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THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
Oct.  29 
THE 
Rural  New-Yorker 
TIMES  BUILDING,  NEW  YORK. 
A  Rational  Weekly  Journal  for  Country  and  Suburban  Homes. 
ELBEBT  S.  CARMAN,  Editor-In-Chief. 
HERBERT  W.  COLLINGWOOD,  Managing  Editor. 
ERWIN  G.  FOWLER,  Associate  Editor. 
Copyrighted  1892. 
SATURDAY,  OCTOBER  29,  1892, 
The  price  of  THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER  for 
1893  will  be  ONE  DOLLAR.  Explanation:  We 
want  500,000  readers! 
*  # 
Two  thousand  DOLLARS  is  quite  a  pile  of  money. 
Yet  it  is  all  to  be  given  to  friends  of  The  R.  N.-Y., 
who  raise  clubs  of  new  subscribers.  Three  thousand 
dollars  is  more,  but  is  less  than  the  value  of  the 
“special”  premiums  to  be  given  to  club  raisers,  in  addi¬ 
tion  to  the  $2,000  cash.  Five  thousand  dollars  is  more 
yet,  and  even  that  is  only  a  fraction  of  the  actual  value 
of  the  seeds  and  plants  to  be  given  to  all  subscribers 
for  1893.  Of  greater  importance  still  is  the  reduction 
in  price  to  $1  a  year.  Particulars  elsewhere. 
*  * 
There  is  a  strong  feeling  prevailing  in  circles  where 
the  subject  is  best  understood,  that  the  supply  of  po¬ 
tatoes  is  sufficiently  small  to  ensure  good  prices  for  all 
who  have  them  to  sell.  The  Rural  shares  that  feel¬ 
ing  and  though  it  realizes  that  prophesying  is  a  most 
uncertain  craft,  would,  if  it  had  potatoes  to  sell,  hold 
them  until  an  advance  of  at  least  10  per  cent  could  be 
had  over  prevailing  prices,  and  it  so  advises  its  read¬ 
ers.  Of  course,  if  danger  from  rot  exists,  or  extra 
work  is  entailed  by  longer  holding,  the  situation  is 
changed.  In  these  matters,  each  must  decide  for 
himself.  *  * 
The  president  of  one  of  New  York’s  largest  banks 
is  also  a  farmer.  He  said  to  the  writer  a  few  days 
ago:  “I  gave  some  of  my  land  last  spring  a  heavy 
coat  of  unleached  ashes  and  lime.  This  land  gave  me 
much  larger  crops  than  the  fields  which  received  high- 
priced  phosphates.”  It  did  not  occur  to  him  (1)  that 
a  heavy  dressing  of  ashes  would  probably  render 
additional  lime  of  little  value,  since  ashes  are  largely 
composed  of  lime.  It  did  not  occur  to  him  (2)  that  his 
land  needs  potash  chiefly  and  that  the  ashes  furnished 
it  in  larger  quantity  than  the  “  phosphate.” 
*  * 
A  very  encouraging  sign  of  the  times  is  the  increas¬ 
ing  interest  shown  in  farmers’  institutes,  wherever 
they  have  been  held.  In  this  State  they  have  been  of 
incalculable  value.  The  careful  observer  who  was 
familiar  with  a  farming  section  before  the  advent  of 
the  institute,  notices  a  change  for  the  better  when  he 
revisits  it  after  it  has  had  one  or  more  institutes.  These 
meetings  set  the  people  to  thinking.  The  man  who 
is  entirely  content  with  present  methods  never  makes 
any  progress.  He  who  doubts  the  wisdom  of  prevail¬ 
ing  modes  is  in  a  fair  way  to  find  better  ones.  It  is 
the  doubters  who  make  intellectual  growth. 
