422 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
June 17 
OUR NEW HIGHWAYS. 
HOW THEY SHOULD BE MADE. 
Now that the subject of public road 
improvement is exciting such general in¬ 
terest, I beg leave to call attention to 
certain ideas connected therewith that 
seem to me at this time to be especially 
apt and important. Among all the plans 
and schemes proposed for improving our 
highways, I have seen none that presents 
a better foundation to buiM upon than 
that offered by Gov. Hill recommending 
that two public roads of the most ap¬ 
proved construction be made, at public 
expense, running in opposite directions 
through the length and breadth of each 
county in the State. This, as I said, pre¬ 
sents the foundation of as good a plan, 
perhaps, as can be devised ; but as these 
roads must be built by a general tax, to 
which all, according to their means, must 
equally contribute, and from the bene¬ 
fits of which some will necessarily be 
wholly excluded, this plan, in the form 
in which it is presented, must arouse a 
great deal of opposition. That this would 
be almost wholly sectional makes it all 
the more to be deprecated and, if possi¬ 
ble, avoided. That great injustice would 
be done by the carrying out of the scheme 
without qualification or amendment is 
also self-evident. To make my meaning 
plain, I will illustrate by presenting the 
case as it would come up in my own 
county, and in many others the case 
would be worse. 
In Cayuga County, from Auburn the 
county seat, southward 22 miles to the 
county line there would be at least three 
routes which might fairly contend for 
preference in the establishment of the 
new highway. Of course, on only one of 
these could the road be built, leaving the 
two others and all others as they were ; 
mere mud lanes, ignored in the tax lists 
of both county and State. Along the 
route selected, the favored inhabitants 
would pass to their business, or their 
pleasure, over a roadway as solid and as 
smooth as labor, money and science could 
make, while the unfortunate residents 
along the other roads, while taxed equally 
with their more favored brothers to pay 
for this Roman road, would, many of 
them, be so far removed as to be wholly 
cut off from any participation in the 
benefits. Not even by indirection would 
they be benefited. So, far from this, 
they might claim, with some plausibility, 
that they were actually injured by the 
road. If they desire to sell their farms, 
or real estate of any kind (which so 
situated they would be very likely to do) 
they would find that while their neigh¬ 
bors’ acres or village lots on the grand 
highway were largely enhanced in value, 
their own out-of-the-way would have 
actually shrunk in value proportionate 
to their distance from that thoroughfare. 
Tt is scarcely necessary to point out the 
manifest injustice of such a measure, 
and m this particular Ex-Governor Hill’s 
plan does not differ from the others thus 
far offered. 
What I propose is that whatever plan 
is adopted it be made a necessary condi¬ 
tion of acceptance that the cost of the 
improvement shall in some degree be ap¬ 
portioned according to the benefits con¬ 
ferred ; that the man whose business 
facilities are multiplied, whose pleasures 
in life are heightened, and whose prop¬ 
erty is largely increased in value, shall 
pay more for these benefits which he en¬ 
joys than the men in remote corners and 
on distant hillsides whose benefits from 
the road are, under the most liberal al¬ 
lowance. and at best, very problematical. 
There is perhaps no one remedy which 
would apply equally well or, perhaps at 
all, in every county of our State, espe¬ 
cially in those counties where the wealth 
is very unequally distributed. The plan I 
propose might have to be changed for 
some other, having the same end in view 
but operatic g directly through the me¬ 
dium of taxation. But what I propose, 
for many if not all of our rural counties, 
is that not one but several sites or routes 
for a road be proposed to the people, and 
they themselves be allowed to determine, 
by the assistance they offer, on which 
route the road shall be built, that route 
being chosen which should secure the 
greatest assistance from private benefac¬ 
tion, this to be applied to the mak¬ 
ing of the road, and the rest to be fur¬ 
nished by a general tax. I can readily 
conceive many objections to this plan, 
and its details would doubtless require 
to be worked out with great care ; but 
that it contains and embraces virtually 
the primary idea of all public improve¬ 
ments can hardly be gainsaid. If not, 
at least let the denier produce a better. 
Kings Ferry, N. Y. s. c. b. 
ODDS AND ENDS. 
