72 
January  30 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
IHK 
Rural  New-Yorker 
TIMES  BUILDING,  NEW  YORK. 
*  * 
A  National  Weekly  Journal  for  Country  and  Suburban  Homes. 
*  * 
ELBERT  8.  CARMAN,  Editor  In  Chief 
HERBERT  W.  COLI.INC  WOOL,  Managing  Editor. 
Copyrighted  lHfn. 
8 A  TV RI) A  Y.  JA  N  VARY  31).  181)3. 
It  is  difficult  to  know  in  muny  cases  which  insects  are 
the  friends— which  the  “enemies”  of  mankind.  If  the 
ultimate  truth  could  be  arrived  at.  it  is  quite  possible 
that  those  insects  which  seem  the  most  antagonistic  to 
man  are  in  reality  friends  that  serve  him  in  a  way  so 
indirect  that  their  service  is  not  even  suspected. 
*  * 
One  of  the  visionary  things  that  the  press  talks  of 
and  many  are  striving  after  is  fruit  of  the  first  excel¬ 
lence  that  will  “thrive  everywhere.”  It  is  well  to 
aim  high  in  the  improvements  of  fruits  and  plants  of 
all  kinds.  Hut  the  “ thrive  everywhere”  target  will 
never  be  hit  in  the  bull’s  eye.  Asa  rule,  the  wider  the 
range  of  country  in  which  a  given  fruit  will  thrive,  the 
lower  it  will  rank  in  some  essential  quality. 
*  * 
Hv  going  over  the  day’s  lessons  with  the  children 
every  night,  you  will  perform  three  mighty  useful 
things:  1.  Do  the  children  good  by  seeing  that  they  are 
properly  taught  and  interested  in  study.  2.  Review 
your  own  education.  3.  Bring  something  new  into 
your  life,  and  get  the  mind  started  for  a  broader  and 
happier  place  in  life.  Can’t  do  it  ?  Why  not  ?  We 
will  defy  you  to  give  one  good  reason  ? 
*  * 
Wk  put  a  boy  at  work  washing  windows  to  be  paid  by 
the  job,  we  supposing  he  would  do  it  all  by  hand.  The 
boy  borrowed  a  force  pump  and  washed  the  windows 
by  pump  and  hand  power  combined,  thus  saving  half 
the  time  for  play.  We  could  find  no  fault  with  the 
quality  of  the  work.  He  deserved  his  pay  and  also  the 
play  time,  did  he  not  ?  Should  his  next  stent  be  in¬ 
creased  beyond  that  of  other  boys  who  do  not  think '? 
*  * 
On  the  next  page  will  be  found  a  synopsis  of  the 
tariff  views  of  Judge  William  Lawrence,  President  of 
the  Ohio  Wool  Growers’ Association.  Judge  Lawrence 
may  be  safely  considered  tin*,  highest  authority  on  the 
wool  growers’  interests  from  the  standpoint  of  a  pro¬ 
tectionist,  as  he  helped  to  frame  the  wool  schedule  of 
the  .McKinley  Hill,  and  has  been  watching  for  evasions 
of  it.  1 1  is  statements  are  of  particular  interest  now 
that  efforts  are  being  made  to  put  wool  on  the  free  list. 
*  * 
During  the  past  year  the  bounties  on  domestic  sugar 
have  amounted  to  nearly  $11,000,000.  Just  as  predicted 
by  The  Rural  at  the  time  of  the  passage  of  the  McKin¬ 
ley  Hill,  a  determined  effort  is  already  being  made  to 
repeal  this  bounty  law,  and  a  large  proportion  of  the 
farmers  of  the  country  favor  the  project,  mainly  on  the 
ground  that  very  few  engaged  in  agriculture  are  bene¬ 
fited  by  it.  Nearly  the  whole  of  the  89, 000, 000  to  be 
distributed  among  the  cane  sugar  growers  will  be  ap¬ 
propriated  by  less  than  150  of  the  richest  sugar  pro¬ 
ducers  of  the  South,  and  little  sympathy  is  generally 
felt  for  them  on  account  of  the  contemplated  diminu¬ 
tion  of  their  profits,  especially  as  every  household  in 
the  nation  is  taxed  to  pay  the  donation  made  to  them. 
