1894 
397 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
THE PROSPECT. 
On page 391 is shown a picture describing an Eng¬ 
lish scheme for portable glass houses. The house is 
put on wheels and may be rolled along a track so as 
to force or protect a succession of crops. The house 
may be fitted with a heating apparatus or not as de¬ 
sired. Glass house culture is being developed at a 
wonderful rate. Northern farmers begin to realize 
that one of these houses on the farm will give them 
all the agricultural advantages of a Florida climate 
with none of its drawbacks. 
» 
Nkw York is soon to have a building for the head¬ 
quarters of its wool trade. It is to be built by the 
New York Wool Warehouse Company, and will be a 
10-story, fire-proof structure. It will be located at 
West Broadway and Beach Street, occupying an area 
of 1.'),000 square feet, and having a floor space of about 
four acres. About 25,000,000 pounds of wool may be 
stored in it at once. It will concentrate the wool in 
market, as it will do a warehouse business, and this 
will attract buyers. It is thought that the completion 
of this undertaking, and the facilities it will afford, 
will make New York the leading wool market of the 
country. ^ 
The papers have contained conflicting statements 
as to the attitude of Secretary of Agriculture Morton 
towards the experiment stations. We have been told 
that he was in favor of “wiping them out” and at¬ 
tempting other heroic methods of reforming them. 
The Secretary sends us the following note which ex¬ 
plains the present state of the case : 
Tbe Agricultural Appropriation Bill which passed the House of 
Representatives a few days since, provides for an Itemized statement 
of the expenditure of the 116,000 which each agricultural experiment 
station receives from the General dovernment, to be rendered on 
schedules prepared by the Secretary of Agriculture. Under the law 
as It will then stand, there will te no possibility of misappropriation 
of the funds In any of the States and Ten ItorleS which are Intended 
for agricultural experiment stations, and their proper and legitimate 
lines of Investigation and work. J. Stkiilinq Morton, Secretary. 
In his report to Congress the Secretary called atten¬ 
tion to the fact that no officer of the General Govern¬ 
ment had anything to say about how the $800,000 an¬ 
nually spent on experiments was disposed of. He 
proposed that it should either not be charged to the 
Agricultural Department or placed under some control 
by the Secretary. The above note states the result. 
We think this is a good move. We go further and say 
that we hope it is but the first step of a general over¬ 
hauling of the whole system. The agricultural col¬ 
leges and stations may well be “rounded up” and 
forced to give an accounting. We believe such an 
overhauling will reveal a good many political nests 
where, under a painted livery of “science” incom¬ 
petent men are drawing the public money. 
tt 
There may be those who are concerning themselves 
about the future of the American hired man. Such 
persons will be interested in the following letter from 
Indiana. It was brought out by the article headed, 
“ The Hired Man’s Side,” printed on page 362 : 
1 uee In the columns of The U. N.-V. the complaint of a laboring 
man whose load seems more than he can bear. Now he will put in 
long time wherever he goes on a larm, and. If working for others, do 
all the mean jobs, but why not work for himsell? 1 am tired of paying 
money to shiftless hands, and am running a new-method celery plant 
with Irrigation, a bnslness-hen plant and propose to run a glass plant 
for early vegetables. 1 have a young man from Jfelaware who Is run¬ 
ning the celery and garden plants for a share in the proceeds. I have, 
besides, lUO acres of cleared farm land and a tenant house. I can get 
lots of worthless tenants, out prefer to let tbe house stand empty and 
rent tlelds, but If your man wants a chance and will come right away, 
1 will give him tbe house rent tree, two acres to plant In buckwheat, 
eight acres of hue Timothy bay to make, work by day through harvest, 
16 acres of wheat to sow this fall, and as much land to farm In corn 
and potatoes, beans, etc., as be can handle In spring, 1 wlil give him 
a dock of sheep to raise on snares of one-half wool and increase; wlil 
furnish him with my entire set of Implements, farm tools and potato 
planters, etc., and furnish seed lor the nrst crop. Will give him one- 
half the proceeds from all tbe wood he can cut this winter with tbe use 
of drag saws, circular saw and tread-power, and furnish him a team 
to haul It. 1 will enter Into a contract to do all this and more for 
active. Intelligent, pushing work on my farm under my supervision ; 
he to have two-dlths of the crops raised and l to furnish manures 
and fertilizers to be hauled and applied by him. 
It is our belief there are hundreds of just such chances 
for reliable men if one only knew how to find them. 
Cooperation and farm partnership on such a basis will 
provide a certain future for such farm hands who 
really want to deserve success. The R. N.-Y. finds 
this subject so interesting that it will follow up some 
of these plans and see if they cannot be made to work 
out. , 
Elgin butter has a reputation the world over, and 
is the standard of quality for that product. Its quota¬ 
tions, also, have usually ruled the markets of the 
country. But only a comparatively small quantity of 
butter is handled there. The quality of the goods 
which, when they attained their supremacy, were the 
best in the market, has kept them in the lead. But 
much butter has been sold for Elgin that has never 
been within hailing distance of that provincial town. 
