88 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
February  6 
T  M  K 
Rural  New-Yorker 
TIMES  BUILDING,  NEW  YORK. 
*  * 
A  National  Weekly  Journal  for  Country  and  Suburban  Homes. 
*  * 
ELBERT  8.  CARMAN.  Kdltor  In  Chief 
HERBERT  W.  COLLINGWOOD,  Managing  Kdltor. 
Copyrighted  1892. 
SATURDAY,  FEBRUARY  6,  1892. 
We  may  slight  the  variety  tests  of  experiment 
stations  as  much  as  we  like  in  view  of  the  assumed 
greater  practical  results  which  may  come  out  of  experi¬ 
ments  of  a  supposed  higher  character.  It  strikes  us' 
now,  as  hitherto,  that  the  farmer  or  gardener  cannot 
afford  to  buy  and  try  all  of  the  high-priced  novelties 
that  are  offered  and  praised  by  the  seedsmen,  and  that 
it  may  fairly  be  considered  an  important  part  of  the 
duties  of  the  stations  to  do  such  work  for  them. 
*  * 
There  is  a  vigorous  movement  in  Massachusetts  to 
put  an  end  to  the  shame  and  scandal  of  the  bribery  of 
legislators,  judges  and  other  State  as  well  as  county 
officials  by  the  gift  of  free  railroad  passes.  Recent 
investigations  into  the  abuse  have  clearly  demonstrated 
its  disgraceful  nature  and  magnitude.  One  member  of 
the  legislature  asked  for  and  received  in  one  year  150 
free  passes  from  the  25  railroads  in  the  State.  Are  such 
favors  granted  for  nothing  by  shrewd  managers  of  rail¬ 
roads  ? 
*  * 
In  Farm  and  Fireside,  Mr.  Greiner  urges  as  an  objec¬ 
tion  to  free  rural  delivery  of  postal  matter  its  enormous 
expense,  which  would  preclude  further  reductions  in  the 
rates  of  postage,  especially  that  of  letter  postage  from 
two  to  one  cent  per  ounce.  It  does  not  strike  us  as  be¬ 
ing  a  fair  objection.  Before  any  further  reductions 
are  made  in  rates,  already  very  low,  let  us  look  after 
the  convenience  of  the  rural  population  a  little.  If  we 
could  have  free  rural  mails  without  materially  en¬ 
hancing  postage,  it  would  be  very  desirable.  It  is  yet 
an  open  question. 
*  * 
Now,  then,  my  farmer  friend,  when  rum  shops  in 
your  county  town  or  your  home  village  are  licensed, 
do  you  get  any  benefit  from  that  license  money  ?  Are 
your  sidewalks  put  in  order  or  your  roads  paved  with 
the  penalty  these  rum  sellers  pay  ?  Not  much.  Mighty 
little  of  that  money  ever  gets  outside  the  town  limits, 
but  the  curse  and  damage  of  the  business  travel  all 
over  the  county.  You  have  to  pay  your  share  of  caring 
for  the  rum-bred  paupers  and  criminals,  no  matter 
where  they  come  from.  A  weak-kneed  townsman  may 
perhaps  make  a  plausible  argument  in  favor  of  a  saloon 
because  it  “lowers  the  town  taxes.”  The  farmer  can 
give  no  possible  argument  in  favor  of  a  rum  shop. 
#  * 
There  are  indications  of  activity  in  the  New  York 
Dairy  Commissioner’s  department,  several  arrests 
having  been  recently  made  in  this  city  for  violations 
of  the  oleo  law.  This  is  well.  If  all  the  vigor  and 
energy  of  the  department  could  be  concentrated  here 
for  about  GO  days,  the  effect  would  be  most  wholesome, 
and  the  rural  districts  would,  in  the  end,  be  the  better 
for  it,  though  some  slight  trouble  might  arise  there  in 
the  meantime.  Vast  quantities  of  oleo  are  sold  here, 
and  nearly  every  pound  of  it  is  eaten  by  persons  who 
suppose  they  are  eating  butter,  and  it  often  finds  its 
way  to  tables  whose  frequenters  would  leave  them  in 
disgust,  were  the  real  situation  known.  Let  the  good 
work  go  on. 
