42 
correspondent ’h second question. “ Must 
the educated and refined farmer see an 
uneducated, boorish laborer at his table 
every day?” Tlfis, we suspect, is the 
real trouble! We fear our correspond¬ 
ent has sat at meals with men in barnyard 
boots and overalls, shirt-sleeves rolled 
up, and with sweat offending eye and 
nostril. Perhaps he has seen them, Blitz- 
like, half swallow their table-knives with 
every mouthful of food, heard them suck 
their soup from their spoons, or even 
drink their milk or coffee with a strong, 
loud inspiration of the breath that proved 
anything but an “iuspiration ” to hie ap¬ 
petite. Or he has seen them daily holt 
their food with the savage and indecent 
haste of a herd of pigs, or of railway 
travelers with the conductor's “ All 
aboard !” ringing in their ears. For we 
have seen worse violations of table-eti¬ 
quette and common decency, and suffered 
worse “crucifixion” at first-class hotels 
and restaurants than ever at any farmer’s 
table. Not always under the pressure of 
haste, either, ami often deliberately com¬ 
mitted by men whose diamond studs and 
nicely fitting garments proclaimed them 
gentlemen, but whose manners marked 
them as boora. 
Now the question is, “ Need these 
things be so in the house and at the table 
of a" refined gentleman who happens to 
be a farmer ?” This opens up the whole 
subject of the dunce of, and association 
with , farm help ; a subject so important 
and many-sided that its consideration 
must be deferred another week. 
TWO :QUESTIONS ANSWERED. 
We have been requested by a valued 
correspondent “towrite an article that 
shall answer such a question as this: 
* Can a young man of education, accus¬ 
tomed to refined society, and with a keen 
appreciation of, and love for, the elegan¬ 
cies of life, support himself and family 
on a farm, say of 160 acres, without daily 
crucifying his tastes and feelings ? Must 
lie see an unedneated, boorish laborer at 
his table every day ?” ’ 
To the first question we should say, 
Yes, to the second, No. Can he support a 
refined family at all on such a farm? 
Yes. if he has shrewdness, diligence aud 
push, and understands farming. Other¬ 
wise not. He cannot support them by 
working as a tailor, shoemaker, black¬ 
smith, merchant, doctor or lawyer, unless 
he has learned the trade well or studied 
the profession thoroughly. Why should 
lie be able to do so as a farmer ? He can¬ 
not make a living by the other callings 
without shrewdness, diligence and enter¬ 
prise. Why should he on the farm ? The 
more of these qualities he has, and the 
better he has learned his trade or profes¬ 
sion, the greater will be his success in 
the other pursuits ; why is not the same 
true on the farm? The days are past 
when “any fool could be a farmer.” 
Real success in farming requires j ust the 
qualities the man in our question is sup¬ 
posed to have. Of course, his wife, and 
his children, when of suitable age, will 
need to be co-work era with him, just as 
they would need to be if he were a me¬ 
chanic or tradesman. Nor is this incon¬ 
sistent with refinement. Labor is not 
necessarily degrading. 
But the gist of the question is, can ho 
do this without daily crucifying his 
tastes and feelings'? Unhesitatingly we 
answer, Yes. Such crucifixion must come, 
if at. all, either from his work or his as¬ 
sociates, i. e„ his hired help or neigh¬ 
bors. But very little of the ordinary 
farm-work is necessarily disgusting. The 
care of orchard, garden, vineyard, grain- 
field, may be made a constant delight. 
Every tree, shrub and plant is an object 
of interest, and their growth ami devel¬ 
opment are full of daily surprises and 
enjoyment. Every colt, calf and lamb may 
be a friend whoso society shall not be de¬ 
grading, aud whose gambols are graceful 
and delightsome. Every farm process 
taxes the judgment and ingenuity, at 
least if wisely performed. The use of 
the various implements and machines re¬ 
quires and develops skill. There is little 
mouotuuy on a well-managed farm—none 
to compare with the dead and dreary 
monotony of shop or factory or huge 
mill, where, in the minute divisions of 
labor, the laborer is made a cypher or 
automaton. The man who, day after 
day, feeds iron to a nail-cutting machine, 
or boards to a planer, becomes in time 
scarcely more than a part of the machine. 
Now it is not so with the farmer describ¬ 
ed in our correspondent's question. He 
will know enough of the geology and 
chemistry of soils to make him long to 
know more, and this makes him a constant, 
student; enough of the botany and ehem- 
seeds and plants among our subscribers 
that, without expense, they may deter¬ 
mine their value *for their own lands. We 
are free to state that, whether our labors 
in this field have or have not been service¬ 
able to our readers, no mere profit to be 
derived from the income of the Rita at. 
New-Y'obkeb alone will be likely to com¬ 
pensate us for the cost of maintaining 
and working these experiment grounds. 
