476 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
July 13 
THE 
Rural New-Yorker. 
THE BUSINESS FARMERS' RARER 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 1850. Copyrighted 1895. 
Ebbert S. Carman, Editor-in-Chief. 
Herbert W. Coli.ingwood, Managing Editor. 
John J. Dibbon, Business Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTIONS. 
PRICE, ONE HOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04, equal to 
8s. 6d., or 8*4 marks, or 10*4 francs. 
ADVERTISING KATES. 
Thirty cents per agate line (14 lines to the inch). Yearly orders 
of 10 or more lines, and 1,000-line orders, 25 cents per line. 
Reading Notices, ending with ll Adv.," 75 cents per 
count line. Absobuteby One Price Onby. 
Advertisements inserted only for responsible and honorable houses 
Be sure that the name and address of sender, with name of Post- 
office and State, and what the remittance is for, appear in every 
letter. Money orders and bank drafts on New York are the safest 
means of transmitting money. 
Address all business communications and make all orders p&y- 
able 10 THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
Corner Chambers and Pearl Streets, New York. 
SATURDAY, JULY 13, 1835. 
It doesn’t need even Primer Science to realize that 
the “elements” which have ground the soil out of the 
original rock, will make much shorter work of your 
mower and reaper if you leave them exposed to sun 
and air. Where are they now ? 
O 
Where is the “ Preservaline ” advertisement this 
year ? We have noticed it in only one prominent 
paper thus far. What’s the matter ? Have the papers 
refused the advertisement after The R. N.-Y.’s ex¬ 
posure, or can’t they get it ? We hope the former 
surmise is correct. 
G 
On page 472 Mr. Watson tells us of an Iowa family 
in which a goat is supposed to cure all stock diseases. 
Don’t he too free to laugh at that “science.” The 
chances are that you have, right on your farm, prac¬ 
tices and beliefs that seem just as absui’d to those who 
are wiser than you. Don’t make fun of other people’s 
“ goats” till you breed out your own. 
O 
Advices from Delaware are that the Crimsom clover 
seed crop will be short. The heads have little seed 
in them, and owners of hullers prefer to thrash wheat. 
Dampness, too, has discolored some of the seed, which, 
while not injuring its vitality, hurts its sale. The 
home-grown crop is thus likely to be small, and late 
buyers will find nothing but imported seed to buy. 
Our advice is to buy American-grown seed, and then 
reserve a portion of next year’s crop for your own seed. 
G 
We often hear men advocate the feeding of oils and 
fats to cows. By the use of tallow, lard, cotton oil, 
etc., they think that they can make up a cheap “bal¬ 
anced ration,” and also increase the per cent of fat 
in the milk. This is plausible, but it is mostly theory. 
Prof. Wing, at Cornell, gave this matter a thorough 
trial. He fed tallow to 10 different cows. For six 
weeks these cows ate two pounds of tallow apiece 
each day. The milk was analyzed and carefully 
tested during this period, but there was no increase 
in the fat due to the tallow. Thus we have another 
theory exploded. 
Q 
They say that a man can’t lift himself by pulling 
up on his boot straps. We think that he raises his 
experience and knowledge of the force of gravity a 
little, but he can’t stir himself by such application of 
strength. We are told on page 470 how a brook over in 
Connecticut is made to raise itself by its own force, 
and thus water fields far away from its natural bed. 
This is done by using a ram, and this system could be 
duplicated in many other places. Irrigation is com¬ 
ing Save the water that now runs to waste. There 
is some arid land “back East” you see. When married 
to water it bears fruit. 
O 
A farmer near the Rural Grounds makes a specialty 
of'Lima beans. For many years, he has had the earliest 
beans of the neighborhood, and thus commanded the 
highest price. This year the beans were several 
inches high when the frost came, and they were killed 
to the ground. “ Ah ! ” said all the neighbors, “ now 
he will fall behind us, because we must all replant.” 
Great was their surprise a few days later, to see a new 
crop above ground around this man’s poles. There 
was no magic about it. That farmer had just dis¬ 
counted the frost. A week or so after the first beans 
were planted, he went through and planted a new lot 
around each pole. When the frost killed the first 
plants, there were the other seeds all sprouted and 
ready to take the place of the ruined crop. Had there 
been no frost, it would have been easy to pull out the 
late crop. The chance was worth taking, and the 
gain of a week this year will more than pay for all 
past expense for extra seed. This is but an illustra¬ 
tion of the value of forethought. It pays to provide 
for possible emergencies so far as we can see them 
ahead. 
