MARCH 2S 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
the city and make a lawyer, or doctor, or 
clerk, or lightening rod peddler, or something 
genteel of him: instead of saying “ Our best 
scholar shall be sent to the Agricultural Col¬ 
lege or Industrial University where he can learn 
those sciences on which the art of agriculture 
fundamentally rests, and then come home to 
use his scientific knowledge in successful farm¬ 
ing.” The truth about it is that on the farm 
more than almost anywhere else, brain work 
can constantly lighten hand work and make 
it more effective. It is all right to “get a liv¬ 
ing by our wits” if we only earn it: that is, 
if we by our wits increase the production of 
veal values ; the things the world demands and 
must have. 
For example, he who invents a machine, 
device or process by means of which one 
man with horse or steam power can dw the 
work of ten,—this nun has done what? Has 
he turned the nine men loose to lack employ¬ 
ment, and taken the bread from the mouths 
of their wives and little ones ? If so then 
labor-saving machinery would be indeed a 
curse, and mobs like those that tried to de¬ 
molish the power-looms and spinuing jennies 
in England many years ago, such mobs would 
be doing service both to God and man. No, 
this is not true. The labor-saving machine 
does not turn the nine men loose to idleness 
and want and crime, but sets them free from 
the drudgery au inanimate machine can do 
even better than a living, thinking man, and 
lets them engage in other useful work that 
shall increase the comforts, conveniences, lux¬ 
uries, intelligence and real refinement of civil¬ 
ized life. Invention not only marks, but has 
created and is constantly widening the space 
between squalor and comfort, ignorance and 
knowledge, barbarism and civilization. And 
so it is all right and praiseworthy to make a 
living by one’s wits in any such way. And if 
our children have inventive genius or marked 
mechanical skill, or a strong bent for any 
honorable trade, art, calling or profession, 
then we should by no means oppose that ob 
vious bent or taste. It is not right or best 
that all the boys should stay on the farm. It 
is not true farmers are the only producers, or 
that they are more essential in the make-up 
of civilized society than men in other callings. 
Demagogues sometimes try to preach that 
doctrine, in empty flattery, to capture rural 
votes. Intelligent farmers at once see its 
hollowness and falsity. An old emblematic 
painting m London crystallizes this notion. 
It represents, first, a king with throne and 
scepter, and over bis head is written, *‘I reign 
for all." Next, a bishop with cross and miter, 
with the legend, “I pray for all.” Then, a 
warrior with shield and spear and with the 
words, “I fight for all.” And, last, a farmer 
with rake and hoe and plow', and over his 
head is written, “I pay for all. 
Now Ibis is not true ; and it is simple empty 
humbug wheu the politicians tell us so, and 
harmful egotism wheu we think so. We are 
not the only producers. The man that grows 
and shears and sells the wool is uot more sure¬ 
ly a producer than he that weaves the cloth 
or cuts and makes the coat, or even he that 
taearsthe coat, provided he earned the money 
with which he bought it. The farmer is a 
manufacturer, and the manufacturer is a pro¬ 
ducer. The uian who creates glass that did 
not exist before from the sand of the bank 
by heat and the chemistry of art, is just as 
truly a producer as he who creates grain from 
earth and air aud storm and sunshine, by the 
organic chemistry of Nature. 
Strictly speaking, man cannot be a pro¬ 
ducer. The eteruity and the indestructibility 
of matter are well established philosophically. 
He may transform or fashion this matter, as 
wheu he makes shoes from leather, or pins 
from brass, or knives from steel and ivory. 
Or he may transmute it or change its nature 
more or less, as when he turns hides to leather 
or sand to glass by the agents of inorganic 
chemistry; or us when, by the aid of organic 
chemistry of growth, he turns or trausmutes 
the chemical elements of earth, air, sunshine 
aud storm, into grass and grain, or the grass 
and grain again into beef aud hides. Thou¬ 
sands of callings besides farming are changing 
the form or nature of matter and adding 
somewhat to its value in the world. 
And so all these useful callings are 
needed in the' world, and the greater 
the skill and intelligence used, the greater 
the rewards of labor. The census show’s 
that skilled labor in our country receives 
double the wages paid to unskilled labor. The 
only question between farming and other hon¬ 
orable employments is as to the division of 
profits. How shall we see to it that the men 
who transform matter in oar factories or 
transport it on our railways shall not take 
any of the profits that belong to the fanner 
who transm utes the inert elements of earth and 
ah’ into living crops und herds? The only 
way is for farmers to possess as high a grade 
ol' knowledge, and practice os careful a sys¬ 
tem of economy, aud pay as close attention to 
business methods, as the men who run our 
mills and shops and railways. The truth about 
it is, there is just as fine a chance to “ get a liv¬ 
ing by one’s wits,” honestly, on the farm as 
anywhere in the world. The rewards of su¬ 
perior intelligence and sagacity are just as 
great on the average, and more sure. The 
life of the educated and sagacious farmer is 
quite as “ genteel ” as, and far more independ¬ 
ent and healthful and inspiring than, many 
callings in the city that our boys think would 
be so “ genteel.” The bright, active country 
boy should thiuk twice before he abandons 
the farm and homestead of hi3 fathers for city 
life. 
