1894 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
THE PROSPECT. 
A READER in Luzerne County, Pa., writes this note : 
Please warn ycur readers to be on the lookout for llghtnlnK-rod 
swlndltrs. They were through here looking for ylctlms. Also pub¬ 
lish your warning of last year on Implement pedd.ers; they were 
through here. 
The fact that lightning-rod swindlers can still find 
farmers to bunco, is more discouraging than the 
Senate’s action over the tariff bill. The game is for a 
slick stranger to ride up to the farmer’s door and make 
a proposition to put rods on the barn. After much 
dickering the agent agrees to put on a certain number 
of feet for nothing, and all above that at a certain 
low price. The farmer finally signs what he sup¬ 
poses is such an agreement, but is surprised to learn 
later that he has agreed to pay for all the rods at a 
high price per foot. No reader of The II. N.-Y. will 
sign any agreement with a stranger. Keep your 
name off their paper and you are safe. 
Whatever cheapens the cost of manufactured iron, 
is sure to benefit the world. If that be so the Taussig 
process of smelting iron is surely destined to help 
mankind. This process is now being experimented 
with in Germany. It dispenses with coal or other 
fuel. The heat is generated by electricity under the 
infiuence of rarefied air in a long air-tight funnel cr 
chamber into which the metal is put. The air is ex¬ 
hausted and a strong current of electricity is sent 
through the metal. In about 1.5 minutes, iron can be 
melted in this way. Where water power is available, 
the electricity may be obtained from that source, and 
in that case no coal, coke or other fuel, will be needed. 
Imagine the possibilities of such a system ! An iron 
smelter may be run at a saving of two-thirds the cost 
of fuel, and the location may be entirely independent 
of coal fields or lines of transportation. What a bless¬ 
ing this would be to the New England manufacturer ! 
I 
Thebe has always been more or less dissatisfaction 
with the individual butter tests reported by farmers 
and breeders. Many of them are made by interested 
parties, and supervised by those in whom the public 
have not full confidence. As a result, such tests have 
fallen into poor repute and have been largely given 
up. This is unfortunate, for such tests could serve a 
very useful purpose. Prof. H. H, Wing, of Cornell 
University, has outlined a plan for future tests that 
ought to be adopted. His plan is to send a representa¬ 
tive of the experiment station to take charge of the 
test, with power to control the feeding, weighing, 
sampling and all other details. Some such plan 
would, we think, give such tests a standing which 
they have never had before, and it would be per¬ 
fectly legitimate work for the stations. Breeders or 
farmers in New York S^ate, who desire to have cows 
or herds tested, should write to Prof. H. H. Wing, 
Ithaca, N. Y., for full particulars. 
* 
New England agriculture is older than its manu¬ 
facturing, and the latter has grown from the former. 
Why, then, has manufacturing passed agriculture in 
profit and general interest ? Among other reasons, it 
may be said that manufacturers have been quicker to 
avail themselves of new inventions and industrial 
changes than have farmers. For example, when a 
manufacturer found that some competitor was reduc¬ 
ing the cost of making an article, he never stopped 
investigating until he found a new machine or a 
method that would enable him to meet the compet¬ 
ing price. The average farmer does not do business 
that way. Let him see, for example, that farmers 
elsewhere are making butter cheaper than he can 
make it. Does he at once start in to obtain better 
cows, cheaper food and more accurate tools ? No, as 
a rule these things must be forced upon him, and that 
is where ^e great difference between the farmer 
and the manufacturer comes in. 
* 
A coBREsroNDENT of the American Wool and Cotton 
Reporter makes some interesting comparisons be¬ 
tween the beet sugar business of Germany and that 
of California, evidently to the advantage of the latter. 
In Germany, beet lands are valued at $500 per acre ; 
in California they range from that price for some very 
few select locations in central California, down to 
some equally good for $100 in the southern part of 
the State. The German yield is 12 tons to the acre on 
highly fertilized land, while California’s average crop, 
without fertilizer or irrigation, is 15 tons, while 30 
tons can often be produced. The California beet is 
also said to contain more sugar, and to yield more 
than $100 per acre in half the year, leaving the land 
free for other crops for six months. It is one of the 
safest industries in the world, according to this corre¬ 
spondent, and furnishes one of the safest investments 
for capital. Even though tariff tinkers do their worst 
—which they evidently will not do, according to the 
showing made—California could still hold her own in 
this industry. 
The new commercial treaty between Germany and 
Russia is likely to affect German trade with this coun¬ 
try, especially in meats and breadstuffs. The former 
duties on Russian produce were so high that American 
goods could be imported cheaper. Now that the duties 
are lower, our trade is liable to suffer. Consul Mason 
gives this singular fact in regard to the use of kero¬ 
sene oil. Russian oil can now be had cheaper than 
American, yet: 
ComlnK first Into the German market, the American kerosene brought 
with It the American lamp, and this has been Imported and copied 
until the entire country Is supplied with It, the effect being thus far 
that American kerosene, although retailed at a higher price than the 
Russian, has held Its well-established supremacy In German con¬ 
sumption. 
