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OOFSE’S BUBAL WEW-YOBKEB. 
AUS, 
" HROCRESS AND IMPROVEMENT.” I 
MOORE'S RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
A. NATIONAL ILLUSTRATED 
CORAL, IITEACV AM) FAMIBf NBffSPAPKB. 
D. D. T. MOORE, 
Founder and Conduotinis Kditor. 
CHAS. D. BRAGDON, ANDREW S. FULLER, 
AxHOciute Kditore. 
HENRY S. RANDALL LL, D., Cortland Village, N. Y., 
Editor or tn* Dn-iKTUKwr or Shuxi- Ho»b*ndbv. 
X. A. WILLARD, A. M„ Little Falls, N. Y., 
Editor or tub Dkp*rimk:»t or D*m» Huhsandbv. 
«. A. V. HAItNETT. Publisher. 
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FALLACIES OF LIFE INSURANCE. 
SATURDAY, AUG. 15, 1S74. 
FARMING AS A BUSINESS. 
Farming Is certainly a business involving all 
business principles In its conduct. As we have 
frequently said in these columns, the .uccess- 
fii] farmer must conduct, his operations in ac¬ 
cordance with business rules, just as does the 
successful manufacturer or merchant. So far 
as the mere business conduct of his farm and 
the sale of his products arc concerned, he is 
subject to precisely the same laws that otaer 
business classes are. Like the merchant and 
the manufacturer, he must know the cost of 
what he produces, if he sella intelligently; and 
in proportion as he reduces the cost of produc¬ 
tion, in just such proportion will he be able to 
increase bis profits and compete with his fellow 
producers In the market. Hid sale of products 
must be governed by the same law that other 
manufactured products are wheD once on the 
market—1 lie law of supply and demand. He 
cannot safely ignore the study of commercial 
stat istics bearing upon the question of proba¬ 
ble supply and demand. They n.ust or should 
enter into all his calculations, as they do in 
the case of the manufacturer, merchant or 
speculator. 
But when wo have reached this point of com¬ 
parison the parallel changes. The manufac¬ 
turer is not subject to the same vicissitudes of 
wind and weather, In tbo conductor his busi¬ 
ness, that the farmer is. He can control cir¬ 
cumstances In the creation of his products, 
when the farmer cannot. The rust will come 
on the farmer's grain, the blight on his trees, 
the rot and mildew on his vines, myriads of 
insects will Infest every crop, water will flood 
his lands, drouth hum up his fields, epidemics 
destroy hisstock,and he is comparatively potv- 
erless. He may not take as great risks as re¬ 
gards fire as the manufacturer, but still there 
are such risks. True, the farmer's crops are 
staple products, which consumers must have, 
while a manufacturer may make a mistake in 
the line of goods he produces, and thus have 
them left useless on his hands. But therisk6 
taken by the farmer are far greater than those 
any manufacturer need Incur, for the reason 
that the causes of disaster are largely outside 
his own control. 
We are led to these remarks by seeing a stat e¬ 
ment we not Infrequently find circulating, that 
the farmer is a manufacturer (which Is true), 
and subject to the same laws that the woolen 
manufacturer Is (which Is not true). There are 
some of these enumerated causes of disaster to 
Hie farmer that may be measurably controlled; 
but there are very few fannera who have the 
requisite knowledge, experience uud means to 
attempt It. Ifence the anxiety with which 
consumers us well as producers of food prod¬ 
ucts watch every change of temperature, and 
for news of flood- 3 , drouths, the ravages of in* 
Beets on crops, &c., &c. 
Number XX. 