Last—We have somewhat improved 
the quality of the paper upon which the 
Rub at. is printed ; we have enlarged it 
by lengthening its columns ; we have im¬ 
proved the mechanical execution iu every 
way; we have increased our editorial 
force in order to insure greater care and 
accuracy in every department. These, 
however, need not be dwelt upon, since 
they are improvements which might reas¬ 
onably be looked for in any progressive, 
prosperous journal. We need not either 
dwell upon our Free Plant and Seed Dis¬ 
tributions, for the reason that these are 
Belf-impoBed offerings to our subscribers, 
which in every way we reserve the privil¬ 
ege to regulate to suit ourselves. But. 
the eost iB immense ! We sire afraid that 
few of our friends would believe us, were 
we to state in exact figures what these 
distributions have cost ub during the 
past year. We have more than once 
paused to ask ourselves if the money 
could not be more advantageously ex¬ 
pended. And the only reply has been 
another question which we could not 
answer, viz. :—“In what way?” Many 
of our friends have said to us : “ Why 
send out such cos tig seeds? Would not 
the bulk of your subscribers appreciate j ust 
as well good, though well-known varieties 
of corn, wheat, oats, beets, lettuce, Zin¬ 
nias, Lady’s Slippers, etc., etc?” This may 
be true—we are half-afraid that it is. 
Blit this would upset the very obj< <-ts of 
our distributions, and we should very de¬ 
cidedly prefer not to distribute plants or 
seeds at all. Our object is to send out 
nctc plants of great promise, with a view 
to promoting the farmer’s or gardener’s 
interests over the entire oountry; our 
object is to enable every one toffest these 
high-priced novelties, so that if good, he 
shall derive the benefit—if poor, lie shall 
not be the loser ! As to the well-known 
seeds suggested iu place of those we grow 
or select, every seedsman can furnish 
them in any quantities, and we are far 
from desiring to trench upon the seeds¬ 
man’s sphere of operations. Most ol’ the 
seeds we offer cannot be purchased, or if 
they can, only in foreign countries or of 
the producer ! This oft-repeated asser¬ 
tion of ours is as true as any words that 
can be spoken. 
Rubai. Readers, it will be seen by you 
who have followed us long enough to be 
enabled to judge, that, we are in deep 
earnest, and that we have indeed at heart, 
as our foremost errand, the advancement 
of the best interests of those whose iueome 
is derived directly from the soil. We have 
made you many promises—positive and 
implied—we have fulfilled them all, not, 
it need not be qualified, “to the best of 
our abilities,” but in full to the very 
letter—and more. What shall we say for 
another year? Can we do better than to 
offer last, year’s work as evidence of what 
this year’s work shall prove if life and 
strength he spared us? It has been 
usual to announce for the new year a list 
of contributors. This may well be omit¬ 
ted. Ann of our old contributors, so far 
as we know, will continue with us, ami 
contributions from several new writers of 
eqnal ability and prominence will soon 
appear. The interests of all parts of our 
country shall be treated alike, as our 
widely distributed circulation permits. 
We solicit from all the freest possible 
criticisms of our course and of our work. 
Nothing that is well intended can give us 
offense, and we fully recognize the fact 
that we must first be conscious of our 
weak points before we can materially 
strengthen them. Articles upon any given 
subject of general interest will be fur¬ 
nished as requested. We solicit short, 
concise communications relative to any 
topic suitable to our columns. All ques¬ 
tions will be answered either by mail or 
in our Querist department. 
Finally we return to each and every one 
of our readers our sinoerest thanks for 
their hearty support and cheering words. 
We have never entered upon a year with 
brighter hopes; with a better defined 
feeling that the Rubai, is doing good and 
that its sphere of influence is again to be 
enlarged. A Happy New Year to all! 
Let us work faithfully to advance our 
cause—the magnificent, inspiring, noble 
eause of agriculture—and may we at the 
end of the year have no less reason to 
feel happy tlnm we have now at its au¬ 
spicious beginning. 
PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY 
CONDUCTED BT 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
78 Duane Street, New York City 
SATURDAY, JAN. 3, 1879. 
A GLANCE BACK 
We have sometimes regretted that we 
changed the price of the Rubai. New- 
Yobkeb from $2.50 to $2 per year. We 
have no evidence that our increase of cir¬ 
culation is to any extent attributable to 
that cause ; while, on the other hand, the 
lower price obliges us to be more cauti¬ 
ous in continuing to make the marked 
improvements which have characterized 
the progress of the paper for several 
years past. Of those to whom we have 
sent specimen copies as many as ever 
reply that they would subscribe if we 
ooill'll make the subscription price less 
than it is. Now there are, no doubt, some 
progressive farmers and horticulturists 
who, while they are hungry for the best 
books and periodicals, are yet so poor 
that the difference of a dollar or even fifty 
cents in price would decide them to rest 
satisfied, for the present, with a lower 
grade of literature. With this class we 
sympathize. We would be happy if we 
could send them the Rukat. for 50 cents 
per year. But there is another class—a 
very large one too—that seems to have 
no appreciation of what constitutes value 
iu agricultural journals, and a low price 
is the first if not the only requisite to en¬ 
gage their favorable consideration. We 
have no slurs to cast either upon this class 
or upon the cheap periodicals they 
choose to read. Tney have just as good 
a right to their opinions as we have to 
ours. The influence of an agricultural 
paper must largely depend upon the ap¬ 
preciation of itB subscribers, and in this 
as in all tilings else, “ birds of a feather 
will Mock together.” 
