88o 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
Dec.  31 
THE 
Rural  New-Yorker 
TIMES  BUILDING,  NEW  YOIIK. 
A  Rational  Weekly  Journal  for  Country  and  Suburban  Homes. 
ELBERT  8.  CARMAN.  Editor-In-Chief. 
HERBERT  W.  COLLING  WOOD,  Managing  Editor 
ERWIN  G.  FOWLER,  Associate  Editor. 
Copyrighted  1892. 
SATURDAY ,  DECEMBER  31,  1892. 
The  articles  on  chemical  fertilizers  and  sand  have 
attracted  much  attention.  Florida  papers  tell  us  that 
farmers  in  that  flowery  land  long  ago  found  out  the 
value  of  this  combination.  A  friend  in  Massachusetts 
writes  thus : 
1  have  been  greatly  Interested  In  The  Rural's  sketch  of  the  opera¬ 
tions  of  the  farmer  on  the  Long  Island  sand  plains— a  noble  example 
of  what  may  be  done  by  pluck  and  energy  directed  by  an  observant 
mind.  Does  the  water  stratum  lie  too  deep  for  pumping?  It  would 
seem  as  though  It  should  pay  to  go  down  quite  deep  If  a  good  supply 
could  be  obtained. 
Sooner  or  later  Long  Island  farmers  will  have  to  go 
down  for  water.  With  a  suitable  system  of  irrigation, 
the  island  could  feed  Brooklyn  and  New  York  without 
trouble,  and  this  only  shows  the  possibilities  of  an  area 
of  poor  land.  *  # 
What  a  modest,  unselfish,  public-spirited  institution 
is  the  Distillers’  and  Cattle  Feeders’  Trust!  The 
present  tax  on  whisky  is  1)0  cents  per  gallon,  and  the 
Trust  has  just  secured  the  introduction  into  Congress 
of  a  bill  increasing  it  to  SI. 25  per  gallon  as  an  excellent 
way  of  making  good  the  anticipated  deficiency  in  the 
national  revenue.  Of  course,  as  usual  with  such  jobs, 
“there’s  no  politics”  in  this  proposal  ;  hence  a  Repub¬ 
lican  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  has  recommended  an 
increase  in  the  whisky  tax  and  a  Democratic  Repre¬ 
sentative  has  named  the  figure.  As  the  bill  would, 
however,  put  $10,000,000  in  the  pocket  of  the  Whisky 
Ring  on  the  day  of  its  passage  on  account  of  the 
increased  value  of  the  Trust’s  holdings,  this  power¬ 
ful  stimulus  to  illicit  distillation  and  revenue  swind- 
ing  is  hardly  likely  to  become  a  law. 
#  * 
What  is  the  financial  value  of  an  attractive  name 
for  a  farm  ?  The  bestowal  of  distinguishing  names  is 
becoming  somewhat  general  ;  why  not  give  sufficient 
thought  and  deliberation  to  the  selection  of  pleasing 
and,  where  practicable,  characteristic  ones  ?  Doesn’t 
such  a  designation  help  to  make  the  pleasant  associa¬ 
tions  of  a  place  more  lasting  ?  Then,  again,  the  owner 
of  “  Rrookside,”  “  The  Oaks,”  “  Elmswood  ”  or  “  Ray- 
view  ”  can  hardly  be  looked  upon  as  “a  common 
farmer.”  Moreover,  such  a  name  is  a  conscious  or 
unconscious  stimulus  to  the  owner’s  best  efforts  to  im¬ 
prove  and  beautify  the  farm,  and  take  precautions 
that  its  products  shall  be  first-class  and  leave  it  only 
in  first-rate  shape.  Then,  if  the  goods  aie  stamped 
with  the  name  of  the  place,  hasn’t  it  a  commercial 
value  once  its  reputation  has  been  established  ?  Let 
there  be  more  distinguishing  names  for  farms,  and 
let  them  be  always  attractive  and  characteristic. 
