892 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER’S PAPER 
A Notional Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes 
Established 1850 
P iblifihed weekly by the Knral Publishing Company, 333 tVest 30tb Street, New Vorh 
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. Murphy, 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¬ 
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 ehould 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. 
M ONTGOMERY Co., X. Y., seems to be taking 
the lead in organizing branches of the Rural 
School Improvement Society. There are nearly 1,- 
<* *00 members already—the number constantly grow¬ 
ing. Orleans County is also doing well and many 
others are coming. This work will go on until the 
great majority of the school districts are fully or¬ 
ganized. We regard it as the most hopeful move¬ 
ment for rural school improvement ever started in 
the State. It is a simple organization, with but one 
foundation aim, and that is to help the community 
through the local school. We have already records 
of many cases where community life has been 
quickened and schools improved and more efficient 
school officers obtained through this organization. 
We consider it the duty of every progressive man or 
woman in a rural district to help promote this so¬ 
ciety. Several people have sent money to aid in 
this work. They see the possibilities of such a 
State-wide organization and. of course, they know 
that there are legitimate expenses which must be in¬ 
curred in a movement of this sort. Hundreds of 
busy farmers are giving their time to organizing 
these district branches; others will gladly help with 
money when they understand the need of it. The op¬ 
portunity for real leadership in this new movement 
for improving rural schools is great. 
* 
A LOCAL paper in Illinois recently printed the 
following: 
On Monday morning of this week 19 of Robert 
Covey’s neighbors and friends drove into his field on 
the B. Ivopmeyer farm in the Mud Prairie neighbor¬ 
hood with 51 head of horses hitched to corn planters, 
harrows, drags and disks to plant 65 acres of corn for 
him. Mr. Covey has been seriously ill with blood 
poison for some time but is now slowly improving. He 
was very grateful for this help and wishes to thank all 
who so kindly assisted. 
That may be called true co-operation, and there 
are hundreds of cases just like it constantly occur¬ 
ring in the country. The large co-operative schemes 
are not likely to work out right unless just such 
spirit as is here evidenced can be found in the co¬ 
operative units. All things are possible when men 
and women of their own choice turn out to give 
their time and labor to the unfortunate. At a New 
England school one boy contracted blood poisoning, 
and 14 of his comrades volunteered at once to give 
their blood for transfusion. The world is full of 
just such things, among country people in particu¬ 
lar. We often wonder why so many of our experts 
and leaders cannot see that their great schemes can 
avail but little until they realize that this kindly 
desire to help their fellows must be the basis of 
their operation. The reader who sends this clip¬ 
ping also writes this little comment: 
There is a little clipping inclosed that shows that 
“when a feller needs a friend” in reality he can nearly 
always find it, provided he is a real dirt farmer. We 
have the opposite too, for I heard it said but yester¬ 
day that when a certain local large landholder dies the 
pallbearers will have to be hired, as the man has no 
friends. 
Who will say that the spirit of that saying is not 
true? Many years ago a certain man was told how 
to be supremely happy by giving service to his fel¬ 
low 7 men: 
“And he was sad at that saying and went aw T ay 
grieved, for he had great possessions.” 
* 
W E have no end of questions about how much 
lime should be put on small areas of land. 
On very sour land 200 lbs. per acre is about the right 
dose. This means 32,000 oz. There are 43,560 sq. 
ft. to the acre so that on 1 sq. yd. or 9 sq. ft., there 
would be an application of S.36 oz. or a tract 30 by 
30 ft. or a garden law 7 n would require for 900 sq. 
ft or 100 sq. yds. 83.6 oz. or about 5*4 lbs. It 
seems like small business to a fanner to figure by 
ounces but on many small places that must be done, 
and the rule here given will work it out. This lime 
may be scattered evenly on the ground after plow¬ 
ing or spading, and well raked into the surface soil. 
The water will attend to the job of carrying it down 
where it is wanted. 
sk 
This is not a joke! This incident occurred in a 
Rockland Co., N. Y., grocery store: 
Customer: “I want tw T o cans Borden’s condensed 
milk, please.” 
