832 
•Pte  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
June  9,  1923 
The  Rural  New-Yorker 
THE  BUSINESS  FARMER’S  RARER 
A  National  Weekly  Journal  for  Country  and  Suburban  llomet 
Established  1850 
Fublkhrd  weekly  by  the  llnral  Publishing  Company,  333  West  30th  Street,  New  York 
Herbert  W.  Oollingwood,  President  and  Kditor. 
John  J.  Dillon,  Treasurer  and  General  Manager. 
ff».  F.  Dillon,  Secretary.  Mrs.  E.  T.  Royle,  Associate  Editor. 
L.  H.  Murphy,  Circulation  Manager. 
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Yorker  v,  hen  writing  the  advertiser. 
I  have  read  somewhere  that  the  average  yield  of  corn 
jier  acre  is  greater  in  the  Eastern  State's  than  in  the 
famous  corn  belt.  I  can  realize  that  the  price  per 
bushel  may  be  higher  in  this  Eastern  "section,  but  it 
stands  to  reason  that  more  corn  is  grown  on  the  rich 
black  Western  corn  land  than  oil  the  thin,  worn-out 
soil  <>f  the  East.  How  does  such  nonsense  ever  get  into 
print?  S.  b.  K. 
Indiana. 
IT  is  true  that  considerable  nonsense  gets  in  print, 
but  now  and  then  the  truth  gets  there,  too.  In 
the  case  of  these  corn  yields  you  have  got  truth  and 
nonsense  quite  badly  mixed.  The  following  figures 
show  the  average  of  10  years  in  yield  and  price  for 
the  corn  crop  in  six  extreme  Eastern  States  and  six 
in  the  Wtest.  They  are  taken  from  the  Department 
of  Agriculture  reports.  The  price  represents  the 
average  of  10  years,  while  the  yield  per  acre,  in 
bushels,  is  the  average  of 
Eastern  States 
Corn  Crop  Yield  Price 
Maine  .  47.2  $1.27 
N.  Hampshire  46.5  1.10 
Vermont  ....  45  7  1.21 
Massachusetts  40  5  1.22 
Rhode  Island.  43.0  1.45 
Connecticut  ..  47.4  1.27 
New  York...  40.1  1.16 
New  Jersey..  42.8  1.01 
These  figures  speak  f( 
ive  years : 
Western  States 
Corn  Crop  Yield  Price 
Ohio  .  40.5  $0.83 
Indiana  . 36.7  .77 
Illinois  .  35.1  .78 
Michigan  ....  36.1  .04 
Iowa  .  42.1  .73 
Missouri  ....  27.5  .86 
Nebraska  .  . .  26.1  .74 
Kansas  .  18.1  .83 
■  themselves.  The  “thin, 
worn-out  soil”  of  New  Jersey  averages  over  seven 
bushels  to  the  acre  more  than  the  “black  manure”  of 
Illinois,  and  has  an  acre  crop  value  of  $14.07  more 
on  account  of  higher  price.  The  highest  acre  yields 
in  America,  if  not  in  the  world,  are  found  in  New 
England.  This  is  largely  due  to  the  skillful  use  of 
fertilizers  and  cover  crops,  and  to  well-bred  varieties 
of  corn,  some  of  them  selected  for  200  years!  It 
may  stand  to  reason  that  the  rich  land  in  the  corn 
belt  ought  to  produce  more  corn,  but  here  are  the 
facts  and  figures.  These  Eastern  soils  supported 
and  fed  America  long  before  a  furrow  was  turned  in 
the.  Mississippi  Valley.  Now  they  outyield  the 
fresher  soil,  acre  for  acre! 
* 
1  would  present  the  fact  that  the  officials  who  are  now 
in  power  and  will  be  for  some  time  to  come  are  not  fit 
to  administer  for  farmers  and  country  life,  for  these 
reasons:  They  do  not  respect  the  farmers  and  their 
calling  as  much  as  they  respect  themselves  and  their 
own  calling;  therefore  they  do  not  and  will  not  give  a 
square  deal.  All  farmers  and  all  who  have  a  vision  of 
a  country  life  worth  the  living  should  be  on  their  guard 
against  all  who  do  not  respect  them,  and  farming  as  a 
calling,  as  much  as  they  respect  themselves  and  their 
own  calling.  ’  P-  c.  R. 
LET  us  suppose  farmers  all  lived  up  to  that  sug¬ 
gestion  ;  how  many  of  the  people  who  now  rep¬ 
resent  rural  communities  could  ever  be  re-elected? 
