THE  RyBAL  H£W-¥ORM£B. 
TABLE  OF  OONTENTa 
PlUCTIPAIi  PErAUTMnNTS: 
KxperimunUil  GrounoB . 
Dairy  Convention . 
Huntliiy  (;iiee>ic  MakinRiit  Ka dories..... . 
llow  Gooft  are  l*ri>diieo<J . 
I’revioiiB  TeachliiRi . 
Destroying  llatB  anil  Miee . . . 
'l'oha<!Cii  (  nitnre  in  l'iitiM»ylvani:i  . . . . . . 
I'atonl  KnnreJ. . . . 
'J’lio  Concussion  Theory  ARiiln . 
A  Ni'w  Uvertrroflii  . . 
(ioiOeii  Viirleitated  Deeldiioiis 'ITecs . 
AljoiH  some  Grape  Vines  and  (iraiirH... . 
Close-r’rnninR  Vines..... . . 
i'lippinir  Illirses . . . . 
Ileiivs-B  ill  Homes . 
Miscellanea . . . . 
Notes . . . . 
J.nulioi'iiM  and  Uainburpn . . . 
HruefllnK  for  OnalltK'S . 
ln(|ulry  ahonl  I’hnnsMiits . 
KeepIriK  T 'ears  In  Winter . 
linprovnment  in  UieOinillty  of  Apples... . 
I.linefor  AspaniRUH  Uucllus . . 
Dreer'8  Improved  Dima  Bean . 
To  KBtella . . . 
;  Keoipea . 
Coloring  llecipes  Wani.eil . . 
I’onlilees  and  how  to  Make  Tliem . 
Women’s  clothtoK . . 
KiUToitiAi,  Cage; 
I’ast,  I’resent  and  Kulure . . . 
I  The  linral  IWti  1877 . 
Notes— Ilrevillea . 
iATEUAIIY:  _  
Poetry . . — 429, 130. 
istory . . . 
MIscellaneouH . . . . 
Jleceii  t  D1  l.eratn  re . . 
Habbulh  licndtnif . 
IritdieH’  Portfolio . 
■  Hoadinf;  for  the  Vounir . . . 
'  Pnl)lisher«'  Nolleei) . 
News  of  the  Week . . 
Alarkets . 
Answers  to  Correspondents . . . 
Personals..  .  . . . . 
Kilncailonitl  Notes . 
lluinorons . 
Advertisements.... . 13,3,  434,  4.35, 
T II K 
RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
PUBLISHED  EVERY  SATURDAY. 
ANDREW  S.  FULLER,  Editor. 
ELBERT  S.  CARMAN,  -  -  Associate  Editor. 
X.  A.  WILLARD.  A.  M.,  Little  Falls,  N,  Y„ 
EaiTOB  or  tub  Dkpsbtmkm  or  Daibv  HusiiANDay. 
«.  A.  C.  BAKNETT,  THblisIier. 
Addicss  rural  publishing  CO., 
78  Duane  Street,  New  York  City. 
SATURDAY,  DEC.  30,  1876. 
PAST,  PRESENT  AND  PUTURE. 
The  closing  of  the  year  Hecnis  to  be  itn 
appi’oijriat©  iicriod  to  glance  at  the  past, 
study  the  present,  and  niaktj  preparatiens 
for  the  future,  liegrets  over  that  which 
has  passed  beyond  our  rea<ih  seldom  add 
anything  to  onr  welfare  or  happiness, 
consequently  it  is  time  wasted  to  talk  of 
what  might  have  happened  or  been  done 
if  wo  could  only  have  known,  in  advance, 
what  has  occurred  within  our  iiast  expe¬ 
rience  and  present  knowledge.  The  iJrin- 
cipal  benelit  to  bo  derived  from  retrospec¬ 
tive  musings,  is  the  detection  of  errors, 
which  might  agiiiu  be  committed  with  the 
same  results  wexo  it  not  for  the  teachings 
of  experience,  which  a  wise  person  will 
consider  as  so  much  capital  invested  for 
present  and  fiitiu’O  use.  However  much 
we  may  have  lost  during  tlie  year  just 
drawing  to  n  close,  tlirough  iiogligenoo 
or  a  lack  of  wisdom,  there  is  certainly 
nothing  to  bo  gained  by  carrying  forward 
to  the  nevr  account  items  likely  to  embar¬ 
rass  our  movements,  detract  from  our 
happiness,  and  fill  a  page  in  life’s  history 
with  records  of  profit  and  loss  which  may 
increase  instead  of  lightening  our  cores 
and  labors. 
