THE! 
RURAL NEW'YORKER, 
A National Journal for Country and Suburban Homes, 
PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY. 
Conducted by 
ELBERT S. CARMAN. 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
No. 34 Park Row, New York. 
SATURDAY, NOV. 19, 1881. 
Seven Yearly Subscriptions with $14 
ENTITLE THE SENDER TO THE RURAL 
New-Yorker for One Year Free. 
The Michigan Sufferers. —The total 
amount of money contributed to the Re¬ 
lief Fund is about $500,000. In St. 
Clair, Sanilac and Huron Counties, there 
are 2,200 families who should have at 
least $100 each to carry them over the 
Winter. The Saginaw and Tuscola dis¬ 
tricts are not included in the above. 
Some objections to contributing to the 
fund are made on the grounds that Mich¬ 
igan is a rich and prosperous State, and 
should take care of herself, but until the 
legislature assembles no legal appropria¬ 
tions can be made by the State, and until 
it can do so, her sister States must aid 
her. The response has been prompt and 
the contributions large, but more money is 
needed, and needed now. Let the good 
work go on ! 
Wheat and SnEKP. —Notwithstanding 
all the disasters to these two products for 
several years past, English farmers contend 
that they jmy best in the long run; and 
so far from giving them up, they are now 
determined to increase their production 
in the future as rapidly as possible con¬ 
sistent with other tilings. Their system 
of feeding off the crops of grass and roots 
with sheep—or the “golden foot,” as they 
are called—and then sowing the land to 
wheat, is the easiest, and one of the most 
scientific systems of fanning practiced in 
any country. It is also one of the most 
profitable systems, superior, no doubt, if 
adopted in America, to that so common 
now of corn and swine. Aside from this, 
the two former are much more healthy 
food than the two latter, and make better 
bone and muscle, and grow up a finer and 
hardier race of men and women, especially 
if the wheat flour is not bolted to be made 
into bread, puddings and other dishes. 
■ 
DERBYSHIRE HORSES. 
It seems that a few of our breeders of 
the larger class of farm and cart horses 
have at last found out that the Derby 
horses are the best of their sort in Eng¬ 
land. It is the stallions bred in that coun¬ 
ty which have been used for some years 
past to cross on Clydesdale mares, wh'ch 
have so improved their progeny and given 
them’the reputation they are now so freely 
enjoying. We are glad to note that some 
of our countrymen have lately been visit¬ 
ing the stables of the Hon. Edward Coke, 
of Longford, Derbyshire, who is consid¬ 
ered the best breeder of Shire horses. He 
lately had a sale of 47 head, from colts up 
to aged horses, which made $15,970, j.n 
average of $340 each, within a fraction. 
These are large prices, considering that 
there were seven foals, six two-year-olds 
and the same number of three-year-olds 
among the aged horses aud mares. One 
oj the latter fetched the astounding price 
of 810 guineas ($1,550). It is auisfoi tune 
that, when our horse breeders began to 
import those of a large class so freely some 
ten years ago, continuing to the present 
time, they had not taken the pains to find 
out these in Derbyshire. They would 
then more generally have got horses of su¬ 
perior muscular power, an extra quality of 
bone and the best of feet, and legs, great 
spirit also, fine, quick action for their size, 
indomitable pluck and endurance. But, 
instead of this gome, if indeed we may not 
say a considerable number, of other kinds 
of horses that have been imported are 
quite the reverse of all this. 
•» ♦ ♦- 
THE APPLE CROP. 
Besides being an “ off” year for ap¬ 
ples, the drought has very materially af¬ 
fected the apple crop. In this State it 
will not be over 25 percent, of an average 
crop, the supply for New York markets 
being, it is said, the smallest in fifteen 
years. The largest and best shipments 
received here this season have been from 
the New England States and Canada, 
those from the latter place being at pres¬ 
ent the best in market. Apples shipped 
from the Northern and Western counties 
of this State are usually the favorites in 
this market, but this year they are so 
small and knotty as to be hardly marketa¬ 
ble. The custom, which we have before 
alluded to iu the Rural, of dishonest 
packing of fruit, is doing much damage 
this season both here and in foreign mar¬ 
kets; and, if persisted in, shippers and 
producers must take the results. Not 
only are the apples poorly packed, but 
the barrels are undersized, some lacking 
a peck of full measure. Such shipments 
cannot successfully compete with those 
where the fruit is carefully packed and 
full measure given, nor should they. Dis¬ 
honesty can claim no reward. The short¬ 
age in the crop is apparent when we con¬ 
sider the comparative amount of exports 
of the last two weeks in October for this 
year, and the same time last year, approx¬ 
imately estimated. In 1880 the exports 
for the two weeks were 167,375 barrels, 
while for the same period this year they 
are only 20,462 barrels, a decrease of 146, - 
913 barrels. The total exports of apples, 
green or ripe, last year were 1,121,754 
bushels, of which about 167,000 barrels 
on 417,500 bushels were shipped during 
the last two weeks in October; that 
is, something over one-third of the total 
amount. Judging from the number of 
bushels shipped for the same period this 
year, the total export for 1881 will be not 
far from 158,000 bushels, or about 967,000 
less than last year, 
-- 
THE PURIFICATION OF TOWN 
SEWAGE. 
