THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
T H E 
RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
▲ National Journal .'or Country and Suburban Horn**. 
Conducted by 
ELBKKT8 CiKMAH. 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW YORKER, 
No. 34 Pare Row. New York. 
bATURDAY, AUGUST 26, 18-2. 
FIFTV DOLLARS IN PREMIUMS! 
The Rural New - Yorker offers 
$50.00 in premiums for the best series of 
articles on 
“ Profitable Farming for a Poor 
Man.” 
The object is to assist all whose means 
are limited tr those whose farms are not 
plying them. The writers are not limited 
to any pirticular branch of farm ng. The 
competing articles should reach this of¬ 
fice not Liter than .November 1st. The 
arnch s will be judged no* by length, fine 
language, writing or » leirant construction, 
but simply i y the object-matter , whether 
short or long, whe’her written on white 
or brown paper, with pencil or ink, so that 
the writing itself be easily legible. 
-- 
The best stand of corn that we have ever 
raised or seen was obtained from seed 
that was curtd Li a warm room. 
-»-*-♦- 
We find that perfectly smooth tomatoes 
were sold to N. Y. dealers last week lor 
$1 20 and $1.50 per bushel, while the old 
lolied tomatoes were sold for $1.00. 
Miiket gardeners must cultivate the 
smooth kinds. 
- 
The roots of the corn plant, in propor¬ 
tion to its hight, extend out iu every 
dirtction as far as those of an apple tree. 
Who would think of manuring the latter 
about the trunk only, as the corn plant is 
manured in the hill ? 
-*~M- 
The premiums (nearly $1,000) offered 
by this journal for the heaviest yi. Ids of 
corn fp ni seed of the Rural Thorough¬ 
bred Flint and Heavy Dent sent out in 
the Free Seed Distribu ion of 1880-’8l, 
will be awarded in December next. 
Tite Rural New-Yorker has for sev¬ 
eral years urgiutly pm-std its readers to 
sow fernlizets broadcasr and nat to drill 
tin m in wiili the set d. Desiring Sir J. B, 
Lawis's opinion, us to width method is to 
be preferred, Ids reply to our questions 
will bo found in another column. 
-- 
Friends < f the Rural, please show 
this number to )our acquaintances at the 
fair. Speak a good word for if, and in¬ 
duce them to tubscribe. Tell them that 
it is the only National farm and garden 
paper in America. Tell them to try it 
just one year, and that if, at its expira¬ 
tion, they don’t find it the most profitable 
investment they ever made—why, then, 
in that case, they may send the bill to 
you! Such words, you see, would forci¬ 
bly demonstrate your good faith. 
We hope that many of our readers will 
save seeds from the balls (fruit) of their 
potatoes and tr»at them somewhat as de¬ 
scribed under Notes from the Rural Ex. 
Grounds. Remember it is of the first 
importance that the plants from germina¬ 
tion to maturity should suffer no check. 
They mur-t be kept growing thriftily from 
fiist to lust. Msny of us are ready, sea¬ 
son afitr season, to purchase new kinds 
of potatoes at a v.ry high price. We 
uupht juet as wtdl raise our own new po¬ 
tatoes. 
Nothing is more fascinating to the 
you Irul gaze than a horse-race. It is 
exciting to the mature mind; it is doubly 
to to the immature mind of jouib. A 
pood lmr.-e lace t nce ae» n by a child is a 
tlm g novtr lo be forgott* n. That a pa¬ 
rent should place him in the way of such 
tipi is lie*»- tin in in the child's mind of 
all that is disieputuble or >u any way ob- 
jectiun«bJi. We ask those of our readers 
wlio arejareirs v In i In r i h« y are willing 
in tins vii w of the c se to patronize Agti- 
cuiiuntl Fails that n aki- horse-racing a 
prominent attraction, or that tolerate it 
in any joi.'ja I 
The Rural New-Yorker is making a 
collection o! the largest-eared varieties of 
Indian corn in cultivation. Any of our 
friends who will assist us in this will 
please write their names and addresses 
upon the ears sent (as the postal laws now 
permit) so that we may return the cost of 
postage to the sender. A careful record 
of the size of the kernels will be kept and 
published, and an engraving will be pre¬ 
sented of the largest ear which will draw 
a handsome premium of our own selec¬ 
tion. The ears should be wrapped up in 
heavy paper and securely tied—not seal¬ 
ed. Direct to the Editor of RuralNew- 
Yorker, River Edge, Bergen Co., New 
Jersey. 
