452 
THE RURAL WEW-YORKER. 
THE 
RURAL NLW-YORKLR, 
A National Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Conducted by 
E. S. CABMAN, 
J, 8. WOODWARD, 
Editor, 
Associate, 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
No. 84 Park Row, New York. 
SATURDAY, JULY 12, 1884. 
AN ADDITION TO THE RURAL FAMILY. 
HOW AND WHY IT OCCURRED—A SKETCH OF 
THE LIFE OF MR. J. 8, WOODWARD, 
WRITTEN BY THE EDITOR OF THE R. N.-Y. 
Ab from year to year the Rural New- 
Yorker has widened its circulation, the 
work of every department has, of course, 
proportionately increased. During the 
past 18 months it has been apparent to me 
(painfully ho at times) that 1 was incapable 
of longer acting as both its publisher and 
editor, and yet, continue the work of the 
Experiment Grounds with justice either to 
myself or to our readers, But I have 
worked for the paper so long, so intensely 
—always happy when it seemed to be 
marching on, and quite wretched over any 
sign of retrogression—that it haw long 
seemed to me as if it were a member of 
my family. Though always heartily and 
efficiently supported in my city duties by 
the Rural’h ever-faithful friend, Mr. W. 
L. Herbert, I still needed assistance of a 
kind very difficult to secure. The man 
must be not only ar educated, practical 
farmer, hut he must enter upon his work 
for the love, of it -ready to subordinate all 
merely personal considerations to the pro¬ 
motion of the true interests of the coun¬ 
try, Was there such a one to be found, 
that would accept of the position 1 had to 
Offer? 
Among my acquaintances 1 had often 
thought of Mr. J. S. Woodward. Ilis 
articles, which from time to time appeared 
in the N. Y. Tribune, in the R. N.-Y. and 
other journals, were full of sound 
sense; I knew t hat he had spent most of his 
life upon a form, and that he was a suc¬ 
cessful farmer; 1 knew that lie had many 
friends, and believed him to be upright. 
It. was about live months ago that he 
first visited the Rural Grounds, and it was 
then that I freely told him how much I 
stood in need of such assistance. Mr. 
Woodward’s reply was that he would 
gladly give his services to the paper for 
three months or longer, and that we 
could thus ascertain whether, first, he 
was suited to the business, and, sec¬ 
ond, whether we were suited to each 
other. The trial was made and proved 
to be fully satisfactory on both sides, 
and ended in his purchasing a half in¬ 
terest in the Rural New-Yorker; he 
himself proposing a condition which alone 
(as it seems to me) shows the sincerity of 
the man, his faith in the Rural’s mission, 
and his desire rather to promote, its inter¬ 
ests than his owu. The condition is that 
if within two years from the date of the 
purchase I should become desirous of re¬ 
suming entire possession of the property, 
] skill have the right to do so. “For,” 
said Dir. Woodward, “if at tlieeml of two 
years it should be apparent that the Rural 
had received no decided benefit from my 
services, 1 should not whh to continue 
the* partnership. It would be unfair to 
you," 
It will be seen that pecuniary considera¬ 
tions had little to do with bringing about 
this connection when it is stated, first, 
that 1 preferred securities trom Dir. Wood¬ 
ward rather than the money, and, second, 
that the firm is fully responsible for half 
a million of dollars, while it owes nothing 
except for current weekly expenses. If 
any apology were needed for making the 
latter statement, beyond the reason as¬ 
signed, it may he found in the fact that 
in these days when new papers Btart up 
like rockets and too often come down like 
sticks, the advance paying subscriber has 
a right to know something of the stability 
of the paper be is solicited to support. 
