4i6 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
June  25 
THE 
Rural  New-Yorker 
TIMES  BUILDING,  NEW  YORK. 
*  * 
A  National  Weekly  Journal  for  Country  and  Suburban  Homes. 
ELBERT  S.  CARMAN,  Editor  In  Chief. 
HERBERT  W.  COLLINGWOOH,  Managing  Editor. 
Copyrighted  1892. 
SATURDAY,  JUNE  25,  1892. 
The  choice  of  rosebugs  seems  to  have  been  spiraeas, 
roses  and  magnolias.  They  always  prefer  these  flowers 
to  those  of  the  grape,  which  they  attack  not  until  the 
above  flowers  are  destroyed.  Viburnum  dilatatum 
blooms  for  the  first  at  the  Rural  Grounds.  We  have 
never  before  seen  so  many  rosebugs  upon  a  plant  of 
the  same  size.  The  flowers  are  so  alive  with  them  that 
one  sees  more  of  the  rosebug  than  of  the  bloom.  This 
shrub,  which  blooms  with  the  grape,  and  which  is  of 
easy  cultivation  is  suggested  to  vineyardists  as  a  rose- 
bug  catcher.  *  * 
The  Republican  platform  adopted  at  Minneapolis 
contains  the  following : 
We  approve  the  policy  of  extending  to  towns,  villages  aDd  rural 
communities  the  advantages  of  the  free  mail  services,  now  enjoyed  by 
the  larger  cities  of  the  country,  and  reaffirm  the  declaration  contained 
In  the  Republican  platform  of  1888,  pledging  the  reduction  of  letter 
postage  to  one  cent,  at  the  earliest  possible  moment  consistent  with 
the  maintenance  of  the  Post-office  Department  and  the  highest  class 
of  postal  service. 
We  are  glad  that  this  question  of  free  delivery  for 
farmers  is  to  come  directly  before  the  people.  We  be¬ 
lieve  that  the  majority  of  farmers  want  it  and  are  pre¬ 
pared  to  pay  their  share  for  it.  The  Republicans  made 
no  special  reference  to  agriculture  in  their  platform, 
evidently  regarding  Secretary  Rusk  and  his  record  as 
platform  enough.  #  * 
The  rosebugs  have  come  earlier  and  in  greater  num¬ 
bers  than  ever  before.  Nearly  every  racemy  of  buds 
has  thus  early  been  either  attacked,  injured  or  de¬ 
stroyed.  We  feel  almost  helpless  in  the  face  of  this 
formidable  enemy.  Buhach  water,  if  sprayed  upon 
them  once  or  twice  a  day,  disables — for  a  time  at  any 
rate — those  it  envelops  in  the  spray.  Hand  picking 
is  effective  if  one  can  afford  to  give  constant  attend¬ 
ance  to  the  vines.  Enveloping  the  vines  in  mosquito 
netting  is  also  effective.  Bagging  the  buds  is  effective, 
too,  but  owing  to  imperfect  stamens  or  to  the  anthers 
and  stigmas  not  being  mature  at  the  same  time,  many 
bunches  will  be  imperfect  while  others  will  not  set 
fruit  at  all.  Hot  water  is  effective,  but  an  economical 
method  of  use  has  not  as  yet  been  hit  upon.  Here  we 
have  the  remedies.  Can  we  afford  to  use  them?  Or 
would  the  remedies  cost  more  than  the  grapqs  would 
be  worth?  *  * 
A  recent  railway  ride  through  a  farming  region 
where  on  almost  every  farm  could  be  seen  farmers  at 
work  in  their  corn  and  potato  fields,  demonstrated  the 
fact  that  a  very  large  per  cent  of  them  are  still  “joined 
to  their  idol” — the  one-horse  plow.  In  scores  of  fields, 
free  from  stones  and  easily  tilled,  they  were  seen  plow¬ 
ing  with  the  one-horse  plow,  going  twice  in  each  row 
to  do  what  a  good  cultivator  would  do  by  going 
through  cnee.  The  energy  thus  wasted,  if  properly 
applied,  would  go  a  long  way  toward  supplying  the 
margin  between  profitable  and  unprofitable  farming. 
In  only  an  occasional  field  was  the  cultivator  in  use. 
Why  is  it  so  hard  for  some  farmers  to  get  out  of  the 
ruts?  Is  it  ignorance,  conservatism  or  habit  which 
keeps  them  there  ?  Who  can  tell  ? 
