THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
FEB. 28 
1 64 
Farm Politics. 
Here it is proposed to discuss with freedom and fairness, ques¬ 
tions of National or State policy that particularly concern farm¬ 
ers. The editors disclaim responsibility for the opinions of cor¬ 
respondents. The object is to develop a true and fair basis for 
organization among farmers. Let us think out just what we want 
and then strive for it. 
THE NICARAGUA CANAL-OTHER MATTERS. 
COL. J. II BRIGHAM. 
I do not think the Plastern farmers will derive great 
benefits from the opening of the proposed Nicaragua Canal. 
Neither do I think that it will materially and injuriously 
affect them. The wheat of the Pacific slope finds its way 
to the market around the Cape, and the shortening of the 
route will not increase the production so far as California 
is concerned. I think the future production of wheat in 
the Viticultural State will be less than it has been. 
Oregon and Washington will probably produce an increas¬ 
ing quantity; but the rapid increase in the population of 
Western towns and cities will greatly increase consump¬ 
tion. I am also inclined to think that the Eastern farmer 
will be a buyer instead of a seller of grain, and will there¬ 
fore be benefited by the cheapening transportation charge. 
The Eastern farmer will only feed cattle to maintain the 
fertility of his soil, and will depend upon grass, small 
fruits, vegetables and dairy products for his profits. The 
fruits of the Pacific slope will not take the place of fruits 
grown in the East any more than corn will take the place 
of wheat. Horses are grown at a nominal expense In that 
country, receiving no check in winter, and will no doubt 
come into the Eastern market at low prices, which, with 
the introduction of cable cars and electricity as a motive 
power will tend to wipe out all profits in raising ordinary 
horses in the East. In conclusion, I think the Western 
farmers on this side of the Rockies are more likely to be in¬ 
jured by the canal than those farther east. 
The effort to secure appropriations from the government 
to irrigate the dry lands should be resisted by our farmers 
everywhere. If successful, it could only result in induc¬ 
ing persons to enter a business from which no profit can 
come, but only injury to those who are now just begin¬ 
ning to look hopefully to the future. If the Almighty 
intended that those barren soils should ever be brought 
under cultivation, it will be done when there is pressing 
necessity for more agricultural productions. Such is not 
the case now. Overproduction in wheat and meat is the 
chief cause of the present “ depressed condition of agri¬ 
culture.” And the reduced production of 1890, which will 
cause the usiDg up of the surplus, is the first ray of light 
which farmers have seen for some years. Of course, our 
tariff laws have discriminated against farmers, but the 
McKinley law has, to a great extent, cured that. Trusts 
and combines and gambling in farm products have un¬ 
doubtedly inflicted losses upon the farmers, but the 
greatest injury of all has been self inflicted by the over¬ 
production caused by opening up new territory in ad¬ 
vance of the needs of the people. Farmers in the future 
will be more intelligent and watchful, and will jealously 
guard their own interests. We will never injure any 
legitimate industry, but we will protect our own and 
insist upon a “ fair share for wife and home of what the 
harvest yields.” 
MISCELLANEA. 
That Illinois School Issue.— On page 896 of last year’s 
Issue Mr. Grundy makes some remarks on this subject, 
with which I cannot agree. The one idea that stood out 
most prominently at the Inception of our government was 
that of personal liberty. This has been our pride. Has 
this idea brought us satisfaction and prosperity ? I am 
satisfied. If the individual has one right that the State 
cannot take from him, is it not his right to educate his 
own children ? One would think from Mr. Grundy’s re¬ 
marks that the parent was the child’s worst enemy in¬ 
stead of its best friend. Does he believe in the right of the 
State to dictate, in every particular, where a benefit can 
be secured, regardless of this first great principle ? The 
movement against the compulsory scheme of education 
was not against the public school system. I am as much 
in favor of public schools as Mr. Grundy can possibly be. 
I favor the teaching of the English language only there. 
