<D*  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
293 
The  Milk  Can  Law 
WHEN  a  dairyman  buys  a  used  milk  can  and 
pays  for  it,  or  hires  it  at  a  creamery  and 
pays  the  rental,  or  receives  from  a  shipping  station 
or  creamery  another  can  in  exchange  for  his  own 
can,  should  the  law  authorize  the  agent  of  an  asso¬ 
ciation  of  dealers  to  take  the  cans  out  of  a  farmer’s 
■wagon,  and  return  them  to  the  former  owner,  with¬ 
out  any  attempt  to  discover  the  farmer’s  right  to 
them?  Do  you  think  the  law  should  say  that  the 
possession  of  a  can  under  such  circumstances  is 
equivalent  to  stealing  tire  can?  In  addition  to  all 
this,  do  you  think  that  dairymen  should  be  threat¬ 
ened  with  prosecution  if  they  refused  to  pay  money 
as  tine  and  penalty  for  a  crime  they  did  not  commit? 
O'  course  no  real  farmer  thinks  anything  of  the 
kind,  but  Senator  Straus  does  not  know  what  you 
want  until  you  tell  him.  So  if  you  have  not  already 
done  so,  write  him  today,  and  ask  him  to  support 
the  amendment  to  the  milk  can  law  repealing  the 
right  of  seizure.  The  address  is:  Hon.  Nathan 
Straus,  Jr.,  Chairman  Senate  Agricultural  Commit¬ 
tee,  Albany,  N.  Y. 
Good  Old  New  Jersey 
ON  page  11 S  the  Hope  Farm  man  spoke  of  a 
newspaper  report  that  in  Cape  May  Co.,  N.  J., 
wild  geese  were  flying  low — an  indication  of  a  mild 
Winter.  The  upper  part  of  the  State  and  all  north 
of  the  State  have  been  “enjoying”  the  hardest  Win¬ 
ter  in  some  years.  We  cannot  imagine  what  these 
wild  geese  were  headed  north  for.  Several  citizens 
of  Cape  May  County  seem  to  feel  that  these  remarks 
about  wild  geese  require  some  explanation  from 
them : 
We  have  no  severe  Winter  weather  in  this  county. 
Severe  storms  and  blizzards  are  unknown  here.  For 
many  years  past  there  has  not  been  a  day  that  farmers 
could  not  plow  land,  unless  it  was  raining.  The  Win¬ 
ter  of  11)21  and  11)22  was  mild,  and  this  Winter  we 
have  had  but  one  little  flurry  of  snow  that  covered  the 
ground  for  about  .30  hours,  and  the  temperature  has 
not  been  below  IS,  and  that  only  for  a  very  short  time. 
Can  we  blame  geese  for  coming  to  such  a  climate  and 
flying  low? 
The  State  of  New  Jersey  has  as  great  a  diversity  of 
climate  as  has  California.  Here  in  Cape  May  County 
the  Winters  are  short  and  mild,  and  the  Summers  are 
delightfully  cool,  while  the  northern  part  of  the  Slate, 
has  the  rigorous  Winter  weather  of  Northern  New  York 
and  Southern  Canada.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  we 
are  nearly  surrounded  by  deep  salt  water,  and  the  prox¬ 
imity  of  ihe  Gulf  Stream. 
There  is  another  great  advantage  here  over  many 
other  parts  of  the  State.  \Ye  have  the  best  markets 
anywhere  along  the  Atlantic  coast.  The  eastern  coast 
of  our  county  is  almost  a  continuous  seaside  resort, 
where  millions  of  people  come  to  enjoy  themselves  and 
recuperate.  There  are  no  great  railroad  terminals  Imre 
to  dump  the  produce  of  the  South  and  Central  West 
into  these  places,  and  we  have  a  home  market  for 
everything  that  is  tit  to  eat  at  good  prices,  and  wayside 
markets  that  are  unsurpassed.  Little  wonder  that  the 
‘‘geese  fly  low  in  Cape  May.”  This  is  true  in  Summer 
as  well  as  in  Winter.  X.  A.  N. 
The  old  song  used  to  run  “Everything  is  lovely  and 
the  goose  hangs  high.”  At  any  rate  the  above  state¬ 
ment  is  essentially  correct,  although  the  facts  are 
not  generally  known.  New  Jersey  has  never  been 
“boomed,”  but  all  the  same  there  is  probably  no 
State  in  the  Union  which  can  offer  more  substantial 
advantages  to  manufacturers,  commuters,  home- 
seekers,  poultrymen,  fruit  men  and  gardeners. 
