6 
JAN. 3 
I Have Made My Will. 
C. M. Lusk, Bkoome County, N,Y —In 
The R. N.-Y. for December 13, T. 13. Terry 
asks me if I have made my will. Yes, I 
made it about 12 years ago, and have seen 
no reason to change it since. I willed my 
property, both personal and real, to my 
wife unconditionally. In case I die first I 
leave her by will in the same condition as 
to property in which should she die first, 
she will leave me by the law of the State of 
New York. The persons who witnessed my 
will said that my disposition of the prop¬ 
erty would be all right so long as she re¬ 
mained a widow. They said that they 
would want the property to go to the chil- 
• dren in case she should marry again. I 
told them that I would leave her in the 
same condition in which the law would 
leave me should she die first. In that case 
I could marry as soon as I liked if I could 
find any woman to have me, and I wanted 
her to have the same privilege. I could sell 
out and spend the money and I wanted her 
to be able to do the same. I could sell 
everything before the youngest child was 
of age and no child could hinder me from 
selling, and I wanted her to have the same 
privilege without any dictation. I believe 
that the mother’s interest in the children 
is greater than the father’s. Then, why 
have any fear that she will not do as well ? 
I came to the above conclusion after acting 
as administrator of four different estates. 
Three of them were small and in each case 
the wife by her industry, perseverance and 
economy had done as much as the husband 
to secure the home; but she—poor woman! 
—was left just what the law allowed her 
of the personal property, and only a life in¬ 
terest in one-third of the real estate. This 
was absurd. I cannot see why my wife 
should not have the same right to the 
property she has helped to accumulate in 
case I should die, that I would have should 
she die. Husbands protect your wives. In 
life prepare for death. " Be ye also ready, 
for in such an hour as ye know not death 
cometh.” Some men are so afraid that 
their wives will marry soon after their 
demise that they leave them as poor as the 
law allows them. People do not make as 
much preparation for going to the next 
world for all eternity as they make for 
a short journey to be absent a few months. 
If a person is in debt, he should insure his 
life, so that if he dies in debt his family will 
not have to leave the good old home. I 
hold this to be imperative. 
R. N.-Y.—What does Mr. Lusk mean 
when he says he has left his property, real 
and personal, to his wife, unconditionally, 
in order that he may leave her by will in 
the same condition as to property in which, 
if she died first, she would leave him by 
the laws of the State of New York f If he 
means that a wife owning no property be¬ 
yond her connubial interest in the joint 
property of the couple, dies first, the hus¬ 
band will come into full and disposable 
ownership of the entire property, he is cor¬ 
rect; but if the wife owned property in her 
own right, the case would be diiferent. In 
this State, a married woman may dispose 
of her property by will as she chooses, and 
need not leave a dollar or a dollar’s worth 
to her husband. If a married woman dies 
without having made a will, leaving a 
husband and children by him, the husband 
has a life interest in the real estate, the fee 
going to the children in equal parts ; that 
is, the property goes to them equally after 
their father’s death. One-third e>f the per¬ 
sonal property goes to the husband or 
rather widower and two thirds to the 
children in equal parts. During her life¬ 
time, too, a married woman in New York 
State who is possessed of real estate as her 
separate property, may bargain, sell or 
convey such property as if she were un¬ 
married. Before 1862 the husband’s con¬ 
sent in writing was necessary to complete 
the conveyance, except in cases where the 
consent couldn’t be obtained by reason of 
absence, insauity or other disability, but 
now his consent is not necessary in any case. 
Low-topped Trees. 
I. J. B., Titusville, N. J.— I have been 
advocating low topped fruit trees for the 
past 20 years. To day there is a very heavy 
wind and there isn’t much frost in the 
ground. It has been raining hard for 
about 10 hours so that the ground is soft 
and consequently the trees with high tops 
are swaying about; some of them are 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
leaning considerably, and will never 
straighten up, while those of larger size 
and lower tops are not injured in the least. 
Why will planters follow the old practice ? 
The shelter is all cut away now or nearly 
so, and we must choose between high- 
topped trees, a few of which stand straight 
while the great majority lean to all points 
of the compass at all sorts of Inclinations 
from the perpendicular to the horizontal ; 
and low-headed trees standing securely up¬ 
right. It is the leverage afforded by the 
high-topped trees that does the mischief. 