Ten years ago the failure of a life insurance 
company was regarded as a possibility too re¬ 
mote for consideration. The history of Amer¬ 
ican companies furnished no notable example, 
and. armed with the carefully-hedged opinion 
of Prof. Dt Morgan that" nothing in the finan¬ 
cial world approaches the security of a ive.lU 
managed life office,” the agent estopped all de¬ 
bate by Inquiring "Who has ever heard of a 
broken life insurance company ?" Now, in the 
light of recent occurrences, the chances of such 
a contingency arc not only worth debating, hut 
eminently worth preparing for. Home thirty 
companies have already failed, and half as many 
exhibit the premonitory indication of a limited 
tenure of existence. The chances of death from 
drowning are not very imminent, yet they have 
inspired quite a number of “ direct ions for re¬ 
suscitation” which are worth remembering; 
but, in the hurry and excitement, are invariably 
forgotten. Tiiechaaces that a life company will 
engulf several thousand unsuspecting policy 
holders has not yet educed any guides for the 
conduct of policy holders In such an emergency, 
though the money value of a life is certainly 
a valuable consideration. 
The announcement of a failure of this kind 
usually falls upon the ears of the interested 
parties with paralyzing emphasis. It is new* 
to them, quite as unexpected as unwelcome, 
though it may be known to and even planned 
by the officers for mouths or years before it is 
esteemed by them worth publishing. When It 
is made known to the unlucky policy holders 
the sensational feature Is often coolly planned 
with special reference to its sequences. The 
immediate effect upon the especially timid is 
to suspend the payment of premiums, for they 
place such a proceeding as further payment in 
the. category of “ throwing good money after 
bad." The consequences are that while the 
excitement can be kept up by exaggerating 
t he reported embarrassment of the company's 
affairs, fully one-hnif or the policies lapse as 
rapidly as the premiums become due, and the 
reserves of such lapsed policies become at once 
a clear gain to the company. Such a result Is 
easily predicted if not always Intended, 
Tbo rapid diminution of liabilities with a cor¬ 
responding increase of available assets would 
enable the company to resume business, if the 
fulfillmant of obligations was always a part of 
the programme, but. as the company's suspen¬ 
sion was precipitated by an unprofitable busi¬ 
ness, and a resumption under the burden of a 
disastrous precedent would not promise better 
than before, the Interest of the managers Ilea 
iu getting rid of as many policies as possible, 
and In reinsuring the remainder, at a conven¬ 
ient season, or when compelled to do so by the 
State Department of Insurance. Lii this act 
of reinsurance of the remaining risks lies the 
opportunity of the prudent and well-advised 
policy holder*. To abandon the company at 
the first intimation of danger, is to throw away 
u valuable Interest which may certainly be pre¬ 
served by the faithful performance of the policy 
holder's duties under the insurance contract. 
The company's only chance of release from the 
obligation to perforin Its part of the compact, 
and for which it has pledged a hundred thou¬ 
sand dollars held as surety by tbo State, de¬ 
pends upon the contingency of precipitate and 
Injudicious repudiation by the policy holders. 
When a company is reported Insolvent there 
Is no necessity for haste. The failure docs not 
affect the payment of Immediate lossts; these 
will and can always be paid. In case of refusal, 
the deposit capital may be levied upon and pay¬ 
ment, compelled. The failure may ho merely a 
technical one—that is, the assets, put at, four 
or four and a-half per cent. Interest, may uot 
be sufficient to provide for the completion of 
all the company ’« contracts, and for this rea¬ 
son It Is adjudged Insolvent; yet the same assets 
may be earning seven per cent. Interest, and at 
this, or a smaller rat* of interest, be amply suf¬ 
ficient for the Intended purpose. J n such event 
the risks are almost certain to he reinsured and 
the policy holders secured against all loss, ex¬ 
cept those arising from their own fully. The 
failure maybe merely factitious and pretended 
—may be reported by parties in rol'uslon with 
the company, In order that the company may 
profit by the consternation of the policy hold¬ 
ers, After a few weeks of harvest, the ex¬ 
citement may he revived by a few feeble de¬ 
nials and vigorous assaults by the pertinacious 
accusers. 
The discreet policy holder remains unaffected 
by such theatrloals, pays his premium promptly 
by postal order or registered letter, even when, 
as Is often the case, the agent Is withdrawn or 
Is vigorously Importuning him to insure with 
his new company. Very often the usual " notice 
to renew ” Is not sent, and the policy holder is 
left to the promptings of his own memory. 
