TABLE OP CONTENTS, 
say No, when offered things desired but 
which cannot be afforded; but if we all 
would do this, what an amount of trouble 
might be avoided! There would be few 
pressing debts at times most inconvenient 
to be met; mortgages and notes of hand 
drawing high rates of interest, would be¬ 
come far less plentiful than now, although 
such a change might take much business 
from the lawyers and courts of justice. 
We would that every one of our readers 
should think of this, especially those who 
complain the most bitterly of hard times. 
Ask yourself if some of the debts pressing 
you could not have been avoided had you 
said No, at the proper time and place ? 
Could not some implement upon the farm 
or part of the farm iteelf, have been dis¬ 
pensed with—has there nothing gone to 
waste which might have been Baved ? In 
fact, look for mistakes made in the past, 
and try to avoid a repetition of them in 
the future. Forget, or become totally 
blind to what your neighbor may be doing 
in the way of fine horses, carriages, har¬ 
ness, furniture, or other luxuries and con¬ 
veniences, until you can wiy^ “I am out 
of debt, and there is money in my pocket 
or deposited m the bank to pay for what 
i want,” and by that time your wants will 
be limited by the amount of spare cash 
on hand. 
There is a pleasure in self-denial that a 
majority of our people never experienced, 
and it comes in most gloriously, and is 
extremely satisfactory to the one practic¬ 
ing it when he can say, “I owe no man,” 
and at tho same time has a hundred dol¬ 
lars in his pocket, but wanting some arti¬ 
cle costing two, he refuses to purchase 
until, through self-denial, the other hun¬ 
dred is obtained. 
haps, to get their dividends, leaving the 
whole business in the handsof theoffioerB, 
who often delegate it to their clerks. 
The best way to insure security of funds 
and honesty of officers, is for all interests 
to use the right to ask questions of direct¬ 
ors, making them feel their responsibility, 
and that may induce them to keep closer 
watch of the officers, and thus prevent 
many from using the funds of the institu 
tion in ways neither profitable nor lawful. 
Officers and Directors should be made to 
know that they are only the servants of 
depositors and stockholders—not their 
masters, and they will never learn it by 
having special funds Bet aside to make up 
deficiencies caused by inattention to their 
business. 
products which prevailed during the late 
war, it is to be feared they never will, 
unless they learn wisdom from adversity! 
Practical Departments 
Large and Small Pears. 
Profits of Fruit Culture. 
I Miscellanea...,. 
Note*.. . 
American Dairymen'* Convention at Ingersoll 
Canada... 
Suggestive Facts Concerning Milk. 
The Winter Drought—Suggestions for the Fu¬ 
ture Supply of Water... 
Chicken* and Chufas. 
Profitable Poultry.... 
Two Queens in One Illve. 
flee-KeopIng In Southern California.. 
Sewage System of Kiirmitig. 
Coramerria: Fertilizer*. 
When to Prune Fruit Trees. 
From Not th Carolina.. 
North Carolina Notes. 
Smut in Wheat. 
The Hook... 
A Tame Pelican... 
Country Horses Going Barefoot.... 
| Something about Steam-Power-No. 3. 
Ammonia a* a Motive Power... 
Drought and the Suction Pump. 
Concussion anti the Grasshoppers. 
A Gooseberry Pont. 
Small Kounnmle.5 .. , . 
Iloclpe*. .... 
Useful Uinta.... ... 
Frost-Bites. 
Chloral Plaster.. 
Hygienic Notes. 
Editorial page: 
Jf We Onlv Would. 
Robbing Peter to Pay —Who?. 
Notes—Brevities... 
3.iter a it r : 
Poetry...77, 7H 
Btory. . 
Miscellaneous. 
Recent Literature. 
Sabbath Iteailmg... 
latiiicH' Portfolio... 
Heading lor the Young... 
Home of tlie Artichoke.—The 
American Agriculturist takes us to task 
for stating that the Jerusalem Artichoke 
is a native of South America, but fails to 
enlighten ns as to its native country for, 
perhaps, the very good reason that it 
doesn’t know. In such matters we usually 
quote from works which are considered 
authoritative, and there are, we presume, 
a hundred in our library which gives the 
native country of this plant as South 
America ; and still, all may be wrong, for 
aught we know, personally, to the con¬ 
trary. 
