448 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Live Stock Matters. 
A Jersey Farmers’ Institute.— They have just been 
holding an institute abroad that would have pleased some 
of our Jersey breeders. It was called a “Dairy Conference.” 
and was held on the Channel Islands. Two days were 
spent on the Island of Jersey listening to speeches and in¬ 
specting the cattle. A butter-making contest was held, 
and a show of Jersey cattle was given. The visitors then 
sailed for the Island of Guernsey, where another contest 
and show were held. We believe that the American-bred 
Jerseys and Guernseys are better, as a class, than island- 
bred animals, still it must be a pleasure for breeders to 
visit the “ old homes ” of their cattle. Market gardening 
under glass is now a great feature of life on the Channel 
Islands, having almost exceeded the reputation formerly 
held by the famous butter cows. 
Bogus Stallion Dealers.— On page 356 we referred to 
the too common practice of trying to sell draft stallions 
from Canada, which are really high-grades, but are con¬ 
veniently recorded in several so-called stud books, in order 
that they may be imported free of duty under the provision 
of the McKinley Bill which puts registered animals im¬ 
ported for breeding purposes on the free list. A subscriber 
in Luzerne County, Pa., says thatthis announcement more 
than paid for a life-time subscription to The R. N.-Y. He 
says: “I believe the same set of Canadian horse-sharks 
are here selling Clydesdale, Percheron and French Coach 
stallions. They represent themselves as wholesale agents 
for some Canadian firm of importers, who send them out 
to sell the horses. For a big price they get some man well 
acquainted in the neighborhood to go around with them 
and organize a company to buy one of their stallions. The 
company is to have a capital of $2,800 in $100 shares, pay¬ 
able in one, two and three-year installments, notes being 
given for the various payments. As soon as the sale is 
made the notes are offered at a big discount, and the 
fellows move to another neighborhood to play the same 
game on others. Even if the horses were purebred and of 
ordinarily good pedigree, the prices are twice what they 
would be worth; for stallions of the same breeds known to 
be purebreds, can be bought for about $ 1,000 apiece here¬ 
abouts.” 
Cure for a Balky Horse.— One could fill an entire 
paper with the so-called cures for a balky horse, but we 
have never seen anything quite equal to the following, 
which the London Live Stock Journal says is found in a 
book published in 1597. “ Let a footman stand behind you 
with a shrewd cat tied at the end of a pole with her bellie 
upward, so that her mouth and claws be at liberty. When 
your horse doth stale or go backward let him thrust the 
cat betwixt his thighs. * * * Let the footman and all 
the standers-by threaten the horse with a terrible noise 
and you shall see it will make him go. * * * Also the 
shrill crie of a hedgehog being strait tied by the foot under 
the horse’s taile is a reminder of like force which was 
proved by Master Yincentio Respino, a Neapolitan, who 
corrected by this means an old restive horse of the King’s.” 
The author of the book it seems rather doubted this recipe 
for he added: “The waies rehearsed are not to be com- 
monlie used ; but only in time of need and then with good 
discretion: for otherwise you should but amaze your horse 
and drive him to despair, for he shall never understand 
your meanes.” The horse that could understand why a 
fierce cat should be thrust under him would certainly be 
too intelligent to balk. 
Hardness of Butter.— The New Hampshire Experi¬ 
ment Station has conducted some experiments to learn 
how certain foods affect the form and melting point of 
butter. From Bulletin 13, the following synopsis is made. 
The composition and characteristics of butter-fat are 
affected by the food given the cow. It is not always the 
cow with the most fat in her milk that will make the best 
butter. Of late years, gluten meal has come into quite 
general use as a new food for cows. It is a by product in 
the manufacture of glucose from corn, and contains most 
of the substance found in the original grain after the 
starch has been taken out. It was decided to test its feed¬ 
ing value as compared with that of corn, the gluten of 
course being much cheaper. The results of the test in¬ 
dicate several important things. Whenever the gluten 
meal was substituted, wholly or in part, for corn meal it 
was found less easy to churn the butter, while it was 
always softer. A mixture of cotton seed meal with the 
gluten gave a firm, hard butter, indicating that these two 
foods may be mixed with good results. Just at present, 
these two grain foods are the cheapest on the market and 
the dairyman who knows how to mix and feed them prop¬ 
erly will save money by their use. These tests also in¬ 
dicate that ensilage produces a somewhat softer butter 
than hay ; but is favorable to the flavor and texture of the 
butter product. 
