172 
# 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
March  12 
THE 
Rural  New-Yorker 
TIMES  BUILDING,  NEW  YORK. 
*  * 
A  National  Weekly  Journal  for  Country  and  Suburban  Homes. 
*  * 
ELBERT  8.  CARMAN.  Editor  In  Chief. 
HERBERT  W.  COLLINGWOOD,  Manama*  Editor. 
Copyrighted  1892. 
SATURDAY ,  MARCH  12,  m2. 
As  announced  some  weeks  ago,  we  have  taken  hold 
of  the  milk  question  as  forcibly  as  we  can.  We  pro¬ 
pose  to  follow  this  matter  up  and  do  what  we  can  to 
force  the  dealers  to  act  fairly  towards  the  producers. 
Situated  here  in  the  very  heart  of  this  great  milk-con¬ 
suming  district,  The  R.  N.-Y.  enjoys  peculiarly  valu¬ 
able  facilities  for  getting  at  the  exact  facts  about  the 
trade.  We  shall  be  glad  to  cooperate  with  any  of  our 
readers  in  any  plan  or  action  that  will  lead  to  a  better 
organization  among  milk  producers. 
*  # 
Mr.  Rice  is  clear-headed  and  sound  in  his  proposi¬ 
tion  that  the  trouble  with  most  taxation  laws  is  that 
they  are  not  properly  carried  out.  It  is  very  convenient 
to  say  that  “  a  new  broom  sweeps  clean,”  when,  if  the 
old  broom  were  trimmed  up  a  little,  it  would  do  much 
better  work.  The  general  public  seem  to  think  it 
easier  to  “  start  afresh  with  an  entirely  new  law  than 
to  properly  enforce  an  old  one,  because  the  latter  plan 
means  a  shaking  up  of  old  habits  and  customs  with 
more  personal  sacrifice  and  self-denial. 
*  * 
It  is  said  that  American  made  evaporators  are  being 
used  to  dry  bananas  in  Central  and  South  America. 
Two  varieties  of  bananas  are  peculiarly  well  suited  for 
manufacturing  ;  one  is  soft  and  makes  an  excellent 
preserve,  while  the  other  is  capable  of  being  dried  and 
ground  into  meal  to  be  used  in  making  bread,  puddings 
or  cakes.  The  development  of  this  industry  would  add 
wonderfully  to  the  agricultural  wealth  of  the  tropics, 
and  reduce  the  cost  of  the  world’s  food  as  few  things 
can  ever  do.  llanana  bread  would  be  cheaper  even 
than  cofn  bread.  #  # 
A  COMPANY  has  recently  been  organized  at  Cleve¬ 
land,  Ohio,  called  the  Cleveland  Dairy  and  Transpor¬ 
tation  Company.  It  proposes  to  buy  milk  of  producers 
near  the  city,  to  sell  what  it  can  of  it  to  pedlers,  and 
to  manufacture  the  surplus  into  butter  and  cheese.  It 
promises  to  pay  producers  as  much  for  their  milk  as 
has  heretofore  been  paid  and  to  pay  for  it  at  the  end 
of  each  month.^  If  the  company  can  sell  all  or  nearly 
all  of  the  milk  it  buys,  it  may  succeed  ;  but  if  any  con¬ 
siderable  quantity  remains  to  be  manufactured,  it  will 
not  succeed.  It  cannot  afford  to  pay  freight  and  cart¬ 
age  on  milk  to  be  manufactured  in  the  city.  We  shall 
watch  the  experiment  with  interest. 
*  * 
1  he  Cattle  Commissioners  of  Massachusetts  take  an 
advanced  ground  on  the  dog  question.  Their  plan  is 
■'  to  confine  the  animal  on  the  premises  of  its  owner, 
or,  when  moving  abroad,  to  compel  the  owner  to  keep 
it  constantly  under  his  surveillance  ;  and,  if  it  escapes 
of  1890,  for  forming  an  illegal  conspiracy.  In  spite  of 
all  hostile  legislation,  however,  trusts  are  multiplying 
though  frequently  under  new  forms  and  new  names. 
