954 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FA EMEU'S PAPER 
A National Weekly Journal lor Country and Suburban Homes 
Establuilied tsso 
rnblbli-d neeldy liy the Rural Publluliins Company, 838 tVrst 30ih Street, New York 
Herbert W. Coi.l.tsviwooi), President and Editor. 
John' J. DnxON, Treasurer and General Manaprcr. 
Wm F. Dn.tiON, Secretary. Mas. E. T. Hoy i.k. Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION : ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries In tlie Universal Postal Union. ? 2 . 0 |. equal to 8 s. 6 d., or 
81-2 marks, or in'* francs, liemitin money order, express 
order, personal check or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post Office as Second Class Matter. 
Advertising rates. 11.00 per acate line—7 words. References required for 
advertisers unknown to us ; and cash must accompany transient orders. 
“ A SQUARE DEAR” 
We believe that every advertisement in this paper is backed by a respon¬ 
sible per on. We use every possible precaution and admit the advertising- of 
reliable bouses only. But to make doubly sure, we will make good any loss 
lo iiaid subscribers sustained by trusting any dolibeiale swindler, lrres|>on- 
sibf'j advertisers or misleading advertisements in our columns, and any 
such swindler will be publicly exposed. We ai-e also often called upon 
to adjust differences or mistakes between out 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 lie 
responsible for the debts of honest bankrupts sanctioned bv the courts. 
Notice of the complaint must he sent to us within one month of the time of 
the transaction, and to identify it, you should mention Thk Rural New- 
Yorker when writing the advertiser. 
Since planning for these subscriptions The It. N.-Y. 
for July 9 has come in. It brings such a message of 
hope for turkey raisers in Mr. Cosgrove's article that 
my sister and I feel like “jumping for joy.” although 
our days for such demonstrations are far in the back¬ 
ground. MRS. F. E. W. 
New Jersey. 
I T would probably do all of us (wlio have passed 
the half century mark) good to kick up our heels 
now and then and “jump for joy.” Many of ns miss 
the joy of life because we become too dignified to 
jump for it! 
'M 
O N July 12 we planted seeds of the new ITubam 
clover from a seed crop harvested in June. 
This crop was seeded last Winter close to the Mexi¬ 
can border. It grew and developed seed in about 
four months. Now we are planting this Mexican 
seed in Northern New Jersey to see how large a 
cover crop we can produce before hard frost. We 
do not expect to grow a crop of seed, hut how large 
a crop of green manure can he produced after early 
potatoes or cabbage? This will give us an idea of 
it—and one of the most practical uses for ITubam 
will be this idea of growing a good manorial crop 
after producing a cash crop. The great need of our 
Eastern soil is organic matter. Most of our cash 
crops reduce the humus in the soil, and if this quick¬ 
growing clover will put part of the humus back, 
without interfering with the cash crop, it will prove 
a great Messing. 
* 
S OME months ago one of our readers, an elderly 
woman, wrote a sad story about the desecration 
of the old cemetery. She went hack to her child¬ 
hood’s home in order to visit the last resting place 
of her parents. The little cemetery was located at 
the back of the old farm, and was in a shocking 
condition. The farm had passed through several 
hands and had finally come into possession of a man 
who had no respect or reverence for what most of 
u.s regard as sacred things. lie had thrown down 
the walls of the old cemetery and turned in sheep 
and cattle. He had even knocked over some of the 
gravestones and threatened to level the entire place 
to make it a better pasture. 
“What do T rare what the old place was? Doesn't 
it belong to me?” 
We can imagine the feelings of the elderly woman 
going back to her girlhood’s homo and witnessing 
such a performance. She came away heartbroken. 
On learning of this case we took the matter up with 
the county clerk and prosecutor. The records were 
searched, and far hack there was found a conveyance 
of this property to the town, making it a public 
cemetery. Acting upon that fact, the town board 
has ordered the present owner to restore the property 
to its original condition. Tic docs not own it: and 
never did. We have no doubt there are many other 
cases where new owners have assumed that their 
deed gave them the right to do as they pleased with 
“God’s Acre.” What they “please” to do in some 
cases would he shocking to people of fine sensibili¬ 
ties. A search of the records and a determined pro¬ 
test will often stop such work. 
* 
I N some paits of the East this year haying has 
been and is being done under hard conditions. 
