THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
675 
i8?i 
FARMERS’ CLUB DISCUSSION. 
( Continued .) 
impervious subsoil, the water all returns 
to the surface and is carried away by the 
air. Of course soils having a porous sub¬ 
soil dry much faster, as the work is carried 
on from both sides. 
J. W. I. should remember that the spaces 
between the atoms of the soil are infinitely 
smaller than the finest tube made by man ; 
and that the rise is in proportion to the 
smallness of the opening, and that the dif¬ 
ference in size may easily account for the 
rise due to what we call capillary attrac¬ 
tion. Why not call evaporation capillary 
attraction ? The air is porous, and, resting 
as it does upon the surface of the earth 
and water, it absorbs the moisture, and, 
like a great sponge, upon being sqeezed (by 
a lower temperature) gives it back to us as 
rain. 
The rise of the tide in midocean is slight, 
and the great height mentioned by J. W. 
I. is due to great length of converging 
coast lines and the momentum of the tidal 
wave. It would seem better to ascribe the 
rise of water “from beneath the surface, and 
from the surface,” to the attractive force 
of the matter composing the earth than to 
the solar system, for the attraction of the 
solar system would, if strong enough to 
lift water from the surface of the earth, 
become stronger the farther from the sur¬ 
face the water should be lifted, while the 
attraction of the earth would become less ; 
thus the solar system would rob us of our 
water. 
HOW’S THIS? 
Hurst & Son, of London, England, are 
regarded at home and in this country as 
respectable, enterprising, wealthy seeds¬ 
men. A circular has recently been received 
from them by American seedsmen, a copy 
of which has fallen into the hands of Thk 
Rural New-Yorker. It evidently assumes 
that many of our seedsmen are a very low, 
unscrupulous set of individuals, else it 
would never have been written, printed 
and mailed. 
“ We beg to send you an offer of surplus 
stocks of various articles, with age, growth 
and price. Orders will be taken in strict 
rotation as received.” Hurst & Son, 
152 Houndsditch, London. 
August, 1891. 
Then follows the price list, from which 
we quote a few items: 
Price 
Year of Percent Percwt. 
Lbs. Harvest, of growth. 
s. d. 
1,456 Asparagus. 
Uld 
'JoO 
26.0 
■594 Beet, red. 
560 Earlv Rainbow Cab- 
Old 
000 
28.0 
bage. 
560 Carrot, Yeilow Bel- 
Old 
coo 
63.0 
gian. 
1889 
10 
28.0 
1,120 Carrot, Long Surrey 
1888 
20 
•48.(1 
Per ib. 
112 Chicory. 
224 Cucumber Stock- 
Old 
CO 
0.2 
wood. 
224 Lettuce, Baris White 
1886 
40 
1.6 
Cos. 
1888 
32 
0.6 
So the quotations go on from no per cent 
of viability to 70 and 80 per cent—the high¬ 
est. That there should be a market for 
worthless, or comparatively worthless 
seeds, as shown by the issuance of such a 
circular by a reputedly respectable firm, is 
the startling thing about the business. Is 
this the first circular of the kind issued ? 
Not by any means. It is merely the first 
of the kind that has been made public 
through the medium of the press. 
There are seedsmen in America that 
buy just such seeds with which to adulter¬ 
ate fresh, pure seeds, for which they are 
obliged to pay—the market price. They 
are the seedsmen who “give away’’seeds 
or offer them far below the market price 
in order to “introduce them” and “secure 
your future patronage.” 
BY THE SHORT WAY. 
Pres. Norton in his address before the 
Society of American Florists, remarkea that 
the committee on nomenclature, composed 
of the most able and intelligent of the mem¬ 
bers, has already exerted a salutary influ¬ 
ence and cannot help being a great benefit 
to the cause of horticulture generally. The 
very existence of this committee has a 
healthy effect, he thinks, and it is a constant 
reminder to evil doers that the society has 
its eye on them. Let the good work go on 
until every purchaser can feel sure of re¬ 
ceiving what he orders, and that whatever 
he buys, let it be seeds or plants, will prove 
to be j ust what the description or the illus¬ 
tration represents it to be. 
