*8.00 PER YEAR. 
Single Copy, Six Cents, 
FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, AUGUST I, 1868 
PROGRESS AND IMPROVEMENT.” 
OUR LAND POLICY: 
ITS EVILS AND THEIR REMEDY 
the parties back to the point whence they started, 
be it wool or hops. The manufacture of cheese, by 
the factory system, iB now one of the predominant 
hobbies at many new poiuts, especially in the north 
and west, and is bound to be put through, till, like 
the Vermont wool grower, mauy get “ disgusted at 
low rates, and turn to something that has a more 
promising look. 
It is this impatience, under adverse circumstances, 
causing frequent changes of farm production, which 
keeps the market in a lluctuating Btate—causing a 
scarcity of a particular product at one time, and a 
superabundance at another. What 5 b true of sheep 
husbandry, dairying and hop growing, is so, also, 
with respect to many other commercial commodi¬ 
ties, and will remain so till a more equable temper 
guides the operations of the agricultural commu¬ 
nity. If a man has gone largely into the production 
of any particular thing, and competition In it has 
become extensive, he should not get disgusted and, 
like a child in a pet, cast away or dispose at whole¬ 
sale of what he has. On the contrary, he Bhould 
keep cool, diminish gradually the production or 
that of which the market shows a superabundance; 
diversify the crops on his farm till he has a surplus 
of all kinds ready for market when the Eeason for 
selling comes around. By pursuiug this course far¬ 
mers would rarely have just occasion to get “ dis¬ 
gusted” with the price of their commodities, and 
would avoid the losses which too often follow from 
devoting all their capital and labor to a single farm 
product. 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW YORKER 
AN ORIGINAL WEEKLY 
Agricultural, Literary and Family Newspaper. 
This matter comes home to every pioneer tiller of 
the soil, and affects the future prospects and condi¬ 
tion of our farming population far more vitally than 
most imagine; therefore it is especially lit for con¬ 
sideration in the Rural. It is not a party question, 
and should be looked at free of partizan feeling or 
prejudice. 
On the Cth of March, Hon. G. W. Julian, M. C. 
of Indiaua, made an able and valuable speech in 
Congress in favor of a bill introduced by him from 
the Committe on Public Lauds, “To prevent the 
further sale of the public lauds of the United States 
except as provided for in the Pre-emption and 
Homestead laws, and the laws for the disposal of 
” Such facts and ar- 
CONDCCTED BY D, D. T. MOORE;, 
(PUBLISHER AND PROPRIETOR,) 
With a Corps of Able Associates and Contributors 
G. F. WILCOX and A. A. HOPKINS, Associate Editors, 
Hon. HENRY S. RANDALL, LL. D., 
Editor of the Department of Sheep Hushandry, 
He. DANIEL LEE, Southern Corresponding Editor. 
Special Contributors. 
P. BARRY, P. R. ELLIOTT, B. W. STEWART, 
H. T. BROOKS, JOHN E. SWEET, JANIES VICK, 
MRS. MARY J. HOLMES, MRS. L. E. LYMAN. 
town sites and mineral lands, 
gumente, and such statements of greatly needed 
reform as our space allows, we give from that speech, 
i At present, the great evil and danger is in the 
growth of gigantic “ land grants,” by which our 
public domain, the people's heritage, is passing into 
the hands of corporators and speculators. Doubt¬ 
less there are cases in which these grauts are wisely 
made, and help develop the resources of a new 
country, but the practice has grown to an abuse, 
threatening to rob our pioneers of the fruits of their 
toil, and deprive them of fair scope for their future 
labors, and to become (as it is already) a fearful 
source of corruption among our public men. The 
aim of this bill is to make the sale of lands to set¬ 
tlers, in tracts of IjJQ acres and at fixed and fair rates, 
the rule , and grants of land to railroads, «& e ., the 
exceptions, and carefully guarded. The selection of 
lands only within a fixed distance of the roads is 
urged, and the abolition of all scrip tor selection 
without, limit, and that the odd sections shall only 
be sold to actual settlers at not over $2.50 per acre, 
while the even sections, if not sold in ten years 
Terms, In Advnnce— Three Dollars a Year:— Five 
copies for *11; Seven, and one free to Club Agent, for $ 19 ; 
Ten, and on© free, for $25 — only $2,30 per copy. As we pre¬ 
pay American postage,$2.70 Is the lowest Clubrate to Canada 
and $3.50 to Europo. Tlie best way to remit, is by Draft or 
Post-Office Money Order,—and all Drafts and Orders mad© 
payable to the Publisher may be mailed at ms bisk. 