Next  week  a  new’  leaf  is  to  be  turned 
over  in  the  record  of  years  among  Chris¬ 
tian  nations,  and  it  is  well  to  consider  at 
this  time  what  entries  shall  be  made  upon 
the  new  page.  Shall  forgiveness  to  all 
our  enemies  and  those  who  may  have 
done  us  wrong,  purposely  or  otherwise, 
be  one  of  them  ?  Or  will  you  cai’ry  for¬ 
ward  the  remembrance  of  wrongs,  as 
though  tliey  were  debts  which  must  be 
paid  iu  kind  and,  by  so  doing,  put  a  blot 
upon  a  page  which  might  otherwise  have 
been  so  fair  that  none  w’ould  blush  to 
jieruse  it  ?  Of  couivse,  wo  Avould  not  cany 
our  charity  iu  such  things  to  that  extent 
as  to  lead  us  into  temptation,  or  associa¬ 
tion  wdtii  those  who  are  uot  to  be  trusted 
with  our  friendship  or  goods,  for  it  must 
be  admitted  that  mankind  has  not,  as  a 
whole,  reached  a  moral  standard  which 
permits  of  one’s  placing  confidence  in 
every  jicrsou  with  whom  he  comes  iu 
contact ;  conscfiuently,  in  making  up  a 
list  of  friends  and  business  ac<iuaintan(!os, 
it  is  3vell  to  droj)  tlie  names  of  f,lio  un¬ 
trustworthy  from  our  books,  and  <iven 
miimory,  if  jiossible, 
Umlertlio  iirosout  condition  of  finan¬ 
cial  iiftairs,  few  j^ersous  can  expect  that 
their  ]irosporlty  in  the  coming  year  will 
warrant  the  increase  of  iiersonal  or  other 
expenditunis,  although  there  is  no  good 
reason  for  bidieving  that  “times”  are  to 
be  any  worse  tlian  now,  Avhile  there  is  a 
fair  prospect  of  a  decided  improvement. 
The  country  was  never  so  rich  as  iu  this 
last  week  of  187H,  no  matter  what  the 
“croakers  ”  may  have  to  say  to  the  con¬ 
trary'  ;  and  the  present  stagnation  in  busi¬ 
ness  is  not  the  result  of  poverty  among 
the  people,  but  of  other  causes  w'hioh 
it  is  not  necessary  for  us  to  explain,  inas¬ 
much  as  they  are  known  to  every  iutelh- 
gont  reader  of  the  Rukal  New-Yokkeb. 
Once  more  we  say  to  our  readers,  close 
your  ao<3onntB  for  187G  by  dropping  from 
'  memory  and  record  everything  which  in 
any  Avay  debars  yon  from  the  fullest  en¬ 
joyment  of  1877  ;  be  industrious,  practice 
economy,  and  tliis  Avorld  will  be  found  n(;t 
half  so  bad  a  dwelling  place  as  many  a 
disordered  brain  w’ould  fain  make  us  be¬ 
lieve. 
- - ♦  «  » 
THE  RURAL  1876-1877. 
With  this  number  closes  the  Twenty- 
Seventh  Year  of  the  EcRAii  New-Y^orkeb. 
It  is  not  for  us  to  say,  but  for  our  readers 
to  judge  how  well  it  closes,  and  liow  far 
oiur  duties  to  subscribers  have  been  ful¬ 
filled.  PiYibably  at  no  time  since  the 
starting  of  this  Journal  has  more  time, 
labor,  money  aud  care  been  expended  in 
making  the  paper  useful,  interesting  and 
correct. 
