1894 
THE RURAI NEW-YORKER. 
685 
THE PROSPECT. 
The most remarkable thing about our Symposium 
contest is the great number of subjects proposed that 
have to do with plans for the education of older farm¬ 
ers. There is evidently a very large class of middle- 
aged men who feel the need of some knowledge of 
agricultural science. Unable in early life to obtain a 
good drill in the rudiments of science, they are now 
unable to comprehend much that our experiment 
stations undertake to teach. It may seem presumptu¬ 
ous in The R. N.-Y. to try to teach “ Primer Science” 
when there are hundreds of men in the country better 
qualified to do so. We will try it, however, and help 
to secure the cooperation of others in the work. 
Let us not get excited about the Russian thistle. In 
a recent bulletin from the Iowa Station, Prof. J. L. 
Budd has the following sensible remarks : 
It ma 7 Indeed prove a blesslnt; In dlsRutse on account of Its formid¬ 
able nature and rolling habit, as It may force much needed leRlalatlon 
In the way of weed destruction, or keeping in check, on our railways 
and highways an J even on non-resident city and village lots and non¬ 
resident tracts in the country. If we follow east European legisla¬ 
tion It will also Include the farm of "Farmer Slovenly.” It will spread 
over the unfenced pastures of the prairie States more rapidly than 
any weed yet Introduced, but in fenced regions it will not In the end 
prove as serious a pest as the Canada thistle or even the now much 
petted Oi-eve daisy. 
That is the view The R. N.-Y. has taken. The weed 
is now in New York State, but we do not believe it 
will ever prove a serious pest to a clean farmer. 
* 
Every trade needs an apprenticeship of some sort— 
a time and opportunity for “learning bow” by ex¬ 
periment and actual work. A green apprentice gen¬ 
erally spoils more goods than he is worth before he 
can do expert work. In this view of the case, we 
have often wondered how barbers learn their trade. 
Shaving is an operation where experiments would ap¬ 
pear to be dangerous, and yet in the city barbers’ 
apprentices find subjects to work on. There is a place 
where tramps may receive a shave or hair-cut free of 
charge. The operators are boys and young men who 
are learning the trade. This is one way, then, in 
which the professional tramp makes himself useful, 
by enabling others to learn how to make an honor¬ 
able living with a razor. 
* 
A FEATURE of the landscape in many parts of New 
Jersey is the hay ricks, or barracks, as they are 
called. These consist of a square roof, supported by 
and secured to stout posts of considerable height, at 
each corner. These roofs slide up and down on the 
poles, and are supported at any desired height by 
pins, or by any other device. If a small amount of 
hay is to be sheltered, the roof is lowered ; if a large 
amount, it is raised accordingly. A horse-fork rig¬ 
ging may be secured in the peak of the roof, and the 
hay be hoisted as easily as in the barn. After the hay 
is all in, the roof may be lowered, and the top of the 
hay completely sheltered. This kind of shelter is in¬ 
expensive, when properly constructed will last many 
years, and the hay is far more secure than in a stack. 
• 
A NEW outlet for the sugar beet product is reported. 
Experiments have been under way at Omaha, and 
have reached a successful conclusion, for the making 
of pure spirits from beet sugar molasses. It is reported 
that a car-load of molasses will be used daily, here¬ 
after. This molasses was from the Oxnard factory at 
Grand Island, and this use of it will give additional 
profit to this apparently doomed industry. The secret 
of this system in use for making sugar is said to be 
the conversion of alkaline salts by a chemical process 
which changes them into a sort of glucose perfectly 
adapted for distillery uses. T he report doesn’t men¬ 
tion whether spirits made from this source will send 
a man to the poorhouse quicker, or will cause more 
poverty, wretchedness and crime than those made 
from the old-time materials. 
• 
The change that has come over the business of breed¬ 
ing thoroughbred live stock is well shown by a visit 
to the United States quarantine station at Garfield, 
N. J. All imported animals entering the port of New 
York must spend 90 days at Garfield, closely watched 
by a veterinarian. This precaution is taken to pre¬ 
vent the importation of contagious diseases. Time 
was, not many years ago, when the barns and sheds 
at the station were too small to accommodate the ani¬ 
mals. Now they are not one-third filled. On a recent 
visit there we found only three Short-horns, one 
young Jersey bull and about 50 Guernseys. The 
Short-horns and Jersey are the only specimens of those 
breeds that have been imported this year. Only a few 
years ago hundreds of these cattle were brought into 
the country—now it is only an individual specimen 
here and there needed to supply some special line of 
blood. The glory of the Short horns has sadly waned. 
As to Jerseys, we have in America to-day the finest 
living specimens of the breed, and there is no need to 
go abroad for more. Most of the importations for the 
past year have been Gaernseys and Red Polls, and it is 
very doubtful if we shall ever again see the heavy 
importations of former days. 