•»- 
SELLING CROPS AND INVESTING THE 
MONEY. 
NELSON RITTER. 
It appears to me that the discussions in our 
agricultural papers and before our Farmers’ 
Clubs are decidedly one-sided. How to grow 
profitable crops appears to be the main consid¬ 
eration. How to keep up the fertility of our 
land comes in for a fair share in these discus¬ 
sions, but bow’ und when to sell and the best 
manner of selling are now rarely taken into 
the account. How best to invest our profits 
is little thought of. Of course, the first thing 
is to grow good crops; but in many cases— 
notably with perishable small fruits—it re¬ 
quires equal skill to sell advautageously. 
Most dairymen keep their butter and cheese 
until the end of the season and then sell in the 
lump. A few sell as fast as the products are 
made. Which is the profitable course to pur¬ 
sue ? Should hay be sold from the field, or 
put into the barn and sold in Wiuter, or 
should it in all caseB be fed upon the farm ? 
When is the best time to sell potatoes, apples, 
etc., that shrink from 20 to 25 per cent, if kept 
through the Winter ? Will it pay to preserve 
eggs laid in Summer when the price is lower 
than the cost of production l 
These questions and many others readily 
suggest themselves. Perhaps I ought to give 
my views regarding my own questions. First, 
then, 1 would feed bay upon the premises, 
buying stock for the purpose, if necessary. 
Sometimes one can profitably take stock to 
keep by the week or month, and thus save the 
manure made from it. I would answer the 
rest of the questions, and many similar ones, 
by saying that the best time to sell all kinds 
of produce is as soon as it is ready and there 
is a demand for it, thus saving shrinkage, risk 
and loss by accidents, destruction by rats and 
mice, interest on the money, etc. 
How to spend money wisely is to my mind 
a difficult problem. Shall a man endeavor to 
buy all the land adjoining, or invest in mort¬ 
gages, depriving bimself and family of all the 
main comforts of life to do this ? The first 
thing should be to provide for the actual neces¬ 
saries of life ; the next, to get out of debt. 
Then, if there is a surplus, a good share should 
be invested in labor-saving implements for use 
in the hous as well as on the farm. A man 
and wife can well afford to work hard and de¬ 
prive themselves of luxuries until they get a 
start; after that they should take life more 
easy. We should adorn our homes, have 
plenty of papers and magazines, and, above 
all, books. A house without books may do to 
stay in, but it is a poor place to live in. 
“The place that does 
Contain my books, the best companions. Is 
To me a glorious court, where hourly 1 
Converse with the old Mityes und philosophers j 
And sometimes, for variety. 1 confer 
With kings and emperors,m.d weigh their counsels." 
We should also dress ourselves respectably. 
Says a noted auth r, *' The sense of being per¬ 
fectly well dressed gives a feeling of inward 
satisfaction.” Blackmore, in his Mary An- 
nerly, describes a farmer “who, when away 
on business, was always neatly and suitably 
dressed, and at no time was he dirtier than 
need be.” 
Nothing but the most abject poverty should 
excuse a man for going about looking like a 
scare crow. Always dress a boy like a vaga¬ 
bond, and if he does not turn ont one, then I 
am no prophet. We need not follow all the 
absurd fashions, but should dress ourselves and 
our families in a sensible manner, appropriate 
to our occupation. 
The education of our children should be one 
of our umin objects, und money spent in this 
direction is a better investment than buy.ug 
extra lands. Our duty is not done when we 
simply send our children to school, for, as 
George McDonald says, “ Our schooling ends, 
but our education never.” 
Onondaga Co., N. Y. 
-*-♦-»- 
NOTES FROM OHIO. 
In the Rural Nkw-Yorkkr of Feb. 25th 
one correspondent asks for information in re¬ 
gard to Clark’s No. 1 Potato, and another one, 
who does not give his address, wants to know’ 
what is the legal remedy when a neighbor re¬ 
fuses to make or repair his part of a line 
fence. 
Line Fence Law In Ohio. 