Dog vs. Dog. —There is a good deal of 
humor in a dog and it is strongly illus¬ 
trated in the following true story : 
A cross between an English retriever 
and a Scotch collie, a sleek and well fed 
gentleman, found it an excellent joke to 
carry his picked bones out in the center 
of the road and keep keen watch in a 
doorway with one eye peeping. A casual 
dog of the hungry and lean sort would 
soon come along glistening at his unex¬ 
pected food, when woe to him ; his lord- 
ship would rush on the poor wretch, 
thrash him and make him run. The 
same trick would be repeated until he 
thought enough had been had. Who 
would suppose a dog, an aristocrat, 
would find fun in tantalizing his less 
fortunate brethren ? t. j. d. 
How They Came Out. —The following 
story is said to have been told at a recent 
horticultural meeting : 
“Down below Newport, in Arkansas, 
a young fellow came in from the North 
several years ago and bought some land. 
He was industrious, and, before the 
neighbors, who were pretty much all 
Southern people, had taken much notice 
of him, he had put about 40 acres into 
orchard and berries. He got acquainted 
in the neighborhood, and while he wasn’t 
planting trees he was going with the 
daughter of an old farmer who raided 
cotton, kept a pack of deer hounds and 
managed to get a living by rather close 
scraping. It began to look as if the 
Southern girl and the young fellow up 
North would make a match of it. The 
family liked the Northeruer pretty well, 
and the old man tried to reason him out 
of his folly in wasting his time on fruit. 
He told him that nobody had ever made 
anything out of fruit in that part of 
Arkansas. 
“ 4 Young man,’ he said, 1 I’ve lived 
here over 50 years and this is the first 
fruit farm I’ve ever seen around here. 
Better give it up and go into cotton. 
That’s what the Almighty intended this 
country for and he knows better than 
you and I.’ 
“ The Northerner was obstinate. He 
said he had put 40 acres in fruit, and he 
wasn’t going to stop till he had 100. 
Then the old man sent for the girl. 
“ 4 Sally,’ he said, ‘you can do as you 
please, but I reckon you’d better not let 
things go on. This young fellow is too 
smart. He’ll have to get all these fruit 
notions out of his head ’fore he’ll amount 
to anything. And while he’s learning 
sense you’ll have to wait to see if there 
is any good in him.’ 
44 Sally thought it out as far as her 
little head could go with the problem 
She broke with the fellow from the North 
and married a young Southern farmer in 
the neighborhood. The Northerner went 
on and put in his 100 acres. To-day he 
has Sally and her husband working for 
him on wages.’’ 
A Rabbit Drive. —The Pacific Rural 
Press gives this account of a not uncom¬ 
mon California scene. 
Five thousand people took part in a 
rabbit drive at Fresno last Saturday, and 
the day’s work netted from 5,000 to 20,- 
000 of the bob-tailed pests. Arriving at 
the ground selected for the drive, the 
people, some on horseback, some in bug¬ 
gies and others on foot, extended their 
line several mil’s in the form of a semi¬ 
circle, and, as they advanced, drove the 
rabbits to vard the pen prepared for them. 
No guns or dogs were allowed, and the 
rabbits were not molested so long as they 
moved toward the pen, where they were 
to meet their death. Very few broke 
away, and the balance entered the pen, 
where the people closed in upon them 
and the slaughter began, lasting for 
nearly an hour. The rabbits will be 
scalped and then the exact cumber will 
be known. The men who make the pens 
and arrange for the drives do it for the 
money they can realize from the sale of 
the ears. The county pays three quar¬ 
ters of a cent for each ear, and when 
10.000 or 20,000 rabbits are killed, 1% 
cent each amounts to a considerable sum. 
But the main body of the people who 
kill rabbits do it for sport and with no 
expectation of reward. The opinion of 
the rabbit as to the nature of the sport 
is not considered worth noting. 
If a regiment of New England folks 
were to start out on a “weed hunt” and 
destroy a million or so of weeds, they 
would not have so much fun but they 
would do lots of good. 
England vs. English Sparrows.— 
And now the poor, persecuted foreigner 
will catch it on his native heath. The 
Mark Lane Express says: 
Several farmers’ clubs have decided to 
pay head money for all sparrows killed. 
