1210 
7ht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE TVS] S ESS FARMER'S TAPER 
K National Weekly Journal for < ounlry nnd Subiirhnn Home* 
Established iS.'pO 
fiihlMird urrlilj by tb- Rur«l Pnbliiihlnfr ( ontpany, 383 W«t stOih Strrrt.Nrw Tork 
Herbert W. Colling vtood, President and Kditor. 
John J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
ITm. F. Dillon, Secretary. Mrs. E. T. Royle. Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION : ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
Tn foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union. $2.01. equal to *s. 6d., ar 
t" marks, or in 1 * francs. Remit in money order, express 
order, personal cheek or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post Office as Second Class Matter. 
Advertising rates, »].00 per agate line—7 words. References required for 
advertisers unknown to us ; and cash must accompany transient orders. 
“ A SQUARE DEAL” 
IVe 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 eases should not, be confused with dishonest 
transactions. We protect subscribers against rogues, but we will not be 
lesponsible 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 Nfw- 
Yorkkr w hen writing the advertiser. 
May I toll you how much I like ycur paper? I've 
only taken it nine months, nnd I like it its well ns any 
< r" better than some I have taken for years. It seems 
it was printed just for me. In fact, I love it. 
Maryland. MRS. IDA T. JONES. 
I found a lady just down the street who is a sub¬ 
scriber. and what good fellowship it is when we talk 
over things in the paper! .Tust as you said in this 
week’s issue. MRS. FRED WTLSI1IRE. 
Brooklyn, N. Y. 
E do believe that The It. N.-Y. is the most 
friend]n paper in the country. What, we 
mean is that it seems to band its readers together 
in a blessed tie of human nature and good feeling. 
s|c 
I T seems to be a common belief in part of the 
West that fertilizers injure the soil. The follow¬ 
ing from the Missouri Experiment Station is a good 
explanation: 
Where fertilizers are used in small quantities, that is 
from 75 to 125 lbs. per acre, applying them to grain 
crops grown continuously on the same land, an actual 
injury results. This injury, however, is not so much 
duo to tlie use of the fertilizer as it is to the continuous 
grain growing. The use of a little fertilizer simply 
makes it possible to grow grain on the land longer than 
it could profitably he grown without i(. hut at the same 
time not enough fertilizer is applied to assist in keeping 
up the soil. Experiments have shown, however, that 
where larger amounts of fertilizer are used, and partic¬ 
ularly where the crops are rotated with clover or other 
sod crops, no such injury results. 
Wo have found that to he true. The small dose of 
fertilizer may act like a stimulant to force the crop 
into positive robbery of the soil. A full supply of 
fertilizer may act as food, and give the crop a 
chance lo work with the soil as well as in it. It. is 
something like the difference between a glass of 
strong “home brew” and a full meal. 
JjC 
T HE following report from Penn’s Grove, N. ,T., 
contains what we call a “mighty fine” sugges¬ 
tion : 
James McGrano. Philadelphia attorney, who owns a 
farm in Upper Penn's Neck Township, has struck a 
novel scheme to punish watermelon thieves. McGranc 
received complaints from his tenant that watermelons 
were missing nearly every night, so he and the farmer 
set a watch They were rewarded when a party of 
young men from Salem were making off with some big 
melons when the watchers pounced upon them. 
The culprits begged off and promised to pay for mel¬ 
ons previously stolen, but McGrane was adamant. “You 
are nothing more than common thieves, and unless you 
pay over to the Salem County Memorial Hospital with¬ 
in 10 days the sum of $100. and exhibit to me a receipt 
therefor, 1 will swear out a complaint against you to the 
jumper authorities of Salem County.” 
Wo think Mr. McGrane will enforce bis demand. 
Tr is what you might call a melancholy outcome for 
melon thieves to be compelled to Help support, a hos¬ 
pital. They will need hospital treatment if they 
keep up their stealing. Tt is right to put the man or 
boy who “coons” melons right in the same class ns 
a horsetliief. 
* 
T ihe Republican State Convention in Syracuse 
Senator W. M. ('abler made the following state¬ 
ment about national expenses: 
Men and women ask why has the cost of government 
reached $4,000,000,000 today, compared with $1,000.- 
000,000 previous to 1015? The reasons are simple, if 
not consoling. Before Ihe war we had little or no 
national debt. Today our indebtedness exceeds $23,000,- 
000,000. We are bound to pay the interest on that debt 
and lay aside annually for its final payment. This 
year for those purposes we will need one and one-quar¬ 
ter billion dollars. Appropriations this year for war 
risk, hospitalization and rehabilitation <>f our soldier 
sick and wounded total nearly one-lmlf billion dollars. 
