861 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
Dec.  24 
THE 
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 
ERWIN  G.  FOWLER,  Associate  Editor. 
Copyrighted  1892. 
SATURDAY,  DECEMBER  24,  1892. 
Is  the  charge  made  by  Western  farmers,  that  the 
railroad  companies  have  refused  to  furnish  grain  cars 
in  adequate  numbers  except  to  the  elevator  magnates, 
true  ?  If  so,  it  is  an  infamous  outrage  perpetrated 
against  the  public  welfare  by  organizations  chartered 
especially  for  the  public  advantage.  How  many  of 
the  railroad  potentates  are  pecuniarily  interested  in 
the  elevator  companies,  and  how  many  of  the  latter 
are  parasitic  associations  preying  upon  the  resources  of 
the  railroad  comp  inies  to  the  enrichment  of  their  man¬ 
agers  and  the  impoverishment  of  their  stock-holders? 
*  # 
Some  papers  get  out  a  “  sample  number  ”  about  this 
time  of  year,  spending  on  it  about  three  times  as  much 
care  and  money  as  are  spent  upon  an  ordinary  issue. 
Copies  of  this  number  are  sent  to  those  who  ask  to  see 
what  the  paper  is  like,  in  the  hope  that  they  will  be¬ 
lieve  the  other  51  numbers  of  the  year  are  just  as  good 
as  this  one.  This  petty  humbugging  is  about  like 
that  of  the  people  who  invite  their  friends  to  a  big 
dinner  and  then  live  on  husks  for  a  week  to  pay  for 
the  extra  expense.  The  R.  N.-Y.  never  gets  up  these 
special  “  sample  numbers.”  We  want  to  make  every 
number  a  fair  sample  of  what  we  are  doing.  The  way 
to  know  how  a  farmer  lives  is  to  go  to  his  house  with¬ 
out  special  warning  and  have  several  successive  meals 
with  him.  In  this  way  one  can  judge  of  the  cooking 
and  see  if  favorite  dishes  are  well  served.  Our  short¬ 
term  offer  will  enable  any  reader  to  see  what  we  serve. 
No  single  sample  copy  would  do  it. 
*  * 
European  advices  tell  us  that  both  France  and  Ger¬ 
many  have  unusually  large  crops  of  potatoes.  In  the 
former  country  they  are  selling  for  25  francs  per  ton, 
which  is  equivalent  to  a  trifle  less  than  13%  cents  per 
bushel.  According  to  the  December  report  of  the  Depart¬ 
ment  of  Agriculture,  the  present  average  farm  price  for 
potatoes  in  this  country  is  67.3  cents  per  bushel,  or 
30.2  cents  higher  than  it  was  a  year  ago.  Even  with 
a  tariff  of  25  cents  per  bushel,  there  appears  to  be  a 
safe  margin  for  the  importation  of  European  potatoes. 
Of  course,  the  seaboard  markets  would  be  chiefly  af¬ 
fected  by  such  an  importation  ;  but  during  the  scarcity 
of  domestic  potatoes  a  few  years  ago,  the  trans-Atlan¬ 
tic  product  was  for  several  months  regularly  quoted  in 
the  market  reports  of  Chicago  and  even  St.  Louis.  In 
spite  of  such  a  contingency  this  year,  however,  pota¬ 
toes  are  likely  to  rule  high  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 
•  * 
An  urgent  demand  will  be  made  on  the  New  York 
Legislature  for  a  liberal  appropriation  for  the  Erie 
Canal,  this  winter.  During  the  past  year  the  freights 
of  flour  and  grain  from  Buffalo  to  New  York  city  were 
27,000,000  barrels  and  31,688,815  bushels  respectively — 
3,000,000  bushels  less  than  in  1891  and  7,000,000  less 
than  in  1890.  This  decrease  is  the  more  remarkable  as 
the  average  wheat  rate  for  the  season  was  only  3.4 
cents  per  bushel — the  lowest  in  the  history  of  the 
canal  with  the  exception  of  the  rate  in  1888,  which 
was  the  same.  The  farmers  of  the  State,  as  a  rule, 
object  to  any  heavy  increase  of  taxation  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Erie,  on  the  ground  that  it  is  of  advantage 
chiefly  to  Western  farmers  whose  products,  grown  on 
cheap  land,  it  helps  to  put  in  injurious  competition 
with  their  own  in  local  and  foreign  markets.  There 
is  some  talk  of  nationalizing  the  waterway  and  enlarg¬ 
ing  and  deepening  it  to  render  it  fit  for  the  passage  of 
ocean  steamers  ;  but  as  such  an  undertaking  would 
cost  about  §250,000,000,  there  is  little  probability  that 
it  will  be  taken  in  hand  in  the  near  future. 