HOLSTEIN OR DUTCH BULL “VAN TROMP, ” 
IMPORTED AND OWNED BY WINTHROP W. CIIENERT, HIGHLAND STOCK FARM, BELMONT, MASS, 
August shifts the farmers’ work, in the main, 
from the harvesting of grain to the labor of prepar¬ 
ing for another crop. In one sense the year is ended 
and a new one begins. The click of the mowers 
and reapers is stilled, and the. plowman drives afield 
in the dewy morning and turns the brown furrow 
over the golden stubble. The plowing of stubble 
ground that is intended for winter grain, should be 
done early in August.. Time is needed before the 
final working and seeding for weeds to start, that 
they may be killed, and it Is beneficial for the soil to 
he exposed to the air and rain which pulverize and 
lighten It. One thorough plowing of stubble ground, 
with sufficient working on the surface, is good prep¬ 
aration for fall seeding. Flow deep. Of all ordi¬ 
nary farm crops wheat stands deep plowing best. 
It is also the most favorable season of the year, if 
the condition of the soil is considered, for deep 
working. Manure on the surface. Observation 
will teach any farmer that manure brings in the 
most money if applied on or very near the sur¬ 
face. Flow it in deep and you cannot always tell 
just when the profit comes, arid many good judges 
aver that it never appears. No crop pays better for 
liberal manuring than wheat, and the fertilizer 
should be applied where and when It will produce 
the best result to the Immediate crop. Without 
doubt the position is on the surface, and the time 
near the period of sowing. 
Seed.— Varieties of wheat, have become 
pancy of any settler uuder the shield of our impar¬ 
tial laws, and all other claims or titles in future be 
null and void. 
In view of these facts the earnest language of Mr. 
J.’s closing sentences (quoted below,) need not be 
held too severe or distempered, and the whole sub¬ 
ject surely needs discussion und speedy and wise 
action“ The system of legalized landlordism in 
these States, this practical inauguration among us 
of the feudalism of the Old World, is the very 
climax of legislative madnass. J* cheats the poor 
settler, and by dooming v*. t tr yts of fertile lands 
to barrenness becomes a UL hindrance to ngricn! 
A I 111 " 
.SENECA' FALLS. 
numerous 
of late, many are tried and discarded when found 
not to succeed, and others substituted. One result 
of this practice is a mixture of seed, so that it is 
very difficult to obtain a sort quite unmixed. This 
should be guarded against. Sow only clean, plump 
seed, whatever the variety may be. So far as we can 
learn the Diehl wheat Is growing in favor; the mil¬ 
lers like it; it is early, and mostly escapes the 
midge; the straw is stiff and stands well, and it 
yields famously. It wants fertile soil, and perhaps 
is rather averse to low, wet spots. The Treadwell 
wheat is a very fine and reliable variety, although 
the quality of the berry is behind that of the Diehl. 
It sells as a red wheat; it is of a ranker growth and 
perhaps hardier. It is a hearded variety, although 
many heads are almost destitute of spikes. The 
straw and chaff are white. It is probably preferable 
to the Diehl for low or exposed fields on thin soil. 
.Ripens about the same. These are both promising, 
and comparatively new varieties, and will be exten¬ 
sively cultivated. 
QJtuji Up .— A few days are needed after the har¬ 
vest to finish many small Jobs of work, and put 
things to rights generally about the farm. Weeds 
of all descriptions should be mowed, and fence cor¬ 
ners and swaleB cleaned out. Many a cow might be 
wintered with fodder gleaned from thu by places of 
the farm. The harvest tools are to be housed, stub¬ 
bles raked, and various little improvements com¬ 
pleted. Western fanners are sometimes guilty of 
leaving their machinery unsheltered In the fields 
from one summer to another when a straw roof 
would cost them but a trifle. 
Stock require plenty of water. 
