268 
April 28 
TIIK RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Til K 
Rural New-Yorker 
Cor. Chambers and Pearl Sts., New York. 
Natisnal Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
BLBBBT a. CABMAN, Bdltor-ln-Chlef. 
HBBBBBT W. COLLINGWOOD, ManoBlnR Bditor 
JOHN J. DILLON, BnslneHS ManaRer. 
Copyrighted 181)4, 
Address all business oommnnloations and make all orders pay¬ 
able to THB BUBAL NBW-TOBKEB. 
Bo sure that the name and address of sender, with name of Post 
onice and State, and what the remittance Is for, appear In every letter. 
Money orders end bank drafts on New York are the safest means of 
IransmlttlnK money. 
SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 1894, 
Wk wish to thank the many friends who sent the 
missing numbers of Thk R. N.-Y. in response to our 
call. We have now so many on hand that we can, if need 
be, return them to those who wish to complete their 
files. 
* 
Watch the hired man when he comes in with a dirty 
tool. That tool ought to be wiped clean of the soil be¬ 
fore being put away. A man who loves to work and 
takes pride in his job will clean his tools at night. This 
simple thing is as good as a Babcock test to show the 
percentage of carefulness in a hired man. 
* 
Thousands of men lose money and make blunders 
because they are ashamed to admit that they ought to 
be in the “ infant class ” in the study of some new 
branch of farming. Like the ostrich with its head in 
the sand they think no one sees their mistakes. They 
are known by their deeds. An honest desire to learn 
takes all the stain out of ignorance. 
W 
Mb Males gives us a simple article on the training 
of a raspberry bush. Training pays in everything 
from girls to raspberries. Nobody claims that this 
method is the best in the world. It is a profitable 
method—one that would raise cane enough to kill off 
a mortgage on Mr. Mapes’s farm. That is better than 
a method grafted on theory alone, isn’t it ? 
# 
The- recent “baby blizzard” was rough on the 
birds. As one Illionois friend writes : 
The robins must have made a mistake In the date of their enRaRe- 
ment to bIhr here, and hundreds of their dead bodies lie scattered 
about the bulldlnRS and In the woods. I did what I could for the poor 
things, scattering crumbs and clover seed around the barn and yard, 
and saved a great many. 
There is one man who doesn’t believe the robin is a 
robber. 
* 
Tobacco is a good thing on any farm. As dry dust 
or stems or a “ tea ” made by steeping, it will kill in¬ 
sects. If a farmer does his duty towards his insect 
foes, his bill for insecticides will be considerable. Why 
not save part of it by growing your own tobacco ? Set 
out a dozen or two plants and cultivate them as you 
would tomato plants. Dry and cure them ready for 
use. This is not mere theory. It is just what many 
farmers and gardeners are doing. 
Hebe is a little note from a Wisconsin reader: 
My neighbors say that Tuk Buuai. New-Yoiikkk Is making a crank 
of me because I am going to try fertilizers on my potatoes this season. 
There are lots of things turned by cranks ; perhaps 1 can turn some of 
my neighbors. 
The “ cranks ” are all right. They have been respon¬ 
sible for all the moving the world has done in the last 
1,000 years. The man who works simply to please his 
neighbors will neyer gain their good opinion or sat¬ 
isfy himself. 
H 
A EEw weeks since we stated that the Socialists in 
the French legislature advocated government control 
of the wheat trade. In the recent German tariff de¬ 
bates, a good-sized faction advocated government con¬ 
trol and regulation of the prices for all imported grain. 
That is, the government is to have power to determine 
how much grain shall be imported and what it shall 
sell for. The proposition was defeated, and yet it se¬ 
cured a fair-sized vote. It was generally understood 
as being a step towards government control of the 
trade in necessities. 
A SUIT brought by a nurseryman in New York State 
against a telephone company for catting and disfigur¬ 
ing a half dozen evergreen trees that interfered with 
their wires, has just been decided in favor of the plain¬ 
tiff. The jury assessed the damages at $500, but the 
defendants appealed, and, as allowed under the penal 
code, the plaintiff applied for a trebling of the damages 
allowed, and these were accordingly recorded at $1,500 
instead of $500. It is to be hoped that the verdict 
will be sustained, and that the company will be com¬ 
pelled to pay full damages with all costs. For years 
these companies, which string their wires along the 
public highway, have made a practice of cutting and 
slashing interfering trees regardless of all protests. 
Sometimes owners plucked up sulficient courage to 
enter a protest, but this has usually been about the 
extent of the opposition encountered. There is no 
apparent reason why these unscrupulous corporations 
should ruthlessly mutilate and destroy the beauty of 
trees which have required years of painstaking care 
to bring to perfection. There is a prospect that large 
numbers of suits will be brought as a result of the 
favorable outcome of this one. The farmers should 
stand together in this matter, and push the prose¬ 
cution to the last ditch. 