*  * 
We  are  glad  to  know  that  when  a  reader  wants  to 
warn  the  public  against  a  proposed  humbug  he  sends 
the  facts  right  to  the  R.  N.  Y.  This  paper  is  in  the 
business  of  exposing  frauds,  and  we  are  glad  our 
reputation  is  being  extended.  The  Soja  Bean  as  a 
coffee  substitute  is  all  right.  It  will  answer  for  those 
who  like  it,  but  no  man  has  any  right  to  boom  it  as 
a  “  new  and  wonderful  ”  plant,  and  demand  an  extra¬ 
vagant  price.  Yes,  he  has  a  right  to  do  so  perhaps  if 
he  can  get  ignorant  people  to  pay  his  price,  and  we 
also  have  the  right  to  help  block  his  little  game.  We 
shall  exercise  that  right.  The  Georgia  Experiment 
Station  seems  to  be  doing  excellent  work. 
*  * 
Many  will  read  The  R.  N.-Y.  for  the  first  time  this 
week.  A  word  to  them.  This  issue  gives  a  general 
idea  of  the  scope  of  our  work,  but  we  have  less  space 
than  usual  for  reading  matter,  as  the  publisher  has 
much  to  say  about  business.  The  R.  N.-Y.  has  several 
strong  and  original  features  that  have  not  been  copied 
by  other  farm  papers.  It  conducts  an  experiment 
station  of  its  own  and  gives  accurate  and  truthful  re¬ 
ports.  Every  issue  contains  a  graphic  account  of  a  visit 
to  some  noted  agriculturist  or  an  interview  with  some 
man  who  has  made  a  success  of  his  specialty.  These 
are  written  by  experts  and  cover  the  entire  country. 
We  use  more  original  illustrations  than  any  other 
farm  paper.  The  “symposium”  feature  is  original 
with  us.  A  question  of  importance  is  submitted  to  a 
number  of  authorities  and  their  answers  are  printed 
together,  thus  grouping  all  sides  of  the  matter  for 
comparison.  We  endeavor  to  keep  close  to  progressive 
farmers  everywhere.  During  the  coming  year  we 
shall  try  to  improve  the  paper  in  all  possible  ways. 
We  do  not  try  to  make  one  good  “  sample”  issue  and 
51  ordinary  issues,  but  we  try  to  make  each  issue  as 
good  as  we  can.  The  fair  way  to  judge  the  merits  of 
this  paper  is  to  read  it  for  several  consecutive  weeks, 
and  we  invite  you  to  take  a  trial  trip  with  us  and  see 
if  we  cannot  travel  together. 
*  * 
That  old-time  problem  of  selling  your  whole  grain 
and  using  the  money  to  buy  the  waste  or  by-products 
of  milling  or  oil  making  comes  up  again  this  year. 
Prof.  Voorhees  talks  about  it  on  another  page.  Corn 
is  a  good  grain  to  sell  this  year.  The  short  crop  will 
tend  to  raise  the  price  somewhat  and  with  the  money 
thus  obtained  a  larger  amount  of  nutriment  can  be 
bought  in  the  form  of  by-products.  Human  food 
should  be  worth  more  than  hog  food.  In  theory  a 
farmer  should  sell  his  whole  grain  to  the  miller  and 
let  the  latter  separate  it  into  the  finer  parls  most  suit¬ 
able  for  human  consumption  and  the  coarser  wastes 
that  are  just  as  good  for  animals.  This  is  the  theory. 
It  will  not  always  work,  but  it  will  in  some  cases  and 
where  it  will  work  the  farmer  ought  to  know  it. 
•  * 
Unless  farmers,  through  cooperation,  are  enabled  to 
buy  large  lots  of  the  raw  materials  of  which  fertil¬ 
izers  are  compounded,  there  will  always  be  a  place  for 
fertilizer  dealers  or  so-called  manufacturers.  Dealers 
choose  their  time  for  buying  at  the  lowest  rates  by 
watching  the  market,  and  they  buy  in  immense  quan¬ 
tities.  This  enables  them  to  make  a  small  profit  on 
the  raw  material  and  on  mixed  fertilizers  as  well,  be¬ 
cause,  with  suitable  and  simple  devices  and  machinery 
for  mixing  vast  quantities,  they  have  an  advantage 
over  farmers  who  are  obliged  to  mix  by  slow  hand 
methods  at  a  greater  cost  of  time  and  labor.  The 
profits,  even  of  our  best  fertilizer  dealers,  are  growing 
less  from  year  to  year,  and  this  will  of  necessity  con¬ 
tinue  as  farmers  become  familiar  with  the  raw  mate¬ 
rials  used,  the  prices  in  the  wholesale  market  and  the 
needs  of  their  land. 
