636 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
October 6 
THE 
Rural New-Yorker 
Oar. OhamberM and Pearl St*., New Torh. 
A Natisaal Weekly Joarnal for Canntrjr and Suburban Hamea, 
ELBEBT 8. CARMAH, Bdltor-ln-Chlef. 
HERBERT W. COLIilNGWOOD, Managing Editor 
JOHN J. DILLON, Bnalness Manager. 
OopvrU/hted 1894. 
Addresa all bualneaa oommunloatlons and make all orders pay* 
able to THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Be sure that the name and addreaa of aender, with name of Poat 
otBoe and State, and what the remittance la for, appear In every letter. 
Money orders and bank drafts on New York are the safest means of 
transmitting monev. 
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1894. 
Are the services of the United States Weather 
Bureau of any value to you as an individual ? If so, 
i n what does that value consist ? 
• 
On many farms naturally well adapted to the grow¬ 
ing of Timothy hay, clover is the more economical 
forage to feed. On such farms is it good economy to 
grow Timothy, sell it and use the money to buy clover ? 
There is a question that bothers a good many farmers. 
• 
We are all ready to receive opinions and arguments 
as to those questions on page 642 about that field 
manured with sawdust manure. One thing is certain : 
“ All signs fail in a dry time” and the results of ex¬ 
periments made in a drought are often hard to under¬ 
stand. ^ 
Best the land ; bring it back to grass, is the advice 
given the Southern farmer who for years has grown 
cotton with fertilizers. That is good advice because 
there is a way to follow it and still continue to grow 
cotton. That is to use Crimson clover just as the Dela¬ 
ware farmers do. Sow it among the cotton rows in 
the fall, cut it or pasture in the spring and put cotton 
after it. ^ 
One cannot fail to observe that the stock at the fairs 
is fat. Fat covers many defects and most judges will 
give the fattest animal the premium. These animals 
are fine in the show ring, but are seldom useful breed¬ 
ers, and the posted man will never buy one of them 
for breeding purposes. The one that is lean, muscular 
and a milk-giver, so that her offspring grow well, is 
the one you want. Show ring and profit qualities sel¬ 
dom combine in one animal. Study the breed, not a 
single show animal. ^ 
That Chicago creamery fiend is again at work in 
New York State. As one of our readers describes him: 
"Be is loaded to the muzzle with cigars, slick talk and 
‘ Won’t you have a drink ?”’ We have described the 
methods of this firm so many times that it seems like 
a waste of space to go over it again. To all R. N.-Y. 
readers we say, take no stock (in any sense) in a wan¬ 
dering agent from Chicago who wants to sell a creamer 
and promises the entire earth to would-be patrons. 
You would better make yourself a won't-he patron. 
* 
Those are interesting figures Mr. Glick gives us 
about the cost of ensilage from sweet corn husks. As 
he manages things, he can make a cheaper ton of 
ensilage from the husks than from his own corn. 
This, we think, is unusual, but there may be farmers 
near corn canning factories who can do as well. With 
the value of this corn refuse so well established, it 
seems like a shame in these close times to let so much 
good fodder go to waste. Not the least important 
thing about this matter is the fact that the use of the 
ensilage enabled Mr. Glick to sell $92 worth of hay. 
That is the way it always goes. The use of ensilage 
provides cheap roughage and leaves the Timothy free 
for sale. ^ 
The little State of Delaware holds high rank for her 
wheat production ; but the very low prices which have 
prevailed for wheat the past few years are causing 
farmers to seek a more profitable crop which can be 
grown in its stead. Many farmers in the central part 
of the State have turned their attention to the culture 
of winter oats, and have found it a much more satis¬ 
factory and profitable crop than wheat. The growth 
of straw is fully equal to that of wheat, while the 
yield of grain is from 50 to 100 per cent more. The 
price received per bushel the present season has been 
nearly equal to that of wheat. Spring-sown oats are 
not a profitable crop, as they are too subject to blights 
and rusts, which not only reduce the yield of grain, 
but also render the straw useless for anything except 
bedding for stock. The winter oats are sown at the 
time of sowing winteT wheat. They withstand the 
mild winter weather fully as well as does the wheat. 
The vigorous start which they secure by the time 
spring opens enables them to resist the diseases that 
are liable to attack the spring varieties. 
• 
Since wheat has fallen so low in price that farmers 
recognize the economy of feeding it, the millers have 
begun a new boom for bran. In some cases almost 
the same price is demanded for the bran that is given 
for the wheat. Bran ought to fall in price as wheat 
goes down, and the millers have no business to demand 
the old prices for bran when they buy the wheat for 
so much less. The authorities seem to agree that the 
feeding value of wheat is higher than that of bran— 
aside from the cost of grinding the former. For 
horses, hogs, poultry and sheep the wheat may be fed 
without grinding. With the present prices demanded 
for bran, we advise farmers to use as little of it as pos¬ 
sible until the millers make a fairer price. 
