The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
1095 
Canvas  Exhibit  of  the  Dairy  Industry 
ONE  of  the  great  exhibits  at  the  National  Dairy- 
Exposition,  which  will  be  held  at  Syracuse, 
N.  Y.,  October  5-13,  will  be  a  huge  canvas  showing 
the  progress  of  the  dairy  industry  in  United  States. 
This  immense  picture  will  occupy  a  Avail  space  of 
400  by  16  feet  and  will  picture  the  growth  of  dairy¬ 
ing  from  the  almost  primitive  methods  of  the  past 
to  the  modern  and  efficient  methods  of  the  pres¬ 
ent.  This  great  picture  will  form  the  background 
of  an  exhibit  of  the  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture.  It  has  been  prepared  by  Charles  A. 
Corwin,  a  celebrated  landscape  painter,  who  has 
prepared  many  striking  pictures.  The  picture  on 
our  first  page  this  Aveek  sIioavs  a  section  of  this 
mammoth  painting  and  all  Avho  attend  the  big  ex¬ 
position  will  be  more  than  interested  in  studying 
this  great  work  of  art. 
More  About  the  New  School  Bill 
THERE  is  no  denying  the  great  interest  in-  the 
proposed  neAV  school  bill.  Wherever  Ave  go  we 
find  rural  people  talking  about  it.  There  have  been 
so  many  questions  about  the  Committee  of  Twenty- 
one  that  we  will  try  to  answer  a  feAV  of  them  this 
week. 
“Is  it  true  that  the  members  of  this  committee 
favored  the  old  township  laAv?” 
We  have  heard  from  one  member  avIio  says  he  op¬ 
posed  the  laAv.  We  understand  the  other  20  faAmred 
it. 
“Were  they  selected  because  they  did  favor  that 
plan?” 
We  don’t  know  about  that,  but  it  looks  as  if  a 
group  of  men  and  women  Avith  definite  ideas  on  that 
point  organized  for  a  definite  purpose. 
“What  became  of  the  $75,000  which  they  are  said 
to  liaA-e  spent?” 
Nobody  seems  to  know.  We  assume  that  most  of 
it  Avas  spent  by  the  various  experts  avIio  conducted 
the  rural  survey. 
“Were  those  experts  personally  familiar  with 
conditions  in  rural  districts  of  NeAV  York?” 
No.  They  were  for  the  most  part  from  distant 
States  or  large  cities,  where  conditions  are  entirely 
different  from  ours. 
“Do  you  think  this  survey  was  necessary,  or  that 
it  Avas  worth  what  it  cost?” 
Very  doubtful  indeed.  Most  of  the  facts  Avere  re¬ 
ported  during  the  discussion  of  the  old  township 
school  laAv.  We  do  not  think  that  much  Aralue  was 
added  by  this  expensive  suiwey. 
“What  do  you  consider  a  fair  criticism  of  the 
committee’s  Avork?” 
There  are  several  criticisms  which  may  fairly  be 
made.  The  general  opinion  among  most  farmers 
seems  to  be  that  the  committee  started  out  and  con¬ 
tinued  AA”ith  the  determination  to  make  radical 
changes  in  the  laAv.  The  various  reports  seem  to 
admit  that  under  our  present  system  there  are 
some  excellent  district  schools,  some  passable  and 
some  that  are  bad.  One  would  think  that  in  a 
perfectly  fair  investigation  the  first  thought  Avould 
be  to  find  Avhy  some  schools  are  good  and  others 
are  bad  and,  having  found  the  reason  for  this  differ¬ 
ence,  seek  to  improve  the  poorer  schools  as  may  be 
done  under  the  present  law.  We  find  little  or  no 
suggestion  of  that  sort.  We  have  asked  several 
supporters  of  the  proposed  new  law  if  they  ever 
tried  personally  to  improve  the  school  in  their  home 
district.  They  say  “No !  We  do  not  propose  to  try. 
We  Avant  this  new  law  because  it  will  ultimately 
take  the  school  control  out  of  the  hands  of  our  local 
people.” 
