3oo 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
April 27 
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-tn-Cbief. 
Herbert W. Collinuwood, Managing Editor. 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
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Be sure that the name and address of sender, with name of Post- 
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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 . APRIL 27. 1895. 
Here is our advice to those who have coaxed Crim¬ 
son clover through the winter : Don’t try to make it 
into hay. You are not likely to have the best hay 
weather, and other work is pressing. Use it for ensi¬ 
lage, pasture, soiling or green manuring. 
O 
A friend up in Vermont sends two methods of 
getting rid of stumps. He is honest enough to say 
that he has not tried them, but took them out of an 
old book of recipes. A fair amount of theory is always 
useful, but in a paper like The R. N.-Y., practical re¬ 
sults of one’s own work, should come first. We do 
not care for non-tested farm practices. We want to 
know what you have actually done. 
O 
OUR friend, page 295, tells of the well-to-do farmer 
who always wants somebody else to try the new 
things. If they succeed, then this man has the benefit 
of the experience, while if they fail, he hasn't lost 
anything, and has the blessed privilege of saying, “ I 
told you so ! ” You all know such a man. He hangs 
like a millstone about the neck of agriculture. How 
much better if he would join with his neighbors and 
help make careful and accurate experiments for the 
good of all. 
O 
The subscription contest for the 31 great sweep- 
stakes premiums closes May 1. It is going to be a 
close thing, apparently, between the first six agents. 
The remaining 25 premiums will go to small clubs. 
A little work now will do wonders in this line. While 
the contest closes May 1, we will accept any names 
secured on that day provided the agent will telegraph 
us before night that they are mailed. So keep at it 
up to sundown May 1, mail the list that night, and 
telegraph us the number. 
O 
The strongest point about wheat growing in South 
America, is that it is being built on a clover and 
Alfalfa basis. The systematic use of these wonderful 
crops in rotation with wheat, will maintain the soil 
for years, and cheapen the cost of a bushel for export. 
With live stock, too, the use of Alfalfa will give the 
country making the most of it, a wonderful advant¬ 
age which a cloverless country cannot possibly over¬ 
come. The same thing is more or less true of differ¬ 
ent sections of one country. 
ra 
In the year ending June 30, 1894, 312,771 passengers 
left this country for foreign countries. In the same 
period, 314,467 aliens came here from abroad, 66,663 
citizens returned, and 32,940 persons not intending to 
remain here, came across the ocean. The large exodus 
of Americans, is due to the fact that many workmen 
went to Europe when work failed them here, in the 
belief that living would be cheaper in Europe. Since 
1820, 17,428,407 persons have come to this country 
from foreign lands with the intention of remaining 
here. What’s the pedigree of an *• American” any¬ 
way ? 
O 
The most salable farm animal to-day is a first-class 
dairy cow. We often wonder why more farmers back 
omthe hilly, rough pasture farms, do not make a busi¬ 
ness of raising heifers of good milking strains to sup¬ 
ply milkmen in the milk-producing counties. Let the 
milch cow pass the first two years of her life on cheap 
land, and not try to pay interest on costly land until 
she is able to give milk. Last year, we told of a 
Massachusetts farmer who takes his heifers by rail to 
cheap pastures in Maine every spring, wintering them 
on grain-hay and oil and cotton-seed meals. These 
heifers are sold to milkmen with their first calf. We 
believe that a man could, in a few years, establish a 
reputation for good milking stock, and be assured of 
a steady income. Some men can make this pay 
better than ordinary dairying. 
O 
In England, the poorer cuts of beef are said to sell 
for higher prices than here, and within a very few 
cents of the prices of the best cuts. These cuts are as 
nutritious as, if not more so than, the latter. The 
difference is in the cooking. The English make much 
more of meat stews, pies, puddings, etc., than do the 
Yankees. They say that the reason why Americans 
all try to buy the best cuts, is because they fry every¬ 
thing, and do not know how to cook the cheaper cuts 
so as to make them palatable. This is a pretty sweep¬ 
ing condemnation of American cookery, but it is too 
true that the practices of many of our cooks give color 
to it. 
O 
We saw a farmer over in Connecticut plowing in 
his potato seed the other day. The ground was a 
clover sod after wheat, manured during the winter with 
16 two-horse loads of mixed stable manure per acre. 
