464 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
July  16 
T  H  K 
Rural  New-Yorker 
TIMES  BUILDING,  NEW  YORK. 
*  • 
A  National  Weekly  Journal  for  Country  and  Suburban  Homes. 
KLBEBT  8.  CARMAN,  Editor  In  Chief. 
HEBBEBT  W.  COLLING  WOOD,  Managing  Editor. 
Copyrighted  1HH2. 
SATURDAY,  JULY  1G,  1892. 
It  required  just  eig-ht  gallons  of  the  Bordeaux  mix¬ 
ture  to  thoroughly  spray  a  plot  of  potatoes  one-fortieth 
of  an  acre  in  extent.  This  was  last  week  when  the 
vines  covered  the  entire  surface  of  the  soil.  This 
would  be  at  the  rate  of  320  gallons  per  acre.  But  just 
how  to  spray  broad  areas  of  potatoes  at  this  time 
and  later,  when  the  blight  is  most  likely  to  appear, 
without  injuring  the  vines,  we  cannot  say. 
*  * 
At  the  recent  agricultural  conference  at  Cornell, 
there  was  a  unanimous  demand  for  a  short  winter 
course  in  agriculture.  We  are  glad  to  state  that  the 
trustees  have  already  arranged  for  such  a  course.  It 
will  open  early  in  January.  We  shall  tell  all  about  it 
in  due  time.  Now,  we  want  500  New  York  State  boys 
to  begin  thinking  about  attending  that  school.  Make 
up  your  minds  now  that  you  will  go,  boys.  Take  our 
word  for  it — you  will  never  regret  it. 
*  * 
Many  are  deterred  from  using  such  fungicides  as  the 
Bordeaux  mixture  because  the  formula  is  not  ex¬ 
pressed  in  a  simple  way.  The  bother  of  making  and 
applying  it  is  exaggerated.  “  An  ounce  of  copper  sul¬ 
phate  and  an  ounce  of  lime  to  one  gallon  of  water”  is 
a  formula  that  commends  itself  for  simplicity,  and  no 
one  is  restrained  from  making  and  using  such  a  mix¬ 
ture  by  an  oppressive  sense  that  there  is  a  lot  of  care, 
time  and  fussing  required.  An  ounce  of  lime  is  per¬ 
haps  more  than  is  needed.  Three-quarters  of  an  ounce 
would,  no  doubt,  serve  every  purpose  as  well. 
*  * 
The  makers  of  hog  butter  are  loud  in  their  protesta¬ 
tions  that  no  unclean  or  unwholesome  materials  enter 
into  their  compound.  But  their  stories  do  not  find 
credence  among  those  who  have  given  the  subject  most 
attention.  There  is  good  reason  for  believing  that  a 
large  portion  of  the  white  grease  from  Barren  Island, 
up  Long  Island  Sound,  where  dead  animals  are  ren¬ 
dered,  finds  its  way  hereabouts  into  this  commodity  for 
the  table.  This  is  not  a  reckless  statement,  but  is 
based  on  circumstantial  evidence  pointing  that  way. 
Any  man  unscrupulous  enough  to  enter  such  a  busi¬ 
ness  is  mean  enough  to  use  such  materials. 
*  * 
Not  the  least  noticeable  feature  of  the  convention 
of  the  People’s  party  at  Omaha  the  other  day,  was  the 
earnest  desire  manifested  to  “  close  up  the  bloody 
chasm,”  to  do  away  with  all  sectional  animosities  and 
prejudices  created  by  the  late  “  unpleasantness.”  All 
remarks  to  that  effect  were  hailed  with  the  wildest 
enthusiasm.  All  sectional  lines  were  completely 
abandoned.  Indeed  while  Mr.  Weaver,  of  Iowa,  a 
Brigadier  in  the  Union  Army,  was  nominated  for 
President,  Mr.  Field,  of  Virginia,  a  Brigadier  in  the 
Confederate  Army,  was  nominated  for  Vice-President. 
Whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  principles  and  de¬ 
mands  enunciated  in  the  party's  platform,  its  complete 
obliteration  of  sectional  enmities  should  meet  with 
general  commendation. 