G 
A farmer that we know, got the idea in his head of 
chopping up his dry corn stalks for horses and cattle. 
He cut them fine, and the result was a lot of sore 
mouths from the sharp edges of the fine pieces. What 
did he do—give it up and find fault with the man that 
advised it ? No ; he cut the stalks into pieces three 
or four inches long. The cattle could then chew them 
without taking the sharp edges into their mouths, 
while they made better use of the stalks than if they 
were fed whole. It is better .to change and adapt an 
idea, than to reject it at the first failure. 
G 
In some of the great dairy herds, 100 or more calves 
are kept each year. How is it possible to find suit¬ 
able names for them all ? It is evident that some 
system must be employed, or things would soon be 
mixed up. At Ellerslie, the system is to take a new 
letter for each year, and give each calf dropped dur¬ 
ing that year a name beginning with that letter. 
For example, all the calves dropped in 1895 might 
have names beginning with A, and those of next 
year might all begin with B, and so on. Thus the 
name not only distinguishes the animal, but also 
indicates the year in which it was born. 
G 
A few weeks since, The R. N.-Y. had a description 
of an automatic henhouse, so arranged that by pulling 
some wires extending to the dwelling, the hens could 
be fed without going outside. Now comes a report in 
a Maine paper, of a farmer who feeds his horse at any 
desired time, by means of an alarm clock. If he wishes 
his horse fed at a certain time In the morning, he sets 
the alarm clock at that hour, makes the proper connec¬ 
tions, and goes to bed secure in the knowledge that, 
asleep or awake, the horse will receive his allowance 
on time. This is surely a case ot making the head 
save the heels. It may not be worthy of general 
adoption, but it certainly shows the possibilities that 
lie in the application of a little brain power to the 
every-day work of the farm. 
G 
We desire to call attention to the article on “ Ster¬ 
ilized Air” in Primer Science this week. From all 
that we can learn, we believe that this method of 
shipping perishable products in compressed air has 
great merit. Some such cheap device for preserving 
fruits in transit, would be of great service to shippers 
and growers. Why, then, is not this idea worked up 
at once, and put into practice ? The answer is found 
in the peculiar condition of industrial affairs in Cali¬ 
fornia. Transportation to the East is in the hands of 
a big monopoly. The railroads are interested in the 
ice business, and there are big revenues to be derived 
from the use of the present refrigerator cars. Should 
this Perkins system of using “sterilized air” come into 
general use, the freight on a car-load of fruit would 
have to be reduced, for there would be no excuse for 
keeping it up. Rather than give these cheaper rates, 
the railroads will refuse even to experiment with this 
process in any practical way. Another reason is that 
California capitalists, while ever ready to gamble in 
stocks and bonds, are very shy of any legitimate 
enterprise. 
G 
It is not generally known that the last New Y T ork 
Legislature passed an act to provide conditional pen¬ 
sions for school teachers who have taught contin¬ 
uously for 25 years in one town. On the petition of 
25 taxpayers of any town, made 10 days before the 
annual town meeting, the question is to be submitted 
to voters whether the property of the town shall be 
taxed for a sum large enough to pay a suitable pen¬ 
sion to old teachers. A teacher to benefit by such a 
pension, must have taught school in that town for at 
least 25 years. The amount of the pension is equal to 
one-half the wages paid to such teacher in the last 
year of teaching. The teacher who receives it, is 
really placed on the reserve list, and the school com¬ 
missioner may put her or him, without extra salary, 
in the place of any teacher temporarily absent or 
disqualified. Should the teacher remove from the 
town, this pension stops. Should the town vote 
against this teachers’ pension fund, another vote on 
it shall not be taken for three years. The towns are, 
therefore, given a “local option” in the matter. It 
will be interesting to see how many towns will take 
advantage of this law. In Illinois, it is proposed to 
retain one per cent of the salaries of teachers, and 
thus provide a pension fund for those who become 
sick or disabled. 
Here is a curious story from one of our Connecticut 
subscribers, which is strange enough to warrant a 
place for it here : 
A thief who made his home in a hut in the woods some three 
miles distant, stole a sitting hen and the 13 eggs which were under 
her. The next day, he was arrested, and the hen and eggs which 
he had carefully placed in a water pail, were taken along, and 
exhibited in court as proof of the theft. After the trial, the hen 
and eggs were returned to the rightful owner, and after due 
lime, 11 chickens were hatched, two eggs being broken in hand¬ 
ling. The thief said that when he took the hen, he put the 
eggs in his trousers pockets to keep them warm. 
