582 
THE BUBAL NEW-YORKER. 
Jam Stairs. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER FARM. 
PETEK B. MEAD. 
A visit to the Rural New-Yorker Farm 
during mid-summer proved to be a source of 
much pleasure and profit, and impressed me 
strongly with its great value to the whole ag¬ 
ricultural community. Inasmuch Q6 this farm 
is devoted chiefly to the interests of the read¬ 
ers of the Rural, I have thought that a brief 
allusion to what is being done there would in¬ 
terest them. 
The farm, consisting of about 80 acres, is lo¬ 
cated at Rockaway, L. I., directly opposite 
the new mammoth hotel on Long Reach, as may 
he seen by the first-page sketch. The soil 
is a light, sandy loam, easy to work, The 
farm is divided hy substantial feuces into lots 
of convenient size, all of which open into 
lanes on either side, and these again connect 
with a road leading to the favor buildings, 
which are centrally aud conveniently located. 
These buildings are roomy aud substantial, 
and arrauged with reference to economy in 
time and labor. A well-furnished work-shop 
prevents much idleness on rainy days, and 
saves many a step to the village. 
I was not disappointed in seeing a great va¬ 
riety of farm implements. These are about 
as important factors in experimental farming 
as seeds or manures. Naturally, some of these 
had been tried, found wauling, and laid aside, 
A slight Improvement in othciB would double 
their value. 
The il welling may be seen on the right hand of 
the picture. Il is covered with a hospitable roof, 
and the spirit of conteut dwells within, with an 
added charm from the hostess, who seems to 
possess naturally the gift inherited by her little 
daughter, who entertained me in the. most de¬ 
lightful manner, which the reader will the 
better understand when be is told that I am 
quite deaf. The house fronts on the public 
road, and is surrounded by evergreen and de¬ 
ciduous trees and flowering shrubs, with a few 
beds of flowers that give life and expression 
to the lawn, lu the house plot are the princi¬ 
pal fruits grown on the place, such as apples, 
pears, peaches, grapes, etc. all of which are here 
neglected as the Experimental Grounds for 
fruits are located 40 miles distant in New Jer¬ 
sey. 
) A few words next in explanation of the 
letters in the engraving- W. denotes the wheat 
lots; C. ooru lots; P, pasture lots. In the middle 
of this lot is a circular cluster of large trees 
surrounding a pool of water, where the cattle 
find both shelter and drink. V. Exp't is 
a plot devoted to the trial of various kinds 
of vegetables, especially new' kinds as they ap¬ 
pear. W. Exp’t is a plot where experi¬ 
ments in wheat were made. P. O , on the 
right, is the experimental lot for potatoes, ad¬ 
joining which is the cat lot where an immense 
yield of Mold's Ennobled oats Is in shock. 
South of the potato lot are eleven kinds of 
cow-pcas under trial, as well as many varie¬ 
ties of sorghum, beans, melons, etc. Expt, 
on the left of the farm buildings is a lot for 
various experimental purposes, such as grow¬ 
ing corn a«d sorghum for soiling, etc. Fin 
ally, the M’s may mean either meadows or 
mosquitoes, or both, and there seemed to be 
quite as much of one as the other, if not more 
How they did bite! and yet the Editor who 
accompanied me bore their attacks with the 
meekness of a lamb. There is nothing like 
getting used to a thing. Aaapleasaut offset 
to the mosquitoes a portion of the meadows 
was gay with wild flowers, conspicuous among 
which were great masses of Liliuui superbum, 
grandly colored. 
- One of the most prominent features of the 
farm is the testing of wheat, of which a great 
many kinds are grown, and in which import¬ 
ant improvements have been made. For ex¬ 
ample, from shriveled graius of Spring De¬ 
fiance, sown two successive seasons in the Fall, 
we have the Rural New-Yorker Winter Defiance, 
the largest Leads of which I found to measure 
seven inches and u quarter in length, the 
average being five inches and a half. Results 
almost a a remarkable have beeu produced 
with other kinds. Experiments in wheat 
growing include not only tin comparison of 
kinds and their improvement, but the com¬ 
parative value of manures, drilling and sowing 
broadcast, and, in short, everything that is 
necessary to lie known to form an intelligent 
opinion of the value of kinds, manures aud 
culture. The value id these experiments to 
the wheat grower is very great indeed. n 
Another important feature is the testing or 
varieties of corn ; and it is well that so much 
space, il me, and labor Bhould be given to the 
staple products of the farm. The growing 
crop of corn at the Rural Farm is something; 
remarkable. 1 have been ou many committees 
to examine corn in the field, and have growth 
some pretty good crops myself, but I have 
never seen ■'anything to equal the crop of 
Blount’s Prolific at the Rural Farm ; aud this. 
too, after an almost unprecedented drought. 