The  recent  coal  combination  is  a  case  in  point.  One 
of  the  most  serious  dangers  with  which  they  menace 
the  public,  outside  of  their  monopolistic  tendencies, 
lies  in  the  unscrupulous  use  they  make  of  their  enor¬ 
mous  wealth  and  influence  to  corrupt  our  judiciary 
and  legislatures  and  even  to  silence  or  subsidize  the 
press  in  too  many  instances. 
*  * 
The  dairy  farmer  who  does  not  own  a  Dabcock 
tester,  or  some  other  satisfactory  method  for  testing 
his  milk,  is  making  a  sad  mistake.  It  is  an  old  story — 
a  story  that  has  been  dinned  into  the  ears  of  butter 
makers  for  a  generation— “  you  are  keeping  cows  that 
do  not  earn  their  board”— yet  it  fails  to  awaken  thou¬ 
sands  from  their  lethargy.  What  sense  is  there  in  feed- 
ing  and  milking  a  cow  whose  milk  will  not  reimburse 
the  owner  for  the  expense  ?  Why  not  test  every  cow 
in  the  herd  at  frequent  intervals  and  know  what  each 
one  is  producing  ?  Why  do  business  in  a  hap-hazard 
manner,  knowing  nothing  of  the  merits  of  individuals 
in  the  herd,  conscious  only  of  the  aggregates  ?  No 
other  business  could  be  conducted  in  such  a  way  and 
succeed,  and  there  are  thousands  of  dairymen  who  are 
suffering  to-day  because  of  their  failure  to  put  this 
simple  but  essential  method  into  practice. 
*  * 
It  is  about  (50  years  since  the  possibilities  of  the  tele¬ 
graph  began  to  be  considered.  A  correspondence 
between  Mr.  Vail,  one  of  the  inventors,  and  Henry 
(’lay  shows  that  even  then  statesmen  realized  what  an 
effect  this  invention  was  to  have  upon  the  history  of 
the  country.  Henry  Clay  declared  that  in  his  opinion 
such  a  powerful  factor  in  civilization  should  never  be 
pel  mitted  to  pass  out  of  the  control  of  the  govern¬ 
ment.  He  saw  that  once  controlled  by  private  enter¬ 
prise,  it  might  be  used  for  the  selfish  advantage  of  one 
class  of  citizens  to  the  detriment  of  other  and  larger 
classes.  Congress  at  that  time  would  not  purchase 
control  of  the  telegraph.  Had  it  done  so,  who  can 
doubt  that  to-day  the  people  would  be  having  cheaper 
and  better  service  with  the  profits  of  the  business  in 
the  pockets  of  the  people  rather  than  in  the  hands  of 
a  few  “  directors  ’  and  stockholders  ? 
*  * 
The  American  public  has  but  a  very  inadequate  idea 
of  what  a  very  delicious  fruit  a  fine,  large,  well  ripened 
gooseberry  is.  We  have  on  our  list  of  native  varieties 
only  three  or  four  sorts— only  two  that  are  generally 
known,  the  Downing  and  Houghton,  and  these,  com¬ 
pared  with  English  sorts,  such  as  the  Crown  Dob,  ’ 
Whitesmith  and  many  others,  are  as  a  satyr  to  Hyper¬ 
ion.  Dut  heretofore  we  could  not  grow  the  English 
varieties  and  not  always  our  natives,  owing  to  the  per¬ 
sistent  attacks  of  mildew.  The  New  York  State  Ex¬ 
periment  Station  has  demonstrated  that  by  spraying 
the  English  varieties  with  lac  sulphur,  they  are  made 
entirely  exempt  from  mildew.  This  being  the  case, 
we  see  no  reason  why  this  valuable  berry  should  not 
become  a  prominent  feature  in  fruit  growing.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  they  could  be  profitably  grown, 
nor  that  the  demand  for  finely  ripened  fruit  will 
develop  as  fast  as  the  supply. 
*  * 
about  was  the  question,  there  being  so  many  interests 
involved.  All  conceded  that  it  would  take  time,  could 
not  be  accomplished  in  a  single  season. 
The  following  resolution  was,  after  discussion, 
unanimously  adopted : 
Resolved,  That  we,  as  dealers  both  at  wholesale  and  retail  In  fruits 
pledge  ourselves,  other  things  being  equal,  to  pay  more  for  fruit  In 
free  packages  than  we  will  for  fruit  In  returnable  crates. 
