THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
March 9 
166 
THE 
Rural New-Yorker. 
THE BUSINESS FARMERS' PAPER 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 1850. Copyrighted 1895 
Elbert S. Carman, Editor-in-Chief. 
Herbert W. Collingwood, Managing Editor. 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
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To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04, equal to 
8s. 6d., or 8*4 marks, or 10 l A francs. 
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Reading Notices, ending with “Adv.," 75 cents per 
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Advertisements inserted only for responsible and honorable houses 
Be sure that the name and address of sender, with name of Post- 
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letter. Money orders and bank drafts on New York are the safest 
means of transmitting money. 
Address all business communications and make all orders pay- 
able 10 THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
Corner Chambers and Pearl Streets, New York. 
SATURDAY , MARCH 9, 1895. 
Vineland sweet potatoes are famous wherever they 
are sold or eaten. When of good quality, they top 
the market. We shall begin next week to tell in 
detail just how good “Vineland Sweets” are grown. 
Some that we have just eaten were “ almost as sweet 
as candy !” 
O 
There is a good deal of hard times talk this year. 
Here is a sample of it from a western New York man : 
“ Too hard times to have The Rural New-Yorlter stop ; I 
can hardly yet along with it, and what would I do without 
it ?” We can stand volumes of such talk as that. We 
don’t like to be a fair-weather friend of anybody, but 
we like to put on a little extra steam in hai’d times, to 
see whether we can’t suggest something to help folks 
along. 
G 
It was excellent work they did at the Minnesota 
Experiment Station in preparing that bulletin on the 
typical shape of good dairy cows. Such work helps a 
farmer, because it places the results before him in a 
striking and forcible way. This matter of shape in 
the cow, is of great importance. A butter cow must 
eat lots of food, and not incline to put on fat. That 
requires great capacity for storing food, and a tendency 
to show her bones. We think the pictures bring out 
the facts so that all can understand them. 
O 
Many readers have asked whether the Balanced 
Ration articles would be printed in pamphlet form. 
The same question will no doubt be asked in reference 
to Primer Science articles now running, and others to 
follow. A good answer to these questions will be 
found in the offer we make this week to send a neat 
binder, postpaid, for 25 cents. Get this binder, pre¬ 
serve each number, and you will have everything that 
appears in the paper during the whole year in nice 
shape for reference. The index with the last number 
for the year, will afford easy means of referring to 
any desired subject. 
O 
There may be a less satisfactory business man in this 
country than John H. Grant, of Chicago ; but if there 
is, The R. N.-Y. has yet to find him. We contracted 
with him recently to furnish a kit of tools for our sub¬ 
scribers, at a certain fixed price. When we sent him 
the orders, he shipped about one-lialf the tools prom¬ 
ised, and when we complained, he assured us that we 
had made a mistake—that he had two sets of tools, 
and that he had given us prices on the small kit. His 
story seemed plausible, and we accused ourselves of a 
blunder, and told him to send the rest of the tools at 
our expense. We also ordered the large kit sent to 27 
more persons. This he promised in writing to do at 
once, six weeks ago, and sent us a bill for the same. 
We then supposed that he had sent them, but finding 
that the tools were not delivered, we kept writing to 
find out why. He now has the impudence to write 
that the orders are not filled, and that they will not 
be until we comply with unreasonable demands, which 
he now mentions for the first time. Fortunately, we 
are able to get the tools elsewhere, and we have sent 
the orders to another factory, where they will be filled 
promptly, and where we will get our future supply. 
This explanation seems due to the subscribers who 
have been so long and patiently waiting for the tools 
which they should have received weeks ago. All the 
orders will now be forwarded at our expense to those 
who received only a part of the set. The full set 
will also go promptly to those who have received none. 
T he great crops of weeds that grow after potatoes 
are striking illustrations of how Nature seeks to save 
wastes. Potatoes are usually well manured. During 
the hot month of August, the conditions are just right 
for nitrification, or the changing of the nitrogen in 
organic substances into just the right form for plant 
food. Much of this nitrogen would be washed out of 
the soil but for the weeds which utilize it to grow with 
great vigor after the potato crops have died down. 
With rank-growing varieties and large areas, it is 
about impossible to prevent this growth of grass and 
weeds. Crimson clover seed scattered between the 
rows at the last cultivation, would keep out the weeds 
and make better use of this nitrogen. It would not 
interfere with the digging any more than the weed 
crop. We purpose to try it among potatoes this year 
in this way. 
