572 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
September 8 
THE 
Rural New-Yorker 
Cor. Chambers tmd Pea/rl Sts ., New York. 
A Natieaal Weekly Jearnal far Country and Suburban Homes. 
BLBEBT B. CARMAH, EdItor-ln-Chlef. 
HERBERT W. OOLLINGWOOD, Managing Editor 
JOHN J, DILLON, Business Manager. 
Oopvrluhted 1S04. 
Address all business oommunloatlons and make all orders par¬ 
able to THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Be sure that the name and address of sender, with name of Post 
office and State, and what the remittance Is for, appear In erery letter. 
Money orders and bank drafts on New York are the safest means of 
transmitting money. 
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1894. 
At the Maryland Experiment Station, tests were 
made to compare Crimson clover with cow peas as 
jfreen manure for wheat. Though the Crimson clover 
was sown in early spring—not by any means the best 
time for it—it gave a better yield than the cow peas, 
in every instance. All careful experiments with this 
plant go to prove that in sections where it will thrive it is 
one of the greatest blessings the farmer can have. 
» 
The New York Constitutional Convention has done 
one good thing in favoring the removal of the limita¬ 
tion of damages in case of loss of life. At present, if 
a man is killed in a railroad accident, the jury cannot 
award over $.'5,000. If he is crippled, the jury may 
award any damages they see fit. The voters of the 
State are now to decide whether the limit of the value 
of human life is to remain. There can be no doubt of 
the result. , 
In spite of the prevailing “hard times” and the 
drawbacks of low prices and drought, we meet quite 
a number of farmers who say that this year promises to 
be the most prosperous they have ever had. These men 
are neither grain farmers—nor are they following the 
methods of 30 years ago. As a rule, they have small 
places well tilled. Their sources of income are gen¬ 
erally eggs and poultry, small fruits and vegetables, 
with a few first-class cows. They succeed because 
they produce first-class goods and sell them on a 
guarantee—bottom the same as top. 
ft 
R. G. T., page 570, in discussing The Out-of-Work 
Side, gives a true picture of many an honest, willing, 
but unfortunate, man during recent months. Is there 
anything which will more surely destroy such an one’s 
sense of manhood and independence than such treat¬ 
ment ? But his scheme for their relief is paternalism 
pure and simple, whose tendency is to quench the 
spirit of rivalry and progressiveness which has largely 
tended to make our country the great nation it is. 
But this subject of the unemployed is an ever present 
and vital question. Who can solve it ? 
Last week, Mr. Sehoenfeld, in telling us how he had 
improved his vineyard by green manuring alone, said 
that the appearance of this year’s crop plainly showed 
that the “ Crimson clover furnished something more 
than humus, and is without doubt a great deal better 
than rye.” The great difference between Crimson 
clover and rye is that the former gains nitrogen for 
the farmer—taking it from the air without cost—while 
the rye adds no nitrogen, but simply consumes a part 
of that which is found in the soil. Where the two 
plants will thrive equally well, it is folly to use rye for 
green manuring. It is a pity that Mr. S. did not use 
potash and bone on a part of that vineyard, that we 
might know whether these chemicals would have 
increased the yield at a profit. 
Pump and reservoir irrigation is proving a success on 
the dry plains of western Kansas. It is true that the 
underground water supply is unusually good on those 
plains, and farmers in other sections may have to go 
deeper for a sure supply. At the sane time, the ex¬ 
perience of these Kansas farmers shows the possibili¬ 
ties of a system which permits a regulation of the 
moisture to be supplied to a crop. As a correspond¬ 
ent says, in speaking of Garden City: “ To-day one 
passes about 100 miles of brown, bare plains, semi- 
desert, on which the grass is as brown as the soil, and 
too short to burn, and comes suddenly upon beautiful 
groves, green fields, ponds of water, orchards bending 
with fruit, gardens and beautiful homes.” Water has 
brought about this transformation. In this season of 
awful drought, many a farmer sees the need of some 
sort of irrigation as he never did before. There is a 
useful place for a water storage reservoir on every 
farm in the country. 
Congress adjourned without acting on that “ oleo ” 
bill. From now until November will be your chance 
to make a record in national legislation. It is doubt¬ 
ful whether this bill will be reached before the next 
Congress, so that the plausible and promising gentle¬ 
men who want your votes this fall will decide the 
matter. Now, if you are a dairyman making your 
living from the sale of butter, it is a very singular 
thing if you vote for a man because he belongs to your 
party, when you feel pretty sure that he will not sup¬ 
port this bill. Don’t you be a Democrat or a Repub¬ 
lican this fall—be a Dairyman. Vote as you milk ! 
