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The  Rural  New-Yorker 
THE  B  US  1  If  ESS  FARMER'S  PAPER 
A  National  Weekly  Journal  for  Country  and  Suburban  Home* * 
Established  tsso 
Puhlbhrd  irrrkly  by  the  Rural  Publi»bluf  Company,  333  t»*t  80th  Street,  New  fork 
Herbert  W.  Collingwood,  President  and  Editor. 
John  J.  Dillon,  Treasurer  and  General  Manager. 
Wm  F.  Dillon,  Secretary.  Mrs.  E.  T.  Rotle,  Associate  Editor. 
L.  H.  MURPHY,  Circulation  Manager. 
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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  t  hat  every  advertisement  in  this  paper  is  backed  by  a  respon¬ 
sible  rerun.  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,  VOU  should  mention  The  Rural  New- 
Yorker  when  writing  the  advertiser. 
AST  week  the  suggestion  was  made  that  the, 
numerous  leaders  in  niilk  organizations  ought 
to  practice  a  little  co-operation  among  themselves. 
They  have  for  some  years  taught  the  rank  and  tile 
of  farmers  that  co-operation  work  is  their  only  sal¬ 
vation,  and  we  agree  with  them.  Now  we  have  the 
spectacle  of  several  dozen  organizations,  each  trying 
to  co-operate  within  its  own  ranks,  but  cutting  out 
the  “co”  when  it  comes  to  dealing  with  the  other 
crowd.  Now.  gentlemen,  leaders  and  teachers  of  eo- 
oj>erative  work,  why  not  give  the  world  a  fine  ex¬ 
ample  of  co-operative  leadership  by  getting  together 
into  one  group? 
* 
F1I.  LACY,  Farm  Bureau  Agent  of  Dutchess 
.  Co.,  N.  Y.,  has  held  his  position  for  10  years — 
or  will  have  ended  that  period  on  July  1  of  this 
year.  Is  not  this  a  record  of  continuous  service,  at 
least  in  New  York  State?  The  It.  N.-Y.  seems  to 
have  worked  out  several  records  of  interest  to  agri¬ 
culturists.  Now,  what  is  the  record  of  the  faithful 
Farm  Bureau  Agent? 
I  have  a  valuable  dog  and  I  have  a  neighbor  who 
would  like  to  have  that  dog.  The  dog  would  sometimes 
go  to  his  place,  and  they  would  feed  him  and  keep  him 
in  their  house  nights,  or  in  the  barn.  They  try  every 
way  to  keep  him,  and  now  lie  hardly  comes  home  at  all 
any  more.  Can  anything  he  done  about,  it?  I  want  to 
know  if  they  have  a  right  to  harbor  that  dog. 
New  York.  mrs.  h.  w. 
( 
TRANCE  as  it  may  seem,  we  have  had  several 
cases  just  like  this  one.  It  is  no  crime  to  alien¬ 
ate  the  affection  of  a  dog.  If  the  neighbors  make  a 
happier  home  for  him  he  will  he  likely  to  accept  it. 
Very  likely  a  man  or  woman  could  prove  ownership, 
in  a  dog  properly  licensed  and  tagged,  but  if  the 
dog  preferred,  to  go  where  the  bed  is  softer,  and 
there  is  more  meat  on  the  hone,  what  can  you  do 
to  those  who  entice  him?  We  see  nothing  except 
competition  in  entertainment,  or  restraint.  You  can 
give  the  dog  finer  quarters,  a  better  dinner  and  more 
agreeable  society  than  he  can  get  at  the  neighbor's, 
or  you  can  chain  him  and  compel  him  to  stay  where 
lie  belongs.  That’s  where  he  should  remain,  any¬ 
way.  Let  other  members  of  the  family  do  the 
visiting. 
I  am  desirous  of  obtaining  out-of-door  work.  1  am 
23  years  old,  athletic  and  domestic.  Can  you  inform 
me  of  opportunities  for  farmerettes?  One  or  two 
other  young  women  would  ho  willing  to  accompany  me. 
lias  farmerette  work  been  entirely  discontinued  since 
the  war?  Is  there  an  agency  or  agricultural  bureau 
to  which  we  might  apply?  H- 
Massachusetts. 