1  he  producers  of  beet  sugar  are  likely  to  be  the  sever¬ 
est  sufferers  by  a  change  in  the  law.  Owing  to  the 
great  cost  of  the  machinery  and  other  equipments 
necessary  for  the  manufacture  of  this  kind  of  sugar, 
its  production  must  be  confined  to  capitalists  or  wealthy 
corpoiations  ,  but  the  establishment  of  works  in  any 
place  affords  neighboring  farmers  a  chance  of  making 
money  in  the  new  industry.  The  latest  investigations 
are  reported  to  demonstrate  that  the  soil  and  climate 
of  many  sections  of  the  country,  especially  of  Califor¬ 
nia,  are  admirably  adapted  to  the  production  of  beets 
exceptionally  rich  in  saccharine  matter,  and  that  with 
the  encouragement  afforded  by  the  bounty,  beet  sugar 
production  in  this  country  would  be  likely  ere  long  to 
eclipse  that  of  any  European  nation,  though  fostered 
by  government  bounties  and  largesses  for  upwards 
of  half  a  century.  While  the  bounties  to  maple  sugar 
producers  would  doubtless  greatly  extend  the  business 
in  time,  and  amount  to  quite  a  considerable  sum  in 
the  aggregate,  the  amount  received  by  individual 
growers  must  be  so  small  that  no  great  hardship  would 
be  suffered  by  the  abrogation  of  the  bounty  on  this 
product,  especially  as  few  have  yet  ventured  to  in¬ 
crease  the  number  of  their  trees  to  any  considerable 
extent.  In  the  minds  of  thousands  of  farmers  who  are 
not  personally  interested  in  sugar  production,  the  main 
objection  to  any  interference  with  the  sugar  bounty 
law  would  be  due  to  a  dislike  of  the  removal  of  any 
part  of  the  slight  encouragement  to  agriculture  afford¬ 
ed  by  the  present  tariff  laws  of  the  country. 
*  * 
I  he  Rural  New-Yorker  most  devoutly  hopes  that 
we  shall  be  spared  a  war  with  Chili,  and  it  is  very  pro¬ 
foundly  impressed  with  the  idea  that  no  war  is  neces¬ 
sary.  Of  course,  in  a  war  with  Chili,  we  should  very 
promptly  get  the  best  of  it;  but  war  is  an  evil  always 
to  be  avoided  if  possible  with  honor.  Being  infinitely 
greater  and  stronger,  we  can  afford  to  keep  cool  while 
the  resources  of  statesmanship  are  invoked  to  right 
the  wrong,  whatever  it  may  be,  and  if  the  statesman¬ 
ship  of  the  two  countries  proves  inadequate  to  the  task, 
let  us  invoke  the  mediation  of  some  friendly  powers. 
I  he  mastiff  does  not  fight  when  a  diminutive  cur 
yelps  at  him,  nor  docs  a  brave  man  pound  a  little  boy 
who  insults  him.  Let  us  be  dignified,  but  firm.  Let 
us  talk  of  peace,  not  of  war.  We  can  wait  a  little 
longer  for  redress  of  grievances,  and  shame  the  little 
South  American  Bantam  who  now  crows  so  loud,  more 
by  our  generosity  than  we  could  by  a  drubbing. 
*  # 
On  page  34  Mr.  S.  C.  Hall,  of  Greene  County,  N.  Y., 
opposed  the  plan  of  extending  the  free  delivery  of  the 
mails  to  rural  districts.  Judging  from  the  dozens  of 
letters  already  at  hand,  Mr.  Hall  is  just  now  one  of  the 
most  unpopular  men  before  the  public.  If  he  could 
heai  what  is  said  about  him,  his  ears  would  burn  so 
that  he  would  need  no  mufflers  this  winter.  This  is  a 
free  country,  and  Mr.  II.  has  a  perfect  right  to  express 
his  opinion  on  any  public  man  or  measure.  Just  at 
present,  however,  lie  seems  to  be  in  a  small  minority 
with  a  good  many  counties  to  be  heard  from.  The  fact 
is  that  there  is  a  more  general  demand  for  this  free 
delivery  among  farmers  than  for  any  other  measure 
we  know  of.  At  the  same  time  many  farmers  have 
solved  the  problem  by  combining  to  secure  the  mail 
delivery  without  asking  Uncle  Sam  to  help  them. 
