THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
JAN.45 
THE 
Rural New-Yorker, 
PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY. 
Conducted by 
KLBERT 8. CARMAN. 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
No. 84 Park Row, New York. 
SAT URDAY, JAN. 15, 1881. 
We continue to receive fine reports as 
to Silver Chaff, of which, as our readers 
have been told, our main crop consists, 
in place of Clawson, which we had 
raised for years before. 
Prof. Tracy (Mo.) now writes ns that 
a Mr. Hearn (?) of Lexington, Ky., has 
raised ot this variety, on first-class land, 
for four years, respectively, 45—40—461 
and 30 bushels per acre. 
----- 
Early English Lambs. —We notice 
that lambs of the Devon horned breed are 
now taking the precedence of the Dorset 
horned. Ewes of the former are easily 
made to breed at any season ot the year 
the owner likes, and two crops of lambs 
have frequently been obtained from them 
in a twelvemonth. But this is considered 
as working the sheep’s constitution rather 
too hard, and might injure the ewes by 
continuing it. Weak offspring would 
probably soon follow, difficult to raise 
and consequently unprofitable; nor 
would their meat be so savory and deli¬ 
cate as that from more vigorous and 
better feeding lambs. 
-- 
South-Down Sheep. — These, with 
their various crosses, are becoming more 
and more popular for mutton in Eng¬ 
land, and they are gradually displacing 
the larger Jong-wooled varieties ; as 
the mutton of the latter is altogether too 
gross and fat for good eating. If one 
wishes to produce the largest quantity 
oi mutton tallow, the long-wools are the 
breeds for him ; but if he wishes to get 
a superior quality of profitable flesh, then 
he should take the South-Downs. Un¬ 
der this name we wish to include all the 
cognate breeds, for they are essential- 
6ume; such as iD England are 
called from the counties in which they 
happen to be bred—Hampshire, Wilt¬ 
shire, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, etc. We 
do not like this multiplying of names 
wheie breeds of animals are essentially j 
the same, as strangers are deceived by ; 
it, arid induced to purchase several of i 
nearly the same sort, when one alone i 
would be sufficient. i 
and full-grown animals can make the 
voyage with reasonable comfort and 
safety. 
--- 
Young Animals at Fat Cattle 
Shows.— We observe that at the fat cat¬ 
tle shows lately held in England the 
number of young animals on exhibition 
was considerably larger than usual. It 
would seem aB if the exhibitors there had 
adopted the reform in this matter, begun 
on this side of water at the Chicago Eat 
Cattle Show. When animals have be¬ 
come fully ripe for slaughter, it is a 
great waste of feed to keep them on for 
months, and even years after this, as has 
too often been the practice heretofore. If 
of a good breed, bullocks, sheep, and 
swme can be now pushed to maturity in 
half the time that was formerly needed. 
But in doing this, due care should be 1 
taken to give the animals plenty of exer¬ 
cise in the open air; otherwise their 
meat will not be marbled, but abound 
too much in fat, and this in coarse, thick 
streaks, or lumpy; nor will the meat be 
so savory and nourishing. Because they 
have plenty of exercise in pure, fresh air, 
in their wild state, is the chief reason why 
the flavor of well fed game is so superior 
to that of our domestic beasts and birds. 
*- - 
Candahar Mutton.—As this is raised 
in the Afghan deserts, or in some of the 
more distant mountainous districts, it is 
said to acquire sometning of the flavor 
*2* which mutton grown on the 
Welsh hills is renowned. The price of 
this is never quoted in the English mar¬ 
kets, as the sheep are not usually taken 
there for ;sale. The number which can 
be reared oir the Welsh mountains is 
small; and rich gentlemen and noblemen 
are always glad to take them direot from 
their breeders at high prices, as their 
mutton is considered a great delicacy on 
their tables. The peculiar flavor ot'this 
is acquired from the sheep feeding on the 
aromatic grasses, found growiugnaturally ' 
only on the lofty hills of Wales. In the 
same way it is from feeding on the bul¬ 
bous roots of a certain kind of grass 
growing in the Chesapeake Bay, that 
our Cauyass-baok ducks acquire their pe¬ 
culiar, high, luscious flavor. If killed E 
before they get to this bay and have fed 
there a week or two, their'flesh is no bet¬ 
ter than that of other ducks. The Red¬ 
head also often feeds on the same roots, 
and when it does, it is found scarcely in- a 
ferior to the Canvass-back. r 
lieve that this will put an end to the per¬ 
nicious practice of betting on “boss 
trots ” at agricultural fairs in that State, 
a practice which we have always strongly 
reprobated everywhere; but “it will at 
least put a check upon it; and it gives 
hope of more stringent laws in future. 
