1 3 1 S 
The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
The  Rural  New-Yorker 
THE  BUSINESS  FARMER'S  PAPER 
A  National  Weekly  Journal  for  Country  and  Suburban  Homes 
Established  isno 
Published  ne«ktj  by  the  Rural  PublixMn;  Company.  333  tVrxt  80th  Street,  fork 
Herbkrt  W.  Colling  wood,  President  and  Editor. 
John  J.  Dillon,  Treasurer  and  General  Manager. 
Wm.  F.  Dillon,  Secretary.  Mils.  E.  T.  Roylk,  Associate  Editor. 
L.  H.  Morphy,  Circulation  Manager. 
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“A  SQUARE  DEAL” 
We  believe  that  every  advertisement  in  this  paper  is  backed  by  a  respon¬ 
sible  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  iiaid  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  subscriber  and  honest, 
responsible  houses,  whether  advertisers  or  not.  We  willingly  use  our  good 
oflices  to  this  end,  but  such  cases  should  not  be  confused  with  dishonest 
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Yorkkr  when  writing  the  advertiser. 
No  man  is  likely  to  get  more  out  of  life  tha/n  he 
puts  into  it.  He  may  seem  to  heat  the  game  at 
times,  hut  if  he  is  honest  he  trill  admit  that  much 
of  his  hoard  is  spurious  goods. 
* 
I  much  prefer  a  nice  smooth  potato,  well  washed  and 
scrubbed,  boiled  with  its  jacket  on.  When  it  is  done  I 
never  peel  it,  but  eat  it  just  as  it  is,  with  plenty  of  good 
butter.  But— one  cannot  always  get  them  nice  and 
smooth.  Perhaps  some  man  will  tell  us  why  be  raises 
scabby  potatoes  for  us  to  peel?  Why  not  the  nice 
smooth  ones?  Does  he  object  to  eating  ’em  skins  V 
all?  MRS.  G.  F. 
OST  people  do  object  to  eating  potato  skins, 
and  it  is  one  of  the  curious  things  connected 
with  modern  ideas  of  nutrition.  Most  of  the  min¬ 
eral  salts  in  the  potato  are  found  in  the  skin,  or  im¬ 
mediately  under  it.  It  is  much  the  same  as  in  the 
wheat  grain,  where  the  bran  or  outer  covering  car¬ 
ries  nearly  all  the  mineral  or  bone-  forming  ma¬ 
terials.  Thus,  bread  made  from  white,  bolted  flour, 
contains  mostly  starch,  while  the  peeled  potato  has 
little  or  none  of  the  mineral  salts  left.  Thousands 
of  people  are  now  being  advised  by  their  physicians 
that  they  must  stop  eating  potatoes  and  white  bread 
because  their  ration  has  become  “too  starchy.”  If 
these  people  would  eat  the  skin  of  the  potato  along 
with  the  starch  they  would  be  far  better  off,  for  in 
that  way  they  would  obtain  more  of  the  mineral 
salts.  The  same  thing  is  true  of  entire  wheat  bx-ead ; 
that  is,  bread  made  from  the  entire  grain,  and  not 
from  white  flour*witli  the  bran  sifted  out.  And  also 
with  apples.  In  like  manner,  most  of  the  mineral 
salts  are  contained  in  the  skin  or  just  beneath  it. 
Those  who  merely  eat  the  soft  pulp  of  a  baked  apple 
and  throw  away  the  skin  lose  the  most  valuable  pai*t 
of  the  fruit.  If  consumei-s  continue  to  regard  the 
potato  valuable  only  as  a  supply  of  starch,  the  de¬ 
mand  will  continue  to  fall  off.  If  consumers  could  be 
taught  to  eat  the  entire  tubei’,  the  demand  would 
grow.  But,  as  Mrs.  G.  F.  says,  who  wants  to  eat  a 
potato  skin  that  is  well  pitted  with  scab  germs? 
And  perhaps,  as  she  says,  “some  man  will  tell  us 
why  he  raises  scabby  potatoes-for  us  to  peel!” 
* 
HERE  is  a  complication  of  the  line  fence  trouble 
when  barbed  wire  is  put  on  top  of  the  fence. 
We  have  a  case  where  one  neighbor  built  part  of  a 
line  fence  and  put  a  strand  of  barbed  wire  at  the 
top  without  consulting  the  adjoining  owner.  A 
horse  belonging  to  the  latter  ran  into  this  wire  and 
was  injured.  A  controversy  arose  over  a  claim  for 
damages.  A  says  he  has  a  right  to  build  a  line  fence 
to  suit  him  provided  it  is  high  enough  and  strong 
enough  to  turn  stock.  B  says  that  A  has  no  right  to 
use  barbed  wire  without  B’s  permission.  In  this 
case  B  is  right.  If  A  puts  barbed  wire  on  such  a 
fence  without  the  consent  of  his  neighbor,  he  must 
be  responsible  for  any  damage  caused  by  such  wire. 
