i89i 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
3i 
Kentucky Fences. 
The old worm fences lead in this locality 
—that is, worm fences, briars, bushes and 
saplings combined. Five years ago we 
voted for or against fences in this county, 
and at the same time we voted on the pro¬ 
hibition question. The colored vote was 
solid for fences, because parties told the 
negroes that the fence and prohibition 
questions were the same, and as every 
darkey voted for whisky, the anti-fence 
side was defeated. Thousands of dollars 
are spent annually in this county to keep 
up fences which are eye sores to every one 
who loves neatness and order. I wish we 
had a good fence law. F. B. HANCOCK. 
Christian County, Ky. 
Inside Fences Out. 
I have removed my inside fences and 
thus reduced the number of fields by en¬ 
larging them, and in this way I have dis¬ 
pensed with quite a large amount of fencing, 
and, of course, the length of fence rows to 
harbor weeds and briars is much less. Are 
useless fences coming down? Yes ! a great 
many are—they are rotting down and in 
their places spring up self-made hedges 
which are not “such as a good husband¬ 
man ought to maintain.” The next ques¬ 
tion is “What shall the harvest be?” It 
will be seriously affected by the weeds 
that find a safe harbor along the fences 
and send out untold millions of seeds to 
pollute the “ acres that are formed in the 
middle.” Give us larger fields and fewer 
hedge rows. Briars are all right in their 
proper places, as when cultivated for their 
fruit; but let us keep them out of the 
fence corners. ENOCH ENGLE. 
Beaver County, Pa. 
Portable Fences Coming. 
Some fences are being built in this town¬ 
ship, principally barbed wire and wire 
pickets. Rail fences are a thing of the past. 
Good oak timber is worth $50 per acre. 
The State law compels parties to keep up 
line fences where the land is used. All 
stock is prohibited from running at large. 
We have to fence to keep our own stock in; 
but not to keep other stock oUt. A good 
many highway fences are being taken away 
and the land is used for crops. 
SMITH F. WARNER. 
Shiawassee County, Mich. 
Farmers Losing Faith in Fences. 
I am very glad that The R. N.-Y. has 
devoted some of its space to the fence ques¬ 
tion—one of the most important to us 
farmers at present. In our town and 
county useless fences are coming down 
slowly but steadily, and not many new 
ones are going up, as we cannot afford 
such a tax on our business. I wish every 
reader of The Rural would give the paper 
hisjhonest opinion on this question. I think 
all the farmers who have any faith in the 
future of their business believe in doing 
away with fences as fast as possible, and in 
having the road laws enforced. The farm¬ 
ers of this State insisted on having a good 
highway law passed a great many years 
ago; but the trouble is to get it enforced. 
I thank C. H. R. for his article on this sub¬ 
ject. It is “trike as Gospel” for a great 
many other sections besides Clark’s Hill. 
I hope The Rural will keep shaking us up 
on this and other subjects. The paper is 
worth more to us than all others combined. 
Monroe County, N. Y. Stephen w. cox. 
All Road Fences Gone. 
Some years ago what is termed the “fruit 
belt ” was fenced into three, five, and ten- 
acre lots, though some were larger. To¬ 
day all the fences are good; not a vestige 
of them is left through our township. All 
road fences are also gone. Getting rid of 
them is one of the best improvements of the 
age. No new ones are being built, except in 
one case, where a negro bought two village 
lots, built a nice cottage on them and in¬ 
closed them with a nice picket fence to 
keep his stock inside. L. H. bailey, sr. 
Van Buren County, Mich. 
A GREAT many are tearing down their 
fences, without any intention of rebuilding 
them. In a short time there will be no 
fences in this township: w. o. P. 
Normal, Ill. 
There are few fences here excepting pas¬ 
ture and line fences. Highway fences also 
ha\etobe maintained as many droves of 
cattle go past from the northern part of 
the State or Canada. C. Y. P. 
W. Claremont, N. H. 
Fences here seem to be a necessary evil; 
for after a crop is gathered the stock are 
turned in to do the gleaning, and herding is 
a poor substitute for fencing. Wire is a 
great blessing in the way of cheap fences, 
though it adds to the dangers to stock from 
lightning and wire cuts. But if a wire 
fence is kept stretched tightly and no part is 
left loose, the danger from cuts is lessened 
except where horses are on both sides of the 
fence. w. s. s. 
Jo. Daviess County, Ill. 
kerton man.” Some of the Southern States 
are farming out their penal powers, and 
we have the convict lessee. The publican, 
“the Pinkerton man” and the convict 
lessee! There is a trio of birds for you ! 