« 
Referring to the question that has been somewhat 
discussed in The R. N.-Y. of late. Prof. I. P. Roberts 
writes: 
The TBrlons dlBCQislona on the " Effect ol Shading the Soli.” It ap¬ 
pears to me, do not reach the tap root of the matter. Nitriflcation 
goet on only in the dark. Of course, other conditions most be favorable, 
such as heat and moisture, but no matter bow good the other condi¬ 
tions. no nltrlflcatton goes on In the sunlight. With this fact promi¬ 
nently before us, I think the reason will be easily discovered why, 
under proper conditions, the ground produces Increased crops when 
shaded. 
This is an argument against letting the soil “ get out 
of a job.” There should be something growing on it 
all the time. What have you sowed in that corn field ? 
« 
It is now three years since the price of wheat fell 
so low that farmers began seriously to consider the 
plan of feeding it to stock. Those who investigated 
the matter carefully, and made a fair comparison of 
the actual cost of animal nutriment in wheat and in 
other grains, found that when wheat falls to a certain 
price, there is more profit in feeding than in selling 
it, because they cannot buy, with the money obtained 
for a bushel of wheat, as much stock food as that 
bushel contains—to say nothing of the cost of hauling 
the wheat away and the other grain home. More 
wheat will be fed this year than ever before, and a 
good many farmers will try substituting barley for 
wheat, believing that they can obtain more stock food 
per acre than with the former grain. 
* 
Last winter an army of the unemployed appeared 
in New York City demanding food and help. While 
the greater part of this army were foreigners, there 
were many Americans, too, and of the latter the great 
majority seemed to come from the country. They 
were formerly hired men, or in some other way con¬ 
nected with farm work. Why do men leave the fruit¬ 
ful farm to starve in the city ? That is the question 
asked by some of the rich men who for several years 
have been asked to give money to support these men. 
As a result, they are conducting an investigation of 
their own as to the causes which send these men to 
the city. Such an investigation ought to disclose some 
curious facts, and we shall look for the results with 
interest. ^ 
In some parts of California—outside of the wheat¬ 
growing districts—it is customary to grow a few acres 
of small grain for poultry food. This grain is not 
harvested. It simply ripens in the field, and then the 
poultry run in and harvest it to suit themselves. The 
cost of harvesting, thrashing and cleaning wheat and 
rye is considerable. It is not surprising that farmers 
in the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys who have decided 
to feed their wheat, are trying the experiment of 
feeding it in the field. Hogs and poultry are turned 
into the field to eat down the grain just as they would 
pasture a field of clover. This method certainly saves 
the cost of harvesting the grain, and it probably gives 
the young clover a better chance, but what a waste it 
must seem to the Eastern farmers who can obtain $20 
per ton for the straw. ^ 
If we were to buy a new knapsack sprayer, we 
would certainly secure one with the new kerosene at¬ 
tachment. This is a little box or tank (filled with 
kerosene) with a tube arranged so that the kerosene 
is delivered just as the water is forced out of the 
sprayer. Under pressure of the sprayer pump, the 
kerosene and water form a mechanical mixture which 
answers every purpose of the kerosene emulsion, be¬ 
sides being cheaper and handier. For use in poultry 
houses, this will work well, and the kerosene tank de¬ 
tracts nothing from the value of the sprayer for other 
mixtures. This ingenious device is not patented—it is 
one of the gifts the public have received from the ex¬ 
periment stations. ^ 
The wheat growers of Dakota have made little profit 
of late years. The yield has decreased with the price, 
so that there has been a double cut in receipts. 
Naturally those farmers must look for a new crop or 
for a new use for their wheat. Good dairying offers a 
solution to the problem. It will make necessary a 
rotation of crops, and will afford a valuable outlet for 
the vast quantities of bran and other by-products of 
the mills. And another important point is brought 
out by Prof. E, F. Ladd in a recent address as follows: 
‘•To ship a dollar’s worth of wheat to New York, 
costs about 20 cents, while to ship one dollar’s worth 
of butter costs about five cents. In the wheat you are 
shipping away the fertility of your farm, while not 10 
cents’ worth of fertility is lost in a ton of butter.” 
Prof. Ladd also shows how former wheat growing 
sections have been reduced in fertility, driven into 
dairying, and by that industry so benefited that they 
now produce more wheat on fewer acres than ever be¬ 
fore. Let the dairy cow help rescue Dakota. 
» 
It is the general belief (among masculines, at least) 
that woman’s chief resource in time of danger, is to 
faint. That she is the weaker vessel, good enough in 
her place, but unsuited to grapple with the rougher 
elements in life. There is a man in one of New Jer¬ 
sey’s suburban towns who doesn’t have reason to 
think so now. While out walking one evening with a 
young lady, they were attacked by a gang of tramps. 
