1524 
The  Rural  New-Yorker 
THE  BUSINESS  FARMER’S  PAPER 
A  National  Weekly  Journal  for  Country  and  Suburban  Homes 
Established  isso 
Published  weekly  by  the  Rural  Publishlnr  Company,  233  Heat  30th  Street,  New  fork 
Herbkrt  W.  Collingwood,  President  and  Editor. 
John  J.  Dillon,  Treasurer  and  General  Manager. 
We  F.  Dii.lon,  Secretary.  Mrs.  E.  T.  Royle,  Associate  Editor. 
L.  H.  Murphy,  OlrctUation  Manager. 
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"A  SQUARE  DEAL” 
We  believe  that  every  advertisement  in  this  paper  is  backed  by  a  respon¬ 
sible  |  ho -son.  We  use  every  possible  precaution  and  admit  the  advertising  of 
reliable  houses  only.  Rut  to  make  doubly  sure,  we  will  make  good  any  loss 
to  |>aid  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,  you  should  mention  The  Rural  New- 
Yorker  when  writing  the  advertiser. 
Keep  up  the  good  work.  I  have  nothing  but  the 
highest  praise  for  The  Rural  New-Yorker.  The 
trouble  with  me  is  that  it  keeps  me  all  stirred  up  with 
a  longing  for  the  New  York  hills  and  an  out-door  life 
until  I  have  too  little  heart  for  tasks  at  hand.  G.  A.  C. 
Kansas. 
OU  are  too  far  from  home.  Anyway,  we  are 
glad  the  paper  comes,  like  a  family  letter.  No 
place  like  the  old  hills,  after  all. 
* 
Has  the  time  not  arrived  for  a  discussion  of  some 
such  topic  as,  “Have  the  agricultural  experiment  sta¬ 
tions  made  good?’'  As  more  than  35  years  have  now 
elapsed  since  the  passage  of  the  Hatch  act,  in  1887,  it 
would  seem  that  a  general  expression  of  opinion  on  the 
subject  is  not  out  of  place.  An  impartial  discussion  by 
bona  fide  farmers,  large  and  small,  may  be  illuminating 
and  even  valuable  at  this  time,  in  view  of  diminishing 
returns  from  agricultural  pursuits  and  a  universal  de¬ 
sire  of  taxpayers  to  obtain  the  best  possible  value  for 
every  dollar  expended  through  such  channels. 
Oberlin,  O.  E.  w.  bonteagek. 
F  such  a  discussion  can  be  conducted  fairly  and 
with  good  spirit  we  think  it  would  be  useful.  The 
trouble  is  that  such  discussions  are  likely  to  be  mon¬ 
opolized  by  extremists.  On  one  side  they  will  at¬ 
tempt  to  “knock”  the  experiment  stations  and  show 
that  they  are  merely  expensive  luxuries.  On  the 
other  side  they  argue  that  these  stations  have  just 
about  saved  American  society  from  ruin  and  added 
wonderfully  to  American  prosperity..  The  real  truth 
will  fall  in  between  the  two,  and  we  welcome  fair 
opinions  from  actual  farmers.  We  would  prefer  to 
keep  the  scientists  and  the  wind  farmers  out  of  it 
and  learn,  if  we  can,  what  “dirt  farmers”  (if  anyone 
knows  just  what  a  dirt  farmer  is)  really  think  of 
these  stations.  Have  they  made  good? 
* 
N  several  New  York  towns  trouble  has  arisen  over 
what  is  claimed  as  being  illegal  voting  over  cer¬ 
tain  appropriations  for  public  buildings.  In  most  of 
these  cases  the  trouble  comes  over  the  fact  that  non¬ 
taxpayers  voted,  while  only  taxpayers  should  decide 
these  financial  matters.  What  is  to  be  done  in  such 
cases  ? 
The  Attorney  General  has  ruled  (opinion  of  Attorney 
General  (1909  )  905)  that  all  votes  by  electors  lacking 
the  qualifications  prescribed  by  the  section  are  illegal, 
but  the  reception  and  canvass  of  such  illegal  votes  does 
not  vitiate  or  nullify  an  affirmative  action  taken  unless 
it  can  be  established  that  sufficient  of  such  illegal  votes 
were  cast  and  counted  to  change  the  result ;  in  other 
words,  unless  it  can  be  proven  that  enough  illegal  votes 
were  cast  and  counted,  either  for  or  against  the  prop¬ 
osition  to  change  the  result  from  what  it  would  have 
been  if  such  illegal  ballots  had  been  thrown  out  or  elim¬ 
inated,  the  result  would  be  valid. 
Thus  it  would  depend  on  the  number  of  non-tax- 
payers  whose  votes  were  accepted.  Under  the  above 
ruling  it  would  be  necessary  to  show  that  if  all  these 
votes  were  thrown  out  the  result  would  be  changed. 
