FAIR MO. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
a thing could possibly ba done from a liquid of 
this fetid, unhe-ilthy quality. No wonder 
that we hear of murrain and other fatal dis¬ 
eases abounding in such localities, from which 
our domestic animals would be generally ex¬ 
empt if they had pure water to drink freely, 
and as often during the day as required by 
them. 
-♦ » ♦- 
■what machinery has done for agri¬ 
culture. 
HENRY STEWAM. 
In visiting the fairs the observant person 
will be attracted by the usual brilliant display 
of agricultural machinery. It may be very 
well worth while, as he views th^se exhibits, 
to give a passing thought to the benefits which 
agriculture has derived from the genius and 
the labors of the mechanician. We may go 
hack in thought to the time when the spade, 
the hoe, the 6iekle and the fl ail comptised the 
farmer's store of machinery and when the 
plow was the rudest contrivance, hardly 
worthy to be called a tool. Then every man 
tilled the soil or engaged in pastoral pursuits 
because it was all one man could do to provide 
himself and his dependents with food. Then 
each man was forced to clothe himself and be 
his own mechanic for this simple reason. He 
labored long and with infinite pains, and the 
ancien t sentence that man should earn his bread 
by the sweat of his brow, came home to him 
with unmitigated force. 
In course of time improved and effective 
tools so lightened the labors of the agricultu¬ 
rist, and so Increased his products, that the 
opportunity to make a division of labor ar¬ 
rived. because there was food to spare for the 
mechanic. And so this condition of things 
became more and. more firmly established until 
it changed the whole social and political as¬ 
pect of human affairs. And now what do we 
see ? The vue of the most effective agricultu¬ 
ral machinery and the mechanical facilities 
for transporting these, now so cheapen pro¬ 
ducts, that the whole social fabric of the oldest 
civilized nation of the world is threatened 
with revolution and reconstruction; and it is 
the reaper, the self-binder, the steam thrash¬ 
ing machine, the locomotive, the 6teel rail and 
the steamship, that have in iheir combined 
effect, brought dismay and dread to every man 
in Europe who lives on the fruits of the labors 
of his fellow men, the laud-owners who live 
upon rents. The true '-landlord ” is now, not 
the owner of an English estate, but the far¬ 
mer wno commands an army of farmers, with 
brigades of plows, reapers and other machi¬ 
nery upon the plains of Western America. 
He makes laws for countries thousands of 
miles away, and his products rule the world’s 
markets. Tbs genius of agriculture to-day is 
the mechanic; the soul of agriculture is the 
inventor. One farmer can now, with the help 
of machinery, feed a hundred men with 
greater ease than at one time he could 
feed himself alone. The farmer sup¬ 
ports the railroads, for stocks rise and 
fall with the good or indifferent re¬ 
ports of what the harvest shall be. He supports 
lines of steamers whh his wonderful Heights 
of breadstuff s, provisions, meats, cattle and 
sheep. He maintains the millions of ariisans 
who clothe and shelter him and who provide 
for every one of his wants outside of the 
field. 
The mechanical power of the age is liko a 
series of concentric and eccentric circles of 
which the farmer stands ont in the principal 
center. These all revolve with and about ag¬ 
riculture,and the same force sets all in moiica. 
it is the farmer’s duty now to make the most 
of his opportunities. He should be the fore¬ 
most man of the age. Hia Influence should be 
felt everywhere. It is felt everywhere, for the 
wealthiest merchants and capitalists and the 
most active politicians all ask themselveB how 
far the farmers can be depended upon, before 
they makra movement in their special pur¬ 
suits. But the farmer should feel this himself. 
It is one thing to have power and anotuer 
Iking to be cognizant of the possession. Let 
the farmers consider now their position, and 
as they take a view of it let them eonsiier 
what Hey owe to the power and Influence of 
machinery. 
In conclusion, one most conspicuous exam¬ 
ple of the results pointed out may be noted. 