It is charged also that the markets there have been 
manipulated. There are dealers in New York who 
probably sell more butter in one day than Elgin sells 
in a week, but they never think of doing business 
until they see the Elgin quotations. The question 
has often been raised, why the trade should be con¬ 
trolled by such a small market. Chicago dealers have, 
at last, cut loose, officially reported their sales, and 
had them published as the market price of Chicago. 
They have also adopted a classification of butter, and 
style of package. Butter dealers here, while not 
wishing to see the Elgin Board of Trade abolished, 
generally think that its quotations have been too 
much manipulated. It is easier to do this in a small 
market like Elgin than in a larger one like New 
York or Chicago. The prices are frequently advanced 
or depressed, to the advantage of a few operators, 
and to the disadvantage of other markets which are 
governed by them. On the other hand, it is claimed 
that if the New York market is influenced by that of 
Elgin, it is the fault of the dealers here. The fact is 
that this market is influenced less by Elgin than for¬ 
merly. Whatever the action of the Chicago dealers, 
it is probable that Elgin prices will continue to be 
quoted, and that the high reputation acquired by the 
brand during past years will continue its popularity 
and insure a demand. 
TUBERCULOUS MILK IN PHILADELPHIA. 
The newspapers report that the milk inspector of 
Philadelphia has refused to allow the sale in that city 
of milk produced in Chester County, Pa., until all the 
herds have been examined for tuberculosis. This has 
caused great trouble among the farmers, and they are 
protesting strongly. In order to obtain the exact 
facts in the matter. The R. N.-Y. has interviewed a 
number of interested parties who handle or ship milk 
from this county. Our readers will remember Mr. 
Geo. Abbott from The R. N.-Y.’s description of his 
perfect dairy system. 
A Milk Dealer’s View of It. 
I suppose you allude to the action of our city Board 
of Health in regard to the herds of Chester County. 
I believe that there is no more occasion for such action 
with reference to Chester County, than there is in any 
other county where milch cows are largely kept. 
Milk Inspector Byrnes of this city, and Dr. Ford, his 
chief, are men who seem to delight in a sensation that 
seems likely to bring their department into promi¬ 
nence, and seem to have a want of proper regard for 
the interests and losses of others. In reply to the 
query as to whether tuberculosis is confined to special 
breeds, it seems clearly demonstrated that it is not. 
I think it can hardly be said that dairymen are op¬ 
posed to the tuberculin test; I have observed but 
little manifestation of opposition to the use or non¬ 
use of tuberculin; this phase of the subject is not 
however involved at this time. Certificates of health 
reciting results of physical examinations in general 
terms, give the milk of herds free access to the city, 
and I apprehend that the product of few, if any, 
herds has been or will be denied entrance. I appre¬ 
hend that the purpose of Inspector Byrnes will be ac¬ 
complished though every quart of milk enters the city 
as before. geo. arbott. 
A Talk About Tuberculosis. 
Diagnosing the Disease. —There has been for some 
time a growing feeling of uneasiness in the community 
on the question of the existence of tuberculosis in our 
midst, and of its communicability to human beings 
from the use of milk or meat from diseased cattle. 
Daring tbe past few years, the affirmative of these 
propositions has been strenuously maintained by some 
of our veterinary and microscopic pathologists. The 
frequency of its occurrence and danger of its trans¬ 
mission, have been, to my mind, very unduly mag¬ 
nified, and the public unduly alarmed. Forty years 
ago, bovine tuberculosis was recognized and described 
as a disease akin to, but distinct from, ordinary pul¬ 
monary consumption, more virulent and more conta¬ 
gious in character. The researches of Koch and others 
have tended to the grouping together as “ tubercu¬ 
lous ” all diseases in which the tubercle bacillus is 
found, including many skin diseases and others which 
were formerly considered as rather allied to cancer, 
and wonderful results were claimed from their treat¬ 
ment by injections of tuberculin. But the results of 
this method have proved so disappointing and danger¬ 
ous that it has been all but abandoned, even in Ger¬ 
many. Then the claim was made that if not success¬ 
ful as a cure, it was of great value as a certain means 
of diagnosis. This, too, has been controverted, and 
its absolute diagnostic value seriously questioned, 
while possible danger from its employment simi¬ 
lar to such as has led to its abandonment in the treat¬ 
ment of human beings should make us very careful 
about using it promiscuously, or even freely, among 
our cattle- The very accurate comparative tests made 
by Dr. Wm. L ^uill, under direction of Prof. Samuel 
G. Dixon, of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Phila¬ 
delphia, with tuberculin, leucin, tyrosin, taurin, etc., 
and published by him in its Proceedings, show that in 
taurin, a. principle obtained from and normally present 
in bile, we have a diagnostic agent of nearly if not 
quite as great efficiency and curative powers, and com¬ 
paratively free from danger. Hence, if it should be¬ 
come necessary to test cattle supposed to be diseased, 
I would recommend its employment rather than that 
of tuberculin, which is a product of disease and has 
been shown to be far from harmless. 