The Native Guano Company of Ayles¬ 
bury, England, according to the Statist, 
has perfected a valuable method of puri¬ 
fying town sewage. Aylesbury has 8,000 
inhabitants, aud its average daily flow of 
sewage is 300,000 gallons. For dealing 
with this the Company gets $1,500 a year 
from the corporation to which it pays 
$500 a year for the use of the works, so 
that the town gets rid of its nuisance at 
a cost of about 12c. per capita per annum. 
The sewage is treated sons to induce pre¬ 
cipitation. Near the beginning of the 
main sewer some puddled clay, charcoal 
and a small quantity of blood are passed 
into the sewage. A trifle further on a 
little sulphate of alumina trickles into it; 
thereafter, the separation of the solid 
and liquid components is automatic. 
From the point, where the alumina solu¬ 
tion falls into the sewer, a channel about 
two feet wide runs in a straight line for 
45 yards, and when the sewage has ar¬ 
rived at the end, it is chemically acted 
upon and the solid portions begin to sepa¬ 
rate from the liquid. From the narrow 
channel the mixture flows into the first of 
three tanks in which the precipitation of 
the solid matter continues, the overflow 
passing gently to the second tank and 
thence to the third where there is but little 
discoloration and almost a total absence of 
organic matter in suspension. From the 
third tank the overflow runs into a chan¬ 
nel in winch it is exposed to the air, and 
eventually is conducted into a brook far 
cleaner than the brook itself. 
During the whole process there is abso¬ 
lutely no smell, and the sludge precip¬ 
itated in the tanks is not offensive. When 
the tanks are full this sludge is pumped 
into an elevated receptacle whence pipes 
convey it to screw presses which separate 
the water from the solid portion, After 
quitting the presses the cakes are dried 
and finally shipped in the form of inof¬ 
fensive powder, packed in bags for trans¬ 
port. Referring to the relative value of 
Peruvian guano and native guano made 
in this way, it is said that by using t wo 
tous of the latter at £3 10s. per ton the 
results would be as great as from half a 
ton of the former at £’14 per ton; in other 
words, the Peruvian guano is four times 
as efficacious aud four times as dear, so 
that for the same money the same effects 
will be produced though four times as 
much of the houie-made guano must be 
used. 
A CHANGE NEEDED IN THE PATENT 
LAWS. 
The facility with which patents can 
be obtained in tliis country has no 
doubt contributed greatly to its manufac¬ 
turing success by stimulating the invent¬ 
ive ingenuity of the people. Elence there 
are about 22,000 applications for patents 
every year, and about 12,000 pa tents I 
granted. The total number of patents 
granted up to last January was 225,000. 
The vast majority of these were for insig- 
uificaut things, and it is probable that out 
of the entire quarter of a million patented 
inventions not over 100 were of such value 
as to revolutionize the practice in any 
particular department or to form for us a 
subject of national pride. From so vast a 
multitude of patents so vast a multitude 
of abuses have arisen that the whole pres¬ 
ent patent system lias fallen into disre¬ 
pute, and a strong feeling exists either 
for a radical reform of it or its entire abol¬ 
ishment. This feeling is especially strong 
among the farmers of the country, who 
have been the chief victims of grievous 
oppression and sheer swindling in connec¬ 
tion with the sale of patents or patented 
devices. Hence the Grange, the Eaimers 1 
Alliance and all other associations of ag¬ 
riculturists are vigorously agitating a re¬ 
form of the system, dwelling especially on 
the injustice of the frequent exaction of 
“royalty” from the innocent users of pat¬ 
ented articles. With one voice they are 
all demanding that the law shall be so 
changed that royalty can be collected 
only from the manufacturer and not from 
the users of patented devices. Their de¬ 
mand is so just and their harrassraent has 
been so unbearable that the alteration 
must soon be made if they loudly and 
resolutely persist in clamoring for it. 