If there is anything in what is called “ pre-natal in¬ 
fluence, those chickens ought to be hardy birds. It 
is harder to kill a well-bred chick in the shell than 
many people believe—that is, if the hen is given a 
fair chance. 
G 
“ Now then, Mr. Farmer,” says the old scrub cow, 
“ I’ve stood by this farm ever since I was a calf, and so 
did my mother before me. In my veins runs the 
blood of the cattle that have nibbled at every straw 
stack seen on this farm. We’ve shivered at the cracks 
in the old barn, and we’ve ‘ rustled ’ all through 
these years to eat up your hay and grain. In view of 
this long and faithful service, we claim to have a 
right to the patronage of this farm, and we propose 
that ourselves and children shall occupy that com¬ 
fortable new barn, and fill up on your clover and 
grain ! ” 
“ I’m in favor of civil service reform,” says the well- 
bred Jersey grade. “ It isn’t a question of old serv¬ 
ice, it’s a matter of performance. I haven’t shivered 
at a crack or chewed half a dozen straw stacks, but 
I’ll guarantee to get more butter out of your hay and 
grain than any old scrub you can mention. I guar¬ 
antee a profit ; that’s why I claim that place in the 
new barn !” 
There you have the politics of the barnyard. 
Wonder which side the farmer will take ! 
G 
BREVITIES. 
“HOME CATARRH CURE!” 
I declare, dear Mr. Carman, 
I am prouder than the Czar man, 
To think that in The Rurab you denominate me “ he ” ! 
Why, as sure as you are human, 
I am nothing but a woman, 
And not a “ new ” one, either, but rather elderly. 
Now, it was for my dear sposa 
That I wrote to you sub rosa, 
And I thought, of course, you’d know it came from me ! 
I’m so glad to get your answer, 
And I’ll do the best I can, sir, 
To put my husband’s nose in good repair; 
I’ll powder it and grease it, 
And do all I can to ease it, 
And follow your directions with strict care. 
And then, when the season’s over, 
And the grain and grass and clover 
Are safely stowed away in barn and mow, 
I’ll write another letter, 
And tell you if lie’s better 
Of the dread complaint that vexes him so now. 
With many, many thanks for your kindly “ courtesie,” 
I am your grateful old subscriber in 
New 
Jer- 
- sey. 
Be sure and keep the collar loose. 
Don’t make demands that de-man you. 
A dead failure is better than a live one. 
A good butter maker needs a good nose. 
Do you belong to mankind or man cross ? 
Can’t you make Saturday a half holiday ? 
The musician produces bread from s(tones). 
Good for Mr. Herrick and his vacation talk on the next page. 
If you “rob Peter to pay Paul,” you will surely peter out in time. 
In making up a “ scale of points,” don’t forget to put a scale on 
the point of your tongue ! 
When you get too old to learn, what ought to happen to you 
for the good of the community ? 
Why send your money out West to invest in big irrigation 
schemes ? Irrigate your own farm. 
WE don’t like to see a man fall into line. Better have him rise 
into it and get into something higher. 
A fact is the child of a theory and a term of work. Don’t 
despise a theoi’y. Honor both parents. 
That good rain started everything into growth—weeds included. 
Ought to have had them killed before the rain came. 
Our friend, page 482, knows more than we do about making a 
homemade hose. That’s right ! Read what he says. 
The Supreme Court has “ knocked out ” the Whisky Trust. Un¬ 
fortunately that doesn’t mean that any less whisky will be drunk. 
Now, while you stop and moralize, maybe your suffering neigh¬ 
bor dies. At times you’d best ^moralize your talk and swell your 
moral size. 
It is very easy for you to say that you will die for your country 
when you never expect to do anything of the sort. It is harder to 
live for your country. 
An Ohio farmer who grows nearly 500 acres of corn each year, 
says that he uses no tool for cultivating besides Breed’s Weeder. 
No other tool goes into the field after planting till harvesting. 
During the dry season of spring, we saw a good deal of fer¬ 
tilizer scattered around plants and left on the surface. The object 
was to force them. It was a mistake. It should have been worked 
into the soil 