* 
A  schoolhouse  near  here  burned.  There  is  an  insur¬ 
ance  of  ,$600  on  it.  The  community  got  together,  and 
the  men  offered  to  work  for  nothing  to  erect  a  new 
building,  the  $600  being  considered  enough  to  pay  for 
the  materials.  They  had  planned  to  all  jump  in  and 
complete  it  in  three  weeks.  Now  the  State  steps  in 
and  prevents ;  says  no  school  building  costing  less  than 
$2,500  shall  be  erected,  they  to  furnish  the  blueprints. 
Is  this  not  an  unwarranted  interference  with  the 
liberty  of  the  people?  I  think  that  community  feeling 
should  be  encouraged,  and  if  the  old  schoolhouse  was 
sufficient,  will  not  a  new  one  as  good  do?  In  case  the 
consolidation  takes  place,  this  new  building,  which  the 
■State  is  going  to  try  to  make  so  prohibitive  in  price 
that  the  people  will  be  forced  into  consolidation,  will 
be  useless.  I  am  mad.  Have  I  reason? 
Jefferson  Co.,  N.  Y.  ellen  de  graff. 
YES,  you  have  reason  to  be  “mad,”  but  it  is  not 
likely  that  your  madness  will  prevail  against 
the  stone  wall  at  Albany.  In  such  a  case  it  is  not 
entirely  a  matter  of  building  a  new  schoolhouse.  It 
meant  co-operation,  neighborly  spirit  and  pride  in 
the  local  school,  and  in  the  present  state  of  society 
these  are  the  most  precious  assets  which  any  com¬ 
munity  can  have..  This  ruling  from  Albany  will  de¬ 
stroy  what  would  have  been  the  finest  sort  of  school 
7bt  RURAL.  NEW-YORKER 
pride.  The  Educational  Department  has  the  law  on 
its  side  and  there  seems  no  escape  if  it  persists  in  its 
ruling.  We  are  glad  this  object  lesson  came  up  be¬ 
fore  the  Legislature  meets.  This  case  plainly  indi¬ 
cates  one  way  in  which  consolidation  will  be  brought 
about,  and  is  only  a  circumstance  compared  with  the 
arbitrary  rulings  which  would  be  developed  under 
the  proposed  new  law. 
sk 
E  are  out  to  convince  Eastern  farmers  that 
there  are  great  feeding  possibilities  in  the 
Soy  bean  crop.  Farmers  here  and  there  have  known 
the  value  of  Soy  beans  for  some  years.  In  the  Ohio 
Valley  the  crop  has  come  to  be  a  very  important  one, 
but  it  has  never  been  pushed  or  developed  in  the 
East.  Most  of  us  now  realize  that  off  the  natural 
limestone  soils  Alfalfa  is  an  expensive  and  unreli¬ 
able  crop.  On  many  of  our  acid  soils  we  can  make 
Alfalfa  start  by  using  lime  freely,  but  even  with 
heavy  liming  it  cannot  be  called  a  dependable  crop. 
It  is  too  short-lived.  We  have  become  convinced  that 
on  most  of  our  acid  soils  it  is  better  to  let  Alfalfa 
alone  and  make  greater  use  of  Alsike  and  Soy  beans. 
Alsike  will  make  a  fair  crop  on  sour,  damp  soils,  but 
it  will  not  produce  anything  like  the  crop  that  may 
be  grown  with  Soy  beans,  on  good  soil  with  reason¬ 
able  culture.  There  is  no  question  about  the  benefit 
to  the  soil  following  a  crop  of  these  beans.  We  hope 
our  Eastern  farmers  will  give  them  a  fair  trial.  We 
do  not  attempt  to  boom  them  as  a  great  “novelty,” 
but  it  will  be  worth  your  while  to  try  them. 
* 
OR  some  reason,  which  we  cannot  quite  under¬ 
stand,  the  calling  of  these  school  meetings  for 
December  4  has  roused  a  sort  of  fui* *y  among  the 
promoters  of  this  rural  school  bill.  One  would  think 
these  meetings  would  give  them  just  the  desired  op¬ 
portunity  to  prove  that  they  have  the  support  of 
rural  people.  They  have  every  advantage  in  the 
way  of  organization.  There  must  be  some  member 
of  a  State  organization  in  every  school  district.  The 
other  side  is  working  without  organization  and  with 
only  volunteers  to  help.  Instead  of  accepting  the 
issue  and  helping  to  obtain  a  fair  referendum,  some 
of  these  school  men  are  firing  a  great  volley  of  abuse. 