“Do  members  of  the  committee  go  as  far  as  that?” 
Not  to  our  knowledge,  but  some  of  them  act  that 
Avay.  The  people  Ave  mention  are  advocates  of  the 
new  law  because  they  see  that  it  will  finally  con¬ 
centrate  poAver  over  schools  in  the  hands  of  a  feAV 
officials.  Under  the  law,  rules  may  be  adopted 
which  Avould  group  these  officials  into  classes  and 
prevent  persons  Avithout  a  certain  stamp  or  brand 
from  serving. 
“Do  you  think  it  possible  to  improve  our  rural 
schools  under  the  present  laAv?” 
Yes,  with  some  more  amendments  we  think  an 
improvement  can  be  made.  Under  present  condi¬ 
tions  we  think  it  a  mistake  to  make  this  radical 
and  startling  change  all  at  once. 
“But  the  committee  seems  to  claim  that  with  the 
passage  of  this  law  there  will  be  an  immediate  and 
permanent  improvement  in  rural  schools.” 
Hoav  do  they  know?  The  whole  thing  is  an  ex¬ 
periment — an  expensive  one  at  that.  It  is  the  most 
radical  change  in  school  government  ever  suggested 
in  this  State,  and  will  cost  the  taxpayers  great  sums 
of  money  to  try  the  experiment.  It  should  not  be 
forced  upon  the  entire  State  without  first  giving 
it  a  trial.  Why  Avill  the  committee  not  suggest  that 
the  adoption  of  this  community  unit  scheme  be  made 
optional?  Let  it  be  put  to  a  popular  vote  by  coun¬ 
ties  before  adoption.  Thus  if  any  counties  want  to 
try  it  let  them  do  so  and  experiment  for  the  bene¬ 
fit  of  the  rest  of  the  State?  Why  try  to  force  a 
radical  and  expensive  experiment  upon  unwilling 
people? 
New  Milk  Prices 
AST  month,  when  the  making  of  prices  for  Au¬ 
gust  milk  Avas  under  consideration,  the  Dairy¬ 
men’s  League  Co-operative  Association  and  the  Non¬ 
pooling  Dairymen’s  Co-operative  Association  re¬ 
served  the  right  to  advance  the  pid.ce  for  the  last 
half  of  the  month.  The  Sheffield  Farms  Associa¬ 
tion,  as  we  understand,  deferred  the  fixing  of  Au¬ 
gust  piace  for  a  subsequent  meeting.  The  Eastern 
States  Milk  Producers  also  continued  its  platform 
price  for  pasteurized  milk  on  platform  in  NeAV  York 
of  $2.90  per  can  which  Avas  in  effect  since  June  1. 
This  netted  producers  an  average  of  $2.09  for  3  per 
cent  milk  Avhile  some  of  the  plants  paid  as  high 
as  $2.30. 
Recently  Ave  understand  the  committees  represent¬ 
ing  the  League  pool  and  the  New  York  Conference 
Board  agreed  that  conditions  justified  an  increase, 
and  Class  1  was  advanced  30  cents  per  100  lbs., 
from  $2.43  to  $2.73,  effective  from  August  16  for 
remainder  of  the  month.  No  changes  were  made  in 
the  other  classes. 
Other  groups  have  not  reported  their  readjust¬ 
ment  of  prices  at  the  time  of  this  Avriting. 
Less  Beer  and  More  Milk 
E  ai’e  interested  in  the  industrial  effect  of 
Prohibition  as  it  effects  the  consumption  of 
milk.  The  following  is  taken  from  the  Christian 
Science  Monitor  of  Boston,  and  Ave  Avould  like  to  ask 
if  any  of  our  readers  have  noticed  anything  of  the 
same  l-esults  in  other  localities : 
Many  Avill  recall  those  daily  processions  of  working¬ 
men,  a  few  years  ago,  every  noon  toward  the  nearest 
saloons.  The  men,  of  course,  were  after  beer  to  go 
with  their  luncheons.  Today,  if  Boston  laborers  are 
typical  of  those  the  country  over— -and  there  is  no  rea- 
son  to  suppose  they  are  not — a  change  in  the  luncheon 
beverage  has  taken  place  which  offers  material  for 
thought  on  the  part  of  economists,  sociologists  and 
politicians.  'When  the  noon  pause  from  labor  comes, 
that  is  to  say,  the  workers  now  invade  the  nearby 
groceries,  delicatessen  stores,  etc.,  in  search  of — milk. 
