372 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
JUNE A 
THE 
Rural New-Yorker, 
A National Journal for Iho Country and Suburban Home. 
PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY. 
Conducted by 
E1BEBT 8 . CABMAN. 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
No. 34 Park Row, New York. 
SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 1881. 
Proffessor I. P. Roberts writes us : 
“ I acknowledge myself corrected by 
Professor Stewart. The article referred 
to by me in a paragraph in one of your 
late issues, containing the expression “an 
easily possible erop is 100 bushels of grain 
(corn) per acre,” was by Mr. Henry 
Stewart, not Professor E. W. Stewart. I 
beg the Professor’s pardon ; the mistake 
is no less annoying to me than it was 
to him,” 
Where potato beetles abound, the 
shoots of potatoes are attacked and de¬ 
voured as soon as they appear above the 
ground. The vines have no chance. 
Poisons cannot be applied since there is 
nothing to apply them to. In such case, 
we cut potatoes in slices, sprinkling 
them with Paris-green or London-purple, 
and strew them over the ground. The 
potato-beetles will prefer the slices of 
potatoes to the vines, and the new sprouts 
are thus given a chance. 
A contemporary states, in answer to a 
question, that the Army-worm does not 
attack corn. This is a mistake. It at¬ 
tacked many corn fields on Long Island 
last year— one on a farm adjoining the 
Rural Farm. Several men for several 
days were employed pickiug them off, or 
the crop would have been ruined. Tiiey 
are, in fact, more destructive to corn 
than to wheat. When the Army-worm 
attacks the corn plant, we should advise 
the immediate use of Paris-green. 
♦ » » ■ — 
There is quite as much necessity for 
barn cleaning on the farm as for house- 
cleaning, and if farmers were as punctili¬ 
ous about the renovation and purification 
of the out-bnildings as farmerines are 
about the dwellings, there would speedily 
be an improvement in the appearance of 
things ; and of conveniences too. Lost, 
or misplaced tools are brought to light, 
barn, shed and shop furnishings put in 
order, space gained and a revival of cheer¬ 
fulness everywhere. Find time for barn 
cleaning. 
If there ever was a time when people 
who get their living from the soil had 
cause to congratulate themselves, it is at 
the present moment. Wuat with the 
adulterations that enter into sugar, tea, 
flour, milk, soda, butter, vinegar, spices 
and nearly every prepared article used 
as food and in food, that people buy, it 
should be an immense comfort to farm¬ 
ers to know that their fare, luxurious or 
plain asit may be, is wholesome and pure. 
With the exception of sugar and tea, both 
of which are much more largely used 
than necessity requires, farmers can 
raise their own supplies and escape the 
slow poisoning dealt out by the grocer. 
Coffee Bliould be bought green and roast¬ 
ed at home, and as for soda, or baking 
powders of all descriptions—the house¬ 
wife who knows how to cook and to pre¬ 
pare food for her family in the best way, 
will need to use “precious little” of the 
stuff. 
- ♦ » ♦ - 
OUR EXPORTS OF BREADSTUFFB. 
The exports of breadstuff's from the 
United States during the ten months end¬ 
ing April 30, 1880, amounted to $233,- 
84.4,387, and during the ten months end¬ 
ing April 30.1881. to $225,155,801, a fall¬ 
ing off of $8,688,586. In the former 
period we sent aoroad 130,054.110 bush¬ 
els of wheat, worth $160,876,502, and in 
the latter, 129,337,068 bushels, worth 
$143,023,881. A little figuring will show 
that- in the first case the wheat was worth 
$1,23$ oeDts per bushel and in the second 
only $1,104, a difference of 13$ cents, 
which on the total wheat export during 
the last period, amounted to $16,737,061, 
nearly double the amount of the diminu¬ 
tion in the value of all our exports of 
breadstuff’s. Of wheat fionr we exported 
in the first period 4,958,316 barrels, 
valued at $29,182,323, and in the second 
period 6,638,261 barrels valued at $37,- 
496,623. Here, too, it will be seen that 
prices have fallen off; for in the first case t 
the prices averaged $5,97$ per barrel, and 
in the seoond, $5,64$, a diminution of 
324 cents per barrel, or $2,157,433, on 
the total shipment. Of corn we exported 
in the first period 72,214,558 bushels, 
valued at $40,003,639, and in the second, 
75,086,895 bushels, valued at $41,194,11], 
the average price in the first case being 
55), cents per bnshel and in the second a 
trifle less than 55 cents. We also sent 
abroad during the first period 266,693 
barrels of corn meal, worth $740,301, or 
an average of $2.81) cents, and during 
the second period, 342,280 barrels, worth 
$996,316, or an average of $2.90 a barrel. 
TREE CISTERNS. 
