496 
July  30 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
TEE 
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,  Managing  Editor. 
Copyrighted  1892. 
SATURDAY,  JULY  30,  1892. 
Our  correspondent  from  Prince  Edward  Island  says, 
on  page  501,  that  the  province  will  have  12.000.000 
bushels  of  potatoes  to  sell.  The  American  tariff  of  25 
cents  a  bushel  stands  in  the  way  of  those  potatoes  and, 
as  he  says,  nothing  but  a  bad  season  here,  will  make 
room  for  them  in  our  markets  The  heaviest  imports 
of  potatoes  for  any  year  in  the  past  decade  was  in 
1888,  when  8,259,538  bushels  came  over  the  line.  The 
American  market  cannot  stand  that  big  Canadian 
cr°P-  *  * 
There  are  reliable  reports  from  Philadelphia  that 
a  number  of  foreign  capitalists  are  about  to  establish 
large  sugar  refineries  in  that  city,  Jersey  City  and 
Long  Island  in  opposition  to  the  Sugar  Trust.  New 
^  ork  and  Philadelphia  are  to  be  the  centers  of  oper¬ 
ation  as  they  are  with  the  Trust.  Is  this  scheme  like 
that  of  the  redoubtable  Claus  Spreckels,  designed  to 
force  the  'Irust  into  a  deal  ?  After  the  Californian’s 
repeated  protestations  that  he  would  never,  never  com¬ 
promise  with  the  monopoly,  and  his  final  surrender  at 
a  big  profit,  the  public  must  regard  any  project  look¬ 
ing  to  the  establishment  of  another  competitor  with  a 
good  deal  of  suspicion.  #  # 
After  the  drought  season  of  last  year  many  Eastern 
farmers  decided  to  try  irrigation  ;  so  they  put  up 
tanks  or  tapped  mountain  streams,  and  got  ready  to 
give  the  plants  a  drink  when  they  called  for  it.  The 
early  spring  and  summer  came  with  so  much  extra 
rainfall  that  it  looked  as  if  the  irrigation  would  be 
useless.  Put  the  last  three  weeks  have  been  so  hot 
and  dry  that  fruits  and  potatoes  on  high  ground  are 
sadly  in  need  of  water,  and  many  of  the  irrigation 
works  will  pay  for  themselves  even  in  this  season. 
Water  is  life.  Plants  must  have  it  when  they  *ull  for 
it  or  their  product  will  be  dwarfed. 
*  * 
It  is  to  be  regretted  that  several  writers  who  are 
more  fond  of  writing  than  experimenting,  still  insist 
that  the  old  Bordeaux  formula  is  the  best  to  prevent 
potato  blight.  Others  dilute  the  mixture  to  six  pounds 
of  copper  sulphate  and  four  pounds  of  lime  to  40  gal¬ 
lons  of  water.  We  beg  to  assure  our  readers  that  The 
11.  N.-Y.’s  easy  formula  of  one  ounce  of  copper  sul¬ 
phate  and  three-quarters  of  an  ounce  of  lime  to  each 
gallon  of  water  ;  that  is  to  say,  two  pounds  copper  sul¬ 
phate  and  1 X  pound  of  lime  to  32  gallons  of  water 
has  been  found  at  the  Rural  Grounds  to  answer  ever3r 
purpose  of  a  larger  proportion  of  copper  and  lime. 
