256 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
April  16 
T  HK 
Rural  New-Yorker 
7 / MBS  BUILDING,  NEW  YORK. 
*  * 
A  National  Weekly  Journal  for  Country  and  Suburban  Homes. 
ELBERT  S.  CARMAN.  Kdltor  In  Chief. 
HERBERT  W.  COLLINGWOOD,  Managing  Editor." 
Copyrighted  1892. 
SATURDAY,  APRIL  16,  1862. 
We  are  informed  that  the  Iowa  Beauty  and  Childs’ 
Strawberries  are  the  same.  Iowa  Beauty  is  the  proper 
name  by  priority.  The  second  name  of  “  Childs”  was 
given  without  reason  or  authority.  The  berry  is  con¬ 
spicuously  advertised  under  both  names,  and  readers 
are  advised  accordingly. 
*  * 
As  to  the  hardiness  of  grapes  or  small  fruits  of  any 
kinds ;  of  shrubs  or  trees,  the  past  winter  has  not 
been  a  test  season  at  the  Rural  Grounds.  A  somewhat 
careful  examination  does  not  show  any  injury  except 
from  anthracnose,  which  has  done  more  damage  there 
for  several  years  past  than  all  other  causes  combined. 
*  * 
Readers  have  been  asking  lots  of  questions  about 
that  great  celery  crop  of  Mr.  Nivens.  That’s  right — 
we  print  The  R.  N.-Y.  to  give  information  on  farm 
matters,'  and  the  more  questions  we  get  the  more  in¬ 
telligently  can  we  give  our  readers  what  they  want. 
We  don’t  begin  to  “  know  it  all,”  but  we’ll  try  to  learn. 
Mr.  N.  answers  a  few  of  these  questions  this  week. 
His  remarks  on  artificial  irrigation  will  interest  all 
gardeners.  *  # 
Is  there  any  good  Reason  why  this  country  cannot 
afford  to  have  the  same  mailing  privileges,  especially 
in  regard  to  postage  on  merchandise,  which  are  en¬ 
joyed  by  Canadians  ?  If  Canada  is  satisfied  with  four 
cents  per  pound  postage  for  merchandise,  why  not  the 
United  States  ?  Is  there  any  good  reason  why  we 
have  to  pay  exorbitant  express  rates,  merely  to  make 
a  few  men  or  corporations  immensely  rich  ?  Why  not 
a  parcel  post  as  enjoyed  by  other  nations  ?  Why  can¬ 
not  Uncle  Sam  carry  our  packages  as  well  as  our  let¬ 
ters  and  papers,  etc.,  at  first  cost  ? 
*  * 
Two  weeks  ago  The  R.  N.-Y.  gave  a  short  account 
of  the  poultry  department  at  Cornell.  We  want  our 
readers  to  remember  that  this  poultry  keeping  is  a 
regular  part  of  the  college  course.  Students  could 
start  now  and  take  a  nine-weeks’  course  in  poultry 
culture  free  of  tuition  and  at  a  very  moderate  expense 
for  board  and  other  expenses.  This  is  the  first  attempt 
yet  made  in  the  United  States  to  give  thorough,  prac¬ 
tical  and  scientific  instruction  in  this  very  important 
branch  of  agriculture.  The  facilities  for  teaching  are 
excellent  while  Mr.  Wyckoff’s  famous  poultry  farm  is 
close  at  hand  to  serve  as  an  extra  object  lesson.  There 
are  hundreds  of  young  poultrymen  in  this  country 
who  would  be  greatly  helped  by  this  course,  and  we 
hope  they  will  take  advantage  of  it. 
