656 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
Oct.  8 
m 
Rural  New-Yorker 
TIMES  BUILDING,  NEW  YORK. 
A  National  Weekly  Journal  for  Country  and  Suburban  Homes. 
ELBEBT  8.  CABMAN.  Editor  In  Chief. 
HEBBEBT  W.  COLLINGWOOD,  Managing  Editor 
Copyrighted,  1892. 
SATURDAY,  OCTOBER  8,  1892. 
Dubing  the  next  six  months,  or  until  further  notice, 
all  communications  usually  sent  to  the  Rural  Grounds, 
should  be  addressed  to  No.  709  Madison  Avenue,  New 
York  City.  #  * 
The  editor  of  the  Journal  of  Commerce  of  this  city 
recently  endeavored  to  purchase  some  pure  lard  hut 
was  unable  to  find  it  in  the  city.  He  finally  succeeded 
in  buying  some  of  a  farmer  in  Connecticut.  This  is 
an  age  of  adulteration  and  sophistication.  When  com¬ 
plaint  is  made  of  the  fraud  in  lard,  the  makers  of  the 
bogus  article  at  once  begin  a  story  to  the  effect  that 
the  compounded  article  is  better  than  the  pure — just  as 
if  that  gave  them  any  excuse  for  swindling,  even  if 
it  were  true.  The  hog-butter  men,  like  the  bogus  lard 
men,  always  begin  to  talk  about  how  much  better 
their  product  is  than  rancid  butter.  Well,  what  of  it? 
Does  that  give  them  the  right  to  swindle  the  whole 
country?  What  a  lot  of  scoundrels  they  are  !  The 
bogus  butter  maker  knows  perfectly  well  that  every 
ounce  of  his  product  is  eaten  only  by  people  who  think 
it  is  butter  and  he  cannot  escape  condemnation  though 
he  sells  it  himself  for  what  it  is.  Like  the  maker  of 
counterfeit  money,  who  sells  it  to  a  confederate  who 
passes  it,  the  guilt  must  be  assumed  by  both. 
*  * 
To  what  extent  does  polish  pay  ?  We  thought  of 
this  after  a  talk  with  a  young  fruit  grower  in  central 
New  York.  “  My  neighbor,”  said  he,  “keeps  his  vines 
in  far  better  shape  than  mine  are.  You  can’t  find  a 
weed  on  his  place.  They  are  kept  down  by  hand  hoe¬ 
ing  and  finger  pulling.  My  own  beds  are  mere  or  less 
weedy  because  I  save  all  the  hand  work  I  can  and  use 
the  harrow  and  cultivator  almost  entirely.  Weeds  that 
can’t  be  killed  by  an  early  use  of  horse  tools  generally 
grow  up.  My  crops  are  as  good  as  my  neighbor’s,  and 
I  claim  that  the  difference  of  cost  in  keeping  the  plants 
so  perfectly  clean  makes  about  all  the  profit  there  is 
in  the  business.”  Now,  what  about  this  ?  Does  it  pay 
to  be  so  careful  about  keeping  things  “  slicked  up  ”  if 
the  crops  are  to  be  sold  at  ordinary  prices  ?  Is  there 
any  profit  in  gilt-edged  culture  unless  the  products 
bring  gilt-edged  prices  ?  It  is  evident  that  work  done 
simply  to  make  the  crops  look  neat  will  not  improve 
the  total  yield  in  quality  or  quantity.  Does  it  pay 
then  ?  We  think  the  majority  of  farmers  will  say  no. 
And  yet  Mr.  Hallock,  of  Orient,  the  best  farmer  we 
know  of,  keeps  his  fields  so  clean  that  we  would  defy  a 
man  to  find  an  average  of  40  weeds  per  acre. 
