THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
April 20 
284 
THE 
Rural New-Yorker. 
THE BUSINESS FARMERS' PAPER 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 1850. Copyrighted 1895 
Elbert S. Cabman, Editor-in-Chief. 
Herbekt W. Collingwood, Managing Editor. 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
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Address all business communications and make all orders pay- 
able 10 THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
Corner Chambers and Pearl Streets, New York. 
SATURDAY , APRIL 20, 1895. 
WANTED. 
Postal card notes on Crimson clover in your section. 
1. When and where did you sow it ? 
2. Has it survived the winter ? 
3. If not, what seemed to kill it ? 
4. What seems the best way to get it through the winter ? 
o 
We have said at least 30 times that Crimson clover 
should not be sowed in the spring, yet every mail 
brings letters asking how much seed should be used 
in spring seeding with this plant. Now, then : 
(IW Don’t sow Crimson clover in the spriruj. The R. 
N.-Y. does not advise it. If you sow it on your own 
hook, be prepared to get caught on it and don't blame the 
clover. 
O 
A sort of outdoor forcing is said to be practiced on 
lemon trees in Sicily. The trees are permitted to 
suffer from lack of water and cultivation in summer, 
and about September 1 plenty of water is applied and 
the soil is well cultivated. This produces a late 
bloom, which results in a summer crop of small fruit 
some five months ahead of the ordinary. Of course 
this is practiced only on very dry places where the 
water supply can be controlled. By forcing a crop 
out of ils ordinary season, it is usually forced out of 
its ordinary price. 
O 
Prof. Roberts makes the point that stirring the 
upper part of the soil in a dry time, is better than a 
mulch to preserve moisture, because cultivation tends 
to keep the roots below the stirred soil, which a mulch 
draws the roots to the surface—not a good place for 
them. He mentions the effect of cultivation in dry 
seasons in California, where they have no rain from 
May till September. Yet in orchards and vineyards 
he saw the top soil as dry and fine as an ash heap, but 
one could kick away this dust and find moisture three 
or four inches beneath the surface. There is “the other 
side” to this, which will be presented later. 
O 
A mean and petty fraud now advertised in some 
magazines, is “ the carbon wick.” We have the pic¬ 
ture of a fierce flame stamped “ sunlight,” and with 
it go a series of remarkable claims about the wonder¬ 
ful powers of wicks that have been “carbonized.” One 
of our readers sent for it, and received a very ordinary 
wick which had been charred at the end and then 
dipped in some dark solution. It is no better than an 
ordinary wick charred with a match and dipped 
in salt and water. One may, perhaps, call this a “car¬ 
bonized wick ” without violating the English language, 
but it requires a carbonized conscience to make poor 
people pay five cents each for them. 
O 
“ Why don’t you write an article on ‘ bob’ lambs ?” 
asked one of the largest receivers of hothouse lambs. 
“ Are there many such ?” “ Lots of them. 1 sent a 
customer one the other day that weighed only 18 
pounds after he got it dressed, and there wasn’t much 
of it then but bones. Shippers get in too much of a 
hurry to ship for fear the price will go down, and 
send in the lambs too small. They not only sell for 
a low price, but hurt the sale of other and better 
lambs. Some of them look large, but don’t weigh up 
w T hen put on the scales. They ha ve large frames, and 
have made a good growth, but haven’t put on much 
flesh. No lamb should weigh less than 30 pounds as 
it comes to market, and even then must be well 
fleshed ; 35 pounds or upward would be better. The 
hide, heads, etc., dress off at least 10 pounds. The 
market is heavily stocked now, as shippers are hurry¬ 
ing them forward before prices drop. One of the ex¬ 
press companies this morning had a car nearly filled 
with lambs—something unusual.” 
O 
Many Russian Jews have been sent to this country 
during the past few years, and located on farms in 
various States. Few of these colonies have prospered, 
for the reason that the Jews knew little or nothing 
about farming. They were peddlers or small venders 
by trade, and neither the life nor the labor of farm¬ 
ing was suited to them. Some rich Jews in Philadel¬ 
phia hope to remedy this by establishing an agricul¬ 
tural college or farm near that city, where these im¬ 
migrants may learn something about farming before 
being set up for themselves. It is certainly a violent 
change to take off the peddler's pack one day, and 
take up the hoe the next. It’s too violent for Jew or 
Gentile. 