To  tliose  who  have  failed  to  renew  their 
sub.scriptions  for  the  coming  year,  and  lo 
those  whose  names  we  liave  alreaily  re¬ 
ceived,  we  w'ill  say  that  we  intend,  nf»t 
only  to  continue  tlio  good  work,  but  to 
bettor  it  as  much  us  possible.  Corre¬ 
spondents  who  are  new'  to  the  paper  but 
old  iu  tlicir  specialties,  sire  eoustiintJy 
being  added  to  our  staft’  of  contributors, 
while  the  old  ones  are  continually  finding 
something  new  to  write  about. 
For  the  general  and  special  farmer  the 
Ruraxi  each  week  coutaius  hints  aud  in¬ 
formation  suggestive  of  improvetl  meth¬ 
ods  of  conducting  their  business,  any  one 
of  which  will  be  worth  to  them  more  than 
the  price  of  a  year’s  snVjscriptjon,  while 
the  Literary  and  Household  Departments 
are  to  many  people  absolntelv  indispensa¬ 
ble,  As  a  newspaper  the  UntlViOf  coui-se, 
cannot  claim  to  compete  Avith  the  msim- 
moth  daihes  which  few  farmers  can  find 
time  to  read.  Still,  all  the  important 
events  of  the  day  are  recorded  iu  its  col¬ 
umns,  so  that  a  subscriber  who  reads  no 
I  other  papoi’,  cannot  be  behind  llie  times. 
To  exactly  suit  all  subsoribei’s,  we 
learned  many  years  ago,  is  an  utter  im¬ 
possibility,  so  that  we  have  adopted  the 
jilau  of  doing  »i8  nearly  right  iu  the  con¬ 
duct  of  the  pajier  os  we  can,  juid  taliiug 
our  chances  upon  the  result.  So  far  w’e 
liave  not  been  disappointed,  juid  the  nu¬ 
merous  letters  of  praise  and  commenda¬ 
tion  of  our  efforts  constantly  received, 
which  modesty  forbids  ns  to  publish,  al¬ 
most  compel  us  to  believe  that  we  are 
better  than  we  actually  are.  We  can 
only  hope  that  such  pleasing  words  of 
cheer  are  jiartially  deserved,  and  then  en¬ 
deavor  to  deserve  more. 
- 1»»  —  ■  ■ 
COUNTRY  SCHOOLS. 
Winter  is  the  time  in  which  country 
schools  are  generally  more  fully  attended 
than  at  other  seasons.  The  boys  who 
have  worked  aU  summer,  can  now  have 
an  oiiportnnity  of  attending  school,  doing 
the  chores  night  and  morning.  City-bred 
boys  know  nothing  of  this,  and  while 
their  advantages  are  far  superior  to  the 
couutiy  boy  for  obtaining  what  is  usually  ! 
termed  a  good  education,  they  make  no  1 
better  men,  aud  frequently  what  they 
do  learu,  is  not  so  valuable  in  giving  ad¬ 
vantages  iu  the  great  struggle  of  life.  But 
although  our  country  schools  are,  uj>on 
the  whole,  excellent,  still  they  might  be 
made  far  better  if  their  patrons  or  the 
parents  of  the  cLililren  would  take  more 
interest  iu  them — visiting  tlie  schools  often 
.Tud  not  only  encouraging  the  teacher,  but 
shoAving  by  their  presence  that  the  educa¬ 
tion  of  children  is  of  siiflicieut  import¬ 
ance'.  to  call  for  personal  investigatiou. 