O 
Compared with one year ago, the markets of this 
city present an entirely different appearance. At 
that time, Florida vegetables of all kinds were plenti¬ 
ful. Asparagus was arriving from Charleston. The 
market was well supplied with all kinds of fresh vege¬ 
tables at moderate prices. Now there is little on the 
market except the regular winter vegetables, and 
small supplies of hothouse stuff, and some Bermuda 
and Havana products. Many of those for sale have 
been frozen, or are of inferior quality, while the 
prices of first-class stuff are generally high. The 
same is true of fruits. Not only did the frost knock 
out the Florida orange crop, but it has delayed the 
strawberries for weeks. Apples are selling at prices 
that are almost prohibitive to ordinary purses. Eggs 
are slow in arriving, and the price remains unusually 
high for this time of year. Meats have been high, 
but are now somewhat lower. The purchasers miss 
many of the products usually found at this season, 
but the growers probably miss the money more. 
O 
Recent events have given great encouragement to 
those Americans who believe that a greater use should 
be made of silver as money. The United States Senate 
is now unquestionably in favor of bimetallism, and the 
new House of Representatives will probably prove so. 
A vast majority of the voters in this country would 
favor an international agreement to use silver at a 
recognized rate with gold. It is quite likely, too, that 
if the question could be put before them fairly and 
without prejudice, a majority of the real working 
people of this land would favor an increased silver 
coinage here, whether foreign nations agree to an in¬ 
ternational standard or not. Of late, however, Eng¬ 
land, Germany, Austria and France, have strongly in¬ 
dicated their desire for another conference, and this 
is a good indication of the change in public sentiment. 
It is the farming class in every land that is loudest in 
its demand for silver coinage. There is a general idea 
growing in the minds of the people, that with gold 
alone to measure the purchasing power of money, 
syndicates of rich men may so control supplies of that 
metal, as to contract values, bring about financial 
panics, and practically monopolize the country’s finan¬ 
cial operations. The moneyed men have shown too 
much of their selfishness and greed of late, and the 
silver discussion has been of great service in forcing 
men to realize the financial condition of this land. 
O 
This is the rushing season for petty frauds. Hard 
times give them a soft chance. Some of our readers 
are receiving this remarkable letter : 
Dear Sir— Please read the following letter very carefully. It Is 
to your vital interest to do so. Would you like to know : How to 
double your quantity of stable manure ; to make oat or wheat 
straw equal to hay ; nearly to double your quantity of milk and 
butter; to make cucumber vines bear three crops ; effectually to 
rid plants or animals of vermin ; and how to make your own fer¬ 
tilizers ? You can make your own fertilizers at about one-fourth 
the cost per ton they are sold in New York, Philadelphia and the 
South, by a cheap and easy process. The above information, 
priceless to every farmer, can be obtained only in the following 
manner : Make three copies of this letter, and send one to each of 
three of your friends, who are live farmers. They are requested 
in turn to do the same, each party receiving this letter will return 
it with 10 cents (silver) with name and address to the Ely Publish¬ 
ing Company, together with the names and addresses of the three 
friends, and the above information will be mailed immediately. 
If you do not desire to inform your friends by letters of these 
valuable agricultural recipes, the above information will be sent 
you on receipt of 50 cents. 
Is that a fraud ? Suppose somebody advertised that 
for 50 cents he would tell you how to double your 
capacity for doing good in the world. In a moment 
of repentance, you send the money and get a card 
with this printed on it: 
Read the Eighth Chapter of Romans Every Night! 
There might not be so much fraud about that—except 
that you ought to have dropped the 50 cents into the 
contribution box, and had this chapter already com¬ 
mitted to memory. In like manner, if you send your 
10 cents and get this answer to the question about 
doubling the stable manure: “ Keep twice as much 
stock,” you won’t be cheated. That’s all the answer 
you deserve for spending your money in such a way 
after what The R. N.-Y. has repeatedly said. We’ll 
agree to give you all the “ agricultural secrets” that 
are worth anything. By sending your name and those 
of three friends, you will all probably have a lot of 
worthless or immoral circulars sent you ! 
o 
A bill has been introduced in the New York Legis¬ 
lature, providing for the study of the nature and 
effect of alcoholic drinks and narcotics. Should it be¬ 
come a law, teachers would be compelled to instruct 
their pupils as to the dangers of intoxicants and 
tobacco. One section of the bill reads as follows : 
On complaint sustained by reliable evidence of three patrons of 
any public school, that a teacher in such school refuses or wil¬ 
fully neglects to comply with any requirements of this act, or is 
himself a user of alcoholic drinks, opium, or tobacco, the licens¬ 
ing officer or board shall revoke such teacher’s license. 
