378 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes 
Established ISM 
Published weekly by the Rural Publishing Company, 333 West 30th Street, New York 
Herbert W. CoiXlNOtvobn, President and Editor. 
John - J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. Dillon, Secretary. Mas. E. T. Hoyle, Associate Editor. 
L. H. Murphy, Circulation Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $3.04. ltemit 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 n 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 lie sent to us w ithin one month of the time of 
the transaction, and to identify it, you should mention The Rural New- 
Yorker when writing the advertiser. 
F oil many years 33 to lie exact. The K. N.-Y. lias 
issued its annual Horticultural Number. Start¬ 
ing with an ordinary issue containing little besides 
reviews of seed and nursery catalogs, this annual 
number has grown in size and character until it 
represents the most important publication in farm 
journalism. We have been told that we could not 
“keep up the pace." “After a few years it will grow 
stale and unprofitable.” Yet after 33 years we feel 
justified in saying that this year’s issue is the best 
of the long series. Furthermore, we claim that there 
never has been issued, in any one publication, a more 
useful and valuable collection of matter than may 
be found in this number. 
W E have dozens of calls for a mixture of chem¬ 
icals suitable for farm or garden use. It is 
doubtful if there is any profit in trying to mix small 
lots of chemicals at the prices now charged for such 
goods. On a large scale such mixing is a better prop¬ 
osition, but we would figure carefully the prices of 
nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid before starting 
to buy small lots. In many or perhaps most or¬ 
chards a combination of one part nitrate of soda or 
sulphate of ammonia with three parts of acid phos¬ 
phate will give good results. In ibis figuring one 
part is a pound. As of course we know some or- 
chardists use nitrate or acid phosphate alone. For a 
general farm mixture, one part nitrate, three of acid 
phosphate and one of potash is simple and effective. 
For garden crops or potatoes we should add to the 
above mixture one part of dried blood or cottonseed 
meal or some other form of high-grade organic nitro¬ 
gen. If the chemicals are pure these mixtures will 
give results, yet they may not.be any more effective 
or cheaper than the best of the high-grade commer¬ 
cial fertilizers. We never advise the use of chicken 
manure alone. It is far more economical to add acid 
phosphate anyway, and probably potash also. 
V ISITORS to the late meeting of the State 
Grange at Buffalo report a warm battle over 
the proposed school bill. One reporter says the 
schoolmen had the “yellowest lobby” he ever saw 
trying to influence delegates. They papered the 
room with documents in favor of the bill. The great¬ 
est applause of the meeting was given when ex-Mas- 
ter S. J. Lowell referred to his recent letter in The 
It. N.-Y'. At least SO per cent of the individual dele¬ 
gates opposed the bill as it stands. Good judges tell 
us that if the direct question of endorsement or 
condemnation had been squarely put. it would have 
split the Grange. Thus a resolution was presented 
stating that the Grange is evidently opposed, yet de¬ 
claring for a larger tax unit, larger State aid, and 
specifically prohibiting compulsory consolidation. 
The friends of the bill can get little comfort out of 
this, for most of us agree that these things are desir¬ 
able. The Grange meeting merely emphasizes the 
fact that fully 85 per cent of our country people are 
opposed to the bill. 
Hi 
O NE of the great industrial wastes which farm¬ 
ers have permitted is the loss of apple pomace. 
This has nearly or quite the feeding value of corn 
silage, and some little fertilizing value as well. Dur¬ 
ing late years more and more of this pomace has 
been fed to cattle, either direct or from the silo, like 
chopped corn. Still there is great waste which ought 
to be saved. This pomace might he dried or dehy¬ 
drated and sold to good advantage, as beet pulp is 
sold. Some manufacturer will take hold of this in 
time, and make a fortune out of it. But why wait 
for that? There are localities where great quan¬ 
tities of cider are made. It would be but a step be¬ 
yond the cider making to put in a drying machine, 
and turn the pomace into a palatable form of feed. 
It must he done some day. This waste cannot al¬ 
ways lie permitted. 