* 
English agricultural papers are urging their readers 
to grow Crimson clover and feed their wheat to stock. 
It is said that Crimson clover will thrive all over the 
southern half of Great Britain, and English farmers 
fully understand the advantage of keeping some sort 
of a crop on the land through the fall and winter, as 
well as the value of a crop like Crimson clover which 
adds a supply of nitrogen to the soil. As to feeding 
English wheat to stock—that seems like a singular 
proceeding when we consider that the English market 
is the last hope of all wheat-exporting countries. It 
only shows the desperate condition of those who de¬ 
pend upon wheat for their money or cash crop. They 
have now come to the point where their wheat must 
compete with other stock foods instead of being re¬ 
served for human consumption. Once let farmers be¬ 
come used to the idea of feeding wheat to stock and we 
think the market for it will be considerably changed. 
« 
In a recent R. N.-Y. was a symposium on the value 
of corn fodder as a food for horses. Its value was at¬ 
tested, but particular stress was laid upon the fact 
that it must be well cured, and secured in good con¬ 
dition. Extended observation engenders the belief 
that a large part of the value of the stover is lost. 
Much of the corn is allowed to become too ripe before 
cutting. Then one sees many fields in which careless 
shocking causes great waste. Delay in husking also 
allows the stalks to become weather-beaten, and thus 
far less palatable and nutritious. Corn husking seems 
to be a job that can more easily be put off than much 
other work, and the actual loss by this delay is not 
appreciated. At present prices, this crop is one of the 
most valuable that can be grown, even though the 
grain alone be considered. If a proper value be 
placed upon the stalks, a still greater profit is appar¬ 
ent. Isn’t it worth while to use a little more care in 
securing and housing this most valuable by-product ? 
• 
Last fall, in describing the methods of the Hudson 
River grape growers, we told our readers how Mr. W. 
F. Taber grew turnips and clover after strawberries. 
We are now able to give the results of this experi¬ 
ment. After the berries were picked the vines were 
plowed under and the field well rolled. August 1, 
one pound of turnip seed, twelve quarts of Medium 
Red and four of Alsike clover seed per acre were 
sown. The turnips protected the clover and an ex¬ 
cellent "catch” was obtained. From an acre and a 
quarter 207 bushels of turnips were sold last fall and 
about June 1 of this year the whole growth of clover 
was plowed under, rolled and planted to sweet corn. 
In spite of the dry season, the crop of sweet corn sold 
for over $160. Next year potatoes will be grown in 
this land and after that strawberries. Mr. Taber is a 
great believer in heavy green manuring to carry a crop 
through a drought. The green crop must be carefully 
plowed under and packed down hard with the roller 
to exclude the air as much as possible, while the 
cultivation on such soils should be very shallow all 
through the season. ^ 
Quite a number of the smaller cities and large 
towns are beginning to bum their garbage. The suc¬ 
cess which has attended some of these operations will 
be sure to advertise this method of disposing of refuse, 
and the chances are that it will become quite general. 
In Wilmington, Del., "cremation” of this refuse is 
said to give excellent results. The material used for 
fuel there is kerosene, which is sprayed upon the gar¬ 
bage, mixed with superheated steam. An intense 
heat is thus secured, and the garbage is reduced to a 
fine ash, with small fragments of bone. This garbage 
ash is a new fertilizing product. It contains potash 
and phosphoric acid—mostly the latter. At Wilming¬ 
ton, a ton of garbage is said to make about 50 pounds 
of ash. Enterprising farmers living within range of 
these "crematories,” should lose no time in investi¬ 
gating the merits of this ash. Get a sample to the ex¬ 
periment station at once and have it analyzed, so that 
you may know what you are buying. The chances 
are that at first, before this ash becomes a regular 
article of sale, you will be able to obtain it at a very 
cheap rate. Try it. ^ 
What is the right thing to do in regard to shade 
trees in the tillable part of the farm ? While visiting 
a noted farm recently the proprietor called attention 
to a few scattering trees and said: "Do you not 
admire those glorious forest trees ? How they add to 
the beauty of the landscape. I know they take some 
moisture out of the soil that the plants need, but the 
entire area infiuenced by them is relatively only a 
small matter. There is Mr.-. My chief criticism 
of his methods is that he will not let one of the glori¬ 
ous old trees remain near a cultivated field. All have 
been taken out by the roots.” We happen to know 
Mr.-. He believes in giving the best chance to 
every crop he grows. No weeds are permitted to 
evaporate water from the fields, and he thinks it 
unfair both to crop and soil to let a big tree stand and 
rob them of plant food. The comfoi t to team and man 
from shade is balanced in his estimation by the discom¬ 
fort arising from having an obstacle in the way of the 
culture of the crop. To him the beautiful in a field is 
a perfectly even crop. To the other the sacrifice of 
the noble tree seems to be sacrilege. Which is right ? 