All of a feather, and feathering their nests 
at the expense of good government and 
against the claims of common humanity.— 
Georgia Alliance Monthly. 
Burn up the nests. 
Break the puppy’s neck if he sucks eggs, 
and with it the bad habit. Nothing in the 
line of domestic manures is better than a 
pup—unless it be an older, especially larger, 
dog—as a fruit tree and grape vine fertil¬ 
izer. Bury the animal near the roots of 
tree or vine.—Practical Farmer. 
Not close to the roots. It will do more 
good at a short distance, where the roots 
will have to exercise in order to get to it. 
On the banks of the Thames now the 
osier-harvest is in progress. All things 
seem touched with cheapness, and osiers in 
old times worth 3s. 6d. per bundle are now 
selling at Is. 6d., probably because cheap 
Norway fish boxes have taken the place of 
English wicker baskets.—English Market 
Report. 
There is a poor outlook everywhere for 
willow culture. 
BROWN PATAGONIAN HEN “PRINCESS.” 
From Nature. Fig. 14. See First Page. 
COMMENT COLUMN. 
No harm can come from a general airing 
of the grievances of the farmers and their 
allies. If they are mistaken in assuming 
that many of the burdens they are com¬ 
pelled to bear are due to unjust and un¬ 
favorable legislation, a full discussion of 
the causes and effects of their present con¬ 
dition will be most beneficial to them and 
to the country. If they are right, the 
wrongs of which they complain cannot be 
remedied too soon. This is a government 
of the people, for the people and by the 
people, and the welfare of the masses is 
infinitely more important than the selfish 
interest of the classes.—Denver Republican. 
Right you are ! But the discussion must 
be fair and honest. 
The other day a train of the F., C. & P. 
R. R., on which we were, passed an obscure 
station where a negro woman wished to 
stop, and it backed up fully a mile for her 
accommodation. Two gentlemen of the 
superior race politely assisted her out with 
her two babies and numerous packages. 
Who says the South is relapsing into bar¬ 
barism ?—Florida Dispatch. 
But where do you get your spare time to 
“ back up fully a mile ” and what sort of 
railroad connections do you make ? 
The Romans farmed out the taxing pow¬ 
er and made the publican, who for 1,800 
years has been a proverb for insatiable 
greed and rapacious extortion. Certain 
of the United States have conferred a part 
of their police powers upon hirelings, and 
out of the transaction has come “the Pin¬ 
Kansas has elected a Congressman so 
plain and so economic that he does not 
wear socks. I wonder if he will be so plain 
while Congressman and so economic with 
the people’s money ? Let us hope, at least, 
that he will practice some lessons of econ¬ 
omy with the public coin. Parsimony we 
don’t want. Economy we do want.—Pa¬ 
cific Rural Press. 
The majority of men in this country 
do wear socks and always will. 
IT has been our lot to work labor of 
various kinds and nationalities—English, 
Americans, Irish, Italians and negroes. 
Our experience of all these has led us to 
the conclusion that here in the Southern 
States,taking everything into consideration, 
good negro labor is the best that the farmer 
can employ. It is true that the negro is 
often shiftless careless and lazy, but he Is 
not alone in possessing these undesirable 
qualities. We have worked Irish labor that 
surpassed him far in all these features. 
The Italian also has them in abundance, 
and added to him a restless, fiery nature, 
that makes him unreliable at all times. 
The white man, whether he be English, 
American, or Irish, has another disadvant¬ 
age, in that he is not fitted to stand con¬ 
tinuous toil in the hot sun year after year. 
The negro, with all his faults, is by nature 
and by acclimation adapted to withstand 
the sweltering heat of the hot summer and 
revels_in.it.—The Southern Planter. 
Correct, and he will notlbe displaced. 
How can we improve him ? 
Good Rural Books. 
The following books are selected from 
our extended list as the most desirable on 
the subjects of which they treat. Sent by 
mail post paid on receipt of price. A com¬ 
plete list of books on rural subjects sent on 
request. 
Fruits, Etc. 
American Fruit Culturist. Thomas 
(593 p. ; illustrated). $2.00 
A. B. C. of Strawberry Culture. 
Terry (140 p.; ill.) Paper.40 
Apple Culture, Field Notes on. 
Bailey (90 p. ; ill.). 75 
Fruits and Fruit Trees of America. 