#  # 
Great  strides  have  been  made  in  the  transportation 
of  perishable  products,  but  greater  are  imminent.  The 
quantity  of  California  fruit  brought  east  is  annually 
increasing,  and  the  cost  decreasing.  Recent  inventions 
promise  still  further  reductions.  A  car  recently  com¬ 
pleted,  it  is  claimed,  will  not  only  do  the  work  better, 
but  at  less  than  a  quarter  the  cost  of  the  old  refriger¬ 
ator  cars.  Ice  is  used  in  connection  with  some  patented 
refrigerant,  and  it  is  claimed  that  three  tons  of  ice 
will  maintain  the  necessary  temperature  for  a  month 
without  further  attention  after  the  tanks  are  filled. 
The  temperature  may  also  be  varied  to  suit,  but  main¬ 
tained  at  any  desired  point,  between  10  degrees  above 
zero  and  the  freezing  point.  Most  perishable  fruits 
that  are  now  sent  any  distance  must  be  picked  before 
fully  ripe,  and  the  quality  is  thereby  impaired.  This 
inventor  claims  that  strawberries  and  equally  perish¬ 
able  fruits  may  be  picked  in  Florida  or  California 
when  fully  ripe,  and  deposited  in  our  markets  in  just 
as  good  condition  as  when  picked.  Salmon  are  now 
brought  from  Oregon  and  Washington  waters,  but  the 
expense  is  often  in  the  neighborhood  of  10  to  12  cents 
per  pound,  while  this  inventor  claims  to  be  able  to  lay 
them  down  in  New  York  or  Boston  for  two  cents,  be¬ 
sides  being  in  much  better  condition.  Several  cars 
have  been  completed,  and  practical  trials  will  be  made. 
If  the  claims  of  the  inventor  are  sustained,  it  will 
cause  a  revolution  in  this  class  of  trade,  and  will 
render  still  more  formidable  the  competition  against 
the  Eastern  grower.  One  compensating  circumstance 
is  that  considerable  time  must  elapse  before  sufficient 
cars  can  be  completed  to  bring  large  quantities ; 
meanwhile  enterprising  growers  may  be  preparing  to 
meet  the  competition. 
*  * 
A  Frenchman  has  invented  a  plan  for  making  what 
is  really  potato  flour.  The  potatoes  are  grated  and 
then  pressed  as  are  apples  in  cider  making.  The 
pressed  pulp  is  then  broken  into  small  pieces  and  care¬ 
fully  dried  by  a  peculiar  process.  The  resulting  sub¬ 
stance  is  known  as  torrefied  pulp.  It  can  be  used  for 
animal  food  or  for  human  food  by  simply  adding  boil¬ 
ing  water  to  it.  It  is  also  ground  and  bolted  like 
ordinary  flour.  In  this  form,  mixed  in  varying  pro¬ 
portions  with  wheat  or  rye  flour  it  can  be  baked  into 
bread  which  is  found  very  digestible  and  nutritious  as 
well  as  cheaper  than  bread  from  cereals  alone.  This 
potato  flour  is  different  from  pure  starch,  being  more 
digestible  and  of  better  texture.  When  we  consider 
the  immense  weight  of  potatoes  that  may  be  grown  on 
an  acre  as  compared  with  wheat,  we  realize  how  this 
torrefied  pulp  will  add  to  the  possibilities  of  the 
world’s  food  production.  Previous  efforts  to  make 
flour  of  potatoes  have  failed  largely  because  it  was 
attempted  to  drive  out  all  of  the  water  by  evaporation. 
In  this  process  most  of  it  is  squeezed  out  by  mechanical 
means,  which  permits  more  perfect  drying  of  what  is 
left.  By  means  of  the  new  process  the  edible  portions 
of  potatoes  can  be  kept  for  years  instead  of  months, 
as  in  the  complete  tuber. 
