proposing to dig potatoes before fully grown as 
the only means of saving part of the produce. 
Even poor potatoes are considered much better 
than none. The indications are good for a large 
forelgndemand for American potatoes thisyear. 
PROGRESS AMO IMPROVEMENT 
hard times will have one good effect in causing 
tax-payers to closely scrutinize ail such items. 
Fortunately the changes in the Constitution of 
N«w York last year leave nearly all local mat¬ 
ters to the County Boards of Supervisors, a leg¬ 
islature close enough to the people to be easily 
watched, and made to feeL a quick responsi¬ 
bility for any waste or extravagance. 
decease was sufficiently evident, and it returned 
a verdict in accordance with the facts as above 
stated.” 
“But did It kill him?” interposed the good 
wife, as the horrible narrative was concluded. 
“ Weil, that’s what puzzles me, too,” said 
the husband. “The paper doesn’t really tell 
whether the man died. Some parts of the 
piece read as if no mortal could live and en¬ 
dure all that; but If the man died why didn't 
the paper say so plainly? Then there’s another 
queer thing about it. What did they want a 
jury to try the poor fellow for? Of course he 
couldn’t help being hurt by such an accident, 
but it ’pears to me it was a great deal more like 
his misfortune than his fault. In my opinion 
they had better have left the tnan alone, and 
had the jury to try them as was really to 
blame.” 
To this day the worthy couple have never 
solved the mystery as to whether the man 
really died or not. 
The stupidity of ourgralu-speoulatlng friends 
and their organs, the commercial press, is not 
exactly of this genuine and honest kind. Just 
now they can't teJJ from reports of Hoods nearly 
everywhere whether the crops have been dam¬ 
aged enough to affect the supply. Hut. let the 
bulk of the present grain crop get out of farm¬ 
ers' hands at low prices—presto! what a change 
we shall see at once! The same journals will 
find abundant reasons for putting up the price, 
ami the country will, as usual, be congratulated 
on the prospect of good prices after the sur¬ 
plus of crops has gone Into the hands of specu¬ 
lators. 
We believe It Is the Interest not alone of the 
farmers but of the entire oouotiy that the 
producer should get the highest possible price 
for his product that the world’s market will 
warrant. In the grain, ami especially the wheat 
market, the prospect for considerably higher 
prices than now prevail is excellent. We don’t 
ask anybody to accept our opinion or that of 
any one else on this subject. It Is part of the 
farmer's duty In marketing his crops to study 
the facts affecting the probable supply and de¬ 
mand, and draw his own conclusions. We hold 
that farmers can judge as correctly the prob¬ 
able course of prices by the aid of reliable re¬ 
ports of crops from all portions of the world as 
auy other class of men, and are certain that it 
Is better for them to use their own judgment 
rattier than follow implicitly the interested 
advice of speculators and their organs, the 
commercial press of the country. 
A NATIONAL II.LUSTRATED 
Eastern N. Y., Fair—We have received pre¬ 
mium list and regulations of the Eastern N. Y. 
Fair Association, whose Exhibition is to be held 
at the Fair groundB of the Art Association, be¬ 
tween Alhany and Troy, on the 5th 6th 7th aud 
8 th of October. Entries close Sept. 25. The 
premium list Is a liberal one, and we thrust the 
Fair will prove a success. Address all inquiries 
to C. I. IIayes, 186 Broadway, Albany N. Y. 
A Cnrrrapondctit of the RURAL asks how long 
timothy Seed retains its vitality. We have 
known it to be good at two years old, but 
should not like tc trust it longer. Much ae- 
pends upon the way in which it is kept. As a 
rule, small seeds are very liable to spoil. Ex¬ 
cessive moisture or keeping in hot, dry rooms 
are each Injurious. Having said thus much, we 
took a second look at our correspondent's let¬ 
ter, aud from the imprint perceive that bo is a 
“ seed grower and market gardener.” We take 
it all back, and would not advise our corre¬ 
spondent to use timothy seed more than one 
year old. Seed growers are apt, as a rule, to 
know altogether too much about the length of 
time seeds will keep, and we will not inten¬ 
tionally give them a particle of further infor¬ 
mation on the subject. 
