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American Agriculturist, January 6, 1923 
Editorial Page of the American 
American 
Agriculturist 
Founded 1842 
Henry Morgenthau, Jr. ... . . Publisher 
E. R. EAtJTMAN.Editor 
Fred W. Ohm .Associate Editor 
Gabrielle Elliot .... Household Editor 
Birge Kinne .Advertising Manager 
H. L. Vonderleith . . . Circulation Manager 
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS 
Herbert E. Cook .... Flow Handle Talks 
Jared Van Wagenen, Jr. . Van Wagenen Corner 
Herschel H. Jones . . . Market Department 
K. J. T. Ekblaw . Farm Engineering Department 
Paul Work .Vegetable Department 
George T. Hughes .... Investment Adviser 
Dr. S. K. Johnson .... Veterinary Adviser 
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ing which it believes to be thoroughly honest. 
We positively guarantee to our readers fair and 
honest treatment in dealing with our advertisers. 
We guarantee to refund the price of goods pur¬ 
chased by our subscribers from any advertiser who 
fails to make good when the article purchased is 
found not to be as advertised. 
To benefit by this guarantee subscribers must say: 
“I saw your ad in the American Agriculturist” when 
ordering from our advertisers. 
Published Weekly by 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, INC. 
Address all correspondence for editorial, advertising, or 
subscription departments to 
461 Fourth Ave., New York, N. Y. 
Entered as Second-Class Matter, December 15, 1922, at the 
Post Office at New York, N. Y., under the Act of March 3, 1879. 
Subscription price, payable in advance, $1 a year. 
Canadian and foreign, $2 a year. 
VOL. 1111 January 6, 1923 NO. 1 
Market Service 
T he farmer’s biggest job is not to grow 
more, but to get more for what he does 
grow. American Agriculturist’s biggest job 
is to help farmers to do this. We are, there¬ 
fore, establishing a special Market Service 
Department, We do not expect to take the 
place of cooperative organizations, but we 
ourselves are a great organization of over 
115,000 farmers and we think that we can 
help. 
What are your greatest market difficulties ? 
Are you selling large quantities of eggs? If 
so, are you getting top prices? How about 
the hay that you sell off the farm, the veal 
calf, the butter and the apples? 
Our market expert, has been working in 
New York City’s great markets for years. 
He knows how to get the best results from 
them. He is at your service and when he 
needs more help we will add to his staff. Pick 
out your most difficult marketing problem 
and tell us all about it, addressing your let¬ 
ter to the Market Service Department of 
American Agriculturist. 
The Need of Better Grading 
I N a recent campaign to standardize eggs 
in Missouri, the United States Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture examined 95 carloads, 
each containing 400 cases with a total of 38,- 
150 dozen. The survey showed that 54 per 
cent were classed as ‘‘No. 2,” 26 per cent as 
“No. 1” and only 5 per cent as “extra.” The 
rest were classed as “dirty,” “cracks” and 
“rots.” Were these figures reversed so that 
at least 50 per cent of the eggs could be 
classed as “No. 1” it would save the farmers 
of Missouri over a million dollars. Similar 
figures could be obtained from any State. 
The sad fact about it is that the hen does 
not lay a “rot” nor even a “No. 1.” She is 
satisfied onlyNwith an “extra.” The re¬ 
sponsibility for poor quality eggs rests solely 
with man. Nor is the loss all apparent in 
these figures. If the consumer could always 
be sure of fresh eggs, the increased consump¬ 
tion would bring millions more in returns 
to poultrymen. 
A representative of the New York De¬ 
partment of Farms and Markets told us re¬ 
cently of the large number of mixed crates 
of chickens that come into the New York 
market. For instance a crate may often 
contain Plymouth Rocks, Leghorns and one 
or two other breeds, with the result that the 
buyer insists and usually succeeds in buy¬ 
ing the whole crate on, the basis of the 
poorer product in the crate—the Leghorn. 
These conditions in the poultry market 
are examples of the big job farmers and 
farm organizations have yet ahead of them 
in the better grading and standardization 
of farm products. After all, 3 :.' artincial 
price cannot be long maintame'' : the best 
cooperative in the world and greatest 
chance of success in the markets by either 
individuals or organizations is to properly 
produce and grade high quality products to 
suit the demands of modern consumers. 
More Than Credit Needed 
O NE would think to read the newspapers 
and the resolutions passed’ at many 
meetings that if farmers could secure plenty 
of credit, good times would come a running 
and all of their problems would be solved. 
As a matter of fact, too much credit is a 
curse for farmers or for anyone else. If 
it had not been quite so easy, particularly 
for western farmers, to borrow money dur¬ 
ing and after the war, they would not be 
having so much trouble to-day. They ob¬ 
tained credit too easily, paid too high prices 
for farms, bought too much equipment and 
too many automobiles, with the result that 
they could not hope to pay back what they 
borrowed and many had to lose what they 
had paid down. 