A GRATIFYING report of the R. N.-Y, 
wheats comes to us from Michigan through 
the Michigan Farmer. The West Michigan 
Farmers’ Club discussed the subject of 
wheat on the 11th of August. In re¬ 
sponse to the club’s request the Michigan 
Agricultural College sent 17 samples of 
wheat in the straw with comments on the 
quality. Mr L. J. Briggs of the agricul¬ 
tural college, who raised the 17 kinds, said 
that the “ Carman wheats are considered 
the most interesting of the new varieties.” 
Mr. Rowe and Mr. Voight, two expert mil¬ 
lers, “ after carefully examining them 
agreed in naming as the best in the follow¬ 
ing order : Reliable, Johnson, Beal (all 
bearded); Garfield and Bailey as the best of 
the bald varieties.” All but Reliable and 
Garfield are the R. N -Y. wheats. It ap¬ 
pears, however, that the Reliable is “ liable 
to lodge.” Garfield bears a “ beautiful, 
light colored grain and clean straw. 
Many of the millers present said that 
Lancaster or Mediterranean Is the best and 
should head the list. They also agreed that 
the Clawson Wheat of to-day is better than 
the Clawson of 10 years ago and is the sec¬ 
ond best they have to grind. The Dodd was 
voted third and the Democrat fourth. The 
Fultz was condemned as worthless. 
Early Red Clawson was pronounced 
rather soft. Everett’s New Monarch was 
rejected. 
Mr. Voight said that if the farmers 
would give the millers plenty of good Lan¬ 
caster Wheat, it would knock the Western 
spring wheats higher than a kite. The 
millers explained what they meant by 
strength in flour is its capacity to absorb 
water; the pound of that kind which will 
take up the most water for mixing for 
bread, thus making the larger loaf, is the 
strongest. 
Mr. Herbert Post of Fort Worth, 
Texas, makes the statement in the Rural 
Californian that it does not pay to plant 
any but the very fiaest Texas soft shell pe¬ 
cans, which always command the highest 
prices. Unlike most other trees the pecan 
lasts for generations and it doesn’t pay to 
plant any but the best, as the future mar¬ 
kets will demand the soft shell nuts in pref¬ 
erence to all others. 
Experience has shown he says that by 
cultivation the soft shell nut can be brought 
into bearing at six years of age, at eight 
years pays good profit and at 10 years of age 
will pay upward of $300 an acre, and at 15 
years over $750 an acre on a basis of only 
five cents per pound at the orchard. In no 
other country but America does the pecan 
grow and nowhere else in such perfection as 
in Texas. 
The R. N.-Y. Is raising several trees 
from splendid nuts received from Texas. 
They grow thriftily and are thus far hardy. 
From now until the middle of October is 
the best time to plant hyacinths and tulips. 
Let the soil be rich, mellow and well- 
drained. That is about the whole story... 
Spinach. —Prof. Thomas Meehan says 
that very few amateurs know how to raise 
a first class grade of spinach, and yet noth¬ 
ing is easier. It should be sown about the 
time or a little before forest leaves color in 
fall. It grows then very rapidly under the 
temperate autumn weather. In the winter 
it requires a very light covering of straw, so 
light indeed that we can see the green 
leaves fairly well through the covering. 
The plant itself is hardy, no frost injures 
it. The use of the straw is chiefly to keep 
the frost from pulling it out of the ground 
and to keep the leaves from discoloring. 
No soil can well be too rich for this plant, 
the richer the soil the larger and more ten¬ 
der the leaves. 