Founder and. OondtiotioLK Kditor. 
WM. J. FOWLER, ANDREW S. FULLER 
Aasooiate Editors. 
HENRY S. RANDALL LL, D., Cortland Village, N. Y 
Editub or this Dcpastmiint or Bmi H••da in.tr. 
X. A. WILLARD, A. M., Little Falls, N. Y., 
Editok or this UiriuiHixT or Daibt HcssBiNPtT. 
Kansu* Farm for Sale.— Attention is invited 
to the advertisement of Wolcott Bros., Tole¬ 
do, Oiiio, of a 400 acre stock farm in Kansas. 
Wolcott Bros, have control of a great many 
far ma and other propert y in all parts of the West 
and those having money to invest can almost 
always find chances for profitable bargains by 
writing for their list. 
G. A. C. BARNETT, Publisher, 
TERMS FOR 1879, IN ADVANCE, 
INCLUDING POSTAGE, WHICH PUBLISHERS PREPAY. 
Single Copy, $2.85 per Year. To ClubsFive Cop¬ 
ies, and one copy free to Agent or getter up of Club, 
for $13.10; Seven Coptee, and one froc, for $17.20; Ten 
Copies, and one free, $21.50—only $2.15 per copy, The 
above rules indU>U l/nntaffc(which we shall be obliged 
to prepay after .Ihh. !, 1375, under the new law,) to 
any part of the I'lilted State*, unit the American 
postage on ail copies mailed to Canada. On paper* 
mailed to Europe, hy steamer, the postage will be 85 
cents extra—or $3,50in *)L l>r«jt*, Pp*t-Offiee Money 
Orders and Registered Letters may be mailed at our 
riBk. fST" Liberal Premiums to all Club Agents who 
do not take free copies. Specimen Numbers Show- 
Bills, &c., scat free. 
A Deserved Vacation.—The honored Chief of 
the Rural Is away again for much-needed 
rest, whereof he was defrauded by sickness 
during his recent visit to Rochester. We wish 
him better fortune this time, and while absent 
his associates will do their best for Rural 
readers. 
liorax from California.—The English market 
for borax has been suppliod to so large an ex¬ 
tent from California within the past two years 
that the price has fallen from £100 to £56 per 
ton. Borax is largely used in the manufacture 
of potter}’, and tdiis new product of the Golden 
State promises to be a most important one. It 
is said that millions of tons of crude borax are 
in pluiti view, and a company formed to utilize 
it has refining works nearly completed by which 
It can largely increase the shipment,—proposing 
to send out twenty to fifty tons per day. The 
deposit of borax Is simply unlimited. It covers 
an area of eighteen miles tu length by six to 
eight miles in width, covered with crude borax 
from two ty five feet thick. The crude material 
will average from twenty to forty per ceut. 
Ten thousand men would not take out the de¬ 
posit in fifty years. 
RURAL BREVITIES, 
ADVERTISING RATE8 s 
Inside, utli and I5tk pages (Agate space).60c. per line, 
“ 13tb page. 70 " 
Outside or lust page.1.00 " 
Fitty pei eept. extra for unusual display. 
s pecial NoNces, leaded, by count.1.25 “ 
Busin a** •' t,50 " 
Reading ‘ 2.00 11 
Discount t.ti 4 insertions. 10 per el.; 8 Ins.. 15 per ct.; 
13 ins., 2u per ct.; 2ti ins.. 25 per ct.; 52 ins., 33k per ct. 
tsr No advertisement inserted for less than $3. 
PUBLICATION OFFICESt 
78 Duane Street, New York City, and No. 67 
East Main St., (barrow's Bookstore, Osburn 
House Block,) Rochester, N. Y. 
A Good Move by the I*, of li.-We learn that 
Knickerbocker Grange No, 154, Patrons of Hus¬ 
bandry of New York City, has arranged for a 
Patron’s Home Hotel for the accommodation 
of all members of the Order who may have oc¬ 
casion to visit tlie metropolis on either business 
or pleasure. Assurance Is given that Patrons 
will find tho accommodations and board supe¬ 
rior, at, the moderate price of $2 per day. The 
Grange Is to bold its sessions at the Home, 
where ail visiting brethren will be welcomed. 