* 
Spraying; the Great Fruit Essential 
BOUT 35 years ago it began to be evident to 
thoughtful fruit growers that in the future 
only clean, high-class apples would bring any profit. 
That was before the Pacific coast growers had begun 
to send their fruit east of the Rocky Mountains. 
The codling worm was with us, and it is safe to say 
that most consumers gnawed around the worm-hole 
and considered it something of a necessity. The few 
entomologists of that day were rather feebly groping 
for some way of poisoning the worm, but without 
great success. At that time the writer of this asked 
a number of the leading fruit men how to get rid of 
wormy apples. Many essays were submitted, but by 
general consent the prize was awarded to Prof. I. I’. 
Roberts. He merely submitted a picture showing a 
flock of sheep jumping over the bars into an orchard. 
The theory was that these hungry sheep would eat 
every wormy apple as fast as it fell from the tree, 
and of course destroy every worm, thus cutting 
down the “breeding stock” so that the worms would 
be greatly reduced! 
Now that was really the beginning of tlie cam¬ 
paign which has resulted in the present wonderful 
development of the science of spraying and dusting.. 
First came a few feeble pumps which squirted a 
solution or mixture of Paris green or London purple 
and water through a round hole which passed for a 
nozzle. Step by step, pump and hose and nozzle were 
improved and adopted, and one by one various mix¬ 
tures of chemicals were developed. The original 
Bordeaux mixture was considered as great an inno¬ 
vation in treating plant diseases as was the inven¬ 
tion of ether in human surgery. We can easily re¬ 
member when the combination of Bordeaux, Paris 
green and lime-sulphur was regarded as a “cure-all” 
for practically all insect pests and diseases. At first 
the pumping was all done by hand. The first crude 
power attachment was hailed as a wonderful inven¬ 
tion. We have seen them all come, steam power, 
compressed air and gas of various kinds. As the 
habits of various insects have been studied and the 
history of diseases worked out special sprays and 
methods of delivering them have been developed 
And now the dusts of sulphur, lime, arsenic, tobacco 
or copper have come into use, with the machinery 
for applying them properly. The end has not been 
reached. We have no doubt that new agencies for 
destroying insects and disease germs will come in 
the future. Very likely electricity. X-rays, heat 
rays and other at present unknown means will be 
employed. Already dusting or spraying from air¬ 
ships has been successfully carried on. It hardly 
seems possible that 35 years hence there can be as 
great an advance as we now observe, looking back 
to the sheep in the orchard, yet who can say what 
the future has in store? 
We do know, however, that as the years pass on. 
spraying, dusting, or whatever method the future 
fruit grower will employ will be tlie most essential 
part of successful fruit growing. For insects and 
diseases will be always with us. The old ones will 
come and go with varying violence. They may 
partly disappear for a time, as the San Jose scale 
lias done, hut they will swing back again. And new 
one will come—held in check for years only to rush 
upon us with sudden violence when conditions are 
right. Fertilizing, culture, care of the tree, are all 
necessary, but in tlie final disposition of tlie crop the 
great essential will he spraying and dusting. lie 
who will not use the implements of warfare against 
insect pests and diseases will be helpless in the com¬ 
ing struggle for the market. For the time is surely, 
coming when there will be so much fruit offered for 
sale that only the clean, standard product can be 
sold to advantage. The spray pump or the duster 
will be the true measure of success for the fruit 
grower. 
* 
A NEW YORK reader says that the voters of sev¬ 
eral districts are to meet and vote on the ques¬ 
tion of appropriating a large sum of money for 
school buildings. A meeting is called at the county 
seat, which is not included in the proposed combined 
district. One reader says the object is to “get some 
good talker who will put it over on us.” Is it legal 
to call a meeting at such a place? The educational 
law provides that whenever any school district shall 
March 1, 1924 
be formed or two or more common school districts 
are consolidated as provided in Section 132, the dis¬ 
trict superintendent or any one or more of such dis¬ 
trict superintendents within whose districts it may 
be. shall prepare a notice describing such district 
and appointing a time and place for the first dis¬ 
trict meeting, and deliver such notice to a taxable 
inhabitant of the district. Under this law the super- 
intendent seems to have the right to call the meeting 
where he sees fit. 'By right eacli district should hold 
its own separate meeting on such an important mat¬ 
ter. 