The  editor  of  The  R.  N.-Y.  is  the  target  for  most  of 
this.  We  have  tried  to  keep  track  of  the  epithets 
thus  far  hurled  at  him,  but  perhaps  we  have  lost  a 
few.  Thus  far  our  list  includes  the  following :  Czar, 
demagogue,  ignorant  radical,  conceited  ass,  louse, 
modern  Herod,  menace  to  society,  vermin,  pest,  moss- 
back,  child  killer,  tax  dodger,  and,  most  horrible  of 
all,  Jerseyman !  We  did  not  realize  before  the  awful 
crime  of  living  about  two  miles  south  of  the  New 
York  line,  but  now  we  know  that  living  in  New  Jer¬ 
sey  is  the  height  of  infamy.  And  we  thought  it  was 
a  special  privilege !  Oh !  These  school  men,  at  least 
some  of  them,  are  masters  of  vigorous  English.  We 
may  envy  them  their  vocabulary,  but  we  have  no  ill 
feeling  over  it  all.  We  have  respect  for  the  members 
of  the  Committee  of  Twenty-one,  though  we  do  not 
think  their  attempt  to  force  the  rural  school  bill 
through  the  Legislature  is  wise  or  right.  These  vo¬ 
ciferous  people  who  make  faces  and  call  names  are 
merely  amusing.  There  must  be  clowns  in  dramas. 
Their  gun  kicks  back  and  does  most  damage  to  their 
own  side.  If  they  expect  to  ruffle  us  or  drive  us  into 
any  attempt  to  match  them  in  the  childish  game  of 
making  faces  they  might  as  well  quit,  for  they  will 
not  gain  their  end.  We  shall  go  right  straight  ahead 
in  our  efforts  to  get  a  full  expression  of  opinion  from 
rural  people.  Real  friends  of  the  bill  should  thank 
The  R.  N.-Y.  for  its  efforts.  We  have  created  a  gen¬ 
uine  interest  in  the  bill.  Now  if  the  promoters,  with 
all  their  backing  and  all  their  machinery  for  propa¬ 
ganda  cannot  make  the  people  realize  that  their  bill 
is  right  there  must  be  something  wrong  with  it. 
* 
It  may  interest  someone  to  know  that  Soy  bean  and 
corn  silage  over  which  a  one-sixth  solution  of  butter¬ 
milk  and  water  was  sprinkled  at  the  rate  of  one  bucket¬ 
ful  to  the  wagonload,  is  in  perfect  condition.  I  used  a 
half-and-half  solution  last  year  -with  similar  results, 
when  others  around  here  were  telling  me  that  it  would 
be  all  molded  and  dangerous  to  feed.  H.  s.  beckler. 
Virginia. 
E  have  a  number  of  reports  from  people  WTho 
have  used  buttermilk  or  skim-milk  when  fill¬ 
ing  the  silo.  All  say  the  plan  worked  well.  The  the¬ 
ory  of  this  is  quite  easy  to  understand.  A  chemical 
action  takes  place  in  the  silo.  Certain  bacteria  work 
to  change  the  character  of  the  corn  or  other  crops 
used  in  filling.  Molds  or  rotten  silage  result  from 
the  action  of  inferior  bacteria,  while  others  will  de¬ 
velop  just  what  we  want  in  an  agreeable  and  fra¬ 
grant  feed.  The  skim-milk  or  buttermilk  supply  the 
right  “starter,”  and  the  bacteria  work  through  the 
silage,  get  the  start  of  the  rots  and  molds,  and  give 
December  15,  1923 
us  what  we  want.  The  scientists  have  separated 
these  useful  germs,  and  can  supply  them  in  bottles, 
just  as  the  inoculating  material  is  provided  for  use 
on  seeds.  Last  year  we  had  these  germs  tested  in 
nearly  20  silos  where  dry  cornstalks  were  cut  into 
the  silo  late  in  the  season.  In  every  case  a  fair 
quality  of  silage  resulted,  while  usually  the  dry 
stalks  alone  make  a  very  poor  quality  of  feed.  We 
think  it  has  been  demonstrated  that  these  “starters” 
in  the  silo  will  pay,  and  we  expect  to  see  their  use 
become  as  general  as  that  of  using  inoculation  for 
seed  or  a  solution  for  killing  scab  on  potatoes. 
