1891 
^3 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Business. 
STILL AT IT ! 
We have just received the catalogue of John Lewis 
Childs for 1891. It is at once the most captivating and 
presumptive of all the catalogues we have ever examined. 
Most of the successful merchants of to-day strive to make 
money, while at the same time they secure for themselves 
an increased future patronage as a result of honorable 
dealings. “D-n the honorable dealings; I propose to 
make money,” is evidently the motto of this too-enterpris- 
ing man. It may be that the good public “ love to be 
humbugged,” and that ere the humbug shall have lost its 
charm, our bold friend will have accomplished his purpose, 
and that in the security of a quickly-made fortune, he may 
smile at the credulity of the public that hastens to buy his 
“specialties,” many of which, though disguised by elaborate 
and cunning praise, are really as old as the hills. Let us 
say that a careful examination of this masterpiece of 
captivating assumption reveals that the regular lists are 
simply those which are in plain language presented in 
other catalogues as the standard varieties of the times, 
while many of his alleged novelties are scarcely less than 
make-believes. The R. N.-Y. has been accused of having 
a grudge against this man and of abusing its privileges as 
a widely circulated rural paper, to injure him in any pos¬ 
sible way. The truth is, however, that the writer of this 
note has never seen Mr. Childs ; that he is indebted to him 
for kindly words, appreciative of his journalistic work, 
and for a number of plants sent to the Rural Grounds for 
trial, with Mr. Childs’s compliments. The R. N.-Y. is 
working for the public good; that is to say, in the interests 
of those who buy plants or seeds, whether for pleasure, 
for the market or for a living. It is waging a war against 
the gross exaggerations of picture and text that are seen 
in too many of the catalogues that are issued by seedsmen 
and nurserymen who are conducting their business for 
quick profits and for an easy fortune, regardless of the 
interests of their innocent patrons. 
A man who goes to the grocery or dry goods store is 
supposed to know what he wants and to have a certain 
amount of knowledge to guide him. He sees and 
examines what he buys, and selects or rejects accordingly. 
Confidence in the seller has comparatively little to do with 
his selection and purchase. Not so with the country 
person who examines the catalogues for which he sends or 
which are gratuitously sent to him. He is prone to assume 
that the illustrations and descriptions, allowing a reason¬ 
able margin for undue praise, are moderately trustworthy 
and to measure their value according to the claim made. 
He makes out his order for plants or seeds or both, trust¬ 
ing to the honor of the individual or firm to which he 
sends. He pays in advance and is ignorant of the quality 
of his plants or seeds ; whether they are or are not true to 
name; whether they are dead or alive, until they are 
planted and grow or fail to grow. In the latter case, 
compensation rests wholly upon the integrity of the 
seller. It is, in a sense, a one-sided business, and it is the 
sacred duty of all rural journals that assume to be the 
guardians of the husbandman’s interests, to see to it that 
justice is done. 
From careful investigation, The R. N.-Y. assumed a year 
and more ago that John Lewis Childs was, with a rare 
shrewdness and ability, imposing upon those who look to 
horticultural or farm papers for guidance in such matters. 
It took Mr. Childs to task, first in a mild way ; then with 
some seriousness, and, finally, in the face of an arrogant 
assumption on his part, in dead earnest. Though the 
proof offered of his trickery was ample, not one of our 
brother contemporaries joined us in condemning him. 
