448 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
July 1 
T H K 
Rural New-Yorker 
Cor. Chamber « and Pearl Sts ., New York. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
ELBERT S. CARMAN, Kdltor-ln-Chlef. 
HERBERT W. COLLINGWOOD. Managing Editor 
ERWIN G. FOWLER, Associate Editor. 
Copyrighted tkO.'i. 
Address all communications and make all orders payable to Tub 
rubai. Publishing company. 
Money orders and bank drafts are the safest In transmitting money. 
SATURDAY, JULY 1, 1893. 
According to numerous reports, wheat’is now sell¬ 
ing for a cent a pound in many parts of the West, es¬ 
pecially in places remote from the markets or having 
poor transportation facilities. How many farmers, or 
even experiment stations, have found by actual trial 
whether it would pay to feed wheat to stock at that 
price? * * 
During a visit to Fulton market the other day, the 
writer saw strawberries marked five cents a quart and 
others 18 cents a quart. What made that difference 
of 13 cents per quart? Should the kind so outra¬ 
geously poor as to bring a mere pittance of five cents, 
ever have been sent to market ? Is the shipper ever 
likely to become rich from the products of his garden? 
* # 
In regard to that question about chemical fertilizers 
for a Virginia orchard, we think Mr. Kerr’s answer is 
worthy of particular attention, lie has had a long and 
varied experience with Southern orcharding. Mr. 
Crosby’s scheme for experimenting is conservative 
enough, but he need not be afraid that a skillful use 
of fertilizers among trees will ever represent time or 
money thrown away. We would like to have our 
readers continue this discussion. 
# * . 
We want a discussion on that question of June vs. 
January butter brought up by Mr. Chapman. Where 
do you stand on it ? We have had lots of advice from 
dairymen to the effect that winter dairying is the 
thing. Are they entirely right ? Good J anuary butter 
may sell for more money, but how about the differ¬ 
ence between cost and price ? That difference is what 
we make butter for. At what time of the year is it 
the greatest? Rut this question into the tester of 
common sense. # # 
When the silo was first discussed in a practical way, 
we heard an old farmer say that he thought sunflowers 
cut just before the seeds formed would make good 
ensilage. He had noticed that all kinds of stock were 
fond of this plant. He was laughed down as a crank ; 
yet now we notice the papers are advocating what is 
known as the “ Robertson formula” for ensilage, in 
which sunflowers are to be used with other plants. 
The world moves right along. 
* * 
Like a second Joseph, the Earl of Winchelsea, the 
other diy, proposed to the British House of Lords that 
the Government should construct granaries vast 
enough to contain a supply of wheat ample to save the 
people of the British Isles for years from starvation 
in the event of a blockade by a hostile fleet. /Truly 
England is deplorably dependent on outsiders for the 
necessaries of life ; but the idea of a successful block¬ 
ade of British ports by any foreign fleet, in spite of 
the “Steel Walls of Old England,” with the “Hearts of 
Oak ” behind them, had never entered the head of any 
member of John Bull’s family, and the suggestion was 
laughed in scorn out of the House. Sometimes ridicule 
is the most powerful argument. 
* * 
At present in Kansas, as in most other States, 
farmers are forced either to sell their grains and seeds 
to the managers of local elevators or ship them in 
bulk without learning the weights. Thus they are 
entirely dependent on the consigners’ honesty. To 
remedy this evil, the legislature of the Sunflower State 
has passed a law which will go into effect on July 1, 
requiring all railroad companies to provide track 
scales at every station at which the aggregate ship¬ 
ments of grains and seeds during the preceding year 
have reached 100 carloads or over. Of course the 
chief object of this act is to enable farmers to deliver 
their grains and seeds directly at the wholesale mar¬ 
kets and avoid the handling of them by local elevators 
which have hitherto had a substantial monopoly of 
the business. The law provides that the railroad com¬ 
panies shall be held absolutely responsible for any 
shortage, in transit, over a quarter of one per cent. 
When a shipment large enough to fi 1 a car is offered, 
the company must weigh the car directly before and 
after it is loaded, for which service the shipper is to 
pay 25 cents for each draft. Of the justice of such a 
law there can be no question, but the practicability of 
enforcing it is a trifle doubtful. The railroad mag¬ 
nates either openly or indirectly through convenient 
tools wholly own or are pecuniarily interested in the 
elevators, which, as a rule, are mere parasitic corpor¬ 
ations, run chiefly for the benefit of the railroad man¬ 
agers to the injury of the stockholders, and these men 
are not accustomed to surrender a source of great 
personal emolument without a struggle, and by 
neglect, opposition and intimidation they are likely 
to do a great deal to hinder or altogether prevent in 
places the enforcement of this excellent piece of legis¬ 
lation. 
