MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
AY 30 
Jttflltfitptl Stojjtus. 
HIRED LABOR ON THE FARM. 
Your correspondent on Hired Help in a 
late Ri.'rai. New Yorker is correct in most 
of his article ; but if he litis always worked 
out, hasn’t he found exceptions to the cases 
he has instanced ? He says a farm hand 
seldom finds a place where he can improve 
his mind. Secondly, he differs from some, 
that farm hands are respected for what they 
are. Thirdly, ho thinks one reason farm 
hands are so hard to get is the way they are 
paid. He also says he has had some experi¬ 
ence and quite a chance to observe t he usage 
of farm help. 
1 too have had a good deal ft f experience 
with hired help, as J have hired for at ieast 
20 years. J have had hands stay with me 
from six months to as many years ; have 
found it most profitable to hire intelligent 
labor and pay for it. I have plenty of papers 
of all kinds with which they can improve 
their minds if they will, and would rather 
they would read than he out in t he mud and 
rain as some do; but with all the help I’ve 
had, very few will avail themselves of its 
benefits ; 1 think it an honor to any man to 
work and 1 would sooner shake a good hard 
worked hand, even if it was a hired man'* 
and let the clerk, lawyer Ohd dandy pass by 
as of little worth. 
I have seen help used just as had and 
worse than stated in his article and have 
wondered how they could get men to work 
at all; but 1 have also seen those same hired 
men who would work like slaves for men 
"when they had a better and easier place 
take advantage of a good man, and get very 
important, and instead of trying to work for 
the interest of their employer, would be just 
the, reverse. Now all I have to say of this 
class is this : they deserve just t he worst 
class of treatment, and, in fact, it seems to 
suit their nature better. I know the hardest 
money for some men to pay is the hired 
help and the minister; hut without taking 
any credit to myself, I think these debts are 
the first that should lie paid, and in fact, 
nothing suits me better than to pay as I go ; 
and if my hired men do not make good use 
of their money its none of my business. In 
conclusion, in the remarks at the close of his 
article you say you have worked as id red 1 
help, and know the picture is not over¬ 
drawn, which I admit., hut couldn’t you 1 
have also said that all employers do not use ’ 
hired help in this way ? Now I haven’t ' 
meant to say a word against the writer of 1 
the article referred to; hope he will take * 
this kindly, as one who sympathizes with all 1 
honest labor.— Incog. £ 
Ykh ; we could have said that t here are { 
many worthy exceptions to the picture our 1 
correspondent drew ; nor did we intend it to •' 
be inferred that we could not. We have not fl 
the least doubt that the relations betjvcen 11 
farm employers and employes are as often <l 
pleasant and mutually profitable as between " 
other classes of employers and employes, 11 
The difficulty with both too frequently is, 1 
that they do not seem to recognize the fact 1 
that their interests are mutual and interde- " 
pendent upon each other—that the prosper! 11 
ty and healthy growth of the one benefit 
the other. There is too frequently a spirit g 
of antagonism, whose growth is at first al¬ 
most insensible and gradually becomes 
stronger and more marked, which alienates 
one from the. other and creates disharmony !. 
where the most cordial eo-operation should . 
exist. It does no harm, and we hope it will 1 
do much good, to discuss these relations, if 
it is i|one iu the right spirit, ' ' 
ciated ; and ‘not a “ borrower ” of ours, who 
reads your sunny pages, but would gladly 
take it for themselves, if money matters did 
not hinder. When a question of such vital 
importance as newspapers versus bread and 
meat is involved could we blame, if decided 
in favor of the latter. This is a new country, 
mostly filled up with persons with small 
means, trying to improve their homes, and 
generally “roughing it,” so that In the 
“sweet by-atld-by” they may rest com¬ 
fortably, at least, under their own “fig 
tree.” Only yesterday, when I told dear 
friend Mina that, we had read the Rural 
this week, and she could take it home to 
read, with a tremor in her voice, she said. 
“ Eva, I ought not when I see so much about 
! ‘ borrowing papers,’ yet I would so lovo to 
have it.!” 
May 1 suggest, if some of your correspond¬ 
ents would ask their “ borrowers,” who arc 
able, to subscribe, and not loan until read, 
would it not be a good idea? I am selfish 
enough to want the first reading, and it is 
such a rest, to my tired hands, to cut its nice 
fresh sheets, and glance over its crisp new 
pages, after a hard day's work at house 
cdfieht O^op. 
