Jht  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
751 
The  New  Rural  School  Bill 
The  new  school  bill  proposed  by  the  Committee 
of  Twenty-one  and  the  New  York  State  Department 
of  Education  failed  to  pass  the  Assembly,  and  now 
comes  up  for  thorough  discussion  by  the  rural 
people  of  the  State.  The  bill  passed  the  State  Sen¬ 
ate.  but  the  leaders  of  the  Assembly  felt  that  it  was 
the  part  of  wisdom  to  hold  the  bill  over  for  another 
session.  A  most  remarkable  combination  appeared  at 
Albany  in  an  effort  to  push  the  bill  through.  It  had 
the  support  of  Cornell  University,  the  State  Depart¬ 
ment  of  Education,  the  leaders  of  practically  all  the 
farm  organizations  in  the  State,  the  American 
Legion,  the  Federation  of  Labor  and  the  full  Com¬ 
mittee  of  Twenty -one.  On  the  face  of  it  probably  no 
more  distinguished  lobby  ever  appeared  at  Albany 
10  support  legislation  directly  affecting  our  rural 
people.  The  Assembly  leaders  recognized  all  this, 
but  they  felt  that  these. distinguished  people  did  not. 
after  all,  represent  a  majority  of  the  plain  rural 
people  who  pay  their  full  share  of  the  taxes  and 
provide  most  of  the  children.  Many  of  the  Assem¬ 
blymen  had  personal  experience  with  the  old  town¬ 
ship  law,  and  they  remembered  only  too  well  the 
cyclone  of  protest  when  that  law  was  enacted  with¬ 
out  a  full  understanding  of  what  it  would  mean. 
They  knew  well  that  if  this  bill  went  through  at  this 
time  thousands  of  country  people  would  feel  that  it 
had  been  saddled  upon  them  by  those  who  had  little 
knowledge  of  their  conditions  and  scant  sympathy 
for  them,  and  for  every  reason  they  wished  to  avoid 
another  such  uprising  as  occurred  over  the  repeal 
of  the  old  township  law.  These  evidently  were  the 
reasons  which  led  the  Assembly  leaders  to  postpone 
the  passage  of  the  bill.  For  we  must  make  it  clear 
to  our  readers  that  the  Legislature  regards  this  as 
merely  a  postponement — awaiting  the  discussion  and 
decision  of  country  people.  We  regard  it  as  certain 
that  the  next  Legislature  will  ]>ass  some  sort  of  a 
new  school  law.  The  Committee  of  Twenty-one  will 
surely  introduce  this  same  bill.  If  the  country  peo¬ 
ple  do  not  want  this  bill,  or  if  they  feel  that  it 
should  be  modified  or  changed,  they  must  make  their 
wishes  definitely  and  clearly  known,  or  otherwise, 
it  is  now  probable  that  this  bill  will  be  passed  next 
year.  We  wish  to  make  this  perfectly  clear  to  all. 
It  has  been  possible  to  obtain  this  postponement 
for  the  purpose  of  discussion.  It  is  a  fair  criticism 
of  the  Committee  of  Twenty-one  to  say  that  some 
of  their  publicity  has  been  one-sided,  if  not  unfair. 
It  is  natural  that  they  should  seek  to  put  their  best 
arguments  forward,  but  they  should  give  all  sides 
of  the  bill,  so  that  country  people  may  know  just 
what  it  will  do  to  them.  As  its  contribution  to  this 
discussion,  The  R.  N.-Y.  proposes  to  devote  fair 
space  to  the  subject  all  through  the  Summer  and 
Fall.  First  will  appear  a  fair  synopsis  of  the  bill. 
Then  we  shall  take  up  one  section  at  a  time,  and 
have  it  fully  analyzed  by  friends  of  the  bill,  and 
also  those  who  object  to  it.  We  now  have  a  trunk 
full  of  letters  and  essays  on  the  general  subject  of 
education,  but  they  get  nowhere  in  this  discussion. 
The  present  bill  makes  a  definite  and  concrete  sub¬ 
ject.  Is  it  right?  If  not.  why  is  it  wrong?  That 
is  all  there  is  to  it  right  now,  and  we  shall  hold  the 
discussion  right  down  to  those  two  points.  For 
ourselves  we  feel  that  we  should  like  to  do  some¬ 
thing  really  constructive  in  helping  to  shape  the 
educational  policy  of  rural  New  York.  We  do  not 
accept  the  view  that  just  because  the  leaders  and 
educational  experts  favor  this  bill  it  must  of  neces¬ 
sity  be  right.  We  shall  oppose  to  the  limit  any  effort 
to  force  a  school  bill  upon  the  rural  people  without 
their  consent  or  full  understanding.  At  the  same 
time  we  realize  that  there  must  be  growth  in  educa¬ 
tion  as  well  as  in  all  other  things,  and  we  hope 
through  the  proposed  discussion  to  help  bring  about 
some  mutual  agreement  that  will  help  us  all. 