*  * 
The  R.  N.-Y.  would  suggest  to  the  horticultural 
professors  of  our  experiment  stations  that  they  give  a 
portion  of  their  time  this  year  to  crossing  chestnuts, 
the  best  of  our  American  sorts  one  with  another  and 
with  the  best  of  the  Japan  varieties,  the  Paragon,  Ad¬ 
vance,  Reliance  and  Success,  for  instance.  Then,  too, 
the  best  native  hickories  might  well  be  crossed.  Among 
ornamental  trees,  the  maples,  the  horsechestnuts,  the 
locusts,  the  oaks,  the  birches,  the  lindens  and  the 
elms  and,  finally,  the  conifers,  present  a  wide  and 
promising  field  for  experiments  of  this  nature.  Let 
the  professors’  assistants  attend  to  trying  new  sorts  of 
strawberries  and  the  like — that  doesn’t  require  any 
especial  scientific  training — while  the  professors  them¬ 
selves  devote  a  reasonable  part  of  their  time  to  the 
development  of  the  possibilities  of  new  and  wonderful 
varieties  that  may  result  from  crossbreeding  and 
lij'bridization.  We  don’t  like  to  see  §2,500  men  wast¬ 
ing  their  time  upon  §500  labor. 
*  * 
In  spite  of  his  reiterated  assertions,  often  confirmed 
by  the  strongest  sort  of  language,  that  he  would  never 
yield  to  or  even  cooperate  with  the  Sugar  Trust,  Claus 
Spreckels  has  lately  sold  his  vast  sugar-making  plants 
and  interests  to  that  monopoly  for,  it  is  said,  §7,000,000. 
Owing  to  late  purchases  of  other  sugar  works,  the 
trust  has  now  complete  and  absolute  control  of  all  the 
sugar  refining  business  in  the  United  States.  It  can 
bull  and  bear  the  market  and  fix  prices  to  suit  its  own 
interest  without  fear  of  competition  or  of  any  inter¬ 
ference  whatever  from  American  rivals.  Its  property 
is  now  capitalized  at  §50,000,000,  though  a  fair  estimate 
puts  its  real  value  at  about  §20,000,000.  The  remainder 
is  “  water  ”  on  which  the  public  will  be  expected  to 
pay  large  interest  in  good  legal-tender  money.  What 
the  interest  will  be  may  be  inferred  from  the  profits 
of  the  Standard  Oil  Trust,  which  in  the  last  two  years 
amounted  to  §26,000,000  reserve  fund,  in  addition  to  an 
annual  dividend  of  12  per  cent  to  the  certificate  holders! 
A  bill  is  now  before  Congress  to  repeal  the  duty  of  a 
quarter  of  a  cent  per  pound  imposed  by  the  McKinley 
tariff  on  refined  foreign  sugar  as  a  check  on  the 
expected  exactions  of  the  Sugar  Trust,  and  the  demand 
for  its  speedy  passage  is  becoming  clamorous  through¬ 
out  the  country.  *  # 
A  dispatch  to  the  city  press  says  that  some  one  has 
placed  large  quantities  of  lime  in  two  trout  streams  in 
Ulster  County,  N.  Y.,  thereby  killing  all  the  trout. 
The  vandalism  was  not  discovered  until  the  ice  went 
out,  when  the  shores  were  lined  with  the  dead  fish.  A 
large  portion  of  these  streams  has  been  leased  by 
sportsmen  in  New  York,  who  have  put  up  signs  warn¬ 
ing  off  trespassers,  and  it  is  thought  the  fish  were 
killed  by  some  one  who  regards  this  as  an  encroach¬ 
ment  on  his  rights.  This  is  not  a  sufficient  provoca¬ 
tion  for  such  a  piece  of  vandalism,  but  until  human 
nature  is  essentially  changed,  there  will  be  no  stopping. 
