1 89 1 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
449 
in the proportion of pure metal and alloy as well as in 
weight and form—it would be none the less a crime. This 
being true, the people must give something in exchange 
for all the money they get. States are not allowed to make 
anything but gold and silver coin a legal tender. The peo¬ 
ple cannot make money ; the States cannot make money ; 
if “ good business men ” are correct in their belief, gov¬ 
ernment cannot make money; then where does it come 
from ? What Is its origin and how is it brought into ex¬ 
istence ? G. d. h. 
Emporia, Kansas. 
R. N.-Y.—What we undertook to say was that as our 
government is the representative of the people it can sim¬ 
ply manage their finances and cannot add value. Where 
it seems to add value to coin the people really pay this in¬ 
creased value in the end. Of all substances known to ex¬ 
ist at the present time gold and silver are best suited to 
form money or the basis of money. They are easily coined 
and are less acted upon by water and air than other met¬ 
als. They are so distributed in the ground that their 
value, determined by the labor needed to produce them, is 
les3 liable to fluctuation than that of any other metals. 
Because of these natural qualities gold and silver were 
selected to stand as the representatives of exchange value. 
Your standard gold In any large city could be easily ne¬ 
gotiated at its value because there is a demand for it 
among jewelers and others. Your wheat would buy goods 
In your town, but the gold would be handler and better 
for one in a large city. In other localities, maple sugar, 
corn, apples or cheese are gladly taken in exchange. And 
this merely gives an illustration of the necessity of pro¬ 
viding as “ money ” some safe and reliable medium for ex¬ 
change which producers of all sorts will accept or pay out 
in place of their own bulky merchandise. It is an advan¬ 
tage to any one doing business to have this “ money ” or 
general representative of values in circulation and all 
are ready to pay something for this advantage. It costs 
something like any other privilege. We know of men 
who have paid taxes in cord-wood, labor, live stock, etc.— 
that is, they satisfied the tax collector and he settled with 
the State on a cash basis. 
Pennies, two-cent pieces and nickels are coined only for 
convenience and the coinage is purposely small. This 
class of money is known Id all lands as “ token money.” 
Weigh a penny and you will see one reason why a cent’s 
worth of copper is not put into it. At the present price of 
copper a cent's worth would make a coin about 10 times as 
heavy as the present penny—a dozen of them would weigh 
nearly a pound—with two-cent pieces and nickels very 
much heavier. Who would use such coins ? No one could 
make change for less than 10 cents, unless the little silver 
half dimes were coined and they were far too small for prac¬ 
tical use. Go to California and parts of the South where 
there are no small coins in circulation and you will find 
that the loss from inability to “ make change ” always 
falls on the buyer. Another reason why these little coins 
are simply “tokens” is because the prices of nickel and 
copper are so liable to fluctuate that no exact value can 
be placed upon them and unless these coins were con¬ 
stantly melted and recoined, they would seldom be worth 
their face value. When 500 pennies weighing just 60 
ounces, and worth to-day 49 cents, are exchanged at the 
mint for a five-dollar gold piece—the people—not the gov- 
ernment—pay the difference for the convenience of having 
the small coins in circulation. Nations generally limit 
the use of this “token money,” and only make it legal 
tender for small amounts. It is evident that while this 
principle may answer for a comparatively small issue of 
these little coins, it would nob answer for larger coins 
made of metal so valuable that public convenience does 
not require that they be “ debased ” or made so that they 
are worth intrinsically less than their face value. 
The “ money ” in circulation belongs to the people and 
not to the government. The latter is simply the agent of 
the people. The public Improvements in a town or coun¬ 
try do not belong to the public officers. They belong to 
the inhabitants, and while an individual cannot sell out 
his own private share, still, none the less, he gets value in 
the shape of comforts and safety to life and property. His 
own share in cash would nob begin to compensate him for 
the loss of the right to use these public improvements. 