Mr Sullivan was the introducer of the 
bill ; who will be the iutrodneers of simi¬ 
lar measures in the Legislatures of other 
States ? Even if such bills do not pass, 
their introducers will have deserved well 
of the farmiuj community by calling 
public attention to the evil and forcing 
its supporters upon the record. 
PROVE THE CHARGE OR BE SILENT. 
A few weeks ago a Western Monthly 
which deals chiefly with stock matters, 
insinuated a charge against General Le 
Due to the effect that he had requested a 
gentleman sent to Europe on official 
business, by the Department of Agricul¬ 
ture, to buy some sheep on the General’s 
private account. More recently one of 
our Western weekly agricultural* contem¬ 
poraries, referring to the charge, empha¬ 
sized it, but magnanimously offered to 
insert in its columns any answer the 
Commissioner might feel disposed or able 
to make. For General Le Due to return 
any answer to a vague charge of this sort, 
unsupported by any name or proof, would’ 
iaou , r opinion, belittle the important 
office he holds. What would any sensi¬ 
ble man think of the head of any other 
Department of the Government, or in¬ 
deed of any prominent official, who might 
deem it necessary to answer in the public 
press every accusation made against him 
however unsupported by the weight of 
proof or authority ? A Congressional 
Committee, specially appointed for the 
purpose, is now investigating the De¬ 
partment of Agriculture and its man¬ 
agement, and we submit that all charges 
of this sort, that are not the results of 
of personal ill-will or official disappoint¬ 
ment, should be placed before it for in¬ 
vestigation. There are upon the com¬ 
mittee gentlemen enough who have no 
special friendship for the Commissioner 
to insure that all charges to his detriment 
shall be thoroughly investigated. 
We are very much obliged to friends 
who send us early reports of the pro¬ 
ceedings of agricultural, horticultural or 
pomological societies or conventions 
from whatever section they may come! 
But many of the reports so received 
are made up of bald statements that 
Jrres t Smith made au address which was 
listened to with marked attention • Sec 
Brown read an essay on “ New Peaches-” 
Prof. Green delivered an excellent ad¬ 
dress on “ Raising our own Sugar.” An 
animated discussion then followed on 
“ How to Keep the Boys on the Farm ” 
Ihanks were tendered to Pres’t Smith 
and Sec. Brown for the valuable sugges¬ 
tions given in their remarks. The soci- 
ety then proceeded to the election of 
officers, the names, of course, being given 
m lull. W e do not see of what interest 
such reports can be to the general reader 
or to anybody besides those who ate 
pleased to see their names in print. 
What was said, is the important thing. 
• - —- -- 
A large sale of thoroughbred brood 
mares came off m England on December 
10, and it is astonishing what high prices 
they brought, considering the great agri¬ 
cultural losses of that country from bad 
weather for several years past. The 
forty-eight mares sold, realized 10 865 
guineas (#55,868); averaging $1,141 each. 
Une of these mares was Bas Blue 23 
years old, the dam of the famous stallion 
fon nn n, V, recently purchased for 
#20,000 by Mr. James Keene, the great 
speculator, who is also a breeder of 
thoroughbred horses; the animal died 
however, from injuries received on board 
ship, on the voyage to New York. We 
are informed that this horse was fully in¬ 
sured. Not dispirited by the loss, this 
noo # emau ’ 1B sai<3 > lifts offered $50,- 
000 tor another famous horse in England 
which was refused by its owner. 
We hope it he ever ships again to cross ' 
the Atlantic Ocean, it will be in Summer i 
weather, when bad storms do not prevail, i 
Variation in Cow’s Milk.— In recent 
7 analyses of milk by Dr. Playfair, of 
( England, he ascertained by varying the 
t food of the same cow, that the milk varied 
} greatly in quality. In one case he 
lound only 3.9 per cent, of butter in the 
milk, while in another there was as much 
j as 6 * 1 • Again, 2.7 per cent, of caseine 
was present in one morning’s milfe, and 
, double this amount in another morning’s. 
Here are data for the dairymen to work 
U P 0D > showing how much they may in¬ 
crease the value of their milk by attend¬ 
ing to the proper feed of their cows, and 
this they can only ascertain by a series of 
careful experiments. When engaged in 
making butter the feed should be such 
as will produce the greatest amount of 
tat in the milk ; when making cheese 
tnat which produces the largest quantity 
oi caseine. In this way double the 
number of pounds of butter and cheese 
may be obtained from the same quantity 
of milk, and probably at little, if any 
more cost of feed, thus doubling the I 
annual profit of every cow in the herd 
We think there is still much to learn 
as to the best manner of keeping cows 
for the dairy. It is more difficult to get 
at than the best and most profitable 
method of making beef; but this should 
only stir us up to be more frequent and 
painstaking in carrying out our experi¬ 
ments. 
