638 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
April 12, 1924 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER 
A National Weekly Journal l'or Country and Suburban Homes 
Established 18S0 
Published weekly by the Knral Publishing Company, 333 West 30th Street, New Vorlt 
Herbert W. Collingwood, President and Editor. 
John J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. Dillon, Secretary. Mrs. E. T. Royle, Associate Editor. 
L. H. McRriiY, Circulation Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTION : ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union. $2.04. Remit 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- 
eible 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 
Buch 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 be sent to us within one month of the time of 
the transaction, and to identify it, you should mention The Rural New- 
Yorker when writing the advertiser. 
The Downing school hill is dead hut another danger 
threatens. An effort is now being made to jam 
another “ permissive ” hill through the Legislature 
before farmers can organize opposition. Such a 
hill mag he more dangerous than the other. Act 
instantly! Write or telegraph your Assemblyman 
you are opposed to any school hill this year! 
T HREE seems no question about the fact that 
during tiie past 10 years or so more and more of 
f lie old responsibility for local self-government has 
been taken away from the people. It may not be en¬ 
tirely fair to say that it has been taken, but at least 
it has been assumed by others. No doubt the motive 
which induced various people or groups of people to 
help and direct the farmers was entirely worthy, but 
it has become a grave problem as to whether this 
change of responsibility has been wise. We do not 
think it has bjen entirely wise, for we have seen in 
the tumult over the school bill a strong reaction 
from much of the recent organizing policy of agri¬ 
cultural educators. It seems to us that most of the 
promoters of the school bill were singularly unable 
to realize the strength of this reaction. 
* 
Please find enclosed a copy of the latest cure-all for 
all crops and conditions. Note how a full crop of Mc¬ 
Intosh apples may be assured, and seed corn of poor 
germination made strong. No use worrying about 
weeds any more; just a little of this magic on the seeds 
when planted and the weeds will be so far behind there 
will be no use growing longer. Great stuff this must 
be. and every gardener or farmer should know about it; 
ought to make that 35c-dollar look like at least 70c 
and taxes come easy. Next, humbug ! c. n. brewer. 
New Jersey. 
ELL, it will be quite some time before we 
have one equal to this “radio-active seed 
treating compound.” It will do anything, apparent¬ 
ly, from inoculating all crops to putting new life 
into moldy seed coni. Here is a good sample of the 
claims made for it, in order to “equalize blooms” of 
fruit trees: 
“One ounce of compound to one pint of rain water. 
Di* *op in not more than 25 steel cut nails to the pint. 
Let stand about four hours or more. Drain out and 
dry until they have a full coat of rust. Dip in raw 
linseed oil. Drive in tree just above ground level 
on the north side. Cover the wood with paint!” 
It is a wonder that w r e are not advised to paint a 
corn with this “compound” in order to cure a head¬ 
ache. 
To a good fruit grower such advice is too ridi¬ 
culous to consider for a moment, yet, strange as it 
may seem, thousands of otherwise intelligent people 
will actually believe that they can nail a bumper 
crop to a tree by driving a nail into the trunk. It 
is hard to see people throwing away their money on 
these ridiculous fakes—but what can you do but 
smile and try to be a philosopher? 
* 
HE very foundation of all real education is an 
early acquirement of the reading and observing 
habits. There are many able men and women who 
have met with true success in life, yet are filled 
with a genuine grief that they did not gain the read¬ 
ing habit while they were young. It is rather diffi¬ 
cult to pick up this habit later in life, after char¬ 
acter is well formed. This reading habit not only 
rounds out an education and keeps up direct infor¬ 
mation. but it keeps up ambition and holds the mind 
above the smaller, meaner things of life which often 
at middle age bring about a feeling of depression 
and sense of failure. One great reason for the 
superiority of the graduates from the old-fashioned 
district schools was the fact that under competent 
teachers boys and girls were inspired to read and 
think freely. The reading habit and the dictionary 
habit were well fixed in those old country school- 
houses, and one great reason for their success in 
life was the fact that these country children as they 
grew along through life kept up their reading and 
filled their minds with the best that literature had to 
give them. The country has ever been the better 
place for reading and study. Any publisher will tell 
you that the sound thoughtful books are more solidly 
and reflectively read in the country than in the city. 