City  sportsmen  will  do  well  to  take  the  hint  and  stop 
their  selfish  efforts  to  monopolize  this  sport.  All 
through  the  mountainous  parts  of  the  State,  for  years 
past,  this  work  has  been  going  on,  until  hundreds  of 
lakes  and  trout  streams,  which  have  been  at  the  ser¬ 
vice  of  the  public  from  time  immemorial,  are  now  in 
private  hands.  The  men  of  money  have  them  nearly 
all.  It  is  time  to  cry  halt.  Let  our  fishing  alone, 
Messrs.  Millionaires.  *  * 
An  excellent  law  has  just  been  passed  by  the  New 
York  Legislature  and  signed  by  Governor  Flower.  Its 
object  is  to  reduce  to  the  lowest  degree  the  danger  of 
the  evasion  of  taxes  on  personal  property  in  towns 
within  counties  containing  upwards  of  300,000  inhabi¬ 
tants  ;  because  experience  has  amply  demonstrated 
that  such  evasions  are  easiest  and  more  frequent  in 
the  large  centers  of  population.  The  new  law  now  in 
force  prohibits  the  deduction  from  assessment  of  per¬ 
sonal  property,  1,  of  debts  for  the  purchase  of  non- 
taxable  property  ;  2,  debts  on  account  of  indirect  lia¬ 
bility,  as  surety,  guarantor,  indorser  or  otherwise; 
and,  3,  debts  contracted  for  the  purpose  of  evading 
taxation.  The  common  evasion  of  taxation  on  personal 
property  is  merely  a  premium  on  perjury.  A  stringent 
enforcement  of  this  law  should  therefore  greatly  in¬ 
crease  the  amount  of  taxes  yielded  by  personal  prop¬ 
erty,  and  thus  do  much  to  equalize  the  burden  of  taxa¬ 
tion.  Will  it,  however,  be  strictly  enforced  ?  Will 
not  the  premiums  on  perjury  be  increased  rather  than 
demolished  by  it  ?  #  * 
The  New  York  capitalists  who  are  bitterly  opposed 
to  the  taxation  of  personal  property,  have  just  been 
trying  clandestinely  to  carry  through  the  New  York 
Legislature  a  bill  in  support  of  their  selfish  princi¬ 
ples.  In  it  they  wished  the  method  of  taxation  for 
each  county  to  be  left  to  local  option.  They  based 
their  arguments  on  the  specious  pretext  that  the  meas¬ 
ure  would  be  of  vast  importance  to  the  farming  and 
poorer  classes,  and  lobbied  energetically  in  its  favor. 
The  farmers,  however,  were  too  keen  to  be  deceived  by 
the  tricksters.  They  refused  to  sanction  a  law  that 
would  give  every  county  a  pet  scheme,  so  that, 
instead  of  one,  there  would  be  a  hundred  differ¬ 
ent  and  warring  interests  in  the  State.  They  ob- 
jeeted  to  leaving  the  question  of  taxation  to  local 
authorities  any  more  than  the  death  penalty,  and 
the  Assembly  accordingly  defeated  the  measure  by  a 
vote  of  78  to  32.  The  presence  of  lobbyists  from  New 
York  city  working  energetically  in  favor  of  the  bill 
straightway  set  all  the  farmers  for  whose  special  ben¬ 
efit  it  was  alleged  to  be  introduced,  strongly  against  it. 
Evidently  they  feared  the  capitalists  even  when  offer¬ 
ing  them  a  gift.  *  # 
Machine  politics  are  abominable  and  damnable  to 
the  last  degree.  The  Republican  “  machine  ”  and  the 
Democratic  “  machine”  are  equally  bad.  The  only 
excuse  for  either  is  the  conscienceless,  selfish,  inexcus¬ 
able,  meritless,  hoggish  ambition  of  the  “bosses”  who 
run  them  in  their  own  interests  utterly  regardless  of 
the  public  needs,  and  regardful  of  the  people  only  in 
so  far  as  the  dear  public  may  be  hoodwinked  into 
voting  as  the  “  bosses”  dictate  and  their  “  machines” 
register.  In  the  great  upheaval  of  national  feeling 
30  years  ago,  all  of  the  machines  were  overturned,  and 
the  people  ruled  for  a  time.  Then  gradually  our 
whilom  servants  became  bosses  in  turn  and  dragged 
out  from  the  devil’s  own  storehouse  the  discarded 
instruments  of  political  degradation,  which  ever  since 
by  constant  use  and  “  improvements  ”  have  increased 
in  satanic  effectiveness  in  their  work  of  corruption  of 
men  and  prostitution  of  the  people’s  concerns  to  the 
condition  of  slavish  service  to  the  mean  ambitions  of 
the  machine  Lords.  Perhaps  the  Farmers’  Alliance 
and  the  Grange  are  to  be  the  instruments  for  the  kill¬ 
ing  of  the  curse,  but  they  need  not  hope  to  suuse  d  b 
any  machine  methods.  We  believe  that  the  only  way 
to  destroy  the  evil,  root  and  branch,  is  by  striking  at 
the  root.  The  machines  expose  their  roots  in  the 
primaries  of  both  the  big  political  parties.  Let  all 
honest  farmers  join  with  honest  townsfolk  and  attend 
the  primaries  in  force,  choosing  honest  men  to  repre¬ 
sent  them  in  the  district  and  State  councils  of  the 
parties.  Put  up  honest  MEN  as  the  candidates  of  both 
parties,  and  then  it  will  matter  little  which  “  party ’’ 
wins  in  the  race.  Then  we  may  have  substantial  hope 
for  the  success  of  the  present  revolts  against  the  sel¬ 
fish  rule  of  the  machine  bosses  in  New  York,  Pennsyl¬ 
vania  and  the  country  at  large.  Attend  the  primaries 
in  full  force  !  Smash  all  “slates!”  Insist  on  honest 
men  as  candidates  !  Vote  for  the  honest  men  regard¬ 
less  of  party  !  So  shall  the  farmer  and  mechanic  alike 
get  justice  from  the  government. 