#  * 
This  year,  as  never  before,  our  friends  seem  to  be 
taking  an  active,  personal  interest  in  the  welfare  of 
The  R.  N.-Y.  We  get  the  most  encouraging  and  help¬ 
ful  letters  from  those  who,  though  personally  unknown 
to  us,  evidently  read  the  paper  carefully  and  think 
along  with  us  from  week  to  week.  There  is  a  wide 
difference  of  values  in  “talk.”  Some  of  it  is  about 
the  ‘cheapest  commodity  on  the  market,  while  other 
talk  has  such  a  sound  and  evident  meaning  ringing 
through  it  that  it  is  about  the  most  valuable  thing  we 
can  have.  The  li.  N.-Y.ihas  its  full  share  of  the  second 
kind  of  talk  this  year.  We  can’t  print  all  the  kind 
things  said  of  us,  but  we  feel  like  publicly  thanking 
all  our  friends  for  their  kind  words.  We  pick  up 
friends  from  the  least  expected  sources,  as  this  note 
from  Ohio  will  show  : 
A  little  over  a  year  ago  I  was  a  25-cent  trial  subscriber,  and  had 
made  up  my  mind  to  discontinue  the  paper  at  the  end  of  the  trial  sub¬ 
scription,  but  I  saw  an  Item  In  “Brevities”  to  the  effect  that  opinions 
differing  from  those  of  the  editor  j  were  as  welcome  to  space  In  The 
Rural  as  those  agreeing  with  them.  This  policy  Is  so  different  from 
that  of  almost  all  other  journals  and  pleased  me  so  well  that  I  sub¬ 
scribed  for  a  year,  and  1  will  renew  in  a  few  days,  at  which  time  1  will 
also  send  eight  or  ten  other  subscriptions. 
The  R.  N.-Y.  has  not  a  conceited  estimate  of  its  own 
knowledge.  If  we  are  not  right  we  want  to  be  set 
right.  A  fair  and  honest  discussion  is  the  mill  that 
grinds  out  the  truth.  *  t 
From  the  action  of  the  United  States  Senate  last 
Monday  when  the  Anti-Option  Bill  was  under  discus¬ 
sion,  it  is  evident  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  mem¬ 
bers  are  determined  either  to  secure  its  defeat  by  a 
direct  vote,  or  in  the  event  of  their  being  unable  to 
do  this,  to  filibuster  against  ’t  till  the  close  of  the 
session  next  March.  Towards  the  end  of  the  last  ses¬ 
sion  of  Congress  the  measure  was  passed  by  sub¬ 
stantially  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  House, 
whose  members  represent  the  people  directly,  and  it 
is  not  a  little  exasperating  that  that  nest  of  plutocrats 
and  monopolists  or  their  agents,  the  Senate,  should 
hinder  or  defeat  the  manifest  wishes  of  a  large  ma¬ 
jority  of  the  people.  Most  of  these  obstructionists  have 
made  or  greatly  increased  their  large  fortunes  by  spec¬ 
ulative  ventures  of  doubtful  integrity,  and  probably 
they  think  that  to  bar  others  from  similar  enterprises 
would  be  a  reflection  on  their  own  past  careers.  The 
Russian  Government  is  taking  measures  to  prohibit  the 
formation  of  “  corners”  in  grain,  provisions  and  other 
food  products  ;  the  French  Chamber  of  Deputies,  too, 
has  already  passed  a  bill  to  provide  for  the  levy  of  a 
tax  on  contracts  for  the  future  delivery  of  products  or 
stocks.  Will  the  American  Senate  dare  to  delay  the 
passage  of  a  similar  measure  until  shamed  into  it  by 
the  example  of  other  countries  or  forced  into  it  by  the 
people  of  this  ? 
BREVITIES. 
Yon  make  a  big  row  when  the  bov  sifts  the  ashes 
So  poorly  that  lots  of  good  coal  tumbles  through. 
To  print  well  your  language  would  need  lots  of - —5 
The  air  all  about  you  turns  suddenly  blue. 
There  may  be  a  hundredweight  lost  through  the  winter, 
A  matter  of  twenty-five  cents,  like  enough; 
And  yet  your  hot  language  will  tear  a  big  splinter 
Right  off  that  boy’s  feelings  and  make  them  all  rough. 
But  If  you're  so  saving,  why  not  be  consistent. 
And  make  an  example  of  every  big  shirk 
You  have  ?  Start  a  splinter  on  every  assistant 
That  shows  a  high  rating  of  waste  In  his  work. 
Just  put  on  your  hat  and  go  out  to  the  stable, 
And  take  a  good  look  at  your  fresh  cow  manure; 
You’ll  find  that  one-half  of  your  cows  are  unable 
To  use  up  the  feed  that  you  give  them,  that's  sure  ? 