Twenty years ago, says the Country 
Gentleman, the advice was given to give 
up all attempts at raising plums, the cur- 
culio rendering it impossible to secure a 
sound crop. An estimate was made that 
this insect was an annual cost to the coun¬ 
try of $2,000,000. That day has passed. 
What do we care for the curculio now ? 
The jarring pr< cess, with proper appliances, 
keeps the orchard clear of them with no 
more labor than hoeing an equal patch of 
potatoes. 
Then again, the codling moth was found 
to be equally damaging to the still more 
valuable apple crop. Spraying has replaced 
the wormy fruit with smooth, sound speci¬ 
mens. The same simple artillery has con¬ 
quered the canker-worms. 
The introduction of valuable kinds of 
fruit has made a revolution in the supply 
for the people at large. Great improve¬ 
ments are made in cultivation, and fine 
apples and rich pears and magnificent 
strawberries take the place of the poor, 
knotty, acid ones of half a century ago. 
Cultivators are rapidly learning a cheaper 
and more thorough way to do their work 
by means of horse-labor, and many clean 
and well dressed orchards and gardens have 
taken the place of the weedy, hand-worked 
plantations of former years. A proof of 
the great advance which has been made 
already, is shown in the abundance of cheap 
and excellent fruit within the reach of the 
whole people. 
WORD FOR WORD. 
-Maryland Farmer: “Health-educa¬ 
tion should be taught in our public schools, 
so that the coming generation should un¬ 
derstand that pure air, proper food, proper 
clothing, bathing, rubbiDg, exercise, diet, 
good drinking water, have a great mission 
for health.” 
- Firebrand ; “ Do you think you will 
go around the New Jerusalem spitting 
your filthy tobacco juice on the golden 
streets ?” 
- Toronto Globe: “It should be re¬ 
membered that a fine yield of wheat in 1891 
is no guarantee of a similar result in 1892.” 
“ When the land is well prepared and in 
good heart we may sow with the reason¬ 
able expectation of getting a fair return. 
When the laud is not so prepared, the haz¬ 
ard of loss is proportionably increased.” 
-New York Times: “The expected 
high price of wheat this season may most 
probably lead to enlarged sowing. And 
some farmers who have established a spe¬ 
cial business which is now satisfactory 
may be tempted to change the disposition 
of their farms to the growing of wheat. 
This may be disastrous, for it is seldom 
that two failures of a European crop come 
together. And if not, the production of 
wheat may next year be beyond the de¬ 
mands of consumers and low prices pre¬ 
vail. This would be a serious disappoint¬ 
ment.” 
-Correspondent Country Gentle¬ 
man : “In regard to the time for sowing 
Crimson Clover, I would say that here in 
the South its great value is as a winter 
pasture, and for turning under when in 
bloom in March or April. Sown in spring, 
it would be comparatively worthless, for 
our cow peas will beat it a long way in hot 
weather.” 
“ It is a hazardous business to advise 
farmers and producers when to sell, and 
what figures to hold for, but it is perfectly 
safe to assure them that the Alliance move¬ 
ment is now in about the same stage the 
anti-slavery upheaval was 40 or 50 years 
ago, and that sooner or later, though it 
may be years first, the producer will not 
continue to be the slave of the consumer, 
as for the last 20 years.” 
-Dr. T. H. Hoskins : “ In the old times, 
when the people were poor and ministerial 
salaries small, many of the New England 
ministers were farmers, and good ones, too. 
The apostles had trades, and joined indus¬ 
trial labors with their preaching. It 
would revolutionize this country for good 
if the modern minister could and would 
teach his people what is good for their 
minds and bodies, as well as for their souls; 
could be of daily, practical help to the com¬ 
munities where they dwell.” 
-Mass. Ploughman : “ A sagging gate 
and a door that sticks cost more to use than 
they do to fix.” 