*  * 
A  short  time  ago  both  houses  of  the  New  Jersey 
Legislature,  by  a  decisive  vote,  passed  a  bill  to  validate 
the  Reading  Railroad  leases  which  created  the  gigantic 
coal  monopoly  lately  denounced  in  these  columns.  It 
was  boldly  charged  by  responsible  papers  in  New 
York  city  and  elsewhere  that  vast  sums  had  been  dis¬ 
tributed  among  the  legislative  Solons.  or  placed  at 
their  disposal,  to  secure  the  passage  of  the  measure,  as 
high  as  §32,000  having,  it  is  charged,  been  paid  in  one 
known  case.  Governor  Abbett,  however,  has  nullified 
the  action  of  the  legislature,  by  practically  vetoing 
the  bill,  not  a  little  to  the  joy  of  the  public.  As  a 
general  bribe,  the  monopoly  promised  not  to  raise  the 
price  of  coal  in  New  Jersey  ;  but  it  was  well-known 
that  immediately  after  the  measure  had  beeome'a  law, 
the  price  would  be  raised  25  cents  a  ton  in  New'  York 
and  the  New  England  States.  Those  in  search  of  a 
monopoly  appear  reckless  in  the  extravagance  of  their 
bribes  to  secure  it  until  we  reflect  that  they  can 
well  afford  to  pay  hundreds  of  thousands  for  a  priv¬ 
ilege  which  will  enable  them,  a  trifle  later,  to  collect 
millions  in  return,  from  a  helpless,  but  indignant 
public.  *  * 
Brevities. 
Never  see  the  spring  come  in  so  quick  before; 
Stood  an’  breathed  a  lungful  at  the  kitchen  door, 
See  the  grass  a-sproutin’  by  the  kitchen  walk, 
See  a  robin  hoppin’  an’  a  pie-plant  stalk; 
Pokin’  in  the  garden  wis’t  that  I  cud  stay 
At  the  door  a-dreamin’  in  the  sun  all  day. 
But  the  dinner  cookin’  an’  my  biggest  tub, 
Full  o’  clo’es  called  louder — back  I  went  to  scrub. 
Gut  ter  stick  ter  duty— ain’t  gut  time  fer  play, 
“  Wis’t  I’s  back  to  girlhood!”— all  that  I  could  say! 
Pop  come  in  an’  Bee  me  sorter  sad  an’  bent, 
Sed  ’at  somethin’  told  him  I’d  worked  out  my  stent. 
“Quit  yer  work  a  minute— come  an’  stan’  with  me 
Where  we’ll  ketch  the  sunshine  of  the  spring,”  says  he. 
Ketched  my  arm  an’  pulled  me  to  the  kitchen  door, 
Never  seen  the  sunshine  half  so  bright  before. 
I  jest  bust  out  cryin’  as  I  hain’t  fer  years; 
Beats  all  how  much  trouble  washed  out  with  them  tears. 
Then  the  pot  biled  over,  an’  I  had  ter  go 
Back  ter  save  the  dinner— heart  jest  all  aglow. 
Pop  wTent  off  a-singin’  like  he  uster  do; 
I  went  back  to  washln’  happy  through  an’  through. 
Ketched  myself  a-tunin’  up  my  voice  ter  sing. 