If  both  parties  agree  to  the  use  of  barbed  wire, 
neither  would  be  liable  for  damages.  Eet  all  remem¬ 
ber  that  rule.  The  line  fence  trouble  is  bad  enough 
as  it  is  without  putting  barbsoon  it. 
* 
PPLE  growers,  rvho  have  good  fruit,  are  having 
rheir  inning  this  year.  Prices  have  run  high 
from  the  start,  and  they  are  improving.  The  crop  of 
McIntosh  was  sold  to  good  advantage,  and  the  Bald¬ 
wins  will  bring  good  money.  The  crop  is  fair  or 
better,  the  market  is  good,  and  the  demand  is  steady. 
We  are  speaking  now  of  the  crop  on  the  upper  At¬ 
lantic  slope.  There  are  spots  here  and  there  where 
conditions  are  not  so  good.  but.  taken  as  a  whole, 
fruit  growers  in  this  section  will  have  a  good  season. 
The  fact  is  that,  in  spite  of  damage  by  drought,  labor 
shortage  and  other  troubles,  farmers  in  this  At¬ 
lantic  coast  section  are.  as  a  group,  better  off  than 
any  other  sectional  group  in  the  country. 
A  word  about  the  proposed  school  law.  The  dis¬ 
cussions  have  all  been  interesting  to  me.  Personally, 
I  think  the  people,  the  farmers,  the  taxpayers  should 
decide  this  question.  And  how  better  could  they  reg¬ 
ister  their  choice  than  in  a  special  school  meeting,  held 
soon  in  every  district  in  the  State?  Could  not  such  a 
meeting  be  called  by  the  Master  of  the  State  Grange, 
or  the  President  of  the  State  Farm  Bureau,  and  ad¬ 
vertised  through  the  leading  farm  papers?  And  could 
not  a  condensed  copy  of  the  proposed  bill  be  read  and 
discussed  pro  and  con  at  this  meeting,  and  resolutions 
passed  and  sent  to  the  local  Assemblyman  and  State 
Senator?  I  know  it  would  be  no  trouble  to  call  such 
a  meeting  in  our  own  school  district,  and  I  believe  that 
fully  90  per  cent  of  our  voters  are  opposed  to  any  new 
law  that  would  mean  consolidation  of  schools,  higher 
taxes  and  transporting  small  children  miles  through 
all  kinds  of  weather.  In  other  words,  some  eight  or 
ten  thousand  school  meetings,  all  in  the  same  night  all 
over  the  State  of  New  York — a  great  popular  refer¬ 
endum.  J.  JUDSON  SWIFT. 
Niagara  Co.,  N.  Y. 
E  call  that  an  excellent  suggestion.  The  R. 
N.-Yr.  will  help  it  in  any  possible  way.  Such 
meetings  would  settle  several  questions  about  this 
school  bill.  We  promised  to  carry  the  discussion 
into  every  school  district  in  the  State  and  we  seem 
to  have  kept  our  word.  Such  meetings  would  not 
only  mean  a  great  referendum  on  the  subject  but 
as  a  result  a  great  organization  of  rural  voters 
could  be  formed — such  as  never  was  known  before. 
This  matter  should  properly  be  started  by  the  farm 
oi-ganization  leaders.  We  hope  they  will  take  it  up 
at  once,  and  they  will  have  all  the  help  we  can  give 
'  them. 
* 
IS  lime  useful  in  apple  orchards ;  that  is,  of  enough 
use  to  warrant  the  cost.  That  question  is  now 
coming  up  frequently.  Such  wonders  are  reported 
from  the  use  of  lime  on  clover  or  Alfalfa  that  many 
apple  growers  think  it  may  work  miracles  with 
their  tx*ees.  Our  experience  shows  that  most  apple 
varieties  prefer  a  slightly  acid  soil.  There  is,  of 
.  course,  considerable  lime  in  the  apple  wood,  and 
this  must  be  supplied  if  good  growth  is  to  be  made, 
but  the  usual  orchard  soil  can  supply  this  need.  We 
do  not,  as  a  rule,  use  lime  so  much  as  a  fertilizer 
as  a  sweetener  or  renovator  of  the  soil,  and  the 
apple  tree  evidently  is  not  in  need  of  such  action. 
