THE RURAL' HEW-YOB&ER. 
Industrial Copies. 
THE POSITION OF AGRICULTURE IN 
ENGLAND. 
PROFESSOR T. P. SnElDON. 
There can hardly be any doubt that Ameri¬ 
can farmers are in a mood to sympathize with 
their brethren in misfortune on this side of the 
Atlantic. They are so on the ground of suf¬ 
fering in common with them, I assume. The 
farmers on your side and on this are compan¬ 
ions in misfortuue, and even in misfortune 
companionship has the faculty of making 
people somewhat less discontented with their 
lot than they would be without it. It makes 
au empty pocket, as well as an empty heart, 
feel a little less desolate to know that it i3 
“neighbors’faru ” all roundi less desolate, that 
is, because less lonely, than it would be if 
such were not the case. Thus arc we gregar¬ 
ious in feeling as well as in habit. 
After this bit of philosophy, which is merely 
the expression of a principle in which many 
poor 60 ula have been fain to find what scanty 
comfort it afforded them, I may venture to say 
that the worst is over, so far as cause is con¬ 
cerned, and that while the Buffering has been 
sharper here than on your side, the effects will 
probably be aeeu the longer. Your farmers, 
too, have suffered from low prices, and many 
of them from a deficient production, but in 
addition to these things we have had the most 
mercilessly forsaken seasons that can be im¬ 
agined, and I doubt whether those among you 
who have lived always in the American climate 
can realize in its depth of dreariness what such 
a seasou is like as the one wo had last year in 
England. That you know what rain is I am 
well aware, for I have seen it rain in the States 
at a rate with which our climate can but now 
and again compete, but you do not know what 
it is to have scarcely u day without It from the 
middle of April to the middle of October, with 
the thermometer ranging all the while between 
55® to 70® iu what ought to have been the 
summer mouths, and to have such a season 
preceded by such a winter of alternate snow 
and rain and frost as only the English climate 
can pretend to produce with success. 
I believe I am safe in 6aying you never 
saw anything like it; and I may venture 
to hope we shall Dever see its like again, 
otherwise I shudder to tbiuk what the conse¬ 
quences would be. Last summer and autumn 
were, it is true—so far, that is, as we have at 
present gone—the last of a disastrous se¬ 
quence of wet seasons, but they wore far worse 
than any that had gouc before. It is to be hoped 
that last year, which was the wettest of the 
scries, may prove to have been typified by its 
own last day, which was the wettest of 'he 
year; if it does prove so, then the series is over 
and the 6un will shine once more and “ the cat 
will sit in the window again.” 
Up to the beginning of the last quarter of the 
year prices of almost every kind of agricultur¬ 
al produce were steadily declining; cheese and 
butter, particularly, were lower than they had 
been for many years, and wool reached a point 
which the present generation know nothing of 
except from tradition. Store stock of all kinds 
went steadily downward in value, so that a 
farmer's capital, as represented by his flocks 
and herds, was much less at the end than it 
was at the beginning of the year. Beef and 
mutton fell to prices which left no profit on tho 
summer's grazing, aud horses were barely 
salable. Aud to make matters still worse, all 
kinds of 6tock. except where much grain had 
been fed to them, grew very slowly aud there 
was a general want of condition all rouud. 
This was to be expected from such a summer 
and autumn—the animals wore seldom dry and 
never as warm as they ought to be to do well. 
The hay aud graiu harvests alike were miser¬ 
able failures; tbe quality of forage and graiu 
alike, owiug to tbe lack of 6un aud warmth, 
was very inferior aud they were harvested in 
bad condition all over the country. 
Perhaps the worst feature iu that disastrous 
year was the prevalence of liver-rot umongst 
sheep, which the continued rain didso much to 
promote. Sheep rotted last summer on laud 
to which tradition did not ascribe auy liability 
to that terrible parasitic scourge. Tbe losses 
among sheep from this cause are probably 
larger than they ever were before m these is¬ 
lands. Many farms have not a sheep left, and 
some parishes are almost wholly destitute of 
them. Aud still they are dying by thousands, 
or are being slaughtered to save their lives.” 