Would  country  life  be  better  and  happier  if  those 
elected  to  represent  it  respected  farmers  and  farm¬ 
ing  "as  much  as  they  respect  themselves’’?  There’s 
a  good  subject  for  argument.  Surely  some  poli¬ 
ticians  we  know  would  come  to  regard  farming  as  a 
heaven-horn  occupation  if  they  thought  as  well  of  it 
as  they  do  of  themselves!  It  is  quite  true  that  along 
with  the  development  of  agricultural  education  we 
have  produced  a  class  of  leaders  who  feel  that  the 
lank  and  file  of  farmers  are  backward  and  stubborn 
and  unprogressive.  They  seem  to  think  that  the  edu¬ 
cated  and  official  few  should  do  the  thinking  and  the 
planning  and  that  the  so-called  “dirt”  farmers  should 
fall  in  and  follow  what  is  worked  out  for  them.  Now 
we  note  on  every  side  a  growing  protest  against  this 
sort  of  aristocracy  in  agriculture. 
* 
THE  world  is  full  of  stories  about  Henry  Ford. 
From  Alaska  to  Africa  his  name  is  mentioned 
wherever  people  meet  and  the  air  smells  of  gasoline. 
It  is  doubtful  if  any  common  citizen  ever  had 
greater  publicity  than  Ford  has  been  able  to  obtain. 
We  have  not  joined  in  this  game  of  propaganda,  for 
we  think  Ford  has  more  of  it  than  is  good  for  him 
already,  and  there  are  other  worthy  people  who  are 
more  deserving  of  attention.  Now  comes  a  new 
story,  which,  if  true,  carries  a  good  lesson.  It  is 
said  that  Mr.  Ford  has  loaned  the  city  of  Detroit 
half  a  million  dollars  at  4  per  cent.  That  is  at  least 
half  of  1  per  cent  less  than  “Wall  Street”  demanded. 
The  money  is  to  be  used  for  perfecting  street  ear 
service,  and  Ford  will  lend  more  if  necessary.  Now 
we  have  never  heard  Ford  mentioned  as  any  great 
philanthropist.  He  seems  to  be  a  hard-headed  busi¬ 
ness  man  who  gets  his  money’s  worth  out  of  every 
deal,  but  when  he  backs  up  the  “home  town”  with 
his  money  he  sets  us  all  an  example  of  public  spirit. 
There  are  too  many  people  who  regard  the  farm  or 
the  home  town  as  fine  places  to  make  a  dollar,  but 
no  good  for  investment.  Such  little  money  as  we 
make  at  home  goes  away  from  the  community,  and 
is  often  used  to  our  disadvantage.  You  and  I  can¬ 
not.  like  Ford,  pull  half  a  million  dollars  out  of  our 
pocket  as  we  would  an  apple,  but  if  we  combined  our 
savings  for  home  investment  the  total  would  sur¬ 
prise  all  of  us.  We  might  finance  a  little  factory  or 
build  a  park  in  the  village,  put  through  some  needed 
drainage  scheme,  organize  a  co-operative  store,  finance 
a  dozen  good  tenants  and  enable  them  to  own  farms  of 
their  own  or  make  business  that  will  keep  our  boys 
and  girls  at  home.  Far  better  do  that  than  send  our 
money  away  in  little  dabs  to  buy  oil  or  mine  stock 
or  bonds  in  some  big  corporation  which  will  use  our 
money  to  strengthen  the  unseen  powers  which  gov¬ 
ern  us.  We  realize  how  the  kings  of  finance, 
through  the  money  power,  control  business.  Why 
not  try  to  become  small  money  princes  in  our  own 
right  by  keeping  our  money  nearer  home? 
“We  must  do  it  ourselves .” 
* 
ALL  through  our  Eastern  farm  sections  there 
might  well  he  an  increased  seeding  of  rye.  This 
hardy  crop  will  grow  on  land  that  is  too  thin  and 
sour  to  produce  wheat  or  oats.  It  is  perhaps  the 
best  grain  for  seeding  down.  It  starts  first  in  Spring 
and  gives  a  heavy  cutting  of  green  fodder  or  hay. 