Beats  all  howT  yer  sperets  rises  in  the  spring. 
School  books  cost  altogether  too  much  ! 
Clover  captures  nitrogen  ;  Timothy  eats  it. 
The  clover  field  is  mightier  than  the  pen— for  pigs. 
The  foot  has  no  use  for  the  little  toe.  The  coming  man  will  have 
but  four  toes. 
Don’t  burn  our  good  opinions  in  the  heat  that  arises  from  your 
selfish  self-conceit. 
Ten  minutes  spent  in  making  a  straight  row  will  save  10  hours  of 
dodging  around  the  crooks  in  hoeing  or  cultivating. 
The  farmer’s  boy  is  just  now  especially  anxious  to  learn  whether 
the  Anti-Crank  Bill  pending  before  Congress,  includes  the  grindstone. 
Just  pitch  in  and  do  the  share  of  business  that  the  world  puts  in  your 
hands.  If  you  won’t  do  this,  get  out  of  the  way  and  let  somebody  else 
do  it. 
The  latest  scheme  of  the  Pasteur  Institute  directors  is  to  call  for  a 
law  compelling  all  owners  of  dogs  to  have  their  pets  inoculated  against 
hydrophobia.  If  that  is  done,  they  claim,  there  will  be  absolutely  no 
danger  from  “  mad  dogs.” 
We  have  been  told  about  Mr.  Wyckoff’s  successful  poultry  farm. 
His  success  is  based  upon  what  may  be  called  the  “new  methods.” 
Now  we  learn  how  Mr.  Sidway  has  succeeded  by  “old  methods.”  Now 
what  about  it— are  both  men  right,  both  wrong,  or  what? 
There  are  Americans  who  are  content  to  buy  peanuts  at  the  rate  of 
$7  per  bushel.  There  are  other  Americans  who  are  content  to  let  their 
hogs  dig  and  eat  their  peanut  crop.  This  shows  that  America  is  a 
great,  big  country.  Too  big  for  any  one  horse  or  “peanut”  legislation. 
The  indications  are  that  potato  growing  is  to  have  quite  a  “boom” 
in  France.  Many  farmers  propose  to  substitute  it  for  the  sugar  beet, 
growing  potatoes  for  cattle  food,  making  starch  and  alcohol  and  also 
for  the  rotative  value  of  this  crop  as  a  cleaner  and  for  preparing  the 
ground  for  wheat. 
Massachusetts  requires  milk  to  contain  13  per  cent  of  solids  for 
10  months  in  the  year,  and  12  per  cent  for  the  months  of  May  and  June. 
That  strikes  us  as  being  a  tolerably  fair  adjustment  of  the  mooted 
question  of  what  shall  the  standard  be.  The  fact  that  the  law  in  New 
York  requires  only  12  per  cent  for  solids,  gives  the  “  crooks  ”  of  the 
trade  a  wide  margin  for  their  work. 
Breathes  there  a  man  with  soul  so  dead,  who  hath  not  to  his  good 
wife  said,  I’ll  make  a  garden  sure  this  year  and  heap  our  larder  with 
good  cheer;  who  hath  not  hied  himself  with  speed  to  purchase  of  the 
garden  seed  ?  If  such  there  breathes,  most  sure  I  hope,  dyspepsia’ll 
catch  him  with  a  rope,  and  while  he  aches,  before  his  eyes  may  visions 
of  "  green  things  ”  arise.  May  ghosts  of  luscious  garden  truck  come 
torture  him  and  steal  his  “  luck.” 
Green  Lima  beans  contain  31J4  per  cent  of  nutriment  and  seven  per 
cent  of  protein— higher  in  both  than  any  other  green  vegetable,  green 
peas  being  next  in  amount  of  protein  (muscle-making  food.)  Lima  beans 
yield  more  protein,  pound  for  pound,  than  oysters,  clams,  lobster, 
fish,  like  perch,  black  fish,  shad  or  whole  cod,  and  more  than  half  as 
much  as  cuts  of  beef  from  neck,  ribs,  rump  or  plate,  or  cuts  from 
breast,  neck,  loin  or  forequarter  of  veal.  The  Lima  bean  gives  the 
closest  imitation  of  meat  that  can  be  grown  on  a  vine. 