*  * 
/ 
Farmers  are  justly  demanding  a  Pure  Food  Bill 
that  will  compel  manufacturers  to  guarantee  their  food 
products  and  to  distinctly  state  the  fact  when  mixtures 
of  inferior  or  cheaper  substances  are  offered.  In  plain 
words,  this  law  will  compel  manufacturers  to  tell  the 
truth  about  their  goods.  It  is  generally  admitted  that 
such  a  law  would  be  constitutional.  If  this  is  so,  why 
would  it  not  be  equally  fair  to  pass  a  law  to  protect 
farmers  against  the  false  and  exaggerated  statements 
in  the  catalogues  of  seedsmen  and  florists  ?  If  the 
grocer  violates  the  law  when  he  labels  a  mixture  of 
beans,  coffee  and  chicory  “  Pure  Coffee,”  is  not  the 
seedsman  also  a  criminal  when  he  lies  about  some  new 
plant  ?  Let’s  have  a  Pure  Plant  Law  while  we  are 
about  it.  *  * 
As  a  result  of  the  overproduction  of  cotton,  the 
Georgia  farmers  are  embarking  extensively  in  tobacco 
culture.  As  most  of  them  are  novices  in  the  business, 
it  is  to  be  feared  that  considerable  losses  will  occur 
from  their  ignorance  of  it.  While  the  soil  and  climate 
of  the  State  are  finely  adapted  to  the  growing  of  the 
crop,  the  curing  and  preparation  of  it  for  the  market  re¬ 
quire  skill  and  experience.  Indeed,  as  the  State  Com¬ 
missioner  of  Agriculture  says,  these  are  processes  which 
nobody  but  an  expert  should  attempt.  Diversification 
of  agriculture  is  urgently  needed  at  the  South  ;  but 
nobody  should  plunge  headlong  into  a  new  business 
which  requires  special  knowledge.  Those  who  do  this 
in  the  present  case  are  likely  to  realize  the  homely  ex¬ 
perience  of  jumping  from  the  frying-pan  into  the  fire. 
*  * 
The  representatives  of  the  People’s  party  in  Congress 
are  having  a  troubled  career.  It  is  reported  that  the 
majority  have  decided  to  act  with  the  Democrats  in 
enlarging  the  free  list  so  as  to  reduce  the  revenues. 
Their  object  in  doing  this  is  to  so  reduce  the  public 
funds  that  a  deficit  would  be  created  in  the  Treasury. 
They  would  then  try  to  compel  Congress  to  issue  legal 
tender  notes  to  cover  this  deficit,  based  on  the  prin¬ 
ciples  of  the  Sub-Treasury  plan!  If  these  men  are 
anxious  to  bankrupt  the  Treasury,  why  do  they  not 
introduce  and  support  bills  for  large  appropriations  ? 
This  would  empty  the  Treasury  at  a  much  faster  rate 
than  their  other  scheme.  As  the  Democrats  have  over 
150  majority  in  the  present  House,  and  the  People’s 
party  has  but  eight  representatives,  the  proposed 
plan  seems  silly  to  an  outsider. 
*  * 
The  last  legislature  of  Michigan  established  a 
double  mortgage  tax  in  that  State — it  not  only  taxed 
the  mortgaged  property  to  its  full  value,  as  though  free 
from  all  indebtedness;  but  it  also  taxed  the  mortgage 
or  evidence  of  debt.  Like  similar  legislation  every¬ 
where,  this  has  borne  heavily  on  the  debtor  class.  The 
first  to  feel  its  oppression  have  been  the  builders  who 
have  found  it  difficult  to  secure  loans,  and  the  conse¬ 
quent  stagnation  in  the  industry  has  thrown  thousands 
out  of  employment.  It  is  said  that  in  Detroit  not  one- 
third  of  the  usual  amount  of  building  is  in  progress 
because  of  the  refusal  of  the  money  lenders  to  invest 
in  property  subject  to  double  taxation.  Indeed,  the 
assessors  in  that  city  have  just  refused  to  apply  the 
tax,  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  the  constitutionality 
of  the  law  before  the  State  Supreme  Court.  The  evils 
from  hasty  and  ill-considered  legislation  generally  ex¬ 
ceed  those  from  the  abuses  it  seeks  to  remedy. 