A Sacramento paper reports a new method of keep¬ 
ing fruit that seems to beat cold storage. Ripe Bart¬ 
lett pears had been kept upward of a month in car¬ 
bonic acid gas, and were “juicy and deliciously 
flavored.” The fruit may be picked when nearly ripe, 
put in an air-tight car charged with carbonic acid gas, 
and shipped to almost any part of the world without 
ice. The discoverer claims that the cost of shipping 
fruit to the East may be reduced at least $300 per car¬ 
load. The gas leaves the fruit perfectly free from any 
taint. It may be manufactured very cheaply, and in 
some parts of California may be pumped from the 
mines almost without cost. A practical experiment 
in shipping to the East is already under way, and its 
outcome will be awaited with much interest by all in¬ 
terested in fruit transportation and handling. 
* 
We seldom have the question of soil exhaustion re¬ 
sulting from wheat growing more forcibly presented 
than this from a New Jersey subscriber : 
By xrowlrsr wheat extensively, wo are sncklnR the fertility out of 
the land, and sending It to be consumed In the oltlea. Thence It goes 
Into the sewers, and Into the rivers and the ocean, and never comes 
back to the land. We also ship vast quantities to Europe and we 
don’t get enough for It to pay for the labor employed In Its production, 
to say nothing of the wasted fertility. The remedy Is to raise moro 
animal food for export, also more poultry, eggs and fruit, and let 
Argentine Republic and poor, starved I .dla, sap the fertility from 
their land and send It to feed Europe. 
As things are at present, there are thousands of farms 
in the Far West on which no other salable crop be¬ 
sides wheat can be grown. For farmers ease of the 
Ohio River to stop growing wheat, except, perhaps, 
enough for home use, would be the greatest boon 
that could happen to the West. 
* 
Quite a little interest is being taken in the disposal 
of city garbage. The Massachusetts Station has 
analyzed three samples of swill ashes, from a crema¬ 
tory where the swill is burned by means of kerosene 
oil. The average of the three gave 4.43 per cent of 
potash and 103^ per cent of phosphoric acid. The 
samples varied greatly in the amounts of phosphoric 
acid which they contained. This was probably due to 
the fact that more bones were collected on some days 
than on others. Ashes with such an analysis are 
worth considerably more than ordinary wood ashes. 
In Boston, we are told that the garbage is thrown into 
a tank and steamed under heavy pressure for some 
hours. The water and grease are then pressed out 
and the residue ground and dried for fertilizer. We 
have not seen an analysis of this product, but it ought 
to contain some nitrogen as well as potash and phos¬ 
phoric acid. It will be a blessing when all garbage 
can be made to serve some useful purpose. 
« 
A FARMER shipped to a commission merchant, several 
packages of butter. lie wrote that it was choice goods 
and should bring the highest price. It came. It sold 
very slowly, a package at a time, at a low price. One 
man bought two packages and brought them back next 
morning. The commission merchant wrote the ship¬ 
per about the matter. The latter had a friend in the 
city, a retail grocer. He wrote to the latter that he 
was being s kindled and wished him to get the rest of 
the butter. He came and looked at what remained. 
The tryer was run into a tub. The friend tasted the 
sample. He didn’t want it. The writer happened in 
just then. He was asked to try it. He smelled it; 
that was enough. It was rank and strong, not fit for 
cooking butter. Still it was called choice by the ship¬ 
per, and he was doubtless honest in his belief. Educa¬ 
tion is evidently sadly needed. How is it to be best 
obtained ? Do agricultural literature, institutes and 
agricultural fairs fill the bill, or is some other agency 
needed ? 
ft 
A pathetic story is told in the news columns of the 
daily papers. In a suburban town, many years ago, 
an industrious young mechanic and his loving wife 
made their home. No rent payers were they, but by 
strict economy and untiring industry the neat cottage 
and the bit of land became their very own. Mean¬ 
while, the babies came to brighten the home and to 
attach them more closely to it. At each birth, a pear tree 
was planted and tenderly cared for. Thus the parents 
and the children, trees, vines, plants and flowers were 
all closely associated in that humble, but happy home. 
But the onward march of public improvement, and the 
growth of the town, now become a city, necessitated 
the widening of an avenue, and the destruction of this 
home. The property was condemned, and the amount 
of damages awarded by the courts. But these people 
were attached to this place by the strongest of earthly 
ties. Here they had come as bride and groom ; here 
the children were born and had grown, some of them 
to manhood and womanhood. Their very heart strings 
were entwined with every root and tendril of that 
home. Almost crazed, they have defied the courts 
and the ofiicers of the law for months. While the 
husband and father went to his daily occupation, the 
wife and mother assisted by her sons and daughters 
has stood guard with a loaded gun over that home. 