■ • 
Those Tree-Peddlers Again.— 
We are again compelled to caution all our 
subscribers against two certain peddlers 
traveling in Ohio, who are professing to 
take subscriptions for tho Rural at. $1.60 
pci - annum. The price alone should be 
sufficient to cast suspicion upon them. 
They are swindlers. Tho lowest price of 
the Rural in clubs is two dollars a year, 
and any one wlio offers it at. a less figure 
should bo placed immediately under tho 
ban of suspicion, as all our local agents 
arc forbidden to reduce tho price. 
RURAL NOTES 
I mprovements. —Amongthe various 
novelties offered to the producing classes, 
few are of more solid interest than those 
which facilitate the application of steam 
to the labor of the farm. The small port¬ 
al ilo steam-engine has now become n ne¬ 
cessity in every well-regulated farming 
Community, and will eventually become 
much more generally used than it now is. 
That this is specially true in Dairy dis¬ 
tricts, has been proved by Messrs. Whit¬ 
man A; Burrell of Little Falls, N. Y., 
who have for some time been laboring to 
produce a steam-engine suitable for Duiry 
and all other purposes, at once. They 
now consider themselves to be in posses¬ 
sion of the open secret, in tho way of steam 
apparatus and are willing to prove the 
fact to all applicants. They are manufac¬ 
turing engines large and* small, cheap 
and costly and for all purposes, of a stylo 
peculiarly their own and bv them claimed 
to be a great improvement upon existing 
machinery. 
- 
The Church and Potatoes_A 
gentleman by the name of Worthington 
Smith has been investigating the potato 
disease in England, and he informs us 
that “ It all comes from an unthankful 
hatred ou the part of the masses to the 
Established Church." This is certainly 
no new theory, but is only tho bringing 
to light an old one supposed to have been 
suuk into oblivion long ago. The old 
Scotch Presbyterians arc said to have bit¬ 
terly opposed the introduction and culti¬ 
vation of the potato, because it was not 
mentioned in the Bible ; but now one of 
the numerous Smith family claims that a 
little more religion would improve the 
quality of the tubers, or at least prevent 
their destruction by disease. Who speaks 
next,? I 
Publisher's Notice*. 
News of tlie Week.. 
Markets. 
.ARawer* to Correspondents 
I'eiMotmlg.. 
Every where.. 
Educational Note*..... 
Humorous. 
Advertisement*.. 
Our Prom in ms.—In order that sub¬ 
scribers may see that it is worth their 
while to get up a club in their district, 
we print below one of the many letters of 
appreciation of our Premiums ihat we aro 
now constantly receiving: 
Emporium, Pa., Jan. 22, 1877. 
Dear Sir I laavo received the cake-basket, 
and am highly pleased with it. It is well worthy 
the time ana trouble T took in getting up the 
Club. Thanking you very much for it, 1 remain, 
yours truly, Geoiuje Pay. ' 
RURAL NEW-YORKER 
PUBLISHED EVERT SATURDAY 
ANDREW S. FULLER. Editor 
Tlie Premium Plants.—Owing to 
the severe cold weather of the past lew 
weeks, wo have delayed sending out the 
Premium Plants which are duo to a large 
number of our subscribers ; but all will 
go forward so soon as their safety in the 
mails can be assured. All who are enti¬ 
tled to these Premiums will receive them 
in due time and, wo hope, in good order. 
ELBERT 8. CABMAN, 
Associate Editor, 
It requires some cour¬ 
age to adopt such a system of living and 
dealing, but it has this as a recommenda¬ 
tion—it is perfectly safe. 
X. A. WILLARD, A. M„ Little Falls, N. Y., 
Editor oy to* Dbpaktmsnt oy Da try Hcsbandby. 
G. A. C. BARNETT, Publisher, 
ROBBING PETER TO PAY-WHO ? 