• * 
We have some notes about cooperative horse buying 
this week and last. This method of buying a stallion 
or expensive bull has many points in its favor. The 
cost to each individual farmer is comparatively small, 
and all profits go into the company. With good man¬ 
agement, the horse really pays for himself from the 
start, so that the members secure colts at the ordinary 
service fee and for the same outlay obtain valuable 
property. Horses bought in this way are usually of 
better breeding than those kept at the town stable or 
country cross roads. Mr. Severance maks a good point, 
on page 455, when he speaks of securing a stallion that 
will mate in color and size with the mares of that sec¬ 
tion. Any one can see the advantage of having a car¬ 
load of matched horses to ship rather than a load of 
assorted animals—all sizes and colors. 
* # 
The wording of an advertisement often troubles 
readers. When a man pays money for advertising 
space, he has to sell goods in order to get any 
profit out of it. If he is wise, he will word the adver¬ 
tisement so as to attract customers. Suppose an agent 
of The R. N.-Y. wanted to advertise for subscribers. 
He might word it this way : 
J OHN SMITH, Smlthvllle, Is agent for that 
excellent paper, Thk Rural New-Yorker. 
Will be pleased to show samples and take sub¬ 
scriptions. 
That tells the whole story in a few words, but it prob¬ 
ably would not pay John Smith. Suppose James 
Brown takes hold of it like this : 
A WONDERFUL CHANCE 
TO AID YOUR FARM AND YOUR FAMILY. 
iar$l .00^1 
secures 52 articles that, If wisely used, will add 
$100 to your income this year. 
Satisfaction Guaranteed or Money Refunded. 
The man who sends his dollar to James Brown be¬ 
comes a subscriber to The R. N.-Y. Which form of 
advertisement will attract the more attention ? Is 
there anything wrong about J ames Brown’s card ? 
After all, does it not largely depend upon James 
Brown’s personal character for honesty and fair deal¬ 
ing? That is what it comes to. The great thing to 
consider is the character of the advertiser and his 
reputation for fair dealing. What he says in his ad¬ 
vertisement is of less importance. 
* * 
A Long Island farm just now is about the driest 
place to be found. Early in the season farmers were 
eagerly waiting for the rain to stop—now they would 
give anything to have it begin. Along the railroads 
meadows have been burning—so dry that the grass 
is fired by passing sparks. The drought has hurt 
strawberries, and potatoes are suffering. Observers 
notice one thing about the clover crop—it is better 
than for many years. There are more blossoms on 
the plants than ever before. This seems due to the 
disappearance of the clover midge that has done so 
much damage in years past. 
* * 
Take a good look at that barn-yard leach pictured 
on our first page. Will you not vote the leather medal 
for effective manure making to the owner of that 
yard ? When the rains descend and the floods come 
and beat upon that farm, it will fall slowly but surely, 
because its bank is built upon a steep hillside. Old 
settlers built their houses on hills so as to fight the In¬ 
dians to advantage. They put barns near streams so 
as to easily get rid of the manure. Indians and “ vir¬ 
gin fertility ” have both gone. Everybody recognizes 
the fact that the Indian is a thing of the past, but evi¬ 
dently lots of folks, like the owner of that barn-yard, 
fail to understand that the old farms are in danger of 
losing their backbones. A barn-yard built on the 
principle of a sieve will hold nothing but grief. 
# # 
When we called the Guernsey a “ Dignified Jersey” 
we certainly meant anything but disrespect for the 
former excellent breed of cattle. The Jersey has long 
been the standard for butter-making cows. The 
breed has been advertised and “ boomed” until rich 
milk and “Jersey” are almost synonymous. The 
great merits of the Guernsey have not been so pushed 
and published. When claims are made for this breed 
therefore they must be comparative claims based upon 
the known excellence of the Jersey. When we said 
that the Guernsey was a “ Dignified Jersey” we only 
used a figurative mode of saying that the Guernsey 
had all the good points of the rival breed and in addi¬ 
tion was “dignified”—that is, free from the nervous¬ 
ness and excitability that have often beaten the Jer¬ 
seys in public tests. * # 
We have often been told that European farmers 
have been very successful with the use of basic slag as 
a source of phosphoric acid. We have, this week, 
letters from practical and intelligent farmers in Ger¬ 
many and France, that give an excellent idea of the 
comparative value of the slag abroad. These letters 
are worth a careful study. We have often advised 
farmers to experiment with the slag. The American 
price is too high. Notice that it can be bought in 
Germany for $10 per ton—a price that will enable the 
manufacturer to make a fair profit. Several things 
about the slag are worth repeating. It contains 
nothing of value but phosphoric acid and lime. It 
must be very finely ground. It is but slowly soluble 
and is best suited to damp or somewhat “ sour ” lands 
containing a large amount of humus or vegetable 
mold. Nitrate of soda is about the only form of nitro¬ 
gen that should be mixed with it. Read the articles 
carefully. # # 
BREVITIES. 
