1894 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
493 
THE PROSPECT. 
Not only has the season in Qreat Britain been toler¬ 
ably favorable for the growth of the hay crop, but 
English papers tell us that the weather has enabled 
the farmer to bar'rest the crop in excellent condition. 
The crop is estimated at 1'2,900,000 tons. The area de¬ 
voted to hay is less; but the average yield is higher 
than for many years. High prices, are, however, not 
expected. The import trade, lower prices in America, 
and the great reduction of ocean freights will, prob¬ 
ably, conspire to keep prices down. But there isn’t 
likely to be so much of a market there for our hay as 
last year. ^ 
In a volume on the Russian thistle, recently issued 
by the Department of Agriculture, we are told of the 
following business done in South Dakota : 
At tbe elevators and warehouses where farm seeds are commonly 
purchased, two (trades of seed are often kept for sale. The cheaper 
grade, dear at any price. Is the nncleaned seed. From two to twenty 
per cent of the weight of the Impure seed Is cleaned out to make the 
better grade, and the difference In the prices of the two varies accord¬ 
ing to the amount of Impurities removed and the cost of cleaning 
The cheap grade Is often purchased by poor or careless farmers in a 
vain attempt to economize, and the result Is a crop of Russian thistles 
and other weeds instead of clean flax or grain. 
“ A vain attempt to economize,” is good. Think of a 
man deliberately sowing weed seeds because they are 
in a mixture which is, pound for pound, cheaper than 
pure grain 1 What does such a man expect to reap ? 
« 
One unusual feature of the California fruit situation 
this year is the large quantity of apricots which were 
dried. Qreat quantities of these are usually shipped 
to the East, but this year the railroad strikes, which 
occurred in the height of the apricot season, interfered 
with their shipment, and also with their transporta¬ 
tion to the canneries. The result was that growers 
must either let them rot or dry them; and as the 
latter promised more profit, many of them were saved 
In this way. It is said that prices of dried apricots 
will be below those of dried peaches. As the market 
received few fresh apricots, it is said that arrange¬ 
ments are being made to send an unusually large 
amount of peaches, and that the canners are making 
arrangements to pack a larger amount than usual. 
The prospect is good, therefore, for a smaller output 
of dried peaches. Taking it all around, things are 
likely to average up pretty well, and the situation not 
to be so bad as it might be. 
numbers, being allowed to vote. Finally, a little 
schoolma’am asked him a question which so completely 
knocked him out, that he collapsed completely, and 
was heard of no more, even very nearly forgetting to 
vote. In another large town, many of the young wo¬ 
men, not jet 21, are reported to have claimed to be of 
that age, and, therefore, entitled to vote. Who ever 
before heard of a woman representing herself to be 
older than she really was ? But it is claimed that 
these were instigated to this by a man 1 So the battle 
goes, but in spite of all the gibes and sneers, the oppo¬ 
sition and ridicule, woman’s suffrage is marching on, 
and never before was it so far advanced, or the pros¬ 
pect of ultimate success so bright. 
tt 
We have often stated that tbe typical soil of New 
England is wonderfully suited to the growth of grass 
and grain when skillfully handled. Mr. George M. 
Clark, president of the Cutaway Harrow Co., sends us 
this statement of the yield from a 16 acre hay field in 
Connecticut: 
Pounds. 
Total yield—IG acres.121,80U 
Yield on best acre.12.245 
Yield on next besc acre. lliSGO 
Average yield per acre on whole Held. 7,681 
Average yield on six poorest acres. 4,490 
Average yield on 10 acres. 9,4SG 
Half of this field was originally a swamp. The weight 
of the hay was taken when thoroughly cured—this 
was the fourth cutting since seeding. Mr. Clark sells 
hay and buys fertilizers—using this year 4^ tons of 
top-dressing. The R. N.-Y. can well believe this 
story. It has seen grass j ust as heavy as this on Mr. 
Johnson’s little farm in New Jersey. It is a matter 
of getting good grass land to begin with, seeding it 
well and then pouring on the fertilizer or manure. 
There are thousands of acres of New England soil that 
could be made to cut as much hay as this acre has 
done. The land is “ abandoned” only when brains 
and science desert it. ^ 
Not content with a general attack upon the public’s 
kidneys by selling borax as a milk preservative, the 
so-called ‘ ‘ Preservaline Company ” are printing this 
advertisement in certain papers : 
HOW A plan of cook- 
-j-Q V ing fruit preparatory 
1 to placing it in jars 
T robs it of all vitality 
9 and delicacy of flavor. 