—-» • »- 
Who will Eollow the Good Ex¬ 
ample ’—During the past week the 
Legislature of Ohio has set a good ex¬ 
ample to the Legislatures of her sister 
States by promptly passing a bill pro¬ 
hibiting the selling of pools upon the 
result of any trial or contest of skill or 
power of endurance of man or beast. 
The bill passed the senate at the last ses¬ 
sion and was brought up in the house on 
the 6ffi in st. when it was passed by a vote 
of 80 to 16, after which it received the 
Senate s approval. 
The bill makes it a misdemeanor for the 
owner of a building to rent or use any 
part of it for the sale of pools, the pen¬ 
alty being not less than $5 or over $500 
tor each offence, or imprisonment of not 
less than five days or over six months. 
1 he seller or proprietor of any pooling 
business or association is liable to the < 
same penalty. We can scarcely be- I 1 
I AMERICAN ENTERPRISE-A PROSPECT. 
It is only a few years since, with doubt 
and fear, the construction of the Pacific 
railroads which should connect the At¬ 
lantic and Pacific, was proposed. Some 
far-seeing and enthusiastic persons met 
every doubt with confidence and the 
enterprise was pushed to completion 
Even then some people asked each other 
What will be the end of this folly ? How 
shall this venture pay for itself? But 
now what wonderful results have sprang 
from that experiment. Where we were 
led to believe lay a vast desert as 
barren as the African Sahara, we now 
find green pastures and vast fields whose 
products have averted famine in Europe 
aud have greatly helped, if they have not 
altogether done it, to turn the course of 
the foreign trade in our favor aud bring 
in a huge flood of foreign gold. Few 
persons adequately consider the wonder¬ 
ful results of the completion of the Pa¬ 
cific Railroad upon American interests. 
In fact, one can scarcely realize them 
upon reasonable consideration, so enor¬ 
mous have they beeD. 
But all this is a mere beginning. 
While we are busily engaged in securing 
the abundant harvests of that enterprise 
other gigantic schemes of peaceful con¬ 
quest are quietly reaching out arms to 
?rasp the larger part of the North Ameri¬ 
can eontment.and open up yet another field 
or enterprise. Just now a Southern Pa¬ 
cific Railroad, passing through Texas' 
S T ew Mexico and Arizona, lacks but 36 
niles of forming a connection between 
ts two halves, each growing aud length¬ 
ening day by day, and hour by hour, 
rom its respective terminus. While 
his Southern road is now completing its 
onneclion, the Northern Pacific at our 
ther boundary, lacks but 800 miles of 
effecting a junction, and a syndicate of 
capitalists in a day raised the* forty mil¬ 
lions of dollars required to complete it, 
thus making its finishing a work of but a 
few months. In addition to these works 
the mouth of the Mississippi River has 
been opened for the passage of the larg¬ 
est ships whioh may ere long take on 
cargoes of grain at the levees of 8t. 
Louis or the elevators of Chicago by the 
construction of proposed facilities in the 
shape of river improvements and a canal. 
Every one of these enterprises is for 
the general benefit. By cheapening ] 
communication and transportation the ] 
farmers’ expenses are lessened and his ' 
profits increased; the prices of food and ! 
other commodities are decreased and the 
workman’s wages proportionately en- 1 
>er- larged; new fields of labor are opened 
oss and the industrious man meets a greater 
ite, demand for his services. With cheaper 
gly food and more demand for labor we have 
at the very fundamental elements for un- 
res limited prosperity. And knowing the 
re. result of what has been already done, it 
he seems hardly possible to set bounds to 
m- what may yet be in store for our coun- 
ler try. Surely no other land and no other 
ss, people can overlook so vast and so valu- 
eil able a heritage as we can 
-—- 
BREVITIES. 
t I? E sa p ccss of cinchona culture in British 
India will no doubt have the effect, in a year r,r 
bo, of reducing the cost of quinine. J 
ly “M* 80011 Present a portrait of the 
/ N *aga[a Grape vine in fruit, showing the 
A grape rkaWe fruilfu]uees of th *t remarkable 
■il i Need thinks that if the farmer of Fno- 
V laad live and drees as poorly and work 
1- as hard as the American farmer does he 
■g do as wefl here as he could in America g t 
f- aimin? , to tfve the Hardy Shrub and 
I Tree Number early next month. It is bv no 
t- means designed to speak of all hardy shrah? 