1  his  gives  the  vines  a  distinctly  blue  color  which 
adheres  to  them  as  well  as  the  color  given  by  more 
copper  and  lime.  Let  us  see  whether  or  not  in 
the  future  The  R.  N.-Y.’s  formula  will  be  accepted  or 
disapproved.  # 
Among  the  “  certain  inalienable  rights”  granted  to 
America  is  the  possibility  of  growing  Indian  corn  and 
tomatoes  to  better  advantage  than  they  can  be  grown 
elsewhere.  The  same  Providence  that  granted  us  a 
practical  monopoly  on  tomato  growing  has  given  to 
men  in  other  lands  liver  troubles  and  a  craving  for 
tomatoes.  John  Bull,  for  example,  is  a  bilious  indi¬ 
vidual  largely  because  he  cannot  grow  the  soothing 
tomato  in  his  own  garden.  Supply  will  think  nothing 
of  jumping  across  3,000  miles  of  water  when  demand 
is  waiting  there  to  embrace  it,  and  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  within  a  few  years  our  export  trade  in 
tomatoes  will  be  enormous.  The  best  ocean  steamers 
are  already  fitting  up  with  special  arrangements  for 
transporting  this  fruit.  Good.  America  has  freely 
gi\  m  the  potato  to  the  world  and  more  than  once 
averted  famine  by  so  doing.  We  are  in  the  medicine 
business  to  the  extent  of  supplying  the  world  with 
tomatoes.  # 
1  he  American  orange  and  lemon  business  promises 
to  be  largely  overdone  within  10  years.  Already  prices 
are  so  low  that  “  there  is  nothing  left  for  the  grower  ” 
after  the  commission  man  and  the  railroad  get  their 
share.  There  is  little  use  going  abroad  for  a  market. 
In  Southern  Europe  oranges  are  so  cheap  that  they 
can  hardly  be  given  away  in  the  height  of  the  season. 
One  of  our  own  correspondents  in  Mexico  tells  us  how 
he  can  afford  to  use  lemons  and  orages  for  missiles  to 
throw  at  blackbirds  in  the  corn-field.  What  is  to  be 
done  with  the  vast  increase  in  our  crop  of  this  fruit  ? 
What  do  we  eat  an  orange  for  ?  The  juice  !  The 
orange,  as  a  whole  fruit,  cannot  be  kept  long  enough 
to  avoid  a  glutted  market,  but  the  juice  alone  can. 
Apples  will  not  keep  beyond  their  season,  but  cider 
and  vinegar  will.  It  is  natural  that  Florida  growers 
are  turning  their  attention  to  “  orange  wine  ”  fac¬ 
tories,  where  the  juice  of  surplus  oranges  can  be 
squeezed  out  and  preserved  for  use  when  the  whole 
fruit  is  not  in  the  market.  This  is  a  sensible  and  prac¬ 
tical  undertaking  in  the  line  of  true  agricultural 
progress.  #  # 
We  have,  once  before,  called  attention  to  Mr.  Van 
Loon  s  experiments  with  turnips  as  a  green  manure. 
He  goes  more  into  details  on  page  491.  In  theory  at 
least  this  is  a  cheap  and  easy  way  for  gardeners  to  pro¬ 
vide  “  humus”  or  organic  matter  for  their  soils.  Used 
with  chemical  fertilizers,  it  would  seem  to  make  a  good 
manure.  I  he  gardener,  with  his  small  area  cannot 
afford  to  give  the  time  needed  for  a  growth  of  clover— 
his  humus  crop  must  be  a  short-lived  one  so  as  not  to 
interfere  with  his  other  crops.  This  is  why  the 
quick-growing  turnip  is,  theoretically,  a  good  “humus 
gatherer.”  Like  rye,  rape  or  millet,  only  to  a  less  de¬ 
gree,  a  crop  of  turnips  alone  may  not  make  much  of 
a  showing.  Used  with  a  good  fertilizer,  the  turnips 
will  give  better  results  than  the  fertilizer  alone.  We 
would  like  to  have  gardeners  try  this,  on  a  small 
scale. 
*  * 
In  Hungary  the  use  of  harvesters  is  still  quite  rara  ; 
the  grain  crops  are  still  cut  with  the  sickle  or  scythe, 
and  large  armies  of  reapers  are  needed  in  the  fields. 
Last  Tuesday  at  Jamaisa,  near  Buda-Pest,  180  of  them 
on  one  farm  struck  for  higher  wages,  stoned  the  pro¬ 
prietor  on  his  refusal  to  grant  their  demands,  and  on 
the  appearance  of  the  constables  fiercely  attacked 
them,  cut  the  leader  to  pieces,  wounded  three  others, 
and  would  have  routed  the  rest,  were  it  not,  that 
seeing  their  lives  in  danger,  they  fired  several  volleys 
among  the  scattered  rioters,  killing  a  dozen  men  and 
women,  and  wounding  upwards  of  30  more  or  less 
severely.  Strikes  among  farm  hands  are  rare  in  any 
country  ;  and  are  dangerous  only  where  large  numbers 
are  employed.  That  at  Jamasi  was  the  most  serious 
we  have  noticed  for  years,  aud  brings  home  more 
closely  to  farmers  a  realization  of  the  evils  of  strikes 
in  cities  and  other  industrial  centers.  If  farm  hands 
not  only  refused  to  work  in  the  busy  season,  but 
seized  upon  the  homestead  aud  implements,  and  pre¬ 
vented  others  from  working,  unless  their  own  demands 
were  granted,  few  of  the  farmers  would  sympathize 
deeply  with  strikes  among  workmen. 
