56o 
THE RURAL N E W-Y O’RKER. 
August 19 
THE 
Rural New-Yorker 
Cor. Chambers and Pearl Sts ., New York. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
ELBERT 8. CARMAN, Edltor-ln-Chlef. 
HERBERT W. COLLING WOOD, ManaKln* Editor 
ERWIN G. FOWLER, Associate Editor. 
Copyrighted 1H93. 
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- 
office and State, and what the remittance Is for, appear in every letter. 
Money orders and bank drafts on New York are the safest means of 
transmitting money. 
SATURDAY , AUGUST 19, 1893. 
In presenting the views of three representatives of 
farmers who advocate the f<ee coinage of silver, Tiik 
R. N.-Y. does not necessarily indorse their views. So 
much has been said and is being said about the harm 
done by the Sherman law that many people seem to 
think that the silver advocates have given up the 
fight. This is by no means true. The statements 
made in another column show what the silver advo¬ 
cates desire and believe. 
* * 
The point brought out in Mr. Breck’s answer about 
sheep is well worth thinking about. In what propor¬ 
tion of cases is pedigree a false guide ? In other 
words, how many inferior animals will one be apt to 
find in a herd where all are pure-bred ? That is a vety 
important point for a buyer who cannot sec the animal 
he is buying. Is it safe to trust the breeder to select 
an animal that has good shape and vigor as well as 
good blood ? What do you think about this ? 
* # 
The Southern counties of England are almost in a 
panic over a plague of wasps. Millions of them 
hatched out by the unprecedentedly hot, dry season, 
attack animals and men, as well as all exposed food. 
They invade the butchers’ and grocers’ stores, and 
the goods there are eaten in large quantities. Many 
sheep have been stung to death and many hogs to 
desperation. The pests enter households and build 
nests in every convenient location. Truly this is a 
bad year for the British farmer, especially in the 
southern parts of the country. 
# * 
English dealers say that no new hay should be 
baled before October, or, at least, before September; 
that many have hurried their hay along too rapidly, 
and have thereby lost. Still it is a question whether 
it pays the grower to carry hay over winter. Hay 
will continue to bring good prices unless large quan¬ 
tities are rushed to market at once, when a slump is 
inevitable. Already the aftermath in England prom¬ 
ises well, and her demands for hay are likely to de¬ 
crease, but the demands from other countries will 
reduce any surplus we may have. Canada won’t ship 
so much to other countries as to England. 
# * 
Few have any idea of the enormous quantities of 
unwholesome food destroyed every week by the health 
authorities of this and other cities. From official re¬ 
ports it appears that during the first part of this year 
4,000,000 pounds of bad meat and fish unfit for human 
consumption were destroyed in New York alone, be¬ 
sides vast quantities of unwholesome fruits and vege¬ 
tables. There can be no doubt that such drastic 
measures are beneficial for the public health ; still 
to us it seems imperative that condemnation of such 
property by the agents of the Board of Health should 
be preceded by a scientific examination, alike for 
the protection of the producers and dealers as well 
as of the consumers, 
• * 
We all remember how, two years ago, the agents of 
the New York Board of Health created a storm of in¬ 
dignation among grape growers by destroying tons of 
grapes, because the stems held a greenish substance. 
These agents claimed that this substance was Paris- 
green, but they soon found out that it was copper 
which had been applied in the form of the Bordeaux 
Mixture to prevent rot. This “scare” was in one 
sense an education both for growers and “health 
agents.” It showed the former the folly of spraying 
heavily just before the grapes were marketed, and it 
showed the public how little these “health men” 
know about their own business. We hope the scare 
will not be repeated this year. If it is the growers 
should take pro-npt measures to give the city a touch 
of a grape famine which will soon show these “in¬ 
spectors ” that they are on the wrong track. Many of 
the members of the New York Board of Health are 
competent and honorable physicians. The trouble is 
done by the ignorant inspectors, who are chiefly 
politicians of the rankest type. Two years ago we 
prepared the following doggerel, which may be re¬ 
peated here : 
We bave had a big time with this Mixture Bordeaux 
And our fine Tammany Board of Health, 
Have knocked the grape growers’ good cake Into dough 
And robbed the grape seller of wealth. 
Now, if this Bordeaux Mixture, can kill the black rot, 
I would spray It In all tne dark cracks 
Of this Health Board and then strip the whole lazy lot 
And break ^ hoard over their backs. 