Pensions for Spanish and Civil War veterans and then- 
widows will require $250,000,000. These items aggre¬ 
gate $2,000,000,000. To them you must add the cost of 
the army and navy, which, although cut in half, still 
amounts to $700,000,000. 
Tt. appears to bo true that something over SO per 
cent of all our taxes may be said to be a hideous 
legacy left by the war. Our national debt represents 
more than $200. with interest, added, for every man, 
woman and child in the country. Each year we 
must pay an annual charge of about $3,000,000,000 
directly due to war and its consequences, or to pre¬ 
paration for another war. With this awful load of 
war debts, it is no wonder that the great majority 
of our people demand that something be done at 
once to shut off these horrible expenses. We are till 
interested in the coming conference on disarmament, 
and there are some who entertain the rosy hope that 
it will result in an agreement to disarm completely 
and thus bring about universal peace. No one can 
be more desirous than we are to see the nations of 
(he earth scrap their weapons and quit (bis hellish 
competition in the art of wholesale murder. We are 
all staggering under the burden of taxation, yet that 
i ; not the worst legacy from the Great War. The 
extravagance, hatred, lawlessness and It ratal feeling 
brought into life by the great conflict are far more 
dangerous to Iho Republic than tbe money debt, 
staggering as that may be. So long as the nations 
go about like men armed to the tooth, in constant 
readiness to shoot or stab, there can be no real pence, 
and without peace there can he no real progress of 
mankind. We favor disarmament, but we are under 
no illusions about, (bo result of the coming confer¬ 
ence. We think it will lead to a better understand¬ 
ing among the nations, and in time bring about a re¬ 
duction in armament. We do not expect, however, 
to see the world stop breeding war eagles and go to 
raising doves. Tf every warship in tbe world were 
sunk and every cannon, every rifle and every pound 
of explosives sent to tbe bottom of (be ocean, there 
would be no sure guarantee of perpetual peace. 
While human nature remains as it is. men and na¬ 
tions will fight, even though deprived of their -weap¬ 
ons. There was a ease whore a man who had lost 
both legs fought a terrible battle with a man who 
bad lost both arms! Until (be heart and soul of 
man are changed by education and moral responsi¬ 
bility tbe nations will fight and (lie farmer nnd 
worker must carry tbe burden. Disarmament is a 
slop along tbe way, but only a step, bet us not 
expect too much from it. In (be last analysis "ic r 
have pot to do if ourselves "—each one in bis own 
life being so honest and temperate and fair in bis 
dealings that be can influence the community nnd 
State and nation for peace. Surely there can be no 
peace on earth until there be good will among men. 
and there can be no good will unless we are all will¬ 
ing to make some sacrifice in order to obtain it. 
* 
HERE is great need of an expert plant breeder 
in working out a true type of this new Ilubam 
clover. In almost every collection you will find 
plants developing seed in all the way from 90 to 
125 days. They vary in size and shape. Some seem 
able to stand an ordinary Winter, while others are 
about as tender as corn. In one lot seeded July 20 
there were plants nearly three feet high by Sep¬ 
tember 25, with bloom appearing. Right in tbe same 
row there are even larger plants with no evidence 
oZ flowering before ('rust. We think it will be pos¬ 
sible to find a strain of this clover which may be ex¬ 
pected to live through an ordinary Winter. The 
plant breeder will select out these various strains 
and fix their type so that we may depend on them. 
In time we think they will be separated as cleanly as 
varieties <>(' corn, so that we may use the sort best 
suited to our needs. In addition to its other qual¬ 
ities. we must remember that this clover is one of the 
best bee or honey plants ever heard of. 
« 
A FEW weeks ago, on page 110$. wo suggested the 
name of Elbert S. Brigham of St. Albans. VI.. 
as a very suitable man to represent his State in the 
United States Senate. Since then we have made a 
canvass of the situation. It seems that many of 
the politicians and most of flu* newspapers are com¬ 
mitted to Congressman Frank E. Greene for Senator. 
He seems to have been selected by the organization 
to succeed Semi tor Page. When we get away from 
the politicians we find a very different story. Over 
SO per cent of flu* country people who have thus far 
written ns favor Mir. Brigham. He is known to them 
through his work as (’ommissioncr of Agriculture. 
