48o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
July 16 
T H K 
Rural New-Yorker 
Cor. Chambers and Pearl Sts. , New York. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
ELBERT 8. CAKMAN, Editor-In-Chief. 
HERBERT W. COLLINGWOOD. Managing Editor 
ERWIN G. FOWLER. Associate Editor. 
Copyrighted 1N93. 
Address all business communications and make all orders pay¬ 
able to THE RURAL PUBLISHING COMPANY. 
Be sure that the name and address of sender, with name of Post- 
ofllce and State, and what a remittance Is for, appear In every letter 
Money orders and bank drafts on New York are the safest means of 
transmitting money. 
SATURDAY, JULY 15, 1893. 
How’s your drinking water ? Good ? Don’t know ? 
Want to find out ? Here’s a simple test that will not 
only tell you something about the water, hut give you 
a point on the cultivation of bacteria. Take a pint 
bottle and fill it about two-thirds full of the water. 
Add two tablespoonfuls of pure granulated sugar and 
let it stand for several days in a warm place. If it is 
impure it will turn milky from the development of 
multitudes of bacteria. 
* * 
“ What Say ? ’’—We have often heard a man make 
use of that expression as he put his hand back of his 
ear the better to catch a remark that he did not quite 
understand. We take it for the heading of a new de¬ 
partment that will be found on page 475. These ques¬ 
tions call for a wide range of experience if the answer 
is to be of any value. Let’s all pool our issues and see 
what we can make out of it. The R. N.-Y. waits 
with its hand behind its ear ! “ What Say ? ” 
* * 
Our friend, on page 478 , gives us a taste of the feel¬ 
ing that many South Carolina people have towards 
Governor Tillman. “ Hungstarter Ben” is one of 
many elegant titles that have been applied to him 
since the new liquor law went into operation. The 
Governor will probably not be injured much by hard 
names, but will do his best to make the new law suc¬ 
ceed. Without knowing so much about the local con¬ 
ditions, we are glad that this experiment has been 
tried. * » 
An English commission man recently sold 72 boxes 
of tomatoes by sample—that is, he turned out the con¬ 
tents of one box and asked the buyer to accept it as a 
fair sample of the rest. When the buyer opened his 
tomatoes he found they were rotten—all but the 
sample box, and he brought suit to recover damages 
and also under the act to prohibit the sale of food 
unfit for use. The seller was fined $100 for deceit and 
for selling unhealthy food. Was this just? Should 
not the buyer have inspected the tomatoes before he 
took them ? * # 
You will notice t'.'at most farmers use Scarlet clover 
for green manuring and pasturing rather than for 
hay. We do not know that the quality of the hay is 
inferior to that from common Red clover but, as 
usually sown, its period for cutting seems to be out of 
the regular haying season. Again, it gives such a 
quick, rank growth that it seems peculiarly well suited 
to use in orchards or on fruit or truck patches, where 
a great proportion of it is evidently used. You observe 
that most growers say that it will not entirely take 
the place of the common Red. 
* * 
The last New York State Legislature passed a spe¬ 
cial act providing that each county in the State may 
vote on the proposition to repay to the timid drafted 
men during the War of the Rebellion, the $300 paid by 
each of them for a substitute, together with interest 
at six per cent per annum from the time of payment 
till now. This would amount in all, at simple interest, 
to about $900 each. The law provides that each 
county in the Stale may vote on the proposition, and 
whenever the signatures of two-thirds of the tax¬ 
payers of a county are secured, the question of repay¬ 
ing the money will be voted upon. A State organization 
has been perfected to enforce this claim, and petitions 
asking the Boards of Supervisors in the various coun¬ 
ties to authorize a vote on the matter are being circu¬ 
lated, and the possible beneficiaries of the scheme are 
numerous and active. While the complaints against 
the present national pension list in all parts of the 
country are so loud and multitudinous, isn’t this 
project—to put the matter very mildly—quite un¬ 
timely ? Isn’t it, too, a worse abuse than any of those 
charged against the national generosity ? Over a quar¬ 
ter of a century ago, these men, when called peremp¬ 
torily to the defense of their country, paid a pitiful 
pittance to enable them to avoid the hardships and 
dangers of war, shirk their duty and induce others to 
take the part they should have manfully played. Hav¬ 
ing thus, at small cost, got rid of anxiety, trouble and 
peril, they had ample opportunities of accumulating 
shekels in those extravagant days when even an eco¬ 
nomical fool could grow rich, and now they seeh to 
recover, with interest, the original pittance they paid 
to save all risks to their skins and fortunes! The Nation 
can well afford to generously sympathize with those 
who honestly fought in its defense, but what claim on 
the Nation or State have those who pusillanimously 
paid to stay safely at home in the hour of their coun¬ 
try’s peril ? 