This manure was well “weathered” into the soil. He 
was plowing narrow lands across the field, and drop¬ 
ping two-eye seed pieces 18 inches a part in every second 
15-inch furrow. It was an experiment. He thought 
a swivel plow going back and forth would have been 
better than a one-hand plow. By this means, potatoes 
may be planted as fast as the team can plow. This 
man has a grasping disposition. He is grasping after 
cheaper production. Will the potatoes grow ? Why 
not ? 
o 
A storm of protest has been stirred up by that part 
of the Supreme Court’s decision on the income tax 
which refers to rents from lands. The court decides 
that a tax on such rent is unconstitutional. Under 
that decision, some of the richest American families 
like the Astors, will almost entirely escape the tax. 
Suppose two men own large farms side by side ; one 
works his farm and obtains from it an income of more 
than $4,000. He is taxed. The other simply rents the 
farm, and escapes taxation according to this decision. 
No wonder the officers of the great Standard Oil Co. 
propose to contest their tax. They maintain that, as 
oil is a direct product of the land, it comes in the 
same category as rent ! 
O 
In Great Britain, the greater part of the farm land 
is held by tenants. The questions of rents and general 
relations between tenantand landlord, are grave agri¬ 
cultural problems. Rents were generally fixed years 
ago when farming was far more profitable than to¬ 
day, and efforts to scale down rents to a sum propor¬ 
tionate to the decrease in business done on the farm, 
have, of course, been resisted by landlords. Efforts 
are being made to form an agricultural political party 
in England with a war cry of “ The Three F’s.” This 
means fair rent, fixity of tenure, and free sale of im¬ 
provements. These “ f's” indicate the chief needs of 
British farmers. Their political demands are for 
laws that shall make them possible. 
o 
If farmers receive less for their produce than for¬ 
merly, the purchasing power of their money is much 
greater, which should be some compensation. A 
Philadelphia firm recently advertised a complete outfit 
for a man for $19.93. It comprised an all-wool suit 
for $7.50, all-wool overcoat $6.50, shoes $2, hat $1.50, 
underwear $1, shirt 75 cents, tie 25 cents, collar 13 
cents, cuffs 15 cents, and half hose 15 cents. A $20 
bill would fit him out complete, and leave him enough 
for carfare. Not many years ago, a man couldn’t get 
a decent suit of clothes for much less than that. 
These prices can be duplicated in New York, and we 
doubt not in other places. Why not be well clothed, 
even though wool is free. 
O 
The R. N.-Y. stated last week that Secretary Mor¬ 
ton of the Department of Agriculture had ordered an 
investigation to ascertain whether there is a shortage 
of beef cattle, or a combination among dealers which 
is responsible for the recent rise in prices of dressed 
beef. Dr. Salmon, Chief of the Bureau of Animal In¬ 
dustry, has already made a brief report, showing the 
extremes in prices so far this year. Compared with 
previous prices of beef cattle, they sold as follows : 
1895. 1894. 1893. 1892. 1885. 
January.$4 00—$5.25 $5.25 $5.60 $5 00 $5.70 
February. 4.10— 5.50 4.80 5.55 4.80 5.65 
March. 4 60— 6.20 4.50 5.70 4.70 5.77*4 
April (first half). 4.75— 6.00 . 
The prices given for 1895 are those ruling at Chicago, 
and the others at Kansas City. It will be readily seen 
that while the highest extreme this year, slightly ex¬ 
ceeds some of the prices for the corresponding months 
of previous years, the general average is but little 
higher. In commenting on these prices. Dr. Salmon 
says : 
These prices show that cattle on foot are approaching paying 
figures for growers and feeders. But they do not warrant any 
such sensational rise in the price of dressed beef to butchers by 
the great slaughtering establishments, or an advance such as 
has been reported on the part of the retail dealers in meat to 
consumers. A normal rise in the wholesale price of dressed beef 
and in the retail prices should be only in proportion to the rise 
indicated for beef on foot. 
