Editorial Page of the American 
American 
Agriculturist 
Founded 1842 
Henry Morgenthau, Jr .Publisher 
E . R . Eastman . Editor 
Fred W. Ohm .Associate Editor 
Mrs. G. E. Forbush .Household Editor 
Birge Kinne. Advertising Manager 
E. C. Weatberby .Circulation Manager 
CONTRIBUTING STAFF 
Jared Van Wagenen, Jr. M. C. Burritt 
H. E. Cook G. T. Hughes 
OUR ADVERTISEMENTS GUARANTEED 
The American Agriculturist accepts only advertising 
which it believes to be thoroughly honest. 
We positively guarantee to our readers fair and honest treat¬ 
ment in dealing with our advertisers. 
We guarantee to refund the price of goods purchased 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. 
Elmira, N. Y'. 
Address all correspondence for editorial, advertising, or subscription de¬ 
partments to 
461 Fourth. Avenue, New York, N. Y. 
Entered as Second-Class Matter, December 6, 1924, at the Post Office 
at Elmira, N. Y., under the Act of March 3, 1879. 
Subscription price, payable in advance, $1 a year. Canadian 
and foreign, $2 a year. 
VOL. 114 December 13, 1924 No. 24 
More Tax Publicity 
“Notice is hereby given to the taxable inhabitants of 
school district No. 10, Town of East Fishkill, that I 
have received a warrant from the trustee of said district 
for collection of taxes for the present year, with one per 
cent for the first thirty days as my fee, after that my 
fee will he five per cent.” 
T HE above school tax notice, which was 
recently posted in a rural school district in 
New York State, illustrates very well why we 
advocate in our tax program more publicity 
about taxes. The notice speaks for itself. It is 
certainly bare of information. The taxpayer 
must go to the collector in person to find out what 
his tax is and he does not know until then whether 
or not his valuation has been raised, nor does he 
know in advance the amount of his taxes or why 
they are lower or higher than they were the 
preceding year. 
We believe that every taxpayer has a right to 
receive an individual written notice immediately 
after his valuation is raised and in plenty of 
time for him to appear at the proper place to 
state causes why the valuation is too high. 
In the case of school taxes, reports are rendered 
at the local school meeting, but for other taxes no 
taxpayer knows the details of how or why or for 
what his money has been spent. He has a right 
to this informalion and the time for him to get it 
is with his tax bill. With it also should be a 
detailed statement or budget of proposed tax 
expenditures for the coming year. If public 
officials were obliged to make these detailed 
budget statements to every taxpayer and were 
obliged to follow them by full reports of how the 
money was spent when the tax bills are rendered, 
then there certainly would be more care and 
thought given to the expenditure of public money. 
We believe this is one definite way to bring 
about a better and more efficient government and 
lower taxes. Are we right? Let us hear from 
you. If we’make these tax reduction principles 
count with public officials we must have your 
support. Write us. A postal card will do. 
The Cross-Word Puzzle Craze 
HE folks here in the office have the laugh 
on the editor. We never have liked puzzles; 
it has always seemed to us that there was enough 
to make a fellow’s head ache without puzzling 
one’s head over something that led to nowhere. 
So when the cross-word puzzles struck the coun¬ 
try, we would have nothing to do with them, 
although everybody in the office had one or 
two stuffed in their pockets, and every com¬ 
muters’ train is filled with the cross-word 
crazed enthusiasts. 
But our friends have all been prophesying that 
it would get us yet. They were right! The 
other day we fell! George, our ten-year-old, 
wanted us to show him how to work out the 
first cross-word puzzle that appeared in the 
American Agriculturist. This was in the Novem¬ 
ber 29th issue. In showing him, w T e suddenly 
became interested. Then we dug up some more 
in newspapers and tw T o hours w r ent by before we 
knew it. The things are certainly fascinating. 
Moreover, they will do a lot of good for they 
improve everybody’s vocabulary. 
On Page 417 is the third of the series of the 
cross-w r ord puzzles that are now appearing in 
American Agriculturist. Read the instructions 
and give it a trial. But we warn you before you 
start that the thing is likely to get you fast in 
its clutches! It is worse than strong drink. 
“The Trouble Maker” 
“I wish to express my appreciation of your story 
‘The Trouble Maker’ even though it is only started. 
I have often said that there has been almost no stories 
of farm life written by people who understand farm 
conditions.”—H. L. C. 
* * * 
“For sometime I have been intending to write you 
how much I have enjoyed your story which is running 
in the American Agriculturist. I want to compliment 
you on it^’—J. C. 
N ATURALLY, these communications are 
very pleasing because they are an indica¬ 
tion of how some of you at least like my story. 
One reader was enthusiastic enough to want to 
know if the sequel was ready to follow when 
this story was ended. 
I have not been sure of how good the story 
was from a fiction standpoint. In fact, I have 
a good many doubts about it. But one thing I 
have tried to do in it is to picture farm people 
as they really are, particularly when they gather 
in meetings, and I shall be interested to see 
how you like the exciting milk meetings, the 
mob at the jail delivery, the gang who dumped 
Johnny Ball’s milk into the ditch, the Ladies’ 
Aid meeting, the country funeral and one other 
meeting of our lovable farm folks that I shall 
not spoil the story by mentioning until you have 
read it. 
