220 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
April  2 
THK 
Rural  New-Yorker 
TIMES  BUILDING,  NEW  YORK. 
*  * 
A  National  Weekly  Journal  for  Country  and  Suburban  Homes. 
ELBEItT  S.  CABMAN.  Editor  In  Chief. 
HERBERT  W.  COLLINGWOOD,  Managing  Editor. 0 
Copyrighted  1892. 
SATURDAY ,  APRIL  2,  M2. 
Respectful  notice  is  given  that  all  live  plants  sent 
for  trial  as  well  as  specimens  for  identification  should 
be  sent  to  River  Edge,  Bergen  County,  N.  J. 
*  * 
What  do  our  poultrymen  have  to  say  to  that  ques¬ 
tion  propounded  by  Annie  L.  Jack  on  page  227  ?  In 
what  way  is  a  lamp  in  an  incubator  more  dangerous 
than  one  on  the  table  in  the  sitting  room  ?  Who  else 
have  had  trouble  about  insuring  where  incubators  were 
used  ?  *  # 
According  to  the  latest  report  of  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  the  stock  of  wheat  in  growers’  hands  at 
present  is  the  largest  ever  reported.  It  amounts  to  171,- 
000, ()()()  bushels  or  28  per  cent  of  the  crop,  against  169,- 
000,000  bushels,  the  largest  previous  reserve  at  the  same 
date — that  from  the  crop  of  1883.  It  is  evident,  there¬ 
fore,  that  an  unusually  large  proportion  of  the  crop  is 
held  back  in  first  hands  for  better  prices.  Had  the 
Farmers’  Alliance  circulars  anything  to  do  with  this  ? 
«  « 
A  large  amount  of  counterfeit  silver  dollars  made 
exclusively  of  genuine  standard  silver  is  reported  to 
be  in  circulation,  the  counterfeiter  getting  his  profi 
from  the  25  to  30  per  cent  seigniorage  afforded  between 
the  value  of  silver  bullion  and  coin.  Of  course 
such  a  counterfeit  is  especially  dangerous,  but  it  may 
be  distinguished  from  the  minted  dollar  by  the  much 
superior  feathery  condition  of  the  eagle’s  wing  in  the 
latter.  In  this  case,  particularly,  therefore,  “fine 
feathers  make  fine  birds.” 
*  * 
The  farmers  and  fruit  growers  on  the  line  of  the 
Wallkill  Valley  Railroad,  running  from  Kingston  on 
the  Hudson  to  Goshen  on  the  Erie  Railway,  are  kick¬ 
ing  very  vigorously  at  the  rates  charged  them  for 
transporting  their  fruits  and  other  farm  products. 
Unless  relief  is  given,  we  learn  that  they  propose  to 
buy  and  run  a  steamboat  from  Kingston  or  Esopus  to 
New  York,  during  the  open  season,  carting  all  their 
produce  to  the  river.  If  the  farmers  would  commence 
this  work,  the  railroad  managers  would  tumble  over 
one  another  in  their  haste  to  offer  better  terms. 
*  * 
It  is  charged  by  our  Northern  neighbors  that  for 
years  large  quantities  of  American  pork  products  have 
been  imported  or  cured  in  bond,  and  exported  branded 
as  Canadian.  The  Dominion  Commissioner  of  Customs 
has  just  notified  the  collectors  that  an  end  must  be 
peremptorily  put  to  this  practice;  henceforth  all  Amer¬ 
ican  hog  products  exported  from  Canada  must  be 
branded  as  American.  This  notification  cannot  be 
objectionable  to  honest  American  trade,  especially  as 
the  Dominion  Government  has  been  informed  that 
if  the  practice  is  allowed  to  continue  it  may  lead  to  the 
exclusion  of  the  genuine  Canadian  product  from  the 
markets  of  France,  Germany  and  other  European 
countries.  #  * 
Governor  Russell,  of  Massachusetts,  has  lately 
signed  a  bill  appropriating  $75,000  more  for  the  ex¬ 
termination  of  the  Gypsy  Moth.  The  careless  intro¬ 
duction  of  this  foreign  pest  into  the  Old  Bay  State  has 
already  cost  it  over  $100,000,  expended  in  attempts 
to  exterminate  it,  and  it  is  not  improbable  that 
as  much  more  may  be  needed.  Inasmuch  as  the  des¬ 
truction  of  the  insect  would  be  of  equal  advantage  to 
neighboring  States,  which  it  is  certain  to  invade  unless 
suppressed,  isn’t  it  a  question  of  equity  whether  they 
ought  not  to  contribute  to  the  cost  of  its  extermina¬ 
tion  in  its  present  habitat  ?  Should  not  the  matter, 
indeed,  be  made  a  national  undertaking,  inasmuch  as 
the  nuisance  is  certain  to  become  a  national  plague 
unless  promptly  destroyed  ? 