Grocer : “I’m all out of it. Dairymen’s League is 
the only kind I have.” 
Customer: “Never heard of it. what is it?” 
Grocer: “Comes direct from the farmer.” 
Customer: “Oh, I don’t want that! Farmers are 
dirty !” 
Let’s clean up! 
HE R. N.-Y. deals with facts. Some of them are 
not what you may call “nice,” but they must be 
brought out and faced if we are to get at the truth. 
We have no doubt the above conversation or much 
like it may be heard in thousands of shops where 
food is bought. When w T e think of the cooking 
process through which condensed milk must go how 
can w r e conceive of dirt or disease in connection 
with it? All this is the result of a persistent and 
malignant propaganda against farmers and coun¬ 
try people. It is in many ways the most devilish 
campaign yet devised to discredit and injure direct 
trade with consumers, and seems to be one result 
of the great success of roadside markets. Many of 
the middlemen seem determined to break this trade 
down if possible. Before this fight is over it will be 
necessary to raise a sum of money for an adver¬ 
tising campaign to make town people understand 
the value of farm purchased goods as compared with 
factory-made food. 
* 
N page 816 we told how our old friend, J. C. 
Berrang, reached the end of his long journey 
on the ox-team express. Three years of traveling, 
step by step, and short steps at that, up mountains 
and down valleys, finally landed him at Talent, 
Oregon. As noted in the following, Mr. Berrang has 
decided to seek his talent in the earth. He will not 
hide it there as did the unfaithful servant, but seek 
to dig it out: 
I am now located for the present; have rented a 
43-acre farm and am working like a Trojan to get 
crops in. I am in a section where there has been 
-some gold taken out, and there may be some found yet, 
and when I get a breathing spell instead of going fish¬ 
ing. I am going to try my hand at gold panning. 
We all want to know how this Connecticut Yan¬ 
kee succeeds on Oregon dirt. This idea of digging 
for gold instead of going fishing seems well enough. 
We all hope that Mr. Berrang will make such a 
“strike” that he can come back East visiting in the 
finest car money can buy. Yet even if that were to 
happen we will guarantee that he will say the ox- 
team journey was happier. 
sk 
OU would be surprised to know how many ques¬ 
tions like the following come to us for at¬ 
tempted settlement. Some relative or friend comes 
to the home and stays for a time. He is taken sick 
and remains helpless for a while. The woman of 
the house boards and nurses him. He recovers and 
moves away, saying nothing about payment, though 
he is well able to pay. Noav what is a fair charge 
for such services, and can the money be collected? 
Such questions come every week. Such a bill is 
collectable unless there was some agreement to per¬ 
form the service for nothing. As to the charge, 
there is no standard price.- What is usually charged 
in your community? A good local doctor ought to 
know what it is worth to feed and nurse a patient. 
We should go to one for advice. This may seem 
like a petty matter to many, but it is apparently a 
very live question with many of our folks. 
* 
NE afternoon during the Great War English and 
Canadian soldiers in the trenches in Flanders 
saw’ w’hat appeared to be a low cloud of green vapor 
approaching them. They did not know what it w r as, 
and stood w r aiting it. It was the beginning of the 
terrible use of poison gas. The Germans had let 
loose their first experiment—a deluge of chlorine. 
From that beginning a frightful development has 
been made. The chemists have produced fearful 
combinations of gases. Had the w r ar continued a 
year longer the destruction of life by these terrible 
gas mixtures w’ould have been too awful to contem¬ 
plate. Yet now a cure or remedy for colds is an¬ 
nounced in a mixture of chlorine gas and air. It 
has been tried by President Coolidge and others 
with reasonable success. Some years ago H. G. 
Wells, in one of his books, described a visit made by 
beings from Mars to the earth. These beings were 
described as developed far beyond humans in intel¬ 
June 14, 1924 
ligence and habits, and in the use of tools and wea¬ 
pons. Their chief weapons were heat rays—magni¬ 
fied from the sun’s rays to such a tremendous heat 
that they burnt or shriveled up entire armies, and 
melted forts or great cities as the heat of an or¬ 
dinary fire melts wax. At the time the story was 
printed it seemed little more than an idle dream. 