*  * 
Charles  J.  MuRniY,  Secretary  Rusk’s  agent  for  the 
introduction  of  American  corn  into  Germany,  has  im¬ 
mortalized  himself  by  securiug  the  adoption  of  “Murphy 
Brod  ”  or  Murphy  Bread  by  a  rapidly  increasing  pro¬ 
portion  of  the  population  of  Germany,  especially  of 
Berlin  and  other  large  cities.  The  new  food  consists 
of  two-thii*ds  rye  and  one-third  maize,  and  the  taste 
of  the  latter  is  not  perceptible.  The  price  is  only  60 
pfennings  per  5-pound  loaf,  while  the  former  price 
for  a  3-pound  rye  loaf  was  50  pfennings,  a  reduction  of 
about  20  per  cent  in  favor  of  the  rye-maize  product. 
The  bakeries  where  the  latter  is  sold  are  usually  situ¬ 
ated  in  the  poorer  quarters  of  the  cities,  and  are  so 
popular  that  the  customers  have  often  to  form  in  line 
the  crowd  is  so  great.  Within  the  last  year  13  mills 
have  been  put  in  operation  to  grind  corn  in  Germany 
and  many  others  are  being  erected.  In  Dresden  two 
are  in  operation — one  the  largest  in  the  city — and  half 
the  bakers  are  selling  rye-maize  bread.  In  Hamburg 
a  new  establishment  on  a  large  scale  has  just  been 
started  for  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  Murphy 
Bread.  The  government  is  putting  in  a  corn  milling 
plant  in  its  large  mills  at  Magdeburg  and  turning  out 
a  vast  amount  of  maize-rye  bread  at  the  garrison 
bakery  at  Berlin.  Little  wonder  that  in  view  of  such 
a  national  boom  for  Murphy  Bread  throughout  the 
Fatherland,  the  importations  of  American  corn  into 
Germany  have  quintupled  in  the  first  three  months  in 
1892  as  compared  with  the  same  period  in  1891. 
*  * 
During  the  lull  in  the  United  States  Senate  caused 
by  the  Minneapolis  Convention,  Senator  Peffer  startled 
that  body  by  introducing  a  bill  to  “  increase  the  cur¬ 
rency,  and  provide  for  its  circulation,  to  reduce  the 
rates  of  interest,  and  establish  a  bureau  of  loans.” 
Briefly,  it  provides  for  the  appointment  by  the  Presi¬ 
dent  of  three  commissioners  to  hold  office  in  Washing¬ 
ton,  whose  duties  it  shall  be  to  establish  loan  agencies, 
one  at  the  capital  of  every  State  and  Territory, 
and  others  at  other  convenient  places.  Treasury 
notes  are  to  be  issued,  equal  in  amount  to  .$1.50  for 
every  dollar’s  worth  of  gold  and  silver  coin  and  bul¬ 
lion  belonging  to  the  United  States.  No  banking  firm, 
company  or  corporation  is  hereafter  to  receive  interest 
at  a  higher  rate  per  annum  than  five  per  cent  for  a 
short  time,  or  four  per  cent  for  a  year  or  longer.  The 
introduction  of  the  measure  has  not  caused  even  the 
slightest  ripple  of  excitement  in  Wall  street  or  any  other 
financial  center,  so  that  it  appears  the  “  gold-bugs  ” 
and  “  bloated  bondholders  ”  have  little  or  no  fear  of 
its  passage.  *  * 
The  bill  making  appropriations  for  the  Department 
of  Agriculture  as  reported  to  the  House,  makes  numer¬ 
ous  cuts  from  the  amounts  estimated  as  required  for 
the  year.  Among  these  cuts  are  $10,000  from  the 
division  of  botany,  $10,000  from  entomology,  and 
$5,000  each  from  vegetable  pathology,  ornithology  and 
mamology,  forestry  and  fiber  investigations,  or  $40,000 
in  all.  To  offset  this  the  fund  for  seed  distribution  is 
increased  by  $30,000,  and  $10, COO  are  appropriated  for 
rain-making  experiments.  Doubtless  many  persons 
will  say  that  seeds  and  rain-making  are  more  practical, 
but  we  feel  sure  that  most  progressive  farmers  will 
regret  that  the  Department  is  to  be  crippled  in  its 
scientific  work.  Such  farmers  are  deeply  interested 
in  the  study  of  plant  diseases  and  insect  enemies,  and 
should  protest  against  anything  that  will  stop  needed 
work  in  such  investigations.  Farmers  everywhere 
should  demand  of  Congress  that  the  most  practical  and 
useful  department  of  the  government  be  helped  and 
not  hindered.  If  this  House  can  pass  a  $50,000,000 
River  and  Harbor  Bill,  there  is  no  economical  reason 
why  it  should  try  to  save  $40,000  by  stopping  useful 
work  for  agriculture.  *  * 
It  has  long  been  a  subject  of  complaint  throughout 
the  country  that  State  and  National  legislation  has 
been  virtually  monopolized  by  lawyers.  In  Congress 
they  constitute  over  75  per  cent  of  the  total  member¬ 
ship,  while  farmers  are  less  than  five  per  cent.  During 
the  late  bitter  anti-lottery  contest  in  Louisiana,  in  the 
division  of  loc  il  offices  the  farmers  generally  put  in  a 
claim  for  the  legislators  and  got  it ;  and  in  the  nomin¬ 
ating  conventions  they  insisted  on  sending  members 
of  their  own  class  to  the  General  Assembly.  The 
result  is  that  the  Pelican  State  has  a  larger  proportion 
of  farmers  in  its  legislature  than  it  has  ever  before 
had.  The  professions  of  the  members,  as  given  by 
themselves,  is  as  follows : 
Senate. 
