556 
Pie  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
April  7,  1923  • 
The  Rural  New-Yorker 
TIIE  BUSINESS  FARMER’S  PAPER 
A.  National  Weekly  Journal  lor  Country  and  Suburban  Home* 
Established,  tsso 
Published  weekly  by  the  Rural  Publishing  Company,  333  West  80tb  Street.  New  York 
Herbert  W.  Colling  wood,  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.ot.  Remit  in  money 
order,  express  order,  personal  check  or  bank  draft. 
Entered  at  Mew  York  Post  Office  as  Second  Class  Matter. 
Advertising  rates,  $1.00  per  agate  line—'  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- 
,  .ble  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  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. 
ONE  of  our  readers  sends  tlie  following,  with  the 
suggestion  that  the  Hope  Farm  man,  being  full 
of  new  inventions,  might  “pull  this  prize” : 
The  American  Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty 
to  Animals  announced  yesterday  the  offering  of  $10,000 
for  a  new  device  or  apparatus  that  will  minimize  the 
suffering  of  animals  when  slaughtered  for  food  purposes. 
The  society’s  committee  on  humane  slaughtering  has 
created  the  prize.  The  conditions  and  reservations  cov¬ 
ering  the  competition  will  be  made  known  in  a  circular. 
Dr.  W.  Reed  Blair,  representing  the  society,  after  an 
inspection  of  the  slaughtering  methods  in  large  packing 
plants  in  Europe,  finds  that  the  American  methods  are 
less  merciful. 
The  Hope  Farm  man  knows  just  what  he  could  do 
with  the  $10,000  if  he  had  it,  but  his  mind  does  not 
seem  to  run  in  the  direction  of  killing.  No  doubt 
there  are  many  readers  who  could  handle  the  money 
to  advantage.  There  is  no  harm  in  their  working 
for  the  prize  if  they  choose. 
pk 
I  do  not  know  why  1  keep  taking  The  R.  N.-Y.,  as 
the  advertisements  are  Eastern  firms,  and  too  far  from 
here,  and  many  other  items  are  useless  for  Western 
farm  renters,  but  there  is  some  spirit  in  the  paper 
which  I  cannot  find  in  any  other.  And  so  I  would  miss 
your  paper  and  would  sooner  give  up  any  other. 
North  Dakota.  leo  huebl. 
E  consider  that  as  fine  a  statement  as  could 
be  made.  Naturally  it  is  the  ambition  of 
all  human  beings  to  excel  in  knowledge  and  power, 
and  it  may  be  said  that  such  ambition  is  peculiarly 
strong  in  journalism.  Yet  knowledge  and  ability 
will  never  carry  far  unless  it  contains  the  flavor 
of  plain  human  nature,  which  our  friend  calls  the 
spirit.  We  make  uo  effort  to  talk  down  to  our 
readers,  or  to  shout  up  to  them.  We  try  to  live 
right  with  them,  and  let  them  express  their  own 
thought.  The  true  spirit  of  life  is  found  in  common 
things. 
.lust  what  is  the  status  of  a  public  school  teacher  in 
her  own  schoolroom  during  school  hours  in  this  State? 
A  mother  in  my  district  insists  on  going  to  school  every 
day  and  annoying  both  pupils  and  teacher  by  criticizing 
the  teacher  before  her  pupils,  and  exciting  the  pupils 
u  ith  fear.  The  teacher  asked  this  mother  to  leave,  but 
the  mother  would  not.  f.  h.  b. 
NDER  direction  of  the  Board  of  Education  a 
teacher  is  supposed  to  be  master  of  the  school¬ 
room.  Parents  of  course  are  privileged  to  come  at 
any  time.  They  can  make  complaint  if  they  see  fit, 
though  it  is  usually  a  foolish  and  disturbing  thing 
to  go  into  the  schoolroom  and  make  open  criticism. 
This  should  he  made  before  tlie  school  board.  The 
woman  mentioned  has  no  business  to  act  in  this  way 
before  the  school.  If  she  will  not  stop  it  on  fair 
request  of  the  teacher,  the  school  board  should  step 
in  and  end  the  trouble.  It  is  impossible  to  have  a 
good  school  when  people  act  in  this  way. 
X 
lie  who  is  firmly  seated  in  authority  soon  learns  to 
think  security  and  not  progress  the  highest  lesson  of 
statecraft. 
IIESE  few  lines  by  James  Russell  Lowell  state 
one  of  tlie  truest  observations  of  human  nature. 
We  have  all  seen  men  start  out  to  work  some  reform. 