*  * 
Various  flowers  have  been  selected  by  several  of 
the  States  as  their  respective  floral  emblems  ;  what 
should  be  the  national  floral  emblem  of  the  United 
States  ?  Representative  Rutler  of  Iowa,  believes  it 
should  be  the  pansy,  and  has  introduced  a  bill  into 
Congress  conferring  that  honor  upon  it.  The  senti¬ 
ment  expressed  in  connection  with  this  emblem  is  to 
be:  “Justice,  liberty,  union,  culture  and  peace,”  the 
last  three  words  to  constitute  the  motto.  The  inaugur¬ 
ation  of  the  emblem  is  to  be  fittingly  celebrated  on 
May  1,  1893,  in  connection  with  the  opening  of  the 
Worlds  F air.  What  particular  abilities  or  acquire¬ 
ments  especially  fit  Representative  Rutler  for  the 
selection  of  a  national  symbol  when  so  much  differ¬ 
ence  of  opinion  exists  as  to  the  most  appropriate  State 
ones,  we  do  not  know  ;  but  wouldn’t  it  be  juster  and 
more  characteristic  of  our  democratic  institutions  to 
appeal  to  the  suffrage  of  the  people  at  large  on  so 
momentous  a  matter  ? 
•  * 
If  you  should  spend  your  hard-earned  money  for 
cord-wood  and  then  burn  it  up  out-doors  where  not 
half  the  heat  was  utilized,  you  would  not  feel  fully 
satisfied  to  say  :  “  Well,  I’ve  got  the  ashes  anyway.” 
The  wood  cost  cash  and  it  takes  many  a  good  hour’s 
work  to  buy  wood  enough  to  make  a  bushel  of  ashes. 
I  he  ashes  never  can  give  you  back  the  money  you 
paid  for  the  wood.  Unless  you  get  all  that  money 
back  in  heat  for  cooking  food  or  making  the  house 
comfortable  you  have  lost  money.  Now  this  is  but  a 
plain  illustration  of  the  folly  of  feeding  cows  for 
manure  chiefly.  The  hay  and  the  grain  represent 
good,  hard  cash,  and  just  as  you  can’t  get  economical 
heat  out  of  a  fire-place  or  an  old  stove,  you  can’t  get  a 
prioe  for  your  hay  and  grain  out  of  a  poor  cow.  To 
figure  a  big  price  on  the  manure  is  like  figuring  a  big 
price  on  the  ashes  under  the  out-door  soap  kettle. 
Unless  your  cow  can  give  you  a  good  square  profit  on 
her  food  without  counting  the  manure  worth  a  cent, 
the  sooner  you  get  rid  of  her,  the  better  for  the  health 
of  your  pocket-book.  #  # 
Elsewhere  in  this  issue,  J.  H.  Hale  advocates  the 
practice  of  concentrating  one’s  energies  upon  one  kind 
of  fruit  instead  of  dividing  the  area  and  the  attention 
among  several.  W.  C.  Rarry  advocates  the  growing 
of  several  kinds  instead  of  confining  the  attention  to 
one.  Which  is  right  ?  Is  it  possible  for  both  to  be  ? 
Each  practices  what  he  advocates,  and  each  is  success¬ 
ful.  It  is  somewhat  paradoxical  to  assume  that  two 
practices  diametrically  different  are  each  right,  but 
why  not  ?  A  physician  advises  one  person  to  eat 
sparingly  of  a  very  few  articles  of  diet,  and  another  to 
eat  freely  of  almost  anything  his  appetite  craves.  Yet 
both  prescriptions  are  right.  The  difference  is  evi¬ 
dently  in  the  individuals  concerned.  Will  not  the 
same  apply  in  the  other  case  ?  It  would  be  suicidal 
for  some  growers  to  devote  all  their  energies  to  a 
single  item,  while  others  might  find  this  the  best 
possible  policy.  Success  doesn’t  all  depend  upon  the 
individual,  but  doesn’t  a  great  deal  of  it  ?  When 
advice  is  given,  doesn’t  much  of  the  resulting  success 
or  failure  depend  upon  the  capabilities  of  the  person 
receiving  it  ?  #  # 
That  old  humbug  and  fraud,  J.  M.  Rain,  seems  to 
be  meditating  another  onslaught  upon  the  pockets  of 
the  unwary.  At  least  the  new  scheme  just  stated  in 
the  papers  is  worthy  of  that  genius.  The  daily 
papers  contain  long  and  well-written  accounts  of  the 
great  economy  of  growing  your  own  broilers  Nothing 
but  a  small  room  or  cellar,  an  incubator  and  a  brooder 
is  needed.  Ruy  ordinary  eggs  in  the  market,  hatch 
them  in  an  incubator,  put  them  in  a  brooder  and  throw 
in  food  now  and  then  and  the  whole  thing  is  done — 
you  have  a  constant  supply  of  broilers  on  tap — the 
whole  thing  being  done  in  an  ordinary  closet.  The 
article  always  ends  with  a  strong  appeal  to  city  people 
to  go  into  the  business.  Of  course  we  are  told  about  a 
special  incubator  and  brooder  without  which  the  plan 
cannot  succed.  That  is  the  old  Rain  ear-mark  every 
time.  This  pleasant  bait  is  apt  to  fool  many  city 
people,  and  probably  some  so-called  farmers  will  bite 
at  it  also.  We  hope  none  of  our  readers  will  feel  any 
effects  from  it  other  than  an  increased  demand  for 
eggs  to  run  those  closet  incubators. 