Next  week  we  shall  tell  about  a  Mail  Delivery  Associa¬ 
tion  founded  by  some  farmers  on  Long  Island,  that  has 
worked  well.  Organize  and  start  a  regular  delivery 
yourselves  and  you  will  stand  a  far  better  chance  of 
being  helped.  I  ncle  Sam  seems  to  love  those  who 
“  get  a-going.” 
*  * 
NODULES  AND  NITROGEN. 
The  nodule  theory  is  now  and  has  been  since  1886, 
when  it  was  first  announced  by  Hellriegel,  engag¬ 
ing  an  accumulative  amount  of  attention.  Nodules 
which  form  on  the  roots  of  certain  leguminous  plants 
are  found  to  be  rich  in  nitrogen,  and  it  is  thought 
that  this  nitrogen  comes  from  the  air  and  is  fixed  by 
bacteria  which  thrive  in  these  nodules,  thus  supplying 
the  plant  with  nitrogenous  food.  There  is  no  evidence 
as  yet  that  the  leaves  or  stems  of  legumes  (such  as 
clover,  lupine,  peas  and  beans)  have  any  power  to 
assimilate  the  free  nitrogen  of  the  air,  or  that  it  is 
changed  into  an  assimilable  combined  nitrogen  in  the 
soil.  It  is  these  low,  minute  organisms  that  fix  it,  and 
the  nodule  is  their  abode  or  laboratory  in  which  the 
work  goes  on.  If  positive  proof  of  this  were  given,  we 
should  know  that  these  micro-organisms  have  a  power 
that  no  higher  form  of  life  is  known  to  possess,  that,  viz. , 
of  assimilating  the  elementary  substance,  nitrogen. 
'That  these  tubercles  supply  the  plant  with  nitrogen  is 
shown  from  the  fact  that  leguminous  plants  grown  in  a 
sterilized  soil  or  medium,  and  thus  not  accessible  to 
bacteria,  do  not  form  the  tubercles  ;  that  is  to  say,  they 
cannot  avail  themselves  of  the  nitrogen  of  the  atmos¬ 
phere  except  when  the  bacteria  enter  them,  the  only 
evidence  of  which  we  have  at  present  being  the  root 
nodule. 
Plants  grown  in  sterilized  soils  (soils  in  which  there 
were  no  bacteria)  did  not  develop  the  nodules,  and  the 
plants  grew  only  in  proportion  as  nitrogen  was  fed  to 
them.  Hut  there  were  no  tubercles  and  hence  no  evi¬ 
dence  of  any  appropriation  of  atmospheric  nitrogen. 
It  seems  to  have  been  further  shown  that  each  class 
of  legumes  may  have  its  peculiar  bacterium  upon 
which  it  alone  or  best  thrives.  That  is  to  say,  if  peas, 
lupine  and  alfalfa  be  grown  separately,  they  will 
thrive  best  if  inoculated  with  cultures  from  the  tuber¬ 
cles  of  roots  of  the  same  species  or  from  infusion  of  soil 
extract  taken  from  where  such  crops  are  being  raised. 
Just  of  what  service  this  discovery  may  ultimately 
prove  to  farmers,  it  is  yet  too  early  to  form  any  intel- 
ligent  opinion.  Profit  may  lie  in  ascertaining  what 
particular  member  of  the  great  Pulse  family  will  best 
thrive  in  a  given  field  or  farm  and,  through  rotations 
of  shorter  or  longer  duration,  furnish  the  soil  with  so 
much  nitrogen  that  it  will  be  necessary  to  supply  only 
the  minerals,  potash  and  phosphate,  in  one  form  or  an¬ 
other  in  the  production  of  profitable  or  maximum  crops. 
A  great  majority  of  the  people  we  meet  seem  to 
have  some  nose  disease  or  catarrhal  troqble.  No  class 
of  quacks  reap  a  richer  harvest  than  do  those  who 
claim  to  cure  catarrh.  Most  of  the  snuffs  and  gargles 
recommended  for  this  disease  are  worse  than  useless. 