So  long  as  they  are  on  the  outside,  without  office  or 
power,  they  work  honestly  for  progress.  Finally 
they  win,  and  are  put  in  a  position  where  they  may 
control.  In  nine  eases  out  of  10  they  change  their 
views.  Sometimes  they  are  sobered  by  responsibil¬ 
ity,  and  honestly  feel  that  it  is  better  to  stand  still 
and  be  “safe  and  sane.”  Again,  they  find  themselves 
so  hedged  in  and  tied  up  with  red  tape  and  politics 
that  they  do  not  try  to  be  free.  Then  again,  a  little 
taste  of  office  makes  them  hungry  for  more.  Too 
much  “progress”  might  .move  them  away  from  the 
job.  It  is  a  matter  of  history  how  certain  bosses 
wanted  to  put  Theodore  Roosevelt  out  of  active  pub- 
lie  life,  so  they  had  him  buried  in  the  office  of  vice- 
president.  The  truth  is  that  the  genuine  reformer 
does  not  make  a  good  office-holder.  He  would  far 
better  remain  on  the  job  of  awakening  his  fellow 
men.  A  good  critic  rarely  makes  a  good  executive. 
The  two  are  not  usually  combined  in  one  person.  We 
all  think  we  know  how  public  work  should  be  done, 
and  how  badly  it  is  done  at  present.  Put  us  on  the 
job  of  executing  the  laws  and  we  would  find  it  much 
easier  to  tell  about  it  than  to  criticize.  If  a  red- 
hot  reformer  went  into  office  and  proceeded  to  act  as 
forcibly  as  he  talked,  he  would  probably,  in  the  end, 
do  more  harm  than  good.  While  the  excitement 
lasted  the  crowd  would  be  with  him,  hut  when  they 
found  that  “reform”  means  temporary  loss  or  work 
and  self-denial,  they  would  weary  of  the  job — while 
the  politicians  are  never  weary.  The  fact  is  that 
“the  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness”  does  not 
fit  well  into  the  leading  part  in  an  opera,  though  it 
is  often  more  important.  Let  the  reformer  be  satis¬ 
fied  with  his  job  of  trying  to  give  publicity  to  reform. 
X 
IRST  and  last,  much  advice  lias  been  given  to 
American  farmers  about  producing  silk.  The 
propaganda  bobs  up  every  now  and  then,  and  is 
made  very  plausible.  It  is  true  that  American  farm¬ 
ers  are  hunting  for  new  crops.  It  is  also  true  that  a 
great  deal  of  money  goes  out  of  this  country  for  raw 
silk.  But  these  two  truths  added  together  will  not 
prove  that  Americans  can  make  a  living  at  silk  pro 
duction.  The  fact  is  that  no  one,  anywhere,  engaged 
in  the  rearing  of  silkworms,  has  ever  made  anything 
more  than  a  mere  pittance  out  of  tlie  business.  Only 
in  a  country  where  the  scale  of  living  is  very  low 
can  human  beings  exist  at  silk  making.  It  is  no 
regular  business  for  an  American  wlio  lives  where 
the  scale  of  living  is  high.  Just  as  a  successful 
poultrymaii  must  he  half  hen,  so  a  successful  silk 
producer  must  be  half  -worm,  and  that  is  no  occu¬ 
pation  for  an  American.  The  super-optimist  will  say 
“there  goes  that  old  pessimist  again,  knocking  a  new 
industry.”  There  are  some  industries  that  ought  to 
be  knocked.  Among  them  we  include  oil  stock  pro¬ 
motion,  unit  orchards,  big  investments  in  “novelties,” 
and  silkworm  culture  for  America  ns. 
ARMERS  everywhere  are  casting  about  for  new 
crops.  They  are  ready  to  experiment  in  a  small 
way  with  almost  anything.  Among  others  suggested 
is  broom  corn.  There  seems  to  be  an  idea  that  the 
market  for  the  brush  cannot  be  overstocked.  That  is 
wrong.  It  would  be  very  easy  to  produce  such  a 
crop  of  broom  corn  that  it  could  hardly  be  given 
away,  for  there  is  no  outlet  for  the  brush  except  for 
making  brooms.  There  might  he  a  fair  chance  in 
some  new  community  to  organize  a  small  broom¬ 
making  factory  and  have  it  use  up  the  local  product. 
Beyond  that  a  large  crop  of  broom  corn  will  be  much 
of  a  gamble. 
X 
N  page  485  8.  E.  Bryner  argued  that  with  all 
its  faults  and  shortcomings  the  proposed  school 
law  should  be  passed  at  once  and  amended  later. 