It was sown in drills, and the stalks are about 
fifteen inches apart. I was much pleased to 
see that flat culture has been adopted here. 
It helps wonderfully to carry a crop through a 
severe drought. The field was us flat as the top 
of a table, every stalk erect and no weeds to 
be seen. 1 found some of the stalks to be 
already eleven feet high, with a still further 
growth to be made. Many of the stalks had 
from seven to niueears, and very few less than 
four. Where some of the stalks have tillered, 
I think that fifteen and more ears will be got 
from a single grain of corn.. The reader who 
has time can calculate how many-fold the 
yield will be. A good deal of enthusiasm 
would have been quite pardonable in that field 
of corn, and it Las bien rather difficult for me 
to write soberly about it. 
Much attention is also giveu to potatoes, 
more than sixty kinds being on trial, many of 
them not having yet been offered for sale. 
There are several varieties of sweet potatoes 
under trial. Sorghum has also received much 
attention. From a single seed from a variety 
named Rural Branching Sorghum I counted 
eighteen stalks. 
There are other plots set apart for experi¬ 
ments with millets, roots, cabbage, pumpkins, 
melons, bean6, and other thingB important to 
the favmer and the gardener, and to which I 
can only make this brief allusion. A careful 
record is kept of each crop and experiment, 
and the reBu’ts, 1 presume, will be laid before 
the reader in due time. 
An effort is now being made to establish an 
“ Experimental Station ” for the State of New 
York. Here at the Rural Farm we have one 
already established by private enterprise, 
which is a model of its kind, aud might be ap- 
p opriately recognized by the State as a sub¬ 
station, though I imagine that the Editor will 
prefer to go ou unhampered in his own way. 
The testing of the chief farm cropB of the 
country, the comparative value of manures 
and artificial fertilizers, the trial of improved 
and labor-saving farm implements, the import¬ 
ance of thorough and clean culture, the rota¬ 
tion of crops, and other matters pertaining to 
successful and profitable farming, all receive 
that thoughtful care which is necessary to ob¬ 
tain reliable and useful results. All this, lie it 
remembered, is done for the benefit of 
the readers of the Rural New-Yorker, 
though its benefits are by no means 
confined to them. Its Influence may already 
be seen iu the neighboring farms, and will 
in time become widely exteudad. In 
view of what is being done here, I < aunot help 
wishing that both the Farm and the Rural 
may receive the continued appreciation and 
support they so well deserve from all engaged 
iu rural pursuits. 
Explanation of the Engraving of the Rural’s 
Farm. 
W. W. W.—Wheats. C. W. — Clawson 
Wheat. G.—Grass. V. Exp’t.—Vegetable Ex¬ 
periments. Exp’t.—Rural Brauchiug Sorghum 
aud other fodder plants. W. Exp’t.—Plots of 
different kinds of wheat treated variously. 
Cab.—Centennial Yellow Flint Corn. M. M. 
M.— Salt Meadows. O.—Mold’s Ennobled 
Oats. C. C.—Chester Co. Mammoth Corn. 
R.—Rye. P. O.—Potatoes, 70 different varie¬ 
ties. C. P.—Cow-peas, 11 different varieties. 
C. Exp't. Plot T. C.—Blount’s Corn. Corn ex¬ 
periments iu general. Sweet Potatoes, Cab¬ 
bages, Fodder Plants, Melons. Cuzco Corn, To¬ 
matoes, New Plants under test. P. P.—Pasture. 
-♦ * ♦ 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURE. 
EX GOV. ROB’T. W. FURNAS OF NEBRASKA. 
Professor Johnson, in one of his admirable 
lectures on the application of chemistry and 
geology to agriculture, speaking of the im¬ 
portance of agriculture, iu substauce says: 
“ On it a thousand million of people are de¬ 
pendent for their very sustenance; in its pros¬ 
ecution nine-tenths of the fixed capital of all 
civilized nations is embarked ; on it two hun¬ 
dred millions expend their daily toil.” To 
which add another agricultural axiom, that: 
“ the grand aim of the tiller of the soil should 
be, to obtain the largest possitdc yield, with 
the least possible expenditure of human toil.” 
These enunciations comprehended, we have 
proper conceptions of the importance of agri¬ 
culture to the whole world, us well as of the 
importance of the employment of skilled, sci¬ 
entific tabor, manipulation and management. 
A prevalent idea has been—and is yet, to some 
extent—that the individual possessed of suffi¬ 
cient physical, or animal force aud power to 
plow and hoe, can make a good farmer. The 
horse and ox, however, are more abundantly 
endowed with these qualifications naturally, 
than man ; yet are mere machines aud worth¬ 
less in reality, without the braiu guidance of 
the more intelligent beiuga. 