It has long been known, through the 
reports of travellers, that in certain arid 
districts of Africa water is often found, 
even in the driest seasons, in hollow 
trunks of the great baobab tree (Adan- 
soDia) and it was supposed that this pro¬ 
vision of water was, so to say, natural; 
but it appears from the investigations of 
officers attached to surveying parties sent 
out by the Egyptian Government that 
these reservoirs are neither formed nor 
filled by the accidents of nature. They 
are in reality prepared and filled by the 
inhabitants of the country who carefully 
remove the decayed and spongy fiber 
from the interior of the trunk and labor¬ 
iously transfer water to the cisterns thus 
made, bucketful by bucketful, from 
neighboring pools in which it collects at 
the rainy season. The importance of 
these reservoirs is illustrated by the fact 
that trunks containing 15,000 gallons of 
water are not uncommon in Kordofan, 
and that individual trunks have been 
measured which might store 33,000 gal¬ 
lons. The officers of the survey urge 
that it would be well for the Egyptian 
Government to organize a service for the 
protection and maintenance of these 
trees on the post-roads and telegraph 
lines so that couriers, linesmen, inspec¬ 
tors, etc., might always find a store of 
water. They cite one particular post¬ 
route where in times past the people of the 
country had carefully filled the Adansonia 
trees during the season of rains, and 
thus insured water during the dry sea¬ 
son for much travel. But when troops 
were moved in that direction the inhabi¬ 
tants took alarm, abandoned the vicinity 
and neglected to fill the trees so that the 
road became as good as impassable. 
---- 
PARASITES AND THE RESISTANT 
THEORY, 
In order to deal effectually with the 
various kinds of parasites which infest 
stock, we should be familiar with their 
nature, habits and methods of propaga¬ 
tion. One class of parasites pass only a 
portion of their liveB in their host; an¬ 
other feed upon the skin and suck the 
blood of the animals they infest, while 
yet another, as the internal parasitic 
worms, live wholly within the flesh, mus¬ 
cles or intestines. There are also para¬ 
sites of the vegetable kingdom, known as 
microscopic fungi, from whose attacks no 
cultivated plants are entirely exempt. 
The mission of these parasites seems 
to be to prey upon, and hasten the de¬ 
struction of, the feeble, both of animals 
and plants, while they shun the vigorous 
and hearty. If the farmer neglects to 
give his stock the proper care; if scanty 
and innutritious food is given them, and 
they are kept in filthy pens and ditty 
stables ; if grooming is neglected, innum¬ 
erable hordes of parasitic enemieB will 
attack the poor brutes, which, for want 
of strength to resist their attacks, become 
the natural prey for parasites both inter¬ 
nal and external. The very immediate 
connection of such diseases as foot-rot, 
thrush, mange, etc., with a want of nu¬ 
tritious aDd sufficient food is a matter too 
often overlooked by the stockman, Avlille 
he wonders why it is that his cattle and 
horses are so often victims to these va¬ 
rious diseases. 
We wish, therefore, to eall the atten¬ 
tion of our farmer-readers, especially, to 
what may be termed the resistant theory 
which assumes that these fungoid dis¬ 
eases and parasitic enemies may be large¬ 
ly, if not wholly, averted by generous 
feeding, proper care and sufficient exer¬ 
cise of stock. With due attention to 
these things we strike at the source of 
possible disease by seeking means of 
the prevention rather than remedies for 
the cure of parasitic diseases, of whatever 
name or nature. 
A GREAT WESTERN CANAL CONVEN¬ 
TION. 
During the past week a convention of 
prominent Western men, interested in 
cheap transportation, has been in session 
at Davenport, Iowa, with the object of 
promoting the improvement of the pres- 
1 ent Illinois and Michigan Canal and its 
extension from Hennepin, on the Hlinois 
River, to the Mississippi River at Rock 
Island, a distance of 65 miles. Now the 
canal extends westward with a slight trend 
to the south from Chicago to La Salle on 
the Illinois River, a distance of 96 miles, 
and it is proposed to utilize the slack- 
water navigation on the river over the 19 
miles between La Salle and Hennepin, 
and then strike across the country in a 
westerly direction to the Father of 
Waters. The design is to have the canal 
60 feet wide at the surface, 36 feet at the 
bottom and six feet of water, with locks 
150 feet by 21. When the project is ac¬ 
complished the Upper Mississippi andthe 
vast agricultural territory of the North¬ 
west will have water transportation to the 
seaboard, by canal from Rock Island to 
Chicago, thence to Buffalo by way of 
Lakes Michigan, Huron and Erie, and 
thence to this city through the Erie canal 
and Hudson River. It is figured out by 
those who advocate the scheme that the 
cost of transportation from St. Paul, 
Winona, La Crosse, Prairie Du Chien, 
Dubuque and other up-river towns to 
Chicago would then be reduced fully 50 
per cent, from the present rates by rail 
or rail and water—a great gain to the 
rapidly increasing population of the great 
Northwest. 
