202 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
APRIL 30 
THE 
Rural New-Yorker, 
PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY. 
Conducted by 
KI.BKKT S. CARMAN. 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
No. 84 Park Row, New York. 
SATURDAY, APRIL 30, 1881. 
Some claaDges in our method of mail¬ 
ing baviDg become necessary, subscribers 
would confer a favor if they would 
promptly notify us by postal card of the 
slightest irregularity in the receipt of 
the Rural New-Yorker, 
-- 
Our Fourth Seed Distribution to the 
members of the Youth’s Horticultural 
Club now numbering 1,000, is announced 
on page 298. As usual, no charge for 
postage is made and no application nec¬ 
essary. We trust our young friends 
may Bueceed well with the excellent 
kinds sent to them, The seeds of the 
Japan Judas Tree are very scarce and 
not offered for sale by anybody that we 
know of. Indeed, it rarely seeds in this 
climate. It is a grand shrub. 
-- 
In one of Dr. Lawes’s experiments the 
produoe of hay under a liberal supply of 
mineral fertilizers has been greatly in¬ 
creased. Tilough a large quantity of 
nitrogen liaB been removed, at the end of 
tweiit.y-five years there is no evidence of 
a decline in the produce. The nitrogen 
of the surface soil shows “ a considerable 
decline,” otherwise, Dr. Lawe’s says, 
“there is absolutely nothing to prove 
that the atmosphere has not been the 
source of the nitrogen removed in the 
produoe.” 
-- 
We are sorry to see it stated that eight 
and ten ears of corn grow upon Blount’s 
Prolific Corn. Such statements work 
great harm. We have produced the 
largest well-authenticated crop of this 
variety on record, and we have yet to see 
a stalk with six i erfect ears on it. The 
highest number of ears we have ever 
seen upon one Btalk —and last season we 
examined every stalk in our field—was 
ten, six of which were nubbins. As a 
matter of fact, the average number of 
good ears to a stalk of Blount’s Corn is a 
fraction less than three. 
-» » ♦- 
Among Summer vines we know of 
nothing more fragrant, more rapid in its 
growth, more glossy or luxuriant in fol¬ 
iage than the w- II-known Madeira or 
Mexican Tine — Boussingaultia basel- 
loidea—the tubers of which are offered 
by all seedsmen for five or ten cents 
apiece. The Chinese Yam—Dioscorea 
batatas—as a swift-growing Summer vine 
is also to be commended. It grows more 
rapidly than the Madeira Vine ; its flow¬ 
ers are equally fragrant, but the joints 
are wide apart and the foliage scanty. 
The root, however, has the advantage 
over the tender Madeira Vine of being 
perfectly hardy. It may be left in the 
ground year alter year. New tubers form 
and provide an unfailing and abundant 
growth of viue. 
-- 
Catalpa Speoiosa hardier than the 
Species. —We find that our specimens 
of Catalpa speciosa, or the Hardy Catal¬ 
pa, as it is commonly called, have not 
been injured in the least by the past ter¬ 
rible Winter, while the species, Catalpa 
bignonioides, has been injured. The 
Sptc-iosa trees are but two years from 
nursery plants a foot high. They grow 
with great rapidity and attain the size of 
from 12 to 20 feet, giving a dense shade 
and presenting a handsome appearance. 
The wood of this variety is now well 
known to be of great durability and, all 
things considered, we commend its use 
to our friends in general and to our 
Western friends in particular. Little 
trees may be purchased of leading nur¬ 
serymen at a very low price. 
Testing Oats —The field upon which 
last year we raised the large crop of Ches¬ 
ter County Mammoth Corn, is now in 
oats of three varieties, viz., Russian 
White, Washington and English, the last 
weighing 50 pounds to the bushel and 
bearing no more specific name. We are 
now sowing in plots, varying from a half 
to one-fortieth of an acre, Mold’s Enno¬ 
bled Oats, imported seed, our own hav¬ 
ing become mixed; White Australian (54 
pounds to the bushel!); Pringle’s Ex¬ 
celsior-Hulless and about ten other kinds 
which have been commended highly as 
being “rust*proof," wonderfully prolific, 
or iu some other respect specially worthy 
of cultivation. The season is such lhat 
we are quite ten days behind the usual 
time of Bowing, for which reason, as well 
as from the fact that there is little time 
for thorough preparation of the soil, we 
do not anticipate very heavy yields. 
——-- 
IMMIGRATION. 
Still they come ! On Tuesday last 
6,881 immigrants landed at Castle Gar¬ 
den, and on Thursday 4,600 more disem¬ 
barked. During the present month over 
35,000 have arrived, and siuce January 
1st over 80,000 have been added to our 
population—an increase of 20,000 over 
the arrivals for the same period last year. 
