724 
THE RUBAI. HEW-YORKER. 
OCT. 30 
THE 
Rural New-Yorker, 
PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY. 
Conducted by 
ELBERT 8. CARMAN. 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
No. 84 Park Row, New York. 
SAIU KDAY, OCT. SO, 1880. 
It may be well for ns to announce that we 
hare begun to prepare special numbers of the 
Rural New-Yorker for 1881, devoted first, 
(January) to Indian Corn ; second, (February) 
to Strawberries; third, to selected Hardy 
Plants suitable for country home grounds; 
fourth, (early September) to Wheat. These 
numbers will be au,ply illustrated from nature, 
and we now solicit articles for them from those 
who have made such plants a special study or 
have valuable items of experience to commu¬ 
nicate. We do not desire long articles or 
descriptions of those ordinary methods well- 
known to all good farmers. Those who favor 
U9 will kindly mark the MSS “ For Corn Num¬ 
ber"—“For Wheat Number,” etc. We have 
now growing at the Rural Experimental 
Grounds seventy-five kinds of wheat, as many 
of strawberries, a very complete collection of 
hardy ornamental woody plants from which 
to make our own notes, while from our happy 
experience with corn during the past season, 
we hope to impress upon our readers some 
valuable teachings. 
SPECIAL NOTICE, 
Many of onr subscribers are sending us the 
required amount of postage stamps (six ecu's) 
requesting us in return to send the White Ele¬ 
phant Potato, as if additional postage were re¬ 
quired for the other seeds or a separate appli¬ 
cation necessary. We beg our readers to un¬ 
derstand that six cents are all we ask from 
them for the entire distribution—the rest of 
the postage the Rural pays. Applications 
may be made from now until Ma ch. Write 
the name and address plainly and say "Sknd 
Seeds.” That is all we desire except that our 
friends will not stick the postage stamps to 
their letters. 
Oub readers generally, with every 
horticulturist acd pomologist in the 
country, will regret to learn of Mr. ChaB, 
Downing’s loss by the death of hie wife, 
which occurred on the 18th inst., and all 
will sympathise with him in his bereave¬ 
ment. 
-HM- 
Readers of this journal will recall our 
remarks as to the disappointment, which 
most farmers experience who estimate 
the yield of Clawson wheat by its ap¬ 
pearance. As compared with Fultz we 
have shown that this difference is owing 
to the fact that the spikelets of Fultz 
bear three, sometimes four, kernels, 
while Clawson spikelets bear an average 
of only less than three. The number of 
grains to a spikelet or floret in wheats 
is an important item to which we would 
call the careful attention of farmers. As 
supporting what we have said against 
Ciawson, we present the following 
extract from the Seventh Annual Re¬ 
port of the New Jersey State Board of 
Agriculture. “ The ' Clawson wheat 
showed the largest heads and the tallest 
and heaviest straw. On thrashing we 
got 89 bushels of Clawson wheat, which 
is at the rate of 19J bushels per acre; 
244 bushels of Fultz wheat, which is at 
the rate of 304 bushels per acre. The 
same marked difference in the yield of 
the two varieties has been found for 
three or four years in succession,” 
THE DUCHESSE FEAR. 
We cannot advise our friends in select¬ 
ing pear trees for new orchards or for 
the g rden to olioose the Duohesse. It 
may be granted that at present it is one 
of our most profitable market sorts. But 
tve loam from fruit dealers that it has not 
sold ae readily this season as in past sea- 
eons ; while, on the other hand, more Seoii- 
els than ever before have been sold. For 
the very reason that the little Seckel is 
steadily growing in favor, the Duchesseis 
losing ground. In other words, the pub¬ 
lic are learning (though slowly indeed) 
that the size of the Duohesse is a poor 
equivalent for the quality of the Seckel. 
Duchesse pears rr^ust be of the largest size 
or they are worthless. Grown upon pear 
stock, we find that they shrivel in spite 
of our best efforts to ripen them, while 
even upon the quince (dwarf) they re¬ 
quire plenty of manure. Judging of this 
pear by our own experience, we are forced 
to the conclusion that it has seen its best 
days and that its reputation even as a 
market variety is and deserves to be in “ a 
rapid decline.” 
■ — •*»♦- 
“THE SERE AND YELLOW LEAF.” 
The gorgeous beauties of the Fall of 
the year are not only charming but in¬ 
structive. To the young they show only 
a perfection of color and blending of tints 
which delight the eye by their brilliancy. 