Yet even now scientists are announcing a “diabolical 
ray” w’hich seems to be condensed or magnified 
sunshine so powerful that it w’ould be a deadly 
menace in time of war. At the ancient siege of. 
Syracuse the concentrated light rays from a mirror 
were used to set fire to the enemy’s ships. These 
are only illustrations of the way chemistry is con¬ 
stantly working to influence human life. The great 
danger is that these wonderful things will be de¬ 
veloped faster than the growing power of the hu¬ 
man mind to control them and use them wisely. 
E must remind our friends in the rural school 
districts that the surest way to hold the 
proposed school bill in check is to meet fully the 
State requirements as to decoration, heating, etc. of 
rural schoolhouses. One w 7 ay to get rid of tire “red” 
schoolhouse is to paint it white. It may not be pos¬ 
sible to carry out all these improvements at once, 
but a good start should be made this year. This 
will show that country people are in favor of im¬ 
provement, and it will destroy the old argument 
that farmers must be helped and directed by some 
stronger mind in order to do their duty by the 
schools. The Rural School Improvement Society 
was organized to help in just such work. There 
must be a branch of this society organized in your 
district. It will lead to great things. 
* 
A owns a house facing a vacant lot owned by B, B 
gives the school children and other young folks per¬ 
mission to use the lot as a playground. Consequently 
there is some noise. A makes a complaint to the owner 
of the lot who pays no attention whatever to the mat¬ 
ter. A then goes to the village magistrate and is in¬ 
formed that it is not his business but the business 
for the police. A then goes to the captain of the village 
police, and is informed that nothing can be done in the 
matter, saying the lot was loaned free to the children ; 
nobody could stop the children and others from making 
all the noise they wished. Is it possible there is no 
law in this State or county to protect peace-loving 
people from such a nuisance? l. b. 
W E probably have 40 complaints of this sort 
during the year. L. B. and others like him 
are up against one of these unwritten laws that the 
Hope Farm man tells about. There is sufficient 
law to protect people from nuisances, but where 
could you find a court of justice that would hold 
that ball-playing or other games of children con¬ 
stitute a nuisance? “Youth must be served.” In 
popular thought P, will be voted a commendable 
citizen for permitting the children to use his vacant 
lot, on the theory that all children contain a good 
pressure of “steam,” and it is far better to let them 
relieve the pressure in organized play rather thail 
increase their power for mischief by holding it in. 
Flay and noise-making are essential features of 
childhood. Has L. B. ever considered that there 
are many people in the world who would give a 
good share of their property if they could only hear 
the very noise he detests? Our best advice to L. B. 
is to be a sport and a philosopher! Why not go out 
on the lot and umpire the ball game—or, better yet, 
play first base on one side! 
Brevities 
A comfortable home for the living wife is far bet¬ 
ter than a fine monument for the dead one. 
In New York State a note cannot be collected after 
six years from the date when it was due, unless some 
payment is made thereon. 
The trouble with too many town people is that they 
ride too much. They do not walk enough. Chasing 
after a plow would cure them. 
To the many who ask about the naturalization laws 
we may say that a woman does not now take her citi¬ 
zenship from her husband. She must take out her own 
papers. 
One of the great department stores has now or¬ 
ganized a “farm service” to answer farm questions. 
Will there be room for it with all the college and “ex¬ 
tension” work now being done? 
Blood clots in eggs! They are caused by rupturing 
little blood vessels as the egg passes on and are shelled 
up with the rest of the egg. A blind man would never 
know they are there unless someone told him. 
Here is the answer to many questions from ipeeacers 
who want to save their turkeys: The tincture, fluid 
extract and syrup are simply liquid preparations made 
from the powdered drug, and differing in their dosage 
according to the. strength of the drug which they rep¬ 
resent. Powdered ipecac is the preparation that has 
been recommended for prevention of blackhead in 
poults, this being given in the amount of a teaspoonful 
to each 20 birds, young and old, and fed twice weekly 
in a moist mash. It should be given early, as a pre¬ 
ventive, not waiting until the symptoms of the disease 
show themselves. 