ALFALFA LUCERNE-CHILIAN CLOVER. 
cleaning i Eva. 
Neosho Co., Kan. 
-- 
JOINT STOCK FARMING. 
Companies carry on many of the great 
business operations of this great country; 
therefore why should the above be confined 
to religious societies? It was stated some 
weeks since that there wore numerous in¬ 
quiries relative to t he obtaining opportuni¬ 
ties fur the placing of gentlemen’s sons with 
agriculturists engaged in sufficiently exten¬ 
sive forming to give them knowledge of first- 
class cultivation, the very best breeds of live 
stock, and general experience relative to 
buyfugflndselling. If merchants, &o., would 
turn t his subjects over in their minds, and a 
few reliable moneyed men would start, such 
an undertaking, placing a practical, plain 
farmer iu charge, they could have sons and 
nephews there on any terms the rules of the 
company should decide upon. 
The first error would probably be the 
making of a head superintendent of some 
relative of one of the chief stockholders, and, 
as is often the case, appointing him because 
he is a captain or a ma jor, or has some lian- 
I die to bis name, which would thus sound 
well. Why put any fine gentleman at ull at 
the head of an establishment? Have a reg¬ 
ular boarding house, or hotel, if the name 
would not be objectionable—of course no 
liquors to be had—and let. inis be conducted 
by a competent man, having naught to do 
wit.li the management of the farming. Sin¬ 
gle men and visitor*, as also shareholders, 
could be accommodated in every home com 
fort, whether for one meal, one day or for 
years. Accounts could lie open to the ex¬ 
amination ol' every member of the company, 
and every young man there, for the purpose 
of becoming a practical farmer, should be 
obliged to keep a copy of every item con¬ 
nected with every department, and as far a* 
practicable all should witness the sales and 
the purchases, so as to gain judgment, in 
every respect and confidence in their esti¬ 
mates, &C. A. W. K. 
SHOULD FARMERS PURCHASE DIRECT] 
NEWSPAPER BORROWING. 
Dear Rural :—I see so much in your col¬ 
umns about “ uewspaper borrowing” 1 wish 
to give ray experience out in Kansas, which 
may prove to your readers there are two 
sides to almost every question. Six years 
ago last New Year’s, the winter after hus¬ 
band and I wore married, as we were select¬ 
ing our papers for the year, I proposed to 
take the Rural New-Yorker which was an 
old time friend of mine, when husband ob¬ 
jected, as wo had already sent for several 
other papers. I insisted, and I will confi¬ 
dentially say we had quite “a spat,” before 
I had the pleasure of knowing the Rural 
was to be a weekly visitor at, our cabin. 
One year satisfied him w r e could not do 
without it, and now I guess we might be 
counted “life members.” Each year after 
reading them ourselves, we take pleasure in 
loaning them to our neighbors, not to de¬ 
fraud your pockets, for you are fully appre- 
In discussing the question of farmers’ pur¬ 
chasing agents, a writer in the Rural New 
Yorker thinks it a one sided view. He says 
it may bo commended in buying farm im¬ 
plements and machinery by well-to-do farm- 
i era, but dilfers in regard to other articles 
that the farmer may consume. Is the writer 
a merchant ? Where does he see the differ¬ 
ence { What right has the well-to-do farmer 
to furnish the margin, for the merchant to 
do business with ? To the question, “ Will 
those close-buying farmers share their bar¬ 
gains with their poorer neighbors ?” I an¬ 
swer, Yes ; love thy neighbor as thyself. 
We contend that farmers at e merchants ; 
they buy and sell ; and they should be busi¬ 
ness men and posted ; attend to the farm in 
ull its detail or they will soon find themselves 
in t he rear. Why should not the fanner buy 
Ids farm implements, machinery, dry goods, 
groceries, &c., &c., in the best and cheapest 
market, from the producer, and sell his pro¬ 
ducts in the best market he can find to con¬ 
sumers ? Does not the merchant do this? 
but him deny it, if ho can, it is the duty of 
every man to feed the hungry, to clothe the 
poor, which we prefer to do direct, ourselves, 
rather than through the third parties. Does 
the merchant sell to his poor customers at 
less profit than to his rich ones ? Far to the 
contrary. A Farmer. 