*  * 
The  introduction  and  increasing  use  of  so-called 
chemical  fertilizers  have  precipitated  a  crisis  among 
farmers,  by  which  we  mean  all  who  till  the  land. 
Those  who  would  keep  in  the  foremost  ranks  of  the 
procession  will  be  obliged  to  study  fertilizer  questions 
as  they  would  to  plow,  sow  or  reap  economically  and 
effectively.  There  is  no  escape.  The  farmer  will 
have  to  find  out  what  his  land  needs  and  what  fertil¬ 
izers  he  may  most  economically  buy,  for  the  latter 
necessitates  a  knowledge  of  the  former.  He  must  not 
jump  at  conclusions.  If  Smith’s  “  phosphate  ”  brought 
him  good  crops  and  Jones’s  “  phosphate  ”  failed,  he 
will  need  to  know  in  what  respect  the  one  “  phosphate  ’* 
differed  from  the  other.  He  will  need  to  know  that 
the  word  “  phosphate  ”  as  used  by  many  dealers  means 
little  or  nothing.  It  may  mean  much  or  little  of  phos¬ 
phoric  acid  ;  much  or  little  of  potash  or  nitrogen ; 
much  or  little  of  all.  He  will  need  to  know,  too,  that 
the  fancy  names  given  to  different  brands  carry  no 
weight  with  them.  Smith’s  phosphoric  acid,  if  soluble 
or  reverted  or  insoluble  is  neither  more  or  less  valu¬ 
able  than  Jones’s  phosphoric  acid,  which  is  equally 
soluble,  reverted  or  insoluble,  and  the  fact  that  one 
sells  cheaper  than  the  other  or  calls  it  by  a  less  or  more 
pretentious  name,  is  no  evidence  that  the  one  is  in  fact 
cheaper  than  the  other. 
In  the  near  future  progressive  farmers  will  have 
their  fertilizers  made  to  order  and  the  progressive  fer¬ 
tilizer  dealers  will  be  prepared  to  fill  those  orders, 
precisely  the  same  as  if  muriate  of  potash,  sulphate 
of  potash,  nitrate  of  soda,  sulphate  of  ammonia,  blood, 
fish,  bone,  rock,  etc.,  were  ordered  separately.  The 
progressive  farmer  will  have  to  find  out  not  only  what 
his  farm  needs  as  a  whole,  but  the  varying  wants  of 
every  field.  This,  it  is  true,  is  a  difficult  task  to  learn 
even  approximately,  but  not  so  difficult  as  it  seems. 
Every  farmer  will  have  to  keep  on  hand  a  supply  of 
potash,  phosphate  and  nitrogen  to  be  used  separately 
and  in  combinations  on  small  plots  of  each  field,  and 
by  such  tests  he  will  learn  what  he  needs  and  will 
know  what  to  order  without  the  misguiding  aid  of  the 
plausible  instruction  so  freely  given  by  the  agents 
of  fertilizer  dealers.  *  * 
Elsewhere  in  this  issue  Mr.  Alva  A  gee  expresses 
his  opinion,  disagreeing  with  The  R.  N.-Y.,  that  the 
suppression  of  crop  reports  (advance  reports)  would 
be  a  calamity  to  the  farmer.  To  make  out  his  case, 
he  assumes  that,  in  the  event  of  the  government  dis¬ 
continuing  them,  speculators  would  in  some  way  man¬ 
age  to  get  reports  of  probable  yields  and  would  pub¬ 
lish  them,  and  that  the  tendency  of  their  reports 
would  always  be  adverse  to  the  farmer.  We  think 
our  correspondent  overestimates  the  influence  such 
reports  would  have.  Reports  of  probable  crops  are 
never  very  accurate — it  is  impossible  that  they  should 
be,  under  the  very  incomplete  prevailing  methods  used 
in  collecting  them,  and  the  fact  that  they  come  from 
the  government  is  what  gives  them  the  little  weight 
they  have.  Got  up  by  private  means,  they  would  be 
far  more  unreliable  and  we  do  not  think  could  seriously 
affect  the  commercial  standing  of  any  of  our  products. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  speculators  published  reports  in 
the  absence  of  government  reports,  they  would  be 
accessible  to  farmers  as  well  as  others.  The  Rural 
has  no  personal  feeling  in  the  matter  against  Statis¬ 
tician  Dodge.  We  object  only  to  the  system — that  of 
spending  large  amounts  of  money  in  prophesying  each 
year  as  to  the  cereal  production  of  the  country.  With 
the  gathering  of  actual  statistics — when  the  grain  is 
harvested  and  thrashed — we  have  no  quarrel.  Such 
work  is  strictly  legitimate. 