* * 
The embers of that hired-man discussion burst out 
into flame again this week. First we are told of the 
actual experiences of a dairy farmer. The R. N.-Y. 
knows this man personally—what he says is “just so.” 
Then Mr. Wright, who has hired over 75 different 
men, gives his version of the trouble. Then our old 
friend, “ A Farmer,” whose proposition that the wife 
should stay in-doors, started so many people up, comes 
back at his critics with both hands. He would go a 
step further than the others, it seems, and make his 
wife sole boss of one very important part of the farm 
rather than an under boss of the whole business. 
* # 
The recent horrible experience at Ellerslie stock 
farm—where spectators were forced to stand and 
listen to the awful bellowing of cattle that were being 
slowly roasted to death inside the burning barn, was 
enough to upset the strongest nerves. There are many 
large dairy farms in the country where thousands of 
dollars are invested in stock and buildings. As a rule, 
the owners are satisfied to make the buildings as nearly 
fire-proof as possible. At night the cattle are usually 
left to themselves. It seems to us that a watchman 
on such farms would more than earn his wages. Such 
a plant should not be left alone day or night, any 
more than a factory or store house. 
* * 
Some farmers find it very hard to believe the chemist 
when he tells them that in one ton of ordinary stable 
manure there are 1,500 pounds of water. Because the 
water does not all run out, they do not see how it can 
be there. Yet it is, as can be proved by weighing the 
wet manure, then drying it perfectly, and weighing 
it again. In ordinary home-made bread there is nearly 
32 per cent of water. To prove this, weigh the loaf, 
and then slice it up and toast the slices brown. Put a 
pound of bran in three pounds of water and leave it 
overnight, or watch your wife boil a handful of oit- 
meal in several times its weight of water. You will 
thus get an idea of how water stows itself away, out 
of sight, and makes bulk. Sell water, but don’t buy it. 
* * 
All present signs show that the hog crop during 
the coming packing Eeason will be much heavier than 
last year, as indicated by the increased receipts of 
porkers at the chief centers during the past month or 
two. With a good corn crop, it is believed the weight 
of the animals marketed during the fall and winter 
will average as high as during several years or higher. 
Owing to the big prices for the last season, the feeders 
have given their stock special attention, and conse¬ 
quently there is a marvelous increase in the number 
on hand as compared with the stock a year ago. In 
an enterprising country like this, the supply of any 
product readily responds to the demand, and the 
scarcity of hogs during the past year is likely to lead 
to an abundance next. * * 
The Kansas Farmer states that in half that portion 
of the State needing irrigation there is an inexhaust¬ 
ible supply of water within 30 feet of the surface. The 
act of raising this water so that it will run slowly ovtr 
the surface of the soil will mean, in three years out of 
five, the difference between loss and profit. Wind 
power has not been wholly successful. It raises too 
small a stream. It may answer, with a suitable tank, 
for a few acres of fruits or vegetables, but for farm 
purposes, a powerful steam pump is needed. Compara¬ 
tively few persons know what wonderful progress has 
been made of late in the construction of irrigating 
machinery. Not only the far West, but the East needs 
these pumping outfits. With us they will be far 
more profitable because our products can be sold in 
nearby markets for the highest prices. 
* * 
The facts presented in the article on the first page 
are of interest to hay farmers. As stated there, false 
hopes of exorbitant prices have been indulged by 
many. Hay is bringing a good price here, too good in 
fact for profit to exporters. Already reports are com¬ 
ing from England that the market is being flooded, 
and that prices are declining. The latest cable reports 
give the net price of American hay in London as $24.50. 
From French ports prices are reported as about $26. 
From Antwerp and the German ports prices are still 
higher, because they have not received so much as the 
English ports. But from the facts and figures pre¬ 
sented in the article mentioned, it will be seen that no 
extravagant prices need be expected. On page 554 
Prof. Sheldon makes a plea for hay, and states that 
prices are $30 to $50 per ton. His statement is liable 
to be misleading, if taken as it stands. The prices he 
gives must be retail prices for English hay, which 
sells higher than American or Canadian, and which 
would modify his estimate considerably. 
* « 
If you are working lor a laying strain of hens, don’t 
forget the most important thing about selecting breed¬ 
ing stock—that is when to select. The world’s supply 
of loafers and profit-eaters never seems to diminish. 
That is the fault of the common methods of selection. 