Teachers  often  feel  discoui’iiged  at  the 
neglect  shown  thorn  by  tlie  parents  of  the 
children  under  tlicir  care,  and  would  do 
more,  and  take  more  interest  iu  the  ad- 
Viuiccmeut  of  their  pupils  if  encoui’iiged 
even  by  a  wonl  of  thanks,  or  tJie  .slightest 
recognition.  There  must  be  some  enthu- 
sijifim  displ.Tyed  in  tlie  support  of  the 
country  school  in  order  to  have  it  an  effi¬ 
cient  and  good  one,  and  this  must  ci.ime 
from  botli  parent  aud  cliild ;  not  from  one 
Bide  alone,  liccause  what  the  farmer  calls 
a  “spike  team,”  fone  horse  constantly 
half  a  length  ahead,)  is  mH.  an  easy  one 
to  drive,  or  the  best  to  haul  a  big  load. 
Tn  addition  to  what  is  taught  in  books,  it 
may  often  be  v'oll  to  introduce,  in  the 
way  of  diversion,  some  practical  subjects 
wliich  come  up  for  discussion  on  the  farm 
or  in  the  household.  This,  of  course,  must 
depend  somewhat  upon  the  capacity  of 
the  teacher  ;  for  if  he  has  no  knowledge 
of  botany,  ho  would  not  bo  able  to  titll 
bis  puiiiis  anytliing  of  the  wood  burned 
to  keep  them  warm — or  of  coal,  if  the  lat¬ 
ter  was  used  instead.  Neither  could  he 
tell  the  farmer  boy  wlierein  lye  differs 
from  wheat  or  timothy  from  Ilntigarimi 
grass,  although  this  would  be  an  intere.st- 
iug  topic  for  a  half-hour  talk  before  farm¬ 
ers’  boys.  The  same  is  time  of  all  the 
otlier  natural  sciences ;  still,  tlicre  arc 
few  school  teacliers  at  the  present  time 
who  could  not,  if  they  tried  very  hard, 
obtain  the  re^quired  information  if  it  has 
not  been  previously  acquired. 
If  teachers  generally  hail  a  better  ac¬ 
quaintance  with  the  natui-al  sciences,  they 
would  1)0  far  more  efficient  iu  teaching 
children  ;  for  there  is  something  in  the 
history  of  any  natural  object — whether  it 
be  a  stone,  insect  or  flower — which,  when 
Xileasuuily  told,  seldom  fails  to  .attract 
the  attention  of  old  or  yoiuig.  Those 
liarents  who  may  think  tJiey  have  cause 
to  complain  of  I'heir  children  not  learning 
rapidly  enougli,  or  of  their  not  taking  suf- 
licient  interest  in  their  studies  the  present 
M’intor,  should  look  iutu  tlie  subject  them¬ 
selves,  and  see  ^vhetlnir  it  be  the  fault  of 
the  teacher,  the  children,  or  themselves. 
There  must  be  something  to  complain  of 
all  round ;  but  if  you  never  seek  to 
learn  the  cause,  you  certainly  have  no  one 
to  blame  but  yourself. 
- - - 
RURAL  NOTES. 
Views  in  KuitU  Ornuiuls. — We 
call  the  attention  of  our  readers  to  the 
first  series  of  sketches  fn  the  Kural  Ex- 
I'ERnUiNTAL  AND  OliNAUENTAIi  GROUNDS, 
liublished  on  the  first  aud  fourth  pages  of 
tliis  issue.  They  Avill,  at  least,  serve  to 
show  that  the  trees,  shrubs  aud  Howers  so 
often  referred  to  in  these  columns  as 
growing  therein,  have  an  actual  exi.steuce. 
There  is  a  great  difference  between  writ¬ 
ing  from  memory,  and  writing  from  speci¬ 
mens  before  one’s  eyes.  We  think  Ave 
may  say  w'ithout  exaggerfition,  tli.at  iu 
tliose  grounds  are  specimens  at  lesist  of 
most  of  the  desirable  hiu’dy  plants  iu  culti¬ 
vation,  adapted  to  this  climate — aud  uoA'el- 
ties  from  ail  parts  of  tJie  Avorld  are  being 
added  from  season  to  season.  In  Fig.  2, 
hoAvever,  the  engraver  has  represented 
the  Hemlock  Hedge  as  if  it  consisted  of 
indiA'idual  plants  arranged  closely  togeth¬ 
er — ^when,  iu  fact,  it  js  so  connected  that 
one  plant  cannot  possibly  be  distinguish¬ 
ed  from  nuother. 