The  Immigration  Danger 
IN  1865  James  Russell  Lowell  spoke  of  America 
as : 
She  of  the  open  soul  and  open  door, 
She  that  lifts  up  the  manhood  of  the  poor, 
With  room  about  her  hearth  for  all  mankind. 
Those  were  the  days  when  we  were  singing  the 
good  old  song  about  ‘‘Uncle  Sam  is  Rich  Enough  to 
Give  Us  All  a  Farm.”  It  all  seemed  clear  enough 
at  that  time.  We  could  not  envision  a  time  when 
Uncle  Sam  has  given  away  his  last  good  acre  of 
land,  while  America  has  adopted  so  many  children 
that  they  begin  to  crowd  her  own  children  away 
from  the  hear  Mi.  Yet  that  time,  unthought  of  when 
Lowell  wrote  his  ode,  seems  to  have  come.  We  all 
trace  back  in  pedigree  to  the  adventurous  men  and 
women  who,  years  ago,  crossed  the  ocean  to  do 
pioneer  service  in  an  unknown  land.  If  the  same 
class  of  people  were  coming  now  we  could  not  have 
too  many  of  them.  They  would  help  us  meet  and 
settle  the  great  problems  which  confront  this  nation. 
The  modern  immigrant  is  different.  There  are  a 
few  of  the  sturdy  old  stock,  but  most  of  them  would 
never  leave  town  or  city.  They  do  not  bring  the  old 
respect  for  law  and  common  right,  but  an  unreason¬ 
ing,  or,  what  is  worse,  a  reasoned  hatred  for  many  of 
the  things  which  we  hold  to  be  essential  to  good  gov¬ 
ernment.  There  are  wrongs  in  society  and  in  govern¬ 
ment  which  we  are  beginning  to  understand.  We 
shall  be  able  to  overcome  them  if  we  will  go  after 
them  sanely  and  fairly,  sink  our  party  prejudice  and 
get  together,  just  as  our  fathers  did  'over  the  ques¬ 
tion  of  slavery.  The  worst  thing  that  can  happen 
to  us  is  the  massing  of  aliens  and  irresponsible 
voters  in  the  great  cities,  where  Americans,  whose 
brains  have  become  degenerated  rather  than  improved 
by  education,  can  work  for  mischief.  We  believe  that 
if  American  civilization  is  to  be  maintained,  strong 
and  sane,  the  influence  to  keep  it  so  must  come  pri¬ 
marily  from  the  country  people — the  freeholders  of 
land.  We  think  this  country  now  has  about  all  the 
aliens  and  alien-hearted  people  it  can  assimilate. 
To  import  great  numbers  of  them  now  would  be 
merely  to  increase  the  malign  influence  of  the  great 
cities — which  are  already  too  big  for  national  safety. 
We  can  see  no  good  whatever  to  American  farming 
through  unrestricted  immigration. 
Another  Hope  Farm 
I  always  was  under  the  impression  that  Hope  Farm 
was  self-supporting.  How  is  that?  old  rkauer. 
HIS  friend  does  not  sign  his  name,  but  there 
have  been  so  many  notes  like  this  one  that  it 
may  be  just  as  well  to  explain  matters.  Our  friend 
sends  a  newspaper  clipping  which  reads  as  follows : 
HOPE  FARM  MUSIC  A  LE 
BENEFIT  TO  BE  GIVEN  AT  THE  HOME  OF  MBS.  CORNELIUS 
VANDERBILT 
A  musicale  will  be  held  on  February  13  at  the  home 
of  Mrs.  Cornelius  Vanderbilt  at  four  o’clock  for  the 
benefit  of  Hope  Farm.  The  affair  will  be  given  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Diocesan  Committee  of  8t.  Thomas’ 
Church. 
Thirty  boys  from  St.  Thomas’  choir,  of  which  T. 
Tertius  Noble  is  conductor,  will  appear  on  the  program, 
and  the  artists  will  be  Miss  Doris  Madden,  pianist ; 
Miss  Margaret  Lawrence,  who  will  give  monologues, 
and  George  Maeder  of  the  Metropolitan  Opera  Com¬ 
pany. 