When a reinsurance Is about to be effected he 
is put through another ordeal. He is either 
left to discover the fact from the public prints 
or Is curtly notified to pay his premiums to an¬ 
other company at, its office, perhaps in a distant 
city. He is t hen badgered to exchange policies, 
—to accept a new one Tor the old one and lose 
the reserve of the old,—to change a paid-up 
policy, free from expense, for some new-fangled 
amt marvelously prolific annual payment ar¬ 
rangement. Tho only possible defense lies in 
paying his premium promptly and persistently, 
for ho cannot safely trust himself to make any 
changes, except perhaps if his policy is now 
forfeitable by its terms; if there are no notes | 
or liens, and his health is unimpaired, he may 
take u paid-up policy. 
.- *-♦•*- 
RURAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 
Ileulli ol' Hr. John Ktunton Gould. — It be¬ 
comes our painful duty to chronicle the demise 
ol the noted Scientist and Agriculturist, John 
Stanton Gould, which occurred at his late 
residence In Hudson, N. V., on Saturday night 
last, of congestion of the longs. Dr. Goultj, 
who was horn In 1811, was long a prominent 
citizen of Columbia County, and years ago an 
Influential participator In political affair*. He 
was formerly a Whig and elected by that party 
to the Legislature in lMfl. Of late years l)r. 
Gould lias devoted much thought, and time to 
Scientific Agriculture, and at the time of his 
decease was Lecturer on Mechanics Applied to 
Agriculture in Cornell University. For years 
he was an active memberof the New York state 
Agricultural Society and Its President In lWi«. 
Dr. Gould's specialty was Mechanics Applied 
to Agriculture, and his lectures and writing* on 
the subject, were among the ablest, of the age. 
He was a valuable contributor to the pages of 
the RURAL New-Yorker and other Journals 
devoted to Rural I inprovement, and his death 
is a public lose, especially to the agricultural 
classes whom he industriously sought to ele¬ 
vate and benefit. 
About Credit. The Seneca County Courier, 
one of the best weeklies in the Interior, says 
the poem entitled “No Mortgage on the Farm," 
which appeared In a late Rural, was written 
for the Courier by Ii./. KNAi’V of South Itend, 
Iud., ami first published in March last. Tho 
Courier is right in presuming that some other 
paper than the Rural did the " dealing and 
paring down," for we copied the excellent poem 
us we found It, solid and without credit, in an 
exchange. We believe In giving “Honor to 
whom honor," our rule being to accord proper 
credit whenever we know the origin of any 
article. And don't we wish that those brethren 
who "appropriate" Btorlos, poems, and both 
practical and miscellaneous articles from this 
journal would be a little more creditable t Un¬ 
less a number who know and can afford to do 
better, reform soon, we shall be constrained, 
under another rule, to strike them from our 
list of exchanges. 
-- 
Minneapolis (Minn.) Flour.—Knowing some¬ 
what of the quality and popularity of Minneap¬ 
olis Flour, we take pleasure in giving the fol¬ 
lowing correction of an Inadvertent s.ip of the 
pen : 
Minneapolis, Minn., Aug. 3.1874. 
Dear RuralI wish to correct an item in 
the Rural of Aug. 1 under the head of “ Hews 
Condenser," which reads thus: —"St. Paul. 
Minn., manufactured, laBt year, 3,217,000 barrels 
of flour.” This should read “Minneapolis" In 
place of St . Paul, and would then be correct. 
St. Paul is not u manufacturing city, and does 
not claim to be only a neighbor of one. In 
this connection, let me call your attention to 
the fact that F.xtra Minnesota Flour, mnmifac- 
lurcd from Minnesota Spring Wheat, is quoted 
In this same Rural as selling iu the New 
York market $3 per barrel higher than Double 
Extra Western white Whtst Flour, and fifty 
cents higher than any brand Jrt market. We 
have one mill of the daily capacity of 1,400 bar¬ 
rels of dour. It has forty run of stone. Being 
an old subscriber, 1 have taken the liberty to 
ask you to make the correction. 
