88 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Feb. 11 
THE 
Rural New-Yorker 
TIMES BUILDING, NEW YORK. 
A Rational Weekly Jonrnal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
ELBERT 8. CARMAN, Editor-In-Chief. 
HERBERT W. COLLINGWOOD, Managing Editor 
ERWIN G. FOWLER, Associate Editor. 
Copyrighted 1893. 
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1893. 
We get many letters from readers asking about 
house lots in South Jersey. Most of these persons 
bought a box of pills and thus secured a number in a 
sort of lottery. We are not informed as to the effec¬ 
tiveness of the pills, but every one seems to have 
drawn a prize in the shape of a house lot in New 
Jersey. They are now advised to send $4 in order to 
have the deed recorded. Our advice in the matter is 
brief—put your pills in the stove and use your $4 in 
buying a present for your wife or sweetheart. These 
“house lots” are usually in some dry, sandy, good-for- 
nothing place where you would not live anyway. 
Never trust a stranger who wants to put you in the 
way of wealth—for a small consideration How often 
must we say that ? 
* # 
The article on Soiling and Ensilage, begun in this 
issue, ought to be of great value to those dairymen 
who desire to get the most out of their farms and 
cows. It is not a theoretical statement of what may 
perhaps be done but it tells what has been done by 
plain, every-day farmers. While the actual results 
are already valuable, the possibilities of such a system 
are enough to claim the attention of every thoughtful 
man. The terrible droughts of the average Eastern 
summer are death to the milkman’s profits. Costly 
grain will only make up for the lack of pasture, but 
even grain will not wholly take the place of juicy and 
succulent green fodder. The soiling crop conquers 
drought and keeps up the flow of milk. Again, by 
growing oats and peas, clover and grain hay, the 
Eastern dairyman can secure cheaper protein and not 
remain entirely dependent upon Western grown 
grain. Mr. Birge certainly shows dairymen “ a way 
out.” 
# * 
The importers of Australian meat into the British 
Isles are naturally anxious to get their foreign product 
into public use there, with the object of enlarging 
their general markets for it, and it is equally natural 
that the government should give preference to the 
products of its own dependencies over those of equal 
quality and price from other parts of the globe. The 
other day a deputation of Queensland meat raisers and 
importers called on the Financial Secretary at the War 
Office to urge the use of their product in the army. He 
replied that, although the Australian frozen meat was 
inferior to the American chilled meat, still the govern¬ 
ment would apply to Parliament for funds to establish 
cold storage at Gibraltar for Australian meat to feed 
the garrison, and, if the experiment proved successful, 
the use of the product would be extended. This is a 
matter of no small importance to cattle raisers and 
meat exporters in this country, as the supplying of 
meat to the British army and navy has afforded them 
an important market. Last year 1,400,000 hundred¬ 
weight of American dressed beef were sold in Great 
Britain, and only 150,000 hundredweight from the 
Australian colonies. 
* * 
Distinctly, The R. N.-Y. is not pleased with the re¬ 
cent appointment by Governor Flower of Mr. Sehraub 
to be Dairy Commissioner of this State. The dairymen of 
the State are in the same frame of mind as they were at 
the previous appointment—they have been in a mildly 
protesting mood ever since the creation of the depart¬ 
ment. They hoped that a first-class, wideawake, pro¬ 
gressive and thoroughly competent dairyman would 
be appointed to the position, but they were disap¬ 
pointed, and a lawyer got the place. Being a lawyer 
and a politician, many of his appointed subordinates 
were intensely unsatisfactory to the dairymen of the 
State. They were of the type of politicians known as 
“ heelers,” and were more actively interested in se¬ 
curing their own bread than they were with the quality 
of the dairymen’s butter. But the dairymen and The 
Rural submitted with the best grace possible, hoping 
that when the next appointment should be made, a 
better condition of affairs would prevail. But they 
have been disappointed. Governor Flower has deliber¬ 
ately slapped them in the face and appointed another 
lawyer, another representative of this objectionable 
class, to manage this great department. It is too bad. 