O 
Mr. P. B. Crosby, of Maryland, suggests a simple 
plan for soaking seed potatoes in the corrosive sub¬ 
limate solution. The solution is put in an empty 
molasses barrel. The potatoes are put in a three- 
bushel sack made of some porous stuff, so that the 
water will drain off quickly. Above the barrel is 
fixed a rope and pulley. The end of the rope is hooked 
into the sack, and it is thus drawn up and lowered 
into the solution. After remaining there long enough, 
it is pulled out and rested on a stout stick placed 
across the barrel. This permits it to drain perfectly. 
It will be a good plan to wash the potatoes in water 
before dipping them in the solution. A cage made of 
fine wire would answer as well as the sack. This 
plan will do away with lots of lifting and shoveling. 
O 
The United States Supreme Court has decided that 
some features of the income tax law are unconstitu¬ 
tional. The chief points decided are that incomes 
from land rents or from State or municipal bonds, are 
not properly taxable in this way. When asked to pass 
on the constitutionality of the law as a whole, the 
court divided evenly, so that really no satisfactory 
decision was given. The general opinion seems to be 
that, with a full court, the decision would be against 
the law as a whole. We regard this as unfortunate, 
yet, as we pointed out while the law was being dis¬ 
cussed in Congress, it was a mistake to exempt in¬ 
comes below $4,000 per year. All should share this 
tax—it is a grave mistake to establish a non-taxpaying 
class by placing a certain income as the limit. Instead 
of trying to repeal the law, we hope that Congress 
will modify it so as to meet all legal requirements. 
The principle of a tax on incomes, is fair. 
Q 
We stated last year that Prof. Hopkins, of the West 
Virginia Experiment Station, had discovered a new 
explanation for the marks on potatoes known com¬ 
monly as “ scab.” Since then he has proved that a 
minute insect—the potato scab gnat—is responsible 
for much of the trouble. This insect works alone or 
where the true scab is present, eating through the 
skin and thus leaving a bad scar on the surface. There 
seems to be no doubt about the work of this little 
pest. Fortunately, the conditions least favorable for 
it are also least favorable for the growth of the scab 
disease. Soaking in the corrosive sublimate solution 
destroys all forms of the seed gnats. Wet soils and 
continued moisture favor the grow th of the gnats ; so 
well-drained, porous soils are better. Stable manures 
are breeding places for the gnats, and lime or wood 
ashes seem to make a favorable condition for them. 
Thus it appears that the treatment recommended for 
preventing scab, is also the best for keeping this scab 
gnat in check. That is a fortunate circumstance in 
all respects. 
O 
Texas is the greatest cotton producing section in 
the world. In 1893, her cotton crop was valued at 
$67,764,358 or nearly 24 per cent of the total American 
crop. The future Texas cotton crop is in danger. It 
is not foreign competition, or free trade, or a “gold 
basis,” that is endangering it—it is an insect, the 
Mexican Cotton-boll weevil. This insect crossed the 
Rio Grande from Mexico, and is now spreading 
through Texas, doing immense damage wherever it 
goes. It is said to be the worst pest that has ever 
appeared on cotton and the hardest to combat. Insect 
Life declares that in order to prevent fresh inroads 
from Mexico, it will be necessary to abandon cotton 
growing through a wide strip of country along the 
Texas border, and it even calls for laws that shall 
compel all persons to abandon cotton growing in a 
strip 50 miles wide. Then measures can be safely 
taken to stamp out the weevils already here. The 
insect has completely ruined cotton growing in some 
Mexican districts, and is sure to work vast damage • 
to Texas if left unchecked. 
Figures from the Department of Agriculture seem 
to show that, in spite of the low price of flour, the con¬ 
sumption of wheat per capita is lower in this country 
than ever before. The average for the past four years 
has been less than four bushels for each person, while 
for the four previous years, it was 4% bushels. This 
is strange, considering the fact that wheat flour, at 
present prices, is the cheapest food on the market. 
The explanations are that people are eating more and 
more of the crushed cereals like oat meal or coarsely- 
ground wheat and corn. Another thing is that, while 
flour is cheaper than ever, the price of bread is but 
little reduced. Thousands of people in towns and 
cities buy baker’s bread, and, rather than pay exor¬ 
bitant prices, will use the cereals instead. 