*  * 
The  last  North  American  Review  contains  an  article 
by  Erastus  Wiman,  on  the  flour  of  the  future.  Very 
wisely,  he  condemns  the  fine  white  flour,  so  generally 
popular,  from  which  a  very  large  portion  of  the  most 
valuable  nutritive  elements  have  been  removed — not 
because  they  are  inherently  objectionable,  but  because 
they  tend  to  make  the  flour  less  white.  It  seems  that 
a  flour  is  made  in  England,  which  contains  all  there  is 
of  the  wheat,  and  which  is  rapidly  becoming  adopted 
by  people  of  sound  sense.  Bread  made  from  it  is  of  a 
golden  yellow  or  brown  tint.  We  should  be  glad  to  see 
this  flour  put  on  the  American  market  and  we  believe, 
with  suitable  effort,  it  could  be  brought  to  the  front. 
In  doing  this  introductory  work,  its  promoters  should 
bear  in  mind  that  the  bread-maker  needs  some  help — 
flour  of  this  kind  will  not  submit  to  being  handled  as 
does  the  common  white  flour.  M ethods  as  well  as  mater¬ 
ial  must  be  changed.  It  would  be  hard  to  overestimate 
the  good  which  would  result  were  this  sort  of  flour  to 
generally  supplant  its  whiter,  but  poorer  rival. 
*  * 
Last  Wednesday  a  convention  of  cotton  planters  and 
merchants  met  at  Atlanta,  Georgia,  chiefly  to  discuss 
the  reduction  of  the  cotton  acreage  throughout  the 
South.  It  was  resolved  that  whereas  the  enormous 
extension  of  cotton  culture  has  so  cheapened  the 
product  as  to  cause  wide  financial  depression,  the 
legislatures  of  the  various  cotton  States  should  be 
memorialized  to  enact  laws  that  would  accomplish  the 
following  results:  First — The  adaptation  of  the  Austra¬ 
lian  or  some  similar  system  for  the  registration  of  land 
titles  and  transfers ;  Second — To  secure  more  effect¬ 
ually  than  at  present  all  rights  and  privileges  apper¬ 
taining  to  or  in  any  way  belonging  to  land  ;  Third — 
That  all  agricultural  lands  be  classified  and  a  per¬ 
manent  valuation  for  taxation  fixed  upon  them,  and 
that  therefore,  for  a  period  of  33  years,  no  improve¬ 
ments  of  agricultural  lands  be  subject  to  assessments 
and  taxation  ;  Fourth — That  to  meet  the  present  and 
prospective  depreciation  of  cotton  a  moderate  license 
tax  be  placed  on  cotton  acreage  for  a  period  of  four 
years.  This  last  action,  however,  was  amended  so  as 
to  suggest  a  careful  consideration  by  the  legislatures 
of  the  subject  of  a  cotton  tax.  The  Australian  system 
of  land  transfer  is  growing  rapidly  in  favor  not  in  this 
country  alone,  but  among  all  English-speaking  people. 
The  two  next  demands  of  the  convention  are  equally 
applicable  to  all  other  sections  of  the  country.  With 
the  largest  cotton  crop  on  record,  the  planters  of  the 
South  are  likely  to  suffer  more  from  financial  depres¬ 
sion  this  year  than  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  owing 
to  overproduction  and  consequent  unprofitable  prices 
for  their  crop.  It  is  a  difficult  matter,  however,  to  dis¬ 
cover  any  means  of  properly  curtailing  production. 
Brevities. 
A  song  for  the  man,  the  dairyman, 
Who  feeds  with  skill  and  care, 
Who  makes  a  vow  that  the  good  old  cow 
SbiHl  have  her  honest  share. 
A  song  for  the  bin,  the  fat  meal  bin, 
That's  stuffed  with  clean,  sweet  grain, 
And  the  double  charge  of  the  measure  large 
That’s  heaped  up  once  again. 
A  song  for  the  test,  the  Babcock  test, 
The  robbers  it  will  show; 
How  its  acid  plows  out  the  pauper  cows 
The  farmer  ought  to  know. 
