733 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
THE PROSPECT. 
Subscribers to Tiik R. N.-Y. may have the remalnimj 
issues of thLs year, a,nd the ivhole of 1895, for $1.00. 
O 
A WISE statesman, in speaking of modern popular 
government, said that a monarchy was like a great 
ironclad, strong and terrible in its power, yet one 
blow on the rocks would destroy it, as it would 
sink of its own weight. A republic, he said, is like a 
raft—huge, unwieldy and hard to steer, often wetting 
the feet of those it carries, and yet impossible to sink. 
We are reminded of this by the result of the recent 
election. It is hard to conceive of a mox*e complete 
revolution or a more emphatic protest on the part of 
the people of a country ; yet it was all accomplished 
quietly and peaceably, and the republic is stronger for 
it. In no other country could the people have re¬ 
corded their feelings in such an emphatic manner 
w'ithout bloodshed or temporary anarchy. What an 
answer to the sneering claims of European critics that 
American ideas of liberty and justice will fall to the 
ground at the first real test of an appeal to popular 
opinion without some great and soul-inspiring issue 
like that over slavery ! What an answer the result 
in New York City is to those who claim that the 
people themselves are unable to correct abuses and 
moral wrongs which they have permitted to take root 
in their midst ! 
O 
It is hardly worth discussing here how the thing 
came about. Opinions are as thick as leaves, and 
every citizen doubtless has his own idea. The times 
for the past two years have undoubtedly been “hard.” 
Men have been out of work, and money has been with¬ 
drawn from circulation and hoarded in banks or 
vaults. There has been a lack of confidence on the 
part of business men, and this has operated to stag¬ 
nate all branches of trade. Rightly or wrongly, 
all this has been charged to the present administra¬ 
tion, and so thoroughly have the people believed that 
these charges are just, that they eagerly grasped the 
first opportunity to show what they felt, at the ballot 
box. It is probable that the factional disputes among 
the Democrats in Congress and their confessed inabil¬ 
ity to settle the tariff question in a satisfactory way, 
disgusted many of their own party, who, while still in 
favor of a lower tariff, are tired of such bickering and 
selfish strife. The Republicans will control the next 
llou.se of Representatives, and possibly the Senate, 
but they will be powerless to change the present tariff 
bill. That must stand for at least three years. It is, 
unfortunately, a bill that is not satisfactory to any 
one as a whole, yet the fact that, .such as it is, it will 
not be changed for three years will, we think, restore 
confidence to some extent, so that general business 
will slowly improve. 
O 
The very magnitude of the Republican victory is in 
one sense a handicap to that party, unless they act 
wisely and fairly. The Republican party, strictly 
speaking, did not win the victory. It was helped by 
thousands of men who voted against it two years ago, 
and will vote against it two years hence if Republican 
legislation is against the true interests of the work¬ 
ing people. The body of independent voters in this 
country is growing larger with each succeeding elec¬ 
tion, and it is a healthful sign of the times that this 
is so. New York City never could have been redeemed 
from the rule of thieves and scoundrels, if men had 
remained hidebound in their party principles and ties. 
Nor will it do to say that all the political corruption 
can be confined to any one great party. Rogues and 
bad men generally, will creep into any organization if 
they are not watched. The only check on them is the 
absolute knowledge that voters will disregard party 
ties when political honor is at stake. For our part, 
we wish that the tariff could be taken out of politics 
and placed in charge of a commission composed of 
men as honorable and strong as those who compose 
our Supreme Court. We believe that the majority of 
Americans would be willing to leave the labor of ar¬ 
ranging tariff duties to such a commi.ssion. That 
would take the question out of politics, and business 
men could know with some certainty what to expect. 
It seems to us that the Republican party could do the 
eountry a real service, and also gain increased politi¬ 
cal power by advocating and working for such a .settle¬ 
ment of a question which now simply acts to prevent 
the discussion of more important things. 
O 
In the fiscal year of 1893, $308,884 worth of chicory 
was imported into this country, and a good-sized crop 
was grown here. In the same year, we imported $80,- 
485,558 worth of coffee. Pound for pound, the pure 
coffee is worth fully 10 times as much as the chicory, 
so that when the two are mixed there is far more profit 
made on the chicory than on the coffee. It is stated 
on good authority that it is now almost impossible to 
buy a pound of absolutely pure coffee. Even the 
whole berry is skillfully imitated by molding a mixture 
of bran, chicory, and a little of the real article. Happily 
none of these adulterants is injurious to health. It is 
simply a fraud, and makes chicory a very profitable 
crop. To grow ? Oh, no—to mkc. The mixers and 
the handlers get the profit—as they usually do. 