Your answer to the latter question is, I 
suppose, the fence law of New York. The 
law in regard to fences in Ohio is, that the 
owner or lessee for three or more years of 
land adjoining a good fence built by the owner 
or lessee of adjacent land, who causes an in¬ 
closure to be made adjoining said fence, shall 
pay the owner of the fence half the value of 
as much of it as serves for a partition fence; 
that the owners or lessees of adjacent lands 
shall keep up and maintain in good repair all 
partition fences in equal shares. A legal de¬ 
cision, Phelps v. Cousins, 29 0. S., 135, de¬ 
clares:—“A part owner of a partition fence 
who fails to keep in repair the part assigned to 
him, whereby stock from the adjacent inclo¬ 
sure breaks and enters upon his land, is with¬ 
out remedy; aud if the stock doing damage in 
such case be breachy or unruly, the party 
damaged, in order to recover therefor, must 
show that the defect in his part of the fence 
was not the proximate cause of the damage.” 
If one man refuses to assist in the building or 
repair of partition fences, the owner or lessee 
of the adjacent land may apply to the town¬ 
ship trustees, whose duty it is to give ten 
days’ notice to the parties concerned, then at 
the appointed time proceed to view the fence, 
and assign in writing to each party an equal 
share, and the time within which it shall be 
constructed. If either party fail to comply 
with the assignment, the other may, upon 
giving fifteen days’ notice in writing, build it 
himself, and then present to the party’ in de¬ 
fault an itemiz.>d bill of its cost. If payment 
thereof is refused, the township trustees may 
be called cn again, who shall estimate the 
value of the fence, after which, if payment is 
refused, it may be recovered in any court of 
competent jurisdiction. This is tbe “Ohio 
idea” on line fences. 
Experience with Potatoes. 
Now as to potatoes, I will give my experi¬ 
ence. Last Spring I purchased of J. J. H. Greg¬ 
ory, of Marblehead, Mass., Early Ohio, Bliss’s 
Triumph, and Clark’s No. 1 potatoes. I had 
some Early Rose potatoes from New York. 
They were all planted on the 23ud of April on 
the same piece of laud. The land was old sod, 
and had been plowed with an Oliver chilled 
plow, with jointer attachment, and was in 
splendid condition. The potatoes were cut to 
single eyes and planted two pieces in a place, 2 
feet apart, the rows being about feet apart. 
The covering was done with a hoe, and the 
potatoes received ordinary cultivation. The 
dry weather of the latter part of May, J une, 
and July, greatly injured the potatoes, and 
the Early Ohio and Bliss’s Triumph ripened 
first. Early Ohio yielded four for one of 
seed, and Bliss’s Triumph five for one. At 
this time, July 26, Clark's No. 1 and Early’ 
Rose w’ere still nearly all greea, and some 
rain gave them a fresh start. August 5, the 
Clark’s No. 1 were dug, aud yielded nine for 
one. The Early Rose, still greeu, received 
the benefit of heavy rains, took a second 
growth, and were dug in October, yielding 
seven for one. 
From this experience it would seem that for 
earliness these potatoes are:—1, Early Ohio; 
2, Bliss’s Triumph; 3, Clark’s No. 1; 4, Early 
Rose. For yield, although the test is hardly 
fair as between tbe Early Rose and the other 
three:—1, Clark’s No. 1; 3, Early Rose; 3, 
Bliss’s Triumph; 4, Early Ohio. For quality 
I rate them:—1, Clark’s No. 1; 2, Bliss’s Tri¬ 
umph; 3, Early Ohio; 4, Early Rose. I think 
so well of the Clark’s No. 1. that in sending 
for a barrel of seed potatoes this year to Mr. 
Gregory, I send for two bushels of them, the 
remainder of the barrel to be Late Beauty of 
Hebron and Pride of America, Having grown 
the Early Rose for a number of years, I drop 
them altogether this season. To all who have 
not tried Clark’sNo I Potato, my advice is try 
them; they are No. 1 for earliness, yield, 
evenness, and quality. W. J. Warrener. 
Athens Co., O. 
— --- 
NOTES ON THIS AND T HA T. 
B. K. JOHNSON. 
The New York Herald, m a recent short 
leader, asked the pertinent and interesting 
question: “Is this to be a great insect year ?” 
So far as the depredations of the chinch bug 
and the Colorado beetle are concerned, one 
does not risk much in giving the question a 
negative answer; but in the case of the locust 
or Western grasshopper, and the Hessian fly, 
the same cannot be said with as much confi¬ 
dence. According to the repeated observa¬ 
tions of Cyrus Thomas, State Entomologist of 
Illinois, the appearance of the chinch bug 
certainly, and of the potato beetle probably, is 
synchronous with dry seusons, both reaching 
their maximum about every seventh year. In 
1881, both these insects did more damage than 
since 1874, the year of the previous extensive 
drought. But they were pretty nearly de¬ 
stroyed by the rainfall which followed early 
in 1875, and a similar credit must be accorded 
to the enormous rainfalls aud the open Winter 
of 1881-82. But warmth and moisture rather 
favor the Hessian fly, and the amount of dam¬ 
488 
age it may do cannot be estimated until 
after harvest; but there is this against the 
probability of their coming in disastrous num¬ 
bers. Last year there was no volunteer 
wheat in which they are cairied over H orn 
one crop to another, and their uumbers must 
have been very much reduced by stai vation 
following the drought of 1881. 
