772 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
OCT. 31 
THE 
Rural New-Yorker, 
TIMES BUILDING. NEW YORK. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
ELBERT 8,$XRMAN, 
HERBERT W. COLLINGWOOD, 
EDITORS. 
Rural Publishing Company: 
LAWSON VALENTINE, President. RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
THE AMERICAN GARDEN, 
EDGAR H. LIBBY, Mansger. OUT-DOOR BOOKS. 
Copyright, 1891, by the Rural Publishing Company. 
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1891. 
The request is made that all plants and 
seeds for trial or specimens for identification 
be sent to the Editor, River Edge, Bergen 
County, N. J. 
In addition to the profits from the vast crops this 
year, an elaborate calculation shows that the farm 
lands of Minnesota and the two Dakotas have risen 
fully $200,000,000 in value within the last twelve- 
month. This is just as much an addition to the 
wealth of the farmers of that section as if it were 
represented by bushels of grain or dollars in bank ; 
for it is an unquestionable asset, representing not 
only so much security for future operations ; but 
so much ready money for all who wish to sell. 
Happy the Northwest in 1891 ! 
The latest Texas scheme for the relief of the 
debtors to the alien capitalists and loan companies, 
wants the State to borrow the money in bulk and 
loan it to the farmers and others according to their 
demands. However good the security at the time 
a loan is made, there is always considerable risk 
and a good deal of expense attending it. Who is 
to be responsible for these ? Surely the tax payers 
who do not borrow money and could reap no 
benefit from the plan would have good reason to 
object to any share in the expense or risk involved. 
After all, isn’t the best way of paying debts the old, 
old one, which does so through the operations of in¬ 
dustry and economy ? 
The delay in printing the interview with Major 
McKinley is explained by Mr. Chamberlain. We 
hoped to print it in the issue containing the remarks 
by Governor Campbell and John Seitz. As it is, 
we have given all three a fair chance—our regret 
being that Governor Campbell did not see fit to ex¬ 
plain his position with more detail. We also give 
in this issue the views of Mr. Agee, of the Ohio 
Farmers’ Alliance, on the value of a tariff on articles 
which we export. Major McKinley’s explanation 
of the real value of the silver notes will, we think, 
be new to many of our readers. It has been claimed 
that these notes represent “short dollars.” Accord¬ 
ing to Major McKinley each silver dollar contains 
79 cents’ worth of silver and represents 21 cents 
more. 
An organized effort is widely under way among 
farmers to secure from Congress free mail delivery 
in country towns. For years The Rural has been 
an earnest advocate of such a measure, and has 
frequently shown the economy and justice of it. 
At present the Farmers’ Alliance, the Patrons of 
Husbandry and other agricultural organizations 
are canvassing the matter. Letters are being sent 
to Congressmen in favor of it, and petitions to Con¬ 
gress are being circulated in many parts of the 
country. Farmers everywhere should take a lively 
interest and an active part in this movement. Post¬ 
master General Wanamaker states that experi¬ 
ments made by the Post office Department for free 
delivery in farming districts, show that the increase 
in revenue more than pays the increase in expenses. 
Let all farmers, therefore, at once put their shoul¬ 
ders to the wheel of progress in this case. 
We have had a curious State campaign in New 
York this fall. The Republicans have made their 
fight against Tammany Hall and its evil influences. 
Andrew D. White states the case fairly and squarely 
in the following words: 
Never before in the history of our commonwealth has 
there been presented such a spectacle—a brutal faction 
controlled by a triumvirate, each member of which has 
been tried for a murder, subduing its own party by force 
and fraud, and flgnting the opposition party not by argu¬ 
ment, but by money, it is a crisis in which patriotic men 
of both paroles should stand together against this worst 
foe of both Republicanism and Democracy. 
There are two sides to most questions, but we 
have yet to see a reply to this strong arraignment. 