There are scores of dairymen in this State, members 
of Governer Flower’s party, who are perfectly compe¬ 
tent to fill this position—as competent as Mr. Sehraub 
or any other lawyer is incompetent—and some of these 
should have been appointed. If Governor Flower 
wanted a State Printer, he would not appoint a black¬ 
smith. If he wanted a civil engineer, he would not 
appoint the proprietor of a grocery store. Then, why 
should he appoint a lawyer to be Dairy Commissioner ? 
Certainly not on the score of any special fitness for the 
position. There can be only one real reason for such 
an incongruous appointment. It must be what is 
called “ practical politics.” Some politician is to be 
rewarded, and the reward must not be contingent on 
the efficiency of the public service. The politician 
must be cared for; the efficiency of the service is a 
secondary consideration. The Rural has no personal 
animus in this matter. It does not know Mr. Sehraub, 
but it feels that Governor Flower (whom we have pre¬ 
viously had occasion to commend) has made a grievous 
blunder in putting a lawyer in this important position 
* * 
The R. N.-Y. proposes to probe into some of the dis¬ 
honest statements of circulation made by certain 
newspaper publishers. The publisher of a newspaper 
enjoys special privileges at the hands of the govern¬ 
ment. He sends his merchandise through the mails 
at the low rate of one cent per pound. This special 
privilege renders it doubly obligatory that he should 
deal justly by all concerned ; yet an unjust system has 
grown up by which many publishers secure business 
from advertisers by dishonest statements of circula¬ 
tion. The R. N.-Y. proposes to remedy this matter 
by having Congress so revise the present law govern¬ 
ing second-class postage matter that every publisher 
enjoying the cheap postage rates shall be obliged to 
print in each issue a statement signed by the post¬ 
master, showing the amount of postage paid for and 
the weight of the preceding issue. Senator H. C. 
Lodge, of Massachusetts, has promised to present this 
matter to Congress and it will be pushed vigorously. 
Some of the heaviest and most influential advertisers 
in the country have indorsed this plan. We shall have 
more to say about it later. 
# * 
Mr. Hilton, of Albany County, Chairman of the 
Committee on Agriculture, on Monday evening last, 
introduced a bill for a State Bureau of Agriculture, 
which is generally understood to have been prepared 
by Governor Flower, and of which at this writing only 
a general knowledge is attainable as it has not yet been 
printed. One serious, if not fatal, objection to it lies 
in the fact that the chief executive of the new bureau, 
which it is proposed shall embrace all the various 
phases of agriculture in the State, is to be appointed 
by the Governor, and he in turn will appoint his own 
subordinates. The result of this will be that the new 
Bureau of Agriculture will become a first-class illus¬ 
tration of “ How not to do it.” In other words, the 
whole department will be diverted into a political 
machine. Thus managed, it can be only a calamity to 
the interests it is intended to conserve. The bill 
should never be allowed to become a law in its present 
shape. Possibly, if the nominating power could be 
taken from the Governor and conferred upon the 
three representative agricultural institutions of the 
State, namely: The State Agricultural Society, the 
Western New York Horticultural Society and the State 
Dairymen’s Association, these evil tendencies might 
be eliminated. The bill will be printed in a few days 
and accessible, when we shall discuss its provisions 
more in detail. 