Q 
Theke is considerable agitation in different parts of 
the country over the price of bread. Rakers have 
made no reduction in price, and no increase in size of 
their loaves, though the prices of both wheat and 
flour are not more than half what they were a few 
years ago. Prof. W. (). Atwater of Washington, has 
been making some investigations along this line. He 
says that the average weight of a number of lO-ceut 
loaves purchased in Middletown, Conn., was 1 pound, 
thus making the price to the consumer, eight cents 
per pound. It has been demonstrated that the best 
bread can be made at a cost not mvich exceeding two 
cents per pound. This shows an enoiunous profit on 
one of the chief food staples. While most farmei’s 
probably make their own bread, a small proportion of 
city and village residents do so, and the exorbitant 
prices paid by them for bread, lessen their ability to 
purchase other farm commodities. The present agita¬ 
tion is spreading and it is likely that it will result in 
lower prices. 
O 
Canned Reef is an important article of export. 
The exports during August and September were 
larger by nearly 3,000,000 pounds than for the sa?ne 
months last year, footing up to 10,845,571 pounds. The 
largest customer has heretofore been (Jreat Rritain, 
but this country has taken less than usual, and the 
increase has been taken by Ei’ance and the countries 
in the far East. Creat Rritain took only about half 
as much as last year, and is giving the preference to 
Australian goods. It is said that the Australians 
have made improvements in the methods of curing 
and packing, that the supply of cattle fit for packing 
has largely increased, and that American cattle fit 
for packing have decreased, and the increased cost 
has rendered successful competition mord difficult. 
'The total exports from the United States for the nine 
months ending with September were 34,759,437 pounds, 
against 41,097,503 pounds last year, a deci’ea.se of 
0,938,070 pounds. vSome of the knowing ones are re¬ 
ported as saying that there will be a serious scarcity 
in canned beef later on should the coming winter be 
a severe one in the cattle-raising districts. 'The out¬ 
look seems good for higher prices. 
Q 
Accokdino to time-honored custom, the President 
has ajipointed the last Thursday in this month, the 
39th, as 'ITianksgiviiig Day. 'This means an extra 
demand for prime turkeys and ducks, and a good one 
for the best chickens and fowls. Few geese are wanted 
until Christmas. We have previously spoken of the 
prospects in this city for the Thanksgiving market. 
'The supply’s likely to be large, especially of turkeys. 
Poor stock will sell for ruinous prices. It will be 
profitable to ship only the best, and even this will not 
bring high prices. All poultry should be fat and 
plump. Little live poultry is wanted ; the demand is 
mostly for dressed. It should be killed by being stuck in 
the mouth and thoroughly bled. Dry-picked generally 
sells highest, but this method of picking is a little 
more difficult than that by scalding, and shoxild be 
well understood or else not attempted. Picking 
should be neatly and carefully done without breaking 
the skin, and all poultry should be thoroughly cooled 
before being packed. I’oultry for this market should 
not be drawn ; for Roston, it should be. Dne must 
know the demands of his market in this respect. The 
weather is usually cold enough so that it may be 
shipped dry-packed, and in this case it is better to be 
cooled naturally, if to be shipped in ice, it is better 
to be cooled in ice-water. If to be jiacked dry, use 
plenty of clean, bright rye or wheat straw—no oat. 
Pack each kind of poultry separately—don’t mix ducks 
with chickens, or fowls with turkeys. Urade the 
poultry, and if you must ship culls, pack by them¬ 
selves ; but you’d better throw them away than to 
send them hei-e. Many a time, a poor bird or two 
mixed with a choice lot will spoil the sale, or lower 
the price of the whole. Pack in clean packages, boot 
boxes or barrels are best. Arrange the birds to pre¬ 
sent as attractive an appearance as po.ssible when the 
package is opened. Mark the package plainly with 
the character of the contents—ducks, chicks, turks, 
or whatever it may be—the gross weight, the net 
weight of the contents, the name of the consignee and 
consignor, unless you have a stencil. Also advise by 
mail of the shipment, and of the number of packages. 
Stock must arrive for the Thanksgiving market not 
later than early Tuesday morning, which means at 
least by daylight, and, better on Monday. Delays 
must be allowed for. Finally, don’t expect too much 
of the New York mar et this year. If you have a 
modei’ately good home mai’ket better utilize it. Keei) 
all the thin, poor stock fora later market. Too many 
details for yoxi to follow ? Rut following them is 
what makes the diffei'ence between profit and loss. 
Retter not undertake to ship poultry unless you are 
prepai-ed to do all possible to .secure the best returns. 