House. 
Total 
Gen’l  Assembly. 
Farmers  and  planters . 
22 
40 
02 
Lawyers . 
8 
13 
10 
21 
Merchants  . 
2 
12 
Manufacturers . 
1 
6 
0 
Others . 
3 
30 
33 
Thus  the  farmers  constitute  nearly  two- thirds  of  the 
Senate  and  nearly  one-half  of  the  House,  whereas  the 
lawyers  number  barely  one-seventli  of  the  entire  body. 
It  has  been  alleged  that  a  valid  reason  for  a  prepon¬ 
derance  of  lawyers  in  legislative  assemblies  is  that  the 
laws,  having  been  drawn  up  by  lawyers,  would  be  free 
from  legal  faults  and  unconstitutionalities ;  but, 
instead  of  this  being  the  case,  there  is  more  defective 
legislation,  State  and  National,  nowadays  than  in  the 
“good  old  times”  when  members  of  the  bar  did  not 
have  such  ajnonopoly  of  legislation.  It  remains  to  be 
seen  whether  the  present  Louisiana  Legislature,  which 
is  practically  under  control  of  farmers,  will  do  better. 
*  * 
In  the  days  of  the  earlier  efforts  to  restrict  the 
fraudulent  sale  of  hog  butter,  there  was  more  or  less 
well  intended  but  none  the  less  uncalled-for  sympathy 
for  the  makers  of  that  article.  We  were  told  that  oleo 
was  not  unwholesome,  that  it  was  a  cheap  food  pro¬ 
duct  and  that  any  restrictive  legislation  was  opposed 
to  the  interests  of  the  masses.  The  Rural  was  never 
in  sympathy  with  these  views.  This  product  is  a  fraud, 
pure  and  simple.  Every  pound  of  it  that  is  eaten,  is 
eaten  by  people  who  think  they  are  eating  butter.  It 
never  could  be  sold  in  any  other  way.  The  worst 
phase  of  the  iniquitous  traffic  lies  in  the  fact  that  its 
venders  must  charge  as  much  for  it  as  they  do  for  but¬ 
ter,  in  order  to  avert  suspicion.  If  it  were  offered  at  a 
fair  rate,  its  low  price  would  at  once  disclose  its  real 
nature  and  the  stuff  could  not  be  sold.  It  is  thus  a 
double  fraud.  We  are  glad  to  note  that  there  is  a 
notable  reaction  in  public  opinion  on  this  subject. 
Many  of  those  who  formerly  opposed  restrictive  legis¬ 
lation,  now  accede  to  its  wisdom.  Further,  there  is  a 
growing  public  opinion  against  its  makers.  They  are 
coming'  to  be  rated  as  counterfeiters,  as  men  who  are 
engaged  in  a  dishonorable  business,  men  who  are  seek¬ 
ing  to  swindle  the  public.  This  is  as  it  should  be,  a 
“  yellow-goods  ”  thief  is  as  bad  as  a  “  green  goods  ” 
swindler.  Neither  has  the  genuine  article  to  deliver. 
Both  deal  in  frauds — one  has  green  paper,  and  the  other 
fat  from  the  hog  pen  ! 
*  * 
BREVITIE  8. 
I  saw  a  little  child  play  In  the  sand, 
And  try  to  1111  his  box  with  fistfuls  small. 