A friend writes us: “The James Yick 
Straw'berry has made a decided stir 
among the Rochester horticulturists. It 
is the impression of a number of our lead¬ 
ing men that it is the most promising 
strawberry before the public, for market 
or home use. At Mr. Charlton’s, 280 
berries were counted on one average 
plant—nearly two bushels were gathered 
from a row about 100 feet long in hills. 
The color, quality, and vigor are desira¬ 
ble. We permitted the crops to stand on 
the vines until nearly all could be gath¬ 
ered at once (some being perhaps 10 days 
oil), yet the Iruit was not roft, and there 
was no loss from rot.” We much hope 
that this new berry may prove all that 
it promises to be, as a little memento 
to the good man whose name it bears, 
The Rural New-Yorker has, during 
the past five years, planted kerntla of 
wheat in prepared plots far enough apart 
to admit of cultivation between the 
plants. We have tried nine inches each 
way; one foot each way, and one foot by 
14 inches each way, always one grain 
only in the intersections. The grains 
have always germinated as sutely as In¬ 
dian corn, but we have never yet found a 
variety hardy enough to endure the Win¬ 
ters, year in and year out, wheu the plants 
have been thus separated. Ia drier cli¬ 
mates tbij plan is known to pay well and 
the greatest yields produced by Prof. 
Blount in Colorado have como from sow¬ 
ing but five pounds to an acre. Wo have 
used all ihe way from four pounds to 
three bushels to the acre, and our best 
yields have come from one bushel and a 
half. 
We may say to our readers that the 
Free Seed Distribution announced in this 
issue will cost the Rural New-Yorker 
more than any preceding one, and we 
trust it will prove more attractive and 
valuable to those who apply for it. The 
Black-bearded Centennial Wheat cannot 
at presi nt bu purchased, and was sold 
last year in small qu .nt ties, as high as 
$150.00 per bushel f. rtrial. This vrishioio. 
The poiato according to our own tests, is 
the most valuable v rielv, all things con¬ 
sidered—quality, uniformity of size, yield, 
compactness of tubers in theliill, keeping 
qualities, etc.,—we have ever tried. The 
grape seeds we guarautee are saved from 
ripe berries of the great Niagara and from 
there alone. As our ri aders are aware, 
not a single vine of this variety has ever 
been sold except under peculiar condi¬ 
tions of which the masses cannot avail 
themselves. The melou hss the thinnest 
whiterind, and is of the best quality of any 
we have ever seen^ without an approach 
to an exception. The mixed flower 
seeds arc the finest strains of their kinds, 
and many of them have beeu collected at 
the Rural Grounds. Wo have striven to 
do our best, and we hope that none will 
apply for the Distribution who are not 
willing to take the pains to give all of 
the kinds a fair trial. 
- -* ■ *-» 
THE EGYPTIAN WAR AND AMERICAN 
AGRICULTURE. 
In casting about over the world for in¬ 
fluences that may affect the interests of 
American agriculture, that of the present 
war iu Eg}pt cannot be overlooked, still 
less can those of a possible exteusiou of 
the area of hostilities. Exclusive of the 
large but iude finite territ ry tuward equa¬ 
torial Africa lately annexed, the area of 
Egypt is 216,000 miles, only a small pro¬ 
portion of which is capable uf cultivation. 
