252 
April 21 
THE rural NEW-YORKER. 
THE 
Rural New-Yorker 
Oor. OhamberB amd Pearl Ste ., New York. 
Natienal Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homos. 
BLBEBT B. CABMAN, Bdltor-ln-Cblef. 
HBBBBBT W. COIililNQWOOD, ManasrtnK Editor 
JOUN J. DILIiON, Business Manager. 
CopvriohUd liiSi. 
Address all business oommunloatlons and make all orders pay¬ 
able to THE BUBAL NBW-YOBKEB. 
Be sure that the name and address of sender, with name of Post 
oflioe 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 
transmlttlnK money. 
SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 1894. 
That unfortunate brooder experience detailed on 
page 255, teaches us that the lamp is the point of dan¬ 
ger. We believe a homemade brooder can be made to 
work. The ” homemade ” part of it consists in put¬ 
ting the wood together properly—it has nothing to 
do with the homemade lamp ! Let that alone. Put 
the boards together yourself, and buy a lamp made 
specially for the purpose. Next week we will show 
you how. ^ 
We begin a discussion of the tuberculosis question 
this week with a conservative article by Mr. Wood¬ 
ward. It is our wish to give this matter a fair hear¬ 
ing. We have little sympathy with the wild state¬ 
ments about this disease and tuberculin that are being 
made in some quarters. Such statements are liable to 
do harm at this time. The disease exists. There is 
no doubt about that. What is to be done about it ? 
That is the next question. 
ir 
OuK friend, page 254, says she has “lived in the 
smoke ” all her life. A hard lot for one who likes to 
consider herself above a ham in usefulness. At the 
recent Methodist conference in this city, every success¬ 
ful candidate was obliged to answer “ I will” to this 
question : “ Will you wholly abstain from the use of 
tobacco ? ” What do you think about that ? The 
answer will probably be “crank” or “wise man,” 
according to the hold tobacco has on the critic. 
* 
A NUMBEB of farmers will try, this spring, the plan 
of sowing Crimson clover with oats. If the clover 
make a good growth with the grain, this plan will 
prove very valuable to those who want to secure the 
greatest amount of fodder from an acre with the least 
labor. The oats could be cut for grain hay ; then the 
clover will make a good crop, and after cutting it, the 
ground may be plowed for rye or wheat. Oats and 
Crimson clover will mean a good deal to many dairy¬ 
men. 
« 
In the article on tuberculosis on page 247, the state¬ 
ment is made that this disease is contagious rather 
than infectious. As these terms are sometimes used, 
there seems to be little difference in their meaning. 
Strictly, a contagious disease is considered to be one 
which is communicated from one individual to another 
by contact, by the breath, or in some similar manner ; 
an infectious disease is one in which some hidden in¬ 
fluence infects the system. Examples of this are the 
poisonous gases arising from sewers, marshes and the 
like. 
« 
A DAILY paper in this city makes the following wise 
statement: “ But the question whether farming pays 
or not cannot be settled by asking several hundred 
farmers for their conclusions ; it can be settled only 
by collecting detailed statements of the cost of produc¬ 
ing crops, and of the proceeds therefrom.” How 
about that ? When a man says “Farmin’ don’t pay !” 
as an off-hand statement, is his opinion worthy of 
record ? It is a different thing when a man comes 
forward with his books and proves that he owes more 
to-day than he did a year ago as a result of 365 days 
on the farm. Do you know men that can do that ? 
Are there many bookkeepers in the ranks of those 
who grow poorer on the farm ? 
« 
Histoby repeats itself. We borrow from the past. 
Many a man who thinks he has a new thing is made 
weary by the information that the same idea was 
brought out 1,000 or more years ago. We were led to 
think of this by noticing how cautious some farmers 
are about giving their women folks the beneflt of 
labor-saving devices. The Roman Empire was made 
strong by its soldiers. These soldiers kept strong 
chiefly by the exercise gained in carrying their heavy 
shields and weapons. As Rome became rich and 
great, these soldiers kept slaves to carry their weapons. 
Fighting with them was dignifled; carrying them 
was menial service. Before long the slaves became 
stronger than the soldiers, and conquered them with 
their own weapons. There is but one reasonable in¬ 
terpretation of the action of a man who provides all 
the tools he can get for himself and keeps all he can 
away from his wife. He has the story of Rome’s 
decline at heart and fears that machinery will take 
his wife’s place in the household ! This is the most 
plausible theory we have yet heard. 
tt 
That old “Preservaline” fraud is on deck again. It 
had the impudence to send The R. N.-Y. a $100 adver¬ 
tisement of this stuff. We have denounced it again and 
again and warned our readers not to use it. They 
seem to think that a $100 bill will make us forget all 
we have said. Not much. “ Preservaline” is a fraud. 