Indeed,  the  amount  of  milk  thus  used  must  be  enormous, 
if  recently  published  statistics  are  any  guide.  And  in 
all  due  reason  they  certainly  should  be. 
Thus,  Boston’s  milk  figures  show  such  a  great  in¬ 
crease  this  year  that  all  previous  records  for  milk  con¬ 
sumption  in  June  were  broken,  according  to  the  report 
of  the  research  department  of  the  New  England  Milk 
Producers’  Association.  The  combined  sales  of  the  five 
largest  dealers  in  the  city,  says  this  report,  totalled 
25.600,000  pounds  during  that  month.  This  is  2.000,- 
000  pounds  more  than  was  reported  in  May  and  1,- 
700,000  more  than  in  June,  1922. 
Milk  production  in  June  more  than  kept  pace  with 
the  increase  in  demand,  and  a  new  record  for  the 
amount  of  milk  sold  by  farmers  was  also  made.  Re¬ 
ports  from  the  five  largest  dealers  showed  that  the 
total  purchases  for  the  month  were  58,000,000  pounds, 
as  compared  with  54,000,000  pounds  in  May  and  49,- 
000,000  in  June,  1922.  The  same  farmers,  approxi¬ 
mately,  sold  9,000,000  more  pounds  of  milk  in  June, 
1923,  that  they  did  in  June,  1922.  They  sold  4,000,- 
000  more  pounds  in  June  of  this  year  than  they  did 
in  May. 
Another  striking  illustration  of  the  advance  of  milk 
in  substitution  for  beer  is  furnished  in  the  conversion 
of  a  brewery,  long  idle  in  Roxbury,  into  a  modern  milk 
distributing  plant.  The  benefit  to  the  workers  and  their 
wives  and  children  indicated  in  these  changes  is  al¬ 
most  beyond  computation. 
Foreclosure  By  a  Federal  Land  Bank 
WE  A\rant  to  have  our  readers  undei’stand 
clearly  all  about  the  Federal  Farm  Land 
banking  system.  Not  long  ago  Ave  received  the  fol¬ 
lowing  letter  from  a  reader  on  the  Atlantic  Coast. 
Very  likely  there  are  others  in  much  the  same  situa¬ 
tion,  and  readers  will  Avant  to  knoAV  Avhat  position 
the  Federal  Land  Bank  will  take  regarding  such 
a  case. 
My  next  payment  of  $60  on  mortgage  on  farm  will 
soon  be  due  at  the  Federal  Land  Bank.  Failing  health 
of  both  Avife  and  myself  is  compelling  us  to  consider  a 
change  of  occupation.  Is  there  any  way  to  the  bank 
have  farm  without  the  usual  foreclosure  procedure? 
The  interest,  taxes,  insurance,  etc.,  would  soon  amount 
to  all  the  extra  money,  above  mortgage,  to  be  had  by 
waiting  to  sell  farm.  It  would  probably  take  some 
time,  as  there  is  no  call  for  farms  in  this  section  at 
present.  The  farm  is  well  worth  twice  the  amount  of 
mortgage,  but  we  are  alone,  and  not  able  to  carry  on. 
The  taxes  for  1922  are  not  paid,  and  this  year’s  tax 
is  due  in  November.  Am  I  entitled  to  crops  now  grow¬ 
ing  on  place,  or  can  they  take  them  for  taxes  and  in¬ 
surance?  I  have  waited  until  now  thinking  we  might 
be  able  to  make  this  payment,  but  it  seems  best  to  let 
the  farm  go. 