In the markets they are selling at less than 
half the ordinary prices, and iu some districts 
they cannot be turned iuto money at all. In 
Borne districts, however, the sheep remain 
sound, but this is the case only on sound soils, 
as the carboniferous lime-stone and saud-stoue 
formations. The price of wool is kept dowu 
by the largo influx iuto the markets of skin- 
wool from the dead sheep, and mutton is low 
in price because of the compulsory slaughter 
of many sheep that would have been kept on 
butfor their unsoundness. When all of the un- 1 
sound 6heep are got rid of, the sound ones arc 
sure to be very dear—dearer, in all probability 
than they bavc been for many years. 
Cbeese began to rise rapidly in price some 
fiveorsix months ago, and it is now very dear; 
but this is owing to tbe small make of the 
season. It is now probably as dear as it has 
been any time during the past 20 years, aud 
thl* is making some amends to the farmers 
who hate been aide to keep what they made; 
yet very much wa3 sold whilst prices wei e 
still Very low. Butter, too, com mauds a very 
satisfactory price and dairy produce promises 
to be dear lor some months to come. The 
milk trade has been the only branch of farm¬ 
ing that has escaped serious loss, and were it 
not for this tho position of English dairy farm¬ 
ers would be almost aa bad as that of any 
others. 
Great numbers of farmers are insolvent, and 
mauy more are giving up thebusincss in order 
to save the remnant of their capital. Farms 
to let arc advertised by hundreds, and rents 
are falling rapidly; many farms, in fact, par¬ 
ticularly heavy-land, arable farms, do not fiud 
tenants at any price, and the land-owners have 
to farm them as best, they cau. Sound grass¬ 
land farms, however, have depreciated very 
little, if any, in value, though /or the time be¬ 
ing landlords are making remissions of rent 
to tide over the present crisis, after which it, is 
hoped things will mend again. You have 
heard from tho political agitator, Mr. Parnell, 
how distressed Irish farmers are in some 
parts of the country, aud no doubt there is a 
good deal of truth in what he is telling you, 
but it is probable that numbers of Euglish 
farmers are i n quite us bad a plight as tbe Irish, 
though they do not take tho same way to make 
their hardships kuown. 
I have said that tho worst is over, so far as 
cause is concerned; that is, prices of most 
things have improved and are likely to improve 
still more, before long. But the effects of the 
disastrous period through which we have 
passed will continue to disclose themselves for 
some time to come. Numbers of farmers have 
held on “tooth and nail” through the bad 
times, and now that there la a prospect of 
times mending they find themselves exhausted 
in purse and ia spirit. Had they only a bit of 
fresh capital now to go on with, there is a 
chance they might win back some of what they 
have lost; but as this fresh capital is not forth¬ 
coming they have to founder just in sight 
of harbor. Those farmers, on tbe other 
hand, who had laid by something against a 
rainy day and can now m consequence go on 
without feeling themselves seriously crippled, 
will iu all probability soon fiud themselves in 
a fair way to make money again. 
It is, however, probable that, although we 
may get good weather this year, the dripping 
rains of list year will be found to have so im¬ 
poverished the laud that crops will not be 
abundant. The more soluble elements of fer¬ 
tilization, it Is to be feared, have been washed 
out of the soiL leaving it so much the poorer. 
The dry summers we had in 1868 aud 1S70 did 
much harm to some of the thin-skinned land 
in the couutry, hut I believe the rain of 1879 
will be found to have doue still more harm to 
a wider variety of soils. It is not possible to 
correctly estimate the loss tho natiou suffered 
through last eeasou's influence, but I doubt 
very mueh if it be any leas than oue-fourtb of 
our National Debt. I would venture to estimate 
our loss ut $1,000,000,000. Meanwhile it is 
probable that good will come out of the pres¬ 
ent evil, for our farmers will liavu greater 
liberty to farm iu the most profitable mauuer, 
and Parliament is disposed to remove 6ome of 
the burdens which press unjustly on the agri¬ 
cultural interest and on the land. 