His catalogue for 1891 is no less open to condemnation 
than its 1890 predecessor. Its 125 pages are alive with 
superlative, wily exaggerations that, while sickening to 
the experienced gardener or farmer, will yet deceive the 
confiding mass of those who, influenced by their love of 
the new, the wonderful and beautiful, and unguarded by 
the repeated disappointments which the experienced may 
have undergone, will order confidently and hopefully of 
the wonders so glowingly set forth. This much in a gen¬ 
eral way for Mr. Childs’s new catalogue. Specifically, let 
us enter into a few details : 
It will be remembered that The R. N.-Y. exposed the 
falsity of several of the claims which he made in regard to 
what he was pleased to call “ Childs’s Great New Japan 
Wineberry.” In his new catalogue he has moderated some 
of his claims, of necessity. But he has put forth others 
equally false, to be moderated not until, if at all, he may 
deem it wise to do so. For example, he now says that he 
paid $1,000 for the variety— not $1,000 for each plant , as 
previously stated. Again, he admits that it is a variety 
of the Rubrus (sic) Phoenicolasius, and that “ a few 
scraggly specimens” were growing in this country when 
he made his purchase. But, he adds (and herein we see 
the man’s persistent disregard for truth) that these pre¬ 
viously-existing plants were “entirely worthlsss as a 
fruit.” Again, he says, “ it cannot compare with the true 
seedling variety.” And what is the “ true seedling 
variety” ? Mr. Childs admits obliviously without doubt, 
in a previous paragraph that his plants are grown not from 
one seed, but from many seeds sent from Japan by Prof. 
Georgeson, and his plants were propagated from these 
seedlings. He further ignores the fact that a fruiting 
branch sent to the writer by Ellwanger & Barry bore as 
many berries and berries of as large a size and of as good 
quality as did the plants he himself sent to the Rural 
Grounds or authorized Mr. Lovett to send. In his 1890 
catalogue he says: “ Strong, well-rooted plants $1 each, 
six for $5. This price will probably stand for two or three 
j ears, and no reduction will I e made on any account," etc. 
in this }ear’s catalogue the price is given thus : “Strong 
and vigorous plants 50 cents each or $5 per dozen.” 
If anything further were needed to prove that Mr. 
Childs does not care a rap for his good name, if, to secure 
it, his sales were to be lessened, we may mention the fact 
that he remarked to several mutual acquaintances that 
The Rural New-Yorker’s condemnation of his Wineberry 
was the best advertisement he ever hadl 
Well, Mr. Childs, let us see just how long this sort of 
advertising will pay you. The “ Wineberry ” is really a 
plant of merit and The R. N.-Y. did not spare its praise. 
No wonder your sales were largely increased, for while 
our brother journalists quoted our praise of the plant, they 
in the kindness of their hearts, spared you. 
If we desired merely to enthuse any one to engage in 
floral or horticultural pursuits, we should first of all hand 
him the catalogue of John Lewis Childs. If we were to 
advice as to the selection and purchase of seeds and 
plants, his name would never occur to us except as one 
to be avoided. 
Rooting Out An Orchard. 
The following remarks are called out by what we printed 
two weeks ago: 
Tackle Blocks and a Team.— For the benefit of all 
who have trees to take out, let me say that the cheapest, 
easiest, cleanest and altogether best way to do so is to use 
a pair of tackle blocks and a team of good horses. For 
trees of the size named—one foot in diameter—no roots 
need be cut, and with this outfit three men—one to drive 
and two to haul out blocks and hook chains—will throw 
down 15 or 20 trees in an hour. Malleable iron blocks, No. 
8, are the best, and 100 feet of one-inch rope will be suf¬ 
ficient. In an apple orchard, with the trees in rows about 
25 feet apart, the single block may be chained to the center 
one of a square of nine trees, then eight of these trees can 
be pulled over without moving the block, and this saves 
time. The double block must be chained six or eight feet 
above the ground on the tree to be hauled down, then 
attach the team and go ahead. On larger trees, fasten the 
block higher. After the trees are thrown over, cut off the 
branches, hitch a team to the top, and twist the stumps 
out of the ground. g. g. b. 
Morristown, N. J. 
Dynamite a Failure, Pulley a Success. 