Ol the five-und a-half million inhabitants, 
however, four-fifths wring a scanty liveli¬ 
hood from the soil, robbi d as they are of 
a largo i-ha’C of the fruits of their labor in 
the shape of t >xes. Since 1860, however, 
the crop* have nearly trebled owing to 
the introduction of European capital, 
skill, ag»i ultural implements and meth¬ 
ods. Egyptian cotton, w'heat, sugar, 
w ool, Kuls, peas, and barley have hith¬ 
erto competed with others in European 
markets, especially in those of England, 
which took fully two-thirds of all Egyp¬ 
tian exports, amounting to about $65,UUU,- 
000 a year, chiefly wheat, and cotton- 
lint and seed, $10,000,000 worth of the 
latter having been annually exported of 
late. Now a good deal of last season’s 
crops is lying in the interior unsold, while 
little or no preparation has been made 
amid the turmoil to prepare for the rise 
of the Nile iu those districts which are 
artificially irrigated. The rise of the 
river, to which Egypt has for ages owed 
its marvelous fertility, begins in the lat¬ 
ter part of June, reaches its greatest 
hight (usually about 24 feet above low 
water mark), between September 20 and 
30, and gradually falls till about the mid¬ 
dle of May. Owing to neglect of pre¬ 
cautions this year, and to other conse¬ 
quences of warfare, not more than half a 
crop of cereals and less than half a crop 
of cotton is expected next year, and the 
deficiency must be made up mainly from 
this country. Moreover, whatever may 
be the issue of the war. it will be years 
before Egypt will recover agriculturally 
or financially from its ill effects. Should 
the Suez Canal be blocked, then the agri¬ 
cultural exports of India, Australia, and 
New Zealand would have to bo carried by 
the circuitous route around the Cape of 
Good Hope, which would totally prevent 
competition from the two latter Colonies 
in the meat supply, and greatly lessen 
that in cereals, fur iu passing through the 
torrid equatorial weather grain would be 
likelv to “heat,” to lose grade and be 
spoiled in ihe hold of the v. ssel. Incase 
other nations become embroiled in the 
struggle, a grpat demand must arise for 
the products of neutral countries, and no 
land is better able to meet this demand 
than the United States. 
RAILROAD MONOPOLIES. 
We are constantly hearing, in a spirit 
of laudation, of the vast progress and 
power of our railroad system and of the 
enormous wealth derived from its manip¬ 
ulation by a handful of railway magnates. 
We are exultingly told that, in 1881, 
9,358 miles of road were built at a cost of 
$233,750,000; that the number of mi es 
in operation was 104.813, and that this 
mileage cost about $6,000,000,000; that 
the total number of adult employee 
reached 1,600,000, representing 8,000,000 
of our population; tlmtVa derlult owns 
$200,000 000; Jay Gould from $75,000,000 
to $100,000,000, and half-a-dozen other 
railroad “kings” tens of millions apiece— 
all made in a few years. Aa uu indica¬ 
tion of the vast industrial activity of the 
nation, the growth of our railroad system 
is certainly a phinournon to rejoice at, 
but as a p r oof of the facility by which 
unscrupulous greed, aided by shrewd 
financial ability, can wring vast sums 
from the public, the stupendous acquisi¬ 
tions of the great railroad magnates are 
sources of disquii t aud rt piobation. 
A cause of fcttll greater public alarm, 
however, should be the great influence 
over the fortunes of the country lodged 
in the bunds of a few grasping, unscru¬ 
pulous men by the control of the vast 
capital and the large army engaged in 
these enterprises. Half-a-dozen men sit¬ 
ting together in a quiet < ffice in New 
York can fix the price which bhall be paid 
to the manufacturer of the East for his 
wares, to the farmer of the West for his 
grain, to the stockman of the Plains for 
his cattle aud 6heep, and to tho plauter of 
the South for his cotton and sugar. In 
most parts of the country railroads are 
practically the only means of transporta¬ 
tion between the producer and the con¬ 
sumer—between the man who has goods 
to sell and the man who wants to buy 
them, and it is an acknowledged rule of 
railroad management always to charge 
freight traffic “all it can bear;" that is, to 
cut down the profits of the producer by 
proportioning the charges for transporta¬ 
tion in accordance with the prices of his 
products in the market, leaving him only 
enough to prevent him from abandoning 
production, and thus depriving the rail¬ 
road of his business and of the opportu¬ 
nity of “plucking” him; for youi shrewd 
rai.road manager never kills the goose 
that lays golden eggs. 
The consolidation of a number of dif¬ 
fer. i:t rouds anil the “pooling” combina¬ 
tion hetwe- n the controllers of the great 
“trunk” lines, Testing on the agreement 
to maintain certuin rata s on i he roads i hey 
control, effect a monopoly of transporta¬ 
tion and confir on tie roads tne more 
than regal powers to limit, interdict, and 
regulate traffic and intercourse. But we 
are told “there can be no monopoly in 
law when the construction of railroads is 
open to all.” This may be tiue, but it is 
monopoly in fact rattier than monopoly in 
law that the public comp,tun ol. The 
expense of constructing new roads is too 
vust, and the difficulty of obtaining con¬ 
cessions from Legislatures too great to 
permit of the easy construction of new 
competing lines in defiance of the un¬ 
principled opposition of existing roads, 
each of wh.ch has a monopoly of the traf¬ 
fic along its own course, while a general 
monopoly over vast areas is created by 
the “pooling” combination of the differ¬ 
ent trunk lines. 