The man who uses it in milk sent to New York is 
liable to arrest, according to the reports of the chem¬ 
ists of the Board of Health. 
* 
A GOOD many statements are made about our foreign 
trade in potatoes. It is not generally known that we 
have a growing export trade in this vegetable. In the 
year ending June 1, 1893, we imported potatoes to the 
value of $2,066,589. The heaviest importations were 
at New York, $1,497,323 ; Boston, $304,657 and Phila¬ 
delphia, $116,879. In the same period, we exported 
$700,032 worth of potatoes. The bulk of this trade 
was with the countries south of us, Cuba, $554,153 ; 
Mexico, $27,504 ; Venezuela, $21,697, etc. The potato 
trade with Cuba, like that in flour, is an almost direct 
result of the reciprocity treaties. 
The idea of paying one cent a pound each for 
Timothy hay and grain may seem strange to some of 
our Western readers, yet it is often done at the East. 
Such prices are absurd from an economical standpoint, 
for the Timothy has but little more than half the actual 
feeding value of the grain. Oats, wheat or barley 
made into hay will go far to save the hay bill in such 
cases as described on page 249. The silo has greatly 
increased the hay sales from many a farm. In these 
days of low grain and straw, grain hay would pro¬ 
vide a still better chance to sell Timothy by providing 
a cheap dry fodder to go with the ensilage. 
« 
Now that the war in South Carolina is over, we be¬ 
gin to get the facts in the case. The fight was over 
the Dispensary Law. While ostensibly started by 
efforts to enforce a section of the law which permits 
constables to search private dwellings for liquor, it 
was, in fact, a small rebellion of those who sell liquor 
illegally. The old saloon element started it. A 
majority of the people of South Carolina evidently 
want the Dispensary Law. They believe the liquor 
business should be controlled by the State. The 
minority will have to start the fighting if there is to 
be any. They must get some nobler cause than liquor 
selling if they expect public sympathy. 
Can you conceive of any cheaper and more easily 
produced duck food than the green corn spoken of by 
Mr. Ordway ? The corn is planted the same as though 
intended for the cattle. After it is well eared, or 
even before, if desired, it is cut into short lengths in 
the feed cutter, a little corn sufficing for a large num¬ 
ber of ducks. Successive plantings at short intervals 
furnish feed for a long time, and if there be any sur¬ 
plus, it is fed to the cows. As the main requirement 
with ducks is something to fill them up, it strikes us 
that this is about the most economical filling yet used. 
In this case, the ducks are confined in yards, but it 
would be equally available and valuable for those 
having more or less range. 
* 
Large quantities of American wool have been sold 
at Bradford, England, in the last few weeks, accord¬ 
ing to the report of the American Consul located at 
that place. One firm which made a large purchase of 
different grades of Ohio wool, said that it gave perfect 
satisfaction and that they were holding it for higher 
prices. It was explained that the American skin wools 
were especially adapted for hosiery yarns, and were 
equal to the finest English cross-bred wools. The 
opinion was expressed that the only thing that kept 
the price down is the fact that American manufac¬ 
turers have not yet fully mastered the manipulation of 
the skin or pulled wools of this country. As a gen¬ 
eral thing, the prices of American wools of all grades 
are now practically the same as of the similar English 
grades. The English manufacturer is also quoted as 
asserting that the moment wool is placed on the free 
list in this country, or admitted at a lower rate of 
duty, the price of American wool will advance. The 
reason for this belief is that larger quantities of Ameri¬ 
can wool will be used to mix with the fine foreign 
wools, and that free raw material will cause an im¬ 
petus in manufacturing in this country. Several of 
them are said to have made large investments in Ameri¬ 
can wool in the expectation that this state of affairs 
will be brought about. 
What is the matter with the fruit growers of America? 
Ephraim W. Bull, the originator of the Concord grape, 
is now in hi» old age without means of support. The 
E' N.-Y. called upon those who appreciate the work 
done by this venerable benefactor to come to his relief. 
Here is the list of donations to date : 
B. N.-Y. 
. 15 00 
Grand River Valley Hortt 
A. J. Coe. 
. 1 00 
cultural Association.. 
. 15 01 
Mrs J. M. Miller. 
. 25 
T U. Jolliffe. 
. 10 00 
BenJ. Bnckman. 
.... 5 00 
W. Atlee Burpee. 
, 10 Ud 
S. 8. Bailey. 
. 1 00 
Ellas Gates. 
50 
- - 1 nn 
Total. 
