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78 
giarg of a Jlttralisi. 
DAILY RURAL LIFE. 
From the Diary of a Centlema* near New 
York City. 
EXHAUSTING ASPARAGUS BEOS. 
July 10. —Many person? appear to -think 
that cutting asparagus 'ias no exhausting 
effect upon the roots. This idea, however, 
s erroneous, for no pl/rnt can withstand the 
successive removal of the steins and leaves 
fi r any considerable length of time. Some 
will bear it better than others, and asparagus 
is one possessing great vitality, and, owing 
to its peculiar habit of producing new buds at. 
the base of stems removed, a repetition is 
kept up, and quite rapidly, provided a great 
amount of stimulating food is applied to the 
roots. But the time must come during the 
season when the roots demand a supply of 
assimilated sap, which can only be furnished 
through the agency of the leaves. If the soil is 
made very rich and kept so by an anuuai np- 
Jication of fertilizing materials, cutting of the 
young shoots for a few weeks in spring will 
have very little effect in. weakening the 
strength of the roots, and an asparagus bed 
properly cared for will last a lifetime. But 
one season of abuse in removing the stems 
beyond a certain period, will destroy the best 
and most vigorous plantation. ! was re¬ 
minded of tills fact from passing a neigh¬ 
bor’s farm upon which there has been for 
many years a huge plantation of asparagus ; 
but to-day it is dead, scarcely a plant sur¬ 
viving. Last year asparagus brought a good 
price in market, even up to very late in the 
season, and my neighbor, hi his eagerness to 
make money, continued to cut the stems 
until the hot and dry weather had com¬ 
menced—the last of dune and ilrstof July. 
1 took occasion to warn him of his folly in 
practicing this late cutting, but he knew bet¬ 
ter and that you could not kill asparagus by 
cutting off the stems while small and tender. 
IILs dead asparagus plantation to-day shows 
how much wisdom thwre was in his practice. 
After cutting the. young shoots for a month 
in spring the growt h of stems should be en¬ 
couraged as much as possible. 
HONESTY OF FARMERS AND GARDENERS 
July 11.—1 was in New York to-day and 
had business in the markets, where one has 
a good opportunity of seeing waat country 
people are doing in the way of sending pro¬ 
duce to market. Being a farmer’s sou my¬ 
self. and having lived upon a farm a good 
share of my life, besides being accustomed 
to listen to the speeches of politicians just be¬ 
foreelection as well as on the Fourth of July, 
wherein we are always reminded of the im¬ 
maculate honesty of t he entire agricultural 
community, it is not strange that 1 should 
take a just pride in belonging to thiH class, 
but «cc.asionai)y something turns up to shake 
my faith in the honesty of farmers and gar¬ 
deners, as well as of other people. Last win¬ 
ter I purchased a few bales of hay that were 
sent dowu to our station by one of the honest 
farmers of Rockland Co.. N. Y., and after it 
was in my bam we unpacked it. The first 
thing that attracted my attention were the 
binders of wood, which were green beech, 
two inches square, they not. only being the 
heaviest wood that could be found but were 
twioe as large as necessary, there being 
twenty pounds of this, at two cents per 
pound, on every bale. The hay appeared to 
be bright, green timothy outside, but the in¬ 
side of the bales was mainly half rotten 
clover or wild lowland hay, some of which 
no animal, unless nearly starved, would 
t meh. I have never had much experience in 
purchasing baled hay, but my city friends 
who have, say that my limited experience is* 
not different from theirs. But, 1 commenced 
to tell what I saw to-day in the store of a 
“commission merchant," or, as usually called 
of late, a “swindling middleman," There 
ware crates of tomatoes, all the outside 
specimens that could be seen were large, ripe 
and handsome, while the center of each was 
tilled up with small, wormy, green, worth¬ 
less trash, that a policeman would order 
dumped into the garbage carts if one of these 
“ swindling middlemen" dared to expose 
tbe.a for sale. These crates of tomatoesex¬ 
cited my curiosity, and I asked the privilege 
of further investigation, and it was satisfied 
to the fullest extent. Barrels of potatoes 
just received were opened before me ; the 
top layers down, for six inches or more, were 
large and line, but upon dumping them out 
at least a bushel in the center wore not big¬ 
ger than walnuts. Barrels of green cucum¬ 
bers, filled in the middle by wilted, half-ripe 
specimens from dead vines. But I had seen 
enough, and begged my friend to stop or I 
MOORS’S RyVSAL NEW-Y0B5CEB, 
■ ■ i ~ 
would feel inclined to declare that the 
“ noblest work of God ” — an honest man — 
had long since departed from this I'arth. 