I  here  is  no  excuse  for  drenching  the  nose  with  salt 
and  water  or  water  in  any  form.  Water  is  “  a  foreign 
substance  ”  to  the  healthy  nose — it  never  goes  there  in 
health  and  there  is  no  reason  why  it  should.  The  best 
“home  treatment  ’  for  catarrh  is  to  use  common  bicar¬ 
bonate  of  soda  as  a  snuff  and  also  blown  against  the 
back  of  the  upper  throat.  This,  with  a  fixed  habit  of 
breathing  through  the  nose — not  through  the  mouth — 
will  help  mild  cases  of  the  ailment.  For  chronic  cases 
an  expert,  not  a  quack,  is  needed. 
*  * 
Quite  a  wordy  war  is  going  on  in  many  of  the  papers 
over  the  action  of  the  California  peach  growers  in  re¬ 
fusing  to  use  Eastern-grown  peach  trees.  At  present 
the  disease  known  as  “  peach  yellows”  is  unknown 
in  California,  and  the  growers  in  that  State  do  not  pro¬ 
pose  to  have  it  if  they  can  avoid  it.  About  the  only 
way  it  can  get  there  is  through  the  importation  of  dis¬ 
eased  stock.  The  growers  therefore  propose  to  pro¬ 
hibit  all  importations,  whether  from  healthy  or  affected 
localities.  '1  his  is  heroic  treatment,  but  they  say  it  is 
the  only  sure  way.  Many  Eastern  nurserymen  are,  by 
this  action,  deprived  of  a  very  large  trade  in  peach 
trees  for  which  they  had  prepared  and  which  they 
cannot  afford  to  lose.  At  the  same  time,  Cali¬ 
fornia  nurseries  will  be  greatly  helped,  as  the  “home 
market  ”  will  be  reserved  exclusively  for  them.  The 
only  redress  for  the  Eastern  growers  will  be  to  estab¬ 
lish  branch  nurseries  in  California.  If  the  facts  are  as 
we  understand  them,  the  Californians  are  justified  in 
taking  extreme  measures  to  keep  the  “  yellows  ”  out 
of  their  State.  The  rumored  “retaliation”  scheme  of 
passing  State  laws  prohibiting  the  sale  of  California 
fruit  on  account  of  its  sanitary  condition,  is  absurd. 
Brevities. 
The  meanest  of  ail  stealing  that  I  know  of  is  to  steal 
The  polish  off  the  feelings  of  some  chap  and  make  him  feel 
As  though  you  sought  to  brand  him  with  hot  iron  on  the  heart. 
I  call  such  action  cruel— only  rogues  will  call  It  smart. 
I  know  there’s  lots  of  fellows  now  whose  feelings  can  t  be  hurt- 
You  might  as  well  cut  at  them  as  to  punch  a  mai!6d  shirt. 
A  broad-axe  big  and  heavy  couldn't  hurt  them  half  enough. 
They  need  a  thorough  pounding,  but  I  tell  you  it  is  rough, 
When  tender,  kindly  natures,  true  as  are  the  stars  above. 
Are  burned  by  life's  sharp  acid,  with  no  healing  balm  of  love 
And  any  man  or  woman  who  will  make  such  feelings  sore 
With  useless  word  or  action  U  a  thief  and  nothing  more! 
Put  a  point  on  your  efforts. 
No  farmer  ever  lost  a  cent  by  being  neat  in  dress  and  habits. 
Have  you  frozen  the  horse's  tongue  with  a  cold  bit  this  year  ? 
Better  go  out  and  shovel  snow  than  let  a  useless  quarrel  grow. 
Why  not  do  your  moulting  this  winter  when  you  have  most  time. 
Don’t  wait  till  work  begins. 
A  HARROW  with  long  teeth  or  a  big  roller  will  handle  the  snow  on 
your  road  better  than  any  “  plow  ”  in  the  country. 
Teach  a  boy  to  love  his  work  and  he’ll  never  be  a  shirk.  Good!  but 
pray  don’t  stop  at  preach— practice;  tell  us  how  to  teach! 
We  shall  soon  print  a  picture  of  the  president  of  the  New  York  State 
Farmers’  Alliance,  with  a  statement  of  the  demands  of  that  order. 
Maple  sugar  licences  have  been  granted  to  makers  in  14  States. 
