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The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER 
A National Weekly Journal lor Country and Suburban Homes 
Established 1850 
Published weekly by the Rural Publishing Company, 333 'Vest 30th Street, New Pork 
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, 11.00 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 eases 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. 
I think there are two vacancies in the Council of 
Farms and Markets, and the farmers in each of these 
judicial districts ought to get together and decide on a 
good farmer and make a request to the Legislature for 
his election. If not taken up by the farmers, the wrong 
man may be chosen, as has happened before. w. 
I T has been urged against the Council of Farms 
and Markets that fanners have no direct connec¬ 
tion with its members. They are elected by the Leg¬ 
islature. It is more than likely that members of 
the Legislature would be willing to elect men who 
are selected or favored by farmers. If, therefore, 
the farmers in any given district will get together 
and agree upon a candidate for the council, we feel 
sure the Legislature will give such candidate first 
consideration. At any rate, it is well worth trying 
for. Here is another case where we must do it our¬ 
selves if we ever expect the council to respond 
directly to farmers’ wishes. 
* 
M ANY of our readers have heard of Benjamin 
Buckman of Farmingdale, 111. He died some 
months ago, leaving one of the most remarkable or¬ 
chards ever brought to fruiting. Mr. Buckman col¬ 
lected practically every variety known to his section. 
In 1913 there were 1,467 varieties of apples, 60 
pears, 78 plums, 42 peaches, 108 grapes, 16 nuts and 
107 other fruits, from persimmons to currants. Since 
then some of the old trees have gone, while others 
have been added. There is probably nothing like 
this collection in the world, and with the death of 
Mrs. Buckman the place must be disposed of. It 
would be a great shame to have this fine collection 
destroyed, yet, as Ave know, it cannot have the com¬ 
mercial value of an orchard planted to only one 
variety. Still there should be some place where all 
these various fruits may be seen growing side by 
side. Cannot something be done to save this remark¬ 
able collection? 
* 
On page 1344 it is stated that Tiie R. N.-Y. can see 
no sense in spending money to bring new Western land 
under irrigation at this time. The injustice of this pro¬ 
cedure seems to have escaped attention. By increasing 
the amount of productive land the government tends to 
lower the value of the existing farm lands. It also 
taxes the farmer to develop new lands whose products 
will compete with his products and injure his markets. 
No organized industry would stand such treatment. 
C. W. B. 
XACTLY. That puts it straight in a few words. 
There is no need of bringing new land into 
cultivation at this time. The wiser plan is to cut 
down production for a while, not only to bring sup¬ 
ply and. demand closer together, but as a part of the ' 
general scheme of reducing government expenses. 
Every unnecessary dollar spent in bringing new land 
into competitive production ought to be cut out. It 
is well enough to discuss plans for shifting the bur¬ 
dens of taxation from one class to another, but Avhy 
not work at the other end, and cut expenses where- 
ever possible? As farmers we think our first duty 
is to look into the big appropriations Avhich are os¬ 
tensibly made for our own particular benefit, and 
trim them as needed. Begin wfith this appropriation 
for “reclamation” and follow it up. Then we can 
consistently demand reduction in other expenses. 
* 
HE Ohio Experiment Station has made tests of 
various kinds of clovers in soil inclined to be 
acid. These tests were thorough, and the following 
results are given: 
In these tests, Alsike clover has averaged 2.64, white 
Sweet clover 2,60, Mammoth clover 2.29, yellow Sweet 
clover 2.12, and Medium Red clover 2.02 tons per acre. 
That agrees quite tvell with our own experience in 
New Jersey on a soil quite acid. On an alkaline soil, 
or where a hea\ r y dressing of lime is used, no doubt 
the showing of Red clover and Alfalfa would be bet¬ 
ter. but there can be no doubt that Alsike is the best 
‘Iht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
acid soil clover. There are many cases where 
Alsike Avithout lime will pay better than Alfalfa or 
Red clover after all the expense needed to fit the 
soil. Another thing—it has been generally conceded 
that the best way to use lime is to scatter it on 
ploAved ground and harrow it in. The Ohio Station 
has obtained good results by putting the lime right 
on the unploAved ground, and considering the labor 
required for the extra handling the results seem to 
be just as good as when the lime is used after plow¬ 
ing. 
sk 
There is no doubt but that it is the intention even¬ 
tually, by means of compulsory education laws and labor 
laws and health laws, to take the control of the child’s 
mind and body entirely out of the hands of the parents. 