A few years ago Minnesota Spring wheat was 
graded very low in the grain markets and 
brought a low price. Unfortunately for 
the Western farmers this grade of Spring 
wheat was the only one they could produce. 
A ‘’New Process’ In milling was introduced. 
Elaborate machinery was invented to perfect 
the process. The best wheat by this process 
was the grade known as “ Minnesota Spring," 
theretofore despised and rejected—literally 
“rejected,’’ in fact, m ihu markets. After¬ 
wards this grade became sought by 
millers, and the value advanced to a 
point equal to, and sometimes more 
than, that of the previously much sought 
Winter wheats. If Minnesota farmers pro¬ 
duce forty millions bushels of wheat annually, 
this advanced value, due to the new process, 
puts several million dollars yearly into their 
pockets; and what a vast amount of comfort 
and happiness may be secured by the right 
use of so much money. Here we have but 
one instance only of the vast concatenation of 
circumstances, which points the moral here 
alluded to. 
Orfmnarj). 
THE DUTY OF BREEDERS IN REGARD TO 
TUBERCULOSIS. 
D. B. SALMON, D. V. M. 
It is scarcely necessary for me to tell the 
intelligent readers of the Rural that tuber¬ 
culosis and consumption are names applied to 
the same disease, and that this is one of the 
most destructive plagues to which the human 
race Is subject. 
In 1870, according to the vital statistics then 
taken, the annual deaths from this disease in 
the United States a ! one amounted to the enor¬ 
mous number of 69.000, or one in seven of the 
total deaths. The Mutual Life Insurance Com¬ 
pany of New York has found that over 19 per 
cent, of its total losses are caused by tuber¬ 
culosis, while a recent estimate in France 
places the deaths from consumption as one la 
every five. 
In the four great nations of Europe—Eng¬ 
land, France, Germany and Russia—the an¬ 
nual deaths from this disease amount to 870, 
000; and, taking the world over, itis estimated 
that three millions of people are yearly victims 
of tuberculosis. When, now. we consider that 
with onr increased population not much less 
than 100 000 people are annually swept away 
by this terrible disease in our own country, we 
are prepared to appreciate the value of auy 
discoveries which throw light on its origin 
and the means of preventing it. 
It has long been know?n that cattle are ex¬ 
ceedingly subject to this plague, and that 
milch cows iu particular are affected to a 
most extraordinary extent. Cruzel, in France, 
a dozen years ago estimated that one-half of 
the milch cows became consumptive. Adam, 
of Augsberg, by careful inspection, found that 
52 out of every 1,000 animals over one year 
old brought to the slaughter-houses were thus 
affected. During my inspection of the cows 
of New York City and vicinity, as one of Gen. 
Patrick’s staff, I found Btables In which from 
one-third to five-3ixths of all the cows had the 
plainest symptoms of consumption. In one 
stable, which I particularize as an extreme 
case, I found, by the mo9t careful examination 
of the longs of every animal, that 34 <nit of 
30 were thus affected, and one was in a very 
advanced condition; and yet the milk from 
these cows was daily sold to be consumed by 
Infants and invalids, as well as by the more 
robust classes that make up the population of 
a great city. More than this, when such cows 
are affected to a degree that makes them no 
longer profitable as milk producers, they are 
killed and then placed upon the market and 
sold as meat. 
Now, what is the connection between these 
facts? May consumption be communicated 
through milk or meat ? What momentous 
questions are these! 
Yes, tuberculosis is a transmissible disease, 
and experiments of the last decade, now too 
numerous and plain to be questioned, demon¬ 
strate not only that the disease may be in¬ 
oculated by using the tuberculous deposit, 
but that it may be communicated by way of 
the digestive organs, and that the milk, the 
blood, and I he juice of those muscles which 
are used as steaks and roasts, contain the in¬ 
fections principle. Stables, even, may be con¬ 
taminated, and placing a healthy cow in a stall 
that has been occupied by a tuberculous suo- 
ject is sufficient to communicate the affection. 