It  is  too  tough  to  make  good  hay  when  fully  grown, 
hut  gives  a  good  supply  of  tender  fodder  when 
young.  It  is  also  one  of  the  best  crops  for  green 
manuring.  While,  unlike  the  legumes,  it  does  not 
add  nitrogen  to  the  soil,  it  does  provide  a  great  sup¬ 
ply  of  organic  matter.  When  seeded  with  vetch  it 
gives  a  quick  growth  which  may  be  plowed  under  in 
time  for  corn.  There  is  a  prejudice  against  rye  as  a 
feed  for  stock.  Most  animals  do  not  like  is  as  they 
do  corn  or  oats,  yet  when  ground  with  other  grains 
it  is  well  eaten.  During  the  past  few  years  there 
has  been  an  increased  fereign  demand  for  rye,  but 
this  will  not  last,  but.  as  a  grain  for  thin  and  sour 
land  it  beats  wheat. 
* 
EVER  since  this  country  was  first  settled,  farmers 
and  trappers  have  obtained  good  incomes  from 
furs.  Even  now  the  money  spent  for  fur  goods  is 
enormous.  The  furs  are  no  longer  really  needed  for 
comfort — their  use  is  chiefly  for  ornament — a  lux¬ 
urious  method  of  advertising  wealth.  To  those  who 
look  into  the  future  the  end  of  our  present  fur-bear¬ 
ing  animals  seems  in  sight.  The  annual  slaughter  is 
enormous.  If  it  is  kept  up  as  at  present,  several 
species  of  our  present  wild  animals  will  be  extinct, 
or  as  hard  to  find  as  the  buffalo  is  today.  Arguing 
from  this  evident  fact  as  a  basis  it  would  seem  as  if 
fur  farming  ought  to  he  a  good  business  in  the 
future,  but  there  seems  to  he  something  wrong  with 
the  theory.  Thus  far  domesticated  foxes  or  skunks 
or  muskrats  have  not  contributed  much  to  the  actual 
supply  of  fur.  Most  of  the- trade  seems  to  have 
been  in  supplying  breeding  animals.  This  seems  to 
be  profitable — when  you  can  raise  the  breeding  stock, 
but  it  is  evidently  no  job  for  the  amateur.  We  say 
that  the  successful  poultryman  must  be  half  hen 
and  the  dairyman  half  cow.  The  same  rule  seems 
to  apply  in  fur  farming,  and  who  wants  to  be  known 
as  half  fox  or  half  skunk?  Our  own  opinion  is  that 
within  a  few  years  the  supply  of  high-class  furs  will 
become  so  limited  that  only  the  very  wealthy  can 
afford  them.  A  cheaper  grade,  of  furs  will  he  used, 
and  we  expect  that  special  breeds  of  dogs  and  cats 
will  be  developed  with  a  view  to  perfecting  long  and 
thick  hair  which  can  be  used  in  popular  grades  ©f 
furs.  If  you  consider  theory  entirely,  based  on  evi¬ 
dent  demand  and  supply,  there  is  no  branch  of  farm 
endeavor  that  points  to  a  greater  future  than  “fur 
farming.”  It  is,  however,  a  gamble,  a  business  fit 
only  for  a  selected  few  who  are  specially  fitted  by 
nature  to  handle  it. 
* 
THE  other  night  we  found  a  place  in  a  crowded 
part  of  the  city  where  good  milk  was  sold  by 
the  glass.  There  were  several  “soda  water”  stands 
near  by  and  no  great  effort  was  made  to  attract  a 
crowd.  The  milk  was  sold  at  7  cents  a  glass,  with  a 
light  lunch  of  doughnuts,  sandwiches  or  cake.  We 
took  time  to  make  an  accurate  count,  and  found 
that  the  milk  stand  did  a  better  business  than  any  of 
the  soda  water  places.  A  large  pi*oportion  of  the 
thirsty  people  who  went  by  w anted  milk,  and  they 
bought  it  from  choice.  They  prefer  it  to  “pop,” 
“soda,”  ginger  ale  or  any  other  preparation  of  sweet¬ 
ened  water,  colored  and  flavored  by  chemicals.  They 
will  gladly  buy  it  whenever  it  is  put  right  before 
them  where  they  can  get  it  without  great  exertion 
on  their  own  part.  They  will  not  go  hunting  for  it. 
but  once  let  it  be  as  easy  of  access  as  “pop”  or  soda 
and  they  will  take  it  from  choice.  One  good  way  to 
help  double  milk  consumption  in  this  city  is  to  open 
more  stands  where  milk  can  be  bought  by  the  glass. 
We  cannot  expect  the  soda  water  men  to  do  this 
for  us. 
* 
The  other  day  a  young  man  told  the  judge  who  was 
sentencing  him  that  his  father  might  be  as  great  a  man 
as  he  was  said  to  be,  but  he  had  spent  so  much  time 
growing  great  that  he  had  never  had  time  to  get  ac¬ 
quainted  with  his  boys. 
