1892 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER.  8i7 
THE  AMERICAN  INSTITUTE  FAIR. 
One  of  the  earliest  recollections  of  the  reading  of 
my  boyhood  days,  is  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Ameri¬ 
can  Institute  Farmers’  Club,  published  in  the  old  New 
York  Weekly  Tribune.  The  learned  disquisitions  upon 
various  phases  of  agriculture  were  not  always  clearly 
understood,  but  were  often  a  source  of  wonder  that 
any  mortal  man,  and  he  a  farmer  (?)  could  know  so 
much.  So  upon  coming  to  the  city,  the  American  In¬ 
stitute  Fair  caught  my  fancy,  and  each  year  I  have 
paid  it  a  visit,  and  inspected  with  mingled  pleasure 
and  profit  its  diverse  and  multitudinous  exhibits. 
It  is  a  veteran  in  the  exhibition  line,  the  present 
being  its  61st  anniversary,  but  as  regards  the  number 
and  quality  of  its  exhibits,  it  is  as  vigorous  as  ever. 
As  an  educational  agency,  it  is  unique.  A  large  and 
varied  assortment  of  machinery  is  in  operation  propel¬ 
led  by  an  enormous  engine.  Numerous  heating,  light, 
ing  and  cooking  devices  give  practical  exemplification 
of  their  uses.  Various  new  ideas  in  furniture  and 
household  appliances  interest  the  housekeeper.  Im¬ 
proved  food  products  tickle  the  palate,  while  pictures 
and  other  objects  of  beauty  please  the  eye,  and  a 
skilled  orchestra  charms  the  ear.  For  two  months  the 
exhibition  affords  instruction  and  entertainment  to 
old  and  young. 
At  various  intervals  special  features  are  introduced. 
One  of  these,  from  November  22-25,  inclusive,  was  an 
exhibition  of  Bantams,  the  first  of  its  kind  in  this 
country.  Breeders  of  these  little  fowls  complain  that 
their  birds  have  usually  been  tucked  off  in  some  cor¬ 
ner  or  out-of-the-way  place,  and  they  had  determined 
to  have  an  exhibition  of  Bantams  exclusively.  It  was 
under  the  auspices  of  the  United  Bantam  Club  of 
America,  and  included  something  like  300  birds.  It 
was  got  up  on  very  short  notice,  and  some  of  the 
arrangements  were  not  all  that  could  have  been  de¬ 
sired,  but  the  birds  were  so  placed  as  to  be  seen  to 
good  advantage,  and  many  good  specimens  were  on 
exhibition.  These  are  interesting  little  creatures, 
both  to  breeders  and  to  the  general  public.  They  are 
the  most  difficult  to  breed  true  to  standard  require¬ 
ments  of  any  fowls.  This  makes  success  in  their  breeding 
a  cause  for  congratulation.  The  little  folks  particu¬ 
larly  are  great  admirers  of  the  little  beauties,  which, 
though  small,  feel  as  big  as  any  of  their  larger  kindred. 
Many  of  the  varieties  are  reproductions  in  miniature 
of  the  larger  breeds.  Among  these  are  the  different 
colored  Games,  Buff,  White  and  Partridge  Pekins, 
and  Polish.  Some  Silkies  attracted  considerable  at¬ 
tention,  their  plumage  being  well  described  by  their 
name.  Their  legs  are  black,  and  their  skin  and  bones 
are  said  to  be  of  the  same  somber  color.  The  larger 
number  of  entries  were  of  Black  Reds,  Red  Pyles, 
Golden  Duckwing,  Golden  and  Silver  Sebrights,  Buff, 
White  and  Partridge  Pekins  and  Rosecomb  Blacks. 
Many  birds  were  offered  for  sale  at  prices  ranging 
from  $2  each  (a  very  few  at  $1)  up  to  $10,  $15  and,  in 
one  or  two  cases,  $25.  The  ruling  spirit  of  the  exhi¬ 
bition  was  E.  E.  Quick,  the  president  of  the  club,  and 
a  large  exhibitor.  lie  promises  better  arrangements, 
a  larger  exhibit  and  more  satisfactory  results  next 
time,  though  there  is  little  to  complain  of  in  the  first 
attempt.  The  whole  thing  was  got  up  and  carried 
through  in  about  ffve  weeks,  I  was  told.  f.  h.  v. 
A  SUCCESSFUL  DAIRY  SCHOOL. 
Prof.  W.  W.  Cooke,  of  the  Vermont  Experiment  Sta¬ 
tion,  sends  some  notes  on  the  recent  dairy  school  held 
under  his  direction.  These  schools  are  giving  great 
satisfaction  and  are  much  appreciated  by  the  better 
class  of  dairymen. 