That Mr. Woodward, no less than my¬ 
self, will be watchful as to the integrity 
of the R. N.-Y., is foreshadowed by a 
paragraph or so of the original draft of 
the articles of agreement, which he him¬ 
self wrote. Word for word, they are as 
follows: 
“It is further mutually agreed that 
each shall give his efforts to the further¬ 
ance of the interests and popularity of the 
said Rural New-Yorker, and that each 
shall have the right to reject any article 
writ ten by the other for the columns of the 
being to make the said "R. N.-YL a true, 
tried, honest, help to the farmc-r. It is 
further mutually agreed that, so long as 
this agreement shall last, this shall be the 
motto of the parties hereto; ‘We love the 
truth and can afford to tell the truth, and 
we pledge ourselves each to the other that, 
without fear or favor as regards our ad¬ 
vertising patronage, we will on all proper 
occasions fearlessly speak the truth, and 
will in no case permit our personal feel¬ 
ings or opinions to interfere with truth, 
justice or benevolence. 1 ” 
Jabez, R. Woodward was born in Phelps, 
Ontario Co., New York, April 4th, 1831, 
the second youngest of 10 children. lie 
moved to Newfane, Niagara Co., in the 
Spring of 1832. From the age of eight 
until 15 he attended district schools. The 
Summer he had attained this age, his 
father, being an old man, put, him in 
charge of the farm of 130 acres, to man¬ 
age as he chose. He worked the farm 
Summers and attended school Winters at, 
Wilson, N. Y., until 1851. In 1852 he 
determined that if he were to be a farmer, 
he would endeavor to be a good one, and 
so studiously set about his work. He was 
married in 1*854, bought, half his father’s 
farm in 1850 and the balance in 1800. In 
1802 he bought another farm of 61 acres, 
and still another of 202 acres the succeed¬ 
ing year. In 1870 he sold the homestead 
and the 01 acres and went West, where 
he spent two years, and then returned to 
Western New York, satisfied to remain 
there. Ilis wife’s health being poor 
and his children desiring to attend 
an advanced school, he moved to 
Lock port, where he has since lived. In 
1875 he sold his remaining farm, which 
was «ight-nnd-a-kalf miles from Lockport, 
and bought 176 acres of his present farm, 
to which additions have been made until 
he has now 307 acres. Here lie has spent 
a largo share of his time. There is upon 
the farm a sheep and grain barn 70x106 
feet, partly double-decked, with base¬ 
ment under the whole, and lie feeds, 
each Winter, about, 300 lambs coming one 
year old, and also raises from 200 to BOO 
winter lambs, fattening the ewes at the 
same time. He also feeds SO or 40 young 
farrow cows each Winter, making butter 
for market, and fattening the cows for 
beef, having for their use a separate barn, 
nc also raises from 50 to 100 hogs each 
year. The farm contains 30 acres of apple 
orchard, about, 3,000 Duchesse Pear trees, 
and 800 plums. He raises wheat, barley, 
corn and dover-lmy as main crops. In ad¬ 
dition td the two latter, which are con¬ 
sumed on the farm, from 20 to 30 tons of 
oil meal, about 20 tons of bran, and from 
1,000 to 2,000 bushels of corn are pur¬ 
chased. All this enables him to make 
from 1,200 to 1,000 loads of manure- 
enough to insure large crops of everything 
planted. The laud gives from 30 bushels 
of wheat upwards to the acre, and as high 
as 60 bushels have been produced. Barley 
gives from 40 bushels up, and last year 
73 6-7 bushels per acre were harvested. 
Dir. Woodward was for four years the 
Secretary and Manager of the Niagara 
Grape Company, during which time he at¬ 
tended the principal horticultural meet¬ 
ings, thereby becoming acquainted with 
the leading horticulturists of the North, 
East and West. For the sake of entire 
independence, he sold his whole interest 
in this company, at a considerable sacri¬ 
fice, as soon as his future relations with 
the Rural New-Yorker were decided. 
As several years of his life have been 
spent among the farmers of Iowa, Dlissou- 
ri, Southern Drinuesota, Kansas, Nebras¬ 
ka and New Dfexico, it is not unreason¬ 
able to suppose that he is somewhat 
familiar with the agricultural needs of 
those States. 
Whatever may be in store for the Ru¬ 
ral in the future, I am conscious of hav¬ 
ing acted for its best interests in dividing 
its general management wnth Dir. Wood¬ 
ward; which, in a measure, may provide 
against those contingencies which are 
liable to happen to all of us, and to upset 
the best laid plans. I shall assuredly 
work for the paper just as earnestly as 
ever. It is my delight. With 300 acres 
of the best land added to the Rural 
Farm, together with the additional ser¬ 
vices of an enterprising, intelligent 
farmer, who is willing to relinquish an 
easy life for the never-ended, always- 
pressing duties of n live farm journal, our 
readers may be assured that the Rural 
New-Yorkkr will be conducted no less 
vigorously in the future than in the past.. 
-A-*-*-- 
In the nine heads of the cross between 
wheat and rye borne by the plant most 
resembling rye, we have fouud eight 
seeds. We supposed they were sterile. 
If you learn a valuable thing or so from 
your experience in the field or garden, 
why not send it to the Rural? We can 
always find lots of space for such items. 
It is only puffy articles that have to wait; 
those that remind one of big pods and 
small peas, or of showy potato tops and 
small tubers. 
Ik you were to work hard iu this hot 
sun a whole half day without water, 
wouldn’t you suffer greatly? The horses 
need it, and suffer as much without it as 
you; can’t you manage to give them a 
drink in the middle of each half day; a 
barrel filled and drawn to the field will 
last one pair of horses for several days. 
