24 
JAN 42 
THE 
xlURAL NEW'YORKER, 
Conducted by 
ELBERT B. CARMAH. 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
No. 84 PARK Row. New York 
SATURDAY, JANUARY 12, 1884. 
A REQUEST. 
As in years past, we earnestly solicit 
our friends in renewing to write their 
names, post-ollices, counties and States 
plainly. Do not stick postage stamps to 
the letters—merely inclose them. Our 
new posters and premium-list will be sent 
promptly to all who apply, without charge, 
and with our best thanks for the interest 
so shown. We beg to remind our readers 
that now is the time to secure clubs. A 
kindly word from good people as to the 
merits of the Rural must always have its 
effect. We prize gcod words from con¬ 
scientious men. 
Wk find, upon looking over our index, 
that during 1883 we answered 2,600 ques¬ 
tions. Our friends before asking questions 
should consult this index. 
In the way of hardy, herbaceous plants, 
we know of "no others we can more heart¬ 
ily recommend than the improved pent- 
stemons and perennial phloxes. Remem¬ 
ber this, readers, and try them. There 
are many of the seeds in our seed distribu¬ 
tion. 
We are receiving many excellent articles 
in competition for the prizes. They can¬ 
not fail to add a valuable feature to the 
Rural New-Yorker during 1884. Give 
us a few days yet to attend to the pressing 
subscription business of the season aud 
then, friends, count upon a spicy Rural 
for the rest of the year. 
We want every reader of the Rural 
New-Yorker to be able to say at the end 
of this year that the paper has been worth 
—well, all the way from five (not lets than 
five) to one thousand dollars to him or 
more. We will not pretend to set the 
maximum figure. Really there is uo way 
to estimate the value of a live, practical, 
honest, rural journal to the land-tiller 
who reads it carefully and discriminately. 
We often think that if we could oblige 
every good, intelligent farmer in the coun¬ 
try to attentively read four consecutive 
numbers of the Rural New-Yorker, he 
would then subscribe for it. Is not that 
your opinion kind reader 1 ! 1 Well, we can't 
oblige people to read it. But if all of our 
present subscribers were willing to ex¬ 
press their opinions of the Rural forcibly 
to all good, intelligent farmers among 
their acquaintances, that would greatly 
help in the. desired direction. We want 
not only a large circulation, but we want 
it among the best people of the country— 
those who despise the fraudulent offers of 
irresponsible mushroom papers, and who 
love to support and encourage good, con¬ 
scientious work. 
In the old English common law fore¬ 
stalling, regrating and engrossing were 
crimes. Blackstone classes monopolies 
among crimes, being offences against pub¬ 
lic trade. So far as applicable to our con¬ 
ditions the English common law was made 
our common law. Then by the law of the 
land, monopolies are crimes. We have 
come to use the same term to denote the 
criminals. Was not, is not, the law just? 
Are not monopolists robbers? They take 
that which is not their own from the peo¬ 
ple without their consent. This is the 
definition of robbery. But their crimes 
are even yet greater. They have become 
bribers. They buy legislators, judges and 
executives, they openly boast of their 
iniquity. They are brazen. Surely we 
are justified in writing against them. 
HELP EACH OTHER. 
In a late issue of an Iowa contemporary 
we notice a list of about 600 farmers who 
have signed the following declaration: 
'‘We, the undersigned, citizens of La- 
dora and vicinity, agree to pay and do 
THE BUBAL HEW-YOBKEB. 
pay the sums opposite our respective 
names to assist the Farmers’ Protective 
Association of the State of Iowa in prose¬ 
cuting the barbed-wire suits against 
Washburn, Moen & Co." 