The constant showers and lack of sunshine have 
discolored the hay and taken the flavor out of it, 
p.nd left it damp and sticky. There is great danger 
in putting such hay into the barn; in fact, many a 
barn has been burned as a result of spontaneous 
combustion developing in such damp fodder. Salt 
and lime have been freely used in the mows. The 
el;ief object in using salt or lime or charcoal on the 
hay is to absorb the moisture. The salt no doubt 
has some effect in preventing fermentation, but the 
Tht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
chief action is to draw water from the damp hay. 
and thus make combustion less probable. Wo have 
been told of using ground phosphate rock in the 
mows when clover is put in a little damp. This fine 
dry rock would absorb moisture and add somewhat 
to the feeding value of the hay. It is quite a. com¬ 
mon practice in some parts of the West to scatter 
the phosphate rock in the silo while filling. It is 
probable that a smaii part of this phosphorus is 
absorbed by the cattle when eating the silage, and 
in any event it is a good way to get the phosphorus 
into the manure. For damp hay, however, salt or 
lime is better. 
* 
T HE Nashoha Fruit Producers’ Association is 
located in Eastern Massachusetts, where there 
are large droves of auto hogs running at large. The 
farmers who belong to this association are posting 
signs which read as follows: 
TOP THIEF! 
WHEN YOU TAKE FRUIT OR PRODUCE WITHOUT PER¬ 
MISSION, YOU ARE STEALING THE FARMER’S MEANS OF 
LIVING 
THE REGISTRAR OF MOTOR VEHICLES CANCELS THE 
LICENSE AND REGISTRATION OF AUTO THIEVES. 
Nashoba Fruit Producers Association 
These signs are 11% by 7% in. and printed on 
white cloth. The auto hogs that go rooting on the 
property of these farmers will got all that is coming 
to them, and they will class the sampler “who means 
no harm” right with the professional thief. 
* 
ITE Dairymen’s League has started a campaign 
for advertising in the city papers. The object, 
of course, is to popularize milk and develop its mar¬ 
ket and sale. There will naturally he a difference 
of opinion as to the best way to reach the public. 
The strongest point about milk is that it. is a pro¬ 
tective food —the greatest life and strength-giving 
fluid in the world. That is what should he featured 
in every attempt to influence the public. We have 
suggested the following plan for advertising milk 
several times before. Why not organize a milk- 
drinking contest? There are thousands of under¬ 
nourished children in this great city. They are thin, 
under weight, stunted and low in vitality. What 
they need most of all is pure milk. With that sup¬ 
plied as they need it they will “come hack” to nor¬ 
mal condition. In fact, milk is the greatest necessity 
to child life, and we would demonstrate the fact. 
Offer suitable prizes for the children who make the 
greatest gain during a month of milk feeding. 
Divide the children into classes according to age, 
weight or condition. Have them examined and 
weighed by competent doctors, and let them drink 
at least one quart of milk per day during the test. 
Select children from all walks of life, and have the 
test well supervised. Let the Dairymen’s League 
furnish the milk and co-operate with doctors in 
making the tests. Such a contest would he popular 
from the start. The daily papers would he inter¬ 
ested, and make a feature of it. Some surprising 
results would follow. We should see feeble and 
stunted little ones come hack to vigor and bloom. 
It would prove that milk is the true elixir of life, 
and give more practical and sound advertising than 
can he gained in any other way. There are many 
details to lie worked out, but as a general proposi¬ 
tion we think such a scheme would be a novelty and 
a winner. Much money has been spent in forcing 
cows on test to compel them to give a few hundred 
pounds of extra milk. Why not a lest to see how 
many pounds of solid flesh we can milk onto a pale 
baby! 