*  * 
In  August  of  last  year  Mr.  James  Davies,  an  English¬ 
man,  drove  his  thoroughbred  cob  horse  1,025  miles  in 
19  days.  The  horse  was  harnessed  to  a  two-wheeled 
cart  which  carried  two  passengers  and  their  baggage, 
altogether  weighing  nearly  800  pounds.  The  horse 
was  driven  over  the  common  English  roads  with  such 
care  and  shelter  as  roadside  taverns  afforded.  That 
he  finished  in  good  condition  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
he  covered  62  miles  on  the  last  day  of  the  trip.  The 
pedestrian  feats  of  Weston  and  other  men  have  given 
rise  to  the  saying  that  “  *i  man  can  tucker  a  horse”  on 
long  distances;  and  many  people  believe  it.  The  feat 
performed  by  Mr.  Davies  and  his  horse  proves  other¬ 
wise.  What  is  the  best  way  to  feed  and  care  for 
horses  on  such  long  drives?  This  is  an  important 
matter  for  drivers.  We  are  glad  to  say  that  Mr.  Davies 
has  promised  to  write  an  account  of  his  trip  for  The 
R.  N.-Y.:  we  feel  sure  it  will  prove  interesting  to  our 
readers.  *  # 
Under  pressure  of  loud-spoken  public  opinion,  the 
Massachusetts  Legislature  lately  passed  an  Anti-Free 
Pass  law  ;  but,  as  a  first  result,  the  Finance  Committee 
has  just  recommended  an  appropriation  of  $18,700  for 
the  traveling  expenses  of  members  of  the  House  and 
$3,000  for  those  of  the  Senators  !  Why  shouldn’t  these 
gentlemen  pay  their  own  way  as  well  as  the  general 
public  ?  Why  contend  so  eagerly  for  the  positions  they 
occupy  and  then  try  to  shirk  their  honest  obligations  ? 
If  the  State  pays  their  traveling  expenses,  their  wives 
and  daughters,  friends,  cousins  and  aunts,  for  whom 
they  used  to  secure  free  passes,  are  likely  to  be  the 
only  sufferers  from  the  change  in  the  law. 
*  * 
The  Western  papers  report  c  uite  an  extensive  ex¬ 
odus  of  farmers  from  counties  in  central  Illinois. 
Several  thousands  have  sold  out  and  taken  their  fam¬ 
ilies  to  Iowa,  Missouri,  Kansas  or  Nebraska,  where 
they  have  bought  new  homes.  The  reasons  given  for 
this  movement  are  that  lands  have  increased  rapidly 
in  value  of  late.  Rents  are  therefore  higher  and 
renters  have  simply  gone  where  they  can  hire  equally 
good  land  for  less  money.  Many  owners  have  sold  out 
because  they  saw  a  good  chance  to  sell  at  a  profit. 
They  can  now  sell  at  an  advance  over  what  they  paid — 
and  by  investing  in  cheaper  lands  in  other  States  they 
can  farm  the  same  areas  and  still  have  a  comfortable 
surplus  of  cash  with  which  to  do  business.  As  they 
move  in  colonies  or  communities,  they  will  have  many 
of  their  old  neighbors  and  friends  in  the  new  location. 