Address 
RURAL PUBLISHING CO., 
78 Duane Street, New York City 
BUBAL BBEVITIE8 
A bill lias been presented to the Le¬ 
gislature of the State of New York, pro¬ 
viding that all Savings Banks shall pay 
over from their assets a certain percentage, 
to establish a fund from which to make 
good to depositors in any Savings Bank 
whatever losses they may buffer in oase 
the particular bank in which their depos¬ 
its are made fails, fromauy cause, to make 
good its obligations. It might properly 
be entitled a bill to provide against loss 
by the ignorance or dishonesty of Savings 
Bank officials. 
It, is true that, as an offset to the many 
benefits derived from society, each mem¬ 
ber must necessarily contribute something 
of his individual rights, submit to many 
inconveniences. But it has not been 
clearly shown that a community of all in¬ 
terests is best. If it be wise ‘to protect 
depositors in Savings Banks by contribu¬ 
tions in tlie manner proposed, why not 
extend it to Banks of Deposit, Insurance 
Companies, Railroad Corporations, and 
the whole list ? and, going still further, 
establish a fund to make good any losses 
by hail-storms, grasshoppers or tobacco- 
worms, and then it will be but a little re¬ 
move to have a common ownership in 
property, as the Shakers do. A few weeks 
since we tried to show the unfairness of a 
dealer in charging his customers who paid 
oash the same price for commodities that 
those were charged who paid after a while, 
or perhaps not at all. In this case, the 
good customers contribute to a fund to 
make up the grocer’s losses by the dis¬ 
honest ones. 
We fear, should the proposed bill be¬ 
come a law, that there would be less scru¬ 
tiny by depositors as to the actions of 
their trustees than at, present, when every¬ 
body who has given tlie matter any atten¬ 
tion knows that there is little enough. 
The great trouble with all 6ueli institu¬ 
tions and companies is, tl tat the managers 
are allowed to do too much as they please 
without interference of others. If any 
depositor or stockholder doubts this, let, 
him ask any question relative to his Bank 
or Company from the first five directors 
or trustees he meets. Not more than one 
out of the five, we venture to say, will 
Baron Bcrletch Bays that a queen honey¬ 
bee sometimes lays twelve hundred thousand 
eggs during her lire. 
Hoes are said to he very fond of Alfalfa, and 
do well when fed upon this plant while green 
and succulent, or when dried as hay. 
The continued cold weather has almost caused 
a '• ooruer - ' in the potato trade in thia city, and 
there is very little new stock arriving. 
They are poisoning squirrels in California by 
putting strychnine into apples and then rolling 
them down into tho burrows of the squirrels. 
A new sheep disease has broken out among 
the flocks in some portions of Australia, and 
threatens to cause severe losses to tlock-maatera. 
California’s six establishments for canning 
fruita are said to have turned out goods in the 
past, year of the value of 62.000,000, which is a 
pretty good showing for n young State. 
The late cold weather and deep 6 Jiows have 
afforded charitably-inclined persons opportuni¬ 
ties to make themselveB and othors happy in dis¬ 
pensing needful articles among tho poor. 
It is proposed to introduce the fur seals into 
Lake Superior, as it is thought Ihe water is cold 
enough to insure the health of these animals. 
We should think they would do well anywhere in 
those northern regions, if cold water or climate 
is all that is needed. 
The shipment of silk-worm eggs from Japan 
to France and Italy, still continues; which shows 
that the scientists of Europe have not been able 
to check the disease which, for the past few 
years, has been very destructive to the silk¬ 
worms. 
A contemporary has figured it out that eggs 
are cheaper by at least fifty percent., than pork, 
provided (according to the figures) thata bushel 
of corn produces twelve dozen of eggs. What 
say those of our readers who feed corn and get 
no’ eggs during the winter months ? 
At the regular Annual Meeting of the Chau¬ 
tauqua County Ag. Soc . held iu Jameston, N. 
Y., Jan. 22. 1877, the following named officers 
were elected for the ensuing year : Pres.— John 
T. Wilson : Vice-Pros.—J. H. Russell; Sec.— 
Law rence W. Wilts!©; Treats.—F. B. Farnham. 