Why  scold  at  the  boy  with  his  unsifted  ashes, 
And  let  the  old  fraud  In  the  stable  go  free  ? 
With  unsifted  feed  which  most  certainly  smashes 
Your  profits  to  death — It's  a  mystery  to  me  ! 
Dead  dogs  kill  no  sheep. 
Quack  grass  loves  a  poor  farmer. 
It's  a  poor  “  brace  ”  that  breaks  a  trace. 
Are  cotton  hulls  profitable  for  Northern  cows  ? 
Don't  go  near  the  hen  business  In  order  to  “  get  rid  of  work.” 
That  Is  a  hard-hearted  child  who  can  knowingly  eat  a  slice  of  Its 
pet  hen  ! 
A  hollow  will  swallow  an  early  frost.  Put  young  grapes  and 
peaches  on  a  hillside. 
Irish  dairymen  feed  calves  on  cooked  potatoes  and  milk,  and  they 
thrive  like  Irish  babies. 
Let  chickens  crack  their  own  grain  unless  you  want  to  warm  them 
as  well  as  nourish  them. 
The  old  hen  knows  where  to  do  the  most  damage  In  the  garden— the 
pullet  will  have  It  all  to  learn. 
Next  week  we  shall  begin  to  print  some  of  the  many  letters  discuss¬ 
ing  the  recent  article  of  Edward  F.  Dibble. 
Gasoline  traction  engines  are  coming  Into  use.  They  are  safer  and 
more  economical  than  coal-burning  engines. 
Don’t  sell  lice  done  up  In  a  hen  package.  It  takes  a  good  many  to 
weigh  a  pound,  but  one  will  ruin  your  reputation. 
MR.  Cooper's  St.  Bernard  dog,  page  871,  would  hardly  go  to  the  res¬ 
cue  of  a  Dorset  lamb  If  Its  mother's  horns  stood  between. 
We  can't  all  be  Vanderbilts,  but  we  can  try  to  keep  our  stables  and 
hog  pens  clean.  That  Is  one  virtue  of  Vanderbtlt  farming. 
The  Devon  cow  Is  a  worker.  She  won’t  stand  at  the  bars  and  bellow 
for  more  pasture.  Lots  of  cows  try  to  make  their  throats  save  their 
heels. 
It's  the  difference  between  cost  and  valuation  that  makes  profit  or 
loss — especially  when  some  outside  party  determines  the  valuation 
without  a  word  from  us. 
“  Many  thieves  go  down  Red  Lane,”  Is  the  old  proverb  meaning  that 
we  swallow  many  things  that  steal  our  comfort  and  happiness.  Red 
Lane  Is  a  good  name  for  the  throat. 
Why  should  the  tax  payers  of  an  entire  township  have  to  contribute 
for  the  construction  of  public  works  which  are  of  benefit  exclusively 
to  the  Inhabitants  of  a  village  or  borough? 
We  don't  believe  there  is  a  fanner  in  the  country  better  qualified  by 
experience  and  observation  to  give  advice  about  poultry  than  C.  H. 
Wyckoff.  We  shall  begin  next  week  a  detailed  article  from  him  that 
will,  of  Itself,  “  be  worth  a  year’s  subscription.” 
The  old  story  has  been  that  we  cannot  make  a  genuine  Swiss  cheese 
in  this  country  because  we  “can’t  bring  the  Swiss  mountains  and  grass 
over  here.”  But  won’t  those  Brown  Swiss  cows  that  Mr.  Fish  talks 
about  get  a  Swiss  flavor  out  of  American  grass? 
Prof.  Barnard,  of  Montreal,  says  he  Is  certain  that  the  almost 
universal  healthfulness  of  the  French-Cauadlan  farmer  is  due  largely 
to  his  dally  diet  of  pea  soup.  This  soup,  he  says,  Is  a  certain  remedy 
for  constipation.  We  may  thus  find  health  In  the  soup— thereby  put¬ 
ting  disease  In  It,  too. 
If  the  farmers  of  America,  like  those  of  France,  were  generally  mas¬ 
ters  of  some  handicraft  which  would  give  them  profitable  employment 
In  weather  unfavorable  for  out-door  occupations  and  In  winter, 
wouldn’t  they  be  a  little  better  off,  even  If  they  only  mended  and  re¬ 
paired  their  own  belongings? 