*  * 
In  Victor  Hugo’s  story  “  Toilers  of  the  Sea,”  we  are 
told  how  the  people  on  the  island  of  Guernsey  regarded 
the  first  steam-boat.  They  called  it  a  “  devil  boat” 
because  it  upset  the  general  order  of  things  and  was 
new.  It  would  be  interesting  to  know  what  the 
descendants  of  some  of  these  old  people  think  of  the 
Babcock  Milk  Tester.  We  are  told  of  an  American 
who  went  to  the  island  to  select  a  herd  of  Guernsey 
cattle.  He  took  a  Babcock  tester  with  him  and  declined 
to  buy  any  animal  that  could  not  show  a  high  per  cent 
of  fat  in  her  milk.  This  method  of  selecting  cows 
appears  to  be  new  to  the  Guernsey  men  and  seems  to 
upset  many  of  their  ideas  of  selection  and  buying. 
Nevertheless,  it  is  the  safest  and  most  satisfactory 
way  of  buying  a  cow.  If  the  Guernsey  breeders  per¬ 
sist  in  their  determination  to  buy,  sell  and  register 
cattle  on  the  basis  of  the  Babcock  test,  they  will  build 
up  the  most  uniform  breed  of  dairy  cattle  in  the  world. 
*  * 
A  few  days  ago  the  Standard  Oil  Trust,  with  a  capi¬ 
tal  of  about  $100,000,000,  by  a  majority  of  over  two- 
tliirds  of  the  interests  in  the  concern,  voted  to  dissolve 
the  monstrous  monopoly,  and  to  divide  the  net  profits 
of  $26,000,000  in  hand  among  the  certificate  holders  in 
proportion  to  the  amount  of  their  stock.  Next  day  the 
Standard  Oil  Company,  with  an  initial  capital  of 
$10,000,000,  was  incorporated  under  the  lax  corporate 
laws  of  New  Jersey,  and  will  take  control  of  all  the 
trust  property  in  this  section.  Similar  corporations 
are  to  be' organized  in  other  States  to  control  the  trust 
property  within  their  borders,  and  doubtless  some 
means  have  been  devised  by  which  the  joint  property 
of  all  will  be  controlled  by  a  central  junta.  Probably, 
after  the  small  certificate  holders  have  been  bought 
out,  the  trust  magnates  will  continue  to  carry  on  the 
old  business  under  a  new  name.  The  Standard  is  the 
oldest,  the  richest,  the  most  powerful  and  brainiest  of 
all  the  trusts,  and  what  some  of  the  others  have  al¬ 
ready  effected  in  evading  the  laws  by  assuming  new 
forms  and  names  will  be  easily  within  the  power  of 
this  mighty  progenitor  of  them  all. 
*  * 
United  States  District  Judge  Phillips  has  just 
imposed  a  fine  of  $500  each  on  Judges  Wray  and  Lane 
of  .  Cass  County,  Missouri  and  sentenced  them  to 
imprisonment  in  Henry  County  Jail  until  arrangements 
shall  be  made  for  the  paj'ment  of  the  $750,000  worth  of 
bonds  issued  by  Cass  County,  20  years  ago,  for  the  con¬ 
struction  of  the  Tebo  and  Neosho  Railroad,  not  a  rod 
of  which  has  ever  been  built.  “  Innocent  holders”  of 
the  defaulted  bonds  living  outside  the  State,  having 
secured  judgment  against  the  county  in  the  United 
States  Court,  the  imprisoned  judges  refused  to  obey 
Judge  Phillips’s  order  to  call  a  special  election  in  the 
county  to  vote  a  tax  for  the  pajrment  of  the  judgment, 
and  have  thus  been  punished  for  contempt  of  court. 
The  judges  of  St.  Clair  County,  which  voted  a  similar 
sum  for  the  same  purpose,  are  in  the  same  plight  and 
will  doubtless  receive  the  same  punishment.  It  is 
reported  that  Judge  Phillips’s  life  has  been  repeatedly 
threatened  for  his  action  in  tne  matter.  This  is  all 
wrong.  Apart  from  the  severity  of  his  sentences,  he 
is  merely  enforcing  a  rule  of  commonlaw,  an  iniquitous 
inheritance  from  the  judges’  precedents  of  the  Old 
Country,  which  should  long  since  have  been  replaced 
in  our  legal  procedure  by  statutory  legislation.  That 
the  law  under  which  attempts  are  being  made  to 
enforce  the  payment  of  $1,500,000  worth  of  bonds 
obtained  from  the  two  counties  under  false  represen¬ 
tations,  is  an  outrage  on  equity  is  obvious  to  the  dullest 
and  most  prejudiced  intellect;  that  the  “innocent 
holders”  deserve  little  or  no  more  sympathy  than  do 
the  ordinary  receivers  of  stolen  property  is  clear  to  all 
acquainted  with  the  transactions  of  such  people  ;  and 
that  the  law  which  enables  them  to  thrive  by  their 
unscrupulous  dealings  should  be  promptly  repealed  is 
the  opinion  of  every  honest  citizen  of  the  country. 