We  have  some  reports  which  show  that  a  heavy  dose 
of  lime  has  had  a  bad  effect  upon  apple  trees  by  pre¬ 
venting  full  development.  Yet  while  it  seems  clear 
that  lime  is  of  little  if  any  use  to  the  tree,  it  will 
often  help  the  cover  crop.  When  scattered  on  sod  it 
will  usually  bring  an  increase  of  clovex-,  and  where 
the  clovers  are  seeded  to  cover  the  ground  in  Fall  or 
Winter  the  lime  will  help.  It  is  good  practice  to 
plow  the  orchard  in  Spring,  give  good  culture  until 
July,  and  then  seed  some  combination  which  in¬ 
cludes  elovei*.  In  that  case  a  light  use  of  lime  will 
help  produce  a  heavier  “cover”  ci*op.  That  is  about 
the  sense  of  it.  Lime  is  of  little  benefit  dii’ectly  to 
the  trees,  but  it  improves  the  cover  crop,  and  thus 
helps  indirectly. 
* 
THE  two  greatest  needs  of  the  big  fruit  show 
scheduled  for  November  3-l0  in  this  city  are 
apples  and  audience.  The  managers  want  to  give 
away  at  least  250,000  apples,  and  such  a  wholesale 
gift  will  represent  the  greatest  advertising  scheme 
ever  invented  by  fruit  men.  It  will  be  like  casting 
bread  upon  the  waters  and  having  it  return  as  wed¬ 
ding  cake!  These  apples  must  come  from  fruit 
growers,  and  there  should  be  a  wide  distribution. 
Do  not  let  it  be  said  that  a  few  faithful  enthusiasts 
did  it  all.  Every  fruit  grower  on  the  Atlantic  slope 
will  profit  by  this  show.  It  will  incx-ease  the  general 
demand  for  apples,  and  that  will  mean  an  impi-ove- 
ment  in  the  market  which  will  find  its  way  to  every 
oi’chard.  Can  you  donate  a  bari-el  of  apples  or 
more  to  the  cause?  Let’s  make  this  a  co-operative 
proposition,  with  all  hands  getting  into  it.  And  the 
audience!  You  know  how  things  go  in  the  big  city 
— people  follow  the  crowd  like  a  flock  of  sheep.  Jf 
we  can  attract  a  great  crowd  to  this  show,  apple 
eating  will  become  popuar  and  fashionable.  If  you 
cannot  come,  it  must  be  that  you  have  fx-iends  or  rel¬ 
atives  here  who  will  take  advice  from  you.  Will 
you  not  write  them  and  urge  them  to  go  to  the  show. 
Put  it  as  strongly  as  you  can ;  ask  them  to  go  and 
take  their  friends  along.  That  is  the  way  you  can 
help.  The  show  will  be  big  and  original  enough  to 
justify  anything  you  can  say  about  it.  Apples  a-d 
audience — you  can  help  directly  with  one  and  indi¬ 
rectly  with  the  other. 
* 
THERE  is  great  complaint  about  the  behavior  of 
the  ‘everbearing”  or  Fall-bearing  strawberries 
this  yeai\  For  some  reason  they  have  gone  wrong. 
We  planted  nearly  2,500  plants  of  well-known  va¬ 
rieties,  and  up  to  date  we  have  picked  just  three 
quarts  of  fruit.  We  do  not  blame  the  varieties,  be¬ 
cause  in  other  years  we  have  grown  good  crops  from 
October  20,  1923 
July  till  frost  on  just  about  the  same  soil.  We  are 
inclined  to  blame  the  ti’ouble  on  our  long  continued 
drought,  and  we  have  no  doubt  that  with  a  normal 
season  these  plants  will  come  back  and  do  their 
duty.  There  is  no  question  about  the  ability  of  these 
Fall  bearers  to  produce  a  late  crop  of  fruit,  yet  'ive 
question  the  commercial  profit  in  growing  them.  H 
is  desirable  to  have  some  of  them  in  the  gai’den,  but 
anyone  who  banked  on  them  for  px’ofit  this  year 
would  be  likely  to  develop  into  a  prophet  of  evil  for 
them.  We  do  not  think  this  has  been  a  fair  season 
for  testing  the  newer  varieties,  but  we  would  like 
to  have  notes  on  their  behavior.  Everyone  under¬ 
stands  our  position  i-egai’ding  “novelties.”  Investing 
in  them  is  a  gamble,  and  should  be  regarded  as  such. 
If  we  spent  money  on  a  “novelty”  we  should  let  it 
go  with  the  feeling  that  we  took  a  chance  and  had 
little  cause  to  complain  if  the  plant  or  tree  proved 
very  ordinary.  That  is  what  we  have  always  stood 
for  in  this  “novelty”  business. 