*  # 
It  must  have  been  six  or  seven  years  ago  that 
Charles  A.  Garfield,  of  Michigan,  tried  rubber  bands 
for  bunching  asparagus,  and  reported  favorably  of  the 
economy  of  their  use.  Since  that  time  their  use  has 
been  advocated  by  the  Ohio  Station  and  others,  though 
we  have  never  seen  any  credit  given  to  Secretary  Gar¬ 
field  as  being  the  originator  of  the  method.  Possibly 
the  fact  was  not  known  ;  but  it  has  often  occurred  to 
The  It.  N.-Y.  that  the  station  officers  are  not  as  liberal- 
minded  in  giving  due  credit  where  credit  is  due  as 
they  might  be.  Ignorance  of  what  has  been  done  is  a 
feeble  excuse.  The  first  duty  of  those  who  assume  to 
instruct  us  in  iinproved  agricultural  methods  or  appli¬ 
ances  is  to  post  up  upon  what  has  already  been  orig¬ 
inated,  advocated  or  abandoned,  so  that  they  may  not 
waste  valuable  time  over  questions  settled  long  ago. 
•  *  * 
Tiie  farmers  of  Texas  demand  an  additional  agri¬ 
cultural  college.  Owing  to  the  vast  area  of  the  State, 
they  declare  that  the  agricultural  conditions  prevail¬ 
ing  in  one  section  are  entirely  different  from  those  met 
with  in  another,  and  that  the  agricultural  lessons  given 
at  an  agricultural  college  should  be  adapted  to  the 
conditions  that  environ  it.  Moreover,  they  point  out 
that  while  a  circle  with  a  radius  of  50  miles  around 
College  Station  contains,  in  round  numbers,  a  popula¬ 
tion  of  only  118,000,  a  similar  circle  with  Greenville 
as  a  center,  contains  a  population  of  315,000.  This  is 
held  to  indicate  that  an  agricultural  college  located 
near  the  center  of  the  latter  section  could  reasonably 
expect  three  times  as  many  pupils  as  the  one  now  in 
successful  operation  at  the  center  of  the  former  circle. 
In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  area  of  the  Lone  Star 
State  is  large  enough  to  constitute  three  or  four  of  the 
ordinary  States  and  that  no  State  in  the  Union  is  fill¬ 
ing  up  its  population  or  developing  its  resources  more 
rapidly,  and  that  not  one  has  made  such  generous  pro¬ 
visions  for  public  education,  the  demand  for  greater 
facilities  for  the  education  of  its  agricultural  classes, 
should  receive  weighty  attention. 
*  # 
What  is  it  that  gives  the  strongest  claim  to  the  title 
of  American  citizen  ?  Does  the  accident  of  birth  out¬ 
weigh  a  fair  and  honest  growth  into  a  genuine  Ameri¬ 
can  feeling  ?  We  thought  of  this  on  hearing  a  little 
dialogue  last  week.  A  young  man  of  25  who  does  his 
best  to  ape  foreign  customs  and  sneers  at  homely,  old- 
time  American  ways,  said  to  a  white-haired  German- 
American : 
“  You’re  not  an  American  anyway  ;  you  were  born 
and  started  a  Dutchman.” 