E  hear  very  little  about  the  farmerette  now, 
and  we  think  this  form  of  war  work  has  been 
largely  given  up.  There  are  usually  places  for 
strong  and  capable  women  to  work  on  farms,  usu¬ 
ally  at  picking  and  packing  fruit  or  vegetables,  but 
the  demand  such  as  was  started  during  the  war  has 
died  out.  There  is  great  need  of  women  to  help  in 
farmhouses.  One  woman  who  recently  applied  for 
a  position  as  housekeeper  had  136  applications!  It 
cannot  he  said  that  war  work  demonstrated  any 
great  success  of  women  as  hired  men. 
A  number  of  Kansas  jack  rabbits  have  been  released 
in  Worcester  County  by  Deputy  Game  Warden  Charles 
E.  Hill.  These  rabbits  are  larger  than  the  Maryland 
variety,  and  resemble  dwarf  mules— Baltimore  News. 
AND  we  think  the  people  who  are  importing  these 
rabbits  resemble  full-sized  mules,  if  not  the 
paternal  parent  of  these  hybrids!  In  several  of  the 
Eastern  States  these  jack  rabbits  are  being  imported 
by  the  carload.  For  what  purpose?  Apparently  to 
make  a  little  sport  for  hunters.  The  farmers:  are 
to  provide  food  for  these  pests  and  stand  loss  from 
their,  depredations.  Many  a  fruit,  grower  finds  , his 
trees  girdled  and  ruined  when  the  snow  melts,  and 
<lht  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
lie  is  able  to  see  how  these  infernal  jacks  have 
passed  the  Winter.  The  plea  that  they  add  sensibly 
co  the  food  supply  is  nonsense.  They  destroy  in 
trees  and  crops  50  times  the  value  of  the  food  they 
will  ever  provide.  The  rabbits  nearly  ruined  Aus¬ 
tralia,  and  that  incident  in  history  ought  to  be  a 
warning  to  these  shortsighted  individuals  who  are 
turning  these  jack  rabbits  loose  in  our  orchards. 
* 
THE  recent  death  of  Stephen  Francisco  of  New 
Jersey  recalls  to  mind  the  wonderful  changes 
which  have  come  in  the  milk  business  during  the 
past  generation.  Francisco  was  the  man  who  orig¬ 
inated  the  name  of  “certified  milk.”  Thirty-three 
years  ago  The  R.  N.-Y.  printed  the  first  account  of 
his  operations.  lie  started  with  a  herd  of  15  cows 
and  heifers,  peddling  milk — dipping  it  out  of  the 
can,  as  was  then  the  general  rule.  He  became  con¬ 
vinced  that  the  way  to  get  out  of  the  rut  of  com¬ 
mon  dairying  was  to  prove  the  falsity  of  the  old 
saying  that  “milk  is  milk.”  So  he  invited  the  med¬ 
ical  men  and  inspectors  of  the  towns  where  his  milk 
was  sold  to  come  and  inspect  his  herd  and  stables, 
and  suggest  any  changes  that  would  finally  permit 
them  to  “certify”  that  the  milk  he  sold  was  clean 
and  pure.  At  that  time  it  was  one  of  the  most  rad¬ 
ical  or  revolutionary  things  that  a  milkman  could 
suggest.  It  was  carried  out  successfully,  however, 
and  Francisco’s  business  grew  until  finally  he  had 
nearly  1.000  cows  on  liis  farm — the  hay  and  grain 
shipped  in  from  all  over  the  country,  since  that 
time  new  methods  of  handling  milk,  new  methods 
of  testing  it,  and  new  values  of  milk  in  the  human 
diet  have  been  developed,  and  all  these  things  have 
helped  increase  the  consumption.  In  this  rushing 
age  we  are  likely  to  forget  the  beginning  of  things. 
We  fail  to  do  justice  to  the  pioneers  even  though 
they  did  their  work  a  short  generation  back.  The 
scientific  men  with  their  chemistry  and  bacteriology 
have  done  great  things  for  dairying,  but  they  have 
not  done  it  all.  Stephen  Francisco,  a  plain  dairy¬ 
man,  ali}0  did  great  things  for  the  cow  and  the  cow 
men.  He  used  to  say  that  lie  could  tell  the  value  of 
a  cow  for  dairying  just  by  looking  in  her  face! 