To those of maturer years they convey a 
soberer pleasure which appeals to the 
higher sensibilities. “ The sere and yel¬ 
low leaf” has been too often considered 
as betokening the infirmities of age creep¬ 
ing upon us, denoting enfeebled powers 
and the wnrniug of an approaching disso¬ 
lution, The popular mistake that it is 
to the effects of a killing frost that this 
exquisite coloring of leaf is due, only 
helps to carry out this delusion. But it 
is the ripening of the foliage, the ma¬ 
turity of its age, the full service of its 
purpose in creation, that brings about 
its beauty and magnificence. Thus con¬ 
sidered, “ the sere and yellow leaf” must 
not be applied in its popular sense as 
the withering of decay, as the termina¬ 
tion of a by-gone life and the end of all 
usefulness. On the contrary, it signifies 
but the accomplishment of a purpose in 
life, the end of a busy season, the be¬ 
ginning of a season of quiet and rest. 
-♦ ♦ ♦ 
THE FLAX INDUSTRY. 
One of the most promising openings 
for a new business is offered to those who 
will establish depots for receiving and 
curing, preparing and classifying flax 
fibers. There are a great quantity and va¬ 
riety of flux straw now grown, but there 
is wanting a system with machinery for 
curing and preparing the fiber. 
There are no mills weaving fine linens, 
but there are two or three making crash 
and several large thread and jarn and 
twine mills—one at Meehan icsville, N. 
Y.; one in New York City ; smaller ones 
in different places, while a branch of the 
Barbour thread mills of Ireland employs 
some 500 hands at Paterson, N. J., and 
Messrs. Finlayson, Bausfield & Co., of 
Scotland, have* also, during the past year 
established a branch manufactory of 
threads at Grafton, Mass. 
In these mills something over two mil¬ 
lion dollars’ worth of raw flax is used, the 
greater portion of which is imported, be¬ 
cause our flax growers do not systemati¬ 
cally cure and classify their product. 
But little of the flax grown in the United 
States is of a character to suit these mills. 
Flax grown for seed is too coarse, but. 
the straw may be need in yarn and to 
mix with foreign fiber, if it be properly 
prepared and classified according to color 
and fineness. 
The suggestion of depots for receiving 
the flax straw from farmers is made in 
the belief that companies making it a 
business could afford to put in modem 
mechanical appliances for the purpose, 
and in time a system of preparation and 
classification would grow up, as well as 
the opening of a market for the fiber 
when prepared. Added to this,, onr farm¬ 
ers would be led to grow flax for both 
seed and fiber, and also for fiber alone. 
CANADA GOING TOO FAR. 
Importations of cattle from Canada 
to Great Britain have considerably in¬ 
creased duriug the time the latter has en¬ 
forced restrictions on importations from 
this country. It is only natural, there¬ 
fore, that the Dominion, while not at all 
anxious that the embargo on our cattle 
should be removed, should be very anx¬ 
ious to avoid any cause for the establish¬ 
ment of similar restrictions on its own 
trade. Solicitude on this point is doubt¬ 
less the chief cause of its absolute pro¬ 
hibition against the importation of 
cattle from this country. England de¬ 
clares that, to guard her own herds against 
contagion from ours, not only must no 
cattle be imported beyond the ports of 
debarkation directly from the United 
States, but also that none shall be intro¬ 
duced indirectly through Canada; and 
that any attempt to do so will cause the 
enforcement of a like embargo on cattle 
from that country. Such a threat would 
justify our neighbors in placing upon 
cattle importations from this country re¬ 
strictions as stringent as those they en¬ 
force against importations from other in¬ 
fected nations. But while they permit 
the introduction of cattle from Great 
Britain, France and other countries whose 
herds are notoriously infected with pleuro¬ 
pneumonia and other contagious diseases, 
after a ninety-days’ quarantine, it seems 
unneighborly, nay, unjust, that they 
should prohibit absolutely the importa¬ 
tion of cattle even from our Western 
States which have hitherto remained 
wholly free from pleuro-pneumonia. If 
a quarantine of Dinety days is consider¬ 
ed sufficient to guard their herds from 
contagion through imported European 
animals, why should not a similar quar¬ 
antine be equally efficacious as regards 
animals from this country? We do not 
pretend that our condition as friendly 
neighbors affords any claim for excep¬ 
tional consideration, but we do insist 
that it should not subject us to an ex¬ 
ceptional hardship, and the attitude of 
the Canadian Government towards us in 
this matter is so inconsistent with its 
conduct towards more distant nations that 
our Government should at once make 
a strong protest against a discrimina¬ 
tion so injurious to our interests, and, 
we honestly believe, ultimately to those 
of our neighbor. Even Belf-interest does 
not justify injustice. 