Likes the Sunny South. 
A. W. S., Americus, Ga.— The hard 
times and hard living of the vast majority 
of the farming communities mentioned in 
The Rural are incomprehensible. I think 
these unfortunates had better remove to 
this section, where land is cheaper, 
the climate incomparably finer, and the 
health of the people generally better, and 
where good living at least can be secured by 
even half an effort. It is true they will 
have to unlearn some things, and there is a 
considerable difference in the seasons for 
planting crops, but if they will use common 
sense at the end of three years they couldn’t 
be induced to brave the disagreeabilities of 
life at the cold North. As for the negro 
farm laborers, on any Saturdays, show- 
days and Sundays we can show on the 
streets of any of our towns the fattest, 
sleekest, merriest, freest from care, best 
dressed and most inefficient laborers in the 
world. The better class of mechanics at 
the North do not dress as well as these 
negro farm hands, who live for the day, 
caring not what the morrow may bring. 
This is true of them as a class. I know 
many colored farmers who are prospering, 
though when they get to running four or 
five plows and smoking cigars we know 
failure will generally soon follow. When 
the old ones die the young ones will have 
to give way to whites who will work. Then 
the wealth and prosperity of this .section 
will surpass that of any on this continent. 
Hating cold as I do, I would not live North¬ 
west if a whole State were given to me as 
an inducement. 
One Cause of Tree Death. 
Geo. H. Glover, Tolland Co., Conn.— 
For a number of years I have noticed, as I 
passed through orchards, that there were a 
number of trees whose tops were entirely 
dead; while others that looked older were 
as full of life as ever. I began to look for 
the cause. While mowing in ian orchard 
about three years ago I came across one tree 
which was covered with running or climb¬ 
ing ivy. I thought that perhaps that was 
the destroyer. I cut away from the roots 
of the apple tree every vine I could. A little 
way from this tree stood another on which 
there was about the same amount of ivy. I 
let this alone. The result has proved to my 
mind the correctness of my suspicion. 
The tree I freed from ivy is fine and grow¬ 
ing, whereas the other is entirely dead. I 
have also noticed that other trees are af¬ 
fected in much the same way. Near my 
residence stands a maple whose trunk is 
covered with the same life-sucking vine 
and one can see the difference between it 
and its companions that are free from this 
destroyer. 
Pop-corn. 
Alva Agee, Galli\ Co., Ohio.— In a 
late number of The R N.-Y., an inquirer 
wants information about pop corn If the 
crop is for market, the variety planted is a 
matter of importance. The dark-colored is 
not wanted by consumers. All the so called 
golden varieties should ba tested as to pop¬ 
ping qualities before they are planted. 
Some of them have a thick, tough bran that 
is undesirable. Common rice corn sells 
well and is a good yielder. Pop corn makes 
a very tender growth at first, and it is best 
to seed heavily and thin when four or five 
inches high. It will probably yield best in 
drills: but as I have never checked any, I 
cannot speak from experience in compara 
tive tests. Two or three stalks can be left 
in a hill, the hills being 15 to 18 Inches 
apart in the row. As the growth is slender, 
attention must be given to thinning in 
time. I left a field of six acres until the 
corn was a foot high, and the crop was con - 
siderably injured. 
Husking is expensive, as it costs six or 
seven cents per bushel of 40 pounds—two 
level half bushels. Unless the seed is ex¬ 
ceptionally pure, some of the corn will be 
too large to be marketable. Some seeds¬ 
men cull out the best of a lot and sell it for 
pure seed, and it appears so; but a crop 
from it will have mixed ears I have lost 
as much as 15 bushels out of 100 from this 
cause. Care must be taken to cure the 
corn well. The silks and ribbons should 
be taken off, and the corn be cribbed for a 
year. Consumers do not want it until one 
year old, as it will not pop well before. 