“  Babcocking”  by  Steam.— A  new  feature  of  the 
laboratory  has  proved  quite  an  important  addition. 
This  is  a  steam  Babcock  testing  machine.  We  have 
two  kinds,  made  by  Moseley  &  Stoddard  and  by  the 
Vermont  Farm  Machine  Company,  but  both  agree  in 
the  essential  idea  that  the  bottles  are  whirled  by  the 
direct  action  of  the  steam  without  requiring  an  en¬ 
gine,  and  in  both  this  steam  also  heats  the  bottles  and 
keeps  the  contents  hot  during  the  whirling.  This 
does  away  with  all  adding  of  hot  water  to  the  machine 
and  allows  the  work  to  be  done  in  a  cold  room  as 
easily  as  in  a  warm ;  to  be  done  slowly  as  well  as 
rapidly  and  even  allows  the  completing  of  the  analysis 
when  the  acid  has  been  added  so  long  before  that  the 
bottles  have  become  cold.  This  steam  machine  is 
easier  to  use  than  the  hand  machine  and  will  be  found 
to  give  more  accurate  results,  especially  on  thin  skim- 
milk  and  on  buttermilk  containing  less  than  .3  per 
cent  fat.  If  the  Babcock  method  has  any  wrong  ten¬ 
dency  it  is  toward  giving  low  results  and  the  fluidity 
of  the  fat  in  the  steam  machine  will  be  found  to  largely 
overbalance  this  tendency. 
Sweet  and  Ripened  Cream. — A  valuable  point 
brought  out  in  the  handling  of  cream,  is  the  fact  that 
cream  churned  sweet  needs  less  careful  handling  than 
cream  that  is  to  be  ripened.  It  is  acknowledged  by 
all  that  the  uniform  ripening  of  cream  so  far  as  to  have 
it  churn  thoroughly  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  prob¬ 
lems  of  the  butter  maker,  and  the  determining  of  the 
proper  degree  of  ripeness  for  churning  is  almost  as  dif 
ficult.  Neither  of  these  difficulties  is  encountered  in 
making  sweet-cream  butter.  Instead  of  uniting  all 
the  cream  in  a  single  vat  and  taking  much  pains  to  ^ 
keep  the  mass  at  certain  temperatures,  with  frequent 
and  thorough  stirrings,  it  was  found  possible  to  take 
creams  from  different  sources,  of  different  tempera¬ 
tures,  and  from  12  to  48  hours  old,  that  had  never  been 
together  until  they  were  in  the  churn,  and  by  churn¬ 
ing  them  cold,  to  have  the  butter  come  in  a  reasonable 
time  and  ha^e  almost  no  fat  left  in  the  buttermilk. 
As  regards  the  taste  of  butter  from  sweet  cream  and 
ripened  cream,  few  of  the  students  could  distinguish 
any  difference  and  still  fewer,  if  any,  could  certainly 
tell  which  was  which.  The  winter  time  seems  es¬ 
pecially  favorable  for  the  manufacture  of  sweet-cream 
butter. 
A  School  Report. — The  attendance  at  the  school 
was  good,  the  interest  much  more  than  last  year,  and 
we  feel  that  the  expenditure  of  time  and  money  was 
well  repaid.  Many  of  the  States  are  planning  similar 
schools  this  winter.  The  more  the  better :  there  is 
room  for  all  and  need  of  all  these  and  many  more. 
These  dairy  schools  are  a  hopeful  sign  of  the  future 
prosperity  of  dairying,  and  we  are  hoping  in  the  near 
future  to  make  ours  continuous  through  the  year. 
LEARNING  HOW  TO  THINK. 
THAT  SHORT  COURSE  at  CORNELL. 
The  farmers  of  this  country  do  not  realize  the  great 
importance  of  an  education.  They  get  the  mistaken 
notion  that  all  education  is  good  for  is  the  learning 
of  facts  and  dates,  and  that  if  their  boys  and  girls  are 
to  be  farmers,  a  good  knowledge  of  the  elementary 
branches  will  answer  their  purpose  very  well.  They 
forget  that  matter  is  always  controlled  and  directed 
by  mind,  and  that  the  greatest  advantage  of  educa¬ 
tion  is  the  mental  training  given,  and  the  ability  to 
think,  and  to  think  to  a  purpose.  If  they  will  look 
about  them  they  will  see  that  it  is  the  thinking  farm¬ 
ers  that  are  everywhere  the  most  successful.  To  no 
one  is  an  education  of  so  much  importance  as  to  him 
who  must  come  into  contact  with  Nature  so  directly  in 
the  growth  of  his  crops  and  animals.  It  is  a  shame 
that  our  common  schools  so  completely  ignore  all 
allusion  to  even  the  rudiments  of  an  agricultural 
education.  The  child,  the  future  man,  who  must  cope 
with  Mother  Earth  and  draw  from  her  bosom  the 
food  necessary  for  the  whole  race,  is  taught  every¬ 
thing  else  but  those  principles  on  which  so  much  of 
his  success  must  depend. 