*  * 
With  this  issue  The  R.  N.-Y.  makes  its  final  bow  for 
1892.  “  Next  year”  is  now  but  a  week  off.  The  space 
of  time  in  which  we  hoped  to  accomplish  so  much  has 
almost  passed  us.  The  past  year  has  been  a  good  one 
for  The  R.  N.-Y.,  and  we  are  glad  to  tell  our  readers 
that  the  new  year  brings  us  every  assurance  of  in¬ 
creased  prosperity.  We  have  made  thousands  of  new 
friends,  and,  what  is  far  better,  we  have  kept  our  old 
ones.  Some  of  course,  for  one  reason  or  another,  will 
leave  us  with  this  issue.  We  wish  they  would  stay 
with  us,  but  in  any  event  let  them  go  as  friends.  We 
wish  them  well.  Success  and  prosperity  go  with  them! 
J  ust  a  word  to  those  who  are  to  go  through  1893  with  us. 
We  never  beg  people  to  take  The  R.  N.-Y.,  nor  do  we 
promise  to  devote  extra  space  to  a  discussion  of  every 
man’s  special  hobby.  If  we  did  we  could  have  no  in¬ 
dependence  whatever.  Our  ambition  is  to  make  The 
R.  N.-Y.  so  interesting,  practical  and  reliable,  so  true 
to  the  real  interests  of  agriculture  that  it  will  be  a 
household  necessity  in  every  farmer’s  family.  That  is 
our  ambition,  and  all  we  have  to  say  here  is  that  we 
shall  spare  no  labor  or  expense  to  make  The  R.  N.-Y. 
for  1893  better  than  ever  before  in  its  history.  We 
hope  that  an  analysis  of  the  paper  for  next  year  will 
show  an  increased  percentage  of  nitrogen  (novelty), 
potash  (profit),  and  phosphoric  acid  (practical  aid). 
*  * 
Strong  pressure  is  exercised  on  Congress  by  the 
Nicaragua  Canal  Company  and  its  friends  to  secure  a 
guarantee  by  the  United  States  Government  of  $100,- 
000,000  in  bonds,  which  the  company  declares  will  be 
enough  to  complete  the  canal.  If  the  government 
pays  for  the  work,  why  shouldn’t  it  own  it?  Recause, 
it  is  alleged,  it  couldn’t  own  and  operate  such  an  un¬ 
dertaking  on  a  foreign  soil.  Rut  it  is  proposed  to  give 
it  a  first  mortgage  on  it,  and  a  controlling  interest  in 
it.  If  the  government  could  not  foreclose  the  mort¬ 
gage  on  the  plea  that  it  could  not  with  propriety  own 
the  canal,  what  would  become  of  the  security  for  the 
$100,000,000  of  guaranteed  bonds?  According  to  the 
scheme  before  Congress  now,  it  looks  as  if  the  Nica¬ 
ragua  Construction  Company  would  get  the  government 
bonds  for  digging  the  big  ditch,  and  then  the  Nica¬ 
ragua  Canal  Company,  composed  of  substantially  the 
same  people  or  their  dummies,  would  own  the  prop¬ 
erty.  Hasn’t  this  a  very  strong  resemblance  to  the  old 
Pacific  Railroad  schemes,  with  their  infamous  Credit 
Mob.ilier  attachments?  To-day  France  js  terribly  agi¬ 
tated  throughout  and  a  revolution  is  seriously  threat¬ 
ened  on  account  of  the  frauds  perpetrated  on  the 
600,000  investors  of  the  collapsed  Panama  Canal,  though, 
according  to  the  latest  information,  only  $4,000,000 
were  misappropriated.  To  avoid  a  similar  scandal 
here,  is  Congress  virtually  to  donate  as  a  gift  from  our 
65,000,000  people  the  enormous  sum  of  $100,000,000  for 
the  construction  of  a  similar  work,  remotely  for  the 
benefit  of  the  nation  and  the  world  at  large,  but  im¬ 
mediately  for  the  enrichment  of  a  handful  of  influen¬ 
tial  lobbyists?  If  the  work  will  be  half  as  useful  and 
profitable  as  its  promoters  pretend,  cannot  enough 
enterprise  and  capital  be  found  among  private  parties 
in  this  and  other  countries  to  undertake  it?  Then 
again,  isn’t  it  more  than  likely  that  the  desired  $100,- 
000,000  would  be  only  the  first  installment  of  the 
amount  to  be  demanded  of  the  government  which, 
having  once  become  entangled  in  it,  couldn't  well 
refuse  to  make  sufficient  advances  to  complete  the 
gigantic  undertaking  ? 