The Russian oil, being heavier, requires a different 
burner. This is a good illustration of the fact that 
other things besides supply, demand and price enter 
into the question of trade. There is much in habit 
and the form in which goods are sold. This is not only 
true of international trade, but enters the local mar¬ 
ket, too, as many farmers can testify. 
Some of the papers are making much of the follow¬ 
ing statement which has been printed extensively : 
A process Is said to have been Just Invented for extracting nitrogen 
from the atmosphere so economically as to offer sulphate of ammonia- 
for fertilizing purposes, at $2 a ton, about one-fourth of Its present 
price, with a good qualitv of 11 umlnatlng gas for a by-product. The 
gases and vapors of a hydrocarbon are Introduced Into a retort whose 
temperatpre Is 2 200 degrees, and the carbon and hydrogen separate. 
Air Is Introduced and lime Is sifted through the retort; the hydrogen 
passes off and may be collected, carbureted and used for lllumlnatlcn. 
The carbon and nitrogen and alkali form a cyanide, which maybe 
decomposed by steam, and sulphate of ammonia Is the result. 
Any process for cheapening the cost of nitrogen for 
agricultural purposes will be eagerly sought. At the 
same time, it is not wise to pin one’s faith entirely to 
such reports. Prof. E H Jenkins of the Connecticut 
Station has this to say about it: 
This newspaper clipping Is the same old one which turns up every 
few years. I have beard lately that some one Is sllll working on the 
problem of obtaining ammonia from the atmosphere In some such 
way as this described, but 1 doubt If there la anything In It. You 
know, of course, that coal contains a considerable amount of nitrogen, 
so that by proper treatment, sulphate of ammonia can be produced; 
but 1 do not know of any process yet devised whereoy atmospheric 
nitrogen can be fixed and put on the market at paying prices. 
* 
The Massachusetts Legislature is likely to pass a 
law giving towns and cities the right to try the 
Norwegian system of liquor selling if a majority of 
the voters so elect. The principle of this system, as 
we have pointed out, is that the right to sell liquor is 
given to a stock company which is to obey certain 
regulations and spend all profits above five per cent 
on its capital for charitable purposes. This company 
is to pay a license as saloon keepers now pay one. 
The difference is that after receiving five per cent on 
their invested money the company pay subsequent 
profits to some charity of their own seleccion. The 
theory is that such companies will be formed by tem¬ 
perance men who honestly desire to properly regulate 
the liquor traffic. If that is done, we think the result 
would he a gain for the cause of temperance. The 
proposed law is quite different from that in South 
Carolina, for it gives local option and a town may 
vote prohibition or license with or without the Nor¬ 
wegian system. Another difference is that in South 
Carolina no liquor could be drank in the saloon, while 
in Massachusetts such drinking would be permitted. 
The Parisian Syndicate of Producers of Chemicals 
lately held a banquet to which was invited, among 
other learned men and investigators. Professor Ber- 
thelot late Minister of Instruction and famous for his 
discoveries in organic and thermo-chemistry. He 
made an address in which he pictured, “half in earnest 
and half in jest” as is reported, what chemistry will 
probably have effected for mankind by the year 2000. 
Some of his prophecies will startle farmers—even if 
taken half in jest—when the standing of their author 
is considered. After reviewing what chemistry has 
done, within the past century and while yet only in 
the beginning of her powers, for foods, for dyes, for 
bleaching and coloring, in sugarmaking, in metallurgy 
and manufactures, in medical and surgical art, in all 
the many new applications of light and heat, in ex¬ 
plosives, in the arts of perfumery, in antiseptics and 
anti-ferments, M. Berthelot went on to say that dis¬ 
coveries already made warrant a belief that war and 
pestilence will be banished or rendered dangerous 
only to the ignorant or the reckless, and that even 
agriculture will be superseded by easier, cheaper and 
prompter ways of combining the elements of our foods 
and flavorings into nutritious and agreeable forms. 
The problem is wholly chemical, and its practical 
solution—the procuring of carbon from the carbonic 
acid of the atmosphere, hydrogen and oxygen from 
water, and nitrogen from the atmosphere and their 
combination into foods—waits only on the supply of 
suitable and cheap power. Then the difference be¬ 
tween fertile and barren lands will disappear: the 
latter will even be preferred as the most healthful. 
381 
Men will gain in every regard, morally as well as 
physically, and the face of the earth will renew the 
features of Eden and Acadia. Such is a much con¬ 
densed translation from a German report of the sensa¬ 
tional address attributed to the great French states¬ 
man and scientist. ^ 
Three thistles have invaded Wisconsin—the Russian, 
Canada and Sow. These and other weeds are rapidly 
spreading over the State levying a worse tax than 
that of an army of men. Laws have been passed 
against these weeds, but laws are powerless unless 
backed up by public sentiment and concerted action. 