*  * 
The  wheat  growers  of  the  Northwest  who  have 
given  the  matter  much  careful  consideration,  have 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  practice  of  publishing 
weekly  the  amount  of  wheat  in  the  elevators,  has  a 
depressing  effect  on  the  price.  Acting  on  this  belief, 
they  have  made  a  strong  presentation  of  the  facts  to 
the  elevator  men,  and  the  latter,  convinced  by  the 
the  farmers’  logic,  if  not  convinced  before,  have 
decided  that  hereafter  they  will  not  reveal  to  the  press 
the  amounts  of  wheat  they  may  have  on  hand.  The 
commercial  press  as  well  as  the  journals  which  most 
intimately  look  after  the  grain  gambling  interests  are 
protesting  loudly  against  this  decision  of  the  elevator 
men,  but  it  is  not  likely  that  their  protests  will  have 
any  effect.  A  contemporary  has  interviewed  the 
managers  of  a  large  number  of  the  elevators  and  they 
are  unanimous  in  the  belief  that  the  weekly  state¬ 
ments  are  very  damaging  to  the  producers.  Much  of 
the  grain  in  the  elevators  is  stored  by  the  farmers  and 
though  it  is  reported  as  wheat  “in  sight,”  it  is  no 
more  in  sight  so  far  as  trade  is  concerned,  than  if  it 
were  still  in  the  farmer’s  granary.  Very  much  wheat 
is  thus  made  to  play  a  double  part — it  is  owned  by  the 
farmer,  yet  it  is  “  in  sight”  in  the  elevator.  These 
regular  publications  of  stocks  that  are  available  in  all 
seasons  of  fair  crops,  inevitably  tend  to  decrease 
prices.  We  advertise  to  the  Old  World  the  fact  that 
we  have  a  surplus  of  many  millions  of  bushels  of 
wheat  and  they  have  only  to  hang  off  long  enough  to 
force  our  people  to  sell,  when  they  can  get  it  at  their 
own  price.  They  further  tend  to  facilitate  and  breed 
grain  gambling,  but  they  are  of  no  use  to  producers — 
they  conserve  no  good  end.  There  seems  to  be  a 
general  feeling  among  the  elevator  men  and  farmers 
also  that  the  crop  statistics  published  regularly  by 
the  Agricultural  Department,  are  a  nuisance  as  well 
as  the  elevator  statistics.  We  refer  to  the  monthly 
crop  reports,  which  are  largely  estimates  of  coming 
crops  and  which,  like  the  elevator  reports,  conserve 
no  really  practical  purpose.  Statistics  of  production 
are  well  enough,  and  if  the  Agricultural  Department 
would  tell  us  in  1892  what  we  produced  in  1891  and  go 
out  of  the  prophet  business,  no  legitimate  industry 
would  be  harmed  and  some  good  might  come  of  the 
change.  The  Rubal  thinks  the  new  movement  com¬ 
mendable.  #  * 
The  Rubal  New-Yobkeb  has  frequently  urged  the 
advisability  of  postal  savings  banks  to  afford  farmers 
and  their  help  the  same  opportunity  for  economy  and 
thrift  offered  to  town  and  city  people  by  ordinary 
savings  banks.  The  immense  advantages  of  these  are 
shown  by  the  recent  report  of  the  Comptroller  of  Cur¬ 
rency.  According  to  it,  they  hold  $1,730,267,987  or 
39.36  per  cent  of  all  kinds  of  bank  deposits  in  the 
the  country — the  aggregate  being  $4,395,574,759.  The 
banks  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  hold  only  11.46  per 
cent  of  the  total  bank  deposits  in  the  United  Kingdom. 
The  workingmen  and  women,  the  strugglers  for  a 
livelihood,  or  those  clustered  round  the  lower  rungs  of 
fortune’s  ladder,  are  the  chief  depositors  in  savings 
banks.  These  institutions  suggest,  promote  and  en¬ 
courage  thrift  and  economy.  In  many  sections  of  the 
country  they  are  too  distant  to  be  of  ready  benefit  to 
dwellers  on  the  farms  ;  whereas  a  post-office  is  within 
a  reasonable  distance  of  every  homestead.  Post-office 
savings  banks  have  been  of  great  economical  benefit 
wherever  established  in  other  nations  ;  why  shouldn’t 
the  farmers  of  this  country  have  the  benefit  of  them  ? 