THE  boy  was  probably  right.  It  was  one  of  those 
terrible  truths  which  come  back  to  eat  like  acid 
at  the  heart  of  father  and  son  alike!  Many  a  man 
wakes  up,  late  in  life,  and  finds  that  he  has  lost  the 
most  precious  thing,  the  priceless  gift — that  is,  the 
love  and  confidence  of  his  children.  It  is  doubtful 
if  any  human  being  of  mature  years  can  be  consid¬ 
ered  as  much  more  than  half  a  man  unless  there  be 
at  least  one  young  person  who  feels  like  coming  to 
him  for  advice  or  confession !  The  poor  man  who  all 
through  the  troubled  years  has  been  able  to  under¬ 
stand  youth  and  find  the  time  to  walk  and  talk  with 
his  children,  need  not  envy  his  millionaire  neigh¬ 
bor.  He  has  a  much  finer  store  of  wealth.  It  is 
usually  left  to  mother  to  keep  up  those  confidences 
which  hold  the  family  together,  and  yet,  in  a  way, 
father  might  do  it  better  if  he  would.  W'hen  boys 
and  girls  go  wrong  the  tragedy  is  often  due  to  the 
fact  that  father  would  not  act  a  kindly  comedy  with 
his  children.  Many  who  read  this  may  realize  that 
it  is  now  too  late  to  win  their  children,  but  others 
still  have  the  chance.  We  hardly  see  how  it  can  be 
done  in  the  city. 
* 
MANY  parts  of  the  country  are  reporting  a 
scourge  of  tent  caterpillars.  We  are  told  that 
millions  of  these  hideous  insects  have  “suddenly  ap¬ 
peared”  to  strip  the  leaves  from  apple  and  other  trees. 
There  is  nothing  sudden  about  their  appearance. 
Their  nests  were  to  he  seen  for  weeks,  mostly  on  the 
wild  cherry  trees.  These  nests,  with  their  wretched 
inhabitants,  slowly  developed  right  under  our  eyes 
until  the  insects  were  large  enough  to  crawl.  Then 
they  made  good  use  of  all  their  numerous  legs  and 
feelers.  But  let  no  man|  say  there  was  any  sudden 
appearance.  These  disgusting  insects  winter  and 
develop  largely  on  wild  cherry  trees  or  shrubs.  The 
tree  has  no  economic  value.  It  is  a  weed.  If  the 
wild  cherries  could  all  he  cut  out  of  a  township,  there 
would  be  a  sudden  disappearance  of  the  caterpillars. 
The  remedy  is  clear.  Kill  the  wild  cherry. 
Brevities 
They  say  that  England  buys  157,000.000  eggs  from 
Egypt.  These  eggs  are  small  but  they  have  big  yolks. 
The  fiery  days  of  August  make  the  housewife  a  hot 
looker  and  that  is  why  she  ought  to  have  a  first-class 
fireless  cooker. 
It  seems  to  be  true  that  certain  incubators  have  ac¬ 
tually  been  successfully  operated  with  horse  manure  for 
heating !  Possible,  but  not  promising. 
If  you  lived  in  Haiti  you  would  be  served  with  a 
great  delicacy — salt  herrings  boiled  with  bananas  and 
red  peppers.  Let’s  have  ours  separated. 
As  all  poultrymen  know,  when  broilers  are  massed  to¬ 
gether  for  feeding  they  will  sometimes  kill  and  eat  each 
other.  The  Ohio  Experiment  Station  says  this  can  be 
prevented  by  darkening  the  pens  except  at  feeding  time. 
The  Pennsylvania  Department  of  Agriculture  is  mak¬ 
ing  a  drive  against  the  use  of  metal  tag  fasteners  on 
sacks  of  feed.  Several  eases  are  reported  where  such 
fasteners  have  killed  animals. 
At  a  recent  farm  meeting  the  speaker  called  for  a 
vote  as  to  which  would  be  the  greater  affliction — total 
blindness  or  total  deafness.  The  audience  voted  about 
350  to  one  that  they  would  rather  be  deaf  than  blind. 
It  is  claimed  that  Ohio  stands  among  the  States  of 
the  Union  fourth  in  production  of  sweet  corn,  fourth  in 
producing  cabbage  for  kraut  and  fifth  in  tomatoes.  Y'et 
it  is  not  so  long  since  Ohio  was  noted  chiefly  for  grain 
and  live  stock.  By  the  way,  she  is  also  first  in  the  pro¬ 
duction  of  Presidents. 