THE BUSINESS OF EXPERIMENTING 
Every person knows, who has a gift or 
a taste for experimenting, that it is an 
unprofitable business, so far as money is 
concerned. It is expensive of time and 
money, and, as time is money to most of 
those whose tastes lie that way, the cost 
is doubly great. Occasionally one fortu¬ 
nate individual strikes a good thing, just 
as the originator of the Concord Grape 
or the Early Rose Potato did. Most peo¬ 
ple Bpend a life-time and find nothing to 
reward their labor and perseverance. But 
even when a real “ bonanza ” is found, it 
brings but little reward to the discoverer 
or producer. The public gets the bene¬ 
fit ; the person whose labor has been 
spent gets the empty honor, and his vir¬ 
tue. is its own reward. This is, perhaps, 
unavoidable, but it is not fair; and, being 
unfair, it 1 b objectionable, and therefore 
operates to disgust people with this sort 
of employment. 
It is easy to perceive that the success¬ 
ful originator of an improved potato, root, 
grain, or fruit, is as much a public bene¬ 
factor as the inventor of an improved 
process, machine, or implement. The 
public has gamed many millions of dol¬ 
lars from the Rose Potato and the Con¬ 
cord Grape, but what have been the re¬ 
wards of the originators ? lu the nature 
of things it is difficult, if not impossible, 
to protect a plant as a machine can be 
protected, by a patent. But why should 
the public be averse to recompensing 
those who have labored long and indus¬ 
triously for its benefit ? Probably no 
person engaged in agriculture is, or has 
ever been, averse to the fair and just 
compensation of those persons from whose 
industry and skill important benefits have 
been derived. The difficulty does not ex¬ 
ist in this direction, not in any unwilling¬ 
ness to return the obligation, but in 
iguorauce of any practicable manner of 
doing this. Much has been thought, 
said, written and proposed upon this 
question, but no solution has yet been 
reached. 
There is no reason why the subject 
should be forgotten, but every reason 
why it should be carefully considered 
until some method may be devised for 
the continued employment of experimen¬ 
ters, in the hope that we may secure still 
further advantage from their investiga¬ 
tions. There is no doubt that the prom¬ 
ise of a substantial reward for suocess in 
this way would encourage and stimulate 
those engaged in experiments of this kind 
to more devoted efforts. The State of 
New York has liberally appropriated ti e 
handsome sum of 320,000 yearly for two 
years for the support of experiment sta¬ 
tions. There is no doubt whatever that 
if one-tenth part of this sum should be 
devoted to the encouragement of efforts 
to produce new and improved varieties of 
vegetables, grains or fruits, it would have 
a benefioial result. The money might 
possibly be used iu the shape of awards 
for the production of some notably ex¬ 
cellent new variety, in some suoh manner 
as that by whioh the American Institute 
haB a standing offer of a premium for 
some striking mechanical discovery or 
invention, of whatever kiud it maybe, to 
long as it is manifestly worthy of the r3- 
ward. If suoh an arrangement had been 
in existence, there is no doubt that some 
.very useful services might have been 
rewarded to some extent, and however 
inadequate it might have been, the re¬ 
ward would have been beneficially be¬ 
stowed. It is enough that we keep this 
matter in view, for its fuller considera¬ 
tion, without going so far as to offer any 
defined proposition for its development. 
BREVITIES. 
On the 19th a frost occurred at the Rural 
Farm which killed cow-peae, Rural Branching 
Sorghum, sweet potatoes and tender plante 
generally. The thermometer was 84 deg. at > 
6.80 A. M. 
Upon our several plants of the great Cuzco 
Corn, there was one ear which we hoped might 
mature a grain or so After our frost of last 
week, seeing that the end of ihe season ©t 
growth had arrived, we pnlled and husked 
that ear. The cob was four inches long. 
There were no kernels. 
Mr. Douglas says that the Wild Black Cher¬ 
ry (Prunue serolina) is one of the most rapid 
growers of all onr valuable Northern hard* 
wood forest trees, making lumber almpst equal 
in valae to the Black Walnut. It grows freely 
on any dry land, even if too poor for agricul¬ 
tural purposes. It Is healthy everywhere, of 
upright growth and la very easily transplanted. 
Prof. Budd of Iowa, has said—speaking ot 
the American White Ash—“ A grove of tern 
acres, thinned to six feet apart, containing; 
twelve thousand trees, at twelve yeare, were 
eight inches In diameter and thirty-five feet 
high, the previous thinning paying all expen-- 
see of planting and cultivation." This is, in 
fact, one of the most valuable trees for forest 
planting. 
Titb Roman Hyacinth Is white and about a 
week earlier than the others. But the single 
flowers and the raceme ms well are smaller. 