It is said that two-thirds of these immi¬ 
grants go to develop the great West, and 
thus add much to the material wealth of 
the country. A fair estimate of the 
money value of an immigrant to a new 
agricultural country political economists 
place at $1,000, as the lowest figure, 
and this leaves out of consideration the 
money which the new settlers bring with 
them. In one week a single banking firm 
in this city paid out to immigrants 
brought over in three German steamers 
over $100,000 on bills of exchange. The 
Germans bring more money than any 
other nationality, and the Poles the least 
of all. Au idea of the importance of these 
accessions may be formed when we re¬ 
member that the 327,371 arrivals of last 
year, at only $1,000 u head, represented 
$827,371,000 added to the wealth of the 
country. According to careful estimates 
there will be not far from a half million 
souls added to our population by immi¬ 
gration this year. But the great question 
to be considered is, what will be the ef¬ 
fect of the introduction of this vast for¬ 
eign population, composed of different 
nationalities and coming from govern¬ 
ments unlike our own, upon our social, 
political and moral status? This ques¬ 
tion will in the coming decade invite the 
closest attention of every one interested 
in the highest welfare of the country. 
- — ■» » ♦- 
IMPROVED 8EED-CORN. 
As the time for planting corn draws 
near for the Middle and Northern States, 
we again urge it upon our readers to 
plant a small plot as far away from other 
com as practicable. Let this plot be 
prepared as if it were a garden and let it 
be 33 feet square, or one-fortieth of an 
acre, which will be large enough to fur¬ 
nish seed sufficient to plant from six to 
eight acres next year. Let the rows be 
fully four feet apart, and drop a single 
kernel every six inches so as to insure a 
full stand. Then at the first cultivation 
cut out the plants so as to leave them from 
one foot to 18 inches apart in the row. 
As soon as the sets appear, and just be¬ 
fore the pollen of the tassel is ready to 
fall, cut off the tassel from every stalk 
that does not show two or more sets ac¬ 
cording to the habit of the variety. If, 
for instance, it were Black Sugar Corn, 
we sliould leave the tassels upon only such 
stalks as had developed three sets or more; 
if Blount’s, six to eight and so on. As, 
however, sets veiy often, instead of form¬ 
ing ears, change to lateral stalks or re¬ 
main undeveloped, it is safest to mark 
the most prolific stalks before harvest 
and then seleot the best ears thereon for 
seed. This plan is attended with some 
trouble, to be sure. But we feel confident 
that those who follow it for two or three 
years will be well repaid for their pains 
by an increased yield of a better quality 
of corn. 
We have seen the thoughtless and 
quite impracticable method advocated of 
going over an entire field in this way and 
emasculating the less productive stalks. 
Why do thw when a small plot, with 
comparatively little labor and expense, 
may produce all the seed com needed 
for another year, and that too which has 
had every advantage in the way of im¬ 
provement that oould have been given in 
large fields with forty times a greater 
amount of tedious labor? The sets in 
many cases, are by no means easily dis¬ 
covered at that time when the pollen is 
nearly ripe enough to be shed, and we 
don’t believe there is one farmer in five 
hundred that could bo brought to exam¬ 
ine a ten-acre field in this manner. 
-- 
A NEW MEANS OF PURIFICATION. 
The idea has hitherto prevailed quite 
generally that for purposes of disinfec¬ 
tion we should seek to prevent, in so far 
as may be possible, any fermentation or 
putrefaction in accumulations of filth. 
To this end a great variety of powerful 
chemical agents have been resorted to, 
such as copperas, chloride of lime, per¬ 
manganate of potash, carbolic and sul¬ 
phurous acids, and so forth, which act by 
destroying the bacteria or other organ¬ 
isms which cause decay. Professor Al¬ 
exander Mueller, of Berlin, has now pro¬ 
posed an entirely different method of pro¬ 
cedure. He has recently patented a pro¬ 
cess for purifying drain-water which 
consists in systematically cultivating 
therein various yeaBt-like organisms, 
which feed upon the matters that would 
become offensive or dangerous if left to 
themselves. So far from using those 
kinds of chemicals which work to destroy 
the lower organisms, he adds to the drain- 
water such materials as may be needed to 
supplement the matters already contained 
in it, so that there may be a complete 
supply of food for the organisms he wishes 
to have grow. The liquid has to be neu¬ 
tralized also, and pains are taken to 
maintain it at an appropriate tempera¬ 
ture ; that is to Bay, to prevent it from 
becoming chilled. The idea is, of course, 
to foster and, as it were, cultivate the 
organisms to the utmost. Thus far it 
has not been found necessary to make any 
direct addition or “seeding” of the or¬ 
ganism to the drain-water, since there are 
plenty of germs in the air which will de¬ 
velop of themselves in the liquid, provid¬ 
ed it is iu fit condition. The gaBes gen¬ 
erated during the process are made to 
pass into a system of drain tiles buried in 
the earth, which absorbs them, A quantity 
of harmless mud, valuable for compost, 
settles out from the liquid, while the 
water itself beoomes so pure that it might 
be used for almost any domestic or man¬ 
ufacturing purpose. The process is spe¬ 
cially adapted for purifying the drain- 
water from beet-sugar factories, but is 
manifestly applicable to other eases 
where no very large amount of liquid has 
to be dealt with, and may perhaps be 
found applicable even to the sewage of 
cities. 