I am of those who maintain that more meu 
reach a medium of this world’s goods, _com- 
forts and enjoyments on the farm, unuer even 
existing adverse circumstances and surround¬ 
ings, than in any other occupation. There is, 
nevertheless, a lack of corresponding remu¬ 
neration, accumulation, and consequent en¬ 
lightenment. as compared with other vocations, 
for which there la cause. 8o long as the pa¬ 
trons and matrons of husbandry insist on 
giving their brightest sons to the professions, 
and the dullest to agriculture, just so long will 
there be “shortage” in the respects named. 
The less informed will continue the prey of 
the better informed. 
Farmers compluiu that they are not propor¬ 
tionately and justly represented in the law¬ 
making departments of governmentmaehinery. 
True: and simply because of their deficiency iu 
the requisite qualification, growing largely out 
of the policy of assigning the boys of lower men¬ 
tal caliber to agricultural pursuits. The remedy 
for this lice to some extent in education, by 
which labor will be honored, and in the adorn¬ 
ment of farms and farm houses, by which they 
will he rendered more attractive and desirable. 
There is not, however, so much real cause 
for complaint now as in times gone by. To¬ 
day American agriculture Btauds higher thau 
ever before; our products are in greater de¬ 
maud ; more of our bread and meat, the great 
standard life foods, go to feed the Old World. 
Our surplus increases. The balance of trade is 
in our favor; our precious metal products have 
been, aud are still, greatly on the increase. In 
the shape of purchasing medium, or power, 
for years past, until recently, Lhey have gone 
abroad; now, with an advancement in agricul¬ 
ture. and consequent increased surplus, they 
come home, aud to stay. General prosperity 
reigns supreme. Surely the outlook for Amer¬ 
ican farmers is bright. 
-- 
WHAT AGRICULTURE HAS DONE AND 
WHAT IMPROVED AGRICULTURE 
MAY DO. 
B. F. JOHNSON. 
Duly sensible that a prosperous agriculture 
and abounding crops had been mainly instru¬ 
mental iu making specie resumption possible, 
in 1879 one of the leading New York city 
dailies made the naive confession, in summing 
up the surprising results of the year, that for 
the first time in the history of the country had 
just and proper credit been given to the 
farmer for his part of the work of the Busten- 
tation of the public credit,' - and for the first 
time had the acknowledgment been made that 
the rehabilitation of the couutry was largely 
due to a prosperous agriculture. So much 
having been already confessed to have been 
done in the past, we may look forward to the 
future and prefigure its possibilities in the 
agricultural Hue. 
In the first place, it is pretty evident the 
keenest and sharpest among business, if not 
among thinking men, are being drawn to the 
vast importance of the subject of agricultural 
progress and development, and that the pro- 
foundest intellects of our time are about to 
take that interest in the great calling which 
distinguished the earlier and later fathers of 
the Republic-Washington and Jefferson and 
Iheir contemporaries ; Clay, Webster and Cuss 
and theirs. And it is a curious and au inter- 
c-eti ng fact that those tinioug meu remarkable for 
their intellectual ability and profound insight 
and to whom the world gives the highest 
positions, have beeu not ouly the firm friends 
but the enthusiastic supporters of agriculture, 
and have given the best efforts of their minds 
In that direction. Such uud so minded was 
Julius Caisar. of antiquity ; such, Bacon of the 
later Middle Ages, and such the first Napoleon 
aud Webster of our own time. If we do not 
care to name those utnong the living who are 
truly great and who show that greatness by 
their devotion to agricultural progress, it is 
because few men are great in the estimation of 
their contemporaries—time only affording 
that perspective by which we are able to make 
our just and accurate judgment of men. , 
But if the best interests aud professional in¬ 
tellects are giving their attention to the im¬ 
portance of agricultural progress, the sci¬ 
entists, in the second place, are no less active 
and devoted, and from present appearances we 
seem to be likely to have reproduced hero the 
scientific experiments in the same or a similar 
line which abroad have done so much to re¬ 
lieve farmers of the thousand and one uncer¬ 
tainties which surround the failing and de¬ 
grade the profession of farming. To be sure, 
the agricultural colleges have mostly failed in 
their missions, but this is because they fell (for 
tlio want of abler and better) into the hands of 
pedagogues who are the hereditary enemies of 
agriculture and have beeu so si nee Aristotle, the 
first great pedagogue, declared his Bcorn of all 
labor, and Seneca, the great teacher of morals, 
repeated and emphasized that scorn. The 
creation of a few such experimental stations as 
that of Connecticut and the success of the New 
York scheme will soon bring the agricultural 
colleges to the sense of their obligations to the 
public; but better thau that, they will provide 
competent professors and teachers, of whom 
there has been a nearly sufficient lack to ac¬ 
FAJB NO. 
count for the failures of the agricultural 
schools. 