Sparrows have become very numerous of 
late years, owing to the almost total ex¬ 
tinction of their natural enemies, such 
as birds of prey and weasels. However, 
there is little doubt that one of the chief 
reasons is that boys and others are under 
the impression that they will be pun¬ 
ished if they take the eggs. The notices 
of the Society for the Prevention of 
Cruelty to Animals, which are posted in 
different parts of the country, have acted 
as a deterrent to the bird’s-nester, and 
the country is suffering from it. At 
some seasons of the year the sparrows 
do their greatest amount of good by 
feeding on the seeds of weeds, for which 
purpose they gather together in flocks 
on the stubbles, and during that time it 
is a mistake to destroy them. But as 
soon as wintry weather drives them 
to the stackyard they will begin 'heir 
depredations, which, with variations 
according to the season, will continue 
until the next harvest is gathered in. 
Wholesale shooting during long spells of 
wintry weather is perhaps the most 
effectual way of thinning their numbers, 
and few country people require telling 
how to “ lay a train ” of chaff and corn, 
so that with but little skill hundreds 
may be shot within the space of a week. 
Sparrows are almost as great a delicacy 
as larks—in fact, a “ lark pie” is often 
composed of sparrows without any one 
but the game-seller and the cook being 
the wiser. Larks which have fed for 
some time on cabbages and turnips taste 
so strongly of their food that the flavor 
is anything but pleasant; sparrows al¬ 
ways feed on seeds and grain, and are 
always to be relied upon. They stew 
down, and form the basis of most de¬ 
licious soup, and altogether form an 
article of food which should not be 
wasted—it has cost quite enough to 
grow it. 
Pisttdtaucouss gutatitfing. 
In writing to advertisers, please always mention 
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Upside 
Down. 
YES, 
it is the Champion Milk 
Cooler and Aerator, but 
it is turned upside down. All good 
dairymen turn it up this way in the sun 
to dry and sweeten. When they milk 
they turn it right side up again, for they 
cannot afford to do without it because it 
saves them so much in time and labor, 
besides it improves the flavor of the 
milk and makes it keep sweet from 12 to 
24 hours longer. Used either with run¬ 
ning water or with ice or with ord : nary 
cold water. It will last for years. We 
guarantee them and will refund your 
money if they do not do all that we 
claim. Prices from $7 to $10, according 
to dairy. Send for descriptive leaflet. 
CHAMPION MILK COOLER CO., 
Cortland, N. Y. 
THIS 
“Low-Down" Milk Wagon 
IS BUILT BY THE 
Parsons “Low-Down” "Wagon Co., 
EARJ.VILLE, N. Y. 
FREE TO HOME-SEEKERS. 
The Northwestern Home Seeker is the 
name of a newspaper just issued, giving 
valuable information regarding the agri¬ 
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This new Stste is enjoying a wonder¬ 
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Western Line, Chicago.— Adv. 
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When we say cure, we do not mean simply to 
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It will cure Pole Evil, Mange, Fistula, 
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Green mount A t.SPKIN’<; FI KLI>,0. 
Canning and Preserving 
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paring Fruit Pastes and Syrups.— 
The experience of practical workers. Hun¬ 
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Also a chapter on evaporation of fruits on a 
large scale. 20c. 
THE RURAL PUBLISHING CO., 
Cor. Chambers and Pearl Sts., New York. 
|■f| a ■| I Ojippi 1^0 ^// Kind,. Water, da,. 01). 
MM L I I oUriLlLO Mining, Ditching, Pump. 
' " " | Ing.Wind&SteamMach’y. Encyclopedia 25c. 
■ ■ ■■■■■■The American Well Works, Aurora, III. 
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SPRAYING CROPS: 
Why, When and How to Do It. By Prof. Clar¬ 
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pages; illustrated. Covers the whole field of the 
insect and fungous enemies of crops for which the 
spray is used. The following topics are discussed 
in a concise, practical manner: 
Spraying Against Insects. Feeding-Habits of In¬ 
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Philosophy of Spraying. Spraying-Apparatus. 
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the Larger Fruits. Spraying Small Fruits and Nur¬ 
sery Stock. Spraying Shade-Trees, Ornamental 
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THE RURAL PUBLISHING CO., 
Cor. Pearl and Chambers Sts., New York. 
BARDEN CABINET CREAMERY, 
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