The locusts, too, have their seasons of peri¬ 
odicity, the term being about eleven years, 
and though that time has not quite expired, 
they may be looked for in small, it not con¬ 
siderable, numbers in 1882, and in devouring 
hosts within the limits of their geographical 
zone in course of 1883 and 1884. 
Have the questious of the value of muck and 
the origin of nitrogen, so much discussed at 
this time in agi icultural papers, a near or re¬ 
mote relation to a matter of practice in which 
much interest is now taken—namely, the top¬ 
dressing of Lands i it was noticed, a long time 
since, that in sections where the soil was very 
or only moderately fertile, the dust blown 
from highways on the adjacent fields acted, 
in some cases, as a stroug and, in nearly all, as 
a beneficial fertilizer. Tne conclusion was tnus 
jumped at that limestone rock, ground fine, 
would act in the same way; but experiments 
with it did not justify tbe expense incurred, 
and that method of fertilizing was abandoned. 
Nevertheless, practical men have long since dis¬ 
covered that a top-dressing of any kind has an 
influence for good on crops out of all propor¬ 
tion to the amount used. Thus, for example, 
on the strong clay lands of the Winter wheat 
regions of Illinois, w here the soil lacks nothing 
for the wheat crop but vegetable matter, and 
nothing for coin except taut and moisture, it 
is found the lightest kind of a top-dressing of 
manure acts marvelously in increasing the 
yield of the cereals. By some these astonish¬ 
ing effects are attributed to the fungous spores 
in the manure, which act as yeast acts, and 
set up the phenomena of nitrification, which 
seems to be essential to all soils where great 
crops of the cereals are produced. Just why 
these things are so we do not yet know, but 
we do know’ that a topdres.ing of almost any 
kind is a benefit, both to crops and the land, 
and may be indulged in, in almost any case, 
with the certainty of getting well paid for the 
work done. 
ficU) Crops. 
TOBACCO-GROWING NOTES. 
Tobacco seed should be sprouted before 
sowing it in the seed bed, because when 
sprouted before It is sown it will form plants 
earlier and thus save time, labor, aud annoy¬ 
ance from weeds,—all very important con¬ 
siderations in raising tobacco plants. The 
best time for putting the seed to sprout varies 
in the seedleaf-growing sections of the North, 
from April 1st., to April 24th, according to 
location, and the way it is intended to manage 
the bed. With glass covering, seed may be 
safely sown much earlier than when no cover¬ 
ing is provided for the plants. My method of 
sprouting tobacco seed is to procure from an 
old, hollow apple tree, a quantity of rotten 
wood, which is sifted through a fine sieve to 
remove all coarse particles of wood, etc., and 
place it in an old pan. With this panful of 
rotten w*ood the proper quantity of seed is 
mixed and the whole is placed by the kitchen 
stove until the seed has sprouted. The mix¬ 
ture should be kept covered with a woolen 
cloth, aud watered every day with warm 
water. Another excellent method of sprout, 
iug the seed is to put the proper quantity in a 
small cloth sack and bury the whole in a vessel 
of sand, muck, or similar material, which is 
kept warm aud damp. In from four to tan 
days, depending upon the temperature at 
which it is kept and the age of the seed, it 
will commence to sprout, when it is ready for 
sowing. 
The question of the best amount of tobacco 
seed to sow for producing plants for a given 
acreage is oue upon which the doctors do not 
agree. There is a great diversity of opinion 
existing upon the subject, some good growers 
prefering to use twice as much seed upon a 
given sized seed-bed as others. With good 
seed (and seed should always be tested before 
using), there is as much danger of sowing 
too thickly as of not sowing thickly enough. A 
good strong tobacco plant must have a certain 
amount of room in the seed-bed and when 
plants are overcrowded they invariably grow 
weak aud spindling. A half ounce of good 
seed is sufficient for a seed-bed 30 feet long 
and six feet wide, or 180 square feet, and with 
good success will produce plants enough for 
ten acres, but there is much more danger of 
having too few than too many plants and it 
might be well to make a more liberal estimate. 
Where glass sashes are used it is well to place 
them on the bed during the latter part of 
M a r ch, that the bed may the sooner become in 