* « 
Last Monday, after two months of nearly daily 
debate, the Anti-Option Bill, which was passed by the 
House on June 9 last by an overwhelming majority, 
passed the Senate by a vote of 40 to 29, in addition to 
six “pairs” among absent members. It is now in 
order for the House to concur in or disagree with the 
numerous amendments made by the Senate and to 
refer the bill either to the friendly Committee on 
Agriculture, where it originated, or to the hostile 
Committee on Ways and Means, which has jurisdiction 
over revenue bills It will probably be referred 
to the former and a Conference Committee of both 
Houses will be appointed to decide upon the provis¬ 
ions on which they disagree. The opponents of the 
measure are still persistent, and as the present Con¬ 
gress closes its career on March 4, they hope by 
filibustering or dilatory motions, and by the pressure 
of appropriation bills, to defeat it by delaying final 
action on it during the rest of the session. Hardly 
ever before has any measure before Congress met with 
such persistent and rancorous antagonism. Its most 
powerful opponents have been the various Boards of 
Trade throughout the country, the chief beneficiaries 
of the present abuses. What in reality are they ? 
Merely small, close corporations the number of whose 
members is limited by enormous entrance fees ranging 
from $5,000 to $30,000 for each member, and also by 
special enactments, in order to enhance the value of 
membership. All legitimate transactions must be 
effected through one of the members, and a special 
committee of the Board presume to regulate the prices 
of products, some of which not one of them has even 
handled; and around these cluster all who hope to 
gain by the iniquity. Produce dealings in “options” and 
“futures” have been in vogue scarcely a quarter of a 
century, and the bill merely provides for a return to 
the old methods of trade, under which producers and 
consumers were less at the mercy of middlemen. Free 
dealings are provided for in every legitimate contin¬ 
gency ; it is only sheer gambling in produce that is 
taxed out of existence. Supporters of the measure 
should chant no paean of triumph yet, for in the face 
of such foes, a repulse, however severe, is not a 
victory. Let them redouble their efforts. Multitud¬ 
inous letters to Congressmen strengthen the hands of 
the friendly, decide the vacillating and intimidate 
the hostile. * # 
BREVITIES. 
Little Jack hung up his stocking when It’s Christmas Eve. 
One o’ these wise little fellers—jest tied ter believe 
That ole Santy Claus would visit us an’ bring his pack. 
Wished sometimes my faith wuz mighty—jest like little Jack. 
Mongst the things what Santy brought him wuz a soovyneer 
Half dollar with Columbus plctered, an' the year. 
Little Jack he wuz so tickled he jest tied to go 
So’s ter let the neighbors see It—tromptn’ through the snow. 
Great big drift o' snow wuz layln’ out In our back yard; 
Little Jack went dancin’ through It, sorter off his guard. 
Down he fell an’ frumhls fingers dropped thet soovyneer. 
An’ thet snow-drift up an’ swallered what he held so dear. 
How he cried! Poor little feller! But he’s plucky too. 
8ed he'd take his little shovel—dig thet snow all through 
An' jest find his half a dollar; but I sed, sez I, 
“ You jest wait till warmer weather brightens up the sky, 
Then thet snow’ll all be melted an’ you'll have yer fun 
Pickin’ up thet half a dollar; It can't melt and run!” 
8ure enough we bed an early January thaw. 
Snow all melted—there’s the money without any flaw. 
Ain't It so with lots o’ other things of mighty cost? 
What we've sorter lost our grip on an’ we think Is lost? 
Down beneath the snow o’ trouble an’ the Ice o’ fears 
They’re jest waitin’ there In safety till the healin’ years 
Warm with love an' happy purpose on them snow drifts blow: 
Truth can't melt: it’s safe forever underneath the snow. 
A Dorset lamb Is not always a cosset. 
Why does a good butter maker wear a white jacket ? 
The system of pooling milk has long been fooling men. 
A sad sight—frost In the hair that covers a frozen brain. 
He makes a mockery of bliss who sends tobacco with a kiss. 
Do you live In a county where a man would cut his political throat 
by proposing a law to kill off all useless curs ? 
When rats read a learned opinion that Guinea pigs will drive them 
out of a house, they will probably ejaculate their own name! 
It will be a black day for Western grain growers when the practice 
of growing oats and peas mixed becomes universal on Eastern dairy 
farms. 
The man who sells well-trained collie dogs deals In his own intelll 
gence, and the patience and skill needed to make gentlemen out of 
the dogs add to his own wits. 
