576 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
Sept.  3 
m 
Rural  New-Yorker 
TIMES  BUILDING,  NEW  YORK. 
*  * 
A  National  Weekly  Journal  for  Country  and  Suburban  Homes. 
ELBERT  8.  CABMAN,  Editor  In  Chief. 
HBKBKKT  W.  COLLING  WOOD,  Managing  Editor 
Copyrighted  1892. 
SATURDAY ,  SEPTEMBER  3.  1892. 
The  Rural  New-Yorker  has  on  divers  occasions 
denounced  the  practice  in  vogue  among  certain  milk 
dealers,  of  using  chemicals  for  preserving  milk  and 
cream.  There  are  two  or  three  concerns  advertising 
these  drugs,  under  the  names  of  “  Snow  Flake,”  “Pre- 
servaline,”  etc.  Analysis  has  shown  that  these  pre¬ 
servatives  are  simply  borax  or  boracic  acid,  and  the 
Dairy  Commissioner  of  this  State  holds  all  milk  con¬ 
taining  them  adulterated.  Owing  to  the  vigilance  of 
The  Rural  and  its  agricultural  contemporaries,  the 
practice  has  become  very  rare  here,  but  in  other  sec¬ 
tions  it  has  not  been  suppressed.  At  Akron,  Ohio,  its 
use  has  become  so  general  that  it  has  bred  a  fearful 
mortality  among  infants  and  the  Health  Officials  are 
taking  vigorous  measures  to  suppress  this  “  Slaughter 
of  the  Innocents.”  Forty  milkmen  were  arrested  on 
August  16,  charged  with  selling  this  adulterated  milk. 
It  is  to  be  hoped  that  their  punishment  will  be  such  as 
to  forever  deter  them  from  such  a  criminal  course. 
*  * 
The  American  Wool  and  Cotton  Reporter  announces 
a  novel  experiment  in  sheep  husbandry.  Six  aban¬ 
doned  farms  on  a  rocky  hill-top  in  Maine  have  been 
bought  and  thrown  into  one.  It  is  proposed  to  stock 
them  with  common  sheep,  to  be  crossed  with  pure¬ 
bred  Hampshire  bucks.  Street-car  horses  will  be  bought 
in  Boston  for  farm  work,  commercial  fertilizers  will 
be  used,  and  money  will  be  judiciously  expended 
wherever  needed.  This  is  what  is  said  about  it : 
If  successful,  the  experiment  will  prove  that  a  wool 
grower  who  does  not  believe  in  the  present  duties  upon 
wool,  can  make  mutton-sheep  husbandry  profitable 
upon  the  deserted  farms  of  New  England.  If  unsuc¬ 
cessful,  the  enterprise  will  hereafter  be  cited  either  as 
the  impracticable  idea  of  a  low-tariff  wool  grower,  or 
as  proof  of  the  irredeemable  nature  of  Maine  agricul¬ 
ture,  according  to  the  bias  of  the  commentator. 
This  is  certainly  a  practical  and  interesting  experi¬ 
ment,  and  we  hope  it  will  be  carefully  carried  out. 
*  * 
There  is  no  surplus  milk  in  the  New  York  market, 
but  a  short  supply  prevails.  One  dealer  told  us  a  few 
days  since  that  he  could  dispose  of  20  cans  more  daily 
if  he  could  get  that  amount  of  dairy  milk.  Pastures 
are  short  and  there  is  no  prospect  of  the  supply  in¬ 
creasing,  despite  the  fact  that  farmers  are  feeding  al¬ 
most  as  heavily  as  they  do  in  winter,  to  keep  up  their 
average.  In  the  face  of  all  these  facts,  the  action  of 
the  New  York  Milk  Exchange  in  keeping  the  price 
of  milk  down  to  2%  cents  is  the  very  quintessence  of 
hoggishness.  It  will  now  be  in  order  for  the  Milk 
Reporter  to  give  us  another  essay  on  the  value  of  the 
Exchange  to  the  milk  producer.  These  parasites  on 
honest  trade,  these  pirates  of  the  milky  way,  these 
venders  of  adulterated  milk  are  as  shameless  as  they 
are  crooked.  They  know  they  are  robbing  the  farmer 
at  the  present  prices,  but  they  must  keep  their  con¬ 
tracts  and  the  farmers  must  foot  the  bills.  Think  of 
the  producer  who  sells  to  an  Exchange  creamery, 
getting  \  %  cent  per  quart  for  August  milk  !  When 
made  into  butter  it  would  bring  more  in  cash  and  leave 
the  by-products  on  the  farm. 