Sheen, Ashbourne, Eug-, Feb. 10, 1880. 
fjttjirait Information. 
COMMON POISONS AND HANDY ANTI¬ 
DOTES. 
Compiled for the readers of the Rural New- 
Yokkisk by Dk. A. R. Ledoux. 
In these days whoa there is so much acci¬ 
dental and not a little intentional poisoning, 
our readers will do well to preserve the tollow r - 
ing list of chemical poisons aud tho most read¬ 
ily obtainable antidotes. Many of the sub¬ 
stances included iu the list are harmless iu 
small doses, but prove violent poisons when 
taken in large quantities. 
1. Poisous—Sulphuric aeid (“oil of vitriol ”), 
and nitric acid (“ aquafortis (A )j 
Antidotes—Magnesia, soda, chalk, whiting, 
soap-suds, or plaster from walls. 
Treatment of patient— Give milk, eggs, oils, 
or flaxseed tea. (A.) 
2. Poisons—Muriatic acid. 
Antidotes—Same as ill 1, except chalk, plas¬ 
ter from walls, and whiting, which must not be 
given. 
Treatment—Same as iu l. (A.) 
8. Poisous—Oxalic acid (“salt of lemons”), 
potash binoxilate (“ salts of sorrel ”). 
Antidotes—Magneria, chalk, plaster from 
walls. No soda or soap suds. 
Treatment—Give an emetic. (Twenty grains 
of zinc sulphate, if procurable, is best ) (A.) 
4. Poisons—Aceti«acic) (strong vinegar), tar¬ 
taric acid. 
Antidotes—Magnesia or soda mixed with 
water. 
Treatment—Same as in 1. 
5. Poisons—Soda, potash (lye), ammonia. 
Autidotes—Vinegar and water, lemon juice, 
orange juice, or lime juice. 
Treatment—Give oils, or the substances 
mentioned in 1. 
6 . Poisons—Saltpeter, crcam-of-tartar, sul¬ 
phate of potash. 
Antidotes—None known. 
Treatment—Emetics, ice internally and hot 
fomentation on the bowels, milk, or barley- 
tea. 
7. Poisons—Nitrate of silver (“lunar caus¬ 
tic ”). 
Antidotes—Common salt, brine, or sea-water. 
Treatment—Emetics, after giving the anti¬ 
dotes. 
8. Poisons—Arsenic, Paris-green. 
Antidotes—Charcoal powdered, maguesia. 
oil, aud lime-water. Hydrated oxide of iron 
is (be best antidote, and is made instantly by 
adding ammonia to tincture of iron (muriate). 
Treatment—Emetics, white of eggs, milk; 
afterwards a good dose of castor oil. 
9. Poisons—Mercury salts, corrosive subli¬ 
mate. 
Antidotes—Raw eggs (both yolk and white), 
milk, flour and water, iron tilings in mucilage. 
Treatment—Emetics, rice water, starch paste, 
afterwards opiates. 
10. Poisous—Load acetate (“ sugar of lead"), 
(“ fly poison”). 
Autidotes—Epsom salts, Glauber’s salts, 
alum, white of eggs. 
Treatment—Emetics, purgatives, milk. 
11. Poisons—Copper sulphate(“bluestone”). 
Antidotes—White of eggs, sugar, iron filings. 
Treatment—Emetics. (See Note B.) 
13. Poisons—Alcohol. 
Antidotes— Dilute ammonia water. 
Treatment—Emetics, salt water, warm 
mustard water, cold bath. 
13. Poisons—Coal gas. 
Antidotes—Fresh air. 
Treatment—Bleeding. (?) 
14. Phosphorus (rat poison), matches. 
Anlidotes—None. 