* * 
Owing to the low price of wheat and the high price 
of pork, the farmers of North Dakata are feeding 
their wheat to their hogs. For wheat in the shape of 
pork they expect to get a dollar a bushel; whereas 
they can’t get more than 50 cents per bushel for it 
shipped eastward as grain. Other farmers in other 
sections at a distance from the principal markets are 
likely to do likewise, and this may still further con¬ 
siderably decrease the stocks on hand when the un¬ 
usually small wheat crop anticipated next harvest 
comes into market. # # 
Would even the repeal of the Sherman Act put an 
end to our financial troubles—solve the monetary 
problem ? Hardly. Still this act in itself appears to 
have absolutely no friends ; even its author declares 
that he advocated it merely as a compromise measure 
to avert a greater evil—the free coinage of silver—and 
is now urgent for its repeal. The silver men, too, de¬ 
nounce it as a “sneaking makeshift” which prevented 
the free coinage of the white metal nearly three years 
ago ; still they cling to the “ makeshift” on the prin¬ 
ciple that half a loaf is better than no bread. 
# * 
Somebody having asked us for the best metod of pro¬ 
tecting stock from insects, we reprint the little cut 
shown on another page. This picture, made from 
life, shows a pet donkey as he was turned out to pas¬ 
ture. The “ pants ” are loose enough to give the legs 
ample play, and are fastened by buttoning to a strap 
that passes over the back. The blanket also has a 
double strap that buttons under the belly. Why not 
protect the horses, if not the cows, in this way ? It is 
quite a common sight on Long Island to see young 
calves fitted up with a somewhat similar covering. 
Why not ? * # 
Some weeks ago we referred to the money-making 
chances that are often offered us. Here is the latest: 
I have a sure remedy for mites, cholera, -ore-head and all hlood 
diseases of poulty. I want to sell It to The R. N.-Y. for Its sub¬ 
scribers No payment will be expected until It has been tested with 
reasonable satisfaction. Make me a fair offer for it. It Is worth 
millions, yet extremely cheap, simple and easy. 
We could do lots of good with a single million dollars, 
but the good must exercise patience if it is to wait 
until the funds come in from this cure. We do not 
buy bug or bird cures. We have reason to believe 
that the common rue of the garden will prevent or 
cure cholera, while kerosene and sulphur rightly used 
will “ do the rest.” 
# * 
If a blacksmith, mason, carpenter or any other per¬ 
son engaged as employer in any of the mechanical 
arts, gave work to an applicant merely on account of 
his brawn and muscle, without any inquiry as to his 
training and skill, would he be likely to secure satis¬ 
factory hands and to succeed in his business ? Of 
course, the answer will be an emphatic “No.” Yet 
isn’t this what farmers are constantly doing ? If a 
man has thews and sinews developed enough to pitch 
hay or manure or guide the plow, if he has muscle 
and brawn enough to do farm work like a machine, 
who, as a rule, inquires as to his education and skill 
in husbandry ? Of course, a stout body is essential 
in a good farm laborer; but isn’t a skullful of skillful 
brains on top of it yearly becoming more necessary ? 
* * 
We give our friend under “ Discussion ” this week a 
chance to charge those who opposed Sunday opening 
of the fair with forgery. No proof is offered to sustain 
the charge and we deem a reply unnecessary. We are 
glad to see that nine-tenths of the agricultural papers 
opposed Sunday opening—that is, the papers that ever 
have a decided opinion to offer. The R. N.-Y. does 
not advise its readers to boycott the fair because it is 
opened on Sunday. While believing that the man¬ 
agers have made a grave mistake in disregarding the 
wishes of the religious people of the country, we still 
consider that a visit to the fair is one of the greatest 
educational opportunities ever offered. But go on a 
week day. A good proportion of the buildings are 
closed on Sunday anyway by authority of the General 
and State Governments, and many of the exhibits in 
other departments are kept covered on that day by the 
owners, and the crowds are smaller than on week days. 
An idea of the extent to which science has been ap¬ 
plied in the saving of wastes may be obtained from 
this statement: 
In Paris they first utilize rats to clear the flesh from the bones of 
carcasses, then kill the rats, use up their fur for trimmings, their skin 
for gloves, their thigh-bones for toothpicks, and their tendons and 
bones for gelatine wrappers. 
It is in these economies that profit is made now¬ 
adays. There is just as much honor and a good deal 
more skill in giving a new value to a waste product 
as there used to be in picking up a crude rich product. 
# * 
Last year a friend in Dakota sent us samples of wheat 
straw that had been plowed into the ground for a 
whole year without giving any indications of decay¬ 
ing. The straw was in perfect condition. That this 
phenomenon is not confined to the West is shown by 
the following note from Delaware : 
The two past springs have been so very dry that it has been almost 
impossible to get the best results from decaying green manure; in 
fact, clover turned under in May, 1892. (with fresh lime) was found 
almost intact this spring. 