« 
Mb. Lehmann who wrote the interesting article on 
incubation two weeks ago gives this important point: 
“To get the largest possible number of eggs into a 
tray, stand the eggs on their small ends for the first 
three or four days, then test out the white shelled eggs, 
so as to make room enough to lay the eggs on their 
sides and begin to turn. In this way, about one- 
fourth more eggs can be put in, and a corresponding 
space saved after the testing is over.” 
* 
At the horticultural exhibit at the World’s Fair, 
New York State made a fine showing of vegetables. 
The credit for this success belongs largely to the Ex¬ 
periment Station at Geneva, which sent on an immense 
quantity of the finest specimens. A bulletin showing 
just how these prize vegetables were grown has been 
issued by the station. It is exactly what you want in 
your efforts to make your garden a success. This is 
first-rate work, and we are glad to see the station do- . 
ing it 
* 
How may the farmer’s wife or daughter best earn 
money for her personal expenses ? That is a vital 
question in many a household. It is a comfort and 
satisfaction for any one to control the little money 
earned. It is right for the woman to have some chance 
to turn a portion of her labor into cash. We hope 
soon to take up this matter in the Woman’s Depart¬ 
ment. Among other things we shall tell you how one 
brave woman has managed to educate her daughtsrs 
in spite of home opposition. 
* 
A GBEAT many farms nowadays have two distinct 
branches of business. One branch—that of live stock, 
is kept up chiefiy to provide manure for the other 
branch—that of growing crops. This is all right if 
one branch doesn’t trip the other up. That very 
thing happens on a milk dairy kept to provide ma¬ 
nure for a fruit farm. Every day, right when the 
berries need your work most, you must quit early and 
get the milk out of the cows to the train. That breaks 
up the day in the field. It doesn’t pay. 
* 
The statistics for agriculture in Great Britain are 
very unsatisfactory to English farmers. At present, 
about 86 per cent of the cultivated area in the King¬ 
dom is farmed by tenants, againt 14 per cent farmed 
by owners. In the last year the arable land declined 
by 176,000 acres. Since 1873, 1,877,000 acres of farm 
land in England have passed out of actual cultivation 
to pasture or meadow. In 1873, over 11 per cent of all 
farm lands were in wheat. To-day less than six per 
cent are in that grain. In fact, the area devoted to 
grain has been slowly diminishing for the past 20 
years. Prices have steadily declined, while rents and 
other farm expenses have not been scaled down. In 
1873, the British farmer could sell wheat for $1.70 per 
bushel. To-day, with 2,000,000 acres less in cultiva¬ 
tion, wheat is worth but 78 cents. With free trade 
in grain and vegetables, with bogus butter ruining the 
dairy industry, foreign-grown meat underselling his 
own product and small sale for his blooded stock, 
there is a poor prospect ahead for the English farmer. 
The truth must be told that he is turning to laws that 
will protect his market, and bimetallism for help. 
* 
Consul Mason, of Frankfort, Germany, states that 
experiments are being made with peanut meal as food 
in the German army and navy. In 1891, Germany im¬ 
ported 20,973 tons of peanuts—chiefiy from Africa and 
India. These nuts were used in the manufacture of 
oil. The nuts are ground and crushed to extract this 
oil—leaving a cake or meal somewhat similar to that 
left from pressing linseed or cotton seed. Gp to within 
a year or two, this was used for feeding farm animals, 
but analysis showed such a high per cent of protein 
that the government chemists advocated it as a cheap 
material for human food—particularly for the thou¬ 
sands who live almost entirely on potatoes and bread. 
The peanut meal is prepared in various ways—a coarse 
meal for soups, a bolted flour, and also biscuits like 
“crackers.” As compared with other well-known 
food products, peanut meal is about the cheapest and 
most nutritious to be found in Germany. If the 
present experiments prove successful, a new market 
for American peanuts may be opened up. We believe 
that where this plant thrives, it can be made to pro¬ 
duce more actual food to the acre than any other now 
grown in America. 
# 
A suBSCBiBKB writes us that he used the corrosive 
sublimate solution on his seed potatoes with great 
success ; old growers called his the whitest and 
smoothest potatoes e^er seen. lie adds: “ Now, my 
neighbors and others want the recipe for the solu¬ 
tion.” Well, they can have it and hundreds of other 
equally valuable facts and helps for only $1, the price 
of a year’s subscription to The R. N.-Y. Why not 
tell them so ? But perhaps they’re the kind that pre¬ 
fer sponging their information from their more pro¬ 
gressive neighbors who know a good thing when they 
see it, and are willing to pay for it. 
« 
% 
BREVITIES. 
My wimniln folks Is on a strike; It alnt fer higher pay 
Ker board an’ clo’es Is pay enough fer wlmmln folks, 1 say. 
An’ specially when they hev the chance to sail right In and cook 
Their food ter suit themselves an’ make their clo’es on their own hook. 