Such legislation strikes at the very foundation of the 
home, and I believe that every parent should be warned 
and urged to take a stand against the dangers of such 
legislation. 
1 might state that in my endeavor to give my boy a 
special education, and employing a private tutor for 
him, I have found that I had no authority in the mat¬ 
ter, and that the school authorities’ wishes were abso¬ 
lute in such cases. g. c. m. 
New York. 
E think you are right. Most of our modern 
school laws, the child labor amendment and 
several other similar schemes, are all part of a 
great purpose to “take control of the child’s mind 
and body entirely out of the hands of the parents.” 
Of course the promoters of all these schemes ridi¬ 
cule that idea, and say they Avant to leave authority 
in the district or the family. Possibly they may 
even believe that, but some of us have seen a good 
many years go by down the river. They have 
washed away many old landmarks, but human na¬ 
ture remains the same. 
* 
J USTIN McCarthy, in “A History of Our Own 
Times,” says that the English Parliament during 
half a century has been responsible for some won¬ 
derfully useful legislation, yet not one act was 
passed Avillingly and without a protest. That is 
true of all legislative bodies. People who demand 
legislation must “stand up and speak for it” if they 
ever expect to have it put through. Our NeAv York 
fruit growers must understand this evident fact. 
They want that new building at the Geneva Station, 
and they feel justified in calling for it. The Legis¬ 
lature will not hand it to them just for the asking. 
They must organize in all the fruit counties, and 
some of them will be obliged to spend most of the 
Winter Avorking to arouse popular demand. 
* 
HE New Jersey Grange at its recent meeting 
advocated a plan for keeping convicts on farms 
instead of in jails, and working them at outdoor 
employment. We think this a good suggestion. New 
Jersey has much public work to do. There are roads 
to be built, public lands to be graded, and great 
tracts of salt marsh to be drained, and thus freed 
from mosquitoes and fitted for building or cultiva¬ 
tion. Far better have the convicts out in the air at 
this work than “wasted with a vile repose” behind 
the bars. Whenever one speaks of convict labor 
there arises a vision of some horrible convict camp, 
such as one may find in some Southern localities. 
That is not a necessary adjunct to convict labor. It 
is possible to handle such convicts humanely and yet 
have them prove a help rather than a menace to the 
State. We have known of cases where men have 
committed light crimes for the sake of obtaining 
shelter and food in jail. We confess that it would 
please us to see a regiment of Jersey auto hogs and 
bootleggers digging ditches in the salt marsh rather 
than holding receptions in jail. 
5k 
I N “The Founding of New England,” by Adams, we 
are told that in 1675 Connecticut passed a law 
for the Pequot Indians on their reservation. Any 
native who profaned the Sabbath day by hunting, 
fishing, carrying firewood or similar things, was to 
be fined or Avliipped. In those days there was a legal 
prohibition against selling liquor to Indians, yet 
some Colonial Volstead worked out a novel enforce¬ 
ment law. Under it any native found drunk Avas 
forced to labor 32 days for whoever accused him 
and proved the case. One-half of the proceeds of 
such labor went to the accuser and one-half to the 
county treasurer. Thus it came about that when- 
ever one wanted to. obtain six days’ labor from an 
Indian all he had to do was to induce the native to 
take one or two drinks of fireAvater! It is actually 
said that some of the larger public works of that 
time were completed very largely by labor obtained 
in that way. Treatment of this sort was largely 
responsible for King Philip’s War. The Indians saw 
the whites rapidly increasing in numbers and en¬ 
December 20, 1924 
croaching more and more upon the public lands. 
These laws convinced the red men that they had no 
future if they stood still and permitted the whites 
to outlaw them! So they struck as best they could. 
Well, many a farmer today, driving home from 
church and seeing well-groomed “sports” tramping 
over his farm Avith gun and dog, Avould like to see 
that Sunday law revived. And some of these elegant 
rich men aa’Iio get off into their clubs and guzzle 
liquor! Frankly, we Avould like to put some of them 
at Avork for 12 days—right at honest farm labor— 
and the county can have all they earn! 