*  * 
Here  is  the  reasoning  of  some  newspapers  and 
United  States  Senators,  on  the  strike  at  Homestead. 
1.  The  tariff  has  enabled  the  Carnegies  to  make  more 
money  than  they  could  have  made  without  it.  2.  This 
wealth  was  created  by  the  labor  of  the  workmen.  3. 
The  workmen  have  a  moral  right,  therefore,  to  seize  a 
portion  of  that  property  and  hold  it.  There  is  a 
tariff  of  five  cents  a  dozen  on  eggs  and  just  about 
that  much  difference  between  the  prices  obtained  by 
American  and  Canadian  farmers  for  this  product,  as 
quoted  in  the  Toronto  and  Buffalo  markets.  Accord¬ 
ing  to  this  the  farmer  gets  more  for  his  eggs  then  he 
would  were  the  Canadian  product  free.  This,  we  say, 
is  the  theory.  Now  if  some  large  poultryman  had 
trouble  -with  his  hired  man  over  wages,  would  that 
hired  man  be  justified  in  claiming  a  share  of  the  eggs? 
His  labor  has  made  the  business  possible  and  the 
tariff  has  helped  the  farmer  make  money  out  of  his 
bens.  If  the  Homestead  men  have  a  right  to  share 
Carnegie’s  property,  the  hired  man  has  a  right  to  take 
at  least  one  egg  of  every  dozen.  What  are  the  rights 
of  the  laborer?  Where  do  they  begin  and  end?  The 
answer  to  this  question  will  have  much  to  do  with 
the  American  future.  # 
That  farm  garden  of  Mr.  Hallock  is  one  of  the 
most  interesting  experiments  in  progressive  American 
farming  that  we  know  of.  Starting  with  a  poor  loca¬ 
tion  and  unfavorable  soil,  these  men  have,  by  careful 
and  painstaking  attention  to  business  principles,  de¬ 
veloped  a  remarkable  trade.  An  idea  of  the  extent  of 
their  business  will  be  given  next  week  ;  we  want  now 
to  call  attention  to  a  few  of  the  business  principles 
that  have  won  them  success.  They  had  faith  in 
manures  and  fertilizers  and  had  the  courage  to  use 
all  they  could  get  hold  of.  The  grateful  soil  responded 
and  produced  enormous  crops.  They  asked  each  crop 
this  plain  and  straight  question,  “  Do  you  pay  for 
your  food,  care  and  standing  room  ?  ”  When  the  black 
and  vs  bite  answer  was  “No,”  they  discharged  that 
crop  and  never  tried  it  again.  When  it  became  evi¬ 
dent  that  wind  or  railroad  carriage  cost  too  much  they 
went  to  steam  for  aid.  And  so,  all  through  their 
career,  they  have  run  this  farm  just  as  a  business  man 
would  run  a  factory  or  a  store.  Asa  result,  the  cost 
of  pi  oduction  has  fallen  below  the  selling  price  and 
left  a  profit.  1'here  is,  in  this  record,  a  lesson  to  every 
man  who  tills  the  soil.  Farming  will  never  pay  any¬ 
body  until  the  cost  of  production  and  sale  is  reduced 
to  the  lowest  limit.  #  # 
A  company  exclusively  of  women  has  just  been  or¬ 
ganized  at  Chicago  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  in 
various  parts  of  the  United  States  baking  equipments 
to  be  operated  solely  by  female  labor.  The  process  to 
be  employed  is  said  to  be  extremely  economical,  so 
that  “  a  single  barrel  of  flour  can  be  turned  into  bread 
at  a  cost  of  50  cents,  whereas  the  average  cost  under 
existing  conditions  is  stated  to  be  about  $2.50.”  More¬ 
over,  the  needed  machinery  is  reported  to  cost  less 
than  one-fourth  of  that  for  a  baking  outfit  of  the 
present  kind.  It  is  largely  automatic,  and  the  loaves 
can  be  turned  out  almost  as  rapidly  as  newspapers 
from  a  perfecting  press.”  Hasn’t  this  somewhat  of  a 
Sellers-Bellamy,  Twentieth  Century  sound  ?  Well, 
success  to  it  in  any  case,  as  it  will,  if  practicable,  add 
greatly  to  the  profitable  field  of  female  industries. 