*  * 
Brevitie  s. 
Been  a-slttin'  here  a-watchln’  that  tea  kittle  on  the  stove. 
You  see  It  ?  Now  jest  watch  It !  Don’t  ye  see  the  cover  move  ? 
’Ain’t  got  a  muscle  In  It.  not  a  sinew  or  a  joint, 
Nothin’  to  move  that  cover  but  jest  water— that’s  the  point. 
Cold  water  wouldn't  start  It  If  It  stood  a  century. 
It’s  got  to  be  expanded  into  steam,  as  you  may  see; 
Yes,  heat  an’  force  are  closer  than  two  brothers  ever  were, 
The  water  simply  gives  the  heat  a  chance  to  make  a  stir. 
We  find  folks  like  tea  kittles  ;  they  will  sleep  an’  drink  an’  eat. 
Nor  move  the  lid  of  action  till  they  feel  the  burning  heat 
Of  some  great  big  ambition:  love  dr  duty  or  desire 
Gets  steam  In  shortest  order,  then  the  fellows  never  tire. 
Find  what  will  start  folks  going,  touch  It  off  an’  git  up  steam, 
Then  cover  goes  a-jumpin’,  an’  the  whistle  starts  to  scream. 
Advice  to  the  fruit  grower— watch  and  spray  1 
Yodk  chickens  will  be  far  behind  If  you  expose  them  to  the  wind. 
Be  not  the  first  by  whom  the  new  is  tried — first  read  The  R.  N.-Y. 
and  then  decide. 
Your  teams  were  stronger  last  fall  than  they  are  now.  Don’t  you 
wish  you  had  plowed  that  sod  then  ? 
Clover  needs  potash  and  won't  grow  without  It.  The  more  potash 
the  more  nitrogen  will  the  clover  catch. 
Will  you  vote  to  tax  every  dog  In  your  township  $2,  and  apply  tha 
money  towards  repairing  your  roads  1 
Many  men  of  many  minds,  many  schemes  of  many  kinds,  every  pub¬ 
lic  measure  must  be  a  compromise — or  bust! 
In  conducting  your  business,  do  you  go  on  the  principle  that  “  the 
man  at  the  other  end  of  the  bargain”  must  look  out  for  his  own  Inter¬ 
ests  or  lose? 
What  about  those  Michigan  lambs  that  were  tied  up  In  bags  after 
being  shorn  ?  A  thick  blanket  is  worth  a  bushel  of  corn  to  a  horse  In 
cold  weather! 
The  English  people  call  the  Leghorn  an  American  breed  because  It 
was  developed  In  this  country.  On  the  same  principle,  the  Jersey 
should  be  called  the  Columbian  cow. 
Why  not  use  the  road  machine  just  after  the  freeze  when  the  roads 
are  rough  and  “  hubbly?”  It  will  do  lots  of  smoothing  and  it  Is  just  at 
this  time  that  springs  are  In  greatest  danger. 
THE  grain  elevators  at  Buffalo  pay  25  per  cent  annual  dividends, 
yet  the  proprietors  are  bitterly  opposed  to  any  legislation  looking  to 
the  protection  of  grain  owners  against  their  unconscionable  exactions. 
Military  movements  looking  to  speedy  war  are  dally  becoming 
more  menacing  In  Russia,  despite  the  starving  condition  of  so  large  a 
proportion  of  the  population.  But  hasn’t  It  been  want  and  misery  that 
have  always  driven  the  northern  hordes  southward  ?  The  hungry 
Tartar  Is  always  a  menace  to  peace. 
A  JANUARY  chicken  needs  warmth  or  it  will  sicken;  a  February 
bird  must  have  Its  blood  stirred;  a  good  March  hatch  is  apt  to  toe  the 
scratch;  a  good  April  pullet  lays  faster  than  a  bullet;  a  chicken 
hatched  In  May  will  very  likely  stay;  a  rooster  hatched  In  June  will 
crow  a  lusty  tune;  a  bird  In  July  will  find  life  very  dry. 