Now, ray brother farmers, gardeners and 
fruit growers, charity, like honesty, must 
begin at home. How can you expect others 
to be honest if you are not? This “cut¬ 
throat” game of trying to take advantage 
of those to whom you sell the products of 
your farm is coming back ; for “chickens 
usually come home to roost,” and there is no 
escaping the penalty of dishonest dealing 
with our fellow man, for any great length of 
time. I know full well the temptation which 
besets us, and that the honest man goffers 
for the sins of the dishonest, in spite of all his 
efforts. The farmers who send pure grain to 
market get but little more for it thuu those 
who send that which is mixed with cockle, 
chess and other foul seeds, simply because 
the best quality is required to mix with the 
inferior, to bring up the standard of the 
whole. But because others cheat, it is no 
excuse for for you or me. Men must be men 
in the full sense of the word, even if their 
purses grow light in consequence. There are 
scores of dishonest middlemen in our mar¬ 
kets, but 1 fear they have iittlo encourage¬ 
ment to be otherwise, judging from my 
twenty years’ acquaintance with the mar¬ 
kets and market men of New York City. 
Off ON AN EXCURSION. 
July 12. — Yesterday, after my visit to 
market, I went up to the Bubal New- 
Youkkh office, and on the way met Mr. Id. 
T. Williams, editor of the horticulturist, 
who has been getting up an Editorial Excur¬ 
sion to visit Indian Territory, Kansas, Colo¬ 
rado and Utah. He gave me a cordial greet¬ 
ing and said, “ Old Daily, we have just room 
for a couple more in our Pullman ear, and we 
want, you and Mrs. * lluralist ’ to fill the 
place.” Now, this invitation to join the 
young folks on such a trip was rather unex¬ 
pected, and, of course, I could not. decide the 
question without consulting the wife at 
home, and I told him so, but agreed to report 
to-day if lie would keep the seats for us until 
this morning. After 1 got home last night 
Mi's. “ Iluralist ” and I talked the matter 
over and decided to go. Of course, my com¬ 
mand of our President’s English will not en¬ 
able me to describe the topsy-turvy condition 
of things about the house tills morning. 
Mrs. “liurahst” has emptied all t he bureau 
drawers upon the floor, uud the picking out 
of woman’s and man’s apparel for the trip is 
a thing to be imagined rather than described. 
Of course, 1 am busy with my fixings. There 
are pocket-“pistols” of various kinds tube 
loaded in case they should be needed. My 
nets must be re-covered, bottles of alcohol, 
ether, chloroform, poisons and boxes of vari¬ 
ous sizes for carrying whatever specimens 1 
may find on the trip must be packed ; in fact, 
t here is a st rife going on between Mrs. II. and 
myself to see which shall fill up first tlio 
allot,ed Space in the trunk and valise which 
we are allowed to take with hs. Then, again, 
I have to make arrangements for my out-door 
business, as we are just in the midst of the 
busy season, and it w ill not do to let the fruit 
go to waste while away. I have one conso¬ 
lation In leaving home at this time, and it is 
that the severe drouth lias so burned up 
everything there is comparatively little to 
sell. The beny crop is about one-fourth 
what it would have been in a favorable sea¬ 
son, and the same cause prevents the weeds 
growing, consequently 1 have expense in 
labor. But I must stop writing and go to 
packing again, or some of my “traps” will 
be left out. 
P 
RE-POTTING PLANTS. 
The Fruit Recorder says:—“To ascertain 
if a plant wants fresh potting, turn it care¬ 
fully out of the pot, with the earth attached 
to it. and examine the roots. If they are 
matted about the sides and bottom of the 
ball, the plant evidently requires fresh pot¬ 
ting. Then carefully reduce the ball of earth 
to about a third of its original bulk ; single 
out the matted roots and trim away all that 
are mouldy and decayed. Probably the same 
pot may then be large enough, but if it re¬ 
quires a larger one it should be about two 
i itches broader for a middle-sized plant; three 
or four for a large plant. Lf the roots are not 
matted, but the pots are filled with fibers, 
keep tile ball entire and carefully plant it in 
a larger pot. At the top of a large pot, an 
inch, a val of a small one, half an inch should be 
left for reception of water, without danger of 
overflow. A little gravel, charcoal or pieces 
of broken pots should always be placed at 
the bottom for drainage. A plant newly 
potted must never be exposed to a strong 
sun. It should be watered and placed in the 
shade immediately and there remain till it is 
rooted, which may be known by its starting 
to grow.” 