Milk  Houses  on  Dairy  Farms 
Will  you  give  the  requirements  of  farms  in  regard  to 
building  a  milk  house,  as  required  by  the  Ilealrh  De¬ 
partment  of  New  York  City?  X..  s. 
HE  New  York  City  Board  of  Health  suggests  the 
following  specifications  for  milk  houses: 
The  milk  house  should  be  located  as  near  the  milking 
stable  entrance  as  possible,  but  should  have  no  direct 
connection  with  any  other  building  except  that  ice¬ 
house  may  be  in  same  building,  properly  separated  from 
milk  room  by  a  self-closing  door.  Milk  house  should 
be  built  on  comparatively  high  ground,  and  there  should 
be  no  privy,  hogpen,  stagnant  pool,  manure  pile  or 
other  source  of  contamination  within  100  ft.  If  pos¬ 
sible,  a  running  water  supply  should  be  piped  into  milk 
house,  or  it  may  be  built  over  a  properly  protected  well. 
A  rectangular  building  is  preferable,  and  should  be  of 
sufficient  size  to  store  all  milk  and  utensils,  leaving 
sufficient  room  in  which  to  strain  milk.  Ceiling  should 
be  at  least  7%  ft.  high.  Floor  should  be  of  concrete, 
and,  if  possible,  walls  to  the  height  of  .‘1  ft.  should  be  of 
the  same  material.  A  concrete  pool  should  be  provided, 
sufficient  in  size  to  store  cans  containing  all  milk  pro¬ 
duced  at  two  milkings  at  least,  and  this  pool  must  be 
of  such  depth  that  milk  cans  may  be  immersed  in  ice 
water  to  their  necks.  One  or  more  windows  must  be 
provided,  also  a  ventilator  in  roof.  These  windows, 
ventilator  and  door,  must  be  screened  from  May  1  un¬ 
til  October  1,  and  door  must  be  self-closing.  Racks 
must  be  provided  for  the  storage  of  cans,  pails  and  other 
utensils,  and  these  should  be  made  of  metal.  Milk 
house  must,  be  used  for  milk  only.  No  utensils  should 
be  washed  in  milk  house,  and  unnecessary  articles  must 
not  he  stored  therein.  If  an  engine  is  used  for  pump¬ 
ing.  it  must  be  in  a  room  separate  from  milk  and  uten¬ 
sils.  A  sufficient  supply  of  ice  must  be  provided. 
All  of  these  details  probably  will  not  be  insisted 
on.  A  tight  floor  of  any  material  will  do.  A  tank 
may  be  matte  of  wood  or  metal,  as  well  as  cement. 
Old  icehouses  without  many  of  these  specific  features 
will  pass  inspection,  provided  they  are  kept  in  a 
neat  and  clean  condition,  with  sufficient  water  and 
ice  to  cool  the  milk.  If  building  a  new  milk  house, 
however,  it  is  best  to  comply  with  the  requirements 
in  full.  The  board  has  sent  out  notices  that  milk 
houses  must  be  in  satisfactory  condition  by  July  1. 
Is  the  State  Responsible  for  Reacting 
Cows? 
A  few  months  ago  I  had  my  cows  tuberculin  tested. 
There  were  10  reactors.  They  were  appraised  and  a 
dealer  bought  the  meat  at  $15  each,  and  paid  me  the 
money.  He  shipped  them  to  New  York.  I  understand 
they  were  crowded  in  the  cars  three  or  four  days  on 
the  road.  Two  of  my  best  ones  were  killed  on  the  road 
and  the  State  will  pay  for  only  eight.  Must  I  lose  this? 
Is  there  any  possible  way  I  can  get  it  from  the  railroad? 
The  dealer  has  put  in  a  claim  for  his  loss.  L.  o.  f. 
New  York. 
HIS  case  was  submitted  to  the  Department  of 
Farms  and  Markets  at  Albany.  N.  Y.  The 
Commissioner  says  that  when  a  reacting  cow  dies 
while  on  the  way  to  the  point  of  slaughter  it  is  the 
uniform  practice  of  the  department  to  hold  that  the 
State  is  not  obligated  for  indemnities  in  such  a  case. 