The NEW COLD PROCESS known as 
We learn from a Western paper that several gradu¬ 
ates of an agricultural college b ave ‘ ‘ accepted posi¬ 
tions at fair salaries ” at experiment stations or with 
manufacturing houses. It is somewhat singular that 
we seldom hear of the students who “accept posi¬ 
tions” on the farm. The agricultural colleges are 
backward about bragging of their graduates who pick 
up practical agriculture as a means of livelihood. We 
have long felt that this is a wrong and unfortunate 
tendency. We like the spirit shown at the Connecticut 
Agricultural College. Boys go there to learn how to 
become better farmers—not to become surveyors, 
engineers or chemists. The course of instruction is 
made to apply directly to the needs of farmers. The 
professor of chemistry, for example, does not start in 
with the plan of training a class of chemists, but his 
plan is to train the boys in those principles of his 
science that have a direct bearing on farming. It is 
the same all through—the central thought being that 
this is a farmers' college and not a normal school for 
the training of agricultural teachers or a preparatory 
school for those who wish to study other professions. 
We do not know of any other agricultural college 
where this plan is so thoroughly carried out as it is in 
Connecticut. Many of these colleges are making great 
showings so far as the number of students go, but we 
want something besides a crowd at these institutions. 
Give us the spirit that produces farmers rather than 
professors. ^ 
New Jersey women have been voting for school 
officers under the new law just gone into effect. In¬ 
stead of each district electing its own trustees, the 
latter are elected by townships, each township elect¬ 
ing nine, who have the supervision of all the schools 
in the township. The assumption of their new rights, 
duties, privileges, prerogatives, or whatever the fair 
voters may be pleased to call it, brought out some 
curious situations in some places. In one township, 
two of the nine candidates were women, but a belated 
excursion train, which, it seems, carried a large ma¬ 
jority of women, gave the ungallant men, who rushed 
the voting, the advantage which they improved. Still, 
on the arrival of the train, many of the women, on 
learning the situation, didn’t wait to curl their hair, 
or even to straighten their headgear, but rushed nobly 
to the rescue. The result was that the two represen¬ 
tatives of woman’s rights came within a very few 
votes of being elected. In another township, a burly 
ex-Congressman (who, by the way, is a bachelor), ob¬ 
jected strongly to the women who had come in large 
FRUIT PRESERVALINE 
obviates all this and keeps the fruit 
fresh and nrm In Us natural state. 
For PreservlnK Jams, Jellies, Marma¬ 
lades, Piokles, Catsups, Cider, etc., It 
stands without an equal. Simple, 
tasteless, har i less, cheap. Mold and 
fermentation are unknown where It Is 
used. 
There is, apparently, no end to this humbug. The 
R. N.-Y. has exposed their milk preservative fraud 
again and again—now they come forward with a worse 
fraud than ever. We have expressed our opinion of the 
man who would use “ Preservaline” in milk ; we have 
even less respect for one who would use this “ cold 
process” of fruit preserving after knowing what it is. 
On page 413 one of these “processes” was fully ex¬ 
posed. Either sulphurous acid or some other worse 
chemical is the agent used. Let them all alone. The 
true way to preserve fruit is to seal it air-tight when 
so hot that no bacteria can live in it. Any “ cold 
process” must employ chemicals which are injurious 
to health! 
« 
The R. N.-Y.’s statement that wages for labor must 
ultimately be reduced, has stirred up considerable 
discussion. Our old friend, P. K. Phoenix, writes: 
“The R. N.-Y., predicting a decline in wages for 
labor, seems to forget, 1, that labor is a living prod¬ 
uct, most precious of all; 2, that it pertains to the 
great living majority, able and willing to put up 
prices ; 3, that the history of civilization is that of in¬ 
crease in wages equally profitable to all worthy 
classes.” We have considered all these propositions, 
if we understand what Mr. Phoenix means. Our idea 
is that wages cannot increase if the cost of living is to 
decrease. The special point made was that farmers 
are now expected to receive less per bushel or pound 
for what they have to sell, while the labor they hire 
costs more than it used to. There are many reasons 
given for the decline in price of staple articles of farm 
produce. Without considering them all here, it is 
enough to say that farmers, the world over, have 
learned how to produce an increased amount of grain 
and meat with one man’s labor, just as manufacturers 
have learned how to make one man’s labor produce 
more shoes, hats or canes. The town laborer’s dollar 
now buys more of the necessaries of life than it ever 
did before. The farmer’s low prices hurt him as a 
buyer —that is, he cannot buy so many of the things 
the town workman makes. Unless prices for farm 
products can be increased so that the farmer can 
spend more money, we do not see how manufactur¬ 
ing can thrive The labor cost in manufacturing is 
now the chief item of expense, and it is the one that 
will be soonest cut. The workmen who save and ac¬ 
quire homes of their own, care more for the margin 
between their income and the cost of living than for 
high wages alone. Lower wages would not trouble 
them so much if expenses went down proportionately. 
The cost of articles that come from the farm is lower 
now than ever, while renfs are in most cases higher. 
This state of affairs works as an injustice and detri¬ 
ment to the farmer, because the capital locked up in 
his farm is far less productive than that invested in 
town and city buildings. 