I  he  meeting  then  appointed  a  committee  of  six. 
three  wholesale  and  three  retail  men,  to  hold  a  public 
meeting  at  Vineland,  in  order  to  present  the  matter 
properly  to  fruit  growers.  The  date  of  the  meeting 
was  not  announced. 
I  he  meeting  was  eminently  conservative  in  tone,  and 
a  feeling  of  fairness  toward  the  various  interests  at 
stake  was  shown  by  all  present.  It  will  doubtless  re¬ 
sult  in  giving  the  new  movement  a  substantial  impetus. 
*  * 
Dills  to  abolish  import  duties  on  wool,  binding- 
twine  and  cotton  bagging  have  just  been  introduced 
into  the  Lower  House  of  Congress.  The  two  latter 
will  benefit  American  farmers  and  injure  American 
manufacturers;  while  the  first  will  injure  American 
sheep  owners  and  benefit  American  woolen  manufac¬ 
turers.  All  three,  however,  will  benefit  foreigners. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  all  will  pass  the  House  of  Rep¬ 
resentatives,  but  it  is  almost  certain  that  neither  will 
pass  the  Senate,  and,  if  any  does,  it  is  nearly  a  cer¬ 
tainty  that  it  will  be  vetoed  by  the  President.  There 
appears  to  be  a  strong  Republican  determination  to 
allow  the  McKinley  tariff  time  for  a  fair  show  on  all 
points.  This  resolution  has  no  doubt  been  strength¬ 
ened  by  the  recent  decision  of  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court  that  the  provision  for  a  bounty  on 
domestic  sugars,  and  the  clause  authorizing  reciprocity 
with  other  countries  in  certain  specified  products,  are 
constitutional. 
r  ™,ue  btegest.  No  tt  isn’t!"  Tom  and  Jennie  argued  thus 
Little  children— brother,  sister— and  the  cause  of  all  the  fuss 
Was  that  growing  in  the  garden,  stood  two  corn  stalks  side  by  side 
One  was  loins  and  one  was  Jennie's,  each  one  took  a  childish  pride 
Claiming  that  their  stalk  was  taller.  So  they  talke  I  till  mother  came 
J  o  decide  the  weighty  question-poor  Tom’s  spirits  dropped  in  shame 
When  she  smiled  and  kindly  told  him:  “Jennie  beats  you,  little  man! 
Her  stalk  is  an  inch  the  taller:  start  your's  growing  if  you  can.” 
lorn  felt  hurt  at  being  beaten:  while  his  mother’s  back  was  turned, 
Hepulled  up  his  plant  two  Inches  though  the  hot  sun  broiled  and  burned. 
kke  soil  around  the  bottom  though  he  heard  the  tough  roots  pop. 
When  his  father  came  he  called  him-"  See!  My  plant  is  way  up  top'” 
But,  alas!  the  stalk  was  ruined!  Wrinkled,  weak,  it  bowed  its  head, 
Tom  had  added  nothing  to  it— he  had  killed  It  oil  instead. 
You  have  all  seen  little  fellows— small  in  soul  and  brain  and  heart 
Stretch  and  wrench  themselves  in  trying  to  till  out  some  bigger  part. 
But  they  only  fail  and  perish;  would  to  goodness  they  might  know 
I  hat  the  only  way  to  conquer  is  to  work,  and  think,  and  grow. 
Kkkp  no  more  cows  than  you  can  keep  clean. 
Bill  Arp  tells  the  country  that  the  best  sub-treasury  is  in  the  sub¬ 
soil  of  a  man's  farm. 
The  latest  published  “cure”  for  a  bald  head  is  to  eat  largely  of  oat¬ 
meal  and  brown  bread! 
Thebe  are  very  few  cannibals  brave  enough  to  eat  a  sailor  who  has 
chewed  tobacco  all  his  life! 
How  many  people  in  your  district  are  doing  to  the  extent  of  50  per 
cent  of  as  “  well  as  they  know  how  ?  ” 
We  learn  that  our  English  correspondent,  Prof.  Sheldon,  will  be  a 
candidate  for  Parliament  on  the  Gladstonlan  “ticket.” 
A  Scotchman  in  Edinburgh  has  written  us  to  know  where  to  buy  a 
coat  of  Galloway  fur.  Sending  Galloway  fur  to  Scotland  from  America 
is  like  sending  salt  to  Saginaw. 