In a recent essay Mr. Roland Cox has 
pointed out the probability of an impor¬ 
tant. c hange in t he law relating to re-issued 
patents, a change that may invalidate 
two-thirds of tlio re-issued patents now in 
force. Under the name of re-issues the 
existing statutes provide that when any 
patent is invalid or inoperative by reason 
of defective or insufficient specification 
through “inadvertence, accident or mis¬ 
take,” the invention intended to be se¬ 
cured in the first instance may be re stated 
under such restrictions as are supposed to 
guard against fraud. These statutes, 
however, have been so liberally construed 
that re-issued patents have frequently 
been permitted to cover not only the 
invention first patented, but also anything 
else suggested by it, and not already for¬ 
mally protected. The Supreme Court lias 
lately declared that the real object of a re¬ 
issue of a patent is not to allow its en¬ 
largement. but merely to permit the cor¬ 
rection of inadvertent mistakes and the 
restriction of claims improperly made, or 
made too broad. Moreover, JusticeField, 
sitting in Circuit Court, has lately held 
that there can be absolutely no re-issue 
where the original patent, on the original 
specifications, is valid and operative, and 
at least two of the o.her judges are 
known to hold a similar opinion. The 
Inventor seldom gains by these re-is¬ 
sues; for generally before they are grant¬ 
ed the patent has become the property of 
a corporation. Then, to use the words of 
Judge Bradley: “A reisgsuc of the pat¬ 
ent is sought, with expanded claims suf¬ 
ficiently general and comprehensive to 
embrace a wide monopoly of structure 
and to shut up competing establishments. 
In this way the patent laws have been 
made the instruments of great injustice 
and oppression.” 
BREVITIES. 
An account of the great Chicago fat stock 
show has just come to hand too late for publi¬ 
cation in this issue. 
Hamamelis (Witch Hazel) illustrated iu 
another column is described bv several 
authorities as bearing a “ rich” yellow flower. 
The flower is yellow certainly—but, the rich¬ 
ness of the color does not appear. 
A furious bull that had commenced gor¬ 
ing a couple of men was lately coaxed off by 
letting out some cows to him. The moment 
he saw these he ceased his attacks on the men, 
joined the cows, became placid, and was 
easily driven into his stable. 
A I! a racing or Jibing Horse it is said may 
be easily started by taking up his near fore 
foot with the left hand, as a blacksmith does 
for shoeing, then prick him gently behind the 
ribs with a spur in the right hand" The horse 
feeling powerless to move thus held, as soon 
as his foot is set down, starts at once and goes 
off without further trouble. He ought not to 
be struck then, but patted and spoken to 
gently und encouragingly. 
A CORRESPONDENT of the English Agricul¬ 
tural Gazette says that had they expended 
one fourth the money in improving utility 
horses which they liave done on racers, they 
would not now be obliged to depend on foreign 
countries, ns they are now doing, for any part 
of the number necessary for every-day uses. 
He speaks particularly of those with ‘' short, 
stout muscular legs, clean and flat.” This is a 
point which cannot be too often strongly urged 
upon American horse breeders. 
From Washington we learn that Commis¬ 
sioner I/Oring has decided to discontinue work 
on that experimental tea farm, and has sent 
a clerk to South Carolina to distribute the 
plants among private parties who may wish 
to try home-raised tea All the government 
property there is to be sold or removed and 
the problem of the practicability of profitable 
tea culture in this country is to lie abandoned 
by the government, its solution being left to 
private enterprise. We are sorry. 
A draft from W. J. Taylor’s Foiled Angus 
herd in Scotland averaged for 11 cows £ 06 , 
19s. 8 d.; three two-year-old heifers, £41, 6 s.; 
six one-year-old heifers £26, 12s. 9d.; six 
heifer calves, £17, 11s. 9d.; one two-year-old 
bull. £40, 19s.; two bull calves, £28, 17s. 6 d.; 
One handsome seven-year-old cow, Kate Duff, 
fetched 155 guineas ($775), and a fine ttaree- 
yoar-old, 70 guineas ($350). As Polled cattle 
are now commanding considerable attention 
among us, we thought our readers might like 
to know what a good ordinary lot was worth 
per head in Scotland. 
The Board of the New> York Agricultural 
Exjieriment Station met at Albany last Fri¬ 
day and effected a permanent organization by 
electing the following officers: Pres., Robert 
J. Swan, of Geneva: Sec’y, N. M. Curtis, 
Ogdensburg; Treas., Luther H. Tucker, 
Albany. Two committees were appointed: 
one, composed of J. AY. Woodward, James 
McCann and N. M Curtis, to examine farms 
with a view to selecting the best location for 
the Station; and the other, consisting of Gov¬ 
ernor Cornell, W. A. Armstrong and N. M, 
Curtis, to secure a director for it. 