“  Well,”  said  the  older  man,  thoughtfully,  “one 
thing  is  sure  :  I  came  to  this  country  before  you  were 
born.  1  brought  a  full  suit  of  clothes  and  a  good  edu¬ 
cation  with  me  when  I  came,  and  that’s  more  than 
you  can  say  ?  ” 
It  was  the  difference  between  “  raw  material  ”  and 
a  finished  product !  #  # 
The  figures  representing  the  statistics  of  the  last 
Florida  orange  crop,  make  interesting  reading.  The 
total  crop  sold  was  3,500,000  boxes  This  is  an  increase 
of  nearly  1,000,000  boxes  over  last  year.  The  net 
price  this  year  averaged  SI.  11  per  box,  not  estimating 
the  cost  of  picking  and  packing.  The  average  gross 
price  was  SI. 88.  It  therefore  cost  77  cents  to  market 
each  box.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  for  last  year’s  crop  the 
growers  of  the  State  received  S3, 885,000  while  the 
commission  men  and  transportation  companies  re¬ 
ceived  S3, 695, 000.  The  growers  paid  all  expenses  of 
production.  In  1888  the  crop  was  but  1,450,000  boxes, 
with  gross  price  $2.52  and  net  price  SI. 72.  That  is  to 
say,  now  there  is  a  decrease  of  61  cents  per  box  in  net 
price  and  a  decrease  of  only  three  cents  in  cost  of  mar¬ 
keting,  though  the  middlemen  now  receive  S2, 695, 000 
as  against  SI,  160, 000  four  years  ago.  What  wonder 
“  farming  don’t  pay  ”  with  such  leeches  sucking  its 
blood  out  !  #  # 
The  tariff  plank  in  the  platform  of  the  Prohibition 
convention,  which  was  held  the  other  day  at  Cincin¬ 
nati,  is  peculiar.  Here  it  is  : 
Tariff  should  be  levied  ODly  as  a  defense  against  foreign  govern- 
ments  which  levy  tariff  upon  or  bar  out  our  products  from  their  mar¬ 
kets,  revenue  being  Incidental.  The  residue  of  means  necessary  to  an 
economical  administration  of  the  government  should  be  raised  by 
levying  a  burden  on  what  the  people  possess,  instead  of  what  we  con¬ 
sume. 
This  is  in  direct  opposition  to  the  Democratic  and 
People’s  party  contention  that  tariffs  should  be 
enforced  for  revenue  only,  and  to  the  Republican  doc¬ 
trine  that  tariffs  should  be  levied  for  the  protection  of 
certain  domestic  industries,  mainly  of  a  manufactur¬ 
ing  nature.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Prohibitionist 
idea  is  that  tariffs  are  justified  only  as  means  of  rep¬ 
risals  and  commercial  warfare  against  those  countries 
which  tax  American  imports.  Doesn’t  this  nearly 
embody  the  retaliatory  reciprocity  principles  which 
have  lately  won  popular  favor  ? 
*  * 
At  last  we  have  a  millionaire  put  up  as  a  Presiden¬ 
tial  candidate.  True,  the  offense  of  his  immense  wealth 
is,  to  a  great  extent,  extenuated  by  the  fact  that  he  is 
a  vineyardist  and  a  farmer.  General  .John  Bid  well, 
of  California,  the  Prohibitionist  candidate  for  Presi¬ 
dent,  is  said  to  be  worth  from  $2,000,000  to  $4,000,000. 
His  fruit  ranch  is  one  of  the  largest  in  the  State, 
comprising  25,000  acres.  His  sincerity  as  a  prohibi¬ 
tionist  is  vouched  for  by  the  fact  that  when,  some 
years  ago,  he  determined  to  abandon  the  manufacture 
of  wine  and  brandy,  he  donated  all  he  had  on  hand  to 
the  hospitals,  and  all  the  vines  grown  distinctively  for 
wine  and  spirit  making  were  rooted  out  at  great  pecu¬ 
niary  loss,  and  now  he  produces  table  grapes  exclu¬ 
sively.  Tall  and  erect  in  spite  of  his  three  score  and 
ten  years,  sincere  in  his  opinions,  with  fine,  clear-cut 
features  and  a  flowing  beard,  popular  at  home  and 
respected  abroad,  the  Prohibitionists  have  decidedly 
selected  an  excellent  candidate,  whose  main  or  only 
drawback  is  the  fact  that  he  is  a  multimillionaire. 
*  * 
The  Minnesota  Experiment  Station  has  begun  ex¬ 
periments  with  Timothy  with  a  view  to  improving 
this  grass  by  selection  and  culture.  It  was  observed 
that  “  the  anthers  of  Timothy  vary  in  color  from  light- 
straw  color  to  dark-blue.”  Plants  representing  the  two 
extremes  were  marked  when  in  bloom,  and  the  seeds 
were  saved  for  experiment.  This  color  of  bloom  was 
taken  for  the  first  distinguishing  mark.  The  seed  was 
sown  so  that  each  one  occupied  at  least  one  square 
foot  of  soil.  This  developed  very  heavy  plants,  which 
spread  by  stooling  to  nearly  10  inches  in  diameter,  and 
gave  an  excellent  chance  to  observe  variations  and  de¬ 
sirable  qualities.  It  is  proposed  to  continue  this  selec¬ 
tion  and  seeding  until  the  desired  qualities  are  fixed 
in  the  plants.  This  seems  like  practical  and  useful 
work.  Timothy  plants  vary  as  much  as  do  different 
varieties  of  corn.  The  crop  of  Timothy  hay  is  of  im* 
mense  importance  to  the  country,  and  if  we  can,  by 
selection,  improve  this  and  other  grasses  half  as  much 
as  corn  has  been  improved,  the  gain  will  be  astonishing. 