The schools being supported by the State, should be con¬ 
trolled solely by the State. Children of foreigners will 
learn the English language on the principle of self-preser¬ 
vation. It is generally conceded that it is enough to fur¬ 
nish food to the hungry man without cramming it down his 
throat. If an exceptional foreigner will not learn to read 
the English language, let him be a mule and do the 
work while others vote. Finally, the compulsory law is 
supported; in a great measure by heavy tax-payers who 
hope by the opposition to it to make the public school 
system odious, and so to secure its repeal, and free them¬ 
selves from its burden. BENJ. BUCKMAN. 
Sangamon County, Ill. 
Tns Tariff on the Canadian Border.— In criticising 
the article of B. F. E., on page 897 of last year’s issue, 
mention is made of three articles on which the American 
farmer gets a direct benefit through the McKinley Bill, 
viz.: hay, barley and potatoes. Now, as an ounce of fact is 
worth a pound of fiction, let me state what I know in re¬ 
gard to the workings of the McKinley Bill in this section 
of Michigan. The city of Detroit lies about 200 rods from 
the city of Sandwich in Canada. Eggs are quoted at 27 
cents per dozen in the former, and at 21 cents in the latter; 
potatoes at 90 cents in the former, and 65 cents in the lat¬ 
ter. In London, Ontario, the best market west of Hamil¬ 
ton, potatoes were quoted last Thursday at 60 to 80 cents 
per bag of 1% bushel; a good team of horses in Port Hu¬ 
ron will fetch (400, while in Sarnia, in Canada, within al¬ 
most speaking distance a similar team can be bought for 
$300. Wool Is quoted in Detroit at 29 cents per pound, 
while a similar grade in Canada is quoted at 18 to 20 cents. 
Alcona County is bounded on the east by Lake Huron. 
This is a new county and contains vast tracts of cedar and 
other timber. Prior to the passage of the McKinley Bill 
cedar was on the free list, and all railroad ties would 
bring in market here was $140 per 1,000, while it cost $130 
per 1,000 to deliver them, and then they must stand cull¬ 
ing ; but now ties bring $180 per 1,000, and there Is more 
money in circulation among the farmers and laboring men 
from that source than from any other. 
I believe the chief causes of the agricultural depression are 
over-production, excessive railroad rates, the middlemen’s 
percentages, and, in the West, dear money. Now what we 
need is a better market for our produce and the legitimate 
question for the farmers to discuss is : “ Will It pay us best 
to ship our products to foreign countries and take our pay 
in finished products, or shall we encourage the manufac¬ 
ture of all the goods we need in this country, and thereby 
bring the consumer as near as possible to the place of pro¬ 
duction ?’’ I heard a preacher once say “the devil was ac¬ 
cused of a great many dirty tricks that he wasn’t guilty 
of,” and so it is with the manufacturers. I think if we 
would buy directly from them we would find the price 
would not be excessive. Wages, I believe, would be gen¬ 
erally governed by the relation of supply and demand. 
In starting new industries there would probably be a scar¬ 
city of laborers, and as a consequence labor would advance. 
Alcona County, Mich. WM. ANDERSON. 
Unjust Taxation. —We have had a lively discussion on 
taxation. While most of the farms are mortgaged, the 
farmers have to pay taxes on the whole valuation of what 
they call their property, without any deductions being 
made for their debts, while the mortgagee can make an off¬ 
set of his debts, and thus the personal property of the 
State largely evades all taxes, as the holder has 
merely to swear that his debts are equal to his 
holdings. A resolution was passed instructing our repre¬ 
sentative at Albany to use all his influence to legalize Gov¬ 
ernor Hill’s recommendation on the subject of taxation in 
his recent message to the Assembly. D. c. Allen. 
Cattaraugus Co., N. Y. 
R. N.-Y.—The grossly extortionate taxation of real 
estate and the grossly unfair immunity of personal prop¬ 
erty from taxation are, under the present conditions of 
State policy, a gross outrage on justice and the forbear¬ 
ance of real estate owners. The taxation of mortgaged 
real estate is a branch of the subject demanding prompt 
redress. This matter of real estate taxation and personal 
property immunity, is a practical question affecting the 
pockets of every farmer in the land. There is nothing 
dubious or chimerical about It. With the use of energetic 
combination, the abuse could be readily lessened or alto¬ 
gether abolished. Wouldn’t It be advisable to divert some 
of the energy now expended in the discussion of novel 
plans of legislation, to the amendment of this notorious 
injustice ? 