Prof- E. S. Goff of the Wisconsin Station, has issued a 
bulletin on Noxious Weeds in which the weeds pro¬ 
scribed by law are illustrated and described with 
directions for exterm’nating them. This is legitimate 
work for an experiment station to undertake, and if 
the farmers of Wisconsin would only act in concert as 
Prof. Goff suggests, they would soon conquer the 
weeds. Among other suggestions Prof. Goff gives this 
good one: 
Place a Russian thistle In each school house, so that the pupils may 
become familiar with It, and teach them to kill It wherever they find 
It as they would kill a rattlesnake. 
That is right. No one objects to the study of the 
effects of alcohol on the human system in our schools! 
Give the pupils a full course of instruction as to the 
destruction of our noxious weeds. Farming will be 
fun when the boys get as much sport out of killing 
weeds as they now do out of the death of a snake. 
An English farmer was annoyed by pigeons, crows 
and other birds. To kill them he scattered grain that 
had been dipped in poison, and succeeded so well that 
he not only killed numbers of the birds, but also some 
foxes that ate the poisoned pigeons. For this, the 
farmer was arrested and fined about $18. There is an 
Euglish law which provides that any one putting such 
poisoned seed in an exposed position, shall be liable to 
a panalty of $50. There is one exemption and that is 
where the seed is treated with some poison to prevent 
a fungous disease like smut or blight. The Mark Lane 
Express in speaking of the case against the farmer 
says: 
The daneor of It Is apparent when we consider what mlKht have 
happened if some person had seen the dead pigeon on the ground and 
had been tempted to make It Into a pie. There are many thoughtless 
people who would readily pick up a dead pigeon which might easily 
have the appearance of one that had been shot and that had after¬ 
wards succumbed to Its lofurles. Had any one done so In this case, 
the result might have teen fatal to a number of people, for It was 
proved that the birds contained a serious amount of strj chnlne. 
It strikes us that as between the pigeous and the 
farmer, the former have the better of it. They are a 
nuisance on any grain farm and, apparently, a farmer 
has little defense against them, as he cannot lawfully 
kill them unless he can prove that they are in the act 
of injuring his crops. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
Hunt up the advertisers of Crimson clover seed in this Issue. They 
are all reliable. 
A CATALOGUE Of bulbs Is received from J. Wllk Inson Elliott, Pitts¬ 
burgh, Pa. Any one Interested can secure one on application. 
“Excellent layers,” Mr. J. A. Trehearne. of London, 0., says of 
hlB Leghorns. He want: to reduce his stock of birds; eggs too. 
TUE circulars sent out describing the butter accumulator are very 
Interesting. You ought to send and get them—address. Creamery 
Package Mfg. Co., 1, 3 and 6 Washington 8t., Chicago, 111. 
OUB friends are asking where they can ship fruits and vegetables 
which are put up for the fancy trade. J. H. Tlenken, 32 Little 12th 
St.. Sr ys those are just what he’s looking for. Write him. 
Daikymkn should be careful of the quality of salt use d for butler. 
No matter how careful they are In other particulars, poor salt will 
spoil the whole job. One of the orands that can be used with safety 
Is the E. F. Dairy salt ot the Le Boy Salt Co., Le Boy, N. Y. 
Those who have occasion to drive In the night—every one who 
drives at all Is sure to get caught out some time In the dark—will be 
Interested In the advertisement of the Dietz lamp In this Issue. As It 
is not to appear again. It will be well to look It up at once, and send 
for the book referred to. The address Is B. E. Dietz Co., tlU Laigbt St., 
New York. 
Stu ANQE as It may seem. It Is regretted by many that Prof. Babccck 
did not secure a patent on his milk test Instead of generously giving 
It to the public. The claim Is that It is carelessly made by some 
manufacturers, and fence, not accurate In every case. This difficulty, 
however, can be avoided by purchasing only of reliable houses. One 
of these Is the Moseley & Stoddard Mfg. Co., Rutland, Vt.. We have 
used the goods made by this firm in our own dairy and always found 
them first-class. 
As the thrashing season Is near at hand, we desire to call the atten¬ 
tion of our readers contemplating the purchase of a thrashing 
machine or a horse power, to the celebrated Fearless machine made 
by the old and reliable manufacturer, Mlnard Harder, Coblesklll, N. 
Y.; of whom and the machinery made by him. the American Agricul¬ 
turist of New York, says : “Among those who haye been instrumental 
In the development, improvement and perfection of farm machinery 
of various kinds, Mr. Mlnaid Harder, Coblesklll, N. Y., has been a 
prominent leader for near.y 50 years. Having made It a principle 
Lever to turn out anything but first-class goods, his business has 
developed from a small beginning into one of large dimensions. The 
horse-powers, thrashers and cleaners, dog-powers, fanning ml Is, 
sawing machines, land rollers, etc., manufactured by this house have 
reached an enviable reputailoa; not only throughout the United 
States, but every where throughout the civilized world. The hand¬ 
some, 83-page, illustrated and descriptive catalogue published by this 
firm, makes most Interesting and valuable reading, especially to 
designlog purchasers, and will be mailed free to our readers who may 
apply for It." 