* 
SOME  of  our  readers  are  asking  questions  about 
road  work.  They  want  to  know  if  they  can  cut 
the  brush  on  the  road  along  their  own  farms,  or 
along  the  farms  of  others,  and  then  put  in  a  bill 
for  doing  it,  or  can  they  go  out  and  work  on  the  road 
in  Summer,  or  in  keeping  the  x’oad  free  from  snow 
in  the  Winter,  put  in  their  bill  for  the  work  and 
make  collection?  Quite  a  number  of  people  think 
they  can  do  this,  and  they  do  not  understand  why 
such  bills  are  not  paid.  Under  the  law  you  cannot 
collect  pay  from  the  town  for  doing  this  kind  of 
work,  unless  you  are  legally  authorized  by  the  town 
to  do  it.  It  is  the  duty  of  every  landowner  to  cut 
and  remove  the  weeds  and  brush  along  the  front  of 
his  farm,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  the  town  superintend¬ 
ent  to  see  that  the  work  is  done.  If  this  brush  is 
not  cut  and  acts  as  a  windbreak,  so  as  to  fill  the 
road  with  snow,  it  is  possible  that  the  town  might 
be  liable  for  damages  if  you  could  prove  such  due 
to  the  negligence  of  the  town  superintendent.  There 
seems  to  be  no  regular  town  system  of  taking  care 
of  the  snow.  If  there  is  money  provided  for  the  re¬ 
moval  of  such  snow  you  could  compel  the  town  to 
keep  your  road  open,  but  if  you  go  out  of  your  own 
accord,  without  legal  call  or  contract,  and  remove 
the  snow  yourself,  you  could  not  collect  money  for 
the  work  unless  you  could  show  that  the  town  or  its 
representative  has  hired  you  to  do  the  work.  That 
is  about  the  way  the  case  stands  in  such  matters. 
The  District  School  Meetings 
E  go  to  press  too  early  for  a  full  statement  of 
the  district  school  meetings  which  were  held 
on  December  4.  The  reports  are  pouring  in  upon 
us  from  the  nearby  counties.  Thus  far  more  than 
200  districts  have  reported  and  the  vote  is  all  one 
way.  In  the  majority  of  cases  the  vote  against  the 
school  bill  is  unanimous,  and  most  reports  show  the 
largest  school  meeting  ever  held  in  the  district.  In 
some  cases  every  voter  in  the  district  attended- 
something  never  known  before.  Not  only  did  these 
meetings  express  themselves  by  vote  but  in  many 
cases  all  the  voters  present  signed  their  names  to  a 
statement  and  had  it  forwarded  to  their  Senators 
and  Assemblymen  at  Albany.  It  was  a  great  night. 
We  will  give  a  full  report  as  soon  as  we  can  get  the 
figures  together. 
Brevities 
It  is  true  that  we  grew  a  small  amount  of  cotton  in 
Bergen  Co.,  N.  J.,  this  year.  It  was  not  on  any  com¬ 
mercial  scale — but  it  got  through. 
Italian  women  are  working  for  suffrage.  The  ballot 
will  be  limited  to  women  who  are  25  years  or  more,  who 
have  received  medals,  who  are  widows  of  war  veterans 
or  who  pay  a  certain  amount  of  taxes. 
Yes,  we  have  plenty  of  bananas  !  We  pay  about  $20,- 
000,000  each  year  to  Central  American  countries  for  this 
fruit.  The  banana  cannot  be  grown  commercially  in 
this  country,  and  we  have  no  fruit  to  take  its  place. 
Wiiat  became  of  the  left-over  apples  at  the  great 
fruit  show  i  Most  of  them  were  given  to  the  various 
charitable  organizations  throughout  the  city.  About 
110  barrels  were  disposed  of  in  this  way,  and  no  race, 
creed  or  color  was  considered  in  the  distribution. 
Reported  that  the  first  Florida  strawberries  brought 
$2.50  a  quart  this  year.  The  first  shipment  contained 
about  100  quarts.  Everbearing  plants  were  still  fruit¬ 
ing  in  the  Middle  South.  Think  of  the  situation  when 
people  are  willing  to  pay  for  a  single  quart  more  than 
many  growers  obtained  for  a  full  crate  last  Summer. 
A  case  is  reported  from  Michigan  where  a  mother 
and  her  daughter  each  gave  birth  to  a  boy  baby  within 
the  same  hour.  The  husband  of  the  mother  mixed  them 
up  by  holding  them  for  examination  and  forgetting 
which  was  which.  The  nephew  may  be  his  own  uncle. 
The  father  will  never  feel  sure  that  his  son  is  not  his 
grandson  or  his  brother-in-law. 
As  a  result  of  the  numerous  hold-ups  and  robberies 
in  New  York  City,  many  firms  are  using  checks  instead 
of  cash  to  pay  their  help.  The  big  “pay  roll”  has  been 
a  great  temptation  to  thieves,  and  business  is  being  done 
with  as  little  cash  as  possible.  The  banks  will  usually 
handle  small  accounts.  Most  farmers  will  do  well  to 
keep  their  cash  in  the  bank  and  pay  bills  by  check. 
It  is  figured^  that  the  racehorse  Zev  earned  for  his 
owners  $286,573.57  during  the  past  season.  And  he 
never  added  a  dollar  to  the  wealth  of  the  world.  Old 
“Billy”  or  “Gray,”  solid  farm  horses,  worked  through 
the  season  unhonored  and  unsung  and  earned  perhaps 
$300  each  by  honest  labor.  But  who  hears  of  them? 