Three years ago this coming spring we rooted out an old 
apple orchard successfully. We first employed a man to 
blow the trees out with dynamite, but the plan was a 
failure, due either to the ignorance of the man or to some 
unknown cause. I then decided to make some use of the 
philosophy I had learned at school. We took a very long 
hay rope, a stout cable chain, a strong pulley and a good 
team of horses, and having anchored one end of the rope 
to the butt of a tree, we put the rope through the pulley 
and fastened the team to the other end. We then fastened 
the pulley just as near the top of the tree as we could, 
without going so high as to break off the upper part. It 
was secured to the top-with the cable chain. When we 
started the team the tree had to come, as we had an im¬ 
mense purchase. The movable pulley gave the team the 
same power as though we had hitched directly to the top 
with four horses, and, then, hitching so near the top gave 
us an immense leverage. We pulled the largest trees over 
without cutting a root or digging an inch. After the tree 
had been pulled over we cut off some of the under roots 
that were still fast, and having taken a rolling hitch on 
the butt, pulled out the roots. This was the hardest part, 
as we now had lost our leverage, and were frequently 
obliged to change the pulley before getting the butt 
entirely out. This took but a minute, however. We did 
the job early in spring, when the ground was very wet. I 
think if any of the readers of The R. N.-Y. will try the 
above plan they will be pleased with the results and will 
prefer the pulley to dynamite. My father was disposed to 
turn up his nose at the plan when I first proposed it, and 
did not think my philosophy would amount to much in 
pulling up apple trees. Why is it that so many farmers are 
so much opposed to putting in practice new ideas simply 
because they are obtained from books or papers ? 
Luzerne County, Pa. IRWIN CHAPIN. 
R. N.-Y.--For all the sport that has been heaped on 
young school graduates by their practical farmer friends, 
the youngsters could, if they would, give many instances 
where the “new ideas” have forced admiration from 
ridicule. “ Book learning ” of the right sort is the ex¬ 
perience of years, with all the experiments and mistakes 
squeezed out. Nature’s laws are fixed, but we do not 
understand them all yet. The true scholar can take ad¬ 
vantage of all the records of 0,000 years of experimenting. 
The man who sneers at “ book learning” is more likely to 
be limited to the experience of his own short life. “A fact 
never loses value by being printed.” 
IMPLEMENT NOTES. 
Electric Motors Wanted.— The electric light company 
in our town has just strung wires by my farm, and one 
of the men called yesterday to see if I would hire power. I 
said no, but on thinking the matter over, it seems to me 
that I could use power in lots of ways. Could I use one of 
the electric motors on my place ? I’d like it for hoisting 
hay to the barn, pumping water, and, if it were possible, for 
plowing. Could this be done ? What would one of the 
motors cost, say one suitable for two or three horse power. 
Connecticut. THOMAS EDGERTON SMITH. 
R N.-Y. As soon as possible we shall print all the infor¬ 
mation we can obtain on this matter, which is of great 
importance to farmers near large cities. In New England, 
especially, electric power wires are on the roads before 
many farms. These wires might easily be tapped if suit¬ 
able motors could be provided at reasonable cost. The 
R. N.-Y. calls upon all who are interested in this problem 
to help in solving it. We need a cheap and safe motor. 
Wheat Cultivator Wanted. —An implement dealer 
in Western New York asks; “Can The Rural give us 
the address of any firm which manufactures a wheat hoe 
for cultivating wheat and other grains in narrow drills. 
Our customers, the pea canners, are in need of such a 
machine.” Will any of our readers who know of such a 
machine tell us about it ? Last fall a Canadian wrote us 
about a proposed machine of this character, but we have 
never heard what came of it. 
The Rigby Potato Digger. —Dr. Hoskins sends us 
this note of correction: “The Rural says, on psge 27, 
first column, that ‘ Dr. Hoskins mentioned the Hoover 
digger,’ which is a mistake. In the article referred to 
(which appeared in the Vermont Watchman) I mentioned 
the Rigby Digger, made in Houlton, Aroostook County, 
Maine, by Rigby & Burleigh. It is a much cheaper 
digger, and much more cheaply operated than the Hoover, 
which I have also used.” 
CATALOGUES, ETC., RECEIVED. 