OUR illustration represents the Hydraulic Ram as 
manufactured by Messrs. Rumsky & Co., of Seneca 
Falls, N. Y. The operation of this machine has 
been fully described in former volumes of the 
Rural. In their circular R. <fc Co. say—“ The vari¬ 
ous uses of the Earn are at once obvious, viz: B'or 
the purpose of irrigating lands and supplying dwel- 
ling 6 ) gardens, factories, villages, engines, railroad 
stations, barnyards, etc., with running water. The 
simplicity of the operation of this machine, together 
with its effectiveness, and very apparent durability, 
render it decidedly the most important aud valua¬ 
ble apparatus yet developed in Hydraulics, for 
forcing a portion of a running stream of water to 
any elevation, proportionate to the fall obtained. 
It is perfectly applicable where not more than 18 
inches fall cun be bad; yet the greater the fall ap¬ 
plied, the more powerful the operation of the 
machine, and the higher the water may be con¬ 
veyed.” For circular containing prices, etc., ad¬ 
dress the manufacturers as above. 
auto, xuiroy liiuuun acres nave been soul to specu¬ 
lators, fifty-seven millions to railroads, West and 
South, seventeen millions to canals, one hundred 
aud twenty-four millions to the Pacific Railroad and 
its branches,—in all some two hundred millions of 
acres. “ The quautity of lands conveyed by these 
grants,” says the Commissioner of the General Land 
Office, “is of empire extent, exceeding in the ag¬ 
gregate, by more than five millions of acres, the 
entire areas of the six New England States added to 
the surface of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 
Ohio, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.” lie says 
the grants for the Pacific railway lines alone “ are 
within about a fourth of being twice the united 
area of England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Guern¬ 
sey, Jersey, and the Isle of Map, and the islands of 
the British seas, and less than a tenth of being equal 
to the French empire proper.” 
While great public benefits may result from some 
of these roads, it is full time the growth of such 
great monopolies, holding full control over future 
empires was stopped, and a radical change made in 
the policy of our Government. While of course 
land scrip already given out for Agricultural Col¬ 
leges, bounties, &c., must be respected, the abuses 
of the 6yslcin are strongly shown, as well as of the 
swamp land system by which millions of acres of 
the best lands are grasped by speculators. In Mis¬ 
sissippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and Florida, a large 
Bhare of their 38,000,000 acres of “swamp land” 
was high, dry and valuable, and in the five land 
States of the South there are 53,000,000 acres of 
lands held by speculators, while fourtecu-fifieenths 
of the people outside the towns are landless. 
The facts touching Indian reservations and treaties 
are startling indeed. Some tribe, Osage or Chero¬ 
kee for Instance, will convey millions of acres by 
treaty to our Government. This land does not pass 
under the pre-emption or homestead laws, but is 
sold to the highest bidders, or to some railroad 
company, or to speculators, in vast tracts some¬ 
times of nearly a million acres. These things are 
done in secret session of the Senate, and the Tad re¬ 
sults of acts thus privately done are already felt in 
the fairest parts of the West. The system is all 
wrong, and every acre of Indian land, fairly bought, 
should be made as open as the day, for the occu- 
alarm every real friend of our country. The whole¬ 
sale prostitution of the peopl’a heritage, this merci¬ 
less crusade against the rights of coming genera¬ 
tions, ought to cease instantly. Tt will tax all the 
wisdom of our rulers to heal the wounds already 
inflicted upon our country. Ia the early period of 
the Government settlements on the public domain 
were forbidden by law. In the year 1807, Congress 
even provided for the removal of persons who 
should attempt settlements without authority of 
law. This illiberal treatment of our pioneera was ol 
short duration, but the policy of pre-emption was 
of slow growth, and was only finally perfected In 
the year 1841. Twenty one years later the home¬ 
stead law was enacted, recognizing stall further tin- 
just claLms of settlers; but it allowed the specu¬ 
lator to cripple and harrass them at every step, and 
thus seriously to frustrate the great and beneficent 
ends which otherwise it would have perfectly ac¬ 
complished. It was a half-way measure of relief, 
pointing as naturally to the complete remedy now 
proposed us did the pre-emption laws point to the 
far broader policy of the homestead act. Let us 
now apply it, and thus extend the borders of our 
civilization, increase our national wealth, curb the 
ravages of monopolists, satisfy the earth-huuger of 
the multitudes who are striving for homes on our 
soil, and thus practically re-assert the right of peo¬ 
ple to life, liberty, aud the pursuit of happiness.” 