Vermont  leads  with  2,686,  New  York  has  842,  Ohio  224  and  Maine 
only  22. 
You  had  better  leave  the  “smell  of  the  barn”  in  a  pair  of  overalls, 
which  you  can  hang  on  a  nail  before  you  go  into  the  house.  No  use 
for  it  in  the  house. 
One  theory  for  the  low  prices  of  wool  is  that  the  past  few  mild  win¬ 
ters  have  cut  down  the  demand  for  thick  woolen  goods.  If  the  present 
weather  keeps  up  much  longer  this  theory  will  receive  a  mighty  prac¬ 
tical  test. 
Mh.  C.  S.  Rice  is  always  instructive  and  interesting.  His  way  of 
handling  the  manure  is  hard  to  beat.  The  piles  ferment  in  the  field. 
The  snow  provides  a  perfect  track  for  hauling  it  out.  It  needs  a  cold 
country,  though. 
Governor  Ahbett,  of  New  Jersey,  tells  the  farmers  of  that  State 
that  “  success  in  agriculture  lies  in  the  farmer's  ability  to  deliver  his 
products  in  the  markets  at  the  least  possible  cost.”  He  proposes  a 
State  Commission  of  Transportation  that  shall  stand  between  the 
farmer  and  common  carrier  and  adjust  rates  fairly. 
The  Republicans  of  Louisiana  and  of  the  nation  have  a  good  chance 
to  “  show  themselves  ”  on  the  lottery  question.  It  seems  to  be  admit¬ 
ted  that  the  negro  vote  alone  can  save  the  lottery  from  defeat,  and  it 
is  about  certain  that  the  majority  of  the  negroes  will  vote  against  the 
infamy  if  urged  to  do  so  by  the  national  Republican  leaders.  The 
Republicans  therefore  have  a  chance  to  prove  that  they  still  desire  to 
be  the  party  of  “  moral  ideas.” 
IN  his  seventh  annual  report  (for  the  year  18110),  the  Dairy  Commis¬ 
sioner  of  this  State  says:  “  Manufacturers  of  and  dealers  in  oleomar¬ 
garine  *  *  have  ceased  to  be  a  factor  in  the  business  enterprise  of 
the  State.  So  closely  have  they  been  watched  that  cases  of  actual 
violation  have  become  very  few.”  The  Rural  would  like  to  know  just 
what  the  Commissioner  thinks  of  the  situation  to-day  There  is  a 
growing  idea  that  things  have  materially  changed. 
Mrs.  Kate  M.  Bitsick  of  Indiana,  is  a  breeder  of  Jersey  cattle  and  one 
of  the  few  American  women  who  have  become  famous  in  Jersey  liter¬ 
ature.  Perhaps  her  chief  argument  in  favor  of  the  Jerseys  is  that  they 
make  yellow  butter,  that  they  are  capable  of  extracting  the  color  from 
the  food  given  them  and  never  need  to  be  helped  out  by  any  butter 
color.  We  are  told  how  she  sent  a  sample  of  her  butter  to  a  commis¬ 
sion  man  who  reported  that  it  "would  have  been  all  right  if  she  had 
not  used  quite  so  much  butter  color!”  Theonly  butter  color  she  had 
used  was  a  Jersey  cow!  A  bright  man  that! 
Dr.  Keeley,  who  has  achieved  considerable  notoriety  as  the  dis¬ 
coverer  of  the  bi-chloride  of  gold  cure  for  dipsomania,  has  made  an¬ 
other  discovery— a  specific  for  la  grippe.  It  is  assafoetida.  Take  four- 
grain  doses,  four  times  a  day,  and  the  thing  is  done.  When  we  remem¬ 
ber  the  grip  the  doctor  has  kept  on  the  formula  of  his  bi-chloride  cure, 
we  wonder  at  his  free  gift  of  his  new  discovery  to  the  public.  On 
second  thought,  the  apparent  liberality  is  explained.  One  who  had 
taken  It!  grains  of  that  fragrant  drug  would  diffuse  the  secret  to  all 
who  came  near.  It  Is  a  tell-tale-it  will  not  be  suppressed.  No  respect¬ 
able  microbe  would  remain  in  an  anatomy  pervaded  by  such  a  mal¬ 
odorous  remedy 