Stand!  The  milk’s  your  own,  my  braves!  Will  ye  give  it  up  to  knaves 
while  the  hoops  and  head  and  staves  of  your  profits  all  fall  in?  Where’s 
the  hope  th’  Exchange  holds  out?  Like  your  rlghts-far  “  up  the  spout;” 
you  will  need  a  heart  as  stout  as  their  “cheek”  to  win. 
A  LARGE  and  gaudily-painted  beer  wagon  loomed  up  before  us  at 
a  street  crossing  a  few  days  since  on  which  was  emblazoned  in  brilliant 
letters,  “  Blank’s  Hell  Gate  Brewery”— a  most  significant  title,  but  we 
wonder  at  the  frankness  of  the  brewer  in  thus  advertising  the  tendency 
of  his  place  ! 
therefrom  and  is  running’  at  large,  to  make  it  a  subject 
for  seizure  and  confinement  by  legalized  officers.” 
Who  will  say  this  is  not  right  ?  What  business  has  a 
dog  outside  its  owner’s  yard  unless  the  owner  goes 
with  it  ?  This  view  has  been  expressed  by  The  R.  N.-Y. 
at  different  times.  The  dog  makes  a  biggerissue  than 
the  tariff.  At  a  recent  “  primary  ”  the  writer  proposed 
to  tax  every  dog  $1  and  put  the  money  on  the  roads. 
In  tne  township  there  are  about  750  dogs  and  400 
voters,  rt  was  generally  held  that  such  an  issue 
would  defeat  the  party. 
*  * 
The  Supreme  Court  of  Ohio  has  just  declared  the 
Standard  Oil  Trust,  the  forerunner,  and  model  of  all 
the  pestiferous  brood,  an  illegal  combination  for 
the  purposes  of  monopoly.  The  decision,  however, 
does  not  annul  the  charter  of  the  original.  Ohio 
Standard  Oil  Company,  but  declares  the  agreements 
between  it  and  the  other  concerns  which  compose  the 
Trust,  to  be  bargains  in  violation  of  the  law.  A  Trust 
is  an  organization  formed  for  the  control  of  different 
corporations  through  a  transfer  by  the  stockholders  in 
each  corporation  of  at  least  a  majority  of  their  stock 
to  a  board  of  trustees,  taking  in  return  certificates 
entitling  them  to  a  share  of  the  profits  of  the  entire 
combination.  The  New  York  Court  of  Appeals  pro¬ 
mulgated  a  doctrine  like  that  just  enunciated  in  Ohio, 
with  regard  to  the  Sugar  Trust,  but,  in  addition,  it  for¬ 
feited  the  charters  of  the  offending  companies  within 
its  jurisdiction.  The  officials  of  the  great  Whisky 
Trust  have  just  been  indicted  at  Doston  by  a  United 
States  Grand  Jury,  under  the  Federal  Anti-Trust  Law 
Just  at  the  present  time,  the  question  of  free  pack¬ 
ages  for  small  fruits  is  receiving  especial  attention. 
This  question  has  been  brought  to  the  front  by  the 
action  of  the  Retail  Grocers’  Association  of  this  city 
and  vicinity,  who  have  formally  resolved  to  buy  no 
berries  after  March  15,  except  such  as  are  shipped  in 
non-returnable  crates.  The  Rural  thinks  this  action 
was  unwise  and,  further,  that  they  will  not— cannot 
live  up  to  it.  Derries  they  must  have  for  their  trade, 
and,  as  there  will  not  be  enough  to  supply  their  trade 
in  free  packages,  they  must  perforce  buy  the  others. 
A  meeting  was  held  at  Newark,  N.  J.,  on  Thursday 
evening,  March  3,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Retail 
Grocers’  Association  of  that  place,  at  which  producers, 
commission-men  and  wholesale  dealers  were  invited  to 
be  present,  for  a  frank  discussion  of  the  subject. 