“ Phil Thrifton ” Dead. We have frequently printed 
bright articles on live stock matters signed “Phil Thrifton.” 
They were written by Phil M. Springer, who died May 24 
at Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Mr. Springer was, in one 
sense, one of the most remarkable men Ameriean agricul¬ 
ture has produced. The Breeders’ Gazette thus aptly 
describes him. 
“A hunchback, whose life in infancy and succeeding 
years had hung by a mere thread, the career of Phil M. 
Springer affords one of the most striking illustrations of 
the dominance of mind over matter, which has ever fallen 
under our observation. Within the stunted and weakly 
body there glowed and waxed strong with increasng years 
a mental vigor which accomplished simply prodigies of re¬ 
sults for the family which had lovingly borne with his 
infirmities, and for years past he has had the satisfaction 
of more than repaying his indebtedness to them by actual¬ 
ly becoming the burden-bearer himself, rendering his rela¬ 
tives material assistance by dint of pluck, energy, and 
judgment such as are rarely surpassed. The shriveled 
body and weak voice were in startling contrast to the 
strong, intelligent face, the cultured mind, and indomit¬ 
able will, and the story of his success with farm, herds, 
flocks, and clerical and literary work sounds more like a 
tale of fiction than the narrative of the life of a hopeless 
cripple which had rounded the half-century mark.” 
A correspondent of Mr. Springer would never have 
dreamed of him as other than a strong, healthy man; his 
letters were always clear, strong and forcible. His was 
the mind of a giant. What a lesson is such a life for the 
thousands of healthy young men who run at the first 
thought of imaginary “lions in the way.” 
Holstein Friesians Prosperous.— One of the very 
favorable indications regarding the future of the Holstein - 
Friesian cattle is the fact that buyers begin to discrimin¬ 
ate much more closely regarding breeding than ever before, 
and also that the demand for highly bred stock is very un¬ 
usually large. In fact, our sales are far ahead of what they 
usually are at this season of the year. We have recently 
sold quite a large number of uncommonly choice young 
animals both to old breeders and to found new herds. 
The demand for export trade has been good. Among those 
who are founding very superior herds we would mention 
Samuel G. Artingstall, who seems determined to have one 
of the best young herds in the country. He has ordered 
two very highly bred daughters of Netherland Prince, 
both of which have proved very superior for butter; also a 
choice daughter of Netherland Monk, of Clothilde 4th’s 
Imperial, and other fine heifers of the Clothilde family. 
Several of these are among the highest bred animals to be 
found in the country. Kappijne 3d’e Clothilde, the bull 
which he has chosen to place at the head of his herd, is a 
very rare one. His 19 direct female ancestors, all that have 
been imported to or bred in America, with one exception, 
his dam being only two years old at the time of test, have 
made records which average for the whole number 15,789 
pounds 5 5 19 ounces of milk in a year, and 20 pounds 
2 7-10 ounces of butter in a week. This of itself is suffic¬ 
ient to denote the remarkable breeding of this bull for the 
dairy. He is also unusually handsome. His sire was Sir 
Netherland Clothilde, his dam Kappijne 3d, by Netherland 
Monk. 
Mr. Geo. C. Rand has also bought some fine animals. He 
places at the head of his herd Clothilde Excelsior, whose 
nine nearest female ancestors have records which average 
15,057 pounds of milk in a year, and 19 pounds 7 ounces of 
butter in a week. We have also sold to Mr. R. W. Pierce, 
to be placed at the head of his young herd, Duke Clothilde 
Artis, by Duke Clothilde, he by Prince Imperial, and his 
dam Clothilde 2nd’s Duchess, with a butter record from 
three teats of almost 20 pounds in a week; grandam Clo¬ 
thilde 2nd, record 30 pounds 8 ounces in a week, and 320 
pounds \yi ounce in 90 days; great-grandam Clothilde, 
record 28 pounds 2% ounces in a week. The dam of this 
bull, Lady Artis, has a milk record of 15,813 pounds in a 
year, and a butter record of 17 pounds 9 ounces in a week. 