In my rambles West I visited an old friend, for¬ 
merly an itinerant, now a local preacher, residing 
thirty miles from Chicago. Hearing of his fame as 
a farmer, I went out of my way to make him a call. 
After the customary greetings, I told him Untended 
to stop a day and look around, and that 1 might 
report him for the papers. Accordingly we had a 
walk and a talk, instructive and agreeable, over his 
tine and beautiful place. My friend, who went West 
thirteen years ago, took with him a chest of carpen¬ 
ter’s tools, aud as he stood in his door, he pointed 
ucross the plain to many elegant houses and sub¬ 
stantial barns erected by his hand. His plan was to 
pursue his trade and carry on h.s farm at the same 
time. While with him nothing attracted my atten¬ 
tion so much ae his wood stacks. Of these he had 
three, containing from six to eight cords each, fitted 
for the stove, aud all piled and topped out with the 
utmost care and art. As this was mo: e firewood 
than 1 expected to see at any man’s door in Illinois, 
1 uskod him how it came about. “ Oh,” said he, “ I 
hire by the year, and the men cut thu wood before 
breakfast and iu the odds and ends of time.” As he 
had every building except a wood-shed, I suspected 
that he kept these wood stacks for show, aud so I 
told him, at which he smiled, and said he had a regu¬ 
lar system of building and fencing, and had not got 
around to the wood-shed yet, but hoped toby-and-by. 
His farm, of one hundred aud sixty acres, is laid 
out in fields of nearly equal size und Inclosed by 
board fences. Though now a stock flamer, ho aims 
to have a good supply of grain. His favorite crop, 
he told me, is com. He said he took great pleasure 
Sown corn for soil¬ 
ing is appreciated this month when the pastures are 
short and burnt. Working team& are most comfort¬ 
able in cool, roomy stables. Use plaster freely in 
the stalls. Fush along the hogs, as a pound of pork 
costs less than it will in cold weather. 
Underdrains may he cut through wet lands, and 
muck gathered for manure. 
Stacks of grain are usually threshed early, but, if 
their tops are fiat and there is danger of injury from 
rain, they may be readily secured, after having set¬ 
tled, by placing hay or straw on them. They arc 
then safe until winter. 
Hoed Crops .—It is not too late to cultivate com 
and potatoes. Great benefit is often the result,of 
late cultivation; it kills weeds, and it seems to be the 
farmer’s lot to wage continual warfare with these. 
Old Meadows should be manured if possible, and 
the chances of irrigation looked after. 
Special Crops, as tobacco, hops, flax, &c., require 
much labor and attention during this month. Prep¬ 
arations for securing them promptly and in good 
order should be made in time. 
An exchange says that an extensive wool grower 
in Vermont has become disgusted with his business, 
owing to the low price of wool, and has determined 
to get rid of his sheep and commence operations in 
a new line by building a cheese factory. This is 
but one of the many instance* of that impatience 
ffhioh characterizes, io a great extent, American 
farming. At one time, the current sets in the direc¬ 
tion of hops, owing to the high ruling of that article 
in the market. Every body is hop mad, aud un¬ 
numbered acres are speedily added to the area de¬ 
voted to the production of this commodity. If the 
seasons prove propitious, production soon largely 
exceeds consumption, prices fall, producers get dis¬ 
gusted, throw up the busiuess and rush into some¬ 
thing else which, for the time being, promises more 
remunerative results. This becomes overdone in 
its turn, and so on till the cycle of change brings 
In a recent letter 1 wrote that “corn is not more 
reproductive iu its nature than good stable manure; 
but as it is not necessary to plant a whole cornstalk,' 
cob aud leaves, to get the living germ of this plant, 
so it is needless to plant IK! pounds of carbon and tbe 
elements of water in manure, to obtain four pounds 
of the living essence of fertility.” 
What is meant by the words “living essence, of 
fertility,” iu the connection ia which they are used, 
it is proper to explain. 
A large share of the eondi ions necessary to the 
fruitfulness of common land exist very nearly alike 
in both rich and poor soils. Both have the benefit 
of solar light and heat by day, of shade by night, of 
