THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
MARCH 7 
188 
THE 
Rural New-Yorker, 
TIMES BUILDING, NEW YORK. 
4 /National Weekly Journal for Country and 8ubur)mn IlomrH. 
ELBERT 8. CARMAN, 
HERBERT W. COLLINQWOOD, 
EDIT0R8. 
Rural Publishing Company: 
i-AWSON VALENTINE, P.esident 
EDGAR H. LIBBY, Manager. 
RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
THE AMERICAN GARDEN 
OUT-DOOR BOOKS. 
Copyright, 1891, by the Rural Publishing Company. 
SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 1891. 
IMPORTANT ! 
What high priced novelties have you bought and 
cultivated—whether of small fruits , large fruits , 
ornamental shrubs , trees or seeds of any kinds — 
that proved to be either old varieties , no better than 
old varieties, or more or less worthless t And o* 
whom did you purchase them t We would be glad 
to hear from our readers at once. We propose to 
ventilate the important subject thoroughly. 
A sad sight—the arm that might wield a 
sledge content to use a tack hammer. 
What do you think of that sort of marriage 
which fetters both and strengthens neither ? As, 
e. g., when a good farmer marries a city girl of 
city tastes. 
After having been twice President, George 
Washington died in 1799, worth $900,000, the rich¬ 
est man in the United States. Could the richest 
man in the United States be elected President to¬ 
day ? Is the change in public opinion with regard 
to the holders of great wealth due to a change in 
the character of the millions or of the millionaires? 
As a rule the people who have most to say about 
the Indian question live in the East and never saw 
an Indian in their lives. If they could get close to 
the “ Noble Red Man ” they would have less to say. 
What would they think of using the New England 
“abandoned farm ” districts as an Indian reserva¬ 
tion? Doubtless the people of Arizona would gladly 
pay the traveling expenses of their Apaches to Ver¬ 
mont or Maine in order to get rid of them. Nobody 
seems to want the average Indian. Why ? Because 
the government has made him a pauper instead of 
a worker. Sound and honest work cultivates 
morality and self-respect. 
The question of free school text-books is now 
before the legislatures of New York, Ohio, Texas 
and several of the other States. There appears to 
be a tendency to hasty legislation in the matter. 
So grave a question concerning the fitness of the 
future citizens of the country and the pockets of 
the tax payers is deserving of deliberate considera¬ 
tion and investigation. About $800,000 have al¬ 
ready been expended on less than half the neces¬ 
sary books in California, and general dissatisfac¬ 
tion among pupils, teachers and the public has 
been the outcome. Will not our lawmakers be 
cautioned in time against inconsiderate legislation 
in this matter ? 
The Wisconsin Legislature, which is Democratic 
in both branches by a majority of nearly two-thirds 
has just adopted a resolution against the free coin¬ 
age of silver by a nearly unanimous vote, only one 
Democrat, two Labor Representatives and one Re¬ 
publican voting in the negative. This emphatic 
protest is considered highly significant. It has been 
claimed, on the one hand, that nearly all the Dem¬ 
ocrats and all the Western States are in favor of 
unlimited silver; and, on the other, that a large 
proportion, if not a majority, of the Democrats 
lollowing Cleveland’s example, are opposed to unre¬ 
stricted silver coinage, and that the sentiment in 
favor of it is by no means unanimous in the West 
and the action of Wisconsin certainly confirms this 
view of the case. 
As we go to press it seems to be settled that neither 
the Paddock Pure Food Bill nor the Conger Lard 
Bill will be passed. Congress has spent altogether 
too much time in squabbling over details and dis¬ 
cussing measures like the Federal Election Bill 
The farmers were divided in their support of the 
two bills mentioned above. The cotton growers 
objected to the lard bill because they claimed that 
it put a direct tax on cotton seed oil, which the 
producer was forced to pay. Naturally they 
favored the Paddock Bill, which is general in its 
scope, not singling any particular product, and not 
providing for a system of taxation and keen super¬ 
vision. The Paddock Bill would establish a stand¬ 
ard for purity—would, in fact, point out what food 
must be in order to he classed as “pure ” The 
Conger Bill goes beyond this, singles out the one 
product of “ compound lard,” and uses in regard to 
it the same means that were used to prevent the 
sale of oleomargarine for butter. Many of those 
who supported the “oleo” law now oppose the 
‘ ‘lard” bill, though the principle of taxation is pre¬ 
cisely the same. It evidently makes some differ¬ 
ence whether you gore a steer or a cotton seed. 
Those who support both bills must remember that 
they are establishing a precedent. “Shoddy” 
clothing sold for “all wool” goods is as much a 
fraud as “compound lard” or oleomargarine. We 
might even go further and say that the “shirk” of 
a hired man who demands full wages is a greater 
fraud than either ! The fact is that the farmers of 
the country have shown themselves to be so divided 
on this matter that neither bill will be passed this 
session. The outcome, as we believe, will be that 
both bills will be ultimately passed, the Conger Bill 
being regarded as a means for carrying out the 
provisions of the Paddock Bill. 