We want to call attention to the “Pupil’s Reading 
Record” used for library credit in the elementary 
schools of New York. The Department of Education 
makes use of this pamphlet, and it is good use. It 
gives a full course of reading, embraces a long list 
of standard books, including selections from the 
great poets, the historians and men and women who 
have written books that live. Records are kept of 
this reading, and the child receives credit for his 
work in this line. With proper encouragement a 
child who starts and goes through this course will 
gain a good knowledge of the best literature, and be 
trained and inspired to go on and keep up his read¬ 
ing. The course does not require special equipment 
and training. Any child, even in the most remote 
district can take this reading course and acquire 
through it habits which will be of inestimable value 
all through its life. It is a fine thing—one of the 
best of all the details in our great school system. 
* 
LMOST before we know it the time for holding 
the annual school meeting will be here. We 
suggest that those meetings lie made a special feature 
of community life this year. In years past half a 
dozen or so of the voters have turned out, held a 
perfunctory meeting, and let things go for the year. 
Now this is not the way to handle the greatest prob¬ 
lem which now confronts our country people. The 
strenuous campaign which we have gone through in 
the battle for the rural school reached out into 
every school district in the .State, and the battle has 
only begun. It will be renewed next year—harder 
than ever before. During this campaign there came 
into existence a tremendous volunteer army of coun¬ 
try people. This army was organized hastily in de¬ 
fense of the rural schools. This army must not now 
be permitted to disband. Let it rather be fully or¬ 
ganized and drilled so that by another year it may 
present a school bill which will represent the de¬ 
sires of country people and school patrons, instead 
of the demands of the educators. We think the 
school discussion has been the greatest stimulant 
for popular improvement in rural education the 
State has ever known. We have been accused of 
ignorance, prejudice, misrepresentation and lack of 
any desire to improve the rural schools. Let us now 
show that we are not only desirous of school im¬ 
provement, but that we are capable of suggesting 
and working such improvement out in a practical 
way. The coming school meetings will be good 
places to start. Make them a feature of community 
life. Let the women provide a supper, give a good 
local program, and everybody come. Get together and 
organize for school improvement such as country 
common sense shows is necessary. When we called 
for meetings of protest last December there was 
the greatest outpouring ever known in the country 
districts since the old anti-slavery days. Now we 
want a bigger turn-out than ever to organize our 
forces and build for the future. Celebrate school 
meeting day! 
* 
UNDREDS and thousands of acres of small 
grain on eastern farms will be cut and cured 
for hay this year. Wheat, barley, oats, rye and 
buckwheat in the order named, make hay of fair 
quality when cut before the grain hardens and cured 
much like clover. The cost of reaping, handling and 
thrashing is so great in many eastern sections that 
the grain will not pay. In our own case we shall 
let enough rye to produce straw and seed mature 
and cut all the rest for hay. The labor question is 
so hard that we must do everything we can to take 
advantage of the situation. We have considerable 
rye which was seeded for cover cropping last Fall. 
Under ordinary circumstances we should plow the 
crop under this Spring and plant some crop like 
corn or cabbage or some truck crop. As it is we in¬ 
tend to seed Alsike clover on this rye and cut the 
grain for hay. The clover will hold the land, give 
us a crop for hay or green manure next year, and 
save the labor and cost of plowing and fitting. There 
are thousands of farms where this policy will pay 
better than hiring expensive labor to plant and cul¬ 
tivate more hoed crops. We feel like urging this 
policy particularly upon people to whom farming is 
a side line—a sort of pleasant means of spending 
their money. They do not really need the income 
from increased production of crops. By rushing to 
produce every possible ounce of food they compete 
unfairly with farmers in the labor market, and help 
produce a surplus which always operates to reduce 
prices. It will be a far more patriotic plan for these 
farmers to spend most of their energy in improving 
the land this year and not straining to flood the 
markets with food. 