*  # 
A  handy  convertible  subscription  blank  is  inclosed 
with  this  issue.  It  also  answers  the  purpose  of  an  en¬ 
velope.  One  has  only  to  write  the  names  on  the  in¬ 
side,  inclose  the  money,  fold,  seal  the  gummed  edges, 
affix  a  stamp  and  it  is  ready  for  mailing.  It  may  be 
u^ed  for  club  orders,  and  more  will  be  furnished  on  ap¬ 
plication.  We  have  also  a  neat  subscription  coupon, 
in  small  packages,  for  club-raisers ;  sent  on  request. 
#  * 
BREVITIES. 
I  used  to  blow  the  organ  In  a  good  old  country  choir. 
I  kept  the  bellows  crowded  full  and  never  used  to  tire; 
I  seemed  to  catch  a  vision  of  the  promised  happy  land, 
When  that  old  organ  thundered  underneath  the  player’s  hand. 
Now  here's  the  point  I’m  making— please  to  notice  “where  I'm  at.” 
That  wind  was  raw  material,  and  mighty  raw  at  that: 
But  when  It  came  a-rushlng  that  old  organ’s  piping  through, 
It  then  was  finished  product  wav  up  on  Its  finish,  too. 
I  did  the  hard  raw  labor — pumping  in  that  wind,  you  see. 
The  organist  did  better— a  skilled  worker,  sir,  was  she; 
A  hundred  boys  could  handle  my  pump  job  at  any  day. 
The  church  was  minus  music  when  that  woman  staved  away; 
And  so,  In  early  childhood  I  pumped  out  this  settled  law. 
To  dodge  old  competition  just  quit  handling  the  raw. 
And  learn  to  make  skilled  products  you  will  live  to  find  your  fill, 
Of  good  things  will  be  greater  as  vou  cultivate  your  skill. 
The  folks  who  at  the  organ  stay  there  ever  pumping  wind 
Have  hardly  cause  to  grumble  when  they  tag  along  behind 
Those  folks  who  learn  to  handle  every  pedal,  stop  and  key. 
That  let's  the  wind  from  prison  In  a  flood  of  harmony. 
The  petted  colt  will  seldom  bolt. 
Money  makes  the  mare  go  away  from  the  plow. 
Which  Is  the  hotter— boiling  water  or  boiling  soup? 
Which  will  extinguish  fire  the  sooner— hot  or  cold  water  ? 
Did  you  ever  know  a  farmer  to  whittle  a  mortgage  out  of  a  dry  good’s 
box? 
It  is  hard  to  dry  a  wet  blanket.  Think  before  you  throw  one  over 
somebody’s  plan. 
“  I  can  raise  clover  to  my  heart’s  content  I  ”  What  greater  bless¬ 
ing  to  the  farm  is  sent  ? 
The  scheme  of  keeping  birds  In  hot-houses  Is  increasing.  The  birds 
are  wanted  to  catch  and  kill  Insects. 
There  is  only  one  fit  ending  and  that  Is  sudden  death,  for  dogs  that 
leave  their  master’s  yard  and  bark  away  their  breath. 
Duhing  the  next  six  months,  or  until  further  notice,  all  communi¬ 
cations  usually  sent  to  the  Rural  Grounds,  should  be  addressed  to 
No.  709  Madison  Avenue,  New  York  City. 
We  want  honest  and  practical  information  about  the  value  of  Iron 
roofing  on  barns.  A  manufacturer  and  a  dissatisfied  farmer  have 
already  spoken— let  us  hear  from  others. 