A  song  for  the  scales,  the  truthful  scales, 
That  show  in  black  and  white, 
If  the  cows  keep  square  with  a  profit  fair 
Or  a  debt  as  black  as  night. 
A  song  for  the  axe,  the  good  old  axe, 
That  smashes  on  the  head 
The  scrubs  unblest,  that  may  fail  the  test: 
They  help  the  dairy — dead! 
Ax  idle  horse  finds  mischief  for  himself. 
It  Is  the  well-fed  beast  that  “  dies  well.” 
What  do  you  think  of  Mr.  Newton’s  experiments  in  child  culture? 
Good  ensilage  helps  to  make  the  formerly  despondent  dairymen  sigh 
low! 
What  do  you  think— are  the  hired  man’s  potatoes  worth  18  or  45 
cents? 
IT  is  safer  to  raise  horses  that  sell  at  sight  than  those  that  only  Invite 
a  trade. 
A  hand  tip-cart  beats  a  wheelbarrow  for  draft,  speed  and  loading 
capacity. 
How  many  times  in  your  life  have  you  known  when  it  really  paid  to 
market  a  second-class  article  ? 
Whenever  you  cater  to  your  “  doggish  nature  ”  you  cut  off  an  inch 
or  more  from  your  moral  stature. 
WE  waved  the  starry  banner,  and  we  frightened  little  Chili;  was  it 
grand  and  patriotic,  or  was  it  somewhat  silly  ? 
Unless  a  man  is  ready  to  stand  up  and  let  folks  “count  him,”  the 
politician,  middleman  and  all  the  rest  will  mount  him. 
The  wantB  and  necessities  of  New  York  city’s  citizens  are  many  and 
various.  A  man  on  Sixth  avenue  swings  this  sign :  “  Black  Eyes  Cured 
Without  Painting!  ”  He  is  said  to  do  “a  fine  business.” 
Dr.  Hoskins  says  he  would  as  soon  eat  a  quince  out  of  the  hand  as 
to  eat  a  Keiffer  pear  in  that  way— at  the  same  time  the  quince  has  a 
high  place  for  culinary  use.  So  has  the  Keiffer  he  says— if  for  canning 
alone. 
The  plan  for  abolishing  the  ash  pan,  described  by  Mr.  Lane  on  page 
83,  seems  decidedly  “O.  K.”  Why  can  we  not  have  a  similar  attach¬ 
ment  to  the  range  or  coal  stove?  Is  there  any  worse  winter  job  than 
sifting  ashes? 
The  first  consideration  for  the  farmers  of  the  South  should  be  to 
grow  enough  of  food  to  fill  the  big  home  mouth;  in  growing  only  cot¬ 
ton  they  are  wrongly  on  the  track;  beware  an  empty  stomach  with  a 
surplus  for  the  back  ! 
When  you  are  tempted  to  be  mean  or  dishonest,  and  fight  the  desire 
down  after  a  struggle  with  yourself,  do  you  feel  big  to  think  you  con¬ 
quered  or  small  to  think  you  came  near  yielding?  We  would  put  our 
trust  in  the  one  who  feels  small? 
AN  editor's  “  blue  pencil  ”  is  generally  of  more  service  to  the  public 
than  his  pen;  that  is,  his  omissions  of  what  others  say  are  often  of 
morl  real  service  to  the  public  than  what  he  himself  writes.  That  is 
why  it  takes  16  ounces  of  speech  to  equal  an  ounce  of  silence! 
Who  can  be  expected  to  do  a  good  job  at  milking,  when  in  order  to 
do  it  one  must  snuggle  up  close  to  a  cow  so  dirty  that  she  looks  like  a 
walking  manure  pile?  Does  it  pay  to  keep  cows  clean?  Is  it  possible 
to  keep  the  manure  off  them?  Who  will  answer  such  questions? 
When  President  Harrison  was  at  Senator  Stanford’s  ranch  in  Cali¬ 
fornia,  he  was  asked  to  name  a  fine  young  colt.  He  suggested  "  Baby 
McKee  ’’—the  public  name  of  his  little  grandson.  This  colt  was  sold 
last  week  for  $25,000!  The  original  “  Baby  McKee  ”  would  probably  be 
held  for  many  times  that  sum! 