It  is  quite  a  common  occurrence  for  these  reacting 
cows  to  die  before  the  time  of  their  being  tested  and 
appraised  before  slaughter.  The  lawyers  of  the  de¬ 
partment  have  carefully  examined  the  laws  govern¬ 
ing  this  matter,  and  they  have  reached  the  con¬ 
clusion  that  liability  on  the  part  of  the  State  for 
indemnities  does  not  attach  where  animals  die, 
either  by  accident  or  natural  causes,  pending 
slaughter  under  a  department  order.  The  Commis¬ 
sioner  holds  the  view  that  the  Department  of  Foods 
and  Markets  cannot  obligate  the  State  for  indem¬ 
nities.  except  when  the  State  lias  intervened  and 
caused  the  death  of  the  animal.  The  Commissioner 
expresses  himself  clearly  in  the  following  language, 
and  there  seems  little  hope  that  the  State  will  pay 
for  cattle  which  die  under  the  conditions  given  by 
our  correspondent : 
“I  can  see  why  owners  who  have  not  studied  the 
provisions  of  the  statute  should  have  a  different  im¬ 
pression  as  to  what  is  fair.  When  an  owner  sells 
his  reacting  animals  and  delivers  possession  to  the 
purchaser,  it  is  a  very  natural  view  on  his  part  that 
his  responsibility  is  at  an  end.  This  view,  under  the 
statute.  I  believe  is  incorrect,  as  I  think  that  the  risk 
of  the  death  of  an  animal  pending  slaughter  remains 
with  the  owner.” 
A  Monument  to  the  Boll  Weevil 
Some  months  ago  we  spoke  of  a  drinking  fountain 
erected  in  an  Alabama  town  to  the  memory  of  the 
boll  weevil.  This  insect,  as  our  readers  know,  has 
played  havoc  with  the  cotton  crop  in  many  sections 
of  the  South.  In  fact,  it  has  brought  ruin  to  that 
crop  in  some  places,  and  it  may  seem  like  a  strange 
thing  to  erect  a  memorial  to  a  destructive  insect  of 
this  sort.  The  truth  is,  however,  that  while  at  first 
thought  the  boll  weevil  has  caused  great  injury  to 
the  South,  it  has,  on  the  other  hand  and  in  another 
way,  proved  a  benefaction.  For  many  years  the 
trouble  with  Southern  agriculture  has  been  that  it 
was  a  one-crop  proposition.  Dating  back  to  slavery 
days,  the  Southern  planters  found  that  they  could 
produce  cotton  to  better  advantage  than  any  other 
crop  with  the  class  of  labor  they  saw  fit  to  employ. 
The  result  was  that  the  South,  while  producing  a 
large  cash  crop,  found  itself  dependent  upon  the  rest 
of  the  world  for  most  of  its  supplies.  It  came  to 
the  point  where  the  hay  which  fed  the  Southern 
mule  was  raised  in  Wisconsin.  The  oats  which  he 
consumed  came  from  New  York;  much  of  the  corn 
from  Illinois ;  the  meat  which  was  used  to  feed  the 
hands  came  from  Kansas  and  Iowa,  and  the  butter 
and  flour  and  most  other  supplies  came  from  distant 
parts  of  the  country.  This  false  method  of  conduct¬ 
ing  farming  did  great  injury  to  the  South  and  to 
the  Southern  people.  They  live  in  a  section  where  it 
is  possible  to  produce  nine-tenths  of  the  common 
.supplies  needed  by  human  beings  to  enjoy  a  good 
life,  but  their  devotion  to  the  cotton  crop  made  it 
impossible  for  the  Southern  people  to  make  use  of 
their  opportunities.  The  boll  weevil  came  like  a 
blight  upon  the  cotton  crop.  Driven  away  from 
that  crop  the  people  in  desperation  and  as  a  matter 
of  life  preservation  were  obliged  to  broaden  their 
system  of  farming.  The  result  has  been  that  live 
stock,  dairying,  grain  growing  and  similar  enter¬ 
prises  have  worked  into  the  South,  greatly  to  the 
advantage  of  the  people  in  every  way.  They  still 
raise  cotton,  and  will  continue  to  do  so  on  a  large 
scale,  but  in  addition  to  that  they  are  producing 
milk  and  butter,  beef,  pork,  grain,  hay  and  number¬ 
less  other  things  that  were  formerly  bought  and 
shipped  in  from  the  outside.  It  is  a  reasonble  prop¬ 
osition  that  this  result  would  never  have  been 
worked  out  in  many  parts  of  the  South  had  it  not 
been  for  the  destruction  wrought  by  the  boll  weevil. 
Therefore,  it  is  jio  more  than  fair  that  a  monument 
should  he  erected  to  the  memory  of  this  insect.  It 
is  well  to  honor  even  a  bug  when  it  becomes  respon¬ 
sible  for  such  a  mighty  change  as  is  working  out  in 
many  parts  of  the  Southern  States. 