J. M. Thorburn & Co., 15 John Street, New York.— 
It scarcely needs to be said that this is one of the oldest 
and most reliable seed houses in the country. The cata¬ 
logue is not unlike that of previous years, noteworthy 
now, as always, for its admirable arrangement and the 
concise descriptions of the seeds and plants offered. Among 
the novelties several may be mentioned as having origin¬ 
ated at the Rural Grounds. The first is a tomato which 
has been named Thorburn’s Long-keeper. About 13 years 
ago, all the tomatoes popular at that time were raised on 
the Grounds. On the same day six of each were selected 
of the largest size and shapeliest form, and apparently at 
the same stage of maturity. These were kept in a darkened 
room until all were more or less decayed. From the last 
one to decay seeds were taken and planted the next year. 
Careful selections have been made every year since, al¬ 
ways with a view to prolonging the long-keeping quality, 
as well as improving the shape of the tomato and the pro¬ 
ductiveness of the plant. It is now considered, taken all 
in all, to be the best tomato in cultivation, and it is hoped 
that our friends will try it beside their favorite kinds 
and inform us how well or ill it may deport itself 
in other soils and situations. The second set of novel¬ 
ties originating at the Rural Grounds are hybrids of 
the ricinus or castor oil plant. They were obtained by 
crossing the so-called species known in catalogues as 
Cambodgensis, Gibsonii, Sanguineus, Africanus, etc. 
Many of the seedlings from which seeds were saved, 
were remarkable in several respects. Some grow tall, 
others are dwarfs. All bear leaves, and some of them 
stems as well, of varied and brilliant shades of copper and 
bronze, glossy and brilliant. In another part of the 
catalogue, a description of the R. N.-Y. crossbred and 
hybrid wheats, six in number, is presented. Many other 
varieties of these wheats and hybrids-are being propagated 
for introduction later. The R. N.-Y. Potato No. 2, so 
generally valued, is now offered for $5 per barrel, while 
Brownell’s Winner, Gold Flesh, Corona Beauty, and New 
Queen are offered among the later sterling novelties. 
In the circulars sent out by Walter Baker & Co., the 
chocolate manufacturers of Dorchester, Mass., we are told 
that “statistics show that 95 out of 100 men fail in busi¬ 
ness sooner or later, and the cases in which a firm sees 50 
years of business life are extremely rare.” Walter Baker 
&Co., began business in 1780, and for 110 years therefore 
have made their product “ the standard of purity and ex¬ 
cellence.” “No chemicals” is their trade-mark, and in 
this age of adulteration and secret manipulation, this 
declaration proves a strong card with the public. 
When we find a paper that has hack-hone 
enough to tell the truth, let us have hack- 
hone enough to help it along.” —l. w. lightly. 
THE STORY OF AN INVENTOR. 
It appears to me that in the late discussion on patents 
and patent laws in The R. N.-Y., some injustice has been 
done to the inventor. The following short obituary sketch, 
found in the Kalamazoo Telegraph, will perhaps best ex¬ 
plain my thoughts on the subject: 
“ CnARLES W. Noyes. —Another bright and inventive 
mind met a sad close at the Michigan Insane Asylum 
yesterday, death removing Charles W. Noyes, aged 38 
years. Mr. Noyes, as an inventive genius, was surpassed 
by few. Not only was he the originator of the famous 
Noyes cart, but of many other devices now In use on other 
carts. As is usuallv the case with inventive geniuses, he 
was a poor business man and reaped but little of financial 
success. His mind began to fail him over two years ago 
and he was soon afterwards removed to the asylum. He 
was engaged at the time of his affliction in perfecting a 
steamboat motor, which experts say, if completed, would 
be of great value.” 
This brief notice gives scarcely a hint of the value of Mr. 
Noyes’s inventions or of the wrongs and disappointments 
that finally drove him to insanity and death. As many as 
eight of his inventions, in common use, are readily called 
to mind. A sheep-shearing machine, and a jeweler’s tool, 
as well as a mill-dog, lawn-mower, road-cart, toe-weight 
and leg spreader for horses were some of his inventions. 
A reward of $5,000 was offered in Australia for an efficient 
sheep shearing machine. Mr. Noyes invented one with 
the purpose of taking it to Australia, and while he was at 
work on it made the acquaintance of an interesting man, 
and in a confidential way showed him his plans. This 
false friend made drawings of his invention and had it 
patented in England and thereby made a fortune. The 