* 
ON  the  lawn  in  front  of  the  fannhouse  a  group 
of  chickens  had  gathered  under  a  tree  to  enjoy 
the  shade  before  going  on  a  hunt  for  worms  and 
bugs.  Thei’e  was  one  Black  Jersey  Giant  roostei’,  a 
tremendous  fellow,  of  full  size,  and  close  beside  him 
was  a  little  Seabright  Bantam.  The  Black  Giant, 
as  sometimes  happens  with  people  who  have  bulk, 
fell  to  making  f-^n  of  his  little  brother  Bantam.  He 
spoke  to  the  hens  of  his  small  size  and  ridiculed 
him  generally.  The  Bantam  was  not  one  to  be  hum¬ 
ble  under  such  conditions,  and  he  delivered  himself 
about  as  follows:  “You  are  not  so  much  after  all. 
You  have  nothing  but  bulk  and  feathers.  Back  in 
the  jungles  where  we  both  came  from  ages  ago  my 
ancestors  were  just  as  big  as  yours.  Don’t  ever  for¬ 
get  that!  You  have  run  to  bulk,  and  I  have  reduced 
to  brains.  If  I  had  your  bulk  I  would  whip  any 
thing  that  wears  feathers  in  this  country,  but  you 
could  not  whip  a  good-sized  hen,  unless  you  get 
some  of  my  spirit,  for  bulk  without  punch  is  not 
worth  five  cents.”  And  any  man  who  knows  ivill  ad¬ 
mit  that  Bantam  delivered  a  whole  edition  of  the 
truth ! 
* 
N  the  next  page  Henry  M.  Brigham  makes  a 
proposition  which  ought  to  bring  a  great  re¬ 
sponse  from  New  York  farmers.  At  the  next  New 
York  Legislature  he  will  see  that  a  bill  similar  to 
the  strict  ti’espass  law  of  New  Hampshire  is  intro¬ 
duced.  Such  a  law  will  curb  the  auto  hogs  and  the 
speed  merchants  who  have  been  making  free  with 
our  farm  products.  Such  a  bill  must  have  solid 
backing  by  farmers  if  it  is  ever  to  pass.  Let’s  begin 
right  now  to  put  it  over.  We  want  the  names  of 
farmers  who  will  stand  for  such  a  bill  and  come  out 
at  a  hearing  in  Albany  to  show  their  colors.  Who 
will  help  scrape  the  bristles  off  the  auto  hog?  Let 
us  have  your  names  and  we  will  see  that  you  are 
kept  posted. 
* 
WITTY  psychologist  says  that  the  first  human 
conflict  is  that  of  the  baby’s  “desire  to  holler 
and  his  desire  to  swaller.”  He  finally  learns  that  he 
cannot  do  both  at  once.  He  will  holler  first,  until 
his  milk  comes,  and  then  stop  hollering  in  order  to 
swaller!  Thus  it  becomes  time  that  one  boy  with 
the  stomach  ache  can  always  make  more  noise  than 
20  boys  eating  mince  pie. 
Brevities 
Wiiat  animal  can  take  care  of  herself  better  than  a 
sheep  ? 
The  man  who  “raises  Cain”  surely  is  part  of  the 
‘  old  Adam.” 
Did  you  ever  hear  of  a  successful  stock  man  who  kept 
on  sleeping  several  hours  after  sunrise? 
Some  people  take  themselves  so  seriously  that  it  be¬ 
comes  a  comedy  to  others  and  a  tragedy  to  themselves. 
All  through  the  eastern  part  of  the  country  the  gen¬ 
eral  opinion  is  that  the  Carman  peach  has  become  a 
back  numbei\ 
Safety  First  !  That’s  a  good  maxim.  Can  you  im¬ 
prove  it  by  drawing  two  straight  marks  through  the  S 
and  making  it  $? 
A  ton  of  average  apple  pomace  has  about  half  the 
plant  food  contained  in  a  ton  of  stable  manure.  But  it 
is  sour.  Do  not  use  it  without  lime. 
The  latest  report  from  the  ox-team  express  states 
that  Mr.  Berrang  is  snowed  in  “somewhere  in  Utah.” 
He  is  still  cheerful,  however,  and  will  soon  dig  out. 
An  apple  is  a  living  thing.  A  bruise  on  its  flesh  must 
spread  through  it,  sooner  or  later.  Handle  it  as  you 
would  an  egg  if  you  expect  it  to  keep — or  win  a  prize. 
Where  strawberry  plants  are  grown  in  thick,  mat¬ 
ted  rows  we  would  not  try  to  thin  out  until  Spring. 
The  thicker  the  stand  the  gi’eater  the  self-protection  in 
Winter. 
This  is  what  a  Californthn  writes  about  Prof.  J.  E. 
Rice  of  Cornell :  “This  man  has  done  pei-haps  as  much 
to  make  two  feathers,  or  l-ather  two  eggs,  grow  where 
one  grew  before  as  any  man  in  the  United  States.” 