* »•»- 
AN APOSTLE AND HIS PROOFS. 
M. Leon Cotteau, the irrepressible 
Gallic apostle of Free Trade, whose ar¬ 
duous mission is the conversion of selfish 
America to the generous faith that to buy 
from our neighbors is to enrich our¬ 
selves, arrived at this port on the 21st 
instant for a third proselyting tour. His 
former missionary efforts were weakened 
by the objection from his infidel oppo¬ 
nents that, with unapostolie selfishness, 
he had only the interests of his own fath¬ 
erland at heart, since, in return for the 
privilege of injuring the producers and 
manufacturers of this high-priced-labor 
country by the free competition at their 
own thresholds sought for between their 
goods and the wines and wares of that 
low-priced-labor laud, no equivalent 
was giveD, owing to the comparatively 
small amount of French importations of 
American products. The reciprocity of 
benefits on which the doctrine of Free 
Trade is founded, was all—well, nearly 
all—on one side, it was insisted, in this 
case. While indignantly denying the 
charge, the wide-awake missionary evi¬ 
dently felt its full force, for even before 
landing the other day his first words to a 
newspaper interviewer exultantly an¬ 
nounced that he had succeeded in form¬ 
ing in Paris one company, with a capital 
of twenty million francs, for the importa¬ 
tion of American live stock, and another, 
with an unmentioned capital, for the im¬ 
portation of all sorts of American pro¬ 
ducts. Our wild exultation as farmers 
and Americans at these twin proofs of 
French mercantile enterprise is restrained 
only until time shall have told, first, what 
proportion of the millions of the first 
company will ever be called in; second, 
how much of the capital of the second, 
also, will ever be used ; third, will either 
ever be different from the many other 
speculative European organizations pro¬ 
jected within the last few years for trad¬ 
ing with this continent, all of which went 
“sky-high” before rising to the dignity of 
usefulness ; and, fourth, in the event of 
either of the companies ever enlarging 
the market for our products in France, 
will not the Government curtail it on 
some pretext as frivolous as that lately 
hit upon for embargoing our pork, hams 
and sausages ? When time shall have 
dispelled our doubts on these points in 
accordance with our wishes, we shall ex¬ 
ult in the establishment of these twin 
companies, not only as proofs of French 
enterprise, but also as specimens of the 
possible advantages of Free Trade. 
BREVITIES. 
From our Everywhere correspondence it 
will be seen that Eucalyptus globulus trees 
•• nearly thirty feet high "have been killed in 
Florida the past Winter. 
We propose to offer a handsome prize for 
the best bunches of Argenteull and Giant 
Dutch Asparagus raised from the seeds sent to 
subscribers by this journal—the second year. 
Is there any other article of human food as 
nearly tasteless as potatoes of the Early Rose 
type ? We want a variety of the PeachbJow 
flavor, as early us the Early Rose or Beauty of 
HebroD, and as productive as the latter. 
General Lb Due has sent us a quantity of 
the seeds of the great insect destroyer—Pyreth- 
rum roseum, the flowers of which are ground 
into powder and called Persian Insect Powder 
and many other names. These seeds, put up 
In little packages, wo shall send to our readers 
as far as they go. 
We hope that all of our readers who have 
no grape-vines will plant, at least one this 
Spring. Make the soil mellow and fairly rich. 
Press fine soil over the roots, which should be 
carefully spread out as if upon au inclined 
plane, and not planted directly downwards. 
Permit two or three bnds to push and then 
remove all but one—the strongest. 
Dr. Lawks of Rothamsted, England, in a 
private letter to the. Rural, states uuder date 
of April 11: "We have bad a month without 
rain, which has been of the greatest possible 
benefit to us and all our Spring crops are well 
got in. After six very wet seasons in succes¬ 
sion, we may expect some dry ones, but they 
will come too late for many of our farmers.” 
We wonder who it was in Washington that 
informed " George Thutber, Ed., etc that O. 
Judd would probably be appointed Com. of 
Agriculture if it could be made to appear that 
a considerable number of farmers desired it. 
Evidently they were fooling the good Doctor. 
It would not be right that any agricultural 
editor, even though he were a capable, upright 
man, should fill that position. 