*  * 
Beevitie  s. 
Yes,  his  mouth  Is  pretty  small— not  three  Inches  wide  In  all. 
But  It  holds  a  hundred  acres  of  the  finest  farming  land  ! 
Yes,  it  holds  a  barn  and  house— ah,  they  all  went  down  kersouse 
At  the  crooking  of  his  elbow  and  the  raising  of  his  hand. 
It  is  sad  now.  don’t  you  think,  that  this  cursed  fiend  of  drink 
Should  have  dulled  his  sense  of  honor  and  just  eaten  up  his  brains '! 
Manhood,  energy  are  dead,  truth  and  moral  force  have  tied; 
All  that’s  left  Is  tortured  conscience  and  a  body  racked  with  pain. 
Yes,  the  mouth  is  pretty  small,  but  It's  bound  to  gobble  all 
That  you  love  unless  you  stiffen  up  your  backbone  with  a  “  No!  ” 
And  the  first  glass  Is  the  worst!  You  must  conquer  down  that  thirst, 
Or,  dissolved  in  rum,  your  honor  down  vour  fevered  throat  will  flow. 
Buckwheat  hulls  make  a  good  hen-house  floor. 
“  Butter  herbs”  Is  the  English  name  for  pasture  grasses. 
Don’t  let  your  horse  gnaw  the  life  out  of  somebody’s  tree. 
There  is  a  great  big  world  out  beyond  the  end  of  your  nose. 
Your  tools  have  no  more  business  out  In  the  rain  than  you  have. 
AN  ounce  of  oil  may  make  a  difference  of  half  a  ton  in  the  load. 
Keep  an  eye  open  for  an  eye-opener  on  the  milk  question  next  week. 
One  swallow  does  not  make  a  summer  but  one  swallow  may  start  a 
bummer. 
Wouldn't  you  suspect  the  pedigree  of  a  Brown  Leghorn  hen  that  Is 
crazy  to  sit  7 
Have  you  any  proof  that  a  cow  prefers  to  drink  cold  water  in  sum¬ 
mer  ?  Let's  have  it ! 
The  longer  our  cheesemakers  toy  with  the  skimmer  the  more  do 
our  chances  for  profit  grow  slimmer. 
Your  whisky  or  your  job  !  Give  up  one  or  the  other!  That  is  what 
every  railroad  corporation  ought  to  say  to  its  employees. 
You  may  tuck  this  bit  of  wisdom  safely  in  your  mental  pouch:  It  is 
good  to  have  folks  say  of  you,  “  That  fellow  Is  no  slouch!  ” 
When  a  man  sells  a  heifer  calf  for  the  price  of  a  scrub  cow  he  real¬ 
izes  the  value  of  feeding  and  breeding  excellence  Into  that  calf’s 
mother. 
The  Senate  has  added  to  the  House  appropriation  for  continuing  ex¬ 
periments  In  rural  mall  delivery,  making  It  $200,000.  That  delivery  is 
bound  to  come. 
About  the  most  successful  vegetable  farm  in  this  country  is  that  of 
G.  W.  Hallock  &  Son.  at  Orient,  L.  I.  The  R.  N.-Y.  has  in  hand  an  ex¬ 
cellent  account  of  this  “  vegetable  factory.” 
The  reports  from  those  who  have  used  tobacco  dust  for  keeping  the 
bugs  away  from  melons  are  very  favorable.  In  running  away  from 
tobacco,  bugs  have  more  sense  than  men. 
No  young  stock  on  the  farm  is  so  satisfactory  as  the  little  clover 
plants  growing  in  the  grain.  They  are  the  farm’s  best  babies.  It  is  a 
hopefal  sign  to  see  them  growing  thick  and  strong. 