*  * 
One  of  the  greatest  abuses  which  milk  producers 
formerly  suffered  was  the  constant  stealing  of  their 
milk  cans  which  was  carried  on  seemingly  with  no 
hope  of  relief.  Occasional  raids  were  made  all  over 
the  city  for  stolen  cans,  but  they  were  expensive,  and, 
when  the  stolen  property  was  found,  it  was  next  to 
impossible  to  punish  the  thief.  The  trials  were  held  in 
the  city  courts,  and  the  numerous  delays  of  the  law 
were  always  brought  to  bear  in  order  to  make  expen¬ 
sive  the  necessary  visits  of  the  farmer  to  the  city  until 
he  gave  up  the  case.  The  producers  finally  secured 
the  passage  of  a  law  which  made  the  penalty  §50  for 
having  unlawful  possession  of  a  milk  can,  and  allow¬ 
ing  the  trial  to  be  held  in  the  county  where  the  owner 
of  the  can  resided.  The  law  was  a  good  one,  but  its 
constitutionality  was  questioned.  About  a  year  ago, 
the  Monroe  Dairy  Association  found  one  of  its  cans  in 
the  possession  of  John  Stanley,  a  wealthy  soap  manu¬ 
facturer  of  this  city,  and  began  a  suit  to  recover  the 
penalty  of  §50.  The  case  was  tried  in  November  last, 
before  Judge  Barnard  of  the  Supreme  Court.  The  de¬ 
fendant  based  his  defense  on  the  alleged  unconstitu¬ 
tionality  of  the  law,  but  Judge  Barnard  ruled  against 
him,  and  a  verdict  for  the  full  amount  was  rendered. 
The  defendant  then  carried  the  case  to  the  General 
Term,  which  has  recently  handed  down  a  decision  sus¬ 
taining  Judge  Barnard  and  the  constitutionality  of 
the  law.  This  is  a  matter  of  congratulation  for 
farmers,  and  they  are  under  obligations  to  the  Monroe 
Dairy  Association  for  its  vigorous  prosecution  of  the 
case.  #  # 
For  the  past  few  years  a  number  of  enthusiastic 
prophets  have  been  talking  about  the  possibilities  of 
electricity  as  a  motive  power  for  hauling  farm  produce. 
In  fact,  good  engineers  have  frequently  said  that  in 
many  sections  the  most  sensible  work  at  road  improve¬ 
ment  would  be  to  build  tracks  for  electric  cars  along 
country  roads,  connect  with  the  electric  circuit  of  the 
nearest  town,  and  run  light  flat  cars  on  which  farmers 
could  load  wheat,  potatoes  and  other  produce,  and  haul 
back  coal,  feed  and  other  bulky  purchases.  This  plan 
has  been  laughed  at  by  many  practical  men,  yet  at 
Hampton,  Va.,  this  very  thing  is  successfully  carried 
out.  The  electric  city  railroad  runs  back  into  the 
country.  Flat  cars  are  provided  for  freight,  and  these 
haul  the  market  truck  from  the  farms  to  the  shipping 
dock.  This  service  is  said  to  work  admirably,  and 
farmers  are  able  to  ship  oftener  and  quicker  than  when 
everything  must  be  hauled  by  horse  power.  Hampton 
is  the  first  American  place  to  adopt  this  plan.  It  has 
proved  so  successful  there  that  it  ought  to  spread— into 
other  market-garden  sections,  at  least. 