It  ran  like  water  through  his  chubby  hand, 
His  little  fingers  could  not  hold  It  all. 
And  then,  with  childish  petulance  he  threw 
His  pall  of  water  on  the  hateful  sand. 
When,  lo!  It  took  on  strength  and  purpose  new; 
He  held  it  safely  In  his  little  hand. 
1  thought  how  often  we  reach  out  for  things 
That  lack  cohesion,  order,  unity. 
And,  like  the  sand,  no  record  ever  clings 
To  our  rough  bands  to  prove  our  constancy, 
Until  by  accident  we  mix  the  sand 
Of  theory  with  water— practice;  then 
Life’s  blessings  seem  to  fall  Into  our  hand, 
And  fickle  fortune  seems  to  smile  again. 
Tinker  up  the  think-works. 
Don’t  blow  till  you  have  something  to  show. 
It  1b  no  child’s  play  to  run  a  “  baby  ”  separator. 
Don’t  get  out  of  the  rut  only  to  fall  Into  the  gutter. 
Let  us  pity  one  who  must  always  take  another’s  dust. 
Thermometer  at  the  Rural  Grounds  on  Monday  at  1 1\  m.  ;  93  degrees. 
Few  things  are  more  expensive  than  buying  and  working  a  “  cheap  ” 
horse. 
Many  a  dog  becomes  a  sheep  killer  because  he  did  not  get  food 
enough  at  home.  Feed  the  dog  or  kill  him! 
A  more  abundantcrop  of  strawberries— whether  wild  or  cultivated 
-  -has  never  been  known  In  northern  New  Jersey. 
Oats  and  peas  well  grown  and  cured  will  save  buying  oil  meal  and 
bran.  Has  any  one  ever  tried  pasturing  oats  and  peas  ? 
How  much  better  off  the  South  would  be  if  more  farmers  would  quit 
a  part  of  their  cotton  and  follow  Prof.  Massey's  advice  about  growing 
a  second  crop  of  potatoes! 
By  the  unexpected  death  of  Leonidas  L.  Polk,  last  Saturday,  the 
Farmers’  Alliance  lost  a  capable  and  upright  President.  Who  can 
worthily  occupy  his  place  ? 
Who  have  noticed  that  London-purple  used  in  the  Bordeaux  mix¬ 
ture  gives  sore  hands  to  all  who  “  hold  the  nozzle  ?"  We  want  all  the 
experience  we  can  get  on  this  point. 
Orchard  GRASS  gets  ready  for  cutting  at  the  wrong  time  this  year. 
Just  when  hoeing  and  weeding  are  demanding  attention  this  grass 
says:  ”Cutme  !”  It  Is  out  of  season. 
Look  out  that  you  don’t  put  your  neck  In  a  collar  in  this  terrible 
hunt  for  the  almighty  dollar.  Your  heart  and  your  conscience  will 
always  be  sore  if  you  don’t  bring  yourself  to  quit  asking  for  “  more’” 
At  this  time— June  14— we  are  inclined  to  regard  Beebe  as  the  best  of 
the  newer  strawberries  rjpenlng  at  this  time.  The  berries  are  of  the 
largest  size,  and,  the  size  considered,  they  are  fairly  firm  and  of  excell¬ 
ent  quality.  Try  a  few  plants  of  Beebe  It  promises  to  score  several 
points  above  Sharpless  or  Bubach. 
Many  farmers  keep  a  little  broncho  or  mustang  for  driving.  The 
great  strength  and  endurance  of  these  little  horses  is  one  of  the  won¬ 
ders  of  Nature.  They  will  trot  up  hill  and  down  with  the  whole  family 
behind  them.  When  bred  to  stallions  of  the  lighter  driving  or  roadster 
breeds  they  produce  a  tough,  quick  and  wiry  colt.  On  a  big  farm  they 
find  a  small  place  and  fill  It  well. 
There  are  plenty  of  cows  that  give  a  bushel  of  milk  a  day— 11  legal  ” 
milk  too.  Yet  there  may  be  more  actual  money  in  a  cow  that  gives 
half  a  bushel  of  better  milk.  It  takes  14  pounds  of  straw  to  yield  as 
much  protein  as  is  found  In  one  pound  of  cotton-seed  meal.  Whether 
fat  milk  Is  healthier  for  drinking  purposes  or  not,  the  fact  remains 
that  consumers  judge  the  value  of  milk  by  its  fat,  and  will  never  will¬ 
ingly  pay  a  first-class  price  for  the  lean  article. 