The  members  of  the  committee  include  Mrs.  Charles 
Gilmore  Kerley,  Mrs.  William  A.  Barber,  Mrs.  Philip 
Boardman,  Mrs.  David  Barrows,  Mrs.  W.  B.  Valentine, 
Mrs.  Barents  I. efforts,  Mrs.  Hudson  Budd,  Mrs.  George 
L.  Brodhead,  Mrs.  O.  W.  Buekhardt,  Mrs.  Bernet 
Clark  and  Mrs.  James  Beales. 
Not  guilty!  The  original  Hope  Farm  docs  not 
need  or  desire  any  help  from  “musicales”  or  other 
private  entertainments.  If  these  artists  and  others 
want  to  come  and  give  an  entertainment  we  will 
call  in  the  neighbors  and  provide  an  audience  of 
country  people,  and  perhaps  we  could  provide  a 
lunch  of  baked  beans  and  similar  stable  delicacies. 
Most  of  our  “musicales”  come  to  us  over  the  wire 
through  our  radiophone.  We  never  had  the  pleasure 
of  meeting  any  of  the  ladies  mentioned  in  this  note. 
The  “Hope  Farm”  to  which  this  refers  is  a  farm  school 
located  in  Dutchess  Co.,  N.  Y.  It  is  a  very  worthy 
institution  where  children  are  given  a  home  and 
education.  It  is  well  conducted  and  is  doing  a  fine 
work  in  giving  health  and  education  and  character 
to  many  children  who  would  not  otherwise  have  a. 
chance.  .Our  own  place  was  named  “Hope  Farm” 
about  26  years  ago.  Since  then  the  name  has  been 
widely  copied.  There  is  a  Hope  Farm  in  Nova 
Scotia,  another  in  Australia  and  dozens  more  scat¬ 
tered  in  this  country  and  over  the  world.  It  is  a 
good  name  if  the  first  word  is  kept  bright  and  clean. 
But  do  not  pick  on  us  whenever  you  see  the  name 
in  print.  Suppose  you  saw  in  the  papers  that  John 
Smith'  had  fallen  heir  to  several  millions.  That 
would  hardly  justify  you  in  striking  half  a  dozen 
people  you  knew  for  a  loan !  We  do  not  fly  high 
enough  to  reach  these  exalted  social  altitudes. 
New  York  State  Notes 
The  Eastern  meeting  of  the  New  York  State  Hor¬ 
ticultural  Society  will  be  at  Poughkeepsie  at  the  Vassal- 
Institute,  February  21,  22  and  23.  Much  of  the  pro¬ 
gram  that  was  given  at  the  Rochester  meeting  will  lx; 
repeated  at  the  Poughkeepsie  meeting.  Owing  to  the 
death  of  President  Pease,  (’lias.  S.  Wilson,  first  vice- 
president,  of  Hall,  will  preside.  The  following  are 
some  of  the  changes  in  the  program.  0.  R.  Shoos  of 
Wasliingtonville  will  tell  of  the  fruit  growing  in  the 
Northwest;  ( ’.  I.  Lewis,  editor  of  the  American  Fruit 
Grower,  will  discuss  advertising  as  a  factor  in  the  de¬ 
velopment  of  horticulture;  II.  II.  Jones,  representing 
the  farmers’  marketing  association,  will  discuss  market¬ 
ing  Hudson  River  apples  in  New  York  City;  K.  B. 
Lewis  of  Red  Hook  will  discuss  the  question  of  a  local 
co-operative.  Aaron  Sapiro  will  be  a  drawing  card  on 
Friday.  He  will  discuss  co-operative  marketing.  If 
the  Poughkeepsie  meeting  is  as  successful  as  the  Roch¬ 
ester  meeting  that  was  held  a  few  weeks  ago,  it  should 
attract  a  large  number  of  growers  in  the  Hudson  Val¬ 
iev.  Mr.  Pease,  who  was  elected  president  at  the 
Rochester  meeting,  will  be  missed.  lie  had  been  inter¬ 
ested  in  agricultural  organizations  for  a  long  time,  and 
had  given  considerable  time  and  energy  to  their  advance¬ 
ment. 
