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THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
February  20 
detail  the  symptoms  of  the  disease  and  the  liability  of 
other  animals  to  become  affected.  lie  also  set  forth 
the  danger  of  transmitting  the  disease  to  the  human 
family  by  the  use  of  the  milk  and  meat  from  diseased 
cattle.  Prof.  F.  D.  Chester,  of  Delaware  College,  fol¬ 
lowed  with  an  able  discussion  of  the  work  of  scientists 
in  determining  the  cause  of  tuberculosis.  Every 
precaution  was  taken  to  prevent  the  spread  of  the  dis¬ 
ease  germs.  The  blood  of  the  animals  was  collected, 
and  together  with  the  bodies  and  offal  all  were  burned 
to  ashes. 
PRESIDENT  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  FARMERS’  ALLIANCE. 
During  the  past  two  years  The  R.  N.-Y.  has  printed 
a  number  of  sound,  practical  and  comprehensive  arti¬ 
cles  on  the  agriculture  of  Western  New  York  by  the 
man  whose  name  appears  at  the  head  of  this  sketch. 
The  son  of  one  of  the  best  farmers  in  the  State,  a 
trained  student  and  an  extensive  traveler  on  American 
soil,  Mr.  Dibble  seemed  peculiarly  well  fitted  to  de¬ 
scribe  the  farm  practices  of  his  native  section — the 
famous  Genesee  Valley.  At  the  convention  of  the  New 
York  State  Farmers’  Alliance  and  Industrial  Union, 
Mr.  Dibble  was  elected  president.  With  characteristic 
energy  he  at  once  plunged  into  the  business  of  his  new 
position,  and  has  given  the  Alliance  in  New  York  State 
a  solid  force  that  is  bound  to  make  itself  felt — in  busi¬ 
ness  if  not  in  politics.  Mr.  Dibble  is  a  young  man, 
under  30  years.  He  was  educated  at  the  Genesee  Wes¬ 
leyan  Seminary,  and  has  served  with  credit  as  one  of 
the  lecturers  at  the  farmers’  institutes.  As  to  the 
association  of  which  he  is  president,  we  let  him  speak 
in  the  following  words  : 
What  the  Alliance  Proposes  to  Do  ! 
The  New  York  State  Council  of  the  National  Farmers’ 
Alliance  and  Industrial  Union  is  laboring  to  advance 
the  farmer  to  his  true  place  among  the  citizens  of  the 
State,  though  not  to  the  detriment  of  the  other  labor 
interests.  What  we  hope  to  accomplish  in  national 
affairs  may  be  found  incorporated  in  the  principles  of 
the  Ocala  platform,  which  our  State  Council  has  ratified 
by  a  unanimous  vote. 
As  regards  State  matters  we  demand  :  1.  That  per¬ 
sonal  property  should  bear  its  just  proportion  of  the 
burdens  of  taxation.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the 
value  of  personal  property  in  New  York  State  equals, 
if  it  does  not  exceed,  the  value  of  the  real  ;  yet  under 
the  present  laws,  real  estate  pays  90  per  cent  of  tha 
burdens  of  the  government,  while  personal  pays  but 
10  per  cent. 
2.  That  mortgages  should  be  considered  as  real  es¬ 
tate  for  the  purposes  of  taxation. 
3.  That  the  legal  rate  of  interest  should  be  reduced 
from  six  to  five  per  cent. 
4.  That  we  discontinue  further  appropriations  towards 
the  construction  or  improvements  of  the  capital  at 
Albany. 
5.  That  we  discontinue  appropriations  towards  the 
maintenance  or  improvement  of  the  Erie  Canal,  as 
under  the  present  system  we  are  helping  the  grain 
gamblers  of  the  great  West  to  undersell  ourselves. 
6.  That  the  State  should  supply  school  books  to  our 
children  of  school  age  at  cost. 
7.  That  strict  laws  should  be  passed  at  once  to  pre¬ 
vent  dealing  in  futures  in  agricultural  products  or 
other  means  of  manipulating  commodities  so  as  to  give 
them  a  ficticious  value,  thereby  producing  an  unstable 
market  to  the  great  injury  of  the  farmer. 