Downing (1,500 p.; ill.). 5.00 
Fruit Garden. Barry (500 p.; ill.)_ 2.00 
Grape Culturist. Fuller (283 p.; ill.). 1.50 
Peach Culture. Rutter. Paper, 50 cts.; 
cloth. 1.00 
Pear Culture for Profit. Quinn 
(136 p.). 1.00 
Propagation of Plants. Fuller 
(350 p.; ill.). . . 1.50 
Propagation, Art of, JShkins. (paper; 
30 p.; ill.).30 
Small Fruits, Success with. Roe. 
(380 p.). 1.50 
Small Fruit Culturist. Fuller (325 
p. ; Hi.). i.5o 
Vegetables, Etc. 
Celery Manual...... $0.25 
Cabbages. Gregory (25 p.).30 
Carrots and Mangold-Wurtzels. .30 
Gardening for Profit. Henderson 
(350 p. ; ill.). 2.00 
Gardening for Young and Old. Harris 
(190 p. ; ill.). 1.25 
Garden and Farm Topics. Henderson. 1.50 
Gardening, Success in Market. Raw- 
son (p. 210.; ill.). 1.00 
Garden—How to make it Pay. 
Greiner (260 p.; ill.). 2.00 
How Crops Feed. Johnson (400 p.: ill.) 2.00 
How Crops Grow. Johnson (375 p.).. 2.00 
Mushroom Culture for Amateurs. 
May (Eng.; 50 p.; ill.) paper.50 
Money in the Garden. Quinn (150 p.).. 1.50 
Truck Farming at the South. Oemler 
(265 p. ; ill.). 1.50 
Floriculture. 
Azalea Culture. Halliday (110 p.; ill.) 
Special price. $0.75 
Bulbs. Rand (350 p. ; ill.). 2.50 
Every Woman Her Own Flower Gard¬ 
ener. Daisy Eyebright (130 p.)... 1.00 
Gardening for Pleasure. Henderson 
(400 p.; ill.). 2.00 
Hand-Book of Plants. Henderson 
(530 p.; Ill.). 4.00 
Home Florist, The. Long.... 1.50 
Practical Floriculture. Henderson 
(320 p.; ill.). 1.50 
Rose, The. Ellwanger (290 p.). 1.25 
General Agriculture. 
Agriculture. Storer (2 vols ). $5.00 
Ensilage and Silos. Colcord. 1.00 
The Silo. A. J. Cook.25 
Grasses and Forage Plants. Flint. 2!o0 
How the Farm Pays. Henderson and 
Crozier. 2.50 
Irrigation for Farm, Garden and Or¬ 
chard. Stewart. 1.50 
Manures, Book on. Harris (350 p.)... L75 
Culture of Farm Crops. Stewart_ 1.50 
Live Stock, Poultry, Etc. 
Cattle Feeding, Manual of. Armsby 
1./VV .. . 
Feeding Animals. Stewart. 2.00 
Milch Cows and Dairy Farming. Flint 
^ (450 p.).... 2.00 
Dairyman’s Manual. Stewart. 2 00 
Practical Poultry Keeper. Wriirht 
(236 p.; ill.)..2.00 
Poultry Culture. I. K. Felch. 1.50 
Harris on the Pig. Joseph Harris_ L50 
Veterinary Adviser. James Law_ 3.00 
Miscellaneous. 
Annals of Horticulture. Bailey. 
Paper, 60 cts.; cloth. $1 00 
Botany, Lessons in. Gray (226 p.; ill.). 1.50 
Botany, Manual of. Gray (800 p. ; 
plates.). 2.50 
Botanist and Florist. Wood (431 p. ; 
ill.). 2.00 
California Views (in color). Nutting.." .50 
Forestry, Practical. Fuller (280 p.; ill.) 1.50 
Home Acre. Roe (252 p.). 1.50 
Horticulturists’Rule Book. Bailey.. 100 
How Plants Grow. Gray (216 p.; ill.). 1.00 
Insects Injurious to Plants. Saunders 
_ (425 p. ; ill.) . 2.00 
Insects, Injurious. Treat (270 p.; ill.). 2.00 
Nature’s Serial Story. Roe. 2.50 
Ornamental Gardening. Long. 2.00 
Rural Essays. Downing. 3.00 
Suburban Homes. Scott. .V. 2 50 
Talks Afield. Bailey. »!”!! 100 
The Garden’s Story. Ellwanger...... 1*25 
Woods of the United States. Sargent. 1 00 
Any $1.00 book published in the United 
States sent prepaid, together with a year’s 
subscription to either The Rural New- 
Yorker or The American Garden, for 
$2.50. Any $1.50 book, ditto, for $2.75. 
Any $2.00 book, ditto, for §3.00, 
THE RURAL PUBLISHING CO., 
Times Building, New York. 