American Tin Plate.— In a recent issue The R. N.-Y. 
published a note from the Chicago News headed “A 
$13,000,000 Protection,” in which the tariff on tin for the 
protection of domestic tin manufacture, was strongly de¬ 
nounced. I ask it to publish the following slip on the 
other side of the tin question. It Is from the Detroit 
Tribune of January 25. 
“ The Tribune acknowledges the receipt of a bright new 
tin can made of the first American tin plate manu¬ 
factured by Messrs. Norton Bros, of Chicago. Its ap¬ 
pearance indicates the quality to be equal to the best 
foreign make. As to the price, the manufacturers in their 
circular accompanying the can say: These same cans 
that we are now offering at $2 per 100, sold in Baltimore, 
the great center of the canned goods business, last August 
and September at $3 per 100—long before the McKinley 
Bill was passed. Let us stop right here and weep over the 
poor man’s dinner pail. Let us turn back to the soft and 
sorrowful free trade editorials on McKinley high prices 
and requote their figures, showing the vastly increased 
cost of tinware by reason of the increased duty on tin 
plates. The truth is now getting in its work. This little 
tin can before us, child of the McKinley Bill, upsets all 
the free trade arguments that have been written or 
spoken against the increased duty on tin plates and the 
establishment of this great industry in the United States. 
Three years from now the enemies of this new home in¬ 
dustry will be saving money enough out of protection to 
tin plate to buy another big batch of free trade tracts 
from the Cobden Club.” F. hodgman. 
R. N.-Y.—On the editorial page of the St. Paul Pioneer 
Press, for February 12, an inquirer says that he 
thinks the paper had made a mistake about three weeks 
before, in saying that no tin plate was made in the United 
States. He goes on: “Norton Bros, of Chicago, are 
making tin plate, and I have a can made of the first plate 
they made, and have had the can since the first of the 
year.” The Pioneer Press, evidently speaking with full 
knowledge of the case, says : “ There was not much of a 
mistake about it. Within a short time the firm alluded to 
has started a tin plate manufactory, but it happens that 
the block tin is imported from Wales, the iron plates are 
imported from Wales, and the men who dip the iron 
plates into the tin at Chicago are imported from Wales. 
American tin plate is yet a thing of the future.” The cost 
of block tin as well as of the sheet-iron which, plated with 
tin, is the so-called “tin plate” or sheet tin for domestic 
utensils, etc., is very considerably lover now than the 
average of the last five years, and the duty imposed by the 
McKinley Bill on all sorts of block tin does not go into 
force until July 1, 1893—over two years hence; there is 
therefore absolutely no reason for the higher figures de¬ 
manded for tinware and the lower prices for farm products 
offered by canners, except the cupidity of manufacturers, 
dealers and packers. 
The Farmers Club. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
[Every query must be accompanied by the name and address 
of the writer to insure attention. Before asking a question, please 
see if it is not answered in our advertising columns. Ask only 
a few questions at one time. Put questions on a separate piece 
of paper.] 
Beans as a Field Crop. 
S. H. S., Chrisman, Va. —How should beans be planted 
as a field crop? If in hills, at what distance apart, and what 
variety is the easiest to raise while commanding a fair 
price? 
Ans. —In drills as close together as it is possible to culti¬ 
vate them. This is usually about 30 inches, sometimes 
more, sometimes less according to circumstances. Bean 
growers use a drill made especially for this work. A com¬ 
mon grain drill does good work by stopping up some of 
the holes. Medium and Pea Beans are the surest croppers 
and best yielders, though the price is usually lower than 
those for Marrows and Kidneys. The Red Kidney is high- 
priced, but is usually a poor yielder. Beans sometimes give 
fair crops on poor soil; but it is a fallacy to suppose that 
such soil is the best. They require large quantities of nitro¬ 
gen. We shall print more about bean culture later. 
Cotton Seed vs. Cotton-Seed Meal. 
A. OR., Marshall, Tex. —1. I can get cotton seed for $8 
to $10, and cotton-seed meal for $20 per ton ; which would 
make the cheaper fertilizer ? 2 Will hard-wood ashes 
mixed with either the seed or meal, make a fit fertilizer 
for strawberries or onions ? If so, in what proportion 
should they be applied ? 