Of  coui’se,  the  Land  Bank  cannot  permit  bor- 
rowers  simply  to  repudiate  the  loan  Avhen  they  find 
that  through  unfortunate  experiences  they  cannot 
pay.  The  general  purpose  of  the  Land  Bank  is  to 
assist  farmers  who  need  credit,  or  avIio  find  it  nec¬ 
essary  to  make  a  loan  in  oi’der  to  hold  their  fanns. 
These  banks  take  into  consideration  the  present 
difficulties  through  which  farmei's  are  going,  and 
when  the  situation  justifies  it,  Ave  think  they  are 
Avilling  to  grant  an  extension  for  a  I’easonable  time, 
say  for  30  days,  for  the  payment  of  interest  and 
amortization  payments.  While  the  bank  Avould  give 
any  reasonable  help  in  that  line,  they  must,  as  a 
matter  of  business,  resort  to  legal  means  if  neces¬ 
sary  and,  of  course,  that  Avould  mean  the  process 
and  result  which  usually  follows  the  foreclosure 
of  a  mortgage  in  such  a  case.  The  best  Avay  is  for 
the  borroAA'er  to  Avrite  direct  to  the  bank,  state  his 
case  exactly  as  it  is,  and  ask  for  advice.  We  feel 
that  the  bank  will  be  reasonable  in  the  matter,  and 
give  such  help  as  they  can  but,  of  course,  a  govern¬ 
ment  institution  must  be  conducted  on  business  prin¬ 
ciples  the  same  as  any  other  similar  institution. 
Shipping  Butter  By  Parcel  Post 
[Thei-e  has  been  some  discussion  regarding  the  pos¬ 
sibility  of  shipping  butter  by  mail.  Generally  speaking 
the  opinion  is  against  the  plan.  It  is  not  considered 
practical.  Nowr  and  then  we  hear  of  people  wrho  are 
able  to  ship  butter  successfully  in  this  way.  ‘Mr.  L.  W. 
English  of  Vermont  has  handled  this  business  well  and 
Ave  have  asked  him  to  give  his  experience.  Probably  a 
good  share  of  his  success  is  due  to  making  a  firm,  solid 
butter  to  begin  with,  and  cooling  it  thoroughly  before 
packing.] 
I  wish  to  state  vei'y  emphatically  that  this  form 
of  shipping  is  successful.  I  am  sending  butter  this  way 
to  people  in  New  York  City,  South  Orange  and  Hack¬ 
ensack,  N.  J.,  and  several  places  in  Connecticut,  as  well 
as  to  places  in  the  States  bordering  on  Vermont,  evex-y 
week  during  the  entire  year.  I  have  sent  a  package  once 
in  two  Aveeks  for  the  past  two  years  and  more 
to  Florida.  From  July  1,  1922,  to  July  1,  1923,  I  sent 
by  parcel  post  something  like  2,000  packages  of  butter. 
Out  of  this  number  three  packages  have  been  lost,  and 
the  Post  Office  Department  has  paid  me  their  value. 
One  other  package  which  went  to  Florida  was  spoiled 
because  of  heat,  and  that  was  one  of  the  coldest  w'eeks 
we  had  last  Winter.  As  this  was  only  1  lb.,  and  covers 
the  entire  loss  I  have  had  during  the  year,  I  think 
you  will  agree  with  me  that  it  can  be  done  successfully. 
I  ship  most  all  of  it  in  1  lb.  prints,  and  the  amount 
to  suit  the  customer.  Most  of  the  packages  are  from 
4  to  10  lbs.,  although  I  have  a  few  1,  2  and  3  lb.  pack¬ 
ages,  and  sometimes  20  or  25  lbs.  I  want  the  butter 
thoroughly  cooled  off  before  starting.  Each  print  is 
Avrapped  in  parchment  paper  and  then  out  in  a  1  lb. 
carton.  I  use  corrugated  shipping  cases  and  then  the 
entire  package  is  well  wrapped  with  paper  and  securely 
tied  with  string  stout  enough  to  hold.  Each  package 
is  insured.  I  use  gummed  labels  (which  are  made- out 
in  advance)  on  the  packages.  I  have  a  regular  weekly 
mailing  list  of  about  30  in  the  Summer  and  45  in  the 
Avinter.  l.  av.  English. 
