheep dip and burn their 
litter, scrub them with tar or carbolic soap, or dust 
with insect powder. One way to clean the fleas out of 
the house is to let the dog come in. The fleas will get 
on him. 'Pben take him out and clean him and let him 
go back for more. Use insect powder on cats instead 
of dips. 