We said last week, that California claimed to 
be the sweetest state iu tho Union on account of 
her immense honey crops, and now it would seem 
additional proof of her •' sweetuesa had come 
to light near Sacramento, where some person 
has dug what is reported to he petrified honey¬ 
comb, •• chock full " of Btono honey. But we 
fear that some scientist will spoil this good story 
by showing that the so-called honey comb is 
merely the work of some species of Polyp be¬ 
longing to antediluvian ages—in other words, 
the honey-comb is only a kind of coral. 
SATURDAY, FEB. 3, 1877 
IF WE ONLY WOULD! 
Somebody lias said, “ Where there’s a 
will, there’s a way but the great obsta¬ 
cle to be overcome in reaching the way 
is the lack of courage to form the much- 
needed will. The great sin of the ago is 
extravagance ; that is, livmg beyond one’s 
means, or at least, spending more than 
can be done with safety. Hence, disas¬ 
ters come, finding thousands of persons 
unprepared to meet them, and bitter re¬ 
grets follow, if not actual bodily or men¬ 
tal suffering. We certainly admire that 
kind of pride which makes itself manifest 
to tho fullest extent of one’s abilities, but 
when it assumes the habiliments of de¬ 
ceit, it becomes obnoxious to every hon¬ 
est person, besides deserving the severest 
condemnation. 
Poverty is said to be “no crime,” al¬ 
though all will admit that it is very in¬ 
convenient at times; but if we were to 
judge a majority of persons from their 
actions in trying to hide from their asso¬ 
ciates and acquaintances the facts in re¬ 
gard to their financial affairs, one might 
suppose that to be short of funds, was 
something far worse than a crime. Now, 
this trying to keep up appearances and 
do as others do, whether it can be afforded 
or not, has become tho bane of society 
and, like what is called mimicry among 
insects, produces a nondescript race very 
difficult to define or assign to its proper 
place in the order to which it evidently 
belongs. Of course, we are not advocat¬ 
ing the exposure of a man’s business 
affairs to everybody with whom he comes 
into business or friendly relations; but 
we do hold that he has no right t o pretend 
to be any better off in worldly goods than 
he is in fact, for to do so is a deception 
which is but another name for dishonesty. 
Change of Base.—Farms in Massa¬ 
chusetts are said to have greatly deterio¬ 
rated in value during the past twenty 
years. One hundred and forty-eighttowns 
m the State have lost during the period 
named from two to sixty-one per cent, of 
their population, nnd from tbree to eighty 
per cent, in agricultural products; but 
all this only shows that there lias been a 
change of base, the people moving nearer 
the manufacturing centers, giving up their 
poor lands, which were never worth what 
it cost to dear them of the timber and 
stones, aDd fit for the plow. Manu¬ 
facturing having become more profitable 
than farming, the latter is being neglect¬ 
ed, and this readily accounts for the great 
changes noted above. 
I>eatJi to the Birds,—The late 
heavy fall of snow throughout the North¬ 
ern States, it is feared, has been very de¬ 
structive to quail and other small nou- 
migratory birds. Farmers and all other 
residents of the country should endeavor 
to prevent this by throwing out food for 
the birds during eueh severe weather. 
We have for years made it a practice to 
scatter litter eoutaining grass seed from 
tlie hav-mow, over the snow or frozen 
ground every morning during the cold 
weather ; besides, crumbs from the kitch¬ 
en are thrown out, and we are well repaid 
for the trouble by seeing the birds made 
comfortable during the dreary winter 
months. 
A Bad Sign.—One of our old sub¬ 
scribers, in renewing his own subscription 
and those of some of his neighbors, cas¬ 
ually remarks that quite a number of the 
farmers in the town were just now (Jan. 
1st) busy issuing papers of their own- 
yclept, mortgages. This certainly, is a 
bad sign, as it indicates bad management 
somewhere, or previous living beyond 
their means, which amounts to the same 
thing. If farmers could not get out of 
debt with the aid of high prices of farm 
The Lungs are Strained and Racked by an 
obstinate Cough which, taken iu time, Dr. 
Jayne’s Expectorant would speedily cure.— Ex. 