Vermont. 
Estimating  the  Apple  Crop 
At  this  time  of  the  year,  when  orchardists  are  busy 
preparing  for  the  Fall  picking  and  marketing  of  their 
apples,  an  accurate  estimate  of  their  crop,  is  of  consid¬ 
erable  value.  One  needs  to  know  Iioaa  many  barrels 
or  baskets  to  order,  how  much  equipment  to  buy  and 
how  many  hands  to  engage.  Last  year  my  estimate 
Avras  considerably  short  of  the  actual  yield,  and  in  or¬ 
der  to  get  a  more  intelligent  forecast  I  purchased  at 
a  sporting  goods  store  a  little  hand  counter  or  tally 
register.  On  this  little  device,  about  the  size  of  a 
watch,  one  can  register  with  his  thumb  at  a  tAVO-per- 
second  x'ate.  Armed  Avith  this  instrument  I  rode 
through  my  orchard  estimating  two  rows,  tree  by 
tree  as  I  rode  along.  Forty  acres  was  covered  in 
2%  hours  and  the  counter  was  then  passed  over  to 
an  experienced  picker,  with  instructions  to  cover  the 
same  ground  in  order  to  secure  a  check  on  my  count. 
A  separate  record  was  kept  of  each  block  or  variety. 
The  second  or  check  count  showed  a  difference  of  but 
4  per  cent  as  against  the  first  count  of  the  total  area, 
although  in  one  of  the  small  blocks  a  difference  of  20 
per  cent  was  noted. 
In  counting  two  rows  at  a  time  there  is  a  blind 
side  on  each  tree  as  one  rides  by ;  the  resultant  errors, 
however,  tend  to  counterbalance  each  other.  If  a  more 
accurate  count  is  wanted  one  can  foot  it,  taking  one 
row  at  a  time  and  walking  around  each  tree.  A  per¬ 
son  can  easily  cover  100  acres  in  a  day  if  two  rows 
are  counted. 
A  trained  picker  usually  has  a  pretty  good  idea  of 
the  number  of  bushels  a  tree  will  yield,  and  the  method 
described  above  gives  the  most  intelligent  forecast  ob¬ 
tainable  as  to  the  probable  crop.  h.  d,  m. 
Effect  of  Posting  Land 
The  report  of  the  Conservation  Commissioner  shows 
that  over  $43,000  was  paid  into  the  State  Treasury  dur¬ 
ing  the  past  year  on  account  of  penalties  collected  from 
trespassers  upon  posted  lands.  This  does  not  include 
the  sums  paid  to  the  owners  of  the  land  upon  Avhich  the 
trespass  was  committed  and  who  are  entitled  to  re¬ 
ceive  one-half  of  the  penalty.  I  recently  made  a  trip 
to  Rochester  and  return,  and  found  that  in  those  sec¬ 
tions  where  most  of  the  farm  lands  were  posted,  tres¬ 
passing  had  practically  ceased,  and  that  game  on  posted 
lands  was  rapidly  increasing.  If  the  farmers  can  be 
generally  induced  to  post  their  lands  it  would  be  easily 
possible  within  a  few  years  so  to  amend  the  law  that 
posting  would  not  be  required.  An  indirect  benefit  of 
posting  is  that  fruit  thieves  seldom  commit  any  depre¬ 
dations  on  posted  property,  although  they  are  still  as 
active  as  ever  on  unposted  lands,  henry,  av.  brigham. 
R.  N.-Y.  We  Avould  like  to  know  if  farmers  agree 
with  this  optimistic  report.  What  has  been  the  ef¬ 
fect  of  posting  land  in  your  part  of  the  State? 