,.y t Jn an article in a late number of the Prai- 
ull r * e Farmer, a correspondent writes, very 
ml correctly and truthf ully in many respects, in 
he r< ‘ 8 ' ,r, l to the above very wonderful and use- 
m . ful plant; but judging by our experience 
lig lK ‘ re eight years) with lucerne, he falls 
ar into two or three errors which it is import- 
K j ant. to the public to correct. It is represented 
that it, is Important to plant the crop Jn drills 
d that it may be cultivated and kept, clear of 
nt weeds a year or two, to save the crop from 
( fJ being overcome by weeds. Now wo have 
found the lucerne to be a grower more rapid 
j than the rankest of weeds, and that it will 
soon run out the most, subtle uud ratik-grow- 
^ ing weeds in the catalogue ; that it may be 
sown broadcast or In drills, as best suits the 
taste of the husbandman. 
^ In these mountains we seldom raise any 
crop, even of grass, without irrigation ; con¬ 
sequently, we generally sow in drills about 
<u a foot apart, with water rows between, for 
convenience of watering ; but even here 
many sow broadcast and flood the ground 
when it needs moistening. 
Another error which tends to discourage 
the attempt to raise this crop—the writer 
premises that t he crop or plants do not mo- 
I turo or arrive to a state of maximum produc- 
^ liven css for two or three years. Onthecon- 
c “ trary, we. have sown it as soon as the ground 
[' was warm enough to plant corn, and cut 
l " three crops of hay the first year and, in this 
“ climate, four or five hay crops annually 
thereafter. We know of no plant so little 
^ affected by clipping the top, or one that 
L ‘ grows as rapidly ; and we consider It one of 
0 the most useful and important and decidedly 
* most prolific of hay crops known, readily 
1 devoured by every domestic animal and 
J fowl as vveli as a first rate bee forage plant. 
For the benefit of those unacquainted with 
* its cultivation, i will give our mode of prop- 
5 agation :—Take any land that will make good 
corn, plow deep and sow about the time for 
> corn planting, w hile the ground is moist from 
> plowing—from 15 to 20 pounds to the acre ; 
, harrow well and lay Hat with drag or roller, 
i This is for regions where crops are fertilized 
by mins Instead of irrigation. No other 
I grain, seed or crop should be plunted with it. 
Now let it rest until it is well in bloom, then 
cut; let it merely wilt, then oook it up, and 
in a few days haul to barn or stack. When 
' fed, it should be cut down and taken out in 
squares, as like other clover ; there will, 
otherwise, be quite a loss in dropping of the 
leaves. 
This hay, when properly made, is far more 
nutritions than any other variety, and the 
animal to which it is fed will not need more 
than half the grain ordinarily used with 
other hay. For milch cows it has more the 1 
effect of vegetables, in the production of 
milk, than common dry hay. For summer ' 
use, to feed fresh cut, for horses, cows, 
calves, pigs and even chickens, there is noth- 1 
ing like it. We generally cut four crops in a 
season of two tons each from the acre, from 1 
average good soil ; but. like all other crops, ' 
it pays for good soil or manure. 
The plant has a very long tap root, often 
from lliree to 10 feet in length, according to 
the depth and character of the soil; lias a < 
strong vitality and resists the effects of t 
drouth most, wonderfully ; and wlmt is sin- 1 
gnlar, it seems to feed upon that which robs < 
no other plants, unless it be water. Thus it t 
may he planted in young orchards without ,<■ 
fear of injuring the growth of trees. In fact, i 
we find our fruit to be larger and lad,ter, in t 
lucerne, than when the ground is cultivated 1 
in the orchard. e 
Iu cropping for seed, the first crop should ,i 
be allowed to stand until the seed is all ripe, * 
then cut and Jet it dry thoroughly ; then a 
take directly to the. threshing Iloor and thresh t 
or tramp it out. Only one crop ol' hay is gen- e 
©rally raised after seed crop Is taken off ; 300 n 
pounds of seed to the acre is considered a 7 
fair crop. We have considered it one of our 
most profitable crops, consequently much v 
seed is given to supply demands at home and t 
abroad. For keeping cows in towns and t 
cities or in suburbs, when one has command 
of a sufficient plat of ground, there is no feed 
that equals it. Every farmer or gardener . 
through the land should at least have a patch 
of lucerne near the house for feeding pigs, n 
milch cows, calves and fowls. 
» ’ 
St. George, Utah. Dixie. p 
an extract from the Mobile Register in rela¬ 
tion to Japan clover. T can fully indorse the 
statement, and will add that it grows with 
some vigor on washed lands, where no other 
vegetation can subsist. I herewith send you 
some of the present season’s growth. You 
will perceive (if It reach you safely) the seed 
forming on the root. It also produces seed 
from the bloom. On good land it grows 30 
incites high, and so dense that it is difficult 
for a person to walk through it. All kinds 
of stock i irefer it to other grasses grown hero. 