The farmers of the Lower House of the Kansas 
Legislature, where they have an overwhelming 
majority, have just voted to grant women the full 
right or privilege of suffrage. The time has come, 
they say, when Kansas can afford to place women 
and men upon terms of perfect equality. The mea¬ 
sure is the most comprehensive ot its kind that has 
ever received the approval of one branch of any 
State Legislature. It confers on women not only 
the right of voting at all elections, but also the 
right of holding any office in the government of the 
State; and there is no doubt that, if it became a 
law, the women of Kansas would take advantage 
of it, as they have already taken advantage of the 
State law which empowers them to vote in muni¬ 
cipal elections. Indeed, were it not for her legal 
disabilities, it is not improbable that a woman might 
have been sent by Kansas to Washington, instead 
of Peffer, to occupy Ingalls’s seat in the United 
States Senate. Pity that the present measure, hav¬ 
ing originated with the Farmers’ Alliance, is cer¬ 
tain to be defeated in the Republican State Senate. 
It is common observation that fertilizers show 
better results on a clay soil than on one of a light, 
leachy character. Those who look for the “ why ” 
usually attribute this to the fact that fertilizers 
are washed out of the light soil soonest. This is not 
all the reason. The nitrogen may be washed out of 
the light soil after the first season, but a light ap¬ 
plication of it the next year would show that the 
potash and phosphoric acid are still there. The 
clay soils contain most moisture. Chemical fer¬ 
tilizers must have water in order to do their work. 
Instead of bringing water to the soil, as is the 
case with stable manure, they absorb it from the 
soil and without a plentiful supply they cannot 
nourish the plant. Clay is a powerful absorbent, 
taking up and holding water as it filters through 
the soil. Remove the clay entirely from a soil, and 
the water would run through it like a leach. On the 
other hand, leave too much clay in the soil and you 
have an undesirable “hard pan.” But a “clay 
loam” with clay enough to hold sufficient water and 
yet sand enough to permit it to “ warm up,” will, 
m ordinary seasons, be apt to give the best returns 
with fertilizers, 
As one of the results of the threatened anti¬ 
mortgage legislation in the West, there is no small 
amount of consternation among the Eastern holders 
of mortgage securities in that section. This is inten¬ 
sified by the difficulty of collecting interest or fore¬ 
closing the mortgages. Several monied institutions 
which have invested heavily in the business are 
now greatly embarrassed or have already collapsed. 
Within the last two days a large loan and invest¬ 
ment company at Topeka, Kansas, and a national 
bank at Manchester, New Hampshire, have failed 
on this account. A number of sharpers in the 
East are taking advantage of this state of affairs. 
They get from the holders of Western mortgages a 
description, of the land covered by their mortgages, 
have the places promptly examined, and if the 
mortgages are found to be good, they offer to the 
holders from 20 to 30 per cent of their face value 
for an assignment, and by greatly exaggerated 
accounts of the extreme privations in the section 
and the worthlessness of such securities in general, 
they frequently accomplish their purpose. Farmers 
who hold such securities should be on their guard 
against the wiles of these gentry. 
Shortly after the passage of the McKinley Tariff 
Bill it was alleged by importers in many parts of 
the country that the new law was unconstitutional 
on the ground that the bill signed by the President 
was not the same as that passed by both Houses of 
Congress. Several alterations, interpolations and 
omissions, it was charged, had been made by the 
clerks in engrossing the bill, and one important 
clause with reference to the tax on tobacco had 
been entirely omitted. While the opponents of the 
measure were loud in their charges of its unconsti- 
tutionality, its supporters pooh-poohed and be¬ 
littled all these antagonistic objections. Several 
cases for the United States Courts were made up in 
this city and elsewhero to test the disputed ques- 
tion. Of these the first that has come to trial is 
that brought by one of the largest Chicago dry 
goods importers. Last Monday, Judge Blodgett, of 
^ u? ^- ni ^ed States Circuit Court at Chicago, a very 
able, careful and learned judge, very few of whose 
decisions have been overruled, after stating that in 
his opinion the objections to the law were very 
forcible, decided that there were ample grounds for 
referring the question to the United States Supreme 
Court for final settlement. The debates on this 
matter in Congress cost the country tens of thous¬ 
ands of dollars, and the uncertainty with regard to 
the measure caused even more business demoraliza¬ 
tion than its final passage. Is all the trouble to go 
for naught just when matters are quieting down, 
owing to the culpable carelessness of Congress and 
its employees ? 