We hope it may not be considered out- 
of-place at this time if we dwell for a 
moment upon the more marked improve¬ 
ments which have been made in the Rubai. 
New-Yobkeb under its present manage¬ 
ment and during the past two years and a 
half 
First—Our columns have been filled 
by contributions from the ablest writers 
in the land. This has been freely ad¬ 
mitted by the press in general, and even 
by leading agricultural aud horticultural 
journals. 
Second—With the exception of an oc¬ 
casional column or so under “What 
Otheks Say,” the “Practical” depart¬ 
ments of the paper have, without a single 
exception, been filled with original mat¬ 
ter ; and, to a considerable extent, the 
same may be said of the “ Literary ” de¬ 
partments. 
Third—Nearly all of our engravings of 
farm, garden and orchard plants and 
fruits have been executed from drawings 
from nature by our own artiste, and the 
same may be said of our building plans 
and farm contrivances—they have been 
drawn from original sketches or models. 
Now, if these had been old cuts that of¬ 
ten “go the rounds ” of both hemispheres, 
electrotypes of which may be purchased 
for a few cents per square inch, it would 
cost us less to use them than to fill the 
same space with a high grade of original 
wifiting. As it is, however, our drawings 
and engravings constitute one of our 
heaviest items of expense, to say nothing 
of the time, labor and research required 
to obtain the subjects to be drawn. 
Fourth—We are the first, so far as we 
are aware, to have established experiment 
grounds in direct connection with journal¬ 
ism, an example we are gratified to see is 
likely to be followed by other journals 
who appreciate their great value in such 
connection. It is, however, to be re¬ 
gretted that the tendency is to copy after 
the objects and methods of the great 
Rothamsted farm of England, where Dr. 
Laves for forty years has conducted a 
series of valuable experiments, the re¬ 
sults of which are so trustworthy that 
little can be learned from their repetition 
even though other experimenters as 
rarely fitted in every way, could be found 
to conduct them. The object of the 
Bukab’s Experiment (Jbqunds has been 
to test new plants and seeds, whether for 
Wrai the return of good times after a 
period of depression, a rise iu prices is- 
naturally to be expected. The posses¬ 
sion of money has a tendency to iuduoe 
people to buy goods which they managed, 
sometimes at considerable inconvenience, 
to do without iu the days of slim or 
empty pockets. A full pocket-book, 
is also a strong inducement to supply a 
hundred and oiie things which ouc could 
well dispense with in the absence of so 
welcome a persuader. All this increases 
the demand, while the facilities for in¬ 
creasing the supply are more slowly 
brought into full operation, and in the 
meanwhile, according to the inevitable 
principles of trade, prices must go up. 
Then again, timid capital gets bold in 
good times, and undertakes many new 
works, thus adding to the general pros¬ 
perity, and especially to the prices of the 
commodities it chieily uses iu these 
undertakings. 
On the above accounts and on others, 
farmers must expect and bo prepared to 
pay considerably higher prices for most, 
if not for all, of the implements and ma¬ 
chinery they may need the coming spring. 
Wages have in many cases boon lately 
raised; the cost of 'materials are in all 
eases higher than a year ago; manufac¬ 
turers are seeking to reimburse them¬ 
selves for the slim profits of late years ; 
middlemen are stimulated by the gener¬ 
al good times to make ail they can from 
all parties, and, as usual, the farmer 
must expect to contribute largely to the 
support and enrichment of all other 
classes. 
-- 
Eveb since the Philadelphia Centen¬ 
nial Exhibition of 1876, New York, as the 
commercial metropolis of the nation, has 
been earnest in its determination to bold 
a World’s Fair that should far transcend 
that provincial show. Arrangements are 
almost completed now for carrying this 
resolution out in 1883. Last Tuesday 
there was a meeting of the Executive 
Committee held in this city, which Sec¬ 
retaries Sherman aud Deven attended. 
With his natural elear-headeness, the 
former pointed out strongly the para¬ 
mount advantages of New York for such 
an exhibition, and urged that it should 
be made to oxcell not only the Philadel¬ 
phia affair, but everything of the kind 
that had ever before attracted the admira¬ 
tion of the world. Anyhow, there’s go¬ 
ing to be a World’s Fair here in 1883, and 
a big one, too. __ 
BREVITIES 