The fellers over yunderln the town have gut a band, 
An’ once a week they practice up with all the boys on hand, 
An’ out on my plazzy I can set an’ hear ’em play 
As, creepln’ up the valley come the notes from far away. 
There ain't no high-toned players on the band—jest common men; 
There ain’t no science in ’em. but you orter hear ’em when 
They all start oil together an’ run up an’ down the scale, 
An’ then play Swanee River, Home, Sweet Home, or Lilly Dale. 
That harmony comes creeping up the valley with the wind. 
The tune blled out by distance an’ the stale notes left behind. 
I jest set here an’ listen with my eyes a-runnln' wet. 
It ain’t a mite like cryln’ ’cause yer sad an’ lone an' yet 
Them tunes jest digs the cover offen memories In yer heart, 
An’ long-forgotten visions into being seem ter start, 
An’ youth an’ hope, ambition hold a hand out once again, 
An’ gone Is all the trouble an’ the sorrow an’ the pain. 
With that sweet music drlppen on yer heart like healin' dew. 
An’ faith an’ love a-breakln’ all yer soul's big prison through. 
Don’t reject respect. 
Don’t go If you cannot pay. 
The scrub dairymen look cowed. 
Kill the horn fly In the manure. 
Swamp muck is fermented sawdust. 
“ Scours” will clean out a calf’s health. 
What about rooster-pecked wives? 
A Paris-green gun will make the bugs leg It. 
Men have been hung for a “slip of the tongue.” 
How much kerosene oil do you use in your axle grease ? 
You can’t overstock a held so long as you put feed Into It. 
Think of that herd of Mr. Baker's averaging per cent butter fat. 
Ik you won't give pastured cattle grain, give them attention, any¬ 
way. 
You have to keep your cow at home—what about your neighbors 
dog? 
Who claims that corn planted In hills stands up better than that In 
drills? 
You use manure to Increase the crop without Increasing the cost of 
cultivation. 
In France one-tenth of all the steam power used In the country is 
found on farms. 
A hard hour that when you first realize that the baby has stepped 
out of babyhood. 
The cow now tramps the pasture dry and bare In search of food 
that surely should bo there. 
Ever hear a little Guinea chick make Its wants audible ? No? You 
have something to live for. 
Why can't we have oil-holes In the wheel hubs so as to grease up 
without taking the whole wheel off ? 
What Is to prevent you from having pedigreed potato seed like Mr. 
Hallock's? Anything but “ I don’t want to? ’ 
Did you know that Nancy Hanks, “ the queen of the turf,” was 
named after the mother of Abraham Lincoln ? 
Our Texas friend, page 447. seems to think Carrie T. Meigs missed 
a chance when she failed to “ Mr.” the hired man. 
When a man sits in his cushioned chair while the weeds are grow¬ 
ing he Is guilty of a basic lag— of no benefit to agriculture. 
What about using hay or straw on tile to keep out the sand ? Have 
you ever tried It ? If so, we want a slice of your experience. 
The war is getting to be a “ way back.” Is that why the old soldiers 
eat “hog butter” while the Italian Mission children have pure Jersey 
fat ? 
You will notice that If the German fert'llzer dealers do not make 
their goods of a certain fineness the farmer need not pay for them. 
Isn’t that right? 
Don’t ever send a picture to any of the “ Art Companies ” that 
offer you a “ portrait free. ’ Don't trust any man who wants to give 
you something for nothing. 
Seest thou yon “poke?” He Is always behind. He was cursed at 
his birth with weariness. He prefers the leather medal to a gold 
one. He needs an application of himself to himself. 
The old stick-in-the-muds are “getting left” in most places. 
T’other day at Lexington, Mo., the municipal election turned upon 
the issue of hogs or no hogs In the streets. The No-Hogs won. 
For years chemists have tried to find some means of making the 
nitrogen In leather available. No plant has teeth strong enough to 
eat an old boot. Chemists have burned the leather in the hope of 
washing the nitrogen out of the smoke or “fixing ’ It with plaster. 
This has been done In the laboratory, but for practical work on a 
large scale has not been found su cessful. Chemistry may score 
another triumph soon in a method of making leather-nitrogen cheaply 
available. At present, however, the only semblance of a plant tnat 
can grow upon a leathery food is a corn on the foot. 