Facts About Testing. —My friend and neighbor, 
Mr. George R. Foulke, had his 10 animals, nine Jer¬ 
seys, one Holstein, tested; five responded and were 
killed, and bovine tuberculosis found present in each 
case, though the animals showed no particular symp¬ 
tom of disease in life that I can discover. The milk 
glands were not diseased in any of them, 1 believe, 
except perhaps in one—a grade Holstein. But I would 
not have hesitated myself to drink the milk or eat the 
flesh of any one of them. Butchers present pro¬ 
nounced them as showing nothing which is not to be 
found in a large proportion of our ordinary meat sup¬ 
ply. The same statement was made at the slaughter 
of Mr. Gillingham’s herd some years ago when I was 
present—by the Jewish rabbi among others. If so 
contagious and deadly, how is it that we so seldom 
meet with true bovine tuberculosis in human post 
mortems ? I can recollect only one case in a practice 
of 40 years, part of the time as physician of a large 
hospital. The consumers of bologna sausage among 
us are numerous and apparently healthy; yet these 
panic-mongers tell us that nine out of ten bologna 
cows have the disease ! The rest of Mr. Foulke’s ani¬ 
mals showed no reaction to tuberculin. I shall 
watch with much interest this “control experiment.” 
What About the Breeds ? —The Jerseys are said to 
be especially liable, and next the Holsteins; a few 
cases have been found among the Guernseys. Not a 
single case has been reported, so far as I know, among 
the Devons; I heard of one in the interior of New 
York, but, on investigation, the name of the owner of 
the cattle killed is not found among the Devon 
breeders. I found last summer that it was unknown 
among the Devon breeders in England. But I do not 
think any breed of cattle would be wholly exempt 
from danger any more than any race of men. Some 
would doubtless show more liability than others, and 
this, too, would probably be affected by their adapt¬ 
edness to their climatic conditions. 
We are shipping our milk to Philadelphia as usual. 
The action of Inspector Byrnes was based on a recent 
order of the Board of Health that physicians should 
hereafter report cases of consumption as a contagious 
disease, just as measles, etc. All milkmen are required 
as soon as possible to procure a certificate from a re¬ 
putable veterinary surgeon that their herds are free 
from tuberculosis and in good health. This they are 
now furnishing themselves with. The method of ex¬ 
amination is left to the discretion of the veterinary, 
but it is sincerely to be hoped, for the reasons above 
given, that the injection of tuberculin should be 
resorted to only in cases of necessity. It may spread 
the disease as the practice of inoculation would small¬ 
pox. My own belief is that our common or “ native” 
cows have quite as much of the disease as any of the 
improved breeds, except, perhaps, the Jerseys and 
Holsteins ; but that it is by no means frequent in our 
vicinity. 
Praise of Devon Milk. —I have for many years 
been shipping all the milk from my herd in quart 
glass jars to the city of Philadelphia, where it is sold 
at 10 cents per quart and used for infants and invalids 
as well as for general family purposes. From long 
experience I can confidently recommend the Devon 
milk as the best, containing as it does casein, sugar and 
fat in proportions nearer to those in human milk than 
that of any other breed. My cows are not large, but 
are fairly productive—yielding an average of 2,000 
quarts during the year. Prof. Dixon also authorizes 
me to say that he has never found the tubercle bacillus 
in the milk of tuberculous cows, unless the latter were 
at the same time suffering from well-marked mam¬ 
mary tuberculosis which could be felt in the udder by 
examination with the hand. 
West Chester, Pa. j. cheston morris, m. d. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
The new kerosene attachment for sprayers Is put on tbeiroods made 
by W. & B. Douglas, Middletown, Conn. 
D. C. Simpson, Jasper, N. Y., offers a bargain In Jersey stock 
There's a bull for you to work In a tread power. 
Don’t let the bugs eat the potatoes. You want a sprayer. If you 
have none already. Mr. E. Goettsche, 1019 Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, 
111., will send description of a suitable and effective sprinkler, and sell 
you one, too. If you want It. 
WE receive letters by every mall asking us where Crimson clover 
seed can be procured. Tbe advertisements of several reliable houses 
Will be found on page 395 of this Issue. Send to any one of them and 
you will get the genuine article. 
Did you read the Deacon’s advice In last week’s Issue? If not. It 
will be well to look up that number. Slug-shot Is not onlr an Insecti¬ 
cide, but also a fertilizer. It kills the bugs and feeds the plant. If 
you have never used it, send to B. Hammond, Flsbklll-on-the-Hudson, 
N. Y., lor pamphlet. 
We have just received a copy of the summer and autumn catalogue 
of the Orange County Nurseries. Mr. T. J. Dwyer, the proprietor. Is 
one of those hard-working, industrious men whose merited prosperity 
we are always glad to recognl'/e. By hard work, scrupulous care In 
ttlllBg orders and sterling ho lesty in all his dealings, he has built up a 
business and a name of which any man may well feel proud. This 
new catalogue Is well Illustrated and we suppose will be sent free 
on application. Rurcnasers will ffnd tbe goods us represented. 