*  * 
Thebe  seems  to  be  a  singular  state  of  affairs  in 
what  may  be  termed  the  State  politics  of  the  Southern 
States.  The  R.  N.-Y.  was  glad  when  Mr.  Tillman 
was  elected  Governor  of  South  Carolina  because  it 
thought  that  he  would  stir  and  probe  into  many  public 
matters  that  had  become  like  stagnant  pools  through 
neglect  and  lack  of  healthy  opposition.  Of  course,  the 
Governor  was  attacked  by  political  opponents  but,  as 
Mr.  Stribling  points  out,  he  is  only  the  executive  and 
less  responsible  than  the  legislature  for  changes  in 
legislation.  When  the  people  of  South  Carolina  re¬ 
elected  him  by  a  great  majority  they  indorsed  his 
administration.  Either  that  is  so  or  the  people  of  that 
State  go  around  with  rings  in  their  noses  and  have 
nothing  to  say  about  their  public  affairs.  The  South¬ 
ern  States  have  long  suffered  for  lack  of  a  strong  and 
respectable  opposition  party.  The  present  Farmers’ 
Alliance  movement  is  the  nearest  that  has  come  to  it 
and  this  party  has  weakened  its  cause  in  many  cases 
by  its  preposterous  demands  and  absurd  language. 
Something  has  to  come  soon,  however.  Here  is  a  note 
from  one  who  has  made  a  careful  study  of  the  situa¬ 
tion  : 
North  and  South  Carolina  and  Georgia  farmers  are  all  tax-ridden 
to  death  and  the  railroad  men  get  rich  while  the  roads  are  robbed  and 
made  to  take  every  spare  dollar  from  the  States.  In  every  way  the 
farmers  are  made  to  bear  the  burdens  and  yet  they  don’t  see  It.  Fer¬ 
tilizers  are  taxed  by  licenses  and  direct  taxes  and  the  farmers  don’t 
see  that  they  foot  all  the  bills.  A  mortgage  Is  taxed  114  per  cent  and 
they  think  this  makes  money  cheaper.  Banks  pay  heavy  license  fees 
and  special  taxes  and  yet  the  farmers  are  crying  out  for  more  money. 
Everything  a  man  has  Is  taxed,  and  property  out  of  the  State  Is 
legally  liable  to  be  taxed,  even  the  rents  of  real  estate  In  other  States 
are  taxed.  Consequently  every  person  hides  such  property  and  then 
all  the  burden  falls  on  the  farmers.  There  Is  a  held  to  work  In  the 
South. 
Now  these  matters  must  be  settled  sooner  or  later. 
The  South  will  not  fulfill  its  destiny  until  some  South¬ 
ern  man  big  and  broad  and  true  enough  to  lead  the 
way  out  of  this  trouble,  shall  come  to  the  front. 
*  * 
In  spite  of  the  outlay  of  vast  sums  of  money  and  the 
offer  of  tempting  rewards  to  the  ingenuity  and  science 
of  the  whole  world  for  some  means  of  destroying  the 
enormous  hordes  of  rabbits  in  Australia,  the  pests  still 
flourish  and  multiply  disastrously  and  threaten  to  ruin 
the  agricultural-  interests  of  that  continental  island. 
It  is  calculated  that  a  single  pair  of  bunnies  will  in  10 
years  multiply  to  70,000,000,  so  that  a  war  of  extermin¬ 
ation  against  them  appears  almost  hopeless.  From 
1883  to  1890,  the  single  colony  of  New  South  Wales, 
with  an  area  of  323,437  square  miles  and  a  population 
ranging  from  750,000,  to  about  1,000,000,  expended 
over  $4,000,000  for  the  extermination  of  the  plague, 
and  about  as  much  more  was  spent  by  private  parties. 
A  bounty  of  two  cents  per  head  is  paid  by  the  govern¬ 
ment,  and  it  has  been  paid  on  as  many  as  25,280,000 
skins  in  one  year.  Ten  large  canning  factories  have 
been  established  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  which 
pay  on  an  average,  from  four  to  five  cents  for  each 
skin  and  from  two  to  four  cents  for  the  meat  of  each 
rabbit;  so  that  a  large  army  of  hunters  is  constantly 
in  the  field,  still  there  appears  to  be  a  constant  increase 
in  the  multitude  of  the  enemy.  A  bill  is  now  before 
the  Legislature  of  New  South  Wales,  at  Sidney,  pro¬ 
viding  for  the  construction  of  a  brick  wall  entirely 
around  the  agricultural  boundary  of  the  colony.  Rab¬ 
bits  will  not  burrow  lower  than  2%  feet,  and  it  is  pro¬ 
posed  to  sink  the  wall  to  that  depth.  The  wall  being 
once  built,  a  general  extermination  of  rabbits  within 
the  inclosure  will  commence.  If  successful  the  other 
colonies  will  follow  the  example.  What  an  enormous 
outlay  against  such  an  apparently  harmless  foe,  which, 
like  the  English  sparrow  in  this  country,  was  intro¬ 
duced  by  a  philanthropic  economic  nincompoop. 