Your loafer is always a boaster. He has the faculty 
of making much of the little he really does and he 
gets the public to cash his own valuation of his import¬ 
ance. Thus he slips through the net and continues to 
eat the profit honestly earned by others The remedy 
is to take a time for selection when workers are most 
inclined to be lazy. Who does the best work fighting 
against an inclination to loaf ? That is the worker 
you want both to work and to breed other workers. 
The hen that does the best work during her moult is 
the hen you want to breed from. Pick out your hens 
therefore in late summer and fall. Ta-te the ones that 
lay when the shadow of idleness is over the hen house 
and you shall have mothers of layers. 
* * 
BREVITIES. 
I like to talk with good old friends 
Of folks we used to know 
In other days, before the years 
Had grown upon us so. 
With hand clasp tight, we bridge the past; 
The talk goes running free. 
It’s ‘‘What’s become of Tom and BUI, 
And Henry, where Is he ? ’’ 
And Alice—Is she married yet ? 
And, Mary—your old beau? 
We talk and laugh at good old times, 
And then once more we go 
Back to our work with lighter hearts. 
Somehow the good old past 
Just tnrows a blessing in our lives, 
A blessing that will last. 
Unseat conceit. 
“Take a day off.” 
Keep lime out of the well. 
Don’t tarry with the Old Harry. 
The bald-headed man’s hair died 
Any sickness In your swill barrel ? 
Let the hired man hie him to his work 
A scrubbed conscience Is a good thing. 
De-whip the carriage and use more oats. 
A depraved mind comes from de-praylng. 
A hot house lamb will die In a cold-frame 
Who ever saw a field of pure Timothy grass? 
What can make healthy growth without sun ? 
Pointing out a defect helps to perfect a thing. 
To “ talk back ” behind one's back is dishonest. 
If tar paper Is warm in winter, It Is hot In summer. 
Prof. Embry gives us the first talk about pit siloes. 
We can’t or don't cure clover as the English want it. 
With bran as cheap as hay, who will buy the latter? 
The lazy man’s mainstay Is a stay away from work. 
Sound to the core—the green apple surrounded by baby. 
This Is judgment day—that 1?, day for using your own judgment. 
A Precious privilege to kindle the fires that may burn up a swindle 
How many quarts of strawberries did you market at your own 
table ? 
Who by taking thought can cast off Nature's laws and not get 
caught? 
A rubber coat for sprayers—keep the water off them and on the 
sprayed. 
If I could have but one fruit tree, I would have the Bartlett pear— 
wouldn’t you ? 
The weeds got a start, eh? Well, how did they get It? Who stood 
still and let them go to the front? 
Riding In the same train with the devil is a co-rlde that corrodes 
your life. “ Shun evil companions!” 
Let the “ servallne’’ people alone. Whether they put “con” or 
“ pre ” before the word, they don’t de serve a lenient hand at all. 
Why don’t the dealers In Paris-green and sprayers get up a cele¬ 
bration In honor of the potato beetle? His offenses made their trade. 
You ought to consider yourself a sieve—to sift out the faults of 
your ancestors and make their virtues shine brighter than ever in 
your children. 
8ome base maligner of the breed tried to prove that Guinea hens 
will fight and drive common hens when put In a flock. We can show 
three Guineas as happy and neighborly as need be. 
Mr. Newton’s plan of a wheelbarrow for carrying the Bordeaux 
Mixture certainly beats one's back for comfort. A push-cart, with a 
wheel between you and the weight, beats the barrow. 
The hog reeve used to be regularly elected In most towns and 
cities. His duty was to keep hogs out of the streets. Thirty years 
ago very few cities did not need his services. How many now? 
The writer planted Bush Lima beans on May 11 and picked the first 
mess August 2. Beans 83 days from seed Is not bad. They were nearly 
a week ahead of Dreer’s improved Limas on poies planted at the same 
time. 
A case Is reported where a dose of Insect powder—taken by mis¬ 
take— caused all the syptoms of poisoning. Who knows of a similar 
case? Is pyrethrum poisonous, or do the makers use dangerous adul¬ 
terants ? 
Why should the farmer’s orchard be held as a free lunch counter 
for all who are smart enough to climb over the fence? Can the farmer 
step up and help himself to soda water and peanuts free of charge? 
Why not? 
Danish dairymen have suffered severely from the fraudulent sales 
of oleomargarine In the English market. The government of Den¬ 
mark now proposes an International conference to discuss the best 
means of stopping the trade In oleo. That Is business. Such a con¬ 
ference will do more good than our silver conference ever did. 