WHAT IS A NEW YORK GALLON? 
This question has been frequently asked of 
late, and although it is probable that most 
diligent schoolboys could tell us all about, the 
Imperial gallon, which holds 10 lbs. of water, 
and the United States’ gallon, which holds 
8.389 lbs., and the New York gallon, which 
holds exactly 8 lbs., yet there are a few points 
which have not been discussed in any of the 
articles that have come under our notice, and 
which are nevertheless the most important 
point® connected with the whole question. 
It is not difficult to tell exactly the weight of 
water and the number of cubic inches which 
each gallon contains, but the reply to the 
question, “ What is a New York gallou ?” is 
a very different thing. 
Before attempting a definite answer, it 
may be well to say that, nearly all the laws 
hi relation to weight* and measures are either 
permimive or definitive—very rarely prohib¬ 
itory, and the prohibitory laws are almost, 
always local. Thus, the law of Congress 
which establishes the length of the loch, the 
size of the gallon and the weight of the pound, 
is chiefly deiiniti ve. It declares that whenever 
the term “pound’’ is used in contracts made 
in the United State®, it si mil mean a certain 
thing, and the same is true of the gallon. The 
law passed in regard to the so-called metrical 
weights and measures was chiefly permissive, 
though it also, of necessity, defined the 
weights and measures mentioned. In many 
cities and villages there is an ofllcer called 
the “Sealer of Weights and Measures,” and 
his duty is to see that all weights and meas¬ 
ures used within his jurisdiction are correct 
according to the legal standard, the use ol 
weights and measures other than those re¬ 
cognized by law being strictly prohibited. 
But even in such cases, if two parties were to 
enter into a definite contract in which A, for | 
and in consideration of a certain sum, should 
agree to deliver to B a certain number of 
measures of wheat, the measure being de¬ 
fined to be n certain box which could be 
easily identified, it is very certain that such 
a contract would be good in law. Nay, fur¬ 
ther ; if A aud B wore to agree that, for their 
purposes a well known measure should con¬ 
tain more or less than the legal quantity, as 
for example, that the ton should contain 
3,000 lbs., even such a bargain would stand ; 
but in this case the word Ions is evidently 
superfluous ; the contract simply calls for so 
many times 3,000 lbs,, and t.ho pound, and not 
the ton is here the standard by which the 
weight is defined. 
In t he same way , if A should agree to de¬ 
liver to B 1,000 gullons of milk, the gallon in 
tills case being expressly stated not only to 
be the Now York State gallon, but to contain 
exactly 8 lbs. of water, it is very certain that, 
such a bargain would stand, and the delivery 
of so much milk as, would fill a vessel capa¬ 
ble of containing 8,000 lbs. of water, would 
fully comply with the contract. Here again, 
however, the standard is evidently not the 
gallon, but the pound, and the word gallon 
is superfluous. 
Let us, therefore, further suppose that A 
agrees to deliver to B 1,000 gallons of milk, 
the gallon here mentioned being stated to be 
the New York Stale gallon ; the question at 
once arises, To what weight of water is this 
h ulk of milk equivalent ? 
It is a well understood fact that the Con¬ 
stitution of the United States provides that. 
Congress, and Congress alone, shall have 
power to regulate the weights and measures 
used iu this country. Congress has enacted 
that the gallon used in these United Elates 
shall contain exactly 231 cubic inches, or 
8.339 lbs. of water, aud when the State of 
New York passed a law providing for a gal¬ 
lon that should hold exactly 8 lbs. of water, 
the wiseacres at Albany exceeded their pow¬ 
er, and the law was unconstitutional, and 
consequently null and void. There is but one 
standard gallon in the State of New York, 
and that gallon is the United States’ gallon. 
Any person can, of course, make a contract 
to sell any number of times the contents of 
any given vessel, and this vessel may contain 
7, 8 or 9 lbs. of water and be called a gallon ; 
but in all such cases reference must be had 
either to a certnin individual vessel or to a 
certain number of pounds, or other weight or 
measure. Where the word “gallon” is used 
alone, the courts will always enforce the defi¬ 
nition which declares that the gallon con¬ 
tains 2*31 cubic inches, and as in virtue of the 
Constitution of the United States, there can 
be no legal gallon except that defined by Act 
of Congress, it is evident that when the term 
“Gallon of the State of New York” is used, 
the gallon of 231 cubic inches.or 8.339 lbs. of 
water will be the only one recognized by the 
courts. 