8.  That  liberal  appropriations  should  be  made  for 
the  experiment  stations,  farmers’  institute  work  and 
the  several  agricultural  societies  in  the  State. 
9.  That  there  shall  not  be  a  park  established  in  the 
Adirondack  Mountains  at  the  State  expense  as  pro¬ 
posed,  as  a  pleasure  ground  for  the  rich  inhabitants  of 
our  great  cities. 
There  are  a  number  of  other  important  measures 
which  we  hope  our  legislature  will  adopt  at  an  early 
date,  but  lack  of  space  forbids  their  mention  ;  but  it  is 
safe  to  say  that  the  Farmers’  Alliance  will  be  found  in 
favor  of  any  and  all  legislation  that  will  benefit  the 
greatest  number  of  our  citizens. 
Although  our  members  are  pursuing  the  study  of 
politics,  which  is  merely  the  “  science  of  government.” 
we  realize  that  we  can  not  legislate  a  good  farmer  out 
of  a  poor  one,  and  therefore  we  discuss  at  our  meet¬ 
ings,  besides  political  questions,  the  various  phases  of 
farming,  in  order  that  we  may  be  better  farmers,  and 
more  intelligent  men.  Lastly,  we  have  completed  a 
system  of  cooperation  in  buying  by  which  we  are  en¬ 
abled  to  purchase  everything  we  need  in  our  houses  or 
upon  our  farms  or  wear  upon  our  bodies  at  an  average 
reduction  of  33%  per  cent,  thereby  saving  to  the  mem¬ 
bers  of  our  order  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  an¬ 
nually  in  this  State  alone.  As  a  practical  illustration, 
three  Sub- Alliances  in  an  adjoining  town  in  Monroe 
County,  saved  about  §1.000  on  800  tons  of  coal  last 
fall. 
The  Alliance  in  this  State  is  not  yet  a  year  old,  but 
it  has  already  become  a  power  and  is  gaining  more 
rapidly  than  ever  before.  Judging  from  the  present 
indications  our  membership,  on  May  1,  will  be  five 
times  what  it  is  to-day,  and  every  agricultural  county 
will  be  organized. 
With  our  corps  of  organizers  in  the  field  this  winter, 
the  honest  and  just  principles  which  we  feel  are  ex¬ 
pressed  in  our  demands,  and  the  hearty  support  of  all 
intelligent  farmers  wherever  our  organizers  meet  them, 
there  is  ample  evidence  that  the  people  are  awake  to 
the  signs  of  the  times. 
We  want  every  honest  farmer  who  is  the  friend  of 
honest  legislation,  whether  he  be  a  Republican  or  a 
Democrat,  to  join  with  us  (our  organization  is  strictly 
non-partisan)  and  use  his  influence  to  give  us  a  clean, 
economical,  State  government,  by  the  people,  of  the 
people  and  for  the  people.  edward  f.  DIBBLE. 
A  Gleaner’s  Notes. 
A  writer  in  the  Farm  Journal  says  : 
The  most  troublesome  weed  I  have  to  deal  with  in 
my  asparagus  rows  is  green  grass.  Last  fall,  after 
cultivation  was  suspended  on  account  of  the  heavy 
growth  of  tops,  this  grass  started,  and  the  warm  win¬ 
ter  has  enabled  it  to  make  a  sod  around  the  plants. 
My  first  job  in  the  truck  garden  will  be  to  uproot  this 
grass,  and  put  on  the  usual  dressing  of  potash  and 
bone  meal. 
I  find  that  it  pays  me  to  give  my  asparagus  rows  a 
top-dressing  of  salt  each  season,  about  the  middle  o 
Edward  S.  Dibble.  Fig.  74. 
President  of  the  New  York  State  Farmers’  Alliance. 
July  when  grass  begins  to  be  troublesome.  Onground 
thus  dressed  there  will  be  neither  weeds  nor  grass,  and 
the  application  does  not  seem  to  affect  the  asparagus 
in  any  way.  It  certainly  tends  to  keep  the  soil  moist. 
Our  favorites — the  ones  we  would  plant  for  home 
use,  are  the  following  grapes :  Green  Mountain, 
Eldorado,  Niagara  (white)  ;  Rrighton,  Delaware. 