It Is not a discouraging sign of the times that the threatened revival 
of the old Louisiana Lottery at the Sandwich Islands drove the better 
element of the people to revolution. 
Eating and barking are the chief accomplishments of the ordinary 
“yard dog.” Is It because it has never been taught anything else or 
because these accomplishments are the sum of Its knowledge ? 
Don’t forget that horse manure Is a fine absorbent for cow liquids. 
Wheel that manure out of doors and the rain will wash the goodness 
out of It. Wheel It behind the cows and it will hold goodness. It’s all 
In the locality. 
Be careful, In your eagerness to catch the mighty dollar, that 
Satan doesn’t sneak behind and get yon by the collar. For If there’s 
any fighting to be done In life, I wist, you had better have old Satan 
where he's handy for your fist. 
“ Wyoming needs more men and fewer steers ” says Gov. Osborne 
of that State. Population and agriculture are more urgent need 
than stock raising In all the frontier States, and as the Man with the 
Hoe advances the Man with the Lariat retreats. 
The amount of actual potash In muriate and sulphate of potash Is 
about the same. Why then should the sulphate be better for pota¬ 
toes? Because the muriate contains chlorine, a substance found In 
common Balt, which Interferes with the production of starch and 
sugar. 
Mr. Grundy’S ex-farmer has prepared a statement In reply to 
Messrs. Crosby and Massey. We shall have it next week. Also Mrs. 
White, the lady In Kqnsas who wrote about her year’s work, will reply 
to her Georgia critic. The R. N.Y. Is the great forum for such farm 
life battles. Let us discuss them In a good-natured way. 
IN the recent experiment of shipping oranges directly from Florida 
to England a number of russet or “ rustv-coated ” oranges were sent. 
For our own eating we prefer these to any others, but they were new 
to Englishmen and did nottake well. One man Is said to have asked 
seriously If they were not the results of a cross between the regular 
orange and the russet apple. 
It has been suggested that there Is a good chance In every country 
locality for some one to make a good quality of kerosene emulsion 
and put it up In packages for sale. The same might be said of the 
Bordeaux Mixture. We find many farmers who would use both of 
these preparations but for the bother of mixing them properly. They 
would buy them If ready mixed, and some one might well take as 
profit the tribute others are ready to pay to pa' ience and “ pother.” 
There'S frost upon the wattles, and the combs are raw and black. 
Jack Frost reached In and stung them through that little, narrow 
crack. And now the hens have headaches, and they really cannot lay 
But sadly do they mope around and little do they say. No blithesome 
cackle tells us that another egg is born, but moping In the henhouse 
are the “ egg machines” forlorn. And now let Mr. Farmer at his 
leisure count the cost of feeding combs and wattles just to fatten up 
Jack Frost. 
Many are the complaints made against our patent laws. A patent 
Is supposed to give one a monopoly and the right to charge an extor¬ 
tionate price for the patented article. There is another side to it. The 
government Issues the patent, but it does not defend the right of the 
patentee. In a contest over a patent the side with the longest purse 
generally wins, and a poor man is at the mercy of the lawyers who 
defend his right. If the government should be made responsible for 
the defence of every patent It issues, far more care would be taken In 
judging the value of “ new ideas.” 
A Cincinnati produce dealer charges the managers of the United 
States Soldiers’ Home at Dayton, O , with turning out honest butter 
In place of butterlne. Formerly this Institution used 1G.000 pounds of 
butter per month. Recently a contract was made for 48.000 pounds 
of butterlne at 19 cents a pound. The use of “bosh butter” Is bad 
enough, but at the time the contract was made It could be bought by 
the single tub at 16 cents a pound ! This means 192.000 pounds of 
butter knocked out of the market for this year, and this is but one 
government establishment. Old soldiers and their children who are 
engaged In the dairy business must be proud of the government that 
takes their trade away! 