0 
The following note in the Jersey Bulletin may be of 
interest to some of our readers. The J. B. refused to 
print a certain advertisement 
Because of a clause in the contract that virtually allowed the ad¬ 
vertisers to control our columns. We were informed by the agent 
who placed this business, that every paper carrying Davis <fe 
Rankin’s advertisement, had agreed not to allow anything said 
derogatory to D. <fc R. without first submitting such matter to 
them. We were informed that but one paper besides the Jersey 
Bulletin had refused their business because of this clause in the 
contract. 
We wish to say that The R. N.-Y. is not the “one 
paper ” referred to, as we have other and better rea¬ 
sons. This is not very complimentary to the 100 or 
more papers which, it seems, have agreed to that 
clause and are printing the advertisement. 
O 
BREVITIES. 
SONG OF THE POTATO SEED. 
Farmer, dear farmer, seed time draweth near ; 
Help us to get a start on us this year. 
Don’t blind our eyes with a long, useless sprout ; 
Take off our spectacles—shovel us out 
Into the sunshine, and there let us grow, 
Stout, stubby eyes that will give us a show. 
So that when lying far down in the ground, 
We can see how to push rootlets around. 
After the plant food we’ll merrily run ; 
Start us in sun, farmer ! Start us in sun ! 
We were so scabby and rough in the fall, 
Lots of us couldn’t find market at all. 
Don’t plant the scab in the ground with us—try 
Soaking the seed in solution of bi¬ 
chloride of mercury—Oh, let us start 
Right—and our product will gladden your heart. 
Then all next winter we’ll not hear you croak. 
Start us in sun, farmer—put us to soak! 
A broody hen is moody. 
Nip a part of that “ lip.” 
Is your husband a littery man ? 
Get a move out of that groove. 
A “great cough remedy ”—dry feet. 
A fixture —the use of Bordeaux Mixture. 
An eclipse of the son—keeping the boy down. 
Buried treasure— a clover sod turned under. 
Have you thawed out that thought about the garden yet ? 
That old cider down cellar is the worst “ spring medicine ” you 
can take. 
What’s your opinion of a man who forgets the date of his 
wedding day ? 
A man pays for an “ad” in order to add to his business. You 
can often add to yours by addressing his “ad.” 
European inventors are hard at work devising means for utiliz¬ 
ing petroleum for fuel in place of wood and coal. 
To cure smut in seed gram, soak it 15 minutes in water heated 
to 132 degrees. Be exact about time and temperature. 
Scientific knowledge seems to get locked up in insoluble com¬ 
binations when it unites with some of the station bulletins. 
Of course, you understand that you injure your back just as 
much on a useless lift as you do on a useful job! Compare returns. 
The Florida freeze killed billions of insects on trees and plants. 
It’s a pity, though, that the trees and plants had to be killed, too. 
It must be a sad sight to Florida orange growers to see men at 
work sawing down the trees that formerly earned a living for 
them. 
It is reported that horse flesh is sent from this country to Bel¬ 
gium to be used as human food. It is done openly—as a legiti¬ 
mate trade. 
Mr. Johnson, whose back yard is described this week, has taken 
The R. N.-Y. nearly 42 years ! We would gladly have him with us 
42 years more ! 
On page 198, M. L. Snyder described his broiler farm. So many 
questions have been asked about it that he will answer them all 
soon—in another article. 
A man wants to know if we think a certain experiment station 
will send him its bulletins ! There’s a funny question. Why not 
ask the director of the station ? 
Now that this long, cruel winter is over, hip ! hip ! hurrah ! for 
our friend Crimson clover. Bravely she weathered the frost 
without harm—stand by her, farmer, she’ll help save the farm. 
You would be surprised to see how many farmers are giving up 
the hired man this season. That may be all right if you will block 
out less work. It’s all wrong if you plan as much and try to 
stretch the family work to cover it. 
Two poultry yards—one for growing a green crop while the hens 
are feeding on the other—what is the best crop to grow ? We name 
turnips and Crimson clover mixed. Easy to start, quick to grow, 
and good forage. Who has a better pair ? 
See how handy a tin funnel is in pouring a liquid from one 
vessel to another. The same principle may be employed in drop¬ 
ping fertilizer on a windy day. Take an old tin pail and build 
some sort of a funnel attachment to the lower end—one that will 
reach to the furrow. Then drop in the fertilizer as you walk 
along. The wind cannot blow it. 