The Nicaragua Construction Company, which 
proposes to do for the projected Nicaragua Canal 
what the infamous Credit Mobilier did for the 
Pacific Railroads, is using Herculean efforts to in¬ 
duce Congress to guarantee a loan of $100,000,000 
for the work. The company has subscribed $1,000,000 
towards the project, while the subscriptions of all 
the rest of the world amount to only $14,500, on 
which only 10 per cent, or $1,450, has been paid up, 
yet on this slim basis this speculative concern has 
the effrontery to urge Congress to pledge the 
national faith for the completion of the gigantic 
work. The $100,000,000 now sought would, of 
course, be only the first instalment, as the inevit¬ 
able result of the government’s entangling itself 
in this embarrassing alliance, would be that this 
country would ultimately have to shoulder the 
ownership of the canal even at the risk of serious 
complications with Great Britain on account of the 
Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, after the speculators, like 
the promoters of the Pacific Railroads, had richly 
feathered their own nests from the proceeds of the 
property and loaded it with a multitude of obliga¬ 
tions which the government would have to assume. 
The United States would, in a word, have to con¬ 
struct the canal for the benefit of a horde of thank¬ 
less speculators. What say the farmers, the chief 
tax-payers of the country, to such a disposal of 
their hard-earned dollars ? 
BREVITIES. 
Make tbe rao't of farming, brother, 
Train yourself up true and strong, 
That ambition be not stifled. 
When ol i age shall steal along, 
Be not satisfied to stagnate, 
When the white head drags you down. 
As a loafer In the city. 
As an Idler in the town. 
Die for duty but don’t dye for beauty. 
You will have to pay gold interest on borrowed trouble. 
What are the best crops for a renter to raise in your sec¬ 
tion ? 
Is there any better crop for the hen manure than sweet 
corn ? 
Read what H. L. Wysor says about Japan Buckwheat 
on page 186. 
A tongueless sulky plow can’t stop work to talk its 
ill nature—more than can be said of some plow riders. 
It occurs to us that there is a lamentable lack of knowl¬ 
edge in regard to the best ways of pulling out old apple 
trees. 
The whole corn ensilage men come to the rescue this 
week on page 197, to show that the cost of cutting may be 
dispensed with. 
Breed your own laying hens. Raise a family of daughters 
from your best egg mothers. But how are you to make 
sure of selecting a proper cock ? 
Plant your seed potatoes as early as the season will 
allow. And plant the earliest varieties. First-crop pota¬ 
toes will command a remunerative price—that is certain. 
The lawyers and the laymen are discussing “ Enoch Ar¬ 
den’s Will,” printed on page 153. Will it hold good in 
any State ? We think so, but the lawyers And flaws in it. 
We will let them talk next week. 
Well rotted farm manure is concentrated manure. 
That is true enough. But the trouble is, the concentra¬ 
tion does not pay for the loss of useful ingredients, which 
occurs during the rotting process. 
What Mr. Jacobs says, on another page about ‘ sports,” 
ought to stir up the breed makers surely. The breeders of 
“ Buff ” Leghorns, for example, ought to tell us how much 
Game blood they used in their manufacture. 
FOR the year ending June 30, 1889, the railroads of the 
country paid $27,590,394 in taxes. Including bonds and 
mortgages, the railroads are held at about $9,000,000,000. 
How much tax would $9,000,000,000 worth of farm property 
be called upon to pay ? 
The Minnesota Senate has passed a bill proposing an 
amendment of the State Constitution authorizing a gradu¬ 
ated income tax. Of course, the plutocrats everywhere 
are indignantly protesting against this example to other 
States; but everywhere tnere is a growing sentiment in 
favor of such legislation. 
Said a good farmer to the writer a few days ago: “ I 
have often tried side by side the effects of spreading farm 
manure in the fall and then again not until the following 
spring, after which both pieces of land were at once 
plowed. The crops have always been larger on the piece 
of land which received the fall dressing.” 
The poultry breeders tell us, on another page, what they 
think about the “egg type” in hens. They don’t seem to 
believe much in shape as an evidence of laying qualities. 
This is natural, since they agree that the “highest scor¬ 
ing ” birds are not necessarily the best layers, and it is 
their aim to breed high scoring birds. We shall soon hear 
from the men who are breeding for eggs—not “ points.” 
They will tell a different story. 
A FRIEND up or “ down ” in Maine sends the following 
comment: “ Please intimate to the gentleman who wrote 
‘ No Favors Asked of Any ’Crat,’ page 64, that there is 
nothing green about him, notwithstanding his name. For 
pith and pungency he is up with Mr. Terry, and a better 
display of sound sense I have never seen than was 
made in that letter. The Rural brings out a good many 
originals, besides being original itself.” 
They have a Farmers’Alliance in Germany, whose most 
distinguished members are Prince Bismarck and Count 
Yon Moltke. Its chief object, however, seems to be to 
keep Austrian wheat and flour and American pork and 
hogs out of the country. American Alliance men have 
no dread of Austrian grain, while they have the highest 
opinion of the native hog. How far ahead of their German 
fellows are not our American farmers 1 
Louisiana sugar planters complain that molasses has 
fallen so low in price that the lower grades will have to be 
thrown away. It might better be used for fattening stock 
in combination with other foods. To make the medium 
grades valuable the planters propose to revive the business 
of rum-distilling. This would be a most unfortunate solu¬ 
tion of the matter—mainly because of the effects of placing 
unlimited rum before the negro laborers. 