Dracut  Amber.  Massasoit  (red)  ;  Worden  and  Concord 
(black). — American  Gardening. 
The  Gleaner  would  strike  out  of  that  list  El  Dorado, 
Niagara  and  Dracut  Amber.  Reasons  :  It  is  almost 
impossible  to  get  a  perfect  bunch  of  El  Dorado  and  it 
requires  too  long  a  season.  The  Diamond  is  a  better 
white  grape  (to  my  taste)  than  the  Niagara.  Dracut 
Amber  has  too  much  of  the  “  native  aroma”  for  my 
taste.  Put  Agawam  or  Lindley  in  its  place  and  if  you 
want  a  very  fine  black  grape,  add  Wilder. 
It  has  always  seemed  to  us  that  there  is  something 
superior  in  the  character  of  a  person  who  is  fond  of 
horticulture.  Whoever  heard  of  a  man  going  to  the 
bad  who  liked  to  work  in  the  orchard,  among  trees 
and  plants  and  flowers  ?  Score  the  highest  mark  for 
the  orchardist — and  match  him  if  you  can  in  all  the 
attributes  of  a  serene,  upright,  generous  man. — Farm 
lournal. 
Our  sparkling  contemporary  is  right  as  usual.  The 
man  whose  hobby  is  fruits  and  flowers  is  nine  times 
out  of  ten  sure  to  be  a  better  man  than  he  would  have 
been  had  he  lacked  that  peculiar  taste.  There  is  some¬ 
thing  refining  and  elevating  in  horticulture  and  blessed 
is  the  wife  whose  husband  leans  that  way. 
The  New  York  Tribune  says  : 
“  A  famous  doctor”  is  quoted  as  saying  that  one  who 
eats  a  good  bowl  of  corn  mush  and  milk  for  breakfast 
will  have  no  occasion  for  medicine.  “Hall’s  Journal 
of  Health  ”  celebrates  the  same  combination  as  cheap, 
nutritious,  easily  assimilated  and  anti-constipating. 
Doubtless  the  authorities  quoted  are  good,  but  the 
Gleaner  has  a  breakfast  which  he  thinks  is  better.  It 
is  simply  a  bowl  of  granula  and  milk  with  some  fruit, 
either  fresh  or  canned.  This  has  been  his  breakfast 
for  10  years,  save  occasionally  when  away  from  home, 
and  he  finds  it  a  perfect  food. 
One  of  the  largest  berry  box  manufacturers  in  this 
country  makes  17  different  sizes  of  “  quarts,”  of  which 
only  two  will  actually  hold  a  quart.  This  ought  not 
to  be.  Berries  should  be  sold  by  the  quart,  not  by  the 
box,  and  each  box  should  hold  a  full  quart. — The 
Examiner. 
To  be  frank,  we  do  not  credit  that  part  of  the  above 
story  which  reflects  on  the  quantity  the  baskets  will 
hold.  Our  own  experience  goes  to  show  that  the  boxes 
hold  all  they  purport  to  hold.  The  Examiner  should 
tell  us  who  is  the  offender,  if  it  believes  the  story. 
By  selling  Concord  Grapes  at  the  rate  of  one  cent  per 
pound,  New  York  fruit  growers  would  average  a  profit 
of  about  §80  per  acre. — Amateur  Gardening. 
Three  to  four  tons  per  acre  is  as  much  as  any  vine- 
yardist,  who  knows  his  business,  will  try  to  produce. 
If  the  larger  figure,  the  gross  receipts  would  be  §80. 
Deduct  from  this  the  labor,  interest  on  investment, 
freight,  commission  and  shipping  packages,  and  the 
§80  will  be  largely  reduced.  When  the  crop  pans  out 
at  the  lower  figure,  three  tons,  the  margin  would  be 
small  indeed. 
ANSWER  TO  CORRESPONDENTS. 
[Every  query  must  be  accompanied  by  the  name  and  address  of  the 
writer  to  insure  attention.  Before  asking  a  question,  please  see  if  it  is 
not  answered  in  our  advertising  columns.  Ask  only  a  few  questions 
at  one  time.  Put  questions  on  a  separate  piece  of  paper.] 
Clover,  Sheep  and  Manure  ! 