Treatment—Emetics, slippery-elm tea or bar¬ 
ley tea. hut no oils. 
15. Poisons—Henbane, bitter-sweet, deadly 
night-hade. 
Autidotes—Strong tea, charcoal powdered, 
effusion of oak bark. 
Treatment—Emetics, followed by castor oil. 
16. Poisons—Strychuine. 
Autidotes—Charcoal, chloral hydrate. 
Treatment—Emetics, tobacco juice applied 
to pit of stomach (for few moments only), 
warm injcctious. 
17. Poisons—Prussic acid, laurel water, 
peach oil, oil of bitter almonds. 
Antidotes—Magnesi a, iron rust, ammonia 
(inhaled cautiously). 
Treatment—Stomach pmup, emetics, appli¬ 
cation of cold water and friction, brandy and 
strong coffee. 
18. Poisons—Tobacco. * 
Antidotes—Tea, effusion of oak bark. 
Treatment—Emetics, purgatives. 
19 Poisons—Camphor. 
Antidotes—None. 
Treatment—Emetics, opium (laudanum). 
20. Poisous—Poison oak, sumach. 
Antidotes—Weak ammonia water. 
Treatment—Emetics, milk, oils. 
NOTES. 
(A.) For nos. 1, 2 aud 8—the stomach pump 
must not be used. 
(B.) Tbe poison itself will often produce 
violeut vomiting. In all such cases emetics 
may be omitted iu the treatment. 
Common emetics are a table-spoonful of salt 
in water, a teftspoonful of mustard in wuter, 
20 grains zinc sulphate, 5 10 grains copper sul¬ 
phate. 
In all cases of suspected po’eouing send for 
a physician at once. Use tho greatest caution 
in administering any but the simplest reme¬ 
dies without medical advice.* 
’ I have made free use of Taylor’s, 
other works in preparing these notes. 
i. 
Kallinyer’s, and 
BRIEFLETS. 
We do hope our writers will never again 
favor us with articles upon the subject—“ Does 
Farming Pay ?” . . The Australians seem 
contideut iu tbe success of exporting meat in 
in a fresh, uucookcd state to England on the 
American plan. . . Tiicro aru no longer auy 
cases of foot-and-mouth disease iu Englaud. 
“It lias taken," says the Loudon Funner, 
“ OD b r just one year to rid the country of the 
most disastrous foreign disease that ever har¬ 
assed it.” . . Mr. Finlay Dun tells English- 
<73 
men that the yield of wheat throughout the 
United States averages about one-half of what 
is considered the British average, viz., 28 bush¬ 
els. It oscillates between 13 and 14 bushels. 
Better cultivation and more care in the selec¬ 
tion of seed suitable for the locality, might 
considerably raise this very moderate average ; 
but drought at some period or another of tho 
summer must always shrink the American 
yield, and it will probably always take two 
acres to produce the amouut of wheat which 
the British farmer gels or should get from 
one. . . Mr. Dun says that the cord binder 
is destined to supersede the wire binder. . . 
Col man’s Rural World says. “ We know of no 
one who raised cane last year that is not going 
to raise it in increased quantity this, And 
for every one who raised it last year there will 
be tweuty more this year.” . . Success to 
the sorgo industry ! . . It is quite as unnat¬ 
ural to deprive ruminating animals of vegeta¬ 
ble food as to deprive man of it. . . Take a 
plate and place thereon two lumps of butter— 
the one with a natural Jure color and tbe other 
white as lard. Nine persons out of ten, says 
J. T. Ellsworth, would choose the colored 
lump. . . When the substance, used to color 
butter is as harmless as the salt which flavors 
it, there is no barm dune. . . The preva¬ 
lence of rot in sheep in Great Britain amouuts 
to a national calamity. . . We should judge 
that some of the Cow Peas would make excel¬ 
lent pickles. What says Mrs. Maple? . . 
Many still believe ia sowing oats with grass 
seeds upon tho lawn. “The oats shade the 
grass." Bat the grass needs no shade. It 
needs moisture, and this is the very thiug the 
growing oats take away from the grass." . . 