Those of us who live where we can see the workings 
of Tammany Hall know that its methods cannot be 
defended, that Mr. White’s words are true. The 
Tammany reply comes in three heads. 1. The Re¬ 
publicans lost this city the World’s Fair. 2. The 
Republican candidate is nothing but a tool of a well 
known politician. 3. “ What are you going to do 
about it ?” In reply to this the Republicans say 
that no fair at all is better than a Tammany fair, 
and that no worse political force ever stood back of 
any candidate than the one that is now pushing the 
Democracy in this city. The one issue of the cam¬ 
paign that is of paramount importance to farmers is 
the proposed amendment of our election laws. The 
present “paster” ballot is but a step in the right 
direction. The Massachusetts law is in every way 
superior, and none know it better than the leaders 
of Tammany. The farmer is directly interested in 
every movement to prevent fraud in our city elec¬ 
tions. If rural people do not bestir themselves in 
favor of a better election law they will wake up 
some fine morning and find that they have a re¬ 
duced representation at the State capital. Tam¬ 
many Hall will probably continue to carve New 
York city for a good many years. What honest 
man wants such an organization to carve New York 
State into new election districts ? 
Italy has promptly followed Germany’s example 
in lifting the embargo on American pork, and last 
Wednesday the French Senate virtually agreed to 
the policy in the same direction advocated for sev¬ 
eral months by the Assembly and Ministry. The 
only point on which any disagreement still exists 
is the import duty to be levied upon it. That now 
in force in Germany is $4.76 per 220 pounds, and 
it is expected that the French schedule will put 
it at $4. The next country after France to raise the 
embargo is expected to be Austro-Hungary. Over¬ 
tures have already been made to this country by 
agents of the Emperor Francis Joseph and negotia¬ 
tions will shortly be under way. In spite of the en¬ 
larged markets already secured and in prospect, 
however, American pork is now $1 per barrel 
cheaper than at this time last year; but doubtless 
owing to the abundant corn crop already in sight 
and other causes the price would be still lower were 
it not for the excellent outlook abroad. 
We find thtlt 48 Paragon Chestnuts weigh one 
pound, and that 208 American chestnuts gathered 
from one tree and another in the woods or fields 
weigh one pound. That is, the Paragon weighs, on 
an average, over four times as much as the average 
American. The average of native chestnuts, it is 
true, is smaller than usual owing to the droughty 
season. But it is fair to suppose the Paragon was 
just as much affected. The little tree from which 
the Paragons were gathered is but seven or eight 
feet high, as previously described. The entire crop 
weighed a trifle over two pounds. The burrs con¬ 
tained from one to three perfect and often from one 
to six abortive nuts. The quality, though not so 
sweet or tender as the natives, is yet not objection¬ 
ably coarse and astringent as are most Japan 
and Spanish varieties. The Paragon is a valuable 
acquisition, and The R. N.-Y. has no reason to re¬ 
gret the persistence with which attention has been 
called to it during the past three years. 
The grape seizure business will not down. A re¬ 
tail deaier in this city whose stock of grapes was 
confiscated by the inspectors of the Board of Health 
during the recent scare, sued the wholesaler from 
whom he purchased the grapes for the amount of 
the purchase money. The justice who tried the 
suit gave judgment for the defendant, claiming 
that the plaintiff must seek his remedy against the 
Board of Health. This is practically a decision 
that the grapes were wholesome. The justice, after 
carefully considering all the testimony, came to the 
conclusion that “ the fruit inspector of the Board 
of Health acted in a hasty and unwarrantable man¬ 
ner ; that he had no right to seize and destroy the 
grapes in question,” etc.; that “the seizure of the 
grapes was arbitrary, unwarranted, illegal and a 
flagrant violation of the constitutional provision 
that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or 
property without due process of law.” This is pre¬ 
cisely the ground The R. N.-Y. has taken in this 
matter from the beginning, and according to this 
decision every one whose property was thus taken 
has a plain case against the Board of Health for 
damages. Whether such a suit could be success¬ 
fully maintained in the New York city courts is an¬ 
other matter. 