But  the  farmer  of  the  future  must  be  educated.  He 
must  not  only  know  the  principles  which  govern  the 
relations  of  his  soil  and  the  plants  which  he  would 
grow  thereon,  but  he  must  be  able  to  think  so  as  to 
make  the  best  use  of  all  his  crops 
The  question  which  is  of  vital  importance,  not  only 
to  this  generation  of  farmers,  but  to  the  coming  one,  is 
how  can  the  desired  education  be  placed  within  the 
reach  of  all  ?  The  farmers’  institutes  are  doing  a  grand 
work  for  this  generation.  The  men  and  women  of 
to-day  are  no  longer  in  a  position  where  they  can  leave 
their  work  and  attend  schools,  but  the  institute  comes 
to  them  with  its  trained,  successful  farmers  and  places 
an  immense  amount  of  knowledge  within  their  grasp. 
The  coming  farmers  are  especially  favored,  they 
should  be  very  thankful  and  should  eagerly  embrace 
j  the  advantages  held  out  to  them. 
f  Cornell  University  is  grandly  responding  to  the 
demand  of  the  times.  Established  only  a  quarter  of 
a  century  ago,  it  is  one  of  the  noblest  institutions  of 
•  this  or  any  other  land.  Its  liberality  in  opening  a  four 
years’  course  in  agriculture  and  also  a  shorter  two 
years’  course  to  both  of  which  our  boys  and  girls  are 
invited  to  come  free  of  tuition,  to  obtain  the  most  com- 
i  plete  agricultural  education,  is  to  be  especially  com¬ 
mended  and  should  crowd  its  halls  with  hundreds  of 
students. 
Not  content  with  this,  it  has  now  opened  its  doors 
more  widely  in  adopting  a  new  short  winter  course  in 
agriculture,  to  which  it  invites  all  persons  of  good  moral 
character  and  16  years  or  more  of  age,  without  cost 
for  tuition  and  without  examination,  to  study  such 
branches  as  will  especially  fit  them  for  any  department 
of  farming  which  they  wish  to  follow.  Thus  they  can 
study  dairying,  general  agriculture,  poultry  keeping, 
animal  industry,  veterinary  science,  entomology,  and 
all  other  matters  relating  to  agriculture. 
What  an  opportunity  is  here  offered  for  the  young  ! 
How  the  boys  and  girls  should  respond  !  Why,  I  am 
almost  tempted,  “  Old  Boy”  that  I  am,  and  I  would  be 
quite  so  were  it  not  for  the  many  pressing  duties  of 
life,  to  attend  the  next  term  myself.  But,  parents,  as 
we  cannot  go,  and  as  we  see  the  great  need  of  more 
knowledge  in  our  business,  let  us  send  our  boys  and 
girls.  It  will  cost  but  little :  the  railroad  fare  and 
board  will  be  but  small  compared  with  the  great 
benefits  which  will  accrue  from  these  12  weeks  of  close 
training.  Suppose  it  does  require  some  sacrifice;  it 
will  be  worth  a  hundred  times  more  than  it  will  cost 
in  dollars  and  we  all  want  our  children  to  stand  at  the 
head;  so  let  us  freely  make  the  sacrifice.  Let  me  urge 
the  boys  and  girls  to  make  almost  any  effort  required 
to  attend.  They  can  find  plenty  of  work  to  do  at 
Cornell  to  pay  for  board  if  they  cannot  afford  the 
money  for  this  purpose.  By  all  means  let  them  go, 
and  in  all  the  after  years  of  their  lives  they  will  not 
cease  to  thank  me  for  urging  them  to  do  so.  Not  less 
than  500  students  should  go  flocking  up  to  Cornell  this 
first  term,  which  will  open  on  January  3. 
For  full  particulars  write  to  Prof.  I.  P.  Roberts, 
Ithaca,  N.  Y.  Study  them  well  and  be  sure  to  be  on 
hand  at  the  opening  of  the  term.  j.  s.  woodward. 
BUSINESS  BITS. 
We  believe  It  Is  a  mistake  ever  to  use  cotton -seed  meal  as  a  fertil¬ 
izer.  It  wa»  Intended  for  animal  food. 