In view of the great importance of this 
link in the internal water communication 
of the country, it is proposed to ask Con¬ 
gress for an appropriation of $4 500,000 
to complete it as a national work. Against 
such a grant it may be urged that, al¬ 
though the work is conceded to be of 
great importance, still only the North¬ 
western States ami especially Illinois and 
Chicago, will bo directly benefited by it, 
and that, just as New York had to build 
the great, length of the Erie Canal at her 
own expense, because she was to be the 
chief beneficiary by it, so Illinois should 
complete this little bit of canal which 
cannot cost a tithe of the outlay made by 
this Btate on the Erie. Surely it will not 
be said that Illinois is poorer now than 
New York was when the Erie was built ? 
It is in contemplation here to widen and 
deepen the Erie Canal enough to allow 
the xiassage of ocean-going vessels, is the 
General Government to be asked to pay 
the cost of this improvement, on the prin¬ 
ciple advanced by our Western friends ? 
Then again, producers in this section 
strongly object to pay anything to¬ 
wards providing the means by which 
the products of the low- priced lands 
of the West can be Btill more cheaply 
put in competition in the home mar¬ 
kets with the products of the high- 
priced lands of the East; for it cannot be 
denied that already Eastern farmers are 
suffering from Western competition in ag- 
ricuUural products only a few degrees less 
than are the farmers of Great Britain, 
Moreover, while it is unquestionably of 
interest to the whole nation that the 
products of any part of it should reach 
foreign markets at the least possible cost 
of transportation, yet it is of no conse¬ 
quence to the people at large by what 
particular route this is effected, and, bo 
far as we have seen, it still remains to be 
proved that transportation to Europe by 
way of the lakes, the eanals, Chicago 
and New York, is cheaper than by way 
of the Mississippi, and New Orleans. 
On the completion of the canal, however, 
the Western farmer is likely to be bene¬ 
fited more by the possibility of cheap 
rates of river transportation, for in the 
present absence of competition, middle¬ 
men and freighters take all the profit. 
On principle we are strongly opposed 
to grants of public money or land by the 
General Government for projects which 
are to benefit particular persons, corpor¬ 
ations or sections. We believe that by 
far too much of that sort of thing has 
been done in the past, and we shall con¬ 
tribute our share towards the formation 
of a public opinion which shall prevent 
such grants in the future. In the pres¬ 
ent case we are decidedly of opinion that 
the canal should be completed by the 
State of Illinois ; but we are Btill more 
decidedly of opinion that it should be 
completed. The competition of water 
with rail is of vast importance to the 
public all over the conutry in the way of 
lowering rates, and the importance of it 
is increasing daily with the growing mo¬ 
nopoly created in rail transportation by 
the frequent consolidation of competing 
lines. The completion even of r^al 
water routes is also a benefit in the same 
direction—and so long as millions are 
yearly appropriated by Congress for the 
“ imjirovemeut ” of petty creeks, streams, 
pools and narbors, we see no reason why 
an appropriation should bo refused to a 
work of such wide importance. So 
long as public money is lavishly spent 
to benefit Little Peddlington, why 
should it not be economically spent 
to benefit the great Northwest? 
BREVITIES. 
We are glad to know that Prof. A. E. Blount 
intends to compete for the Rural wheat prizes. 
From our extensive everywhere correspond¬ 
ence and from the various reports we have 
seen in other publications, we Jndve that the 
general prospects for the crops of 1S81 are not 
unfavorable. 
The owners of the flotilla that, early in April, 
carried nearly 700,000 bushels of grain along 
with other freight, from 8t. Louis to New Or¬ 
leans. are reported to have boasted that they 
had cleared *70.000 by the trip—more lhan the 
entire outfit was worth. As stated in our issue 
of May 21, it is said, on good authority, that 
wheat can be carried from St. Lonis to Liver¬ 
pool for 12Jc. a bushel cheaper by way of the 
Ure^eent Guy than by way of New York. This 
is quite a large margin ot profit for somebody. 
Who gets it ? Do the farmers who rai»e the 
wheat shipped by this cheaper route get any 
of the 12$ cents, or do middlemen take the 
whole of the sum—down to the half cent ? 
Mr. E. H. Libby has had “hard luck.” as 
the saving goes. He founded the Scientific 
Farmer which W3s not a brilliant success. 
Then he was made the editor of the Broadway 
Agriculturist, and we judge he was happier 
when he gotout of that than while he was in 
it. Then he fouuded Land and nmne which, 
to our mind, was a bright, sparkling little 
paper. It failed for want of fuuds to estab¬ 
lish it. Now, we see. he is the agricultural 
editor of The Farmers’ Review of Chicago. 