The escort told the young lady to run, and he stood 
his ground to give her the chance to escape. The 
young lady didn’t run far, but hearing the desperate 
struggle between her companion and the tramps, re¬ 
turned to the attack with a supply of stones. In a 
masculine voice she shouted as though leading a 
company of men, and fired a volley of stones into the 
crowd. Thinking they were in danger, the hoboes 
took to their heels amid a shower of stones, and the 
two went on their way. The account doesn’t even say 
that the young lady fainted when the danger was 
over, wherein she differs from the average young 
woman of the story. It is safe to say that there is one 
young man in New Jersey who believes in woman 
having her rights. ^ 
BREVITIES. 
I ^Ity little city folks whose restless, eager feet 
Run all day lorg on brick and stone within the crowded street. 
No touch of Nature’s wildness tlnds its way into the town; 
No breath of llowers-no shadows In the harvest Held all brown; 
No views of wood and mountain with their nameless mystery; 
No little brook fast running with Us message to the sea; 
No pine tree's solemn music, when the autumn wind Is high; 
No frost-work on the pond hole when the wild geese Southward lly. 
Oh, weary little city folks, I pity you to-day. 
Shut out from Nature's kindly face, how hollow Is your play. 
With only that Berce longing for the city’s roar and pride 
Within your hearts through life you go with hope unsatisfied. 
With something ever lacking from the memory of youth; 
The sentiment and mystery of Nature’s love and truth. 
Givk pea meal a trial. 
Mix caution with dynamite. 
Thv strychnine for dog daze. 
All signs dry up in a drought. 
What’s the size of the I In it ? 
Never put a nail In a hen roost. 
The pie crop needs shortening. 
Tkain the baby to do Its crying by daylight 1 
Limb for egg shelling not time on egg selling. 
Save the children’s teeth, whatever else you do. 
The cat was built for the barn rather than the house. 
Clovkh mites are mighty ford of raspberries—page 568. 
Which is the harder to cure-corn fodder or clover hay ? 
The Russian apples have a brave defender In Dr. Hoskins. 
Over heat and over eat—biliousness, " bad luck ” complete. 
A VALUABLK article on the moths that feast on woolen cloth next 
week. 
Mr. Slingeeland’s account of the potato stalk insects answers 
many questions. 
Many a man has been called “cracked” because he lets a little new 
light in on the world. 
Many a hen limps and mopes around, credited with “leg weakness,” 
when her legs are all right. 
Now let somebody tell us how to Inoculate late corn fodder with the 
germ that makes millet grow so fast—page 670. 
Let a man go through life buying only the things that have an 
apparently cheap price, and where will he come out ? 
Now, my boy, you want a bicycle. Stick to that club until It Is large 
enough to win. Here's a test for you. Shall it be N K G or N. Q. ? 
If every hungry person In the towns had the money to buy needed 
food, American farming would be the greatest business on earth. 
Spend the rum money for food and see what will happen. 
You can’t get all the good out of stalks, you see, without cutting 
them. You can’t cut them with your tongue—yes, you can talk some 
of your neighbors into subscribing and thus capture that stalk cutter. 
IT Is stated that In upper Egypt great flocks of pigeons are kept 
chiefly to produce manure for the sugar cane. These pigeons live 
chiefly on wild food. It will be hard to beat them as cheap manure 
makers. 
WE have Just been reading an article by a m^n supposed to be an 
agricultural teacher, in which the same fertilizer Is called both phos¬ 
phate and superphosphate. Such blind leading of the blind will fill 
the ditch. 
Most of the sweet corn growers near New York have had a good 
season. Prices have been fair, and early planted varieties have stood 
the drought fairly well. This Is a crop which, one year with another, 
is reasonably sure to pay. 
Fifty years ago. a doctor suggested that membeis of his “ benevo¬ 
lent profession” should pay no toll on the toll road. He was refused 
because he sent ’’too many dead heads through.” That was the origin 
of our present name for one who never pays. 
Suppose a man were to send yon live stock of any so’t with more 
or less vermin on It 1 You would be crazy to order more from the 
same place or to advise others to do so. Any quantity of so-called 
high-class poultry Is loaded with low class vermin. 
Hebe we have a young man who nearly fainted away at the 
idea of driving his father’s wagon around from house to house for the 
purpose of selling fruits and vegetables. He was very anxious to 
“accept a position” in the village store taking orders and delivering 
groceries. What's the matter with that young man ? 