* 
« 
A MEMORIAL tablet will be placed in the Maine 
State House in memory of a dog owned by 
Governor Baxter. This is the result of an order 
passed by the Governor and Council. The Governor 
erects the tablet at his own expense and as a 
constant reminder to the people of Maine of the faith¬ 
ful and unselfish services rendered them by their do¬ 
mestic animals, and as an expression of the hope that 
the day will soon come in this State when cruelty to 
and neglect of animals will be no more and when man 
will be kind and merciful to all of God’s creatures, 
however humble. 
It is said that the GoA’ernor has on his farm a 
graveyard where all the dogs he has owned as boy 
and man are buried. There are many of our peo¬ 
ple Avho, as they read this, will let their mind go 
back to the little dog AA'hieh even noAv they regard 
as the most faithful friend of their childhood. 
5k 
W E are going to stay right by the suggestion 
for a mock trial of Mrs. N. Y. Cow at the 
“Farmers’ Week” celebration at Cornell. There 
could not be any more popular or effective method of 
bringing out the lights and shades of the dairymen’s 
problems. Mr. Duryee, Avho did so much to make 
the trial of N. J. Potato a success, Avill gladly give 
the benefit of his experience. The Cornell authori¬ 
ties are usually quite willing to give what the 
farmers call for, and we think they will stage such a 
mock trial if there is a general demand for it. It 
would at least have the merit of novelty, and if 
properly conducted would do more than anything 
else yet attempted to locate the blame for the pres¬ 
ent dairy conditions. 
5k 
S INCE we printed that article on the effect of 
the violet rays in stimulating the growth of 
chickens there has been much discussion about the 
matter. People want to know where they can get 
the lamps and Avhether the scheme is really prac¬ 
tical. We stated clearly that these results merely 
showed the possibilities of utilizing these rays, but 
that practical details had not been worked out. The 
most sensible comment Ave have 3 T et seen comes from 
the Connecticut egg-laying contest: 
Recent experiments on the effect of light from mer¬ 
cury vapor arc lamps on growing chickens have caused 
quite a stir in poultry circles. There can be no doubt 
that the. invisible rays produced by such lights have a 
stimulating effect on chickens. The same can be said 
for direct sunlight which does not come through win¬ 
dow glass. The action of both of these kinds of light is 
remarkably similar to the effect of one of the vitamins 
which prevent leg weakness and stimulate growth. 
There are two Avays in Avhich the poultryman can take 
advantage of these discoveries. (1) Increase the amount 
of direct sunlight received by growing birds and fowls. 
(2) When this cannot be done, substitute cod liver oil 
or a similar source of vitamins in the rations of birds 
which do not get enough sunlight. The use of ultra 
violet light is at present out of the question for the 
average poultryman because of prohibitive expense. 
Brevities 
There are 70 fur farms in New York State. 
A director Avho doesn’t direct is a dummy. 
Your district needs a trustee that you can trust. 
Ever hear of a purebred cow that milked her owner? 
There are plenty of such. 
The Danish parliament is considering a law which 
may exempt from trial doctors who take the life of 
a patient hopelessly incurable. 
In New York State any person Avho keeps a ferret 
must pay a license of $2. Whoever breeds them must 
pay $10. 
A short course for ice cream manufacturers will be 
given at the Connecticut Agricultural College, Storrs, 
beginning January 19, 1925. 
What ever became of the boom for Indian Runner 
ducks Avhich started a few years ago? The Runners 
were to run the Leghorn hens out of business, but 
something happened. What was it? 
M e hear men who Avillingly tell of the great help 
they have received from their wives. One good way to 
recognize this is to have printed farm stationery and 
put the wife’s name on it, Avith your own. 
A rattlesnake, Kelley, at the Pennsylvania State 
College, made a reputation by shaking his rattle in a 
radio station so that it was broadcast all over the coun¬ 
try. He literally rattled himself to death. 
Some of our readers are putting rows of grapevines 
around their chicken yards. Now they learn that rose 
beetles are bred in grapevines and that they kill little 
chicks. Will these beetles also kill old hens? No, there 
will be little trouble with the grown-up chickens. 