Mr. George Sprott adds to his herd some very young 
heifers. Mr. George Conklin has just brought an 
unusually choice representative of the Clothilde family. 
Mr. A. B. Hall has shown his appreciation of fine breed¬ 
ing by placing at the head of his herd Benola Fletcher’s 
Clothilde, a fine young bull out of Benola Fletcher, the 
cow which won the $ 1,000 butter prize at the Buffalo Ex¬ 
position, and was sired by Sir Netherland Clothilde. The 14 
nearest female ancestors of this bull, ail that have been im¬ 
ported, have milk records which average 15,950 pounds 9 
ounces in a year, and butter records which average 20 
pounds % ounce in a week. We also recently sold to Mr. 
N. F. Sholes “ Carlotta 3d’s Netherland Pietertje,” 
sired by Pietertje 3d’s Netherland, dam Carlotta 3d, by 
Netherland Prince. This is a very fine bull. We 
also shipped a few days since a highly-bred bull to Ira O. 
Miller. This animal was sired by Netherland Statesman, 
he by Netherland Prince, and out of Lady Fay; his dam, 
Aaggie Rosa 2nd, milk record 16,834 pounds 13 ounces in a 
year, and butter record 16 pounds 23 ^ ounces in a week; 
grandam, Aaggie Rosa, milk record 20,225 pounds, 3 
ounces in a year, and butter record 22 pounds 8 % ounces 
in a week. This Is also a very fine animal. We have also 
just received an order for a fine shipment to South 
America. smiths, powell & lamb. 
HOW CAN WE MAKE IT RAIN ? 
No Water, No Roots; No Roots, No Crops. 
J. M. SMITH. 
It is seven weeks to-day (May 25) since we have had any 
rain, except once or twice a mere sprinkle that would lay 
the dust for an hour or two. How shall we get our small 
seeds started, and then how shall we keep them growing ? 
My rule has been to put my land in as good condition as I 
know how, by surface draining, underdraining, lots of 
manure and good culture. In addition to this, I always 
expect to get all of my hardy seeds and plants in the 
ground while it is yet sufficiently damp for them to sprout 
without rain. I did that this spring. But here comes a 
season that thus far gives us practically no rain. What 
are we to do ? How can we make seeds grow in this dry 
dust ? I know of but one way, and that is by artificial 
watering. Now I know this is very poor consolation to 
those who have no water within their reach, or where it 
is so expensive that they cannot afford to use it. My pres¬ 
ent water works, complete as they now are, have cost me 
not much if any less than $ 1 , 000 ; but if this weather con¬ 
tinues a short time longer, I have no doubt that they will 
have paid for themselves during this one spring. Should 
the dry spell continue until the close of the strawberry 
season, I have no doubt that they will have paid for them¬ 
selves twice over. But some of my readers are doubtless 
ready to say that I and others have been talking and writ¬ 
ing about cultivation being a grand panacea for the ills of 
drought. Yes, that is true, and It is also true that culti¬ 
JUNE i3 
vation, when kept up and carried on in the right way, is a 
wonderful help to growing crops ; but this applies almost 
exclusively to such plants as have got thoroughly rooted, 
and have a deep, rich soil to work in. I can by this means 
carry them through an ordinary drought with but little 
damage, and if the land has been liberally supplied with 
unleached wood ashes, I can simply laugh at anything 
short of a very severe drought; but the present trouble is 
to get them into such a condition. The roots are yet very 
young and tender. They are very near the surface of the 
soil Still we are constantly cultivating. My early potatoes 
have been harrowed until the surface of the earth is about 
as mellow as a bed of wood ashes. We shall start a culti¬ 
vator among them in a few days. We have two or three 
hand cultivators running among the small plants, like 
onions, beets, carrots, radishes, etc., and shall start one or 
two more unless rain comes very soon. 