Among  those  present  was  Col.  Dearson,  of  Vineland, 
N,  J.,  a  large  fruit  grower,  who  is  also  one  of  the  best 
informed  men  in  his  line.  In  a  paper  which  he  read, 
he  gave  the  results  of  his  experience  with  both  the  re¬ 
turnable  and  the  free  crates.  He  had  succeeded  in  get- 
ting  a  crate  amply  strong  enough  for  all  purposes, 
holding  32  quarts  of  the  American  basket,  furnished 
him  by  Robert  Rond,  a  Vineland  manufacturer,  for  32 
cents  each,  and  he  said  Mr.  Pond  was  of  the  opinion 
that  he  could,  with  improved  machinery,  furnish  them 
at  a  still  lower  rate.  At  the  price  named,  he  found 
his  berries  sold  for  an  average  of  two  cents  per  quart 
more  in  the  free  crates,  than  they  did  in  the  return¬ 
able  ones,  thus  paying  him  handsomely.  The  colonel’s 
ideas  were  generally  concurred  in,  and  no  one  disputed 
the  wisdom  of  the  innovation.  How  best  to  bring  it 
Many  people  who  have  tried  to  can  milk  have  met  with  failure  from 
some  unexplained  cause.  The  failures  seem  to  be  due  not  so  much  to 
the  milk  itself  as  to  the  dirt  In  it.  Milk  taken  from  a  dirty  and  manure¬ 
laden  cow  is  not  fit  to  can,  and  cannot  be  preserved  successfully  until 
It  has  been  filtered. 
A  friend  who  has  just  bought  a  farm  found  a  big  old-fashioned 
cellar  door  on  the  sunny  side  of  the  house.  He  built  up  the  sides  and, 
in  place  of  the  wooden  doors,  put  two  sashes.  Now  he  has  a  small' 
green-house  heated  from  the  furnace  in  the  cellar.  This  small  "plant” 
will  grow  into  a  conservatory. 
There  Is  no  dishonesty  in  packing  butter  in  neat  green  packages 
with  pretty  leaves  around  it,  or  in  grooming  a  horse  before  you  attempt 
to  sell  him.  or  in  .shaving  before  you  go  to  see  your  sweetheart-or 
wife!  These  things  are  not  dishonest,  though  they  have  no  practical 
value,  and  yet  call  out  a  higher  price.  Polish  always  pays. 
Dr.  PAUL,  a  French  physician,  is  the  latest  “  discoverer  ”  of  note. 
He  proposes  to  “knock  out ”  paralysis.  We  have  only  “to  make  a 
subcutaneous  injection  of  a  solution  evolved  from  the  gray  matter  of 
the  sheep  s  brains,  sterilized,”  and  the  cure  is  accomplished.  Koch, 
with  his  lymph,  Brown-Sequard  with  hiB  elixir  of  life,  and  Dr.  Paul 
with  his  sheep’s  brains,  are  a  worthy  trio. 
SENATOR  CANTOR’S  bill  allowing  New  York  city  to  pension  schoi  1 
teachers  when  they  reach  the  age  of  tiO  years,  is  now  in  the  Senate.  It 
should  be  amended  to  include  dry  goods  clerks,  typewriters,  composi¬ 
tors  and  members  of  all  useful  trades  and  professions.  Why  pension 
school  teachers  any  more  than  any  other  deserving  class  of  citizens  ? 
Do  they  not  earn  more  money  than  farm  hands  ? 
The  New  York  Court  of  Appeals  has  decided  that  a  married  woman 
has  a  right  to  contract  to  work  for  other  persons  than  her  husband 
and  that  wages  for  such  work  are  her  own  property.  Such  service 
however,  as  she  renders  her  husband  belongs  to  him  by  law.  if  she 
works  for  others,  on  a  farm  or  in  store  or  factory,  she  has  a  right  to  her 
own  wages,  if  her  husband  owns  the  farm,  store  or  factory  her  wages 
belong  to  him. 
Can  any  one  give  a  good  reason  why  United  States  Senators  Bhould 
not  be  directly  elected  by  the  people  instead  of  by  the  legislatures  of  the 
States  I  The  Rural  would  be  glad  to  hear  from  its  readers  on  this 
question.  It  is  certain  that  the  present  method  has  not  given  us  the 
best  attainable  results.  Perhaps  the  other  would  be  no  better,  but  in 
the  event  of  its  adoption,  the  voters  would  have  only  themselves  to 
blame  if  they  selected  improper  men.  The  choice  of  an  entire  party  Is 
better  than  the  choice  of  a  party  “ring.” 