The  sum  of  $10,000  Is  to  be  spent  In  England  for  extending  the  sale 
and  use  of  nitrate  of  soda.  The  Nitrate  Importing  Company  and  the 
owners  of  Chilian  railroads  provide  this  money.  How  will  they  pro¬ 
ceed  to  show  the  real  merits  of  this  fertilizer? 
Bowker's  Greenhouse  Manure,  made  by  the  Bowker  Fertilizer  Co., 
of  Boston,  Is  an  excellent  fertilizer  for  use  in  all  greenhouse  culture. 
Under  the  title,  "  A  Timely  Caution,”  the  Urm  Issues  a  little  pamphlet 
on  the  sanitary  treatment  of  lawns,  that  Is  well  worth  roadlng. 
Henry  Stewart  tells  in  another  column  about  the  accumulation 
of  air  In  pipes  and  how  It  changes  the  volume  of  water  flowing  through 
them.  As  an  Illustration  to  his  article  take  this  pipe,  which  though 
greatly  exaggerated,  will  show  what  Is  meant. 
Returns  from  British  agriculture  show  a  steady  falling  off  in 
values  as  compared  with  previous  years.  The  area  In  grain  has  fallen 
Off  1,291,495  acres  In  10  years  and  over  28,000  In  the  past  year.  In  wheat 
alone  the  loss  Is  nearly  100,000  acres  in  one  year,  while  oats  have 
gained.  Potatoes  lost  20,000  acres  while  turnips  gained.  Grasses 
under  rotation  lost  40,000  acres  In  the  past  year  and  permanent  grass 
lost  nearly  30,000  acres,  while  30,000  acres  of  available  land  have  gone 
out  of  cultivation— "abandoned,”  as  we  would  say  of  a  New  England 
farm.  As  to  live  stock,  the  past  year  shows  a  gain  of  50,000  horses, 
180,000  cattle,  100,000  sheep  and  a  loss  of  1,000,000  pigs.  British  farming 
Is  pretty  nearly  stagnant  with  the  movement  the  wrong  way,  if  any. 
A  friend  in  Indiana  has  this  to  say  about  the  market  garden  busi¬ 
ness:  “  My  carear  as  market  gardener  will  end  with  the  close  of  this 
year,  not  because  I  have  made  money  enough  In  30  years’  continuous 
hard  work,  nor  on  account  of  old  age,  but  simply  because  I  am  worn 
out.  Peter  Henderson  hit  the  nail  on  the  head  when  he  said  that, 
next  to  sufficient  means  to  carry  on  truck  farming  successfully  it  Is  of 
the  utmost  Importance  to  have  good  health  and  an  Iron  constitution; 
for,  rain  or  shine,  hot  or  cold,  a  fellow  must  be  right  there  himself 
and  never  depend  on  hired  help  alone  to  do  what  he  himself  ought  to 
do  or  at  least  superintend.  Trucking  Is  hard  work  in  every  respect;  at 
the  same  time  it  Is  beautiful  work,  provided  a  person's  heart  and 
soul  are  In  It,  and  mine  were  and  are  yet.” 
A  Farmers’  Telegraph  Company.— Up  In  Lenawee  County,  Mich., 
the  farmers  of  an  agricultural  district  have  established  a  “  Farmers’ 
Telegraph  Company,”  and  at  a  moderate  cost  constructed  a  line  to 
Adrian,  the  country  seat,  eight  miles  distant.  A  large  number  of  scat¬ 
tered  farms  are  connected  with  each  other  and  with  the  village  store, 
and  railroad  depot.  The  store-keeper  acts  as  central  operator,  ex¬ 
press  agent,  postmaster,  etc.  Usually  the  wives  and  daughters  In  the 
various  families  soon  learn  to  operate  the  instruments,  and  relieve 
the  monotony  of  farm  life  by  ready  communication  with  their  neigh¬ 
bors  all  around.  The  total  cash  expenditure  for  the  original  outflt 
was  not  over  $200  and  the  maintenance  expenses  are  covered  by  an 
assessment  of  $2  a  year  on  each  household  that  benefits  by  the  system. 
Besides  the  added  cheerfulness  and  convenience  of  ready  lnter-com- 
munlcatlon  all  over  the  neighborhood,  there  is  a  handsome  saving  of 
time  and  labor  In  avoiding  useless  trips  to  the  village  In  a  busy  season 
—Indeed  the  avoidance  of  the  cost  of  needless  travel  alone  should 
offset  many  times  the  outlay  for  each  family  during  the  year.  The 
many  advantages  of  such  a  system  should  lead  to  Its  wide  adoption  In 
country  places,  and  after  the  expiration  of  the  extortionate  telephone 
patents  In  1894,  the  telephone  could  conveniently  replace  the  telegraph 
In  every  township. 