We also learn that the Secretary will be lu at¬ 
tendance to give auy information Patrons may 
desire. This move is a good one, and should 
be eucouragod by Patron# visiting Now York. 
RURAL NOTES AND OUERIES 
A People’s Champion.—"Truth is mighty and 
will prevailbut we have always noticed that 
truth never did prevail very much unless it had 
a few determined men and women to back it 
up. One man will do If he be a man of tho right 
stamp with plenty of courage and entl’icdasru. 
Such a man bus been found in Eng.and, and bis 
name Is Pamukl Plimsoll. He Is the cham¬ 
pion of sailors who, under Eoglish laws, have 
been compelled to go io sea In unseaworthy 
vessels. Scores of such vessels have left port 
and never been heard of afterwards, while the 
sailors who manned them protested before 
starting that the vessel was unsafe to send to 
sea and begged to be sent to prison rather than 
to certain death. Mr. Pijmsoll Is a member 
of Parliament, and for two years he has been 
urging a bill to prevent tills wholesale murder 
of thousands of sailors. But the Government, 
like most, governments, was slow aud easy and 
didn't like the trouble which tho bill would 
impose. Then Mr, Pi.i wboi.l arose and in moat 
unparliamentary but most- righteous and jus¬ 
tifiable language,denounced the villainy which 
defeated tho bill and dealt out charges of com¬ 
plicity right and left, not sparing honorable 
members of Parliament nor the Prime Minister 
himself. The effect was indescribable. Every¬ 
body said that Mr. Pi.im.hiill had made a great 
mistake and must apologize; but he didn’t take 
back a word—actually reiterated everything he 
had said because it was true. The result proved 
that the violent speech was not a blunder. It 
was probably the only means by which the at¬ 
tention of the whole nation could ha o been 
aroused to what was properly called villainy. 
This popular feeling is potential in England as 
lu this country. The Government smothered 
Its indignation at Mr. Plimsoll’s outrage, took 
up a slightly modified bill and made it a law. 
And now, if there are any little boy babies In 
tho United States whoso parents haven't yet 
decided what to name them, w'e suggest that of 
Samuel Pllmsoll ; not a very " pretty” name, 
but one standing for an honest, plain-spoken 
and noble-hearted man of whom no one need 
ever be ashamed. 
SATURDAY, AUG. 31, 1875, 
THE PAPER DIDN'T TELL 
Wild Canaries.—Tho people of England ; re¬ 
pose to acclimatize tho canary bird, leavfu? a 
large number out of doors to live free in the 
open air, of courso with some feeding in the 
wiutor, tho same as is given sparrows, English 
winter* are much milder than our own, but it 
is doubtful whether the birds w ill survive. The 
natural color of the canary is olive grebn, with 
stripes of yellow or black. Most of our song¬ 
sters owe their color to crosses with the thrush 
or finch families of birds. The true cauaryis 
oven less hardy than its crosses, and would be 
less likely to withstand a severe climate. 
A Good Story, with a Moral 
It was Sidney Smith who said it required a 
surgical operation to get a Joke into a Scotch¬ 
man's head. It is almost as difficult to get a 
logical conclusion into the brains of some 
classes of men. For example, we have had 
during the pust five or six weeks reports from 
nearly every grain - growing country in the 
world, giving accounts of heavy rains and de¬ 
vastating floods occurring just before or in the 
middle of harvest. In many places wheat, 
barley and oats have been sw T ept away, in others 
they have sprouted, and except in compara¬ 
tively few localities they have been injured. 
England, France, Russia and the Central States 
of our own country have been the worst suf¬ 
ferers by these disasters. In the full knowl¬ 
edge of all this record of devastation, the 
American grain speculator “ wonders if the in¬ 
jury to crops has not been greatly exaggerated," 
and impudently assures farmers t hat " they had 
better sell quickly, as the present prices are 
higher than are warranted by tho probable 
prospective demand." 