Do you spare the tree ? ^ 
BREVITIES. 
“ A dose of Kood old catnip tea for baby I" was the word, 
And way down to Us lowest depths our little home was stirred. 
For In our humble household, I would have you understand. 
When baby takes her medicine we're all of us on hand. 
For grandma holds the baby—oh, so tightly In her arms 
And mother measures out the dose—the drops are healing charms. 
And father, at his distance, they will never let him near. 
Speaks words of fatherly advice to help the little dear. 
While Jack he sings and whistles to divert her little mind 
And make her think her colic has been surely left behind. 
Then mother waits until the mouth Is opened for a bawl. 
And In will go the medicine, the catnip, spoon and all. 
And as the little stomach warms—away will go the pain. 
It’s exit bad old colic, and the baby laughs again. 
And then we nudge each other—we are famous fo.ks to-day, 
“ See how I cured that baby ?” every one of us cao say. 
When baby takes her medicine we’re all of us on deck. 
And on her health’s horizon there should never be a speck. 
“ Old friends are the truest.” 
DCCK culture Is a quack business. 
What about that wire chain-page 032 ? 
It s nitrogen that keeps Timothy on Its feet. 
*• Fills the bill ”—dough in the chicken pan. 
Can a narrow man ever ” cat a wide swath ” ? 
How much ventilation does your henhouse need ? 
Patch up the winter overcoat for the strawberries. 
Not a bad plan to have the cow and the pasture dry together. 
Takes care of Itself—ventilation In a room with an open Are. 
How much weight do you expect to put on that calf this winter? 
The latest name for a tarld on wool Is “a patent for sheep growers." 
What effect is the high price of corn having upon silo tilling In your 
neighborhood 7 
Dh. Hoskins tries his hand at answering those questions about 
shade on page 642. 
Corn planted early grows up tall and stout—makes the happy cattle 
langh at the drought. 
To make an off-hand statement of any value, you must have your 
subject well in hand. 
Bear In mind that the part of the Crimson clover plant you want to 
save over winter is below the ground—the root. 
Most of our advices from the West are to the effect that farmers 
are sowing about as much wheat as ever. 
Bear in mind that the man who Is bare In mind and has not caught 
the reading habit, will have a very dull winter. 
He who keeps his poor old porker sty-penned from the sprlrg till 
fall, finds his profits but a walker and his stipend very small. 
The rew tariff will permit Mexicans to drive stock Into Texas for fat¬ 
tening and sale. Another ” new Industry ” for the foreigner’s benefiil 
WILL the granddaughter of your cow be able to make 800 pounds of 
butter a year ? Read the answer In the pedigree of Its sire and grand- 
sire. 
A YEAR ago English farmers were hunting for hay or selling off sur¬ 
plus stock. To-day their barns and stacks are full and they want more 
cattle. 
The Utah Experiment Station has pretty well proved that, fed In 
connection with bran, peas are superior to any ol the small grains for 
porkmaking. 
Denmark exports vast quantities of butter. It Is discouraging to 
learn that the Danes are eating ole''margarine at home and sending 
butter abroad. 
The man who cherishes his back doesn’t shoulder a fork and attack 
the manure in the shed when he sees It needs “ working over.” He 
scatters a little corn about and lets In the hogs! 
A lot of ‘20 live cattle recently reached England from Australia. 
While thousands of tons of frozen meat have been sent from Austra¬ 
lia, these were the first live cattle to make the trip safely. 
SOME of our readers are sending us samples of the seed wheat bought 
from well-known advertisers and full of weed seeds and trash. Look 
out, gentlemen 1 Dirty wheat will not win you a clean reputation from 
The R. N.-Y. 
AMERICAN sugar growers are not willing to let that bounty go with¬ 
out a struggle. Several suits have already been brought against the 
United States to force payment of the bounty at least up to the date 
of the new law. 
Don’t be alarmed at Mr. Chapman’s story of the way they eat 
grapes in those central New York vineyards. ” A ripe grape never In¬ 
jured any one I” That Is right, but there Is as much colic In green 
grapes as there Is In green apples. 
” A BARREL Of wheat makes a barrel of eggs,” said a wheat-feeding 
farm ponitryman. ” I have to sell many of my eggs for a cent apiece, 
but every hen brings me In more than a dollar profit, and I sha.l in¬ 
crease my stock. They are the most profitable stock on the farm.” 
Thus the testimony accumulates In favor of A Business Ben, even 
with eggs at a cent apiece. 