*  * 
BREVITIES. 
The  Red  Man  made  his  succotash  and  served  It  piping  hot. 
Though  he  possessed  no  metal  dish,  or  stone  or  earthen  pot. 
His  only  kettle  was  a  dish  of  birch  bark  thin  and  frail; 
Butin  his  dictionary  there  was  no  such  word  as  fall. 
A  smear  of  gum  along  the  seams  made  water-tight  his  dish: 
Then  on  the  bottom  did  he  put  a  goodly  store  of  fish, 
A  bone  or  two,  then  lots  of  corn,  then  beans— It  all  was  planned — 
Potatoes,  meat,  or  anything  that  chanced  to  be  on  hand. 
Then  water  from  some  woodland  spring  he  brought  with  patient  toll, 
And  then  the  mighty  question  rose,  how  could  he  make  It  boll  ? 
He  put  some  stones  within  the  fire  and  got  them  roasted  well, 
Then  dropped  them  In  his  birchen  dish — no  need  for  me  to  tell 
How  to  the  succotash  straightway  the  stones  gave  up  their  heat. 
The  water  boiled  and  cooked  a  dish  tit  for  a  king  to  eat. 
The  birch  bark  pot  Is  out  of  date,  but  there  are  men  to-day 
Who  have  to  make  life’s  succotash  In  juBt  about  that  way; 
Too  poor  to  buy  a  metal  pot,  they  make,  with  sturdy  toll, 
A  dish  of  bright  ambition's  bark— It  will  not  stand  a  boll; 
They  line  the  dish  with  character,  with  faith  and  common  sense, 
With  courage  and  Integrity— the  mixture  Is  Immense. 
The  stone  of  reputation  then  they  roll  In  public  view. 
And  honest  competition’s  lire  will  heat  It  through  and  through, 
Until,  dropped  In  ambition’s  dish,  the  succotash  Is  cooked, 
And  those  young  men  will  serve  success,  for  Fortune  has  them  booked. 
Last  shot  for  1892. 
The  Business  Hen  makes  a  busy  nes  t. 
Watek  will  soak  through  frozen  ground. 
Dobs  the  corn  crop  beat  the  beet  crop  for  cow  feed? 
Too  many  pounds  of  self-esteem  will  bust  the  human  boiler. 
No  honest  hen  will  ever  tackle  a  new-laid  egg  without  a  cackle. 
How  many  eggs  do  you  have  to  set  to  get  one  good  laying  hen  ? 
Who  will  knowingly  eat  an  egg  laid  by  a  cholera-stricken  hen? 
“Sleepy  cream”  is  what  the  Scotch  call  cream  that  will  not  churn. 
Wanted — one  reason  why  a  calf  should  not  grind  Its  own  oatmeal. 
When  you  hold  goods  for  a  better  market,  do  you  farm  or  speculate? 
What  county  In  this  country  do  you  think  has  wasted  most  money 
buying  bogus  trees  and  plants  ? 
A  stye  on  your  eye  gives  discomfort  and  pain,  but  an  eye  on  your 
sty  makes  your  fat  porkers  gain. 
A  soiled  white  egg  Is  worse  than  a  soiled  brown  one,  but  a  clean 
white  Is  the  handsomer  of  the  two. 
Did  Mr.  WyckolT  have  his  eye  on  your  place  when  he  made  that 
word  picture  of  farm  poultry  keeping  ? 
Wouldn’t  you  be  better  off  now  If  you  had  killed  every  sick  hen 
the  moment  you  discovered  that  It  was  really  ailing  ? 
There’s  merit  In  a  Jersey  calf  well  bred  and  kept— Indeed,  he'll 
boom  the  butter  crop  by  half  with  no  more  cows  to  feed. 