This provision is criticised by some on the plea that 
moderate smoking on the part of a grown-up man, is 
comparatively harmless, and that no one has a right to 
interfere with it. It seems to us that if we are to 
have such a law, we must have teachers who will give 
some dignity to it by their personal behavior. Imagine 
a man teaching his pupils that whisky and tobacco 
are harmful, and then being caught by the boys smok¬ 
ing a cigar on the sly ! Better not have a word said 
against tobacco than have its dangers pictured by 
people who constantly use it, unless they hold them¬ 
selves up as “ awful examples” of the effect of the 
weed. 
o 
BREVITIES. 
If you cannot be a nozzle 
In the world’s great battle field, 
With your tongue and pen dispensing 
Thoughts that cause the wrong to yield; 
If you cannot be a force pump, 
With the mighty power to draw 
Strong and fearless hearts together, 
For the true and holy war, 
You can be an agitator— 
You can stir the stagnant tide, 
In the selfish human natures 
Where the evil loves to hide. 
Stir them up to broader thinking; 
Unto you this task is sent, 
Lest they clog the pump and nozzle 
With their selfish sediment. 
Ordered the seed yet ? 
Sharpen your pruning knife. 
A “bedding plant”— rye straw. 
Ear movement betrays a blind horse. 
The worst “ ate ” is made by adding h. 
Lazy acts shun—only lazy action that pays. 
Crude petroleum is a “ cure-all ’’—page 173. 
Why give the dog a better bed than the cow ? 
Be straightforward or go straight backward. 
Graft that bud of hope on the stock of last year’s failure. 
mbition’s sharp lance won’t give you a chance to get into a 
trance. 
A stomach ache indicates that the secretary of your interior has 
resigned. 
“Fighting the devil with fire” is like giving him the choice of 
weapons. 
The “general-purpose” cow is all right in her place—but where’s 
the place ? 
“Time hangs heavy on my hands.” That’s the worst dead weight 
you can carry. 
Woman is a spare rib, but that’s no reason why she should be 
roasted over a lire. 
Made terms with the hired man yet ? What is he willing to run 
your farm for this year ? 
Don’t make a mountain out of that manure pile, by leaving it 
till the last tick of the clock. 
Wouldst know the man bad luck has skipped ? Mark him who 
knows not when he’s whipped. 
Some men have to be backed up against the wall before the 
knowledge they need can be thrust upon them. 
Some folks seem to think they will 1 wear their faces out if they 
smile too much. It injures your muscles more to “ puli a long 
face.” 
We hope last year’s corn field will show up with at least a rye 
face when the snow goes. A Crimson clover face would show 
better health. 
Delaware has frozen up solid this winter, yet the Crimson clover 
has come from under the ice smiling and all ready to capture its 
share of nitrogen. 
The Japanese are gathering plums from China right along in 
this cold weather, but the varieties they send over here will not 
stand the same cold, apparently. 
It’s the condition of the peach buds, rather than the cold, that 
determines the peach crop. It’s you rather than your circum¬ 
stances, that determine your life’s crop. 
“ I don’t understand these ‘ ologies,’” said a scientifically con- 
fused farmer the other day. We look for that man’s praise when 
Primer Science docks “ ologies ” of their hard names. 
Some of our chemical friends may not consider the discussion of 
the various “ ates ” on page 172, very dignified, but we hope to 
have the farmer understand it. That’s not written for the 
chemists. 
A law before the New Jersey Legislature would forbid trespass¬ 
ing with guns on the lands of owners who refuse permission. 
Right. Why is it more lawful to shoot game on my farm than to 
steal potatoes or wood on it ? 
An illustration of the possible value of our experiment stations 
to the average farmer, may be seen in the description of that new 
insect described on page 161. A farmer cannot follow out the life 
of that pest and discover the best way to fight it. Some one must 
make a business of it with all needed apparatus. 