The  grand  old  man  of  forestry,  Dr.  B.  E.  Feruow, 
died  February  5.  Dr.  Fernow  was  formerly  dean  of 
the  old  New  York  State  College  of  Forestry  when  it 
was  located  at  the  State  College  of  Agriculture.  lie 
vas  called  to  the  position  of  dean  of  the  college  in  the 
year  1808,  which  was  the  first  school  of  its  kind  in  the 
United  States.  This  has  rightfully  given  him  the  name 
of  dean  of  American  forestry.  The  passing  of  Dr.  Fer¬ 
now  has  a  more  practical  significance  when  we  stop  to 
consider  the  important  part  that  forestry  as  a  science 
and  profession  has  reached  at  the  present  time. 
Potato  growers  in  the  vicinity  of  Fishers,  in  Western 
New  York,  have  been  making  baste  in  the  moving  of  the 
potato  crop  which  they  have  stored,  fearing  that  the 
weather  will  impair  country  roads  so  as  to  make  deliv¬ 
ery  to  the  ears  impossible.  Irish  Cobblers  were  shipped 
for  seed  to  Charleston,  S.  at  a  price  of  $1.25  per 
bushel. 
The  Brown  Swiss  cattle  are  attracting  considerable 
attention  this  month  in  the  Genesee  Valley  cow  testing 
association  as  a  result  of  the  yearly  record  which  an 
individual  in  the  herd  of  \V.  W.  &  W.  B.  Stewart  at 
Lin  wood  has  established.  This  individual  produced 
6,862  lbs.,  of  milk  and  307  lbs.  of  butter  in  one  year 
under  ordinary  two  milkings  a  day  conditions.  E.  A.  F. 
A  New  Transcontinental  Canal 
There  has  been  much  talk  at  Washington  about  a  new 
canal  between  t he  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans.  Evi¬ 
dently  such  a  new  waterway  will  be  needed  within  20 
years.  Traffic  is  increasing,  and  it  was  thought  that 
profits  from  operating  the  Panama  Canal  would  go  far 
toward  paying  for  a  new  canal,  to  be  dug  over  the  old 
Nicaragua  route.  This  would  follow  the  San  Juan 
River  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  across  the  lake.  At 
the  time  the  Panama  Canal  was  dug  there  were  many 
who  preferred  this  Nicaragua  route.  The  latest  figures 
are  that  it  would  cost  about  one  billion  dollars  to  build 
the  new  canal.  That  is  more  than  twice  as  much  as  the 
original  estimates  called  for  when  the  Panama  Canal 
was  finally  selected.  The  increased  cost  will  come  in 
price  of  material  and  machinery,  and  in  wages  for  work¬ 
men.  It  is  not  likely  that  a  full  labor  supply  could  be 
obtained  at  this  time  for  such  a  gigantic  Operation. 
While  I  lie  new  canal  will  be  needed  in  the  future,  no 
one  feels  like  approaching  the  American  people  with  a 
scheme  for  raising  one  billion  dollars  of  extra  debt.  We 
are  taxed  beyond  endurance  as  it  is.  The  Panama 
Canal  has  proved  a  good  investment,  particularly  for 
the  Pacific  Coast  States.  Many  of  us  can  remember  the 
Spanish  War  and  the  great  race  of  the  warship  Oregon 
around  the  continent,  so  as  to  take  her  place  in  the  line¬ 
up  around  Cuba.  The  canal  has  helped  California  and 
New  England  through  water  transportation  of  farm 
produce  one  way  and  manufactured  goods  the  other,  but 
it  is  injuring  the  business  of  certain  railroads  and  some 
of  the  interior  cities.  Sooner  or  later  a  new  canal  will 
be  needed,  but  we  have  now  all  the  public  debts  we  can 
handle. 