But the strong arm of the law finally overpowered 
her, and hysterical and almost brokenhearted, she 
was dragged from that home and was compelled to 
yield to the law’s commands. One can but question 
whether progress and public improvement are really 
all that are claimed when they are secured at such a 
cost. Such home love as this is the strongest bulwark 
of the nation’s enduring prosperity. 
ft 
Thousands of farmers in this country are feeding 
wheat to live stock, and thousands more are thinking 
about doing so. The feeding of a new product like 
whole wheat in the place of corn or oats, is sure to 
involve a loss if the feeder must conduct his own ex¬ 
periments in order to find the best methods and com¬ 
binations. Our experiment stations should ha7e come 
to the front at once with clear and exact information 
regarding the economy of feeding wheat. They have 
not done so. They are a year behind the times in this 
matter. The Kansas State Board of Agriculture is 
more alive to the situation. Its secretary, F. D. 
Coburn, has issued a thick pamphlet on Feeding 
Wheat to Farm Animals, which gives the best infor¬ 
mation now obtainable. It is a collection of all the 
important articles on feeding wheat that have ap¬ 
peared in agricultural papers and bulletins. It also 
contains reports from practical farmers in each of the 
105 counties in Kansas. It is far ahead of anything 
that has before appeared on this subject, and ought 
to be of great value to wheat growers. Mr. Coburn is 
an old agricultural editor, and knows what farmers 
need and desire in the way of information. 
* 
The English agricultural papers are well filled with 
advertisements of “ calf food” and other mixtures for 
feeding cattle. Some of these preparations are said 
to be “milk substitutes,” in the sense that, when added 
to warm water, they will nourish a calf as well as any¬ 
thing besides pure milk. There is no doubt about 
the value of some of these foods, but how do value 
and price agree ? As a rule, the price is outrageous 
compared with the actual cost of the materials mak¬ 
ing up the mixture. A case in point is the well-known 
“ Thorley Food,” largely sold in some parts of the 
country. The Pennsylvania Experiment Station an¬ 
alyzed this food and found that it is made largely of 
linseed meal. Compared for actual food properties, 
linseed and “ Thorley Food” show this difference. 
Thorley B’ood. Old Process Linseed. 
Protein.. 18.40 82.» 
Carbohydrates. 64.38 86.4 
Fat. 7.47 7.9 
In other words, the linseed is a stronger food, though 
the other probably costs three times as much. The 
“ Thorley” is a fraud, then? No, for it contains some 
mild drugs that act as a tonic or stimulant. Mix these 
drugs with half a ton each of linseed and corn meal 
and you would have just as good a food. Take a pound 
of sulphate of iron, a pound of aloes, two pounds of 
powdered gentian, and two pounds of niter, and mix 
them perfectly with 50 pounds of the mixture of lin¬ 
seed and corn meal. You will then have a “ stock 
food” that will answer the purpose and cost less than 
half the “ Thorley.” You probably cannot mix by 
hand as well as the manufacturers can, but in no other 
way can they beat you. The prospect is that these 
patent stock foods will soon be largely imported for 
sale in this country. If you want to pay others for 
mixing what you can mix yourself, do so. If you want 
to pay yourself good wages—do your own mixing. 
BUSINBSS BITS. 
Do you want second-hand two-horse tread power, or thrashlnc ma¬ 
chine ? If so, write J. Van Wagoner, New Milford, N. J. 
Notk the auction sale of Jerseys at Hillsdale Farm, October 31. 
Cows will be sold subject to the tuberculin test. Write Wm. Bishop, 
Davis, N. J , for catalogue. The announcement appears In this Issue 
An Incubator should be so constructed that the egg chamber will be 
evenly heated In every part. The Perfection Is so constructed. For 
description and other Information address the Perfection Incubator 
Company, Quincy, Ill. 
This year, coarse fodder will be utilized as it has not b een for years 
before, and the medium-sized fodder cutter will And a place In barns 
that never knew It before. The Silver Mfg. Co., Salem. O., make a 
mill well suited to this purpose. 
Stkhl hoofing Is now largely taking the place of other materials 
for covering buildings. It makes a roof that Is almost Indestructible, 
If properly cared for, and seems to be meeting general favor. Sykes 
Iron & Steel Roofing Co., Niles, O., manufacture the brand that re¬ 
ceived the award at the World’s Fair. 
MANYfarmers are beginning to grind their own feed on the farm 
Instead of carting It through the mud to and from a custom mill. 
There are many different makes of mills for the purpose. The 
Bowsher mill Is made in different sizes, and Is furnished with an 
elevator If desired. Send to P. N. Bowsher, South Bend. Ind., for 
description. 
Thkhb Is a vast difference between merely “ papering a room and 
“ decorating” It. Any paper will cover the walls, but to’* decorate” 
It requires well-made, reliable wall paper, in harmonious colorings 
and latest designs. There Is also a. vast difference In cost. The old 
style. Inferior papers carried by local dealers cost twice as much as 
the new style decorative wall papers, when secured from Alfred 
Peats, tne largest wall paper dealer in the United States. New de¬ 
signs may be bought from three cents a loU upward. His “ Guide How 
to Paper and Economy in Home Decoration” will tell you all about 
It how to get a 150 effect for $5. Send 10 cents for postage on samples 
of wall paper, and the “ Guide” will be sent free. Address, Alfred 
Peats, 136 West Madison St., Chicago, Ill. 