Ans. —1. An average analysis of cotton seed gives in 
every 100 pounds, 2 % pounds of nitrogen, 1.14 pound of 
phosphoric acid and 1.18 pound of potash. At 12 cents per 
pound for nitrogen, 6 cents for phosphoric acid and 4^ 
cents for potash, one ton would be worth $8.53. An ave¬ 
rage analysis of cotton seed meal gives in every 100 pounds, 
7 pounds of nitrogen, 3 pounds of phosphoric acid and 2 
pounds of potash. At the same prices for the elements as 
given above, one ton of cotton-seed meal would be worth 
$22.20. It is seen therefore that for the actual elements of 
plant food, a ton of cotton-seed meal would be cheaper at 
$20 than a ton of cotton seed at $ 8 . The meal also furnishes 
other advantages; one is that it Is more concentrated, 
thereby saving in cartage and handling, and, second, the 
meal, which is free from hulls and much finer than the 
whole seed, can be more evenly distributed,and will there¬ 
by rot quicker and be more immediately available to the 
plant. 2. A mixture of hard wood ashes and cotton seed 
meal would make a good fertilizer for onions and straw¬ 
berries, though it would be better to make the applications 
separately. A good way would be to broadcast, say, 1,000 
pounds of the wood ashes and harrow them into the soil. 
Cotton seed at the rate of 500 pounds per acre should be 
well worked into the soil at the time of planting the seed 
for onions, or along the row at the time of setting the 
strawberry plants. After the plants are growing the cot¬ 
ton seed could be applied broadcast between the rows. 
Canadian Feeding Questions. 
W. H. C., Port Union, Ontario.—1. Which of the fol¬ 
lowing roots is the best for fattening cattle or hogs— 
mangolds, carrots, turnips or sugar beets ? 2. Which is 
the best for producing milk ? Which next best t 3. Would 
it pay me better to feed (to working horses) oats worth 50 
cents a bushel or to sell the oats and buy bran and corn, 
each worth one cent a pound ? 4. Would it pay me to sell 
barley at 50 cents a bushel and buy corn at 60 cents a 
bushel, or shorts at $20 a ton, for fattening hogs ? 
Ans. —1. Sugar beets contain more than twice the amount 
of nourishment than other roots and are consequently pro¬ 
portionately valuable for fattening or for milk. 2. Bran 
and corn at a cent a pound are worth 50 per cent more than 
oats at 50 cents a bushel. They would be most useful when 
ground and fed with cut hay moistened. 3 and 4. Barley 
meal is considered the best food for fattening swine, espe¬ 
cially when given with cooked potatoes, as it makes more 
meat and the fat is more mixed with the flesh. There is 
not mu ch choice between the foods as to money value at 
the prices m entioned. 
Eligibility of Canadians to the Presidency. 
T. H., Montreal, Canada. —If Canada were annexed to 
the United States, would a citizen born in the Dominion 
previous to annexation be ineligible, like any other alien, 
to the Presidency of the United States ? Has the question 
been ever before presented ? 
Ans.— No. It could have been done only in the cases of 
Florida, Louisiana and Texas. The two first were brought 
in when their population was too small and their civiliza¬ 
tion too elementary to allow any importance to the sub¬ 
ject ; and in the case of Texas all the important citizens 
were natives of the United States who had immigrated 
there chiefly between 1830 and 1845, and as such, of course, 
any of them could become President. Should Canada 
ever be annexed that subject will receive serious attention. 
As the act would be in the nature of a compact between 
two independent nations, it would be very natural that it 
should include a stipulation guaranteeing the native-born 
citizens of each country all the rights belonging to the 
native-born citizens of either. This would, of course, in¬ 
clude the right to be elected to the Presidency of the 
united republic. 
Crops for a Young Orchard, etc. 
H. A. J., Smithville, N. Y. —I have an old orchard that 
was broken up last season and planted to corn ; I would 
like to set out a lot of young trees and seed down this 
spring. What kind of crop can be sown that will least 
injure the young trees ? We are situated in a good berry 
locality with good market. Having a few acres suitable 
for berry culture, I would like to know what the best ship- 