Without doubt, there is need for some kind 
of a plan that will extend to farmers reason¬ 
able credit for long time loans which will 
enable them to hold products for months and 
to raise cattle over a period of years. Con¬ 
gressman Sidney Anderso.. has introduced a 
bill along this line which we hope will be 
passed. But let no one fool himself into 
-thinking that credit facilities alone will solve 
the hard times on the farm. 
A Highly Skilled Business 
A RECENT press release of the United 
States Department of Agriculture tells 
of the work done by the Department during 
the past year to control the spread of danger¬ 
ous insects of which the farmers of the past 
generation never heard. Among these are 
the Japanese beetle. The Department re¬ 
ports that during the season of 1921, 5,000 
of these beetles were removed from the tips 
of sweet corn in inspecting some 200,000 
baskets. Insects injurious to peaches and 
peach trees are greatly on the increase. It 
is within the bounds of possibilities that if 
the European corn borer cannot be con¬ 
trolled, this one insect alone will make it im¬ 
possible to grow corn with much success in 
the United States. The citrus growers of 
Florida and California have to fight con¬ 
stantly dozens of insects. The Mexican bean 
beetle, the pea aphis, the boll weevil, the 
gipsy-moth, the pine beetle and the San Jose 
scale are just a few other insect enemies with 
which the modern farmer has to contend. 
He is afflicted with an equally long list of 
plant and animal diseases and every year 
sees new weeds establish their sturdy life 
upon his acres. 
Opinion still exists to the effect that should 
one fail at everything else he can still make 
Agriculturist 
a success at farming. There might have 
been a time when such an opinion was justi¬ 
fied. In the early days of farming, 'soil was 
rich and there were few plant or animal en¬ 
emies to prevent abundant harvests. Then, 
too, because most of the people were farmers 
and were the largest consumers of their own 
products there was no marketing problem. 
But always, as a country grows old in agri¬ 
culture, the problems of the farmer increase. 
To be successful in agriculture to-day, one 
must be trained either in school or by hard 
experience, or by both, in not one but several 
arts and sciences. The proper care of the 
dairy itself is one of the most complicated 
and difficult trades in the world. The control 
of a thousand and one plant and animal 
diseases of the farm requires the practical 
knowledge of a highly trained scientist. The 
knowledge needed to care for and use mod¬ 
ern farm machinery makes of every farmer 
who can do it, a highly trained mechanic. 
On top of it all farming of this day, with 
its requirements of intimate knowledge of 
markets and business practice, demands a 
business skill which if applied to other busi¬ 
ness would surely bring higher returns. 
As time goes on the problems of produc¬ 
tion and marketing are likely to increase in¬ 
stead of diminish. This means more hope 
for those of the coming generation who train 
themselves both by education and experience 
in the skilled trade of farming. And it also 
means that the ignorant, unskilled and un¬ 
progressive farmer will find it more and 
more difficult to make a living from the land. 
Get the Taxes Down 
T he biggest economic job in this country 
to-day is to get the taxes down. Every 
office seeker should be elected on this issue 
and every public official’s record should be 
measured by this standard. Taxes, es¬ 
pecially farm taxes, are too high and those 
who are saying so much about helping the 
farmers, can practice some of their preach¬ 
ing by bending every energy to reducing the 
farmers’ tax burden. 
Wars always increase taxes. After the 
American Civil War, taxes were high for 
years because the war was followed by a 
period of wasteful expenditure on the part 
of National and State Governments. Con¬ 
ditions finally became so bad that there was 
a general demand for reform, which lead to 
the Civil Service System and to the retire¬ 
ment of those leaders who advocated too 
large expenditures of public money. 
Although the burden of taxes falls heaviest 
on farmers, the great majority of them are 
always willing to pay their share to support 
worthy enterprises or to help win a war. 
But the war is over and farmers are not will¬ 
ing to pay for useless jobs and unnecessary 
expenses. It is time for economy, especially 
in Government expenditures. 
The Vision of the Stars 
M ay we call especial attention to Mrs. 
Fountain’s poem “The Vision of the 
Stars,” which we are publishing on the op¬ 
posite page. The poem was read by the au¬ 
thor at the recent annual meeting of the 
Farm Bureau Federation at Syracuse and 
was received with much applause and favor¬ 
able comment. We take pleasure in giving 
it wide circulation among the people for 
whom it was written. 
Mrs. Fountain is herself a farmer’s wife, 
gifted with the unusual ability to describe 
and express the disappointments, the long¬ 
ings and the hopes of the men and women 
whose homes dot the thousand lonesome hills 
and valleys of America. Sorrow will surely 
come to any nation when bitter poverty and 
grueling toil shut off from farm people their 
vision of the stars. 