Now  Mr.  Bryner  says : 
Your  poiut  is  well  taken.  What  I  desired  to  bring 
out  was  the  condition  of  semi-apathy  prevalent  at  pres¬ 
ent  with  most  country  people,  due  to  discouragement, 
high  taxes,  low  prices  and  many  other  bothersome  mat¬ 
ters,  most  of  which  have  been  brought  out  time  and 
time  again  in  The  R.  N.-Y.  In  other  words,  we  seem 
to  be  elected  for  a  new  school  law  sooner  or  later ;  there¬ 
fore,  let  it  come.  That  is  the  attitude  I  was  intending 
to  typify.  However,  I  am  pleased  to  see  you  are  arous¬ 
ing  a  spirited  discussion,  really  greater  than  I  expected 
could  be  done  within  so  short  a  time,  and  it  is  all  for 
the  best.  If  the  framers  of  this  theoretical  legislation 
could  spend  just  a  few  years  in  the  Simon-pure  country 
and  make  a  close  study  of  things  as  they  exist,  I  am 
certain  their  viewpoint  would  be  vastly  benefited  and 
measurably  broadened. 
The  great  majority  of  our  rural  people  are  taking 
a  sober  view  of  this  matter.  We  think  they  are  wise 
in  refusing  to  be  rushed  into  legislation  which  they 
do  not  fully  understand.  As  stated  before,  we  will 
guarantee  to  develop  a  discussion  which  will  carry 
the  matter  clearly  into  every  school  district.  We 
do  not  intend  to  start  with  the  assumption  that  the 
Committee  of  Twenty-one  and  its  hill  must  of  neces¬ 
sity  be  right,  but  we  shall  try  to  pick  the  bill  apart, 
section  by  section,  and  let  our  readers  understand 
just  what  it  meaus,  so  far  as  such  a  thing  can  be 
done  in  advance  of  practical  operations.  We  believe 
that  such  analysis  will  popularize  the  bill  if  it  is 
right.  At  any  rate,  that  is  our  conception  of  the 
way  this  most  important  question  should  be  settled. 
* 
HE  story  is  told  of  the  boy  who  said  he  fully 
understood  the  lesson  until  the  teacher  ex¬ 
plained  it.  Then  he  got  mixed  up.  This  boy  worked 
the  problem  out  in  his  own  mind  by  simple  reason¬ 
ing.  The  teacher  had  to  do  it  by  certain  rules  or 
forms,  and  the  boy  fell  down  over  the  rules.  There 
was  a  man  lost  one  night  in  the  darkness  and  fog. 
He  wandered  on  until  finally  he  saw  a  dim  light.  He 
went  straight  to  it.  over  fields  and  fences,  through  a 
swamp,  until  finally  he  came  to  a  farmhouse  where 
he  found  light  and  comfort  by  the  fire.  The  farmer 
heard  his  story  and  found  fault.  “You  came  the 
wrong  way!  Why  did  you  cut  across  the  fields? 
Why  didn’t  you  go  around  the  road?  That's  the 
proper  way  to  go — where  others  do!  You  ought  to 
go  out  again  and  come  the  right  way.”  The  great 
majority  of  people  want  to  go  straight  to  the  mark 
when  they  see  the  light.  They  run  upon  a  cut-and- 
dried  world  wherein  teachers  and  “leaders”  have 
devised  forms  and  rules  which  we  must  all  recognize 
or  be  known  as  “cranks”  or  “nuts,”  or  worse.  We 
think  that  many  of  these  rules  and  laws  of  society 
are  much  like  bricks  put  in  the  path  of  an  automo¬ 
bile. 
❖ 
IF  you  used  certified  seed  potatoes,  would  you 
treat  them  for  scab?  We  certainly  would,  as  a 
precaution  and  insurance.  The  expense  is  not  great, 
and  this  program  is  a  part  of  “Safety  first.”  The 
certified  seed  cannot  be  guaranteed  as  absolutely  free 
from  scab.  A  little  thought  about  the  nature  of  the 
disease  will  show  how  impossible  it  would  be  to 
guarantee  absolute  freedom  from  the  disease  germs. 
It  is  possible  to  rogue  out  diseased  and  inferior 
plants  while  they  are  growing,  and  to  make  sure 
that  only  strong  and  vital  seed  is  used  in  producing 
the  crop.  That  is  what  the  certificate  stands  for. 
We  have  found  the  certified  seed  far  superior  to 
common  stock,  but  as  a  further  insurance  we  think 
it  pays  to  treat  the  seed.  A  proportion  of  two  ounces 
of  corrosive  sublimate  dissolved  in  15  gallons  of 
water,  the  seed  soaked  in  it  for  DO  minutes,  will  pay. 