This illustrates in a new way the great necessity 
for having a supply of water in the soil. Not only 
must the plants have water to drink, but the soil it¬ 
self must be moistened in order that proper chemical 
changes may take place. Lime is usually recom¬ 
mended for use with green manures, as its solvent 
action helps to reduce the mass of vegetable matter 
to more available forms of plant food. In this case, 
however, it failed, and it is a question whether kainit 
or muriate of potash would not have been better. 
* # 
BREVITIES. 
BARTLETT PEAR TO HIS SUPP03EI) SON KEIFFER. 
You're a mighty handsome fellow, with your cheek so red and fine; 
How I'd like to Introduce you as a worthy son of mine. 
But your beauty’s only skin-deep, and beneath the paint and gaud 
You're an insult to your parent—you’re a humbug and a fraud. 
All the Bartletts have been honest; while our cheeks are not so red, 
There are few folks who will curse us for the pockets we have bled. 
We take lots of pride In saving that folks eat us to the core. 
And then smack their Ups, regretting that they haven't any more. 
But jou, fraud and humbug Kelffer, seek to live upon your cheek. 
It is painted up superbly, but alas! for those who seek 
To go deeper than vour skin, sir; one good bite Is just enough. 
I’d as soon devour a turnip as your coarse, astringent stuff. 
You are good enough for canning, where good, honest sugar may. 
With a flood of melted syrup, float your ugly taste away, 
But you’re no more fit for eating from the hand than any quince. 
Though you sport before the public with the garments of a Prince. 
Show your honest Bartlett breeding, speak right out and take your 
stand; 
Say, “ I know I’m not worth eating till with sugar I am canned.” 
A k- 9 farm. 
Clip, not skip the stubble. 
AN in-bred egg gives a chick weed. 
Water from ill wells makes pills sell. 
Oiled the harness lately ? It’s oil or sooll. 
Always room for one guest—improvement. 
Who can strengthen patience by exercising it? 
Kerosene and caustic soda for horns—page 487. 
Nothing like rape to keep the flock sheep shape. 
Kainit— can It hold ammonia as well as plaster? 
No occasion for chin ease on this Cntnese question. 
The oldest drain you know of—what’s Its drain age! 
You ought to know how to clean a hand separator now! 
How the clover has gone down after water this dry season. 
“The U. S. separator will separate us," says cream to milk. 
Let the head of the family rein, but not reign, In his house. 
Judge the Jerseys by their culls, and where would they be ? 
Don't follow the crowd! Lead It! Little picked up In the rear. 
Mr. Donald's horse, page 478, could not surround that clover patch. 
It Is revival of the fittest after the money has been spent for useless 
“ novelties.” 
That boy and rifle, page 487, will be apt to take a cur sorry view of 
dog legislation. 
In these days we need an expense sieve to drop out the useless things 
In an expensive living. 
We caught a man the other day killing lady bird beetles In his 
Potato patch 1 He doesn’t deserve a potato. 
Beats all what a talk there Is about the strength of the Bordeaux 
Mixture. Its strength seems to lie In ltB weakness. 
Why do good men sometimes fall short of what they want to do? 
Because the Are of adversity turns their backbone Into bone black. 
Now let’s have all the facts about the fall sowing of clover. Why not 
give it the whole Held ? That’s the way to get at the marrow of the 
matter. 
Some of the dog meat on that wolf-hound farm Is worth over $10 a 
pound. No chemist can tell the difference between cur and pure 
blood, but It’s there ! 
“ We will double up your yield,” said the grasses In the field, “and 
we’ll pay a bonus that will make you brag; we are ready now to start, 
so pitch In, do your part, and just bone us from a fertilizer bag.” 
WHO says farming in Kansas doesn’t pay? Mrs. James Wright, wife 
of Farmer Wright of the Sunflower State, now suing for divorce, has 
just sworn that durlog the past 20 years her husband has accumulated 
$20,000 on the farm. As she helped, she naturally wants her share. 
Kyphosis Bici-istarum Is the name given a new disease or trouble 
due to the careless use of a bicycle. In English it means the “ stoop” 
or curvature of the spine, Induced by too much bending over the 
wheel. The name alone should be enough to make one straighten up. 
When Jay Gould was alive he “swore off” his personal property at 
only $500,000 for the purposes of taxation; now that post-mortem 
revelations have disclosed Its real extent, the tax gatherers, after 
much protestation on the pari of his heirs, are collecting taxes on 
$10,000,000. The death of an unscrupulous plutocrat Is often a blessing 
to the community at large in more ways than one. 
Thee agents In the West are said to be trying to sell a great Cana¬ 
dian peach, about which they say: “This peach was found by some 
hunters In a forest, growing out of a hard maple. The seed was car¬ 
ried. perhaps, by birds or thrown out by a passing train. It united 
with the maple and bore enormously.” It Is a wonder they do not 
also claim that the peach has the flavor of maple sugar ? 