Tenants  Cannot  Remove  Personal 
Property 
VERY  year  about  this  time  we  have  letters  from 
people  who  want  to  know  if  they  can  take 
shrubs  or  trees  with  them  when  they  sell  or  leave  a 
farm.  Some  of  those  who  ask  are  renters.  They 
planted  shrubs  or  trees  when  they  came  to  the 
place  and  feel  that  such  things  belong  to  them.  The 
rule  is  that  any  plants  or  crops  which  are  perma¬ 
nently  attached  to  the  soil  are  part  of  the  real  estate, 
and  cannot  legally  be  taken  away.  A  case  which 
was  tried  in  New  Jersey  some  years  ago  seems  to 
be  accepted  as  standard.  A  man  planted  strawber¬ 
ries  on  a  rented  farm.  The  farm  was  sold  and  the 
tenant  left  when  his  lease  expired.  He  came  back 
to  pick  the  strawberry  crop,  and  the  new  owner 
drove  him  off.  This  farmer  brought  suit  for  the 
value  of  the  strawberries,  and  gained  a  verdict  on 
the  theory  that  they  were  emblements — that  is,  a 
one-year  crop,  which  may  be  lawfully  taken  from 
the  soil.  The  judge  held  that  strawberries' are  usu¬ 
ally  a  one-year  crop,  and  therefore  may  be  taken  by 
the  tenant,  like  rye,  wheat  or  other  grass.  Plants 
like  bush  fruits,  trees,  grass  or  others  which  grow 
more  than  one  crop,  were  said  to  be  permanent  and 
to  become  a  part  of  the  real  estate.  The  judge  erred 
in  this,  for  strawberries  are  usually  grown  for  two 
or  more  crops,  but  the  rule  will  generally  hold  good. 
Trees,  shrubs,  roots  and  similar  things  are  consid¬ 
ered  permanent  crops,  and  the  tenant  cannot  remove 
them  unless  the  owner  gives  him  definite  permission 
to  do  so. 
New  York  State  Notes 
The  New  York  State  Farm  Bureau  Association 
through  their  tuberculosis  committee  has  completed  the 
survey  of  the  State  on  the  tuberculosis  situation 
throughout  the  counties.  A  number  of  plans  are  being 
tried  out,  and  there  is  a  variation  in  the  method  that  is 
followed  in  financing  the  work  in  the  different  counties. 
There  are  17  counties  in  the  State  that  have 
already  organized  tuberculosis  eradication  work.  These 
include  Allegany,  Broome,  Cattaraugus,  Chenango, 
Clinton,  Cortland.  Erie,  Essex,  Genesee,  Madison. 
Montgomery,  Onondaga,  Steuben,  Tioga,  Tompkins  and 
Wyoming.  There  are  IS  additional  counties  that  have 
committees  at  work  contemplating  some  work  during 
the  coming  season.  These  counties  are  Cayuga,  Chau¬ 
tauqua,  Delaware,  Franklin,  Fulton,  Herkimer,  Liv¬ 
ingston,  Monroe,  Montgomery,  Oneida,  Oswego,  St. 
Lawrence,  Saratoga,  Suffolk,  Sullivan,  Ulster,  Warren 
and  Washington.  Some  counties  are  of  the  opinion 
that  this  tuberculosis  work  should  be  carried  on  as  a 
public  health  measure,  while  others  are  of  the  opinion 
that  it  should  be  supported  entirely  by  the  farmers,  on 
the  grounds  that  the  farmer  is  apt  to  take  a  more  keen 
interest  in  the  work  if  he  has  some  financial  obligation. 
The  tuberculosis  committee  of  the  State  Federation  has 
been  busily  at  work  for  a  number  of  weeks  trying  to 
correlate  all  the  different  ideas  of  the  county  groups 
that  some  standard  may  be  adopted  so  that  the  Federal 
and  State  appropriations  may  be  expended  most  effi¬ 
ciently. 
The  directors  of  the  State  Canning  Crops  Association 
have  voted  to  handle  the  cherry  crop  of  its  members  this 
year.  This  work  will  largely  center  around  the  counties 
of  Chautauqua,  Erie.  Niagara,  Orleans,  Monroe,  Wayne 
and  Ontario,  where  the  crop  has  normally  gone  to  the 
canning  ti-ade. 
The  lack  of  rain  this  Spring  has  caused  considerable 
worry  in  some  of  the  southern  tier  counties  of  the  State 
where  fires  have  been  springing  up  at  various  points. 
The  farmers  in  northern  Tioga  County  have  been  called 
upon  during  the  past  week  to  turn  back  the  fires  that 
have  spread  approximately  1,000  acres  of  wood¬ 
land.  Some  of  rnese  fires  were  caused  by  locomotives 
and  some  from  the  carelessness  of  drivers  in  throwing 
away  their  cigar  and  cigarette  stubs  in  the  sections 
where  dry  grass  and  leaves  were  abundant.  E.  a.  f. 