In old Pilgrim times the people needed money to tran¬ 
sact business because they could not deal forever on the 
principle of barter. For a time they got on well enough 
exchanging food or skins or gunpowder, but the time came 
when they were forced to have some convenient substitute 
for all these things, that could be carried or handled easily 
and be accepted by everybody. They proceeded to appoint 
one Captain John Hull as coiner. To him the people 
brought their old silverware—spoons, plates, cups or any¬ 
thing that was silver. Captain Hull melted the silver, 
coined it into Pine Tree shillings and gave them back to 
the owner of the silver, retaining a certain proportion for 
his own share. Thus the silver got into circulation. It 
still belonged to the people and helped them to do business 
more cheaply and easily than if they had used the bulkier 
forms of prd£>erty, and the time came when it was necessary 
to have something even more convenient than the coins. 
Therefore printed pieces of paper—bills, notes, currency- 
signed by some representative of the government, stating 
that each acted as a substitute for so much coin, came into 
use and made trading more convenient and rapid. What 
was then done on a small scale is now done on a vast scale. 
A certain part of the wealth of the country exists in the 
form of “money,” “ circulating medium” or a handy rep¬ 
resentative of values. It belongs to the people and cannot 
be legitimately increased unless the people add more of 
their property to this form of wealth. 
Governments may speculate or make loans like a bank 
or business firm, but the losses will all have to be paid by 
the people, and government “ promises to pay ” are accepted 
at par only so long as the public believe every “ promise to 
pay’’has behind it a “ possibility to pay.” The writer 
has a bank book issued by a savings bank which may be 
easily negotiated because the bank’s credit is perfect, and 
the public believe that it never issues a book unless the 
actual cash is paid for it. Let the bank issue a lot of 
books without the payment of cash—in other words, try 
to make books of capital, and they might sell at par until 
the practice was discovered. Then their value would de¬ 
preciate, and buyers would simply take a risk on the 
bank’s ability to make payments, forcing the seller to pay 
for the risk. 
If, as we have stated, money is simply a representative 
of values, and all values come from labor, we do not see 
how our government can “ make money ” without taking 
a greater share of wealth from the people and putting it 
into circulation. “Promises to pay” and “obligations” 
are not money—they are debts. 
“MONEY LOANED ON LAND.” 
My Alabama friend in the last R. N.-Y. wanders away 
from the subject. What I asked was: “Why has the 
mortgaged farmer any more right to government aid than 
the paper collar man?” Both men were unfortunate 
through no particular fault of their own. Why should the 
government help one man and refuse to help the other ? 
Our friend thinks it is because in the land speculation 
case the government could have some security for its loan 
while in the other there would be no security. This is but 
an imitation of the methods employed by the “Shylocks ” 
and “money power.” These people never loan money 
except on good security—those who cannot furnish the 
security may go without. If this is what our friend means 
he should say so and stop talking about helping the “ toil¬ 
ing millions,” because a vast proportion of these millions 
have no land to raise money on and the only way they 
could earn any of the money put into circulation by these 
land certificates would be to work just as they do now. I 
am not in favor of issuing money on the security of paper 
collars by any means, but I cannot see how the land loan 
and the Sub-Treasury plans are to help other workers than 
farmers—except it may be lawyers and speculators. I 
do not know of any property that varies more in 
price, when one section is compared with anothex, than 
land. A railroad, a summer hotel, a mine, an oil 
well, a factory, an artesian well, all tend to “jump” 
the value of land up or down. In fact, the majority of 
“ land values” in this country are more liable to change 
than any substance yet proposed as a basis for money. I 
wish to say that we do not consider it “ a piece of impu¬ 
dence” for the South and West to send missionaries among 
us. Not at all. We are glad to listen, for we want to 
know all sides to this question. A great many Eastern 
farmers have invested their little savings in Western farm 
securities. For this reason some of your missionaries 
make slow headway when they come and curse, indiscrimi¬ 
nately, all holders of these securities. These Eastern 
farmers do not want to “ suck the life blood” out of any¬ 
body, but they must look out for their savings or go 
under. Another thing : Eastern farmers buy a good deal 
of their grain and feed. We can see how this Sub-Treasury 
scheme might prove a big thing for those who had grain 
to sell, because they could store it and hold it for a rise, 
but how about the men who have to buy and use that 
grain ? In what way would this Sub-Treasury business 
help them ? I am after information and I hope the teach¬ 
ers will stick to their text and tell me about these things. 