Investigating  the  Roadside  Market 
I  have  been  a  reader  of  The  R.  N.-Y.  for  several 
years,  and  have  noticed  at  various  times  several  articles 
on  roadside  markets.  T  have  been  interested  in  them, 
and  have  been  considering  starting  something  of  tin 
sort  at  my  home.  My  home  is  located  on  tin*  Daniel 
Webster  Highway,  which  is  the  main  trunk  highway 
to  the  White  Mountains.  During  the  .Summer  months 
the  travel  by  here  averages  from  one  to  five  thousand 
autos  per  day.  While  there  are  many  small  roadside 
stands  selling  gasoline,  candy  and  ice  cream,  there  is 
no  stand  near  here  that  specializes  in  farm  products 
My  idea  would  be  to  erect  an  attractive  but  inexpensi\e 
stand  near  my  home,  selling  strawberries,  vegetables, 
eggs  and  other  farm  produce.  I  have  about  four  acres 
of  land  and  would  raise  as  much  as  I  could  and  bii.\  the 
rest  from  other  farmers  in  the  vicinity.  Do  you  think 
this  would  pay?  Could  it  be  done  without  doing  busi 
ness  on  Sundays?  If  I  sold  produce  on  commission 
for  my  neighbors,  what  would  be  a  fair  commission  to 
charge  them?  How  should  prices  be  determined?  I 
would  like  to  hear  the  experience  of  some  of  the  readers 
who  have  tried  out  the  roadside  market  idea.  o.  E.  L. 
New  1  lainpshire. 
UR  opinion  is  that  Sunday  selling  would  be  de¬ 
manded  by  many  buyers.  It  is  rather  doubtful 
if  there  would  be  any  great  success  without  Sunday 
selling,  and  that  we  consider  the  worst  feature  of 
the  business.  If  you  sell  on  commission  for  neigh¬ 
bors,  or  buy  to  sell  again,  look  tip  your  State  laws 
before  you  begin,  or  you  may  get  into  trouble  with¬ 
out  a  license.  A  straight  commission  of  10  per  cent, 
if  the  goods  are  brought  to  you,  would  be  fair.  Of 
course,  we  want  all  the  experience  that  can  be  re¬ 
ported. 
Are  Farmers  Facing  Ruin 
On  page  87  of  The  R.  X.-Y.  is  a  letter  from  a  New 
York  Stale  farmer,  complaining  of  increase  of  $13,300 
in  valuation  of  property  and  big  increase  in  taxes.  He 
closed  bis  biter  with  this  sentence;  “Fortunately  I  can 
stand  a  deficit  a  few  years  more,  and  I  hope  by  that 
time  to  sell  and  get  out  from  under.” 
Unfortunately  there  are  thousands  upon  thousands 
of  farmers  in  the  United  States  that  are  in  like  situa¬ 
tion.  This  man  know  his  soil,  the  most  profitable  kinds 
of  farming,  in  bis  community,  and,  above  all,  he  is 
familiar  with  bis  markets.  Yet  be  cannot,  make  it  pay. 
Now,  what  l  would  like  to  ask  is,  if  an  innocent:  party 
who  is  not  acquainted  with  these  local  conditions  should 
buy  the  farm,  what  possibility  has  be  of  making  it 
pay?  Would  it  not  be ’better  for  farmers  to  get  to¬ 
gether,  find  out  what  they  want,  how  to  get  what  they 
want,  and  then  see  that  they  get  it,  instead  of  trying 
to  unload  “white  elephants”  on  innocent  parties? 
In  editorial  on  page  120  you  ((note  from  the  Christian, 
Herald  about  the  net  income  of  farmers  being  $185  per 
year.  This  item  I  saw  some  time  ago,  and  seeing  it 
again  in  The  it.  N.Y.  hits  prompted  me  to  send  you  the 
inclosed  clipping.  You  will  note  in  Mr.  Frazier’s  coun¬ 
ty  “that  107  quarters  were  sold  in  II  months.”  Just 
think;  the  sheriff  sold,  under  the  hammer,  nearly  50 
square  miles  of  farms  in  one  county. 
Legislation  should  not  be  so  much  to  make  it  easier 
to  borrow,  but  to  see  that  the  net  earnings  or  income 
from  the  farm  is  much  larger.  It  is  not  that  we  need 
greater  opportunity  to  get  into  financial  difficulties. 
But  help  should  be  given  to  get  out  and  then  he  able  to 
keep  out.  c.  M.  Rhodes. 
Pennsylvania. 
R.  N.-Y.  The  clipping  referred  to  gives  an  interview 
with  it  banker  in  Minneapolis  who  has  interviewed 
many  farmers  in  the  Northwest.  He  finds  an  appall¬ 
ing  number  of  suicides,  bankrupts  and  mortgage  fore¬ 
closures  in  that  territory.  Taxes  are  increasing,  as  are 
most  expenses,  while  prices  of  grain  and  potatoes  and 
hay  have  fallen. 