*  * 
A  Connecticut  judge  has  laid  it  down  as  a  principle 
of  law  that  the  press  must  not  criticize  the  judiciary. 
“  Upon  what  meat  doth  this  our  Caesar  feed,  that  he 
hath  grown  so  great  ?  ”  Doubtless  this  learned  judge 
would  like  to  hedge  himself  safe  from  the  iconoclastic 
tendencies  of  the  times,  but  it  cannot  be  done.  The 
liberty  of  the  press  is  the  safeguard  of  our  institutions, 
and,  although  this  liberty  is  often  abused,  it  is  far  bet¬ 
ter  to  endure  its  license  than  to  permit  anything  like 
a  censorship  of  it  to  be  established.  And  why,  for¬ 
sooth,  should  not  judges  be  criticised  ?  Scores  of  them 
have  been  impeached  during  the  history  of  our  coun¬ 
try,  and  scores  more  will  doubtless  go  in  the  same 
path.  Judges  are  human  and  fallible,  and  no  amount 
of  egotism  and  self-laudation  can  remove  this  element 
from  their  characters.  The  fact  that  they  can  be 
freely  criticised  is  one  of  the  best  safeguards  we  have 
against  judicial  oppression.  The  wisest  course  for  our 
Connecticut  Solon  will  be  to  so  conduct  himself  in  his 
official  career  that  no  just  cause  for  criticism  will 
exist.  If  he  is  unfairly  criticized,  a  conscience  void  of 
offense  will  mitigate  any  sting  unjustly  administered. 
*  * 
Brevities. 
There’s  an  action  called  osmosis  that  the  wise  men  can't  explain 
Though  they  study  all  their  hair  off  and  surcharge  their  head  with 
pain: 
Put  one  liquid  In  a  bladder  and  t’wlll  never  drip  away 
And  you  won’t  tlnd  any  leakage  if  you  wait  until  you’re  gray; 
But  just  dip  that  drum-tight  bladder  In  some  other  liquid  now, 
And  you’ll  find  the  two  are  mixing  through  the  bladder's  skin— but 
how  ? 
Now  that's  what  folks  call  osmosis— you'll  observe  that  certain  men 
Seem  to  have  the  same  power  In  them  and  to  exercise  It,  when 
They  go  out  among  their  fellows  light  and  happiness  they  kill, 
For  they  throw  a  big  wet  blanket  all  around  them  like  a  chill. 
Like  the  liquid  In  the  bladder  all  their  ugliness  and  bile 
Ooze  away  until  the  others  cannot  muster  up  a  smile 
’Tls  a  shame  to  let  such  fellows  give  their  comrades  such  a  dose 
Better  bag  them  up  and  keep  them  where  they  never  can  “  osmose.” 
A  pneumatic  tire  requires  a  smooth  track. 
The  Dark  Brahma  fowl  Is  coming  to  light  again, 
Why  not  put  pneumatic  tires  on  the  milk  wagon? 
Those  smart  Leghorn  youngsters  of  Mr.  Wyckoff  (see  page  663)  are 
worth  keeping. 
Have  you  ever  found  it  necessary  to  pump  sand  out  of  a  water 
pipe  like  our  friend  on  page  657  ? 
We  think  we  have  the  facts  In  hand  to  show  just  where  and  how  the 
Soja  bean  can  be  grown  with  profit  In  this  country. 
Nancy  Hanks  breaks  so  many  trotting  records  nowadays  that  It  Is 
hard  to  keep  up  with  her.  Her  latest  slaughter  of  old  Time  Is  a  mile 
In  2:011 
Now  that  pleuro-pneumonla  has  been  stamped  out.  what  pretext 
will  England  have  for  keeping  out  American  live  cattle?  What  new 
moan(d)'ye  heart 
A  baby  show  was  held  at  the  cattle  show  at  Northampton,  Mass, 
with  145  entries.  That  doesn’t  look  as  though  New  England  stock  was 
running  out  very  fast ! 