*  * 
The  d^iry  conferences  in  this  and  other  States  are 
doing  good  work,  and  the  result  will  unquestionably 
be  more  good  butter  of  a  more  uniform  grade.  Most 
of  the  instruction  given  at  these  meetings  refers  to 
the  best  methods  of  caring  for  the  milk  after  it  is 
drawn  from  the  cow.  A  good  deal  is  said  about  the 
breeding  and  feeding  of  the  cow,  but  milk  handling 
is  considered  most  important.  There  are  lots  of  cows 
now  wandering  about  trying  to  gnaw  the  roots  of 
dried  up  grasses,  that  would  say,  if  they  could,  that 
one  great  and  important  thing  is  neglected  at  these 
conferences — the  pastures  and  their  substitutes.  We 
need  more  information  regarding  the  pasture  grasses 
and  soiling  crops.  There  are  good  pastures  and  bad 
pastures.  Too  many  of  us  do  not  realize  that  a  good 
share  of  the  difference  between  them  is  due  to  a  dif¬ 
ference  in  varieties  of  grass.  As  a  rule,  the  American 
pasture  does  not  contain  a  sufficient  number  of  varie¬ 
ties  of  grass.  There  should  be  enough  of  these  to 
give  a  succession  of  crops  through  the  whole  season. 
Go  past  the  cow  into  the  pasture  and  breed  and  seed 
that  up.  Don’t  cross  a  scrub  pasture  with  a  good  cow 
and  expect  paying  results. 
*  * 
The  cattle  men  of  Western  Texas  are  loud  in  their 
complaints  against  the  injury  done  to  their  stock  by 
hunters.  That  section  of  the  Lone  Star  State  and 
parts  of  the  Panhandle  are  the  only  parts  in  which 
large  ranges,  both  fenced  and  unfenced,  are  still  open 
to  stock  raising,  and  great  numbers  of  shiftless  Mexi¬ 
cans  and  poor  whites  eke  out  a  living  by  hunting  the 
numerous  kinds  of  game  that  still  roam  among  the 
brush  and  chapparal  and  over  the  prairies.  They 
frighten,  chase  and  worry  the  fattening  cattle  and 
never  go  hungry  through  conscientious  scruples  about 
killing  a  likely  calf,  heifer  or  young  steer  when  their 
larder  is  low.  The  present  State  laws  render  tres¬ 
passers  on  land  liable  for  the  injuries  they  may  do  to 
the  property  of  the  owner  ;  but  in  this  case,  the  hun¬ 
ters  are  entirely  irresponsible,  and  the  consciousness 
of  the  fact  renders  them  all  the  more  reckless  and 
audacious.  The  stockmen  are  appealing  to  the  denser 
population  of  the  rest  of  the  State  to  aid  them  in 
securing  protection  against  the  flagrant  injustice  done 
them,  by  the  passage  of  a  law  providing  that  tres¬ 
passers  on  land,  who  cannot  pay  in  money  for  the  dam¬ 
ages  they  do,  shall  serve  a  proportionate  term  in  some 
of  the  State  penal  institutions.  The  justice  of  such  a 
law  appears  easily  demonstratable,  not  only  in  regard 
to  Texas  land  owners,  but  also  with  regard  to  those  of 
every  other  State  and  Territory  in  the  Union. 
*  * 
In  the  United  States  Circuit  Court  at  Dallas,  Texas, 
the  other  day,  Judge  McCormick  rendered  a  decision 
which,  if  supported,  on  appeal,  by  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court,  will  be  of  vast  importance  to  the  rail¬ 
road  interests  of  the  country  as  well  as  to  the  public  at 
large.  In  1891  the  legislature  of  Texas  appointed  a 
railroad  commission  with  power  to  regulate  the  freight 
and  passenger  charges  on  all  the  railroads  in  the  State. 
Senator  Reagan  resigned  his  seat  in  the  United  States 
Senate  to  accept  the  chairmanship  of  the  organization, 
and  the  commissioners  have  discharged  their  duties 
with  a  fair  measure  of  satisfaction  to  the  people.  The 
stockholders  of  the  railroads,  however,  complained 
that  the  rates  made  were  too  low  to  permit  any  possi¬ 
bility  of  a  fair  interest  on  their  investments,  and  those 
residing  beyond  the  confines  of  the  Lone  Star  State, 
through  the  Mercantile  Trust  Company  of  New  York 
city  brought  suit  before  the  United  States  Court  to 
test  the  validity  of  the  law.  One  of  its  provisions  pro¬ 
vided  that  the  rates  fixed  by  the  commission  should  be 
conclusive  upon  the  railroads  until  they  consented  to 
go  into  the  State  Court  in  Travis  County,  and  there 
litigate  any  disputed  questions.  The  burden  of  proof 
that  the  rates  were  unreasonably  low  was  to  rest  on  the 
companies,  and  no  provision  was  made  for  the  recovery 
by  them  of  any  damages.  It  was,  in  fact,  a  jug-handled 
act  for  which  the  farmers  of  the  State  were  mainly 
responsible.  The  Court  has  decided  that  the  commis¬ 
sioners  had  no  equitable  right  to  fix  unreasonably  low 
rates  which  virtually  deprived  the  bond-holders  of  any 
profit  from  their  property,  and  that  the  provision 
restricting  the  area  in  which  suits  must  be  brought, 
was  unconstitutional.  When  will  farmers  learn  that 
they  cannot  pass  valid  laws  which  are  unjust  to  other 
classes  in  the  community  and  contrary  to  the  United 
States  Constitution,  however  beneficial  to  themselves  ? 