Now, siuce milk is generally not heated at 
all before use; since oleomargarine may even 
contain small particles of tubercle ; since the 
half-cooked steaks aud roasts, of which many 
are so fond, are not subjected to a temperature 
sufficient to destroy disease germs, it is plain 
that not one of us can hope to escape taking 
the germs of tuberculosis into his system, and 
if we escape infection it Is only because our 
organism is endowed with a vital force suffi¬ 
cient to resist them, while those poor unfortu¬ 
nates who have not this power of resistance, 
who, in other words, have inherited the so- 
called predisposition to the disease, must 
inevitably succumb to it. And the fact that 
one in every five or six of us does die in this 
way—that 100,000 people annually fall victims 
in this country alone—shows hovy very many 
are thus unfortunate. 
It is evident that the time ia at hand when 
we must think of a remedy for this terrible 
destruction of life and property, and it is 
pi aioly the duty of breeders to take one of the 
first steps. Cattle affected With tuberculosis 
Bhould be destroyed. No man of principle can 
keep a cow that may be the means of convey¬ 
ing to his customers an incurable disease; 
much less will he place the meat of such an 
animal upon the market to be sold for food, 
or evfin breed from such animals to raise a 
new generation of tuberculous subj ects. Stables 
in which diseased animals have been must be. 
thoroughly disinfected, as in the case of other 
contagious diseases. 
When society comes to realize that a disease 
incomparably more destructive than yellow 
fever, or small pox, or cholera is daily mea¬ 
sured and weighed out and distributed in all 
of onr cities with the milk and meat bought 
to support life, it will demand a rigorous con¬ 
trol of milk stables and slaughter-houses; and 
this will inevitably entail an expense of mil¬ 
lions upon millions of dollars if indemnity is 
allowed for animals destroyed. Hence it is 
probable that no such indemnity will ever be 
allowed. How much better for breeders to 
commence now and weed ont such animals, as 
it is their duty to do, and thus obviate the 
necessity for State interference. 
Finally, allow me, even though it may seem 
over-officious in the eyes of some, to add a 
word of warning to the breeders of the beauti¬ 
ful animals known as Jerseys, All of the in¬ 
spectors observed that a larger proportion of 
these animals were affected with tuberculosis 
tbaa of any other breeds. This was certainly 
my own experience to a most noticeable ex¬ 
tent. In fact, very mauy of the wealthy in¬ 
habitants of the fashionable avenues of New 
York, who keep a five-buudred-dollar Jersey 
cow to supply their families with pure milk, 
have animals whose luugs are infiltrated with 
tuberculous deposits, and the lymphatic glands 
of various parts of the body enlarged to two or 
three times their normal size as the result of 
this disease. No one admires the good quali¬ 
ties and beautiful appearance of these cattle 
more than the writer, but here is a trouble so 
widespread thatlwouldcertainly be accused of 
exaggeratioa if I were more particular in re¬ 
gard to its extent; but so great is this imper¬ 
fection that it mast greatly affect the popular¬ 
ity of the breed at no distant day, if breeders do 
not adopt the most stringent policy in regard 
to it. 
But whenever attention Is called to such 
faetB as I have just recounted, our old conser¬ 
vative journals raise their voices in horror 
against such “ alarmist ’’ views. The food we 
buy, they say, is much purer and better than 
most people imagine—probably better than 
such Binfol creatures deserve. In other words, 
it is the alarmists that need cenBure rather 
than those who place such obviously destruc¬ 
tive food upon the markets. Why, one of our 
leading journals absolutely refused to publish 
an article which I wrote eight years ago, giv¬ 
ing au account of recent European experiments 
proving consumption a contagious disease, and 
communicable through meat aud milk. 
“ Please don’t worry us about these things,” 
such old fogies cry ; “ let us continue to enjoy 
our half-cooked steaks from tuberculous cows ; 
let ns drink aud feed our children upon the 
milk of similarly diseased animals, and then 
die if we mast as our fathers and grandfathers 
have died before us; but don’t trouble us about 
suehdisegreeable things. The factis.you are an 
alarmht, and my paper says that alarmists are 
not to be tolerated." 