Nol Nol They’ve struck fer garden sass an’ posies In the yard. 
Don’t do no good fer me ter tell how times Is awful hard, 
An’ dollars come like pullin’ teeth—they’ve struck an’ there It ends. 
l*er yer can’t break a woman’s will no matter how It bends. 
No use ter tight them wlmmln folks-I learned that long ago. 
I ve kep em olT a year or two, but now I've gut ter go 
An' let cm hev their garden an’ their posies an’ their grass. 
Whilst I play second ilddle-li’s a mighty pretty pass. 
Why don't I up an’ light ’em an’ Jest put my foot right down? 
I’d make the biggest laughin’ stock they Is in all this town. 
Them girls would hev that garden ef they hed ter set up nights 
An dig an plow It all themselves—that comes from wlmmln’s rights. 
I’m down on all sech dolns-lt II only lead ter harm 
If I’m ter be a dummy an’ the tall of my own farm. 
Kvbu kill a free horse ? 
WuAT will cure a wart ? 
The lazy man represents ex-exertlons. 
Theue’8 eo hustle In an unused uiuscle. 
Many a baby broiler Is baked in a brooder. 
They brew beer aud trouble In the same vat. 
Evekv man Is responsible fer his own nickname. 
How much of your gain runs down the bain drain ? 
WUAT should the mother’s income be from the farm ? 
Eveu have a cow hurt her neighbor by stepping i n her ? 
Sri.MiJi.ANTS stretch your vitality, but don’t broaden your llle. 
Bettek get your cucumbers started on Inverted sods and transplant 
later on. 
The simplest way to avoid the dangers of adulterated beer is to 
drink water. 
^ ou can whet your scythe on the grindstone and your appetite on 
the crank. 
Think of staying up nights with the apple trees like our Wisconsin 
friend—page 3()7. 
Lots of good reports from those pieces of Carman No 1 potatoes 
sent out last fall. 
In your experience with robins, have you found that they pick out 
wormy fruit from choice ? 
A HUTTEK.MAKBR Can’t posslbly save his wile more work than he 
can by getting a separator. 
The staying power of the dregs In the mixture determines the 
spraying power of the nozzle. 
Mind your rows on a steep hillside. The difference between a far¬ 
row up and down the hill and a gulley Is a heavy rain. 
Those who sell l}y luck and chance must pav the middleman, and 
also those who skip and dance must pay the Qddleman. 
When will ycu Hud a better time to salt down a few dozen eggs? 
The hens can’t keep up their present pace all the year. 
The old proverb runs, “of two evils, choose the less.’’ Now how Is 
a man with ordinary fores’ght to know which is the greater? 
That’s a point about shavings on page 267^ They did not hart the 
soil, but did hurt the weeds and kept the plant roots cool and moist. 
"Shun dirt, debt and the devil” is a motto propo.ed at a recent 
negro conference In Alabama. Let white as well as black heed that! 
IN growing the prize vegetables at the New York Station, one part 
wood ashes and live parts Une bone meal, was the fertilizer mostly 
used. 
You fed your horse on hay alone, you would not give him grain at 
all. Now weakness points out every bone and you must go and hire a 
haul 1 
Theke Is an advantage in testing and tasting each cow’s milk by It¬ 
self from time to time. It Is easy for one cow with bad milk to throw 
the whole mess Into bad odor. 
The managers of an English poorhouse have just contracted for 
bread at cents per four-pound loaf. For decent bread that is 
about the lowest price ever reached. 
Bye straw In bundles Is very cheap as compared with other years. 
Consumers have found that baled straw as now put up will answer 
their purpose—and at half the former cost. 
Many a middleman thrives because the man who grows the produce 
cannot bring himself to peddle It. Wny Is the man who sells from a 
carl less honorable than one who sells from a store 
Which is the greater enemy of civilization, the educated man who 
will not vote and work for good candidates, or the Ignorant man who 
follows the boss In voting for bad ones ? We say the Hrst named. 
The urine of sheep contains live times as much potash as that of 
cattle. On sheep farms where small attention Is paid to saving liquids 
you can see why, after a number of years, potash is greatly needed. 
You think more of the cows than of the women folks! Nol No! YesI 
Yes! Prove Itl You spend money for piping water to the cows and 
make the women go to the well. Your wife is altogether too patient 
with you, sir! 
the “ old-fashioned potato bug ” or blister beetle. Is pretty closely 
related to the Spanish By, and probably has some of the medical prop¬ 
erties of that blister producer. It would not pay to raise a crop for 
sale, however, though they might pay their way by eating grasshop¬ 
pers’ eggs. 
Ahe the days of the railroad locomotive numbered ? In France an 
electric car Is in operation. It contains a boiler and dynamo. In¬ 
stead of acting directly on the drive wheels of the engine, wires con¬ 
nect with small dynamos on the axles of the whole train. 