Potatoes  In  the  London  (England)  market  rule  from  30  to  50  cents  a 
bushel— the  latter  price  for  extra  quality.  This  Is  to  be  compared 
with  our  New  York  prices  of  GO  to  75  cents  a  bushel  delivered  In  New 
York. 
Let  me  ask  you  this  fair  question,  looking  back  upon  your  life  with 
Its  50  years’  digestion  of  the  hopes  and  fears  and  strife.  Old  experi¬ 
ence  has  made  you  often  take  a  cruel  rub,  but  say— has  It  ever  paid 
you  to  invest  funds  in  a  scrub  ? 
New  implements  come  rushing  In  so  fast  that  a  farmer  would  have 
to  work  nights  to  wear  out  his  old  tools  In  order  to  purchase  the  new 
ones.  About  five  per  cent  of  the  new  plants  are  worth  growing.  What 
Is  the  percentage  of  really  useful  tools  ? 
Take  an  old  pasture  so  poor  that  the  cattle  have  to  wander  for 
miles  to  get  a  living.  Give  us  a  complete  fertilizer.  We  will  spread 
It  wherever  you  say  and  will  guarantee  that  the  cows  will  stay  on  that 
portion  and  eat  the  grass  In  preference  to  that  on  any  other  part  of 
the  pasture! 
We  find  In  one  of  our  contemporaries  an  advertisement  of  “  Pre- 
servit.”  a  preparation  which,  it  Is  said,  will  keep  cider  sweet  and  Is 
“  absolutely  harmless,”  etc.  To  this  we  beg  to  demur.  Doubtless  the 
preserving  element  In  this  preparation  is  salicylic  acid— a  poison,  the 
use  of  which  should  be  prohibited  in  any  article  of  food  or  drink,  as  It 
Is  In  Paris. 
Every  farmer  should  know  far  better  what  his  land  needs  In  the 
way  of  plant  food  than  the  agent  who  sells  him  fertilizers,  no  matter 
how  well  the  agent  may  be  Informed  as  to  fertilizer  problems  In  gen¬ 
eral.  Farmers  must  learn  for  themselves  what  their  land  needs  and 
there  Is  no  escape.  It  Is  a  lesson,  like  every  other  lesson,  that  no  one 
can  learn  for  him. 
Prof.  Garner  has  gone  to  Africa  to  try  to  study  the  language  of 
monkeys.  That’s  Interesting,  but  why  not  stay  here  and  learn  the 
language  of  cows  ?  He  would  find  lots  of  them  saying  this:  “My 
master  can  t  feed  me  grain  and  keep  me  warm  because  It  ‘  costs  too 
much,’  but  every  day  that  he  lives  he  lets  good,  sweet  butter  fat  slide 
through  the  churn  into  the  Bwill.  I  don’t  kick,  but  1  call  this  an  un¬ 
grateful  world.” 
The  English  papers  record  the  sale  of  the  stock  on  a  farm  of  2,200 
acres!  There  were  1,200  acres  in  permanent  pasture.  There  were  sold 
G61  cattle,  91  horses  and  1,000  poultry.  Five  tons  of  old  horse  shoes  were 
sold  in  one  lot.  Since  1879  $150,000  have  been  spent  for  feed  and  fertil¬ 
izers  on  this  farm.  The  farmer  now  goes  out  of  business  because 
wheat  and  cattle  are  too  low  to  be  profitable.  How  much  of  that  vast 
sum  will  ever  be  drawn  out  of  that  soil? 
Booker  T.  Washington,  Principal  of  the  Tuckegee  Colored  Normal 
School,  says  there  is  nothing  “that  is  so  hindering  the  progress  of  the 
masses  of  the  colored  people  in  the  South  as  the  fact  that  the  bulk  of 
them  still  live  in  low,  dark  miserable  one-roomed  huts.”  Such  a  state 
of  affairs  renders  privacy  and  morality  almost  impossible  and  Mr. 
Washington  wants  drawings  and  plans  of  cheap  two  and  three  room 
cottages  to  distribute  among  the  negroes.  Here  is  a  chance  for  some¬ 
body  to  help  in  a  good  cause. 