We cannot better illustrate tills perverse 
dullness in seeing the facts than by a little 
story of a Bomewhat stupid man who sat down 
to read the evening paper to his wife. The 
first article to attract ills attention was a sen¬ 
sational account of an accident whereby a poor 
man had his head mashed to a jelly by an ex¬ 
plosion. The article was headed, “Horrible 
and Fatal Accident!" 
“ Dear me," interrupted the wife. “ AVonder 
if anybody was killed?” 
“Wait aud see,” said the good man as he 
commenced reading the article: 
“It becomes our painful and solemn duty to 
announce the demise ot our much-respected 
citizen, Jonas Smith, Esq., which occurred 
irom the effects of an explosion of a locomo¬ 
tive at 10 o'clock this forenoon. A piece of the 
boiler struck him in the region of the cranium 
called the cerebellum, completely crushing it 
in and spattering the contents upon the pave¬ 
ment, presenting a sight we hone never to wit¬ 
ness again 1” 
“Do tell! Poor man!" exclaimed the wife. 
“ But did It kill film ?” 
“Well, the paper don’t say just that; but it 
must have hurt him awfully. It would be al¬ 
most a miracle if the man got over it!” said the 
husband, as he continued reading; 
“It was evident that the vital spark had fled. 
Some of the bystanders hastened to compose 
the mortal remains of the deceased In decent 
shape, while ot hers left on the more sorrowful 
errand of informing Mrs. Smith of the sad dis¬ 
pensation of Providence, which has left her to 
pursue alone the journey of life. A coroner’s 
ury was called, but the cause of the untimely 
Crop Iteporls.—The estimates of the Depart¬ 
ment, of Agriculture for the mouth of July are 
out. These estimates are very similar tu those 
published a month ago, and as they are made 
from reports mostly received before the heavy 
rains, they are subject to material changes by 
t hat fact,. Wheat Is put at 18 per cent, below 
an average, barley about 5 per cent, below, nnd 
oats rather above an average, but changed 
since to a considerable deficiency. The corn 
crop generally promises well. Fruit is a light 
crop everywhere, especially apples and pears. 
Booksellers Organizing.—The booksellers of 
this State recently helda convention at Niagara 
Falls and now they have effected an organiza¬ 
tion with E. Harrow of Rochester President, 
S, S. Avery of Rochester Vice-President, and 
Peter Paul of Buffalo Secretary. Mr. Darrow 
will be recognized by our readers as the Roch¬ 
ester representative of the Rural Publishing 
Office. The Booksellers' Association Includes 
representatives from all sections of the State. 
The next meeting is to be held on the second 
Tuesday in August of next year. 
Reform Needed.— The New York police have 
evidently been in a bad way for some time, as 
appears by evidence given before a Legislative 
Commission. Thieves and other disreputable 
characters have bribed members of the police 
force and even officers, while their victims have 
been imprisoned on various pretexts. Gen. 
Smith, one of tho Police Commissioners in 
whom the public has most confidence, has 
brought serious charges against his associates, 
and tho result, it is hoped, will result in a gen¬ 
eral change of police officials. 
The Debt of New York State.—The finances 
in the Empire State are in a very satisfactory 
condition. A report just made by the Treas¬ 
urer says that the debt three years ago was 
$20,260,755.91, and that this has now been re¬ 
duced to $605,887.16, and a tax of a quarter of a 
mill for next year will leave New York State 
free from debt. It Is also said that the State 
tax next year need not exceed three or three 
and one-half mills on the dollar. Now If people 
will only see to It uud reduce county and Other 
local taxes as much as possible, a great burden 
will be removed from the farming interests of 
the State. County taxes are generally, in New 
York, much heavier than State—made so often 
by expensive public buildings, which have been 
put up not so much from necessity or conveni¬ 
ence as to give some contractors a fat job. The 
In September, 
Potato Disease In England.—Owing to wet 
weather the potato crop in England has lately 
grown very luxuriantly. Unfortunately, how¬ 
ever, this rapid succulent growth is accompa¬ 
nied by disease aQd the rot is threatening much 
damage to tho crop. Many English farmers are 
Where the farmer’s wife has a large 
do, she can save half her time and labc 
Dobbin’s Electric Soap, (made by Cra 
Philadelphia.) One pouud of it is equal 
any other. Try it. 