Take  Care  ol  the  Fire. — The  daily 
aud  Aveekly  papers  teem  with  notices  of 
fires  in  all  piarts  of  the  country,  which 
show  that  there  are  a  great  many  care¬ 
less  persons  in  this  Avorld.  To  be  turned 
out  of  house  and  home  diir^g  one  of 
these  cold  nights,  i.s  a  thing  not  even  to 
be  thought  of  without  a  shudder  ;  conse¬ 
quently,  it  concerns  heads  of  households 
to  see  that  everything  about  the  hejiting 
ajAparatus  of  their  homes  is  made  sale  and 
secure  against  such  an  occurrence. 
■  - — 
Milk  ill  New  York. — During  the 
past  Aveek  thirty  dealers  iu  milk  have  been 
on  trial  for  watering  the  milk  furnished 
to  their  customers.  One  pleailed  guilty  aud 
was  lined  i^oO,  Avhile  the  others  combined 
and  stood  trial,  iu,order  to  test  the  case, 
aud  see  if  adulterating  milk  AvitU  water  is 
a  misdemeanor  before  the  laAv,  Out  of 
the  one  hundred  and  twenty  millions  of 
quarto  of  milk  sold  in  this  city  and  Brook¬ 
lyn,  at  least  forty  millions  ai’e  water,  and 
consumers  thus  pay  four  millions  of  dol¬ 
lars  annually  for  water.  Men  who  have 
become  so  depraved  as  to  desire  to  make 
money  by  robbing  babes  and  children, 
should  1)6  declared  outlaws,  and  have 
motod  out  to  them  the  punishment  their 
crime  so  richly  deserves. 
- - M-* - 
Jloro  Com. — The  rations  of  Hus- 
baudiy  have  accomplished  at  least  one 
good  thing.  At  the  National  Encamp¬ 
ment  in  1871  two  think)  a  suggestion  was 
miule  and  discussed  relating  to  the  de¬ 
pendence  of  the  Southern  States  upon  the 
North-west  for  their  cereals.  The  South¬ 
ern  planters  w'cre  advised  that  it  was 
much  cheaper  to  raise  their  own  com. 
This  cliscussion  was  pubUshed  and  copied 
in  the  agricultural  and  country  papers 
generally,  and  we  now  see  by  the  report 
of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  that  the 
com  yield  of  the  Southern  States  in  1876 
exceeded  that  of  the  preceding  year  10,- 
000,000  bushels.  It  would  hartUy  be  pos¬ 
sible  or  adA'isable  tliat  com  should  sup¬ 
plant  King  Cotton  in  that  section,  yet 
this  eA’ident  approach  to  self -sustenance 
Avill  be  found  of  great  benefit. 
■  ♦4>  - 
PInatiiig'  Potatoes  hi  Autiiinii. 
— A  Belgian  writer  says  that  the  2)otato 
being  a  perennial  jilaui.,  the  tubers  should 
bo  put  into  the  earth  in  the  fall  instcail 
of  spring.  But  we  fail  to  see  the  advan¬ 
tage  of  fall  j)buiting  over  that  of  8i)ring, 
inasmuch  as  no  growth  could  take  i)lace 
during  the  cold  Aveatlier.  We  knoAv  that 
fall  planting  of  i)otatoos  bus  been  prac¬ 
ticed  to  some  extent  in  the  L'nited  States, 
but  Avith  not  A'ei'y  satisfactory  results,  es- 
])Ocially  iu  the  Northern  States,  although 
there  may  be  some  satisfaction  iu  knowing 
that  such  things  can  be  done. 