A  hill  is  now  before  Congress  to  refund  to  settlers  on  lands  ad¬ 
jacent  to  forfeited  railroads  land  grants,  the  $1.25  extra  per  acre  they 
had  to  pay  bedhuse  of  their  proximity  to  railroad  lands,  the  grants  for 
which  have  since  been  withdrawn  by  the  government.  Such  a  demand 
Is  absolutely  fair  and  should  be  promptly  conceded  to  a  deserving 
class  of  settlers. 
Coal  and  oil  competed  over  the  contract  to  provide  fuel  for  the 
World’s  Fair.  The  lowest  bid  for  coal  was  $2.44  per  ton.  The  Standard 
Oil  Company  offered  oil  at  70  cents  per  barrel  for  1892,  and  72}£  cents  In 
1898,  and  the  bid  was  practically  accepted.  Three  barrels  of  oil  are  to 
give  as  much  heat  as  a  tin  of  coal  !  Lots  of  us  will  see  the  day  when 
we  will  buy  all  our  fuel  In  barrels! 
Farmers  who  claim  extra  virtues  for  stable  manure  often  refer  to 
the  strong  smell  of  this  product  as  evidence  of  Its  “  strength,”  which 
they  say,  has  resulted  from  its  passing  through  the  animal.  A  vile 
odor  is  no  Indication  of  “fertility”  and,  anyway,  rotted  cabbage  or 
turnips  which  have  been  acted  upon  only  by  heat,  air  and  water  will 
give  a  worse  smell  than  any  stable  manure. 
Let  the  experiment  stations  throughout  the  North  try  rape  as  a  food 
for  sheep  this  year.  Let  them  sow  one  or  more  acres,  take  good  care 
of  the  crop,  and  feed  sheep  or  lambs  on  it  next  fall,  keeping  a  careful 
records  of  expenses.  Such  an  experiment  conducted  by  a  dozen  sta¬ 
tions,  would  be  of  great  benefit  to  farmers.  Let  them  also  try  rape  for 
green  manuring,  plowing  It  under  In  the  spring,  and  using  fertilizers 
with  It  for  vegetables. 
Marvelous  are  the  fast-succeeding  applications  of  electricity.  One 
of  the  latest  Is  a  device  for  preventing  caterpillars  from  climbing  trees. 
Alternate  copper  and  zinc  wires  are  wound  round  the  tree  trunks  so 
closely  that  the  marauders  must  touch  one  wire  of  each  kind  at  each 
step  of  their  progress  across  the  wires.  Thus  they  serve  to  complete 
the  circuit,  and  the  result  is  an  electric  shock  strong  enough  to  kill  or 
precipitate  them  to  the  ground.  Next! 
When  The  R.  N.-Y.  denounced  the  methods  employed  In  seating 
certain  members  of  the  present  New  York  State  Legislature,  some  of 
our  readers  saw  fit  to  protest.  The  New  York  Bar  Association  has  just 
declared  that  Judge  Maynard  was  guilty  of  conduct  that  should  lead 
to  his  impeachment.  We  don’t  suppose  he  will  be  Impeached  by  the 
present  authorities,  but  when  lawyers  of  the  highest  probity  and 
reputation  talk  in  that  way  about  one  of  their  own  profession  some¬ 
thing  Is  evidently  very  rotten. 
The  last  Minnesota  Legislature  set  apart  $10,000  to  be  expended  by  a 
committee  in  ascertaining  whether  frauds  had  been  perpetrated 
against  Minnesota  grain  producers  by  the  elevator  men  and  wheat 
speculators  of  the  State.  The  first  session  of  the  committee  was  held 
In  May  last  and  two-thirds  of  the  $10,000  was  expended  In  mileage, 
witness  fees  and  salaries.  The  second  session  has  just  closed,  after 
having  exhausted  the  last  dollar  of  the  appropriation.  No  report  has 
yet  been  made  public,  and  the  farmers  of  the  State  seriously  doubt 
whether  the  investigation  has  been  worth  the  cost. 