Business has undergone a remarkable change in 
the past 10 years. The firm formerly known as 
John Smith & Co. is now The John Smith Co. This 
means that John Smith grew tired of active 
work and responsibility. He had made enough 
money or had reached an age where rest and quiet 
recreation suited him better than the active man¬ 
agement of a large business. At the same time his 
name and reputation were too valuable to give up, 
and they could not be sold. So he just took two or 
three active and honest young men into partner¬ 
ship with him. Perhaps one was his son ; the others 
were honest and capable clerks who had no money 
to invest, but who had character and capacity. 
John Smith feels that his reputation will be safe in 
their charge. He therefore retires and gives them 
a chance to earn a share of the business. Smith 
loses nothing by this plan, and the young men are 
able to turn their work and thought into valuable 
property. They are spurred on by hope and ambi¬ 
tion because they have a good chance to do some¬ 
thing. They could not have borrowed money to 
buy into the business ; had they given a mortgage 
for it, hope would have blighted under its shadow, 
while in either case John Smith would have been 
no better off. This is cooperation in business. 
There are thousands of farms throughout the coun¬ 
try owned by men past middle age who do not feel 
obliged to work as they did 20 years ago. There 
is no reason why they should work so hard. Their 
farms are not salable at fair prices ; they do not 
like tenant farming, and they have no children who 
care to stay on the homesteads. There are thou¬ 
sands of good and true young men who want to be¬ 
come farmers, but who have no land. They are 
afraid of the curse of a mortgage because they 
know that they will have to experiment for some 
years before they can hope to become money-mak¬ 
ing farmers. Hence they hesitate to go to the farm 
under present business relations between buyer and 
seller. Frequently they hesitate until too late and 
become bitter and disappointed men—servants in¬ 
stead of masters. We need the same cooperation 
on the John Smith farm that has made the city 
John Smith Co. successful. Here we have the germ 
of a system that will provide purchasers for farm 
property and transfer surplus population back 
from city to country, where it is most needed. 
We thoroughly believe that the future salvation of 
the American farm and farmer lies in cooperation 
rather than in radical legislation. 
BREVITIES. 
I tell you what, It makes me feel so bad 
To have some sympathetic little chap 
Tellsomesmali confidence to ma’mordad, 
And see them push him off—If they should slap 
The little fellow’s face they wouldn’t cut 
* Hl« feelings half so much as when they turn 
A deaf ear to his childish plea, and shut 
The damper on the fires that ought to burn. 
It pays to earn your child'en’s confidence. 
An t have them feel so free to come and tell 
Their little troubles over and go thence 
With light hearts, feeling that the world Is well. 
Most folks ate too secretive ; we need more 
Frank, open people and the only way 
To get them Is to train their minds before 
They lose their confidence of childhood’s day, 
Keep sheep! 
There is danger in a foul manger. 
Don’t let your wish father too many thoughts. 
Mr. Stewart’s article shows us that cattle can bark. 
How long does it take for a cow to “ eat her head off ?” 
One of farming’s coming branches—Pennsylvania sheep 
ranches! 
We hardly think Mr. Stewart or anybody else will 8peak 
a kind word for the scrub bull f 
Your profits will tumble down hill the wrong way, if 
you try to keep sheep without good clover hay. 
Your nose should be good enough to know the smell of 
roup, and readily detect it when it’s in the chicken coop. 
When your cow refuses food, surely she’s not feeling 
good; better hunt, the cause to kill—thus you save a doc¬ 
tor’s bill. 
“Say nothing, but saw wood 1” That advice Is always 
good. Bat to make a mark you must saw something 
besides dust. 
Italy greets the American hog as a healthy old-time 
crony; may trade move on at a pleasant jog with the land 
of macaroni! 
Never fool with a buzz saw unless you are hard enough 
to break its teeth and there is some good reason why the 
teeth should he broken. 