Tlic  Starving  I*oor. — If  our  South¬ 
ern  contemporaries  who  sympatliize  with 
the  stai'viug  poor  of  our  Northern  cities, 
Avould  only  try  the  exjjeriment  of  getting 
a  few  Inindreds  to  go  South  and  work  on 
the  i)lantation8,  Ave  think  they  might  get 
their  eyes  oi)oned  to  at  least  one  of  the 
causes  of  so  much  iioyerty  aud  distress 
among  a  certain  class.  Tnere  is  a  fasci¬ 
nation  in  city  life  which  the  greatest  pov¬ 
erty  and  want  cannot  dispel. 
- »-»» 
^  RURAL  BREVITIES. 
OvEK  1200  perBons  died  of  yellow  fever  the 
past  Bummer  in  Bav.anufth,  Georgia. 
Castok  Beans,  although  extoneively  culti¬ 
vated  in  Missouri,  are  qiioUsl  at  !?1.90  per  bushel 
at  the  factories  against  $1(?U.25  last  season. 
Under  “  Rloriculturo."  we  refer  to  Professor 
Bead’s  article,  “Bee  Flowers,"  as  being  pub- 
hshod  in  another  column.  It  was  croAtdod  out, 
but  will  appear  next  week. 
Tue  new  flomiug  piDcess,  of  which  so  much 
has  been  said  of  late,  is  merely  the  putting  of 
the  very  old  process  of  pounding  corn  in  a  mor¬ 
tar  into’ use  on  a  larger  scale. 
A  Maine  farmer  says  that  he  can  raise  and 
market  imtatoes  at  a  cost  of  less  than  sixteen 
cents  a  bushel.  According  to  this  calculation, 
those  who  have  had  a  good  crop  this  year  will 
make  money. 
The  Fancier’e  Journal,  which  has  heretofore 
been  published  Weekly  will,  after  the  first  of 
January,  1877,  he  issued  Monthly.  Want  of 
support  i.s  the  reason  given  for  the  change, 
which  is  a  pity  for  so  excellent  a  journal. 
Among  the  noA'elties  in  the  housekeeping  line 
wc  notice  the  Climax  Wringer  advertised  by  N. 
B.  PuKLi's  of  Chambers  St,,  New  York.  They 
claim  that  it  works  with  only  half  the  labor  of 
ordinary  wringers,  by  moans'of  purchase  gears. 
“Too  many  fences, "'is  the  cry  uow-a-days 
Avith  quite  a  numerous  class  of  agricultural 
writers;  but  Ave  opine  that  if  they  hod  some 
men  for  neighbors,  they  might  wish  there  were 
more  fences  and  all  of  them  higher  and  stronger 
than  now. 
Men  iu  England  who  own  land  do  not  want  to 
sell  it,  because  of  the  position  which  ownership 
of  real  estate  enables  them  to  hold ;  and  those 
who  do  not  own  land,  prefer  to  invest  their  cap¬ 
ital  where  it  will  bring  them  a  better  return,  say 
in  cattle  and  fertilizers,  consequently  Doth 
classes  are  satisfied,  with  the  firesent  disposition 
of  lauded  projiurty  and  tenants. 
The  old  fanning  lands  of  Maine  are  said  to 
be  nearly  or  quite  woru  out ;  besides,  the  sum¬ 
mers  are  short  and  the  winters  severe,  still  we 
hear  reports  of  more  than  one  hundred  bushels 
of  corn  liaA'ing  been  raised  per  acre  in  the  State 
the  past  summer,  which  show  that  the  northeast 
corner  of  Uncle  Sam’s  farm  is  Avorth  something 
yet. 
It  has  been  claimed  that  the  Western  Locusts 
would  not  eat  the  Castor  bean  plant,  consequent¬ 
ly  farmers  in  the  infested  regions  could  grow 
this  crop  with  impunity,  if  no  otlier ;  hut  it  now- 
turns  out  that  Avhile  the  locusts  do  not  tioublo 
the  leaves,  they  cat  the  flowers  off,  thereby  pre¬ 
venting  the  production  of  the  beaus,  which  is 
just  as  bad  as  though  they  ate  up  the  entire 
ulaut.  especial  ly  if  the  “  Uopiiers’’ came  during 
tlooiuing  time. 