The sums opposite the names range 
from 25 cents to $3, the majority being 
$1. The farmers of Iowa have already 
spent more money than those of any other 
State in fighting the barbed-wire fence 
monopoly. If they succeed in defeating 
the exactions of Washburn, 'Moen & Co., 
every person who thereafter uses barbed- 
wire fencing in any part of the country 
will be a gainer by their victory. Defeat 
of the patents on the barbed-wire before 
tjfie United States Supreme Court will put 
an end everywhere to the exaction of the 
royalty by the monopoly and thus lower 
the price of the product. Since the users 
of this kind of fencing in all parts of the 
country will gain by the defeat of the pat¬ 
ents, is it fair to allow the farmers of one 
State to bear all the expense of the strug¬ 
gle? The “citizens of Ladora” have set 
an excellent example, not only to the citi¬ 
zens of other places in Iowa, but also to 
those of every State in the Union. Let 
the people everywhere combine to fight 
all oppressive monopolies. Let them con¬ 
tribute toward the “sinews of wai” for 
the contest. A very small sum from each 
person interested in defeating the barbed- 
wire fence monopoly will form a very 
large aggregate amount—quite large 
enough to meet all the expenses of the 
contest. During the progress of a con¬ 
flict. by the issue of which we gain an ad¬ 
vantage, it is mean and unmanly to stand 
selfishly idle, leaving others to bear all 
the anxiety and outlay of the fray. _ Here 
is a subject for action and discussion at 
the farmers’ meetings during the Winter. 
- - ♦ »- 
AWAY WITH UNJUST TAXATION. 
We do not know a matter of general 
public interest which is of more, impor¬ 
tance to the agricultural community than 
an amendment of the inequality of State 
and local taxation on real and personal 
property, and we are, therefore, pleased 
that shortly after we called public atten¬ 
tion to the subject in the Rural of De¬ 
cember 29, Governor Cleveland, m his 
message to the New York Legislature on 
January 2, has deemed it right and proper 
to direct the attention of that body to the 
need of reformation in that direction. 
“The tendency of our prosperity,” he 
justly remarks' “is in the direction of the 
accumulation of immense fortunes, largely 
invested in personal property; and yet its 
aggregate valuation, as fixed for the pur¬ 
pose of taxation, is constantly decreased, 
while that of real estate is increased. 
For the year 1882, the valuation of per¬ 
sonal property subject to taxation,” in 
New York State, “was determined at 
$851,021,189, and real estate at $2,432,- 
661,379. In 1883 the assessed valuation 
of personal property was fixed at $315,- 
039,085, and real estate at $2,557,218,- 
240.” This statement bears out pre¬ 
cisely what we said a fortnight be¬ 
fore the Governor's message. At pre¬ 
sent the law in this, and most of the 
other States, permits, in the case of per¬ 
sonal property, the indebtedness of its 
possessor to be deducted from, its value, 
and allows no such deduction in favor of 
real estate, though it be represented by a 
mortgage, which is a specific hen upon 
real estate. If lands and buildings are 
taxed without respect to the mortgages on 
them, why should not bonds and stocks 
be treated' in the same way? A person 
who buys a farm with borrowed money 
is assessed just as if he had paid cash; is 
it fair that the owner of railroad 
bonds, also bought with borrowed 
money, should he let off? Just as 
we showed, the Governor maintains 
that personal property needs more than 
any other the protection of the gov¬ 
ernment, and he logically infers, there¬ 
fore, that it ought to pay according to the 
amount of that protection. What he ex¬ 
plicitly insists upon, however, is “that 
both real and personal property should be 
placed upon the same footing, by abolish¬ 
ing. in all cases, any deduction for debt.” 
The object lie and every other just man, 
East, West, North and South, seek, is to 
preserve the honor of the State in its deal¬ 
ings with the citizens, to prevent the rich, 
by shirking taxation, from adding to the 
burdens of the poor, and to relieve the 
land-holder from unjust discrimination. 
-» »»- 
THE AMERICAN VINE IN FRANCE. 
The scourge of the French vineyards 
is the phylloxera, and how to circumvent 
and prevent the mroads of this pest, 
which has worked such terrible destruc¬ 
tion among the grape-vines of France, 
has long been a problem which both the 
Government and the people have endeav¬ 
ored to solve. 
It gives us great pleasure to note that 
at last a remedy seems to have been dis¬ 
covered, which it is thought by many 
may prove effectual; which will save the 
vineyards of France from impending min. 
The experiment has been tried for a few 
years past, of planting in the infected dis¬ 
tricts the American vine, and with grati¬ 
fying results. The Bordeaux Congress, 
which took place in the latter part of 
1881, gave a great impulse to the matter, 
and started many to planting and grafting 
on the American vine in infected dis¬ 
tricts. “ Although many speak ill of it,” 
says Le NouvdluU. “the American vine 
has gained the confidence of all those who 
cultivate it, or observe it.” Previous to 
1881 little was done with American viues 
beyond making mere trials of the resist¬ 
ance they offered to the ravages of the 
phylloxera. Nevertheless vines grafted 
five or six years ago, and even earlier, pro¬ 
duced wonderful vegetation and a bounti¬ 
ful harvest. Says M. Pulliat, an eminent 
fruit-grower at Chirouhles, in the De¬ 
partment of the Rhone: “I possess 25 to 
30 acres of indigenous vines, grafted four 
or five years ago on resisting American 
vines; they are of a vegetation and fer¬ 
tility which go beyond all that we have 
seen, even during the prosperity of our 
former vineyards. I no longer discuss 
with the non-believers in the American 
vines. I say to them, ‘Come and see.’” 