o and trees—that would fill a book—bin only of 
® country luMaes. 8 *" ac * apte< ^ to generality of 
u Inflamed Eyes in Horses.—W e find the fol- 
£5"? 6,U, - Ple mn for tijis malady, and as the 
’ medicine gives no pain-like pulverized alum 
e and some other substances—and can do no 
brekk tri11 ’ TakeanVgaSd 
v a .h fk® large end enough to admit tlm 
r J handle of a teaspoon; pour out the albntnen 
. or whitc; inix tn all the salt you ean umH it 
le quite stiff; then set it in the center of a heao 
1 Ofjed coa s, and let it burn till done baking 
3 When cool grind or pulverize thiB fine in"a 
; rc r e“ r 4" d “<»'*!»»<*•(« iiuo?he ey« 
A meeting of the American Agricultural 
■ fs'b° c k“ u rf“t' h d .'r l i ln,bi “ wbal 
is 10(5 a. a t >Vnat! have peonle alreadv 
forgotten the hnbbuh made about its o^ianiz 
Cai ee ^V short year ago ? To sniff, of 
be efforts of Mr. R all, the Secretary, it has not 
. hitherto made much advance, but. the follow¬ 
ing officers who have been elected for the onT- 
1 T> Dt & 0ar ’ n ,\ a ^ pn< ' 11 i ta,nn gmoreeucfessfullv 
President. Col. N. T. Soragne ot Vermont 
Senior Vice President. Dr. John A Warder of 
Ohio; Secretary J H. ReaH. 127 Wat-r Street 
New York 5 TreasQrer - M. McLaren! 
A.SPECIMEN of the swindles referred to in the 
article • City Allurements” published elsewhere 
m this issue has just come to Ji^ht in this cit? 
oM^ :arreBL of James H. Lundey Treasurer 
of the Mexican Guanoand Fertilizer Company 
who swindled Henry Cooke out of $400 which 
were required as a deposit preliminary to his 
obtaining a situation in connection with the 
company s alleged guano islands. Cooke 
worked two months, for which he got not a 
cent; nor could fie recover his $400 when he 
become_ convinced that the company was a 
fraud Stiangers in cities, from rural districts 
Zrement^ CarefUUn avoid ^ '*** 
Thirtt years ago the center of the flour 
milling interest of the country was in the 
northern parts of this State, especially ill 
Rochester and Oswego. Since then, however 
the railroad system has been constantly ex¬ 
tending westward, while the “wheat, beit” 
has been steadily shifting in Ihe same direc¬ 
tion, so that the milling business lias been 
largely transferred to the West and Northwest 
TT W °' tb } rdSOr ,he flour nmnufacl 
Ini ili# . P Ql ? n « now Produced. During 
V 16 tho Northwestern States have 
dou iled the number of their flour mills and 
fllnm the f /^ n ,° f 8tont;8 ' ami new milling 
facilities of the latest and most approved 
L a ^ erD ^ arC cou stantly either taking the place 
of the old ones or adding to their productive 
capacity. 
iMroBTs of Australian wheat into Great Brit¬ 
ain are growing considerably more rapidly 
than even our own, and the grain from that 
quarter is of very superior quality. In October 
and September 1879. the imports were 428 860 
cwt. ; whereas, during the same period tins 
year they ran up to 1,800 000 busheL—more 
than three times the quantity imported from 
that direction last season. Oats and barley 
are also imported from there, the latter selling 
at good figures for malting purposes, and the 
former being of fine appearance, but a trifle 
too thick-skinned. If Australia can afford to 
pay the heavy freight on the transportation of 
these products to Europe, surely we might 
find a profitable inaiket there for more of our 
own crops, In view of the lower freight charges 
from this country. & 
| Here and there are found some people who 
in spite of the disasters caused bv the “Morus 
multicaulis ’’ craze of about a quarter of a cen¬ 
tury ago, still believe silk culture can be 
profitably followed in the United Slates. We 
are not of this number. It is generally con¬ 
ceded that the climate of California is more 
favorable to success in this industry than that 
of any other section. In no other part of the 
country have so many careful and expensive 
experiments in the matter been made down to 
the present day, and hitherto, without one ex¬ 
ception, these have turned out more or less 
unfortunate. Upwards of twenty five years 
Mr. r rovoftt, of San *Jobo* devotfid years of 
his life and his whole fortune to the enterprise 
and died after finding It a failure. Since then 
Newman Brothers, A. P. Smith, of Sacramento 
W. Blauding and Charles W. Reed, ot Davis- 
ville, have spent money, labor, time and ear¬ 
nest efforts in trying to make silk euliure 
profitable there, but not one of them has suc¬ 
ceeded in his endeavors. The lew who still 
ding to the idea that under present conditions 
this industiy can oe made remunerative in any 
part of the United States, would do well, it 
seems to us, to abandon the notion. 