Strawberry vines have all been carefully hand hoed, and 
then watered, and now we are going through them the 
second time with the hoes. We do not intend to disturb 
the soil more than half an inch in depth. That half inch 
of loose, mellow earth upon the top of the ground, is a 
great help in such a time as this. If this weather con¬ 
tinues, we shall soon go over them again and give the 
ground a thorough soaking, and perhaps follow in a couple 
of days with the hoes for the third time. The raspberry 
beds have been cultivated and manured until I do not see 
that I can help them any farther except by watering, 
which we shall attend to very soon. They were manured 
with the coarsest manure I had, and that spread upon the 
top of the ground in the rows. I have never watered cur¬ 
rants until this spring. I have one block of bushes that 
have almost reached their best, and I never saw bushes 
loaded with fruit as they are. Two or three days since I 
noticed that the currants upon the ends of the strings were 
smaller than I thought they ought to be, and turned a hose 
upon them, and gave them a thorough soaking. One of 
my sons says he could see a plain difference in the fruit 12 
hours after we had finished watering them. 
The dry season has been a glorious time for cabbage 
fleas, cut-worms, currant worms and, in fact, about all of 
our Insect enemies. We have been through our currant 
bushes three times already with white hellebore and water, 
and must go over them again in a few days, and I do not 
know how many times after that. At any rate, it will be 
as often as is necessary to protect the fruit, for I do not 
propose to lose such a magnificent crop as tnat promises to 
be by any neglect of my own. I may possibly lose them 
through ignorance, but It shall not be through neglect or 
carelessness on my part. In short, this weather is making 
it very expensive for us to keep our crops in good con¬ 
dition, but we shall keep on doing our very be3t, and then 
trust that in due time the rains will come, and then how 
the crops will grow, and fairly dance for joy ; for no arti¬ 
ficial watering that I have ever tried, or seen tried by 
others, is in my opinion quite equal to the rain from the 
clouds. 
Brown County, Wis. 
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. 
CAN GOVERNMENT “MAKE MONEY?” 
In commenting on the actions of the Western Commer¬ 
cial Congress, on page 368 of The Rural, the paper says: 
“ The government can give no value to money any more 
than a private business man can.” If the writer means 
intrinsic value, the truth of his statement is plain to me ; 
but if exchange value—power to pay debts and taxes or 
any other monetary function is meant—I do not agree with 
his view of the matter. If I have 25 8-10 grains of stand¬ 
ard gold, it is not a dollar; it will not pay a one-dollar 
debt any more than a bushel of wheat, or a day’s labor: 
nor will it pay taxes, but I can take it to a government 
mint, and have a dollar made of it. The material is not 
changed, nor has its commercial value changed; the 
material is there the same as before—no more or less than 
25 8 10 grains of standard gold ; but there is something 
more; it is now a full-fledged legal-tender dollar; it will 
pay any 100 cent debt or taxes to that amount in the 
United States. It may be said that it was worth a dollar 
before it was coined - . True, because I could have a dollar 
made of it; hence would take no less for it, but it was not 
money before it was minted; it would not pay debts or 
taxes any more than would axes, hoes, wheat or corn. 
This debt-and-tax-paying quality is certainly value 
above and beyond what the material possessed before it 
had received the government stamp. Where did it come 
from and who gave it this new value ? If I remember cor¬ 
rectly, at one time since the partial remonetization of silver 
in A. D. 1878,73 cents’ worth of silver coined into a dollar 
was equal everywhere in the United States to the gold 
dollar. 
If the government didn’t add the difference between the 
metal and dollar, who did ? 
Nickels and pennies pass current at their face value, and 
are legal tenders in small amounts, while the material of 
which they are made is of small value in comparison to 
their face value. 
Where do they get the increased value, and who gives it 
to them ? 
Again, you say: “ It is true that a certain class of people 
want the government to try the experiment of making 
money; but no good business man believes it can be done.” 
“ Government raises money by taxation.” The people 
must have the money before the government can tax it 
from them. The people cannot make the money to pay 
taxes; it would be a crime to do so, though theirs might 
be exactly like the government coin in every particular— 