Another well-known vineyardist says: 
“Our vines grow magnificently, and cer¬ 
tainly pay less attention to the phylloxera 
than ourselves.” 
The past season the American vines 
producing directly red wines—Herl e- 
mont, Jacques, York's Madeira, Othello 
and Black Eagle -were loaded with fruit. 
Among the white wines are commended 
the vigor of the Noah, the precocity of 
the Triumph, the fertility of the Elvira 
and the resistance of the Missouri Ree¬ 
ling. Surely the. grape-growers of La 
Belle France are to he congratulated if 
the American vine will resist the inroads 
of an insect that has already caused mil¬ 
lions of dollars’ worth of damage in the 
vineyards of that great wine-making land. 
If such is the case it will not be long ere 
Frauce will again resume her former po¬ 
sition among the wine-producing nations 
of the globe. 
UTILIZE, DON’T WASTE YOUR SHOT. 
For some months an “item” has been 
“going the rounds” of the agricultural 
press relating to the annual outlay made 
by different countries “in supoort” of 
agriculture. The figures given have 
varied greatly, but the object of the 
quotation has always been to belittle the 
appropriations made by this country in 
comparison with those made by other 
nations. Here is the last form in which 
the “item” has met our eye: “For the 
encouragement of agriculture, Frauce ap¬ 
propriates $20,0()0,u00 annually; Russia, 
$15,000,000; Austria, $5,500,000; and 
the United States, $176,686.” Wc have 
not at hand the official figures of the out¬ 
lay made by the foreign governments 
mentioned “ for the encouragement of 
agriculture;” but we have a very distinct 
remembrance that when we first saw this 
item, the figures were much smaller than 
those given here. With regard to the 
outlay for agricultural purposes made by 
this country, however, Commissioner 
Loring’s last report shows that the ex¬ 
penses of the Department of Agriculture 
alone for the last fiscal year were $455,679. 
In addition to this the Treasury has ex¬ 
pended over $85,000 on cattle quarantine 
stations, and to meet the salaries aud 
expenses of the Treasury Cattle Commis¬ 
sion, etc. Moreover, the General Govern¬ 
ment by the act of July 2, 1862, and its 
supplements, granted for agricultural 
colleges for the various States 9,600,000 
acres of the public domain, the income 
from the proceeds of which amounts to 
nearly $1,000,000 a year already, though 
a considerable share of the land remains 
yet unsold. Surely this annual income 
should be credited to the liberality or 
justice of the General Government. Then 
again, while ull appropriations for agri¬ 
cultural purposes are made by the national 
governments of Europe, the genius of our 
institutions demands that a great deal of 
such appropriations must be left to the 
option of tlie various State Legislatures, 
and nearly all of these make annually 
more or less liberal appropriations for 
“ the encouragement of agriculture.” In 
all eases, the agricultural colleges have 
been built at their expense, and in nearly 
all eases yearly appropriations are made 
to aid in their support. The expenses of 
State Boards of Agriculture are defrayed 
by them, as well as of experiment stations 
in several States. Most of the States con¬ 
tribute also towards the expenses of 
State, and county fairs, and pay the cost 
of various sorts of Commissions connected 
in one way or another with agriculture. 
Mtiny of them also aid State horticul¬ 
tural and pornological societies, and fur¬ 
nish money for the encouragement of agri¬ 
culture in several other ways. Indeed, the 
aggregate amount appropriated by our 38 
States and eight Terrrorics added to that 
granted by the General Government for the 
encouragement of the stalwart agriculture 
of this country, would make quite a re¬ 
spectable figure compared with the sums 
devoted by trans-Atlantic governments 
for the support of the sickly agriculture 
of Europe. Let us utilize our ammunition 
on real governmental abuses instead of 
wasting it. on imaginary governmental 
shortcomings. 
-♦ •» ♦- 
BREVITIES. 