And so, although there is not a minute in the 
day or night but that, somewhere in our coun¬ 
try, there are sorrowing friends gathered 
aronnd the death-bed of some unfortunate con¬ 
sumptive, Bince every five minutes chronicles 
the death of such a victim, still absolutely 
nothing is done to check the extension of the 
malady even when one of its most prolific 
sources is unveiled before us. 
Jiett) Crop. 
NOTES FROM THE RURAL FARM. 
ing comparison: Four average heads (as 
nearly as could be judged by the eight) were r e- 
lected of both Clawson and Fultz. The spikes 
of Clawson measured 34 Inches in length 
averaging eight spikelets on a side or 16 m th fl 
head. There were in the four heads 150 ke 
nels, weighing precisely 106 grains. The 
Fultz also measured inches in length, aver¬ 
aging 16 spikelets. There were in the four 
heads 180 kernels, weighing 113grains. Wher©: 
as, therefore, the single kernel of Clawson 
weighs heavier than the single kernel of Fultz, 
the 150 kernels of Clawson weigh seven grains 
less than the 180 kernels of Fultz. And yet 
anybody to look at the two fields of grain 
wcnld estimate the Clawson as promising the 
heavier yield. The reason Is this; first, the 
spikelets of Clawson are loose and spreading, 
giving the head a large, heavy look. Tue 
spikelets of Fultz are not loose or spreading. 
They “hug" the rachis giving the bead of 
wheat a narrow, light appearance. And, sec¬ 
ond, whereas in the Clawson there are more 
spikelets with two kernels than with three; in 
Fultz there are more spikelets with three than 
with two—aud occasionally there are four. 
m 
A 
V 
Clawson Wheat not what it Seems. 
Wk were among the first to raise Clawson 
wheat, and we have since nnquestioningly pre¬ 
ferred it to any other variety until a trial of 
25 different kiuda the past season has not only 
shaken our faith in its superior yield, but has 
determined ns to abandon its cultivation in 
favor of several other kinds. Farmers, we 
desire to impress upon yon the importance of 
wheat tests upon yotn own farms. If, as in 
our own case, such trials demonstrate that 
certain varieties will yield from 10 to 25 per 
cent, more grain than those you have been 
raising, and which yoa have blindly taken for 
granted were the best ol all adapted to your 
soils, surely the expeur ilJ. trouble of such 
tests upon small plots wou^c amply be returned 
to you in future yeai v. 
Clawson bears a large, shuwy head; the 
kernel is large and plnmp But those who 
have accurately measured the yield per acre 
have found that it has always been .ess than 
their estimate from the appearance ox the field. 
This, at least, has been our own experience 
and that of those with whom we have convers¬ 
ed upon the subject. To Illustrate this we 
have been at the pains of making the follcw- 
DEFIANCB WHEAT FROM 
SHRIVELED.—FIG. 293. 
FROM SOUND SEED. 
fig. 293. 
Again Fultzo-Clawson (a hybrid between the 
two produced by our contributor Mr. Hugh L. 
Wysor) was among the showiest of all our 
wheats when ripe. The heads averaged 84 
Inches, with an average of 15 Bpikelets. Four 
average heads (as with Fultz and Clawson) 
produced 119 kernels, weighing only 97 grains. 
There were never more than two kernels In a 
spikelet Fonr average heads of Lost Nation 
raised as.a Winter wheat, produced 167 ker¬ 
nels weighing 10L grains. This seed again 
sown in the Fall would be very likely to In¬ 
crease in weight. The heads are far less 
showy than those of Clawson. Our plot of 
Shumaker was injured by the drought, being 
to the east of the barn-yard fence upon a dry, 
sandy soil. Yet four average heads (16 spiko- 
lsts to a head) produced 160 kernels, weighing 
99 grains. Even such email heads as Diehl 
that, to look at, would not seem to yield half 
as much as Clawson, would be found by tho 