We mlchtcornpare them to ordinary hyacinths 
after they have hloomed three years in the 
open ground. The Mnsc&ri or Feathered' 
Hyacinths are very beautiful an l yet rarely • 
seen. As things of curiosity those who grow 
this class of plants in the open ground or for 
forcing, should try them. 
Several subscribers ask us whether it Is 
worth while for them to compete for our 
premium for the largest mangel grown from 
onr Free Seed Distribution. To these we say 
that we have not yet compared the sizes men¬ 
tioned in the statements already sent in. and 
even if we knew the largest size given wawonld 
not think it fair to tell it yet. Let eve*y* one 
who has succeeded in growing an exceptionally 
lanre mangel forward his statement. A postal-: 
card doesn’t cost much. 
At a recent stock sale of the Duke of Port¬ 
land, at his magnificent seat of Welbeck, ham 
sandwiches made up a part of the lunch fur¬ 
nished on the occasion. Within a few days 
after this, four of the persons partaking of 
the sandwiches died, and GO to 70 became 
seriously ill. A post mortem examination dis¬ 
covered nothing poisonous in the food, nor 
any trlchblse, and its fatal effects remained a 
mystery till some one thought of examining 
the room in which the food was kept the night 
t»efore it was eaten. Then the “ murder was 
aim," for in it is a long open draiuoge chan¬ 
nel covered simply by a grating. Frfwn this 
came the poison, which inlected 1 the ham 1 imade 
up into sandwiches, causing the four deaefr* 
and so much sickness. It is surprising that! 
such an open drain cau be found in so magnif¬ 
icent a building &« Welbeck Abbey, inhabited^ 
by so intelligent ar.d good-hearted a m&n as 
the Duke of Portland. But the late Prince' 
Albert of England caught his death from a- 
sewer pipe in a still more magnificent building 
—Windsor Castle. 
Thk recent gale on the coast of Florida, in 
which the steamer Vera Crut was lost, played 
havoc with the orange crop on Indian River, 
as the following extract from a private letter 
from Rick Ledge will show. “The cyclone 
destroyed over half of the finest orange crop 
ever grown on ludiau River. With no storm 
I think our oranges would have been par excel¬ 
lence in every respect—sizu, perfection and 
quality. From 600,000 oranges that would 
have been shipped over this route, we now 
come down to 200,000. This loss could have 
been nearly all avoided had the earlier Bettlere- 
only left sufficient timber to serve aswiud- 
breaks tor the protection of their groves. 
Major M.’s little grove was not hurt, being well 
protected in this way. In hla big grove, with 
no protection, half the fruit was blown off. G. 
H ’e, ditto. Mrs. D. lost 80.000 out of 100 000; 
uoprotectlon at all. But there will b: some 
oranges left, even in this district. My own I 
thought very fine, and they gave promise of' 
being exceptionally so. A good many that 
were left are scarred so as to mar their uni¬ 
form bearty, vet I shall have a few fine boxeft* 
if no other calamity befalls them. Weathei de¬ 
lightful now, only rather warm.” 
No grain has been exported from the Baltic 
ports of Russia since Weptember 1, but several 
cargoes have been already imported and more 
have been ordered. From Odessa, In the Black 
Sea, to Taganrog, in the 8ea of Azoo, little or 
no wheat lias lately been received from the 
back country, which nsnally supplies the 
greater part of the wheat for exportation. 
Reports received at St. Petersburg h from the' 
various provinces give a gloomy view of the 
prospects lor food duriug ihe coming Winter: 
shortage and failures of crops tie nearly 
everywhere announced. It has become a 
roblern how the government can keep the In* 
abltants of many districts from starvation, 
and measures looking to thatend have already 
been inaugural* d, Since our article on “ Our 
Prospective Wheat Market” appeared in our 
last Issue, we have received trans-Atlantic “ex¬ 
changes ” containing Dr. J. B. Lawes'sestimate 
ol the present wheat crop and the probable de¬ 
mand lor foreign wheat the coming season in 
the United Kingdom. We estimated the aver¬ 
age yield per acre there at 28 bushels; he put* 
It ftt2t$ ; we figured out the requirements of for¬ 
eign wheat there at 114,000 000 hu*bels: he 
thinks it will be about 112 uOO.OOO. Considering 
that we proposed to give only an approximate 
statement, and that his can only be an approx¬ 
imate estimate. there’6very littiedifference be¬ 
tween these two cutrely independent state¬ 
ments. The more we learn of the European 
wheat market, the stronger is our conviction 
that the prices of wheat here will remain at 
least firm, if they do not advance considerably. 