Respectfully Yours, M. L. Higgins. 
The American Insiitute Fair, to he opened 
next month at Third-Avc. and Sixty-third St., 
New York, promises to be abrilliunt one, judg¬ 
ing from the plana and arrangements therefor. 
Already goods are arriving in large quantities, 
one of the features of the Exhibition Will be 
the decoration or the Interior, which is now 
underway. In the middle of the building will 
be a large fountain, the lower basin of which 
will have a diameter of 40 feet. Tbo fountain 
will be beautiful and elaborate. At the apex 
of the structure win be a female figure, and 
above it will be a single jet of water Bpouflug 
up to ;t hlght of 15 or 18 feet above the struct¬ 
ure. The building will be elaborately draped. 
Every arch will be decorated, and the whole 
drapery drawn to a canopy above the fountain. 
The boilers, of 1,000 horse-power, are now being 
put In, and the foundations for the engines of 
500 horse-power laid. 
.— -»♦«- 
IIow to Enjoy a Farm Dinner.— A correspond¬ 
ent of a Vermont paper tells the following 
story of what happened on a Vermont farm at 
dinner, which we think will be suggestive to 
the readers or the Rural New-Yorker : 
" I remember a month or two of summer, 
once upon a time, spent at a farm house in 
Vermont, when Dickens's Pickwick Papers 
were read aloud at the dinner table. It was in 
« haying,’ too; so that 1 know these things can 
be done in larm houses at any time, and no¬ 
body come to grief. The reading began when 
the table w&6 being cleared for dessert, and 
continued for an hour or two. I remember 
well the enthusiastic laughter with which Mr. 
Pickwlck’6 ridiculous adventures and Sam 
Wei Lev's drolleries were greeted. I do not be¬ 
lieve that inimitable book was ever more thor¬ 
oughly appreciated or enjoyed. I had tried to 
read the work once oy myself, and bad found 
It so stupid that I laid It aside: but in this 
sympathetic audience, with a capital reader, 
wlio entered spiritedly Into all tbosoenes, the 
whole thing came to me in a new light. I re¬ 
member that after-dlulicr hour now aw the 
pleasantest and most social part of a very 
pleasant summer, and I do not think that any 
one of the circle regrets that he had that rest¬ 
ful chat with Dickens, that genial laughiug- 
tlme with his friend*, instead of another hopr 
each day in the hay-fleld.” 
Lnnfigcape Architecture.—Our old friend and 
whilom contributor to the Rural, Mr. F. R. 
Elliott, has changed his position of life from 
Cleveland, Ohio, to New York City, and his 
mail is now left at 78 Duane St. He proposes to 
devote his time mainly to the laying out of 
grounds —in tbo planning of decorations of 
gentlemen’s home grounds, country cemeteries, 
etc., etc.—and If any of our readers desire 
cheap, tasteful and practical plans, our advice 
Is to apply to Mr. Elliott. Mr. E.'s knowledge 
and long experience ought to render him emi¬ 
nently qualified for the profession he proposes 
to continue as a specialty, and, in common 
with many others, we can but wish that the 
declining years of a laborious and useful life 
may be crowned with success in its pursuit. 
The Elmira Female College, long a popular, 
praiseworthy and successful institution, com¬ 
mences its next session on the fith proximo, as 
will be s«en by announcement elsewhere. Un¬ 
der tho Presidency of the Rev. A. W. Cowles 
D.D., this College has attained high rank, and 
Us various departments offer superior facilities 
to young ladles who desire to excel In those 
branches of study which will render them w ell- 
informed and accomplished. We therefore 
take pleasure in again commending the Elmira 
College to the consideration of such of our 
readeis as have daughters, wards or female 
friends seeking elevated education andoulture. 
-♦»» 
Hungarian Forage Plant*.—A writer at Buda 
Pesth says the number of pastoral herds that 
thrive well in the large Hungarian Delta, upon 
which an agriculturist can reckon, is very small. 