X 
E  have  no  end  of  questions  about  measuring 
hay  in  the  mow  or  stack,  and  estimating  the 
commercial  value  of  silage.  A  ton  of  hay  will  meas¬ 
ure  from  4.80  to  520  cubic  feet,  depending  on  the  kind 
of  hay,  its  condition,  and  the  way  it  is  packed  in. 
Probably  an  average  of  500  cubic  feet  would  be  about 
right,  but  in  any  event  this1  sort  of  estimating  is 
little  better  than  a  guess.  As  for  silage,  there  is  no 
definite  market  price  for  it.  The  value  is  usually  a 
comparative  one,  figured  at  35  per  cent  of  the  value 
of  good  mixed  hay.  Thus,  where  hay  is  worth  $20  a 
ton  in  the  mow,  a  ton  of  silage  in  the  silo  would 
be  called  worth  $7.50.  The  feeding  value  might  be 
higher  than  that,  but  the  commercial  or  selling  price 
is  fairly  put  at  35  per  cent  of  the  bay  price. 
X 
E  hear  of  a  farmer  who  was  very  active  in 
securing  credits  legislation.  He  wanted  a 
good  chance  to  borrow,  and  also  wanted  the  limit  (O' 
a  farm  loan  raised  to  $25,000.  He  can  now  make 
use  of  this  credit,  and  says  he  will  use  it,  partly  at 
least,  in  buying  land  and  stock  from  less  fortunate 
farmers  and  holding  them  for  a  rise  in  value.  That 
is  to  say,  being  a  naturally  keen  business  man,  h  * 
will  use  his  power  of  credit  for  speculative  purposes. 
Right  in  his  own  neighborhood  a  small  farmer  has 
lost  his  farm  simply  because  he  could  not  raise  $1,200 
quickly.  He  was  too  small  a  fish  for  the  banks  or 
ordinary  money  lenders.  They  did  not  call  Mm  a 
good  risk,  yet  with  a  little  financial  help  at  just  the 
right  time  he  could  have  made  good.  Personally,  we 
think  the  men  able  to  obtain  these  big  credits  should 
look  after  the  little  fellows  right  in  their  own  neigh¬ 
borhood.  The  failure  to  do  that  will  destroy  the 
most  necessary  and  valuable  thing  in  all  eo-operatice 
work. 
Brevities 
The  Loganberry,  an  American  hybrid,  is  being  culti¬ 
vated  in  France. 
Buckwheat  seems  to  be  the  most  popular  scratch 
grain.  Overeat  of  buckwheat  cakes  and  see. 
Those  who  grow  Soy  beans  for  the  first  time  should 
remember  that  inoculation  of  the  seeds  pays,  but  that 
lime  is  not  generally  needed.  The  Soy  bean  is  naturally 
an  acid  soil  plant. 
One  of  our  readers  asks  help  in  a  debate  on  the  fol¬ 
lowing  question  :  “Resolved,  that  energy  is  more  neces¬ 
sary  to  success  on  a  farm  than  education.”  Now,  which 
side  would  you  take  from  choice? 
Every  year  there  are  questions  about  feeding  smutted 
corn  to  cattle,  either  in  the  silo  or- as  dry  stalks.  There 
have  been  a  number  of  experiments,  all  showing  that 
the  smut,  fed  in  moderate  quantities,  caused  no  injury. 
The  time  has  come  for  us  to  rise,  and  pull  the  cob¬ 
webs  from  our  eyes,  to  burn  the  brush  and  milk  the  cow, 
and  teach  the  sheep  dog  his  bow-wow.  'While  Harding 
yields  his  printer’s  ink.  we’ll  pull  the  bucket  from  the 
sink,  and  irrigate  the  soil.  All  “Far  East”  needs  a 
mighty  store  of  hay  and  grain  and  feeds  galore,  so  rise 
and  do  your  part. — if.  g. 
Quite  the  usual  number  of  people  write  asking  if 
lime-sulphur  frozen  during  the  Winter  is  still  good 
for  spraying.  Why  not  ask  the  lime-sulphur?  Pour 
a  little  of  it  into  water  and  see  how  it  acts.  If  it 
spreads  and  dissolves  easily,  it  is  all  right.  Pretty  much 
the  same  is  true  of  seed  potatoes.  Ask  the  potatoes. 
Cut  a  few  of  them  and  plant  in  pots  or  baskets  and 
see  if  they  sprout  well. 