An agricultural paper in Cauada offers a prize 
ot five dollars for tho best essay ou “Instruc¬ 
tions to New Settlers iu Manitoba.” Tho N. Y. 
Sun competes for this prize. Its essay i 3 as 
follows: “ Don’t go. Look at the figures—50 
and 75 degrees below zero” . . A cat in 
the back yard, just ready to pounce on a chick¬ 
en, is a sign of spring. . . Pres. Barry 
thinks the English sparrow beneficial to us. 
He asks: “Docs any one know that it cats 
fruit-buds ?” We know that it eats ripe straw¬ 
berries. . . Weeds stiek iu the farmer’s 
crop. . . Dr. Gregory points out, beauty 
on our farms, as exemplified in handsome 
shade trees and shrubs, is a marketable quali¬ 
ty. One hundred dollars’ worth of suitable 
hardy plants judiciously planted—tho Rural 
New-Yorker thinks—will add not less than 
$1,000 to its value iu five years. If farmers 
could be brought to believe this, the nursery 
business would have no occasion to complain 
of hard times the coming spring. . . ^Cut 
cions for grafting later. . . Budding from 
such cions may be done in tho spring as 
well os iu summer. It is only necessary to 
keep the buds fresh and dormant. . . Bet¬ 
ter a hot enemy than a lukewarm friend. . . 
Mr. H. B. Ellwangcr says: “We have prob¬ 
ably produced as many of the leading and 
best varieties of fruits as all other coun¬ 
tries combined." . . Sow onion seeds as 
sooQ as possible. Five pounds of good seed 
per acre should be drilled in iu rows fifteen 
inches apart. Everybody knows that success 
in onion culture depends in a great measure 
upon thorough weeding. For the rest, let the 
land be rich and wetl drained. . . Danvers 
Yellow is a good keeper and a profitable mar¬ 
ket sort—round aud of mild flavor. Red 
Wethersfield is a great sort to yield—hardy, 
vigorous, aud marketable. White Globe is 
a good kind for both the North aud South. 
. . If our readers would have a long season 
of tender green peas, sow them all early; that 
is, sow the early, the intermediate, aud the 
late at the same time aud as soon in the spring 
as the grouud warrants. Late peas—sown 
late —are not worth the grouud they occupy. 
. . Is there anything, asks Mr. Meehan, that 
costs so little as flowers and trees, that makes 
life so much of a pleasure ? . . 
A Recoup of Hualtuy Gkowth.— The 
thirty-fifth annual report of the New York 
Life Insurance Company, as it is hardly nece* 
sary to say, Is a very strong financial docu¬ 
ment which will bo examined with keen inter¬ 
est and general sat is fact ion ; were it otherwise, 
the fact would be extraordinary and discour¬ 
aging. considering tho company * great u^e 
aud high reputation. The statement now made 
public is such as might be expected from such 
uu institution. Premium income sbows an 
increase ot over $300,000 as compared with 
1878; interest receipts also show a considera¬ 
ble increase ; assets increase nearly three mil¬ 
lions ; business done exceeds that of 1878 by 
more than a million; the volume of outstand¬ 
ing insurance rises over two millions; surplus 
shows a large increase: the number of policies 
iu force la larger than ever before: the mot- 
tality experienced is less than lnl8?St arid in 
every particular the report is a record of 
healthy growth- It v.as not until 1878 that 
tho New lork Life failed to make some annual 
progress ia respect to the volume of its out¬ 
standing business, and in that year every com¬ 
ply in tbe State fell back somewhat; but 
1878 was the year ot utmost depression, and 
the recovery lias begun iu life insurance as 
in everything else. Whatever advantages of 
absolute security. the lightest -actual cost, and 
the most equitable deallug it is possible to 
offer are combined iu this admirable and mu¬ 
tual company, and those are fortunate who 
hold its impregnable policies. 