Lucerne is the only one on which one may rely 
in those parts of the country where the subsoil 
water is deep. Red clover does not thrive at 
all, neither does sanfoin. The principal safe 
green forage is the rye, which is grown in early 
autumn. When this becomes over-ripe, comes 
the first reaping of Lucerne. After this comes 
“Mohair," (Setaria Ualka.) which gives an ex¬ 
cellent, fodder for rows and oxen iu Its green 
state, and for sheep and horse* when dried. 
-- 
The Autumnal Fairs.—From notices in our 
exchanges it appears that considerable interest 
is being manifested In many of the approach¬ 
ing exhibitions of Agricultural and other In¬ 
dustrial Societies, which we regard as a favor¬ 
able prognostic—a precursor of largely-attended 
and successful shows In various sections of the 
Union. We shall next week publish as com¬ 
plete a list of tho coming State, County, Dis¬ 
trict and Local Fairs as possible, and therefore 
omit separate notices of proposed exhibitions. 
Meantime, thanks to t he officers of various So¬ 
cieties, near and far, for Complimentary Tick¬ 
ets, etc., to their Fairs. 
- -» ♦ » 
The Practical Farmer, since it has taken and 
addod to its title tho “ Journal of the Farm,” 
conies to us well filled and bright ns a silver 
dollar—and from Bro. Morris’ age we think 
he will appreciate the silvery oomparlson. Suc¬ 
cess to the “ Practical Farmer and Journal of 
the Farm" under the new arrangement! The 
united papers make a much stronger team than 
either would alone, and we trust both the pub¬ 
lic and the publishers will profit by the mar¬ 
riage. 
—-m- 
Shad ror Germany.—Mr. Fred Mather, the 
well known fish oulturlat of Monroe County, N. 
Y„ last week leTt New York for Berlin with 
one hundred thousand shad fry. They were 
sent by the United States Fish Commission to 
the DcuUhe h'ishirt Vcrein, and probably we 
shall ere long leurn the result of this endeavor 
to propagate shad in the rivers of Germany. 
—--■*-*■*-- 
RURAL BREVITIES. 
A white frost occurred In Dutchess Co., N. 
Y., on the night of the 3d inst. 
A National CoKVEnTiON of Pork Packers 
will be held at Louisville In September. 
The first lot of new hops offered this year 
were purchased by Ta YLOR Ac Son, brewers, of 
Albany, on the 8lb inst., at 50pouts per pound. 
A Grangers’ Picnic at Terre Haute., Ind., 
recently, had 487 wagons in the procession, 
which was an hour and a half passlug a given 
point. 
The Patrons of Husbandry are to bold a pic¬ 
nic near Croton Falls, N. Y., on the 13th inst. 
Three Granges are to unite, and a good time Is 
anticipated. 
Jones At Palmer of the Lake View and Mace- 
don Nurseries, Rochester. N. Y., send us their 
Wholesale Price List of Fruit and Ornamental 
TreeB, Grape Vines, Rotes, Arc., Ac. 
Hon. H S. Randall of Cortland Village N. 
Y„ has been sending a number of Merino ramt 
to Texas, to Improve the great flocks of that 
State. Stock-raisers from tbo South went have 
been visiting Cortland, says a local paper. 
The Presbyterian churchyard at Freehold, 
N. J., is the only place In that State where the 
Canada thistle has ever been seen by Mr. Oli¬ 
ver H- Willis, who has recently made a cata¬ 
logue of the plants growing without cultivation 
in New Jersey. 
R. P. W., Orange. N. J., should visit some of 
the owners of cranberry plantations In bis own 
State before investing in a "cranberry bog. 
That is what, we should do ourselves. n* can 
soon learn whether It will pay or not. There 
are people who make money growtug cranber¬ 
ries In New 3 Jersey. 
BUSINESS NOTICES. 
Jn buying Machine Twist it is important fer 
the Ladies to know which Is the most reliable. It t» 
the Eureka, sold by dealers everywhere. 