The  day  Is  coming  when  every  milk  dairyman  will  be  compelled  by 
law  to  have  a  veterinarian  examine  his  cows  regularly  and  give  them 
a  character  for  health.  The  certificate  will  be  of  more  value  to  such  a 
man  than  a  chemist’s  certificate  Is  to  a  fertilizer  dealer.  Why  shouldn’t 
we  know  there  Is  health  In  our  milk  as  well  as  wealth  In  our  fertilizer? 
The  first  hospital  In  America  devoted  exclusively  to  the  treatment 
of  dogs  will  be  opened  on  December  30,  as  an  adjunct  to  the  veterinary 
department  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  It  Is  to  be  hoped  that 
useful  and  valuable  dogs  alone  will  receive  curative  treatment 
and  that  liberal  doses  of  chloroform  will  bless  all  the  others  with 
euthanasia. 
Here  Is  a  statement  of  the  wages  paid  laborers  on  the  prize  Irish 
dairy  farm:  Chief  plowman,  $1.92  per  week;  stableyard  and  garden 
man,  $1.92;  general  workmen,  $1.68;  boys.  $1.08,  and  one  dairymaid  $45 
per  year  and  board.  Each  family  has  a  house,  fuel,  garden  and  two 
sheep  besides  the  weekly  payment.  How  many  farm  hands  want  to 
start  for  Ireland? 
The  plague  of  field  mice  In  Scotland  continues  In  spite  of  heroic 
efforts  to  abate  the  nuisance.  As  a  last  resort  It  Is  proposed  to  call 
upon  Prof.  Loeffler,  a  German  who  has  discovered  a  contagious  dis¬ 
ease  which  can  be  given  the  mice  without  harm  to  other  animals. 
Prof.  L.  Is  said  to  have  delivered  Greece  from  a  mice  plague  far 
worse  than  that  In  Scotland. 
The  Florida  orange  growers  have  won  their  suit  against  the  Southern 
transportation  lines.  Two  years  ago  these  lines  made  an  arbitrary 
increase  of  rates  on  carrying  oranges.  After  two  years  of  litigation 
the  United  States  courts  decide  that  the  lines  must  make  a  rebate 
which  amounts  to  the  snug  sum  of  $100,000.  Most  of  the  “  rebates  ”  go 
to  the  big  dealers— it’s  well  to  let  the  smaller  folks  try  It  now  and  then. 
The  Massachusetts  Dairy  Commissioners  are  vigorously  hunting 
down  the  “oleo”  frauds.  Lately  about  a  dozen  Boston  dealers  In  the 
concoction  were  fined  $100.  but  appealed.  There’s  an  “ oleo  combine” 
compo  ed  of  the  disreputable  manufacturers  and  dealers  of  the  pro¬ 
duct  who  liberally  contribute  towards  a  fund  for  the  defense  of  all 
violators  of  the  “oleo”  laws  and  for  the  extension  and  perpetuation  of 
the  Iniquity. 
There  Is  more  bulk  in  ensilage  than  in  corn  fodder.  The  difference 
Is  largely  water;  the  actual  fertility  Is  no  greater  in  the  ensilage.  Why, 
then,  do  people  say  they  can  bring  a  farm  up  quicker  with  a  silo  than 
without  It  ?  The  silo  enables  them  to  feed  more  cattle  from  the  same 
ground,  but,  If  there  Is  no  more  fertility  In  ensilage,  how  Is  the  manure 
richer  ?  The  silo  enables  a  man  to  feed  more  grain  at  a  profit,  and  the 
grain  adds  to  the  manurial  value. 
The  Wise  Man  told  of  in  the  Good  Book  exclaimed:  “  Of  the  mak¬ 
ing  of  many  books  there  Is  no  end,  and  much  study  is  a  weariness  to 
the  flesh.”  What  would  he  think  of  the  multiplicity  of  papers  In 
these  latter  days?  It  seems  that  every  material,  social  and  spiritual 
Interest  of  mankind  (and  this  of  course  embraces  womankind)  Is  rep¬ 
resented  by  its  special  organ.  The  latest  exponent  of  specialties  that 
comes  to  our  desk,  Is  called  The  Clover  Leaf,  and  Is  put  forth  in  the 
belief  that  agriculture  in  the  United  States  has  reached  such  a  degree 
of  development  ns  to  assure  support  to  a  few  periodicals  devoted  to 
the  special  study  of  some  of  Its  most  Important  productions. 