It  Is  said  that  the  female  ostrich  Is  voiceless.  The  only  way  she  can 
celebrate  the  birth  of  an  egg  Is  to  lay  another.  Who  can  breed  the 
cackle  out  of  a  Leghorn? 
MR.  Tabeb’s  explanation  of  the  price  he  paid  for  water  Is  very  sat¬ 
isfactory  to  us.  Deep  and  thorough  preparation  of  the  soli  gives  the 
plants  a  chance  to  reach  out  and  capture  the  water. 
In  Bending  out  our  “cost  of  life”  questions  at  random  we  have  hit 
upon  a  good  many  bachelors.  To  them  the  question  about  the  cost  of 
a  wife’s  dress  Is  embarrassing.  Most  of  them  put  It  higher  than  the 
married  men  do! 
A  writer  In  Insect  Life  claims  that  50  per  cent  of  the  corn  grown  In 
Texas  Is  annually  destroyed  by  weevils  and  rats.  It  Is  a  very  lucky 
thing  for  Texas  that  she  Is  able  to  feed  these  vermin  so  royally  and 
still  grow  rich. 
WE  have  made  an  effort  to  secure  facts  about  the  profit  In  spaying 
heifers  and  milch  cows,  but  can  learn  of  but  one  experiment— that  of 
Mr.  Devereaux,  see  page  663.  Theoretically,  spaying  ought  to  make 
the  Ideal  “family  cow,”  but— folks  grow  thin  on  theory  and  fat  on 
facts. 
A  discussion  of  the  possible  use  of  the  rubber  pneumatic  tires  on 
buggies  and  light  vehicles  will  he  found  on  another  page.  It  is  not 
probable  that  these  tires  will  be  successfully  used  for  road  work,  but 
It  is  probable  that  some  carriage  makers  will  try  to  make  you  think 
they  are  highly  successful. 
A  little  boy  that  we  know  was  given  a  drum  for  a  birthday  present. 
He  came  to  his  father  one  day  and  said,  “  What  makes  the  noise  In 
this  drum?”  The  father  was  busy  and  said,  shortly,  “Oh,  find  out 
yourself!”  A  few  minutes  later  he  saw  the  boy  with  a  knife  cutting 
the  drum  open  to  “find  out  himself”  what  made  the  noise!  That  man 
had  no  business  to  scold  that  child! 
Mr.  Darden,  on  another  page,  tells  us  the  difference  between  cash 
and  credit  prices  In  Mississippi.  Every  time  a  man  buys  "on  tick,”  he 
tickles  the  middleman  and  money  lender  because  he  pays  big  Interest. 
Some  men  look  upon  credit  as  an  accommodation,  which  Is  wrong 
unless  you  call  It  an  accommodation  to  pay  over  a  part  of  your  funds 
for  the  pleasure  of  saying  you  are  In  debt!  Pay  as  you  go! 
Every  year  we  receive  letters  asking  how  a  farmer  can  get  a  perfect 
seeding  to  wheat  after  corn.  When  the  shocks  are  left  In  the  field  It 
Is  almost  Impossible  to  get  a  perfect  stand.  It  Is  all  right  with  ensi¬ 
lage  corn  for  that  Is  taken  off  before  wheat  seeding,  and  the  whole  field 
can  be  prepared.  It  will  not  pay,  however,  to  haul  off  all  the  field 
corn.  The  surest  way  Is  to  change  the  rotation  and  let  the  wheat  fol¬ 
low  oats,  potatoes  or  barley. 
A  chicken  case  now  in  the  New  York  city  courts  Is  of  Interest  to 
poultry  shippers.  The  city  Board  of  Health  permits  certain  dealers 
to  kill  poultry  In  the  public  markets  If  they  can  secure  a  special  per¬ 
mit  In  writing.  This  is  chiefly  to  accommodate  the  Jews  who  want 
their  birds  killed  In  a  special  manner.  One  dealer  had  such  a  permit 
and  killed  poultry  until  the  Comptroller  of  the  city  prohibited  It. 
The  dealer  brought  suit  against  the  Comptroller  to  test  whether  he 
had  greater  power  than  the  Board  of  Health.  The  court  decides  that 
he  has  and  that  he  can  stop  the  killing  of  poultry  In  the  city  markets. 
The  case  has,  however,  been  appealed. 