They agree that flic State should be represented b.v 
an intelligent farmer. The situation seems to be 
about as follows: The politicians have already se¬ 
lected a candidate. .Vs usual. the plain people who 
do the voting and pay the taxes are not being con¬ 
sulted. We believe from our canvass ilius far that 
if it were left to the people without interference or 
manufactured sentiment, a majority of Vermont 
farmers would prefer Mr. Brigham. That statement 
may surprise some of the politicians, but we think 
we have the facts to demonstrate it. All (bis being 
October R, 1021 
so. there seems no good reason why the country peo¬ 
ple of Vermont should not start an effective cam¬ 
paign to secure the services of the man they want. 
The R. N.-Y. does not attempt to tell the Vermont 
people what they should do. A member of the 
United States Senate is a national character. We 
are all interested in sending to the Senate the type 
of men who will serve agriculture faithfully. We 
believe Mr. Brigham is of that type. 
a. 
T HE New York State Federation of County Sheep 
(irowers has begun the manufacture of blankets 
and suitings from virgin wool. These goods are sold 
direct, and already a good trade has been developed. 
One recent advertisement in The R. N.-Y. brought 
nearly 1.000 letters of inquiry and many sales. This 
confirms (In* belief we have long held that, farmers 
may find a direct stile for their products if they will 
go after the business in the right way. There must 
be some strong organization which can assemble the 
raw material and guarantee enough of it to make 
manufacturing profitable. Then, when (lie goods are 
made, this organization can do the selling by solicit¬ 
ing individual orders. They must present a fair 
bargain, guarantee the goods, and let people know 
"'hat they have to sell. With the business properly 
developed (lie readers of The R. N.-Y. could keep 
three or four mills running. We hear much about 
the business depression, but Ibis experience with 
offering these blankets and cloth shows that our 
people have money to spend for popular bargains. 
They will buy goods of any description as soon .-is 
they arc convinced that they will gel their money’s 
worth of guaranteed goods. 
' s’ 
W HEN we started this crusade against (lie auto 
hog we had no idea that it would grow into 
a nation-wide movement. It has become one of the 
most popular farm enterprises of the day. Our mails 
are tilled with reports from farmers showing how 
they have handled these hogs. They are doing great 
work, and some of (he “treatments” given art* very 
original. Here is one report: 
( ouncil Bluffs. Sept. 2$.—To be compelled to gorge 
themselves on a truckload of melons which they had 
stolen from a field was the novel form of punishment 
for nine young men caught by Walter .T. Miller, melon 
grower. 
Miller surprised (he youths and advanced on them 
with a revolver, forcing them to drive the truck to his 
house. 
He then locked them in a room, and holding them in 
(error, forced them to eat melons that his wife passed 
through a window. 
At the end of the melon eating contest the robbers 
were all rolling on the floor in agony, while three mol- 
ous only remained in the truck. 
That was better than a charge of shot. It will bo 
remembered longer, and it is doubtful if any of these 
young men will for years be able to pass a melon 
patch without “a sinking at the stomach.” 
W E are doing what we can to encourage milk 
drinking, especially by children. People 
everywhere are helping. The movement is becoming 
a national one. Over in Canada they are getting 
ahead of us in this work. We must not. let them 
boat. us. At the Toronto National Fair 500,000 free 
milk tickets were given out to children. On one day 
there wore 235.000 people on the ground, and there 
was a total attendance <>f 1.242.000 figured at the 
gate for the entire fair. It was closed tight on Sun¬ 
days ;il that. Every child who came had a free glass 
of milk. Hundreds or thousands of gallons were 
disposed of in this way. It was great advertising— 
the best, that c-ouhl be obtained. Train a child to 
milk drinking and he will not depart from the habit. 
He will become a “booster” for the idea, since the 
milk will make him a buster. Count that day lost 
in which you do not induce some friend to drink a 
glass of milk, when he might otherwise call for “pop” 
or soft drinks. 
Brevities 
Wet land has riches—only found by ditches. 
No man can ever “swim out” without kicking. 
'I’ll ere will 1><- more silage than usual this Winter— 
and less hay. That will mean extra feed. 
Corn and outs ground together, with wheat bran 
added. How is it for a balanced grain ration? 
The. best scientific advice seems to be that distilled 
water is bad for children. Boiled or filtered water is 
better. 
Weedy fields are reported everywhere. Tn parts of 
ihe West farmers are buying feeding lambs to clean up 
the weedy cornfields. 
’Tweke well if till could lit* content with our old- 
fashioned condiment; not blow their hard-earned cash 
away, hut eat horseradish every day. 
No question about the fact that forest leaves, com¬ 
posted with lime, will make good fertilizer. The trouble 
usually is that it costs too much in labor to rake up the 
leaves. 