But in the third place, no small part of the 
industrial capital of the country, reinforced 
and assisted by its mechanical aud iuventive 
genius, is at present engaged iu perfecting and 
inventing agricultural implements and ma¬ 
chinery of which the riding plow, the self- 
binder, the disk and screw harrows are the 
latest results, to be followed by the corn busker, 
cotton picker, and many no.less Important in¬ 
ventions, which, added to the progress already 
made, will advance practical agriculture 
abreast with the improved manufacturing in¬ 
dustries and the higher arts. 
Already has agriculture made the resumption 
of specie payments possible; already has it 
brought the United States up to the first rank 
among nations; and having achieved these 
distinctions In the past, it is sooner or later 
likely to become as fashionable as it has al¬ 
ways been au honorable profession. Should 
such a change take place, the rush of young 
meu to the cities would be in a measure pre¬ 
vented, the professions would soon he less 
crowded, the number of the predaceous classes 
would be lesseued, our morals would be im¬ 
proved, our politics purified, aud Instead of 
political swindlers and one-horse lawyers, the 
Government of the country would be in the 
hands of its thiukers and workers, the farmers, 
mechanics aud business men of the country. 
Champaign Co., Ill. 
Patty Ijusbaitlrty, 
FLAVORING MILK. 
PROFESSOR E. W. STEWART. 
A few years ago dairymen thought their 
business limited to a very narrow belt, diversi¬ 
fied by hill and valley, where only the finest 
grasses lloorishd in perfection, and the water 
ran iu clear streams or bubbled from pure 
springs; that nature had forbidden to the 
broad, level, stretchiug prairies of the West 
the production of the finest butter and cheese. 
But this vision of exclusive privilege soon 
passed away under skillful management, aud 
excellent butter is now produced from the At¬ 
lantic to the Pacific.. It was soon found that 
skill, and not a “dairy belt.” must determine 
tin; quality of the product Milk is extremely 
sensitive to the flavors of foods, but so, like¬ 
wise, is the flesh of cattle led for beef. Where 
beef of the best quality is produced, there skill 
is equal to the production of the finest butter. 
The study of foods and their peculiar flavors 
is certainly important to the dairyman. This 
study would show him that he may easily con- 
troi the flavor of the milk he produces through 
the foods he furnishes to his cows. It is true 
that different cows give milk of slightly differ¬ 
ent flavors from the same food, because one 
cow selects or appropriates more of certain 
qualities thau another, but these individual 
differences do not materially change the qual¬ 
ity of the butter product. 
A distinguished French agriculturist, M. 
Monclar, haslately proposed to give auy desired 
flavor to the flush of cattle, sheep, pigs aud 
poultry, by different combinations of food. 
He mentions hares killed in awormwood field, 
larks shot after eating cabbage, and eggs 
laid by hens that had eafeu of diseased silk¬ 
worms, as having a nauseating flavor; while 
iluckB fed npou sprigs of juniper had a deli¬ 
cious flavor. He fed rabbits with the waste of 
aniseed mixed with barley and bran, and others 
with food flavored with the essence of tbyme. 
Ju both of these eaBeB he found a distinct and 
agreeable change in the flavor; and becomes 
to the conclusion, from various experiments, 
that cattle and other animals may be given 
Buch flavors of flesh as the skillful feeder may 
desire. This may be pushing the point to an 
extreme, but all dairymen are familiar with 
the fact that milk takes readily a flavor from 
turnips, leeks, onions, cabbage, etc. These 
flavors are more marked and distinct than 
those of common foods, but every food gives 
its own peculiar flavor. It has been found 
that so good a food us red clover, when fed 
alone, gives milk an Inferior flavor to that 
given by white c lover, and especially by a mix¬ 
ture of grasses. As each food has its own pe¬ 
culiar flavor, it is evident that a large variety 
of grasses in a pasture will give a milk of a 
higher flavor than one seeded with only two, 
i say clover and Timothy, as is most frequently 
the ease. Thu aromatic herbs among the 
grasses cropped by the. Swiss cows upon the 
| mountains produce a highly flavored milk 
greatly relished by travelers. 
| These instances conclusively prove that the 
. flavor of milk may bo under the control of the 
dairymau, for he may select his own flavoring 
foods. If he is about to lay down pastures, 
he may not only increase the production of 
food upon a given area, hut greatly improve 
the flavor of his milk by seeding with a variety 
i of grasses, and selecting some especially for 
J flavor. ^Yetsomeof the best foods for milk 