-Toronto Globe : “ Mr. David M. Stone, 
the venerable editor of the New York Jour- 
na 1 of Commerce, says in The Forum that 
half a century of observation has put it 
beyond dispute that the farmer who sells 
his products as soon as they are ready for 
the market makes more money than the 
one who hoards them for a rise.” 
-Journal of Commerce: “A sweet, 
unselfish life, radiant with usefulness, 
never grew out of a heartless profession.” 
“ In a recent case brought to our notice a 
dealer in this city took a friend around and 
introduced him to a number of leading 
jobbing houses giving him a high rating as 
a reliable purchaser, and winding up with 
a promise to pay the bill himself if the man 
was ever in default. He said after his 
friend had failed that he did believe him 
to be good, but he knew at the time that 
his guaranty, being verbal, would not bind 
him, and he refused to be held liable. He 
is out of prison because the law does not 
punish that style of villainy, but we would 
not trust him out of our sight with half a 
peck of turnips. When such a man sits 
down by himself In the solitude of his 
chamber what sort of comfort has he in the 
self communion ? It seems to us that when 
one has lost his self respect he is utterly 
beggared. Poverty has no lower depth.” 
Members of the 
Alliance, Grange, League 
and other organizations will make a mistake 
if they buy a 
BUGGY, VEHICLE or HARNESS 
of any kind before 
seeing our free, 
biff catalogue, 
just out, show¬ 
ing over 100 dif¬ 
ferent styles of 
Carriages and 
Harness. 
No easli in adrnnee required from members. 
Cincinnati is 
the largest car¬ 
riage market in 
the world, and 
we are ahead of 
the procession. 
Sftf Reference : Second National Bank, Cincinnati. 
Get our prices 
and compare 
them with your 
local dealer’s 
prices. Goods 
are hand made 
and warranted 
for 2 years. 
HEADQUARTERS FOR ANYTHING ON WHEELS 
We will send a 
beautiful Alli¬ 
ance badge to 
any one who 
will send us the 
addresses of 
ten prospective 
buyers. 
ALLIANCE CARRIAGE CO. Cincinnati, a 
IMPROVED 
“Cummings”! “Clipper” 
FEED AND ENSILAGE GUTTERS. 
SIX SIZES. 
We manufacture a full Hue of the most desirable 
Feed Cutlers offered to the trade. They have the 
upward cut, rocking feed roller and sarety balance 
wheels. They have every point of excellence that is 
most valuable in a cutter, and have easily displaced 
all others wherever Introduced. Combined Angle 
and Direct Carriers furnished for all power cutters 
when desired. Write for t’’ree Circulars. 
Address 
ANN ARBOR AGRICULTURAL WORKS, 
ANN ARBOR, MICH. 
send circulars, 
Pruyn Manufacturing Company, 
BOX A, HOOSICK FALLS, N. Y 
ENSILAGE 
The SILO is rapidly being adopted In all 
sections of the U. S. and portions of Canada as 
the cheapest possible means of harvesting arid 
feeding the corn crop; no wtuste.no husking, 
no grinding, no toll to pay, nor time to lose,and 
a reserve of green feed for all seasons of the 
year when pasturage and other crops may fail. 
Double the number of stock can be kept on the 
same number of acres under cultivation. 
Our Catalogue embraces valuable information 
and detailed Instructions on the subject, as well 
as description and prices of the FAMOUS 
“OHIO” 
Ensilage and Fodder Cutters 
THE SILVER MFG. CO.. SALEM. Ohio. 
'Warranted the most perfect Force-Feed 
Fertilizer Drill in existence. Send for 
circular. A.B. FARQUHAR, York, Pa. 
SEPARATOR and POWERS 
Get 
•ur 
logue of 
Sweep Powers, 
hand and power Corn Shelters. _ 
Peed Mills, Steel Land Rollers, Chilled Plows, Mowers, Wood 
Saws, Engines—3 to 15 Horse Power, mounted or on base plat*. 
8 . 8. ME88INGKK «fc SON, TATAMY, FA. 