* 
UR  old  friend  Dr.  W.  F.  Massey  passed  out  of 
this  life  on  March  30.  We  have  told  our  read¬ 
ers  how  Dr.  Massey  was  stricken  with  paralysis  on 
last.  Christmas  Day.  There  was  no  hope  for  liis  re¬ 
covery — liis  life  slowly  ebbed  away.  lie  was  83 
years  old.  and  lived  a  busy  and  eventful  life.  A 
veteran  of  the  Civil  War,  the  end  of  the  struggle 
found  liis  section  in  ruins  and  liis  private  fortune 
wrecked.  He  went  bravely  and  cheerfully  to  the 
task  of  rebuilding  tlie  South  on  a  firmer  and  more 
useful  social  foundation.  We  are  safe  in  saying 
that  no  man  lias  ever  done  more  for  the  Southern 
people  and. for  the  great  foundation  industry  of  the 
South  than  this  good  friend  who  lias  passed  away. 
He  was  for  years  closely  associated  with  The  R. 
N.-Y'.,  and  our -people  learned  to  love  him  as  a  man 
and  to  respect  and  admire  him  as  a  wise  counselor 
and  teacher.  His  unique  place  in  agricultural  edu¬ 
cation  will  never  he  completely  filled.  It  is  a  pleas¬ 
ure  and  comfort  to  us  to  realize  that  we  were  able  to 
print  our  tribute  to  liis  work  before  he  passed  away. 
* 
F  anyone  had  said  25  years  ago  that  the  milk  goat 
is  likely  to  butt  the  dairy  cow  out  of  part  of  the 
job  of  providing  Americans  with  milk,  he  would  have 
been  laughed  at.  Perhaps  lie  will  be  now.  hut  all  the 
same  we  think  the  statement  is  true.  Few  people 
realize  how  rapidly  the  milk  goat  is  increasing.  Her 
development  as  an  economical  milk  producer  has 
just  begun.  Following  the  development  of  the  dairy 
cow,  the  milk  goat  of  20  years  hence  will  he  an 
efficient  milk  producer— a  genuine  woodshed  cow. 
All.  around  our  big  cities  there  will  he  in  the  future 
thousands  of  little  farms  or  gardens  where  fruit 
and  vegetables  will  he  grown  intensively.  There 
will  he  little  room  for  a  cow  on  these  places,  but  a 
goat  or  two  will  he  kept  to  supply  milk.  We  think 
the  goat  will  live  down  the  prejudice  which  now 
hangs  over  her,  and  that  in  years  to  come  she  will 
displace  thousands  of  cows  in  the  job  of  providing 
milk  for  suburban  families.  Don’t  believe  it?  Well, 
we  can  remember  when  it  was  said  that  the  light 
ear  could  not  drive  tlie  horse  off  the  road,  that  the 
milking  machine  could  not  work,  and  that  cream 
must  always  he  skimmed  by  hand.  We  are,  there¬ 
for.  a  little  cautious  about  saying  it  oan't  be  done! 
*  '  r,  , 
IN  several  counties  of  England  the  farm  laborers 
or  hired  men  have  gone  on  a  strike  against  a  re¬ 
duction  of  wages.  The  farmers  are  suffering  from 
low  prices  and  claim  that  they  cannot  live.,  apd  pay 
April  14, 
what  the  laborers  demand.  The  hired  men  have  ;i 
union,  and  are  well  organized.  It  is  said  that  both 
sides  resort  to  the  radiophone  to  broadcast  their 
story  and  argument.  It  is  impossible  on  this  side 
of  the  Atlantic  to  fully  understand  the  justice  of 
the  struggle.  We  understand,  however,  that  the 
conditions  are  much  like  our  own.  The  workmen  in 
town  and  city  have  been  able  to  hold  their  war 
wages,  or  close  to  them,  while  the  unorganized  farm¬ 
ers  have  been  forced  to  accept  what  is  offered  them. 
The  significant  thing  about  it  is  that  this  marks  tin* 
beginning  of  a  combination  among  hired  men.  If 
such  an  organization  could  be  carried  out  as  thor¬ 
oughly  as  that  of  the  labor  unions  of  city  workmen, 
it  would  have  a  powerful  effect  upon  our  American 
production.  But  there  are  only  about  30,000  hired 
men  left  in  New  York  State,  for  Eastern  farming 
has  come  to  be  pretty  much  of  a  family  affair. 
* 
UR  potato  growers  are  in  need  of  a  new  form 
of  digger  and  picker.  At  present  there  is  too 
much  hand  labor  in  picking  the  crop.  We  need  an 
attachment  to  a  tractor  like  the  Fordson  which  will 
scoop  out  the  potatoes  and  carry  them  up  behind  the 
tractor.  There  should  he  a  seat  . where  a  man  may 
ride  and  throw  out  stones  and  direct  the  potatoes 
into  a  wagon  box  or  grader.  It  does  not  seem  that  a 
device  of  this  sort  should  be  too  much  for  our  in¬ 
ventors,  and  it  would  certainly  he  a  time  saver. 