If in your opinion these discriptions of country 
folks are true to life, I shall think that all of the 
hard work in writing the book has been well 
worthwhile, for there has been altogether too 
little accurate writing and accurate description 
of country life and country people.—E. R. 
Eastman. 
Says Borden’s Farms Pay 
N an interesting article in the October issue 
of Farm and Fireside, Mr. F. H. Cronk, 
Vice-president and General Manager of the 
Borden’s Farm Products Company, stated that 
his company owns and operates ten certified 
milk farms and that every one of these farms is 
showing a profit even during the depression. 
Mr. Cronk gives two reasons w T hy these farms 
are successfully operated. He said that the only 
advantage they have in w r orking these farms over 
other farmers is that they do not have to wait for 
profits out of any farm to improve and equip that 
farm properly. In other words, they are not 
bothered for capital. 
His chief reason, however, for their success is 
the keeping of careful records on all the farm 
business, and the constant study of these records 
in order to cut out or change every part of the 
business that does not pay. 
There might be some advantage in the sale of 
certified milk for a fairly high price, but we think 
this is mostly offset by the extra costs of produc¬ 
ing certified milk. 
We agree with Mr. Cronk on the importance of 
farm accounts. He stated very frankly that the 
Borden Company is not in business for its health, 
American Agriculturist, December 13, 192' 
Agriculturist 
and that if these farms did not pay, the men who 
managed them would be changed, and if this was 
not the trouble, the farms themselves would be 
disposed of. 
In showing w T hat part the records played in 
their business, Mr. Cronk said: 
“The first half of the year 1920 our tractor mainte¬ 
nance on one farm cost $147.92; the last half $793.06, 
or $941.88 for the year. By strict investigation w r e 
found it did not pay to use the tractor to run the ensilage 
cutter and blower. The following year we hired a gaso¬ 
line engine for this purpose and our tractor expense 
was reduced to $587 for the year. A further investiga¬ 
tion induced us to change our style of tractor, with the 
result that in the year ending June 30, 1923, our tractor 
maintenance -was only $150.13. 
“In 1920, we fed 1.31 pounds of grain to produce 
each quart of milk. In 1923, it required 1.25 pounds of 
grain per quart of milk. The saving in grain fed per 
quart produced was 5%. 
“Here you have two concrete instances of how ac¬ 
counts carefully and accurately kept have paid us on 
one farm. . . . By guessing and estimating we could 
not have done this. To achieve similar results on any 
farm, it is not necessary to have a staff of bookkeepers. 
Your county agent can obtain for you through the Ex¬ 
tension Department of the State Agricultural College 
forms that are easy and simple to keep. . . . 
“We know not only what each cow costs, but also 
how many pounds of milk she produces daily and 
annually; what it tests; what it costs to feed her; and 
what the milk costs per quart; and what it costs to milk 
and care for her. . . . 
“Low producing and low testing cows are the sneak- 
thieves who are constantly draining the farm of its 
profits. The loss is so small that it is not perceptible 
in the milk pail, but it can be proved by accurate 
weighing and testing. . . . 
“The time a farmer spends keeping books and study¬ 
ing them is some of the best time he spends. I do not 
presume to advise anybody else how to run his affairs, 
but I do think that if a man’s farm work does not leave 
him time to keep accounts, it will pay him to plan to 
have less work so he can keep records. 
“The Borden’s Farm Products Company distributes 
more than a fourth of the approximately one billion 
quarts of milk used annually in New York City. This 
business runs into many millions. We absolutely could 
not run this distributing business without accurate and 
complete accounts of every single item involved. We 
would not think of trying it. No more would we try to 
run our certified milk farms without accounts, and I 
think they are even more essential on the individual 
farms.” 
Will You Kill A Cow? 
“I am enclosing a coupon for vour ‘Kill A KOW’ 
campaign and would say that we killed one here yes¬ 
terday and kept one-fourth for our ovm use and sold the 
balance to the local dealer. We expect to kill another 
sometime in December. This is one way for farmers to 
help themselves.” 
T HE American Agriculturist herd of worthless 
“crowbaits” is increasing every day. Why 
not do as the writer of this letter did and drive 
your poor cow in with the rest? The little 
blank by which you can show your cooperation 
is on Page 409. _ 
Eastman’s Chestnuts 
I AM quite sure that if the man who wrote the 
following advertisement in a California news¬ 
paper lived in the East, he would sign up his 
cow in the American Agriculturist “Fall A Kow” 
campaign! 
The ad, as I remember it, ran something like 
this: 
FOR SALE.—One large red and white cow, 
three-eighths mule and five-eighths wild cat. She 
usually goes on a visit every summer but is at 
present attached to her home by means of a 
long chain. To any person wishing to buy her, 
I will throw in the chain and a sledge hammer. 
Would be delighted to sell this cow to some 
citizen of San Diego who thinks he can whip 
Mexico single handed. > 
Quotations Worth While 
The sword wounds the body, but words wound 
the soul.—P roverbs of Arabia. 
* * * 
Truths and roses have thorns about them.— 
Proverbs of Spain. 