Fix things. 
“You see I send you one new subscriber, 
as you request.” So say hundreds. 
Now most of us have time to study the seed 
aud other catalogues soon to be announced. 
Wk think that the carriage bouse of every 
one of our subscribers should not lie without 
a Rural poster. 
Are you getting any eggs now t What a 
pity it is that we can't get up a breed of poul¬ 
try that will lay when noliody else’s lay! 
We are now feeding the refuse of celery to 
our fowls. They like it very much. When 
cabbage fails it is hard to furnbh green food 
to the hens from now until Spring. 
The signature of the correspondent who 
discussed Miner’s Grapes in last week’B Rural 
was omitted unwittingly. Would ho kindly 
furnish us with his name and address? 
Ten cents a gallon for crude petroleum. 
Its great value as a preservative is little 
known. It will pay to paint, all out-buildings 
with it—to dip shingles in it before they are 
nailed to the roof as well as the lower parts of 
all fence posts that are sunk In the ground. 
The Rural Union Corn ripened in ninety- 
two days, and we have saved the seed in a 
perfect condition. A liberal package will be 
sent to eveiyapplicant for our Free Seed Dis¬ 
tribution. We may meutlon that many of 
our readex-s apply for it forgetting to inclose 
the three-cent postage stump. Numerous 
complaiuts will therefore be made that their 
applications were disregarded. 
We should really like to know if there is 
any other farm journal iu Ameinca that has 
rejected a larger amount of doubtful or 
fraudulent advertising during 1888 than the 
Rural New-Yorker has injected. And yet 
we have admitted several advertisements 
that we would not admit again. We gave 
them room, however, only after the positive 
assurances of the agents who sent them that 
the advertisers were good men. 
For a considerable time there has been a 
“ mysterious” trouble connected with the Bor¬ 
den Milk Condensing Company, at Montgom- 
ery, Orange County, New York, so that some 
months ago it became necessary to close the 
factory and stop the manufacture of the con¬ 
densed article owing to the fact that, iu spite 
of all precautions, the milk was regularly re¬ 
turned to the dealers as worthless. Iu ordei- 
to arrive at a solutiou of the difficulty the 
mil k supplied by each farmer was placed iu a 
separate can and given to a chern ist for analy¬ 
sis. After a thorough investigation this 
geutlcman reports that the milk contained in 
several cans had been diluted with from five 
to six quarts of water, to which an admixture 
of borax and saltpeter had lieen added to con¬ 
ceal the adulteration. The evidence is said 
to be conclusive, and the guilty parties will 
be prosecuted, as they ought to be, to the full 
extent of the law. 
It is a homely phrase, but contains none 
the less of truth, chat “ a man may bite off 
more than he can chaw.” It may be applica¬ 
ble to monopolies. They may be too greedy. 
They may ask lor too much, and get nothing. 
There is a poiut. where forbearance ceases 
to be a virtue. People may be stuug to re¬ 
sentment, though they have showu them¬ 
selves to be long-suffering. It may be well 
for monopolists to ask themselves if they have 
not gone lar enough. Men may talk as they 
please, but. the American people are not of 
the stuff to be ground down. It is true that 
men are more disposed to suffer while evils 
are sufferable than to change long established 
institutions. But for all that, monopolies 
may rnuke themselves an unbearable evil. 
They have come almost to that pass now. A 
few'steps farther and a severe judgment will 
be passed upon the merciless monopolies that 
conceal their greed beneath the honored cloak 
of capital. 
The recent convention held at Chicago for 
the suppression of diseases amoug our domes¬ 
tic animals, appointed a committee to impress 
upon Congress the views of the convention. 
The sentiment <if the best authorities is in fa¬ 
vor of placing the work of stamping out the 
diseases iu the hands of the General Govern¬ 
ment. Some apprehension is felt that this 
plan may be opposed on the ground of State 
rights; but Mr. J. B. Gnnnell. Secretary of 
the Committee, iu u vigorous circular urges 
that “ a State ought, to waive the question of 
damage, if it is fixed by a neutral commission¬ 
er and the General Government, aud Dot the 
State, meets the loss.” He calls attention to 
die losses that other uatious have suffered 
through a policy of concealment, uud says 
the policy for us is not secrecy, but boldness. 
This is what the Rural has always main¬ 
tained, though it has often been blamed Un¬ 
doing so by short-sighted people. 