.I3S 76 
Now, what we wanted, was a popular subscrip*, ion, 
nickels, dimes—anything—from the thousands wi o 
have sold or eaten the Concord grape. Must we be¬ 
lieve that gratitude has died out of the hearts of 
American fruit consumers ? It is a hard thought that 
the thousands who have profited by Mr. Bull’s labor 
and patience, are now ready to let him go to the poor- 
house, rather than go down into their pockets for the 
price of a cigar or a pound of candy. Why is not your 
name on that list ? What about your farmers’ club or 
agricultural association ? This is the sort of giving 
that makes the giver respect himself and dignifies his 
occupation. Swell this list. Who will be next ? 
* 
bREViTIhS. 
In blDB with but a single biard oetween 
The turnip and the Baldwin apple lay. 
Spring's ferment made the turnip’s temper green. 
*‘ I’m jest as good as you,” I heard him say; 
” You think you're smart, old red head! Tnink you can 
Go lord it o^’er me because th,- folks 
Night after night come down here lor a pan 
Erom out tour bln to eat between ibeir Jokes. 
I’m just as good- the chemist tells me that! 
In water and dry matt r- it is true. 
In protein, carbohydrates, sir, and fat 
I analyze right up alorg with you. 
Why don’t they come and eat me cut of hand?” 
Old Baldwin apple chuckled in his bln. 
” Uow long before that chap will underetahd 
That composition Isn’t worth a pin 
Unless It’s mixed with tlavor and good taste? 
The fleest cake on earth might analyze 
According to the chemist s tale, like paste. * 
There's no blood In a turnip! I’m a prize 
For my red cheek-no turnip taste In me 
But acid, pleasant to the tongue!'’ 
Young man. 
In Baldwin apple’s words a sermon see. 
Put taste and flavor In your wo.'k ! You can ! 
All about nozzles—page 25.3. 
Don’t grow roots on your boots. 
A SPKING makes a gate a shutter. 
You can’t keep frost on a high hill top. 
Who can secrete the seciet of success ? 
Rsvlew your work—take another look at It. 
Make a mental '* kick ”—elevate your mind I 
Don’t blame the seed for the faults of the soil. 
And now we are threatened with a butter trust. 
The wooden tool must be colder than the butier. 
“ The best wheat Is none too good for fowls,” page ‘21G. 
The scales make the robber cows fall by the weigh side 
A LITTLE nitrogen makes the tomato plant'“ catch up.’ 
Sweden Is demanding a higher tariff on imported wheat. 
Two things for you to master—yourself and the situation. 
Theke ought to be room for you on that butter discussion. 
Bxfeuibnce without learnlcg beats learning without experience. 
Make your light so strong that It will shine through a bushel or 
burn It up. 
Let the long stalk in the manure pile be a back number. It’s a hack 
numb er anyway. 
The hired men are Invited to give their side of tho washing and 
mending question. 
Shout of range-your wife roasting herself and the dinner over a 
broken-down stove. 
YuiJ are appointed commisslonerof your own deeds. No use to run 
from the consequences. 
Theke are two politicians on your farm that ought to have a “ big 
pull. ’ The farm team. 
Kainit will do for your soli and manure all that sa:t does-and 
more. It will add potash. 
There’s one thing about the mute tongue of the dumb, it never can 
talk a man’s mind out of plumb. 
WHO answers an oath with Its cousin, a curse, adds not to 1 Is 
standing, but makes it far worse. 
Tijbbkclbs In the lungs Indicate a short life frr the cow. Tuber 
culls for seed indicate a short potato crop. 
Thimmed your plans yet? You wact/ruif. not dead wood, to show 
next fall as the result of this season’s work. 
GO forth and spray your apple trees, or else have fruit that dis¬ 
agrees with goed consumer’s eagle eye and makes the buyer very shy. 
YouK tongue Is your nozzle, your head is the pump, common sense 
is the agitator. Don’t let It get out of kilter when you spray the 
world with ideas. 
Mk. BDitDicK, page 250, makes a good argument against feeding 
the warm mash for the hen’s breakfast. We are ready for arguments 
on the other side. 
You cheapen your work when you hire a man that you " can’t trust 
out of your sight.” You thus become your own spy or watchman. 
That Is low-priced labor. 
You will carry your eggs la a very small pail—you will never have 
need of a tub if the rooster that struts at the bead of your flock has so 
large a percentage of scrub. 
Du. HOSKINS gives us a model article on page 248. In other words, 
he gives the information he would gladly have paid for years ago. We 
want bolled-out experience like that. 
It Is a good thing that those who spray now realize that next la Im¬ 
portance to nozzle and pump Is an agitator insice the barrel fo: keep¬ 
ing the mixture well stirred. No dregs wanted In tae barrel. 
Austria has no native horses sultab e for fast trotting, but the 
trot has struck Austria through the blood of American tiottlrg horses. 
It Is said there Is a better demand In Anetiia for good trotting horses 
than In any other European country. 