It withstands our long drouths better than 
any other kind known, is late coming out, in 
the spring, but grows rapidly. Broom sedge, 
the great, bane of t he Southern country, lias 
an enemy in the Japan clover, which it can¬ 
not withstand.— A Subscriber, Weaver's 
Station , Ala, 
Mangel Wurtsels. —Mr. CnoztER of Beacon 
Stock Farm, prefers the Norbiton Grant va¬ 
riety, and plants as soon after May 1 as the 
ground is ready ; plows deep, harrows well, 
rolls, opeiiH furrows « to 10 inches deep with 
a double-furrow plow, (ills the furrow with 
good, strong, composted manure, reverses 
the furrow with the same plow, runs a chain 
harrow over the top or drills to take off one- 
half of the covering, sows seed in center of 
drill so as to reach top of manure, runs heavy 
roller over top of drills after sowing, so as to 
press the seed down close on the manure. 
Iliac, in Californio, — An experiment is 
being made with upland rice at Livermore, 
Cal. The cultivator, Mr. J. II. Taylor, be¬ 
lieves it will grow on any good barley land. 
The present experiment is reported prom¬ 
ising. 
iq Norseman. 
HOW TO MANAGE A FRACTIOUS HORSE. 
We find the following in the Live Stock 
JournalA beautiful and high-spirited 
horse would never allow a shoe to he put on 
his feet or any person to handle his feet. In 
attempting to shoe such a horse, recently, he 
resisted all efforts, kicked aside everything 
but an anvil, and came near killing himself 
against that, and finally was brought back 
to his stable unshod. This defect was just 
on the eve of consigning him to Wie plow, 
where lie might walk barefoot, when an 
officer in our service, lately returned fmm 
Mexico, took a cord about the size of a corn 
m»m bed cord, put it in the mouth of 
horse like a bit, and tied it Lightly on the 
animal’s head, passing his left car under the 
string, not painfully tight, but tight enough 
to keep the ear down ami the cord in place. 
'I bis done, lie patted the horse gently on the 
side of the head and commanded him to fol¬ 
low, and instantly the horse obeyed, perfect¬ 
ly subdued and us gentle and obedient as a 
dog, suffering ins feet to be lifted with en¬ 
tire impunity and acting in all respects like 
an old stager. The gentleman who thus 
furnished tins exceedingly simple means of 
subduing a very dangerous propensity, inti¬ 
mated that it is practiced in Mexico and 
Wouth America in the management of wild 
horses. 
— - 4 »»- 
NOTES FOR HORSEMEN. 
Fistula Cured —I send you a recipe for the 
cure of fistula, or pole-evil, in horses. I have 
used it iu two instances with great success : 
Forty grains iodine, 20 drops oil cedar, 80 
drops oil sassafras, 50 drops spirits turpen¬ 
tine, 1 ounce gum euphorbium, )4 ounce 
Spanish Hies ; cut the iodine with alcohol ; 
mix ail together ; then stir in hog’s lard to 
the desired thickuess. Then cut away the 
hair over the swelling with sharp scissors for 
some inches around, even if it has gone into 
a running ulcer, and spread the salve with a 
small mop. Every second or t fiird day wash 
off dean with strong soapsuds, nud repeat 
the application. A permanent cure may be 
expected in a short time, unless the treat¬ 
ment has been too long deferred.—New) York 
Tribune, 
A Had, Cough. — I have a valuable mare 
which had a slight attack of the epizootic 
the fall of ’73; since that she has been 
troubled with a cough more or less. Home- 
times she coughs very hard. Her wind is 
good, her appetite good and she is in good 
condition. 1 iced oats and timothy hay. If 
you, or some of your readers, can give a 
remedy, you will oblige a reader.—i. e. b. 
FIELD NOTES. 
Japan Clover.—In the Rural New-York¬ 
er of May 2, under “ Field Notes,” I notice 
Draft Stallion Show in Chic,ago. — The 
Prairie Farmer says It is in serious con¬ 
templation to hold a show of imported 
French and English draft stallions, in con¬ 
nection with the Exposition in this city, 
commencing just after the Illinois State Fair 
and continuing until the close of the Exposi¬ 
tion, October 10. 