E.  H.  K..  Wayne  County,  N.  Y. — We  have  inherited  a 
farm  of  100  acres  that  is  badly  run  down  and  will  not 
produce  as  good  crops  as  are  grown  on  neighboring 
farms  not  nearly  so  fertile  naturally.  We  are  trying 
to  bring  it  up  by  cultivation,  keeping  more  stock  and 
using  all  the  straw  and  manure  on  the  premises. 
Timothy  hay  has  been  grown  to  the  exclusion  of  clover 
for  the  last  10  or  12  years  as  the  owner  became  dis¬ 
couraged  in  trying  to  raise  clover.  Few  farmers  in 
this  locality  raise  much.  I  have  20  acres  of  wheat 
which  stands  fairly  well  this  winter.  It  was  put  in 
with  200  pounds  of  fertilizer  to  the  acre.  No  grass 
seed  was  sown.  I  propose  to  sow  it  to  red  clover  in 
the  spring — catch  or  no  catch.  1.  What  kind  of  clover 
seed  shall  I  sow  ?  2.  What  is  the  best  time  to  sow  it  ? 
3.  Would  it  be  advisable  to  try  A  Like  or  Lucern, 
and,  if  so.  what  is  the  proper  method  of  sowing  this 
grass  ? 
Ans. — 1.  Use  medium  red  clover,  six  quarts  mixed 
with  one  quart  of  Alsike  and  two  quarts  of  Timothy 
seed  per  acre.  When  the  land  gets  fertile  and  in  good 
tilth,  germination  will  be  more  certain  and  less  seed  can 
be  used.  2.  Sow  on  the  last  skip  of  snow  if  possible, 
or  before  freezing  has  entirely  ceased.  If  the  seeding 
is  deferred  the  ground  gets  packed  hard  by  frequent 
rains,  the  wheat  will  be  so  large  as  to  shade  the  ground 
and  there  will  be  danger  of  failure.  Once  in  very  long 
intervals,  clover  if  sowed  very  early,  germinates,  and 
if  the  young  leaves — cotyledons — are  just  above  the 
ground  when  a  heavy  frost  comes,  the  young  plants  will 
be  killed.  This  happens  so  seldom  that  it  is  hardly 
worth  while  to  take  account  of  it.  3.  You  will  hardly 
succeed  with  Alfalfa  or  Lucern  by  itself  unless  much 
pains  are  taken  by  culture  for  an  entire  year,  in  order 
to  get  it  started  and  then  it  does  not  thrive  well  in 
many  localities.  The  most  that  can  be  done  is  to  ex¬ 
periment  with  a  small  ‘  ‘  patch.  ”  Sow  it  on  good 
ground,  early  in  the  spring  in  drills,  about  six  inches 
to  a  foot  apart  and  keep  clean  with  a  hoe  until  it  is 
large  enough  to  shade  the  ground  and  keep  down  all 
weeds.  4.  Feed  more  sheep  in  the  winter,  raise  early 
lambs,  feed  high  and  sell  both  lambs  and  ewes,  so  that 
none  of  them  will  have  to  be  kept  over  the  summer. 
(See  Cornell  University  Bulletin  No.  27,  page  38). 
Clover,  sheep,  manure.  If  the  clover  will  not  grow — it 
has  two  serious  enemies  at  the  present  time — then  suc¬ 
cess  can  be  won.  though  not  so  quickly,  with  Timothy 
— allowed  to  stand  only  two  years,  with  more  sheep 
and  more  manure.  i.  p.  Roberts. 
Difficulties  of  Frog:  Farming-. 
Several  Subscribers. — Why  does  “  Frog  Farming”  not 
pay  ?  It  seems  as  though  it  ought  to — there  is  a  good 
market  for  frogs’  legs,  the  frogs  breed  rapidly  and  are 
“  easy  keepers.” 
Ans.— The  flesh  of  a  frog’s  legs  is  a  great  delicacy 
and  no  one  knows  this  better  than  the  frog  himself. 
In  this  fact  lies  the  greatest  difficulty  in  the  way  of 
successfully  breeding  and  rearing  frogs  for  market. 
They  are  cannibals  of  the  most  pronounced  type  and 
eat  one  another  when  other  and  less  delicate  food  is  at 