A  plant’s  mouth  is  In  its  boots,  so  to  speak.  To  quench  his  thirst,  a 
man  must  take  water  through  his  mouth.  A  bath  in  cold  water  may 
refresh  him  for  the  time,  but  will  It  really  quench  his  thirst  ?  The 
same  with  a  plant,  which  explains  why  it  would  scarcely  ”  pay  ”  to 
sprinkle  the  vines  of  potatoes  to  relieve  them  In  dry  weather.  The 
theory  is  plausible,  but  unless  enough  water  were  used  to  wet  the  soil 
through  to  the  roots,  the  plant  will  have  its  face  washed,  and  that  is  all. 
Mr.  J.  A.  Pierce  of  Indiana  is  about  the  only  man  who  continues  to 
use  any  substance  in  the  silo  to  act  as  a  preservative.  He  will  continue 
to  use  pulverized  charcoal.  He  cuts  In  about  a  ton  of  corn,  then  a 
quantity  of  charcoal,  then  a  ton  of  second-crop  clover,  then  more 
charcoal,  more  corn  and  so  on.  He  says  It  pays  him,  but  It  might  not 
pay  others.  A  slice  out  of  this  silo  must  seem  to  a  cow  like  a  ham 
sandwich  to  a  man— the  corn  representing  the  bread,  the  clover  the 
meat  and  the  charcoal  the  butter! 
Which  Is  the  heavier— a  quart  of  milk  or  a  quart  of  water?  Prob¬ 
ably  nine  persons  out  of  ten  would  say  water;  but  they  are  wrong. 
Geo  A.  Smith,  cheese  Instructor  of  New  York,  gives  us  these  accurate 
figures.  Weight  of  a  gallon  of  water,  elghtpounds  five  ounces;  of  a 
gallon  of  skim-milk  eight  pounds  nine  ounces,  of  a  gallon  of  pure  milk 
eight  pounds  eight  ounces.  The  fat  weighs  less  than  water  and  the 
caselne,  sugar  and  ash  more.  In  milk  testing  eight  per  cent  of  fat,  the 
lactometer  would  not  be  a  fair  test;  would  it? 
The  recent  floods  in  the  West  have  Induced  the  wise  men  along  the 
river  bottoms  in  that  section  to  devise  a  new  style  of  building— the 
wannigan.  It  Is  an  amphibious  structure— a  house  on  a  tiat-bottomed 
boat.  Several  have  already  been  constructed,  and  others  are  11  on  the 
stocks!”  Each  Is  set  up  on  blocks  by  the  river  side,  and  is  ready  to 
float  when  the  floods  come.  There  is  room  in  most  cases  for  stock  and 
comfortable  quarters  for  family  use.  Wouldn’t  ”ark”  be  a  more  appro¬ 
priate  name  for  such  a  Noah-like  structure  than  “  wannigan  ?  ” 
The  chief  argument— aside  from  the  cruelty  of  the  operation— 
against  caponiziug  Is  the  fact  that  it  is  a  losing  business  to  keep  any 
surplus  male  birds  over  five  months  or  until  they  are  large  enough  to 
sell  as  roasters.  Almost  every  farmer’s  yard  contains  a  dozen  or  so 
old  roosters.  They  are  of  no  value  as  breeders  and  every  one  of  them 
has  cost  more  than  he  could  ever  be  sold  for.  If  these  birds  are  to  be 
kept  at  all  they  should  be  caponized.  But  why  keep  them  at  all?  Mr. 
Sldway  says  he  kills  his  male  birds  as  soon  as  he  can  distinguish  them, 
and  we  believe  he  makes  money  by  doing  so. 
A  jury  In  the  District  Court  at  Topeka,  Kan.,  has  brought  In  a  ver¬ 
dict  of  $5,000  against  a  local  branch  of  the  Coffin  Trust  for  having  con¬ 
spired  to  prevent  an  undertaker  from  starting  In  business  in  that  city 
by  refusing  to  sell  him  goods.  The  Trust  proposes  to  confine  the 
undertaking  business  strictly  to  Its  own  patrons,  and,  by  suppressing 
all  competition,  enable  the  latter  to  charge  whatever  the  •*  business 
will  bear.”  During  the  trial  it  was  proved  that  one  undertaker  in 
Topeka  had  charged  $1,800  for  burying  a  corpse,  though  the  actual  ex¬ 
penses  were  only  $80!  Thus  do  trusts  practice  extortion  on  their  vic¬ 
tims  not  only  during  life,  but  after  death  also. 