To promote the public interest by facil¬ 
itating intercourse and traffic, many val¬ 
uable franchises and privileges and even 
the power of eminent domain h-ive been 
conferred on tin railroads by the State. 
For the same end large grants of money 
and land to aid in their construction 
have been made by cities, counties, States 
and the General Government. To seven 
corporations alone Congress has granttd 
over 180,000 square miles of territory— 
an area larger than Maine, N. w Hamp- 
shi'e, Vermont, Mas-achus« tts, Rhode 
Island, Connecticut, Ntw Yo k, Penn- 
8} lvania, New Jersey and Mar} land. In 
return for these concessions what benefits 
have the railroads conferred on the ] ub- 
lic bejond those inevitable from so vast a 
business even when conducted Sot ihe 
most selfish ends t ud in an aibltrtry, ex¬ 
tortionate style that would luin ary 1 usi 
ness which had not been made so powerful 
by so many public favors and largesses? 
Alike for their individual interc stsnnd the 
public welfare it. is high t me the people 
should awake ihou.tif.hly to the realiza¬ 
tion of the present abuses and the future 
dangers of our huge railroad corpora: ions. 
To maintain tin ir present oppressive 
prerogatives and to add to them they 
stifle private opposition by ihe oppres¬ 
sion of individuals or even of com¬ 
mit dries by discriminating against 
them, while their cousolidaud wealth 
and mighty influence sway our L< g- 
islatuns, either by securing the elec¬ 
tion of their own tools, or by corrupting 
venal mi mbTs altir elec 1 ion. Even the 
judiciary has not remained iintainrrd by 
them. Law-makers and luw-mlerpreters 
alike have been swayed by their demoral¬ 
izing influences. All over the country 
public virtue, thrift, iadependerce and 
patriotism h ive grown indigo tit at these 
gross abuses, and the voices and votes of 
our 4 000.060 farmers, repri senring 20,- 
000,000 of our population, should bo de¬ 
cisive in abating tlie growing evils from 
which they more than any others have 
suffered. 
— - + ♦ ♦- - - 
BREVITIES. 
Sulphate of copper from careful tests will 
in mosC eases prevent smut in wheat. 
To mauuro in the hill or drill is to pamper 
the infant plant and then suddenly abandon 
it to shirt for itself. 
This is the S31 3 ear of the Rural New- 
Yoekkh. and the sixth of th» present manage¬ 
ment. The Rural New Yorkkr sue wded 
Moore's Rural New-Yorker, July 21st 1877. 
The lest advice we can give in fitting 
fields for wheat is to prepare the land thor¬ 
oughly, and after it has been harrowed for 
the last time—harrow it again. 
We have many reports from friends who 
sowed the Rural wheats last Spring that 
though a heavy growth of leaves has been 
made, the plants tillering immensely, yet few 
heads lormed. 
Prof. Sheldon tells the Rural that the 
Atneri’-an people have started the immacu¬ 
late Datr-h nation on a career of deceit in the 
dairy. He tells other unpalatable truths 
which it will not harm our friends to read. 
In order to sustain the popularity of the 
Anuual Fair Number of the Rural New- 
Yorker, our subscribers should help us by 
mentioning this journal in any correspond¬ 
ence with our advertising patrons. 
It does not require much space to tell in 
concise language the results of our tests. The 
results of our pea tests, for exam pie, are given 
in n few paragraphs w bieh may be read in 
five minutep. But many hours were spent in 
gathering the tedious data by which wenr- 
rived at those results T^e render by n little 
examination will not find it difficult to settle 
upon which he prefers for his own garden. 
The Rural New Yorker is $2 prr year. 
There is uofecond or club price. No iru-t- 
wortby aeent will accept subscriptions for 
less. Money or money orders may bo sent 
direct to the Rural New Yorker, S4 Park 
Row, New York C'ty. Jtishanily cverthe 
ease that bills sent in letters do not reach us 
safely, bat money bo sent us is at the risk of 
Ihe sender. 
Hon. C. R. Cooper, of New Jersey, has 
reared poultry wiili great care for nimy 
years. TVo a.-ked him to wrue us his views 
to the comparative worth of Plymouth 
Rotk.s end l ight B ahmas. Hi< nrticle will 
le found iuuno'ber column. We are glad to 
have so authoritative a corrobo' arion of our 
own opinion, w hlch is the on Us me of trials, 
fir-t. with ' ne breed, then with another, at the 
Rural Experiment Grounds. 