O 
It is sui’prising how often we hear the cry “farm¬ 
ing don’t pay,” from those Eastern farmers who con¬ 
tinue in the old ruts, growing coi'ii and wheat to the 
exclusion of nearly all other crops. When asked why 
they do not try growing fruits, such as graiies and 
peai's, the answer invariably is that they can’t grow 
fruit and make any money out of it at the prices for 
which it must be sold. Yet they continue growing 
corn, the maximum yield of which is not more than 
50 bu.shels of shelled grain, or 3,()()() pounds per acre, 
the market price of which is less than one cent per 
pound. 'I’he same land planted to grapes, would have 
produced from two to three times as many pounds of 
fruit, while the expense of ohe croi) would have been 
very little more than that of the corn. During the 
season of 1893, a small vineyard in Delaware, which 
occupied a trifle more than an acre of land, produced 
()()() peach ba.skets of fruit, or 18,000 pounds, none of 
which was sold for less than one cent per pound. It 
is true that one must possess skill and experience to 
make a success of fruit-growing. These are both ac- 
<|uired. 'I’hey do not come as by a miracle, to the 
man who sits still and growls at the times. 
O 
'The story comes to us in a roundabout way, that 
a neighbor of a R. N.-Y. subscriber had a curious 
dream lately, with an effect upon him equally curious. 
The main point of the tlream was that horses were 
suddenly endowed with power of speech, and the next 
day wei’e to meet in mass meeting to tell of their 
treatment by their owners. The man awoke with a 
sense of depression, like one conscious of impending 
ill; and yet he would have been voted a humane sort 
of fellow in most neighborhoods. As the dream con¬ 
tinued to haunt him, he wondered what his horses did 
really think of him, and began to look things over 
from a horse’s standpoint. When he entered the 
stable to feed, he remembered that he neglected to 
put in bedding the previous evening as it was late 
when he quit work. 'I’he horses had lain in filth while 
resting. 'I’he sweat of the previous day’s labor ha d plas¬ 
tered the hair to the skin. 'I'hey did not appear comfort¬ 
able. 'i’he owner always curried pretty well in the 
morning, but he wondered what the horses thought of 
him during the night. 'I’hen there was the harness. 
One bridle was a little short since it broke, and the 
wearer’s mouth was chafed. 'The other horse had 
bruised the top of his neck as a result of the down¬ 
ward pull on the pole of a disk harrow. 'I’he owner 
of these two horses felt sneaking in their company. 
If that bridle had been for his head, every strap 
would have been adjusted just right. If he had 
chosen the harrow for his own drawing, the pole 
would have been independent of the gang-rods, so 
that there could be no weight at the end. I le remem¬ 
bered that one horse had worn its shoes so long that 
the feet were out of shape, and yet he had imlled a 
big load with it the previous day. 'Then he had for¬ 
gotten to grease the wagon for two weeks, although 
in daily use. His only comfort was that he had fed 
grain and hay abundantly ; but would he want to be 
confined to a single kind of food—no variety at all ? 
“ Yes,” said he in relating his dream, “ 1 am awfully 
glad my horses cannot talk, but 1 hate to have their 
poor opinion, and purpose to treat them as well as if 
if they could tell on me.” How about your horses, 
readers? Would you be afraid to have them able to 
speak English ? 
BUSINESS BITS. 
Tuk Rogers Nursery Co., Moorestown, N. J., is makin;^ a specia 
bargain offer of surplus stock in their advertisement on the last 
page. It may he an oppoi'tunity for you. Read it. 
Theke is a good opportunity to b\iy a good farm, well located, 
in Columbia County, New York. The railroiid facilities are good, 
and the great markets of New York City are within two hours’ 
ride. Any one interested should address W. F. M. Smith, Pine 
Hilt, N. Y. 
The Pineland Jr. incubator is cheaper than some others because 
of the hot-water system employed. It is said to work to perfec¬ 
tion. It is made by the Pineland Incubator and Brooder Co., James- 
burg, N. J., the manufacturers of the regular Pineland incubator, 
which has met deserved popularity. 
We have recently had some inquiries from readers for poultry 
fencing. W e would refer these to the DeKalb Fence Co., DeKalb, 
Ill. It is claimed that this fence does not require posts closer 
th an two to three rods, and because they can dispense with the 
top rail, their 50-inch high fence will retain fowls because of there 
being no dark object for the chickens to light on. 
It .seems that the Burlington Blanket Co., of Burlington, Vt., 
have, after years of study aiid experiment, succeeded in produc¬ 
ing a horse blanket that completely covers and protects a horse, 
and at the same time is strong enough to resist all reasonable 
strains where the most stress comes. Their inventions were cov¬ 
ered by patents and the company have recently issued a caution 
against infringements. 