There arc. every year, thousands of con¬ 
tracts made to deliver milk according to the 
New York State gallon, aud in some cases 
the gallon of 8 Ihs. of water is understood by 
the parties, although not pointedly defined. 
In all such contracts the courts would, uo 
doubt, decide that the quantity of fluid to be 
delivered is so many gallons of 231 cubic 
inches. 
Before leaving this subject, it may be well 
to allude to the laws passed in the different 
States, declaring that the bushel shall con¬ 
tain so mauy lbs. of different kinds of grain. 
It is a serious question whether these laws 
arc constitutional. We feel inclined to regard 
them as entirely worthless, and have no 
doubt that when a contract is made for so 
many bushels of grain the courts would en¬ 
force the delivery of so many measures, each 
of which should Contain 2150.42 cubic inches. 
The definition “Illinois bushel” or “Iowa 
bushel” would not affect this decision. Illi¬ 
nois. Iowa and other States have no right to 
adopt a bushel which differs from that of the 
United States. In making contructsin which 
it is intended to substitute a certain number 
of pounds for a certain number of cubic inch¬ 
es, the only safe way is to give a clear defini¬ 
tion of the proposed change. If A agrees to 
deliver to B 1,000 bushels, each bushel to con¬ 
tain 56 lbs,, the contract is perfectly good. 
But if the contract i* merely for 1,000 bush¬ 
els, then the delivery of 21504.20 cubic inches 
is the only thing that will fulfil its terms. 
John Piiin. 
->-*-♦--- 
How TO Test Water.— An English teclmi- 
cal periodical points out an easy way of test¬ 
ing whether water is good and fit for general 
use. It says :—Good water should be free 
from color, unpleasant odor and taste, and 
should quickly afford a lather with a small 
portion of soap. If half a pint of the water 
be placed in a perfectly clean, colorless glass- 
stoppered bottle, a few grains of the best 
white lump sugar added, and the bottle freely 
exposed to the daylight in the window of a 
warm room, the liquid should not become 
turbid, even after exposure for a week or 
ten days. If the water becomes turbid, it is 
open to the grave suspicion of sewage con¬ 
tamination ; but if it remain clear, it is 
almost certainly safe. 
cdfmpit Jmpli'ineni.T 
SWIVEL PLOWS. 
Your correspondent, of May 31, inquires 
about swivel plows. You printed an article 
from E. H., Grampian Hills, Pa., in reply. 
The plow he describes is of no use except for 
meadow land ; I say so, because I know all 
about it. It. is called the “shuttle plow.” It 
is very heavy and t he landside is so long it is 
of no use except on level land. It is manu¬ 
factured at Chicopee Falls, Mass.—A. W. H., 
Greenfield, Manx. 
The above correspondent complains be¬ 
cause we have not printed an article in which 
he describes a plow that is just as good for 
hilly as for level land—one that will work 
anywhere where a cast-iron plow will scour. 
Had we received such oil article, it or its 
substance would have been printed. 
As the manufacturers of Hodge’s Reversi¬ 
ble plow do not consult their own interest 
enough to advertise iu the Rural New- 
Yorker, iv ill your correspondent please give 
the address of the firm, andvery much oblige. 
If suited to plowing hill-sides they are just 
what we need here.—J. H. E., Le wiston, I. T. 
-- 
IMPLEMENT NOTES. 
Strawberry Trimmer .—A writer in the 
Western Rural says:—“I have been invent¬ 
ing a machine for trimming off strawberry 
runners, and it works so well that I thought 
others might like to try it. The ‘ strawberry 
trimmer’ is a hoop of sawplate. say two or 
three inches wide and about tjliree. feet long 
—the lower edge sharp. Long, tliin strips of 
tin secure the hoop to a wooden handle, 
About five feet long. A set screw fastens the 
lapped ends of the sawplate together, and 
thus allows the hoop to be made larger or 
smaller. Use the ‘trimmer’ as the housewife 
cuts biscuits with a cake cutter, the rim 
being large enough to encircle the plant and 
cut the runners. 
The Eureka Mower.—A. W. H. asks if the 
Eureka Mower is a more desirable machine 
for cutting grass than a side cut-nmchiue ; if 
so, why? “Will farmers who have used 
them please answer ?” We may say that if 
it is a more desirable machine than those 
with side-cut or draft, one reason is because it 
is of lighter draft and more work can be done 
with the same power in a given time. W e 
saw it operate, experimentally, some years 
since, and thought it promised well when 
perfected. • 