Well, the Rural has wished him success in 
all of his several undertakings and now It 
wishes him success again. We 1 ave always 
thought that there “ was something in that 
young man” and now, let us hope it will have 
a good chance to come ont. 
A carueoram last Wednesday announced 
that M. Tirard. the French Minister of Agri¬ 
culture and Commerce, in answer to a ques¬ 
tion put by a member of the Assembly, stated 
that he was not yet prepared to raise the em¬ 
bargo on importations of hog products from 
this conntry, inasmuch as examination still 
Bhowed the presence of trlchimu in some of 
the imports. Unless the cablegrams erred soon 
after the imposition of the embargo, M. Tirard 
then promised to permit the Importations so 
soon as qualified inspectors of pork had been 
appointed at ports of entry and at the chief 
markets. It has taken a long time to appoint 
these—for a willing government Wouldn’t it 
also be well to inspect French pork with a view 
to forbid its sale absolutely in ease trichime 
were found in any of it ? Surely American tri- 
chime cannot be more dangerous than the 
Gallic sort. 
In view of the fuss that is constantly being 
made In this country over every little appro¬ 
priation sought for in behalf of the agricul¬ 
tural interests of the nation, it would be well 
to compare the sums appropriated by our 
Republic and by the “effete” monarchies of 
Europe for the advancement of agriculture. 
The latest general st.aristics ou this subject 
at hand are thoen of 1877 In that year France 
appropriated *20 534 410 for Agriculture and 
Commerce ; Russia, *14,826. 184 for Agricul¬ 
ture and Public Lands; Austria-Hungary. *5- 
495,125 for Agriculture: Prussia. *2,012,340 
for Agriculture ; Italy, *3 715 995 for Agricul¬ 
ture and Commerce; Great Britain, *795.090 
for Agriculture; Sweden, *651.789 for Agri¬ 
culture; the United States *174 686 tor Agri- 
culiure--le8!> than a quart- r of the appropria¬ 
tion made by Sweden with an area 21 times 
less than that of this country, and a popula¬ 
tion about one-lwclfth as great! 
Ail over the country the agricultural suf¬ 
ferers during the last Winter found some con¬ 
solation for its severity in the hope, generally 
felt and frequently expressed, that its unusual 
rigor would destroy or greatly diminish some 
of the multitudinous species of insects that 
injure vegetation and the farmer. From 
present indications this hope appears to have 
bocn fallacious. Reports from most parts of 
the country declare that insect pests are 
already unusually numerous and destructive. 
In the East the potato beetle and the Army- 
worm seem to be particularly aggressive, and 
chinch bugs and other grain -harming pests in 
the West and Northwest. Late reports from 
Colorado eay that the State is also threatened 
with a grasshopper plague. In the frontier 
States and Territories some apprehensions are 
already felt of a locust visiiatioH. A hot sea¬ 
son, with dry westerly winds, is specially fav- 
vorable to the easterly movement of these vo¬ 
racious pe6ls. In view of the fact that, the 
loss from thlsscourge is calculated by the Ento¬ 
mological Commission that lately investigated 
the matter, at upwards of *45,000,000 in 1874, 
a like visitation this year would be ruinous to 
the afflicted region and disastrous to the nation 
at large. 
The recent alarm in this city at the diversion 
of a good deal of the Western grain trade to 
New Orleans, was doubtless unduly increased 
by what is mildly called a “ joke upon the 
brokers.” It seems that a short time back 
some unknown parties in the Crescent City 
sent despatches to the principal Eastern ship 
brokers, as well as to others in Liverpool and 
Antwerp, instructing them to engage all the 
avahable tonnage in their respective ports to 
export grain from New Orleans. Fortunately 
most of the craft here were already engaged, 
and some of those idle were unwilling to risk 
a southern voyage, yet several steam and sail 
vessels were chartered at ihe Eastern Atlantic 
ports and others In Europe. Some of these 
started at once in ballast for the Mississippi, 
but on their arrival it was discovered that the 
orders for tonnage were bogus, the leading 
ship-brokers in whose names they were sent 
promptly repudiating them. Accordingly 
rates of freight dropped heavily as the supply 
of tonnage was enormously in excess of the 
freights seeking transportation. Whether the 
misleading forgeries were the work of some 
designing rascals who plotted for cheap rates 
of freight, or of those peels of society, “prac¬ 
tical jokers,” who, according to the habit ot 
their tribe, were eager for a little foolish “ fun” 
at the expense of others, has uot yet beeu 
discovered, it is to be imped the culprits will 
soon be detected and severely punished if the 
trick was a swindle, and still more severely if 
i it was meant for a “joke.” 