Mr. Jos. Nimmo, Jr., Chief of the Bureau 
of Statistics, states that the number of tons of 
freight carried on the 13 chief railroads in¬ 
creased from 45,557,002 tons during 1873 to 
78,150,913 tons during 1880—an increase of 
about 71.5 per cent. The receipts from 
freight, however, increased oniv from $ 112 ,- 
004,648 in ’73 to $148,888, 1 78 in’ SO -an increase 
of $81,388,680 or only about 28 percent. The 
average rate per ton fell from $1.77 pier cent 
per ton per mile in 1878 to 1.07 per cent per 
ton per mile in 1880—a decrease of 39.5. And 
with anything like business-like management 
and moderation in percentage on actual cap¬ 
ital invested, there is ample room for a 
great additional reduction—not ten years 
hence, but at once. Mr. Nimmo advocates 
governmental supervision of railroads. 
Our agent at the Atlanta Fair writes us 
that the exposition as a show is a lino success; 
but the attendance is very light. The several 
States lmd appointed committees to confer 
with the railroads and so far had met with 
considerable success, All that is necessary is 
to get the people there but I hey will not pay 
three, four and five cents a mile for excursion 
tickets. The Southern roads are the ones that 
are holding out. In view of the great draw¬ 
back to the success of the exhibition which 
persistence in high fares would inevitably pro¬ 
duce, we are glad that according to a telegram 
of last Saturday, ull the roads have now 
agreed to charge "only at, the rate of one cent 
a mile for excursion tickets to the exhibition. 
A continuance of the former high charges 
would not only have greatly lessened tin- suc¬ 
cess of this remarkably fine show; but it would 
also have deprived thousands of the valuable 
information obtainable by a visit to its ac¬ 
cumulated treaures. 
The Ladies Association for the Encourage¬ 
ment of British Woolen Manufactures has 
lately been established in England by the 
Countess of Boctive. Its object is to restore 
the fashions in wool and worsted which pre¬ 
ferred the fine lustre worsted wools of Eng¬ 
land to everything else for dress fabrics. Of 
late years these have been largely superseded 
by the skillfully constructed, soft worsted 
fabrics of France; but the new association, 
having secured a long list of titled patrons, 
is bringing a greet deal of social pressure to 
bear to restore the old fashion for dresses and 
trimmings made of home-grown wooL The 
influence of such < rgauizations, gotten up by 
fashionable idlers, really for the sake of pass¬ 
ing time and creating a little pleasurable ex¬ 
citement, but ostensibly for charitable or 
patriotic objects, is seldom more than fleeting, 
and already the ardor of the new Associa¬ 
tion is damped by the refusal of the Princess 
of Wales to use her personal influence to 
further the movement. 
Th ere a ppours to be some prospect of obtain¬ 
ing earlier and more trustworthy crop re¬ 
ports than have hitherto been obtainable. 
Last Wednesday and Thursday several meet¬ 
ings of the iufcer-Stnte Association of Boards of 
Agriculture were held at, Chicago. J. W. Por¬ 
ter, president of the Iowa Board presided, 
aud W. I, Chamberlain, secretary, of the 
Ohio Board, was secretary. Delegates were 
present from Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illin- 
ios, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas, and the De¬ 
partment of Agriculture was represented 
by its former Statistician, J. R. Dodge. The 
main topic of discussion was the status of the 
State and national crop re ports, .and the best, 
means of obtaining uniformity and superior 
accuracy. A plan of co-operation with the 
National Department was agreed upon, which 
will 1)0 presented to the Commissioner of 
Agriculture who is urgently requested to ob¬ 
tain and publish frequent reports on the con¬ 
dition of growing European crops with refer¬ 
ence to the probable demand fur our surplus 
grain and other agricultural products. A 
permanent organization was effected. 
It looks very much as if the recent British 
iund legislation for Ireland was the com¬ 
mencement of a new era in land tenure in the 
United Kingdom. The reductions already 
made in the rents by the Laud Court have 
averaged somewhat over 25 per cent, of the 
old rates, aud this although the eases brought 
before it at the outset were, by the advice of 
the Land League, only those in which what 
was though t ui oderute Vents were charged. The 
reductions must bo much greater in cases 
where "rack rente” were exacted. Already, 
however, Irish landlords are demanding from 
the Government compensation for the diminu¬ 
tion of their incomes caused by its action. 
English and Scotch farmers are now insisting 
Oil t he speedy pussage of land bills as favor¬ 
able to them us that now under trial is to their 
Irish compeers. English landlords are reduc¬ 
ing rente on an average about 25 per cent., in 
hopes of deferring such a measure; but the 
tenants claim tiro reduction us u matter of 
right, not of generosity, and, moreover, they 
claim the right to leases, payment for im¬ 
provements aud the other advantages con¬ 
ceded by the Land Act. The more energetic¬ 
ally they agitate for such legislation, the 
sooner will it be granted. If it is delayed, 
the fault will be entirely their own; and now 
that even the weather favors their demands, 
they should insist upon them, lest fairer 
weather should lessen their force. 