JERSEYMAN. 
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.] 
Swelling In Stifle Joint of Colt. 
J. W., Steuben County, N. Y. —In going through the 
stable door last winter my yearling colt struck his stifle 
joint against the side of the door. I think he fractured the 
synovial membrane, as there is at that point a swelling 
about four inches long, three broad and about three-quar¬ 
ters of an Inch deep. It appears to be soft near the bone. 
There is but little inflammation or tenderness. For about 
a month I have used such astringents as oak bark, alum 
and iodine, but the tumor does not decrease in size. He 
does not show much lameness in walking on a smooth sur¬ 
face, but is very lame if he gets in the mud. It is hard for 
him to raise his toe more than an Inch or two from the 
ground. Is there any help for him ? 
Ans.—T ry blistering with cerate of cantharides blister. 
Clip the hair over the swelling, and rub the blister well in 
for 10 or 15 minutes. Allow the blister to remain on 24 
to 36 hours, or until the skin is well blistered, as shown by 
the hair standing erect, and serum exuding from the 
surface. Then carefully wash off with tepid Castile soap¬ 
suds, and lightly cover once daily with an ointment of one 
part of pine tar and three parts of vaseline, well mixed 
together. Repeat the blister as soon as the skin has nearly 
healed from the first. While the blister is on, the colt 
should be kept tied so that he cannot reach it with his 
mouth. 
Fighting the Plum Curculio. 
H. S. W., Little Utica, N. Y. —I have a fine plum tree 
too large to be jarred successfully. Will spraying it with 
Paris green kill the curculio, and, if so, when should it be 
done ? 
Ans.—I f you spray for the Plum Curculio, use one pound 
of London-purple or Paris green to 200 gallons of water. 
Apply as soon as the blossoms fall, and three times after¬ 
ward at intervals of 10 days. If a very heavy rain comes 
spray it once after it has ceased. My own experience 
does not recommend this remedy, but others praise it. I 
am trying it very thoroughly this season, aud hope to 
settle the question beyond any possible doubt. The jarring 
never fails with me. In case of large trees I jar the 
limbs. To jar we must have a mallet that will not bruise 
the limbs, and must give a quick blow so as to produco 
a sudden jar. We must do this either very early or very 
late in the day ; then the insects fall to the sheet and re¬ 
main quiet till caught. At mid-day they are more active 
and may take wing. For a mallet we can pad it with 
carpeting, or may take the rubber of a clothes wringer and 
insert a handle which will not reach quite through. The 
handle should be cut with a shoulder and made to fit so 
tight that it will remain secure with no fastening. We 
can strike with the end or side. It will usually be more 
convenient to strike with the former, [prof ] A. J. cook. 
Saving Liquid Manure by Evaporation. 
L. E., Owensboro, Ky. —Will dry cut tobacco stems or 
dry cut tobacco hold the strength of liquid manure when 
dried out ? I can add this liquid to tobacco or the stems— 
say 50 per cent of the weight of the tobacco—without it 
heating ; but I have to ship it 1,200 to 1,500 miles to market, 
and it becomes dry before it is put in the cars. Will the 
stems or tobacco hold the ammonia that is in the liquid, 
or will it all be lost in drying out ? The liquid I get by 
saving all the droppings from 15 mules and horses, and 
also the urine, putting it up in a tank and running water 
from the roof of my factory into it, and then draining it off. 
It acts like a charm on meadows and lawns. Now if I can 
retain its strength in the tobacco I will have a very valu¬ 
able fertilizer. 