Try it, and sec how grateful the poor ani¬ 
mals wi 11 be, and how much better you 
will enjoy your drink. It. pays to look 
after the comfort of the teams! 
SoRonrM. —Professor n. W. Wiley, 
Chemist of the Department of Agriculture, 
Washington, D. C-, in a recent letter to us 
says: “Y ou say 'tell readers of the Rural 
how to make sirup and sugar in the sim¬ 
plest, way from sorghum. We would like 
to have the whole story tohl—-the truth 
about it.’ I fear my ‘story’ is so much 
longer than you expected, that you will 
have to publish it as a serial; hut I could 
not make it shorter and do justice to the 
truth. Perhaps many of jour readers 
will be disappointed at, the poor outlook 
for sugar, but, with you, I think it best 
that they should know the truth and not 
be deceived by any false hopes. The story 
is designed golely for those who work in 
a small way.” ’ Wc shall begin Prof. 
Wiley’s articles next week. 
■ - - 
During the year 1883 no fewer than 
9,090 animals were thrown overboard in 
transit between this country and England; 
664 were lauded dead, and 526 were so 
much injured or exhausted that they had 
to be killed just, after they had been 
dragged ashore, making an aggregate of 
10,286 animals done to death by our live 
stock traffic with Europe. The conipan 
ions of these wretched creatures that un¬ 
derwent the deadly extreme of suffering 
—just think of the tortures they too must 
have endured under the same conditions 
that proved fatal to their less robust 
comrades! Great improvements are year¬ 
ly being made in the mode of transporting 
live stock across the Atlantic; but even 
with the latest improvements, what a hor¬ 
rible amount of suffering and mortality 
still remains to shame our humanity and 
civilization 1 Tn view of the fair profits 
at all times from our dressed meat trade 
with Europe, and of the terrible bar¬ 
barity of much of our live stoek transat¬ 
lantic trade in rougli and torrid weather, 
it would be a blessing in disguise, proba¬ 
bly for the people and certainly for the 
animals concerned in this trade, if the 
English Government absolutely prohibited 
it, either on the strong ground of human¬ 
ity, or the weak pretext of danger of con¬ 
tagion from our herds. 
THE BEET SUGAR PROBLEDf. 
what to do in an authoritative way, as if 
they wrote from experience only. Their 
articles are always readable, and for that 
reason influence many to try the means 
they confidently recommend. DIany of 
these writers, however, are merely mid¬ 
dlemen, su to speak; the j’collect the ideas 
of others—whether right or wrong—in¬ 
geniously rewrite them, and send them to 
the papers which will accept and pay for 
them. Thus it is that farm papers are 
alive with nonsensical suggestions, which 
would never appear in print were the edi¬ 
tors themselves practical men. Thus it is 
that we have 50 repel hints, or extermina¬ 
tors. for the curculio, for cabbage worms, 
currant worms, rose-bugs, plant lice, for 
diseases in poultry, not one of which may 
be really effective. Thus it is that scores 
of remedies arc offered, which nobody 
could afford to apply even though effec¬ 
tual. Sprinkling hot water on cabbages 
to kill the cabbage worm is one—an utter¬ 
ly impracticable remedy, not water will 
lull the worm; but if a trifle too hot, it 
will kill the leaves; if not quite hot 
enough, it will not harm the worm. How 
arc wc to know when wo are killing the 
leaves, when we are killing the worms, 
when wc are doing neither or both, ex¬ 
cept by testing the temperature of the 
water every minute or bo? 
Picking Rose-bugs by hand is another 
suggestion offered agaiu and again as “an 
easy way” of ridding one’s premises of 
the pests. Another is to shake them off 
into pans of kerosene and water! If a 
man has nothing else whatever to do dur¬ 
ing the season when Rose-bugs are thicker 
than flies or mosquitoes, he might profit¬ 
ably amuse himself in this way, providing 
his rose beds, apple orchard and vine¬ 
yard were less than half an acre in ex¬ 
tent. 
And bo we might mention a score of 
other instances and methods, of no effic¬ 
acy or costing ten times as much as they 
are worth, but yet glibly recommended 
by these voluble farm writers, whose ex¬ 
perimental grounds exist only in the 
printed matter which they re-write and 
publish as though from practical experi¬ 
ence, when, in fact, they don’t know a 
June-bug from a potato beetle. 
BREVITIES. 