*  * 
Brevities. 
Sitting  on  my  milking  stool  in  the  evening  clear  and  cool. 
Many  things  I  ponder  o’er,  things  I’ve  often  thought  before. 
Memories  of  long  ago— faces  that  I  used  to  know, 
Happy  days  that  could  not  last,  come  and  look  out  of  the  past. 
1  ip-top  place  it  is  to  think,  when  the  sun  begins  to  sink 
Over  Johnson’s  bill  off  there,  while  the  twilight,  like  a  prayer, 
Blessed  with  Its  peace  and  rest,  drops  around  us  and  the  best 
Reeling  In  the  heart  swells  up,  brimming  full  contentment’s  cup. 
cf...?*  ^  ov®r  olden  times,  bumming  simple  childhood's  rhymes, 
hitting  in  a  hopeful  mood,  satisfied  that  life  is  good, 
Satisfied  to  work  along,  satisfied  that  hope  is  strong. 
So  my  life's  best  thoughts  come  back  to  light  np  the  future  track 
bitting  on  my  milking  stool  in  the  evening  clear  and  cool. 
How  about  that  vacation  ? 
Irkigatk  the  cows  from  the  silo. 
In  Ireland  a  carp  pond  is  called  a  ••  stew.” 
Age  in  an  egg  can  never  be  made  respectable. 
Let  the  milker  be  boss  and  the  milked  be  the  bossce. 
A  quart  of  cream  ought  to  sell  for  the  price  of  a  pound  of  butter. 
Is  a  netted,  webbed  or  reticulated  skin  an  evidence  *of  good  quality 
in  a  potato  ? 
It  costs  $2.50  in  England  to  take  out  a  license  for  keeping  an  air  gun 
for  shooting  rabbits. 
Are  you  “  crank  ”  (or  man)  enough  to  try  the  vegetarian’s  diet  as 
long  as  the  apples  hold  out  ? 
We  regret  to  announce  the  death  of  Mrs.  E.  S.  Lincoln,  of  Wlnconsln, 
an  old-time  R.  N.-Y.  contributor. 
Has  a  farmer  any  business  to  figure  on  the  manurial  value  of  his 
stock  feed  unless  he  has  a  tight  barnyard? 
Wnvls  fruit  on  the  vine,  before  It  is  dead  ripe,  always  cooler  than 
the  surrounding  atmosphere  on  a  hot  day  ? 
A  cow,  as  she  stands,  is  about  lit)  per  cent  water.  Think  what  will 
happen  to  her  if  she  Is  deprived  of  needed  drink. 
ONE  year's  labor  spent  in  caring  for  Signal’s  Lilly  Flagg  was  called 
worth  $50.  What’s  the  worth  of  your  labor  per  cow? 
Prof.  Davenport  says  that  Brazilian  cooks  get  garlic  Into  every¬ 
thing  except  hard-boiled  eggs.  Can’t  their  hens  do  that? 
Ask  your  cow  this  question:  Do  you  pay  me  more  for  my  grain  and 
hay  than  the  miller  or  hay  dealer  would?  She’s  a  lady  and  will  tell 
you  the  tcuth. 
Here  is  The  R.  N.-Y.’s  report  of  the  new  earliest  varieties  of  sweet 
corn  tried  at  the  Rural  Grounds:  An  unprecedentedly  large  yield 
of  smut  and  worms. 
Sheep  are  “  hard  in  the  skull,”  as  their  way  of  lighting  shows,  but 
they  are  liable  to  sunstroke  all  the  same.  It  is  a  sin  to  keep  sheep  in 
a  pasture  where  there  is  no  shade. 