>k 
E are told that the organized apple growers 
of the State of Washington make the claim 
before Congress that they must have lower rates on 
apple shipments—otherwise they cannot compete 
with eastern-grown apples. This seems to show 
that, subject to ordinary business conditions, these 
western growers cannot afford to sell apples in the 
East. In fact with present prices for labor, pack¬ 
ages. transportation, taxes and supplies, it is hardly 
possible for eastern growers to obtain much margin 
right in their own territory. That being so, why 
should these western men ask railroads to operate 
below cost in order that eastern growers may be 
driven out of their own market? That is just what 
it amounts to, and that will be the outcome unless 
the eastern men bestir themselves and protect their 
interests. 
* 
GREAT majority of the American people will 
support President Coolidge in his efforts to in¬ 
duce Congress to go to work and do something. 
Thus far this has been about the laziest Congress 
we have had since the Civil War. There are tre¬ 
mendous problems, many of them affecting agricul¬ 
ture, which should be met in a big, statesmanlike 
way, but thus far Congress has done little except 
spar for political advantage. A small group of radi¬ 
cals has controlled the situation so that neither of 
the great parties has been able to enact any definite 
or responsible legislation. Under the English sys¬ 
tem of government the present condition in Con¬ 
gress would have led to a new election, but under 
our constitution a Congress serves out its elected 
term whether it works or loafs. There seems to 
have been a strong popular reaction from the spec¬ 
tacular investigations long conducted by the Sen¬ 
ate. The American people want their hired men to 
stop telling stories and go to work. 
* 
LL over the West grain farmers are reported 
as preparing to change to dairying. Here at 
the East dairymen are generally complaining about 
prices and prospects, and they feel that a rush of 
grain farmers into the business will complicate it 
still more. Many western men have the same opin¬ 
ion. Prof. C. C. Hayden of the Ohio Experiment 
Station puts it this way: 
“For the man who knows how to handle livestock, 
has the equipment, is wise enough to buy only good 
cows, and is willing to endure the eternal grind of 
dairying, a permanent change to dairying may prove 
profitable, but we do not believe it wise for grain farm¬ 
ers generally to try to go into dairying. 
“If cows could be increased as rapidly and handled as 
easily as hogs, dairying would be overdone in five years 
and dairymen would be in the same condition as the 
wheat farmer. The farmer who starts dairying with 
poor producing or diseased cows is almost certain to 
regret it.” 
We understand how hopeless many grain farmers 
feel. They are about ready to plunge into anything 
which seems to offer opportunity yet, if they were 
to borrow money, buy stock and equipment and rush 
into dairying without experience, or the patience 
to stay with it, that business would, in a few years, 
be in a worse condition than grain farming is today. 
Brevities 
Do not put the fertilizer right on the potato seed. 
You might not think it, but the value of the aspara¬ 
gus crop last year was $17,000,000. 
Among other calls from readers is one for a gas mask. 
We cannot imagine what he wants it for. 
Some cows kick because they are made nervous and 
ugly through poor feeding. Do not beat them to a pulp 
with the milking stool. Rather feed them dried beet 
pulp. 
Let us get in a last good word for Alsike clover. We 
always use some Alsike with the Red seed. While smaller 
than Red, it is hardier, finer, more palatable and more 
likely to grow on a sour, wet spot. 
Tobacco for stomach worms in sheep. So many uses 
for tobacco are being discovered that it begins to look 
as if the “weed” was designed for rapid insect destruc¬ 
tion rather than for slow destruction of man ! 
We doubt if 20 per c-ent of the oats grown for grain 
in New York and New Jersey ever pay cost of grow¬ 
ing, harvesting and thrashing. There would be some 
profit frequently in cutting the oat crop for hay and 
feeding it in bundles, but add the cost of thrashing 
and take out the difference in value between straw and 
hay and most oats fail to pay cost. In several Western 
States it has been clearly shown that Soy beans pay far 
better than oats—-yet most farmers will tell you that 
they cannot feed a horse properly without whole oats. 
We knew a woman once who fed her baby on doughnuts 
and coffee—because grandmother did! 