* 
We have courses nowadays in almost everything 
under the sun except the most important thing of all, 
viz., American citizenship. It is about time that we 
understood in this country that it is just as important 
to train good Americans as it is to train good doctors 
or lawyers. A friend who has thought a good deal 
about this matter, sends us the following suggestion 
taken from a Western German paper, relative to a 
new way of celebrating the Fourth of July : 
It proposes that all the youths who will be entitled to oast their 
first votes, should be gathered together In each town or district, wear¬ 
ing a distinctive badge, and should be formally Inducted as citizens 
on the Fourth by an address from some one of the older and non¬ 
partisan members of the community, to which one or more, selected 
from their number, should make response. Such a ceremony could 
not but enhance the feelings of patriotism In all present, and do 
much to purify and refine, and remove the slag which gathers on 
many a nature that Is of pure gold Inwardly, but Is prevented from 
showing Its genuine nature by tbe false Issues and prejudices, or Ig¬ 
norances that prevail. The Interesting proceeding should be pre¬ 
pared for by a course of reading and study during the two previous 
years or winters, and this should comprise the early h'story of the 
nation. Its Constitution and the Immortal Declaration of Independ¬ 
ence. One or more capable leaders of tbe class could be found In 
every district, willing to serve the country in this preeminently use¬ 
ful way by meeting the young aspirant* statedly about twice a week. 
Under these circumstances, and with the eyes of tbe whole commun¬ 
ity upon them, these fledgeling citizens would not be wanting In 
effort to fit themselves for duties, tbe vital Importance of which all 
this preparation and public ceremony would show In vivid light. Be¬ 
fore long there will be voters of the gentler sex to be similarly pre¬ 
pared. The way to Inaugurate this course Is for two or three patriots 
in each district to simply get a list of the youths and start the course. 
There is no question about the value of such a cele¬ 
bration ; the trouble is to get public spirited men to 
go ahead and carry it out. Who is there in your 
township, for example, to take the lead in starting 
this course ? ^ 
In The R. N.-Y. of August 26, last, was an account 
of the methods of handling and sterilizing milk used 
by Nathan Stiaus, who is engaged in the philanthropic 
scheme of supplying to the poor, pure milk at cost. 
His milk, in addition to being the best procurable, is 
sterilized, and is thus rendered perfectly safe. His ob¬ 
ject was, not only to supply healthful milk at a low 
price, but to educate the poorer classes to the import¬ 
ance of its use. This year, the work has been largely 
extended. He has made arrangements for the erection 
of a permanent plant for sterilizing, and this will be 
ready for use next summer. There are, this year, eight 
depots in as many of the city parks, where sterilized 
milk is sold at one cent a glass. A crowd always sur¬ 
rounds those. On them are directions in five different 
languages for procuring the milk for infants, besides 
other information. There are six stations where milk 
in bottles, specially for infants, is sold or given away. 
For, while a small price is charged to those who can 
afford to pay, large quantities are given to those un¬ 
able to pay. The free doctors attached to the Board 
of Health are furnished with books of coupons which 
are taken for the milk. A physician from the Board 
of Health is stationed at the principal distributing de¬ 
pots. All these physicians are educating the people to 
the importance of getting pure milk for their children. 
Free lectures to mothers are given semi-weekly. All 
the teachings of these different agencies are some¬ 
thing like this: 
Do not wait until your child Is sick, when It may be too late, but be¬ 
gin at once to feed it on sterilized milk. Feed it from bottles which 
have been steilllzed, and through a nipple that has been sterilized. 
Discard the old nursing bottle, which Is seldom properly cleaned, and 
use one that Is subjected to heat that kills absolutely all noxious 
germs; then your children will be properly nourished and the chances 
of their being 111 reduced to a minimum. 
Some of these lessons might well be adopted by others. 
It is a practical form of charity whose effects are 
likely to be far reaching, and which may well be imi¬ 
tated by others. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
It will be noted by reference to the advertising columns this week, 
that Mr. C. S. Pratt, Reading, Mass., has a stock of the Marshall 
strawberry that has recently been so much and favorably discussed In 
The R. N.- Y. He also Issues a catalogue of other varieties. 
Ip any farmer wants to grade up his dairy with Jersey stock, he 
never had a more favorable opportunity tban now. Breeders are 
offering choice stock as never before. The offer of choice Jersey 
stock of Robert F. Shannon. Pittsburgh, Pa., In our advertising col¬ 
umns, Is an example. 
Don’t forget the New York State Fair to be held at Syracuse Sep¬ 
tember 6-13. You will find there the best display of farm products 
ever brought together, and you will have a chance to study and com¬ 
pare the different varieties and breeds of plants and animals. Not 
only that, but you can listen to some first-rate speeches and lectures. 
Don’t forget the date. 
The Alliance Carriage Co., of Cincinnati, O., will send their com¬ 
plete catalogue of vehicles and harness, showing over 100 different 
styles of vehicles, from a road cart or farm wagon to the finest pleas¬ 
ure carriage one’s taste can suggest. Also an endless variety of har¬ 
ness ranging In price from 15 upwards. If you have not had this cata¬ 
logue. send for It now—It’s free. Ask for catalogue “ D.” 