Although we object to the present form of 
the. bill before the New York Legislature relat¬ 
ing to oleomargarine, and kindred concoctions, 
still we urge our readers in this State to for¬ 
ward petitions In its favor at once to the Rep¬ 
resentatives. and Senators from their respective 
districts. Our objections to it rest mainly on 
the belief that what legislation it seeks is 
both so barsh that even if secured it will be 
practically inoperative, and of such a special 
character that the Supreme Court, when ap¬ 
pealed to, is likely to declare some of its pro¬ 
visions unconstitutional. The bill can bo prop¬ 
erly amended, however, before the Legislature, 
either in the House or the Senate, and it is to 
be hoped there are in both bodies a sufficient 
number of friends of the measure to see that it 
is put in proper shape. Moreover, the dairy 
interests of the country, the health of the pub¬ 
lic, and honest dealing, urgently demand legis¬ 
lative protection, and we are not so impracti¬ 
cal as to rt iect all legislation except the best. 
In the good old times, the merry times, the 
innocent, unsophisticated, reverential, reli¬ 
gious times of our forefathers, the.life-time of 
a generation wa6 thought not to exceed 33 
years. This was before scientific progress, de¬ 
terioration in morals, keen competition and 
eagerness for 6peedy enrichment poisoned 
with adulterations the food, the drink, and 
even the clothing of the people; before gas¬ 
light and its attractions kept the city-man and 
social parties, grange meetings, etc., with their 
mild dissipations, the countryman out of bed 
at unseasonable Louib ; before the increased 
wickedness of these latter days, about which 
we hear so much from the pulpit, the press and 
the chimney corner, sapped the health of the 
young aud shortened the life of the old ; before 
the turmoil and goabeadativenesa of to-day 
shattered the nerves of the people, and the 
railroad, the steamboat, the reaper, the thrash¬ 
ing machine and the exploding boiler mangled 
theii' bodies. Yes, before all these and a mul¬ 
titude of other causes of early death vexed the 
world, the life of a generation was 33 years— 
vital statistics now put it at about 43. 
A Valuable 8hipmbnt of Live Stock —A 
couple of weeks ago one of ibe most valuable 
consignments of pedigree stock ever exported 
from Great Britain was shipped at Liverpool 
on the Dominion Line eteamer Texas. It com¬ 
prised of Short-horns two Bates heiferB and 
lour valuable cows ; of Jerseys and Guernseys, 
a number of bulls and heifers carefully select¬ 
ed in the Channel Islauds; of Hereforos. a bull 
from the royal farm at Windsor and upwards 
of sixty other higher-priced hulls from differ¬ 
ent parts of the country; of Polled Angus cat- 
tied, forty five bulls aud cows purchased in 
Aberdeenshire. There was also u very choice 
selection of Shropshire Down sheep from Lord 
Strathmore’s flock and 200 Shropshire and 
Oxford Down sheep from other noted breed¬ 
ers, as well as two coetly Clydesdale Btailions 
from Dumfries-shlre. These were all shipped 
by Hon. M. H. Cochrane, of Hillburst, Canada. 
On the same steamer were also three prize 
Guernsey heifers, a choice lot of Shropshire 
Down sheep and ten valuable Clydesdale stal¬ 
lions for a couple of other CanadiunB. The 
valne of the whole shipment was put at 
$150.000 in Englaud. It would be into eating 
to know what their price would be on this side 
of the Atlantic. 
The agricultural evils of the vast military 
system ot Europe are best illustrated iu small 
States. At prerent Gteece. which for some 
time back has had from 40,000 to 80.000 soldiers 
underarms, is grievously suffering agricultu¬ 
rally from this burden. Repeated levies have 
drained the rural districts aud especially the 
islands, of nearly all their able-bodied labor¬ 
ers. The olive crop is the chief source of 
wealth to Corfu, and last year it was excep¬ 
tionally abundaut, but lrom sheer lack of 
hands to harvest the fruit it lay rotting on 
the ground. Eager women and children could 
not Bupply the want of men. Laud-owners 
who are rich enough are sending this year to 
Italy for laborers, but the poorer farmers are 
in a wretched plight. Every belligerent news 
from Athens spreads consternation through 
tbe agricultural districts on the mainland and 
islands. Had our late 44 onpleasautuess” re¬ 
sulted iu the rupture of this country into two 
sections, the evil would Dot have stopped there, 
for it is not improbable that ihe country would 
have soon become divided into a number of pet¬ 
ty States each without weight ornspeetabroid 
and armed to the teeth at homo, j ust as Europe 
is now. In view, therefore, of the evils of 
militarism across the Atlautic, even the un¬ 
successful in the late quarrel mnBt regard their 
failure as “a blessing in disguise.” 