*  * 
Beevitie  s. 
My  name  Is  Hog!  I  humbly  rise  to  ask  the  reason  why 
I  should  be  forced  to  spend  my  days  In  this  foul-smelling  sty! 
1  see  the  calf  and  colt  and  sheep  go  dancing  o’er  the  green, 
Yet  here  I  slay  without  a  hope  of  ever  being  clean, 
And  when  the  dreaded  cholera  climbs  on  me  from  the  dirt, 
With  Insult  plied  on  injury  my  feelings  they  will  hurt. 
By  their  “Innoculating”  me  with  some  jaw-breaking  germ. 
And  then  our  friend  trichina  through  my  tortured  flesh  will  squirm. 
Ob  for  a  chance  to  take  a  bath  and  wash  this  filth  away; 
But  forced  by  fate  or  Ignorance,  within  this  sty  I  stay. 
If  I  had  had  a  decent  chance  to  show  myself— my  name 
Would  not  be  now  a  synonym  of  gluttony  and  shame. 
And  with  my  last,  despairing  grunt  1  ask.  good  farmer,  why 
Should  I  be  forced  to  spend  my  days  In  this  foul-smelling  sty? 
A  mongrel  is  a  mixture. 
Work  off  the  fat  around  your  wits. 
How  do  you  propose  to  keep  fresh  tomatoes  after  frost  ? 
Do  people  have  to  discount  your  promises  ?  At  what  per  cent  ? 
Don’t  you  ever  go  by  the  old  folks  without  making  them  feel  that 
they  are  still  dear. 
When  a  singer  with  a  cold  makes  an  effort  to  show  off  his  voice, 
he  usually  makes  a  hoarse  show  of  himself. 
Bacteria  and  bliss  may  be  exchanged  in  the  same  hearty  kiss 
Don’t  let  everybody  kiss  the  baby’s  mouth  ! 
Our  vegetarian  friends  probably  will  not  feel  enthusiastic  over  the 
bill  of  fare  presented  by  Mr.  Grundy’s  real  farmer. 
Wiiat  a  rich  bonanza  of  distinguished  politicians  will  enlighten  the 
“  rustics  ”  at  the  country  fairs  this  Presidential  year! 
In  some  Michigan  towns  the  small  boy  with  an  air  gun  Is  a  worse 
pest  than  the  English  sparrow  and  Is  suppressed  by  law. 
A  man  might  better  own  a  good  peach  crop  than  a  gold  mine  this 
year.  J.  H.  Hale  has  one  of  the  best  in  the  country.  We  shall  tell 
you  all  about  It  In  a  short  time. 
If  the  cholera  gets  into  your  system  It  will  come  through  your 
mouth,  and  a  hot  cooking  stove  must  stand  guard.  Boiled  water  and 
well-cooked  food  must  be  used. 
Farming  won’t  pay  !  Farming  won’t  pay  when  your  cows  eat  your 
good  Timothy  hay.  Feed  them  on  clover,  buttered  with  stover.  Sell 
your  prime  Timothy  taxes  to  pay. 
On  August  8  American  live  cattle  sold  at  Deptford,  England,  at  10*^ 
cents  a  pound,  live  weight.  Think  what  the  price  must  be  by  the  time 
this  meat  reaches  the  consumer  ? 
When  you  talk  about  “two  tons  of  hay  per  acre'1  what  do  you  mean? 
Is  It  as  the  hay  comes  from  the  field  or  as  it  is  soldi  What  is  the 
amount  of  shrinkage  In  the  weight  of  hay  anyway? 