From 50 to 60 bushels of 40 pounds can be 
raised per acre, and the average price is 
nearly three cents per pound, although, one 
year ago, I sold 450 bushels at 2 to 2%cents, 
owing to overproduction. It is absolutely 
necessary to exclude all mice from it. Any 
taint or discoloring is ruinous. When every¬ 
thing works right, pop-corn is a paying 
crop, but it requires a good, fine soil, pure 
seed; a good crib, and ability on the part 
of the grower to wait a year or two for 
returns. 
M. R., Presque Isle, Me.— On page 839, 
The Rural says the right place for the 
scrub is in the barnyard of a scrub man. 
What is a scrub cow ? One of no partic¬ 
ular blood ? [Yes.— Eds.] Now if some of 
the scrub cows had the feed some thorough¬ 
breds get they would vastly improve. I 
have a 15 year old scrub that makes eight 
pounds of butter each week. She is not 
fed grain, getting only corn-stalks. When 
younger she made 11 pounds of butter in 
seven days. Two of her heifers yield 15 
pounds of btftter in seven days, besides all 
the cream used in the family. I raise their 
calves on the skim milk. True, the heifers’ 
sire was a Jersey; but I have a good word 
for the scrub. 
R N.-Y.—There is no doubt that some of 
the scrubs are excellent cows. Nobody 
keeps records of their performances, how¬ 
ever, for it would be impossible to boom 
them, and records are kept mainly as aids 
in booming. Such exceptionally good 
scrubs are the very best foundation for fine 
grade progeny when crossed with a good 
specimen of a good breed. Grade cows 
from such a cross are likely to beat the 
ordinary run of purebred animals of the 
sire’s breed if they receive the same feed 
and care. To run down scrub cattle would 
be to run down four fifths of all the cattle 
in the country. But there’s no denying 
that if all were crossed with purebred 
animals the results would be worth tens of 
millions of dollars more than the present 
race, and the better the scrub foundation, 
the better the offspring. 
In the manufacture of superphosphates 
a large quantity of gypsum is the result. 
This remains mixed with the soluble 
phosphate as a mere dilutent. It would be 
a considerable gain, as Prof. Storer points 
out, for all parties interested, if some cheap 
and easy method could be devised for get¬ 
ting rid of this encumbrance; for, as com¬ 
pared with the value of acid phosphate, the 
gypsum is of insignificant worth as a fer¬ 
tilizer, and the cost of transporting it is 
much larger than its worth. 
When writing to advertisers, please 
mention The Rural New-Yorker. 
Scrofula 
Pervads the whole human family. Pimples, boils 
and other small eruptions are as certainly caused by 
scrofula as the dreadful running sores, swellings In 
the neck, etc., and should be cured as soon as pos¬ 
sible. 
You can rely upon Hood's Sarsaparilla as a positive 
remedy for every form of scrofula, salt rheum and 
all other humors. It eradicates every Impurity, and 
vitalizes and enriches the blood. 
Hood’s Sarsaparilla 
Sold by all druggists. $1; six fo- *5. Prepared only 
by C. I. HOOD & CO., Apothecaries, Lowell, Mass. 
IOO Doses One Dollar 
Highly concentrated. Dose small. In quantity i 
less than one-tenth cent a day per hen. Prevents and 
cures all diseases. If you can’t get it, we send by mail 
LEADS ' * THEM ALL' 
Sells best, Works best, Warranted best, 50,000 in 
use. One at wholesale if you send now for illus- 
tratedcircuiarto G. H. Pounder, Ft. Atkinson,Wis. 
F> PISO'S CURE FOR 
CURES WHERE ALL ELSE FAILS. 
Best Cough Syrup. Tastes good. Use 
in time. Sold by druggists. 
CONSUMPTION 
BEECHAM S PILLS 
(THE GREAT ENGLI8H REMEDY.) 
Cure BILIOUS and 
Nervous ILLS. 
25cts. a Box. 
Oir ATiTj druggists. 
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1 
| THE MARCHAL & SMITH 
!> 
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ESTABLISHED 1859 
INCORPORATED 1877 
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HOMES FOR ALL 
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along the 
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IN ALABAMA. 
VIRGINIA FARM 
FOR SALE. 
Located at Claremont, on James River. Twenty 
acres unimproved. Will supply $100 worth fruit 
trees and vines to purchaser. For particulars, 
Address G. R. K., care Rural New-Yorker, 