Ouu friends of the Ohio Farmer seem 
) differ from our receDt remarks in regard 
) the present impossibility of making 
eet sugar in America. But the O. F. is 
[early misinformed upon several points, 
nd especially in two very important 
oints; for beets are not nugar beets, and 
0 tons of sugar beets per acre have 
ever been produced in this country, 
if field beets and mangels even, wc 
oubt very seriously if 50 tons have ever 
ecu grown; 30 or 35 tons may have been, 
ut. this yield has been produced only by 
eavy manuring and high culture, such as 
foul'd produce 80 or 100 bushels of corn 
er acre. Having had a good deal of ex- 
erience in growing roots and sugar beets, 
re are free to say that 14 tons of sugar beets 
forth $70 per acre, may pay the farmer 
a some cases, as when the season is very 
avorable; but that he would do much 
tetter to grow 30 tons of mangels or com- 
aon field sugar beets (not suitable for 
ugar, however,) just as easily, that 
rould be worth $3 a ton or more to feed 
o cows or beef cattle, or even to hogs to 
nake wholesome sweet pork. And then 
t seems to have been shown by the re¬ 
lated failures of the manufacturers that 
>5 a ton is more than can be afforded for 
he beets. We are in favor of every iu- 
lustry than can be made available to add 
o the resources of our agriculture, but so 
ar beet sugar-making in America has bad 
o unfortunate a destiny that we feel it to 
>e unwise to try to boom it up. 
4 * » - 
MIDDLEMEN OF IDEAS. 
There are many who write for farm 
and garden papers and who advise us 
“Bk temperate in all things,” even in work, 
these extremely hot days. 
Treat your wife as you did your sweetheart, 
and you will have a sweetheart all your life. 
Thkrf. is nothing that brightens a home so 
much, no matter how lowly—or the possessor 
also—as love and good nature. 
Now, as we have shown, pyrethrum pow¬ 
der (pure) will kill cabbage worms, Rose-bugs, 
plant lice, etc.; why will It not kill the cur- 
culio? , 
Wk began bagging grapes when they were 
uo larger than pin-heads, and shall continue 
until they are as large as peas. The date is 
marked upon each bag when put on. 
A trusty friend writes us of tho Queens 
County Summer Fair (Miueola, I.. I.,) that he 
never before saw a more abominably disgrace¬ 
ful, slip-shod, uninteresting affair of tho kiud. 
Every farmer should keep a can of the 
following mixture: Kerosene, two quarts; 
linseed oil, one gill; resin, one ounce. Melt 
the resin in the linseed oil, and add to the 
keroseue. Coat all steel or irou tools, wher¬ 
ever bright, with this when they are to lie idle, 
if for only a few days. It will not take half 
a minute or half a tablespoonful of the mix¬ 
ture to coat a plow, when one has finished 
using it, and it will prevent all rust and save 
half a day’s time in cleaning it. when it is 
again needed, besides saving the team many 
thousand of pounds extra pulling. Coat the 
iron work of the mowers and reapers with it. 
when they are put away for Winter. A little 
rust is only a little thing, but it makes much 
difference in the aggregate. 
Ark we not expecting too touch of the chil¬ 
dren? Can we expect ripe grapes in May, or 
mature grain before the plants have fully 
blossomed? Do we remember the impetuosi¬ 
ties and mistakes of our own childhood? Be 
honest now. Are not the children smarter 
aud better than we were ut their age? It. is a 
great work to take a child—a mere embryo of 
humauity, a nonentity without form mentally 
—aud to educate, train, restrain and fashion 
that child and make a noble, houest, truthful, 
high-minded roan or woman of it. Oh, it is a 
noble thing to do; aud who is not proud to be 
the parent of such a man or woman? Don’t b ■ 
impatient or expect too much, too soon. Work 
on: be patient. be pleasant, be kind, be loving, 
faint not, and in due time you will have your 
reward—a man or WOjnan. 
WEcommence in this number of the Rural 
New-Yorker the publication of a very ex 
cellent, complete aud exhaustive essay on the 
sweet or sugar corns. It is from the pen of 
Dr. E. Lewis Sturtevaut, the able Director of 
tho New York Experiment Station. It will 
be fully illustrated from nature, the illustra¬ 
tions being so carefuliy drawn and so finely 
engraved, and each characteristic so clearly 
shown, that, though only in black aud white, 
few could find any difficulty in recognizing 
the variety even without any descriptions of 
it. The first article is necessarily introduc¬ 
tory and historical, but we hope none of our 
readers wifi fail to read it carefully, and to 
follow it up with the remainder, which will 
appear from week to week, interspersed with 
illustrations. It is a very interesting subject, 
finely treated. 