The  last  class  graduated  at  Amherst  College,  Massachusetts,  con 
tained  three  young  colored  men.  One  of  them  was  captain  of  the  foot¬ 
ball  team  and  class  orator.  The  world  is  moving  fast! 
The  new  schedule  of  the  Philadelphia  and  Reading  Coal  Company 
Increases  the  price  to  dealers  about  25  cents  a  ton  on  all  grades.  It 
will  be  50  cents  before  the  coal  reaches  the  consumer. 
The  right  time  to  sell  an  animal  is  when  it  is  in  proper  condition  to 
bring  the  top  price  in  the  market.  If  you  wait  for  that  top  price  to 
become  topper,”  the  chances  are  that  your  animal  will  not  go  up 
with  It. 
IN  January.  February  and  March  of  this  year  Americans  imported 
48,875  bushels  of  potatoes  and  exported  121,501  bushels.  In  the  corres¬ 
ponding  three  months  for  1890  the  imports  were  1.025,071  bushels  and 
the  exports  52,998. 
WE  guess  the  Minnesota  Station  is  correct  in  saying  that,  for  that 
State,  the  study  of  bugs,  foul  weeds,  poor  seeds  and  improper  condit  ions 
of  the  soil  is  of  more  Importance  now  than  soil  analysis  or  fertilizer 
trials.  It  is  like  making  a  boy  see  what  he  can  do  with  his  own  strength 
if  he  will  only  try,  before  helping  him. 
The  bellicose  brokers  who  fear  the  passage  of  the  Anti-option  Law, 
are  threatening  to  remove  their  business  to  London  or  Liverpool, 
should  the  bill  pass.  That  is  another  argument  In  favor  of  it.  if  we 
could  export  the  whole  swarm  of  option  parasites,  the  country  would 
be  much  better  off.  They  conserve  no  useful  purpose  here. 
A  man  In  Holyoke,  Mass.,  sued  a  doctor  for  malpractice,  claiming 
that  his  broken  leg  had  not  been  properly  set?  Such  suits  are  not 
uncommon  and  they  usually  end  as  this  one  did— against  the  man 
with  the  broken  leg  because  he  tried  to  walk  too  soon  and  took  off  the 
splints.  If  you  hire  a  doctor,  do  what  he  says  or  discharge  him! 
California  does  not  owe  her  success  half  so  much  to  superior  natural 
conditions,  as  to  her  energetic  men  and  women.  They  advertise  and 
boom  their  State  in  every  possible  way.  For  example,  the  women  of 
California  will  have  a  “  jelly  palace  ”  at  the  World’s  Fair.  It  will  be 
16x20  feet  and  25  feet  high,  built  up  of  glasses  filled  with  different 
colored  jelly. 
This  contribution  to  the  literature  of  hens  Is  made  by  Mrs.  Salis¬ 
bury,  who  writes  a  note  on  page  459:  •'  We  plant  the  potatoes  all 
around  the  coop,  and  have  a  dog  to  keep  the  hens  out  of  the  rest  of 
the  garden.  We  keep  them  shut  up  In  the  hen-house  until  about  3 
o’clock  in  the  afternoon,  and,  when  we  let  them  out,  they  run  to  the 
vines,  and  before  dark  clean  them  of  bugs.” 
General  James  B.  Weaver,  of  Iowa,  the  Presidential  candidate 
of  the  People’s  party,  was  the  candidate  of  the  Greenback  Labor 
Party  in  1880,  when  he  received  308,578  votes  out  of  a  total  of  over 
9,000,000.  Some  of  the  demands  made  in  the  party's  platform  are  cer¬ 
tainly  revolutionary  in  their  character,  but  even  in  the  rather  Im¬ 
probable  event  of  Its  national  success,  it  would  take  years  or  genera¬ 
tions  before  they  could  be  put  Into  force;  for  there  Is  no  doubt  that 
more  than  one  of  them  are  unconstitutional,  and  amendments  to  the 
Constitution  would  have  to  be  made  before  they  could  become  opera¬ 
tive,  and  these  cannot  be  effected  except  by  a  majority  of  two-thirds 
of  both  Houses  of  Congress  and  the  consent  of  three-fourths  of  the 
States.  It  Is  unlikely  therefore  that  they  could  be  passed  for  years. 