* 
W E did not realize how strong and effective that 
school meeting at Syracuse on Jan. 21 was 
until we read the long criticism of it recently pub¬ 
lished. If there is any blunder of publicity' which 
the friends of the school bill have not made, we do 
not know what it is. They have had every advan¬ 
tage of money, organization and power, yet prac¬ 
tically everything they have started has acted like a 
boomerang and increased the suspicion of country 
people. They have proved the worst enemies of their 
own ease, and .one could welcome their talk without 
comment were it not for the fact that they repeat 
the old foolish statement that no friend of the school 
bill was permitted to speak at Syracuse. The truth 
is that no one was denied a hearing. The object of 
the meeting was clearly understood, but friends of 
the bill were given ample chance to talk. Mrs. 
Gates, a member of tlie Committee of Twenty-one, 
was certainly given every privilege of the floor, and 
it must be said, in truth, that by accepting this op¬ 
portunity she dealt the Downing bill the most cruel 
blow it has yet received. That Syracuse meeting 
was entirely fair and orderly. There never was as¬ 
sembled in New York State a finer or more intelli¬ 
gent group of working farmers. There never has 
been started a more hopeful, patriotic or potent 
movement for the true improvement of country 
schools than the one born at Syracuse on Jan. 21, 
1924. Here is a letter well worth reading. Ir is 
not from a “kicker,” a wolf, a demagogue, a child- 
killer or a tax-dodger, but from one of the leading 
educators in New York: 
1 was much interested in your report of the Syracuse 
meeting. 1 have recently come to the conclusion, the 
more 1 think this matter over, that you have taken the 
right stand. I was particularly impressed with your 
feelings about consolidation and tlie construction and 
maintenance of fine, large, central schools which tend to 
educate the children away from the farm. I had come 
to exactly the same conclusion, and have felt the same 
way. There isn’t any question in my mind but that 
schools of the kind which I have mentioned would tend 
to attract children away from the farm, and make 
them restive with rural conditions. If everyone is go¬ 
ing to be educated to white-collar jobs and to all the 
conveniences and pleasures of the towns and cities, what 
will become of the country? As sure as you live the 
farmers of this country are safer to depend upon for 
the future of this democracy than the intellectuals. 
G OV. SMITH lias sent to the Legislature a 
report from the State Commissioner of Educa¬ 
tion regarding the State schools of agriculture. 
There are six of these schools, located at Alfred. 
Canton, Cobleskill, Delhi, Farmingdale and Morris- 
ville. Geographically the schools at Delhi and Mor- 
risville are too close together, and the suggestion 
is to give up the school at Delhi and locate a new 
one at Brockport. Western New York is tlie richest 
agricultural section in the State, yet no school has 
been located there, though north, east and south have 
been well provided. Most of these schools have 
never prospered greatly, though it would seem that 
a school might well serve the practical farmers 
better than a college. The school at Delhi has now 
only 51 students, .and with other similar institutions 
nearby the removal to Western New York seems 
desirable. 
Brevities 
Rosies planted around the yard will make the wom¬ 
en’s lot less hard. 
Now it is claimed that rabbits suspected of having 
tuberculosis are at large. 
We learned on page 323 of an Ohio school district 
which has gone back to the district school. There are 
others. 
How do you estimate the size of water cistern you 
need? IIow many gallons for each human, with the 
average rainfall? 
A Connecticut judge has decided that when a man 
evidently thinks more of his radio set than of his wife, 
the latter is justified in leaving him ! 
Speaking of guinea fowls, one reader puts it about 
right: “They are a wild bird. I consider them fine as 
food, but it takes a shotgun to catch them.” 
Mr. Sudsky of New Y T ork seems to be a tailor. He 
ought to be a laundryman. A politician in Poland is 
Mr. Grabsky—well named. A commission man in this 
city is Mr. Suckerman. 