It  is  popular  to  sneer  at  the  “  unproductive  mule,”  because  that 
unfortunate  animal  is  denied  by  nature  the  privilege  of  serving 
as  a  parent.  But  a  mule  “produces"  more  work  per  pound  of  live 
weight  than  any  horse,  lives  longer  and  “  keeps  easier.”  Like  the 
Jersey  cow,  it  is  good  enough  at  its  specialty  to  be  excused  from 
double  duty. 
A  bill  has  been  introduced  in  the  Assembly  of  New  York  State, 
appropriating  $500,000  for  lengthening  locks  on  the  State  canals.  It  is 
safe  to  say  that  the  work  which  will  be  accomplished  by  this  appropri¬ 
ation,  if  granted,  could  be  done  for  half  the  money  if  done  by  private 
enterprise.  Public  works  seem  to  be  terrible  leeches,  as  witness  our 
new  Capitol  building,  which  was  to  have  cost  $4,000,000,  but  upon  which 
$20,000,000  have  been  spent  and  the  end  is  not  yet. 
University  extension  advocated  by  Prof.  Wing  in  a  recent  issue  of 
The  Ruual,  is  already  in  progress,  according  to  Dr.  Melville  Dewey  of 
the  New  York  Board  of  Regents.  “  Centers  ”  have  already  been  es¬ 
tablished  at  Albany,  Yonkers,  Rochester,  Batavia,  Albion,  Watertown, 
Gloversville  and  several  other  towns.  The  doctor  hopes  to  establish 
a  “  center  ”  in  every  city  and  town  in  the  State.  In  this  desirable 
work  he  has  the  hearty  support  and  sympathy  of  The  R.  N.-Y. 
The  Province  of  Quebec  is  ready  to  give  a  quarter  section  of  land  to 
any  head  of  a  family  who  can  show  12  living  children.  The  average 
person  will  probably  call  this  a  well  earned  reward.  Edward  Blanchet, 
a  former  Canadian,  is  44  years  old  and  his  wife  is  42.  They  have  been 
married  23  years  and  have  had  18  children.  Yet  Mr.  Blanchet  did  not 
gain  his  quarter  section  because  eight  of  the  children  have  died.  He 
has  moved  to  “the  States ”  and  with  his  wife  and  1U  living  children 
represents  one  dozen  of  Canada's  “  lost  population.” 
Oklahoma  is  now  seeking  admission  into  the  sisterhood  of  States 
Although  thrown  open  to  settlement  only  the  other  day,  she  now  claims 
more  inhabitants  than  Nevada,  Idaho  or  Wyoming,  which  were  lately 
dowered  with  Statehood.  True,  her  Territorial  machinery  is  still 
hardly  in  working  order,  and  wide  stretches  within  her  borders  are 
still  hardly  explored  much  less  settled ;  but  she  Is  much  more  agri¬ 
cultural  in  her  development  and  resources  than  any  of  the  others,  and 
her  petition  for  Statehood  therefore  appeals  particularly  to  the  sym¬ 
pathy  of  farmers.  Haven’t  we  already,  however,  too  many  pocket 
boroughs  represented  by  millionaires  in  the  United  States  plutocratic 
Senate? 
Cows  love  sunshine  next  to  their  food.  What  a  shame  it  is  to  cage 
them  in  dark,  damp  holes  where  they  cannot  get  a  sun  bath  !  One  of 
our  cows  in  a  stall  with  a  window,  broke  out  the  glass  just  before  the 
last  “  cold  snap.”  We  closed  it  hurriedly  with  boards  and  a  blanket 
to  keep  out  the  wind.  The  cow  missed  the  sun  and  did  her  best  to 
knock  off  the  boards  and  get  “  a  taste  of  the  sunshine.”  She  craved  it 
and  would  not  be  satisfied  without  it.  Poultryinen  all  speak  of  the 
great  need  of  glass  in  the  poultry  house,  so  that  the  hens  may  enjoy 
the  sunshine.  It  is  no  more  necessary  for  hens  than  it  is  for  cows. 
Sunshine  is  a  first-rate  thing  to  sell  in  milk  or  butter.  Let  it  into  the 
stables;  you  can't  get  it  into  the  butter  after  it  is  made  ! 