* 
HE Fordney tariff bill is now being debated in 
Congress. It will probably be passed, in a few 
weeks, with some slight amendments. It will not he 
greatly changed, however. It has been adopted as 
a party measure, and Congress is so strongly Repub¬ 
lican that the bill will go through. A statement of 
the proposed duties on agricultural products is given 
on the next page. Most of these duties are substi¬ 
tuted for free trade or very low rates. Yet the wool 
men are not satisfied, nor are the dairy interests, 
with the tariff of two cents a pound on coeoanut and 
other edible oils. These oils are largely used in 
making butter substitutes, and dairymen demand a 
higher tariff. So far as any expression of opinion 
from farmers has been obtained, it is probable that a 
very large proportion of country people in the North 
July 21, 1921 
and West favor these tariffs on farm produce. Many 
would make them even higher. In fact, we doubt if 
there ever before was so general a demand for an 
agricultural tariff. We have been unable to find any 
of the fierce opposition which arose against the Mc¬ 
Kinley or Dingley Jaws of years ago. The discus¬ 
sion in Congress is one-sided, but full of spirit Any 
tariff will be opposed by the Southern people. They 
denounce it as an outrage and fraud upon the poor 
man. raising the cost of living and making the rich 
richer. On the other hand, the tariff men claim that 
it will promote industry, bring about prosperity and 
help to stabilize prices. The weakness of the oppo¬ 
sition seems to show that a good majority of Ameri¬ 
cans, and especially the farmers, demand tariff pro¬ 
tection, and are disposed to give it a trial. Our own 
opinion is that the farmers will not receive the great 
benefit from it which they expect. At the same time 
they have demanded it through their organizations, 
and what we may call the psychological effect in 
increasing confidence and hope will help. 
I N Massachusetts efforts are being made to have 
ice cream declared a food necessity. That will 
put it in the class of foods which are put under price 
control. Probably the greatest profiteering in the 
country today is done in the sale of ice cream. And 
the trouble is that much of the stuff sold is not 
cream at all. hut a mixture of skim-milk, starch and 
coeoanut oil. sweetened, colored and frozen. It 
should lie made a criminal offense to sell such stuff 
as “cream.” and then charge twice what it is worth. 
Pure cream is not a luxury, hut a useful food which 
is needed by the public. The high prices now de¬ 
manded not only constitute highway robbery, but the 
fraud injures the dairy business during its season 
almost as much as oleo. 
* 
E VERY year at this season comes the big ques¬ 
tion of seeding cover crops. You may define a 
cover crop as one that occupies the land when it 
would otherwise lie idle. For instance, when corn 
matures the land will stand bare and open after the 
last of August or early in .September. At this season 
the soil contains more nitrates or soluble nitrogen 
than at any other part of the growing season. The 
moist, hot soil of late Summer and early Fall is in 
best condition for forming these nitrates, and as the 
corn ripens it cannot make use of them. The result 
is that these nitrates are washed out of the scil un¬ 
less there are living plants growing there to use 
them. Left alone, there will be a light crop of late 
weeds or of grass in the cornfield, hut a good farmer 
does not like to raise weeds except perhaps in an 
orchard. Now when you sow a mixture of seeds 
right in the corn at the last cultivation you have a 
“cover crop” which keeps on growing after the corn 
stops. This cover crop saves the nitrates which 
would otherwise lie lost, protects the soil and pre¬ 
vents washing, and keeps down the weeds. In the 
Spring it helps to dry out the land and gives a large 
quantity of organic matter to lie plowed under. By 
leaving the ground bare you stand the chance of 
losing 40 lbs. of nitrogen, more or less, from each 
acre. By seeding a cover crop you save most of this 
nitrogen, while if you use seeds of clover or vetch 
you will add 25 lbs. or more. In an average season 
there is everything in favor of a cover crop. In a 
very dry season such a crop might fail because the 
soil will not have moisture enough to mature the 
corn and start the cover crop. Aside from that there 
is no better farm practice on the Atlantic slope than 
to sow some cover crop in the corn. We like rye as 
a grain for this crop, and mix with it vetch, Alsike 
clover or turnips. South of Philadelphia Crimson 
clover is good, but in our latitude probably rye and 
vetch is the best combination. Seed right in the corn 
just before the last working, and cultivate the 
seed in. 
Brevities 
Beware of the man who uses superlatives. 
The roadside market business is being overdone in 
some localities. 
Advice to the man past 55: Whatever else you see fit 
to drop, hold on to your interest in children. 
“Black and White I’eps.” That is the name of a 
Missouri boys’ and girls’ club organized for breeding 
Holstein cattle. 
Did you ever know a cat to eat melons? One of our 
readers tells a sad story of how his garden cantaloupes 
are destroyed by cats! 
One of our readers says he has an overcoat, slill in 
good condition, that he bought 20 years ago. W. W. 
Reynolds will be interested in knowing how much wool 
there is in that overcoat—until we tell him that the 
man lives in Southern Florida, where overcoats are not 
needed. 