What  is  the  matter  with  Mississippi  farmers?  we  recently  asked 
of  a  leading  farmer  from  that  State.  "They  are  cotton-bound  and 
tied  up  tighter  than  they  would  be  If  the  cotton  was  a  part  of  their 
own  hides." 
Are  your  bush  Limas  Inclined  to  make  monkeys  of  your  hopes?  In 
other  words,  do  they  go  back  to  their  old  habit  of  climbing?  Does  a 
pole  or  a  fence  placed  near  your  bush  Limas  make  them  remember 
that  they  are  dwarfed  giants? 
Another  method  of  sterilizing  milk  is  given  on  page  571.  By  boiling 
the  tightly-closed  bottles  of  milk  in  a  saturated  salt  solution.  It  is 
claimed  that  the  milk  will  keep  perfectly  and  not  have  the  “  boiled 
taste,"  which  many  people  dislike.  This  plan  is  worth  trying  anyway. 
Up  In  Aroostook  County.  Maine,  starch  making  from  potatoes  is  still 
carried  on.  There  are  40  factories  in  the  county,  turning  out  nearly 
18,000,000  pounds  of  starch  each  year.  It  will  be  Interesting  to  know 
how  potato  growing  for  starch  compares  in  profit  with  growing  a  food 
product. 
Mighty  few  city  folks  know  what  real  sweet  corn  is.  After  it  has 
been  hawked  and  hauled  about  for  two  or  three  days  it  is  a  corn 
corpse.  The  way  to  eat  sweet  corn  is  to  put  it  in  the  pot  five  minutes 
after  it  Is  growing  on  the  stalk.  This  is  one  of  the  privileges  enjoyed 
by  the  farmer. 
The  water  offered  visitors  at  our  county  fairs  is  usually  so  foul  that 
people  with  any  respect  for  their  health  are  afraid  of  it.  Why  cannot 
fair  managers  attend  to  such  matters?  Year  after  year  the  same  awful 
dose  Is  presented.  Lots  of  people  would  rather  drink  beer  than -the 
sickening  water  that  is  offered  them. 
Next  to  the  plan  of  selling  eggs  by  weight  is  selling  them  by  gauge 
or  measure.  In  the  latter  case  they  are  put  into  a  gauge  and  only 
those  that  fill  it  are  classed  as  of  full  size.  They  are  sold  by  them¬ 
selves  while  smaller  ones  are  sold  together  and  bring  less  per  dozen. 
This  seems  sensible  and  fair  and  Is  more  practical  than  the  scheme  of 
trying  to  weigh  out  a  pound  of  eggs. 
Our  East  Tennessee  friend  makes  a  fair  hit  when  he  says  that  if  he 
can  hire  muscle  he  will  provide  the  Intelligence  needed  to  direct  it. 
That  is  just  correct.  Lots  of  farmers  fail  because  they  do  not  prop¬ 
erly  direct  their  hired  labor.  Mind  is  the  master  of  muscle.  When  we 
sometimes  see  that  muscle  apparently  has  the  better  of  mind,  it 
simply  proves,  not  that  muscle  is  greater,  but  that  mind  is  not  as  great 
as  it  might  be.  We  have  long  believed  that  many  farmers  would  be 
better  off  not  to  hire  any  help  at  all,  but  to  do  what  they  can  to  best 
advantage  with  their  own  family. 
The  question  of  using  waste  molasses  for  fuel  on  the  Louisiana 
sugar  plantation  is  again  being  discussed.  The  price  of  molasses  is 
lower  than  ever  while  the  price  of  coal  has  advanced.  A  ton  of 
molasses  would  cost  on  the  plantation  about  $3.33— less  than  coal  at 
wholesale  rates.  Such  molasses  contains  72  per  cent  of  carbonaceous 
matter  and.  theoretically,  should  provide  as  much  heat  as  a  ton  of 
coal.  Special  burners  will  be  required  for  the  fuel.  In  Cuba  it  is 
said  that  the  molasses  Is  sprayed  over  the  dried  bagasse  as  It  is  put 
into  the  furnace.  This  is  said  to  work  well  and  gives  a  fierce  heat. 
Certainly  planters  had  better  use  molasses  for  fuel  rather  than  make 
It  into  rum. 