How  would  you  feel  with  a  big  lot  of  saturated  sponges  tied  to  your 
back?  About  like  a  sheep  that  has  been  forced  to  Btay  out  In  the 
rain. 
You  can  pay  your  rent  by  keeping  your  stable  well  filled  with 
absorbents.  You  can  spend  your  rent  by  making  an  absorbent  of 
yourself  and  absorbing  liquor. 
Our  horses  thrive  well  on  linseed  meal  as  a  part  of  their  grain  ra¬ 
tion.  At  the  same  time  no  food,  except  cotton-seed  meal,  should  be  fed 
with  more  caution  at  first. 
Hollow  horn  and  hollow  tall  make  the  farmer’s  profits  fall.  When 
the  horn  and  tall  are  hollow,  what  condition  does  that  follow?  Hollow 
stomach,  lack  of  care;  you  will  find  the  cause  right  there. 
IT  is  the  business  of  a  young  rooster  to  get  so  big  that  he  will  sell  at 
his  first  crow  for  enough  to  pay  for  his  own  food  and  that  eaten  by  his 
sister  up  to  her  first  egg.  The  bird  that  has  done  that  has  nobly 
worked  out  his  destiny. 
During  the  cholera  scare  In  Prussia  the  police  authorities  of  a 
large  town  Issued  a  proclamation  against  the  house  fly,  stating  that  he 
spread  the  germs  of  cholera.  Here  is  an  additional  reason  why  you 
should  “  keep  the  files  off  you.” 
Mr.  Birge  with  his  ensilage,  soiling  and  grain  hay,  see  page  878,  can 
be  said  to  have  built  a  mansard  roof  and  a  piazza  on  his  silo.  Think 
of  the  milk  on  an  acre  under  such  a  system  of  cropping.  Mr.  Birge 
will  tell  us  In  a  short  time  how  he  came  to  start  such  a  system. 
Buckwheat  hulls  are  lirst-rate  for  the  floor  of  a  chicken  house. 
Some  of  our  readers  say  they  would  hardly  dare  to  feed  buckwheat 
grains  In  the  hulls  because  they  fear  the  hens  could  not  lind  them. 
Have  more  faith  In  your  hens.  You  can  safely  offer  a  dime  for  every 
grain  they  leave. 
The  It.  N.-Y.  Is  glad  to  put  before  Its  readers  anything  that  teaches 
the  true  and  Inspiring  in  American  farming.  Picture,  scientific 
essay,  practical  experience  and  story  all  have  their  use.  Wo  now 
employ  them  all,  having  begun  in  this  Issue  an  excellent  story,  founded 
upon  fact,  entitled  “Janet  Thorne’s  Temper.”  It  will  pay  you  to  read  It. 
Sir  Wilfrid  Lawson  once  paid  an  enormous  price  for  a  Short-horn 
bull.  When  the  animal  died  he  put  this  epitaph  over  Its  grave: 
Here  lies  Baron  Oxford  5th, 
Quiet  and  cool, 
Bred  by  a  duke  and 
Bought  by  a  fool. 
We  wonder  If  you  can  justly  put  such  a  card  on  the  grave  of  some  of 
your  ventures! 
IN  California,  they  tell  us,  thousands  of  quails  are  trapped  |and 
snared  though  there  is  a  law  against  It.  The  legislature  that  passed 
the  law  neglected  to  make  it  the  special  business  of  any  officer  to 
enforce  it.  It  is,  therefore,  nobody's  business,  with  the  u-ual  result. 
Some  of  the  snarers  are  so  ashamed  of  themselves  that  they  put  the 
quail  In  a  bag  and  then  fire  a  charge  of  fine  buckshot  at  It— thus  giving 
the  buyer  an  idea  that  a  “hunter”  killed  It ! 
The  tariff  question  seems  to  be  pretty  well  settled,  so  far  as  the 
wishes  of  the  people  go.  It  now  only  remains  to  be  seen  whether  the 
incoming  Administration  will  carry  out  Its  party’s  promises.  The  next 
great  question  to  come  up  for  settlement  Is  evidently  that  of  the  “free 
coinage  of  sliver.”  We  think  there  is  a  growing  desire  among  farmers 
to  experiment  with  this  matter.  We  are  arranging  with  a  number  of 
pronounced  “free  silver  ”  advocates  to  tell  us  briefly  why  and  how 
their  pet  measure  would  help  farmers.  It  Is  well  to  know  what.ls 
claimed  for  It. 