How close do you run to bankruptcy ? That Is, how 
long would it taae you to eat up your surplus if you were 
suddenly deprived of outside income f 
Barbed wire at the top of a couple of boards as a sample 
of fence is immense; that is, from the standpoint of sheep, 
though we know that it gives to the dog great offense. 
Why should cotton, shoddy, jute and other stuffs that 
never grew on the backs of sheep be sold under the name 
of wool because they have been mixed with that staple t 
Let the contention for correct names be extended among 
farmers from seeds and plants to their products, raw and 
manufactured. 
We now have a class of small critics who say that 
“ Uncle Jerry ” has made a mess of it in trying to encour¬ 
age our foreign trade in corn. The wheat surplus, they 
say, is larger than was expected and consequently the in¬ 
creased sale of corn will lessen the market for wheat. We 
will risk Uncle Jerry’s judgment against 100 such great 
minds. 
And now’s the time for sausage and for spare ribs and 
head cheese—the delicacies of the hog at which no wise 
folks sueeze. Don’t use too much fat meat, good friends; 
be sure that it is cooked, or long before you know it, old 
Trichina’ll have you booked. And when the fragrant 
spare ribs make your spirits work like yeast—then don’t 
forget the spare ribs who have cooked and served the 
feast. 
“ Sunol is queen !” That is, this little mare has trotted 
a mile in 2 08%, beating Maud S. by the margin of one- 
half second. Kings and queens have always received more 
than their fair share of money and attention. Tne com¬ 
mon people have needed help but have not had it. Snnoi’s 
fast mile is all right, but Jack, Bob and Dolly will con¬ 
tinue to carry the people about. Improvement is most 
needed in their ability to travel faster—especially at a 
walk—and also to endure. 
Official returns from the registers of deeds In Kansas 
show tnat farmers are rapidly paying off their mortgage 
indebtedness. In September alone, while most of the 
crops were still in first hands, over $2,000,000 of farm mort¬ 
gage Indebtedness was released. Let us not forget, how¬ 
ever, that while Providence may, once in a wnlle, relax 
the pressure of hard times in spite of all human legisla¬ 
tion, Providence generally helps those most who help 
themselves, and that even in years of exceptional prosper¬ 
ity farmers should not relax their efforts for tne repeal 
of bad and the enactment of good laws. 
A year ago binder twine cost 15 cents per pound ; now 
it Is selling for 10 cents, and there is no denying that the 
reduction is due to the McKinley Bill. To lessen the credit 
due to the measure, the opponents of a hign tariff offer 
this explanation : With a view to placating the Western 
farmers, the tariff on binder twine was reduced from 2% 
cents per pound to 7-10ths of one cent per pound. Anu 
with a view to securing or retaining the good graces of the 
manufacturers of binder twine, tbe r*w material was 
put on the free list. Tne duty of $25 on manllla, $15 per 
ton on sunn, $15 per ton on sisal, and 20 per cent on jute 
under the old tariff, was repealed. It is no wonder, there¬ 
fore, they say, tnat binder twine should sell for 10 cents 
per pound this year. There are some people who can’t 
help looking even a gift horse in the mouth. 
According to the latest census bulletin, the total mort¬ 
gages in force in Illinois at present amount to $384,299,305, 
or about 10 per cent on the actual value of tne property ; 
while the average interest payable on this debt is eight 
E er cent, so that the Interest is about $30,000,000 a year. 
.ess than one-quarter of the mortgages are held by East¬ 
ern capitalists, the remalnuer being neid at home. More¬ 
over, tne mortgage indeotedness is oemg steadily decreased, 
and all mortgages are, as a rule, paid off in a period of 
five years. Tne xact is that the mortgage Indeotedness of 
farmers has been neither so great as represented by one set 
of schemers nor so lignt as represented by another, and 
has not, as a rule, been proportionately heavier than that 
incurred by town and city property holders. 
A 