G 
The United States Patent Office is becoming—if it 
has not already become—a fake bureau for peddling 
out patents to any one who can pay the fee. One of 
the latest is for a “ compound for making cider.” Not 
only does this great country permit the patentee to 
manufacture a sham product, but gives a patent on 
the process which, if sustained by the courts, will 
enable him to protect himself from the competition 
of others as rascally as himself. Then, allowing that 
the “compound” is a sufficiently good imitation, what 
assurance is there that it will not be palmed off as 
the genuine product ? Uncle Sam is in great business 
when he not only permits such bare-faced frauds, but 
protects them, and, by taking fees for so doing, be¬ 
comes a partner in the nefarious business If such 
things are to continue, better abolish the antiquated 
Patent Office, at once. 
Q 
The State of South Carolina is preparing to frame 
a new constitution. Singular interest attaches to this 
for several reasons. South Carolina is about the most 
“ high strung ” of any of the Southern States ; it is 
almost exclusively agricultural, and for the past four 
years, the more radical element of the farmers has 
controlled affairs. It is not denied, apparently, that 
one object of the new constitution is to insure the 
supremacy of white voters. To do this legally, certain 
classes of the negroes must be disfranchised, and a 
new white voting class established. For the latter, 
one suggestion is to give the ballot to women who 
own a certain amount of property on which they pay 
taxes. We shall take interest in seeing how this 
proposition is received. One remarkable thing is the 
statement that in South Carolina an educational quali¬ 
fication would bear more heavilv on both white and 
colored men than on the women of the two races ! 
O 
BREI/ITIES. 
Jehoshapliat Smith ! That’s a terrible name 
To cripple a chap with—how was it they came 
To tie the Jehoshapliat on to the Smith ? 
Just give us the story—the truth and no myth. 
Jehoshaphat’s father was somewhat profane ; 
His language was strong in excitement or pain. 
On baptismal morning, he walked up the aisle 
As proud as a peacock—his face wore a smile 
A yard wide or less—for the boy that he prized 
With “Theodore Augustus’’would soon be baptized. 
The white-haired old preacher came whispering low, 
“ What name for the baby?” He stepped on Smith’s toe ! 
“ Jehoshaphat /” That was the word that Smith said, 
A much warmer word in his mind I’m afraid. 
The preacher heard only the name muttered low, 
“ Jehoshaphat Smith I baptize thee!" And so, 
For sins of his father poor Smith stands the blame, 
And staggers through life with his ungainly name. 
Softly tread on your seed bed. 
Rusty tool tillage is back killage. 
What saves stomach pillage? Fruit. 
It is very easy to sour “sweet charity.” 
Don’t forget to sharpen the kitchen knives. 
Can you graft well enough to teach the children ? 
What good resolve have you borrowed from Lent ? 
A cross stitch is one of the nine that were not saved. 
“ The ghost of a chance ” represents a neglected opportunity. 
How can you keep farming from falling down if you don’t stand 
up for it ? 
High farming—paying the hired man with 50-cent wheat and no 
clover to help. 
The San Jose scale came originally from Chili. Of course, it 
can stand cold weather. 
To ask a big favor with rum in your breath, should lead every 
chance of acceptance to death. 
“ Everlastingly stirred,” that’s the motto for the upper two 
inches between your potato rows. 
The Maine legislature has made it a crime to sell limed or cold- 
storage eggs and call them “ fresh.” 
Y'our wife has a sharp tongue? Nine chances in ten you ground 
it so with your hard and stubborn will. 
Don’t forget to tell the hired man that “Labor Day” is his this 
year, quite as much as any other holiday. 
We expect to do the world more good talking Crimson clover 
than we could with the same space in “ politics.” 
All through the year, in the English market, first-class mutton 
has led beef in price, in spite of the vast amount of frozen mutton 
sent from Australia and South America. 
Believe in cooperation, do you ? Want to help your brother 
farmers ? Let’s give you a practical test. Will you agree to eat 
25 pounds more cheese than you did last year in your family, in 
order to give the cheese dairymen a better business ? 
An English dairyman had a cow with a broken leg. A veteri¬ 
narian cut the leg off and rigged up a wooden leg for the cow to 
stand on while it was fattened for beef. A showman bought the 
poor thing, and drove it around for exhibition. He was fined $25 
for cruelty to animals. Served him right ! 