Many  a  sick  man  might  go  far  enough  with  Cardinal  Woolsey  to 
say  “  Had  I  but  served  my  health  with  half  the  zeal  that  I  have  served 
my  stomach,  comfort  would  never  have  deserted  me  !  ” 
The  latest  cure  for  drunkenness  Is  to  eat  apples.  Let  a  man  eat 
enough  apples  to  become  seriously  affected  by  the  arsenic  left  from 
spraying  and  he  will  certainly  have  no  reason  to  get  drunk. 
Many  an  old,  gray-haired  meadow  has  been  cut  this  year  that  will 
not  yield  $<>  worth  of  hay  per  acre.  Had  it  been  plowed  and  given  $5 
worth  of  fertilizer,  it  would  have  given  $25  worth  of  corn  fodder. 
W  e  are  always  glad  to  get  honest  criticism,  and  are  especially  grateful 
for  this,  from  a  Michigan  friend:  ”If  I  were  to  criticise  The  R.  n.-V 
In  rhyme,  I  would  begin  with 
Talk  some  less  of  butter  and  cheese. 
And  a  little  more  of  the  accursed  thieves.” 
Every  ear  of  the  earliest  kinds  of  corn  thus  far  gathered  at  the 
Rural  Grounds  has  from  one  to  three  worms  In  It.  Fifty  per  cent  of 
the  ears  are  smutty,  and  25  per  cent  so  badly  infested  that  the  ears  are 
worthless.  This  smut  is  doubtless  owing  to  a  wet  season.  The  corn 
worm,  regardless  of  the  weather  or  season,  notably  Increases  from 
year  to  year. 
Here  is  one  thing  they  say  about  the  Hallocks,  whose  farm  garden 
is  described  in  this  issue:  ‘‘They  have  always  refused  to  subscribe 
for  an  agricultural  paper,  as  they  said  it  did  not  treat  on  their  method 
of  farming,  but  now  they  take  The  Rural,  and  that  is  its  best  adver¬ 
tisement,  for  the  best  farmers  take  the  best  paper.  ‘  Birds  of  a  feather 
Hock  together.’  ’ 
Careful  investigation  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture  shows 
that  the  yearly  loss  of  sheep  from  dogs  throughout  the  country  aver¬ 
ages  about  six  per  cent,  varying  from  four  to  eight  per  cent  in  differ¬ 
ent  States.  As  the  total  number  of  sheep  in  the  country  is  upwards  of 
44,000,000,  the  annual  loss  is  upwards  of  7,000,000,  besides  the  Injury 
done  to  the  fioeks  by  worry  and  chasing.  In  country  districts  where 
sheep  are  kept,  shouldn’t  dogs  be  confined  at  home? 
Kansas  is  now  the  only  silk-producing  State  in  the  Union.  Some 
of  the  other  States  grow  cocoons,  but  Kansas  alone  unwinds  the 
fiber.  The  government  stations  at  Philadelphia  and  Washington 
having  received  no  appropriation  from  Congress,  have  closed  for  the 
present,  whereas  the  Kansas  filature  at  Peabody  received  from  the 
State  legislature  last  year  an  appropriation  of  $7,200— just  enough  to 
keep  it  going.  Silk,  like  tea  culture,  appears  to  be  petering  out  in  the 
United  States. 
On  page  503  Mr.  Matthews,  the  owner  of  Signal’s  Lilly  Flagg,  gives  a 
financial  statement  of  this  remarkable  test.  It  appears  that  this  half 
ton  of  butter  paid  a  good  profit  aside  from  the  great  advertising  value 
won  by  the  cow.  Counting  out  the  value  of  the  buttermilk,  the  butter 
cost  over  13  cents  a  pound.  As  Mr.  Matthews  obtained  35  cents  a 
pound  for  it,  there  was  a  good  profit.  If,  like  many  dairymen,  he  had 
been  obligated  to  sell  for  15  cents,  the  heavy  feeding  would  not  have 
paid.  For  one  such  man  as  Mr.  Matthews,  there  are  500  farmers  who 
have  no  market  for  buttermilk,  get  half  his  price  for  butter  and  pay 
a  higher  price  for  grain. 