One  objection  may  he  urged  against  it;  this  me¬ 
chanical  picking  might  bruise  the  tubers  too  much  : 
but  at  any  rate  an  effort  should  he  made  to  overcome 
the  present  handicap  of  expensive  hand  picking. 
Some  years  ago  a  farmer  on  a  trip  through  New 
England  saw  a  man  driving  a  yoke  of  oxen  up  and 
down  what  seemed  to  he  a  field  of  thick  crab  grass 
and  weeds.  It  proved  to  he  a  neglected  potato  field. 
The  oxen  were  hitched  to  a  strong  potato  digger, 
with  a  large  stone  boat  trailing  behind.  The  digger 
ripped  up  the  tubers,  shook  them  free  and  dropped 
most,  of  them  in  the  stone  boat.  It.  was  cheap  dig¬ 
ging,  with  but  little  picking  up.  The  proposed  at¬ 
tachment  would  not  answer  for  seed  potatoes,  hut  it 
ought  to  work  for  most  of  the  table  crop. 
* 
LITE  a  controversy  lias  arisen  over  the  question* 
of  exhibiting  Western-grown  fruit  at  the  com¬ 
ing  big  apple  show  in  New  York  City.  The  Western 
men,  having  secured  practical  control  of  the  market, 
insist  that  they  should  have  a  share  in  the  exposi- 
tion.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Eastern  growers  say 
that  the  entire  object  of  the  show  is  to  promote  an 
interest  in  Eastern-grown  fruit.  The  plan  of  the 
show  was  conceived  and  is  being  executed  entirely 
by  Eastern  men.  They  state  frankly  that  their  ob¬ 
ject  is  to  make  New  York  consumers  understand 
that  superior  fruit  is  produced  right  here — on  land 
which  lies  naturally  in  what  may  he  called  the  con¬ 
tributing  market  ground  to  this  city.  As  a  business 
proposition,  money  spent  by  New  Yorkers  for  apple- 
grown  within  200  miles  from  home  will  be  more 
likely  to  increase  business  here  than  money  paid  for 
produce  grown  3.000  miles  away.  There  is  every 
good  reason  why. sales  of  Eastern  fruit  should  be 
increased  here.  There  is  likely  to  he  a  heavy  over¬ 
production  during  the  next  few  years,  and  our  local 
growers  should  have  first  opportunity  in  the  home 
market.  We  think  they  are  justified  in  saying  that 
this  exposition  belongs  to  them  and  that  they  will 
confine  it  to  exhibits  of  Eastern  apples.  There  is 
sure  to  he  trade  rivalry  between  the  two  sections. 
We  believe  that  Eastern  apples  are  superior,  but  it 
will  take  time  and  money  to  make  the  consumers 
realize  the  fact  and,  frankly,  this  proposed  apple 
show  is  part  of  the  campaign. 
Brevities 
Sweeping  with  a  wet  broom  makes  least  dust. 
Wiiat  sort  of  a  Winter  have  tlie  bees  “enjoyed”? 
We  regard  the  robin  as  a  robber  and  the  crow  as  a 
thief. 
There  are  no  barbs  on  the  first  dish  of  rhubarb 
sauce. 
Candle  the  eggs' and  pick  out  the  “spots”  before  they 
are  shipped. 
You  can’t  keep  good  men  down.  We  notice  the  rhu¬ 
barb  and  asparagus  beginning  to  poke  up  through  the 
soil. 
i We  never  had  so  many  questions  about  blood  spots 
in  eggs.  They  are  due  to  the  bursting  of  little  veins  as 
the  egg  is  laid.  There  is  no  particular  cure  for  it. 
We  have  said  it  before,  and  we  say  it  again,  though 
it  makes  50  times  we  have  tried  to  explain,  there  is  one 
riling  economy  cannot  endure;  it’s  mixing  wood  ashes 
with  chicken  manure. 
Remember  that  the  fact  of  “bringing  up”  a  child  hi 
your  family — earing  for  it  from  infancy  to  adult  age- 
does  not  mean  legal  adoption.  Definite  legal  papers  must 
be  signed  and  recorded  to  make  adoption  sure;  and  re¬ 
member,  too,  that  an  adopted  child  will  have  the  same 
rights  to  your  property  as  your  own  child. 