Ans.— There is no doubt that the tobacco stems if satur¬ 
ated with the liquid manure and then dried would retain 
its fertilizing properties, except whatever ammonia had 
been formed in it by decomposition. To retain this some 
substance that would hold the ammonia should be mixed 
with it. A weak mixture of sulphuric acid with the 
liquid manure, or a small proportion of gypsum, (land 
plaster) might do this; but the profit of it would be 
doubtful on account of the labor necessary to soak the 
tobacco stems and dry them again. Fifty per cent of 
the weight of the tobacco stems in the liquid manure 
would be most likely to cause them to heat in the 
bales, and it is quite probable that the moisture retained 
and the evidence of the mixture might cause dissatisfac¬ 
tion among the purchasers. No doubt this liquid is of great 
value for home use, but it would be a question if the cost 
of working it up would be profitable. An experiment 
with a small quantity would be advisable as a test. If this 
is made, no water should be added to the liquid, as it would 
have to be evaporated again. H. stewart. 
A Puzzle. 
T. S., Fair Orove, Mo. —What is the matter with my 
Rural New-Yorker No. 2 Potatoes ? I planted my potato 
plot about April 4, with several varieties, among them the 
Rural New Yorker No. 2, and all except the Rural seem to 
have a firm stand. The Rural seem3 to come up very 
scattering, and in cultivating I examined to sae if the seed 
pieces were in the ground, and found them with from six 
to seven new potatoes from the size of a large hazelnut to 
that of a walnut, and no sign of a top. In some of the 
hills examined the new pDtatoes seem to be sending out 
tops. Am I going to have any yield ? 
Ans.—W e cannot explain it, never having seen or heard 
of such a case before. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
Oluten Meal and Corn Meal.— J. M. R., South Easton, 
Mass.—Both these substances are made from corn. Gluten 
is corn meal from which almost all the starch has been re¬ 
moved. The New Hampshire Experiment Station gave 
the following comparative analyses of the two foods: 
Corn Meal. Gluten. 
Per Cent. Per Cent. 
Albuminoids. 7.78 25.U 
Non-albumlnotds. 71.60 61.90 
Nutritive ratio . 1 : 9.2 1:9.4 
“ Thus,” says Director Whltcher of New Hamphire, “ as 
both are made from corn, it follows that whatever differ¬ 
ence may be noticed, either in quantity or quality of the 
product resulting from feeding these grains, must be due to 
the relative proportion of albuminoids and non-albumin¬ 
oids, and not to any specific differences in the characteris¬ 
tics of the foods, as might and probably would be the case 
if linseed or cotton seed were contrasted with corn meal.” 
Grubs Eating Potatoes.—J. M., Rockford, Ill.—Salt, 
sulphur, wood ashes and chemical fertilizers have been 
recommended for keeping the white grub from potatoes. 
Prof. Smith of New Jersey has been successful in the use 
of the potash salts (kainit preferred) in the corn field. 
Probably fall plowing and thorough cultivation are the 
only sure means of eradicating this pest. 
Churn; Milking a Heifer.—J. B. H., Macon, Ga.—For a 
“turn-over” churn we prefer the Rectangular made by 
Cornish, Curtis & Green, Fort Atkinson, Wis. The Davis 
swing churn is easier to work and makes good butter— 
Vermont Machine Company, Bellows Falls, Vt. It will 
not hurt your Jersey heifer to milk her before calving if 
she is otherwise well cared for. 
Nitrate of Soda.— E. A. C., Hughesville, Pa.—You can 
obtain nitrate of soda from the Mapes, Bowker, Bradley, 
Powell, Lister or any of the leading fertilizer firms. As 
to applying it in water to early cabbage in dry weather, 
we cannot speak from experience but should commence 
with not over one teaspoonful even full to the quart. 
Kerosene Sprayer.— E. E. B., Fitchburg, Mass.—In 
spraying kerosene in hen houses we use the Woodason bel¬ 
lows made by Thomas Woodason, Philadelphia, and sold 
by most seedsmen. 
