656 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
THE 
RURAL NLW'YORKLR, 
A National Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Conducted by 
K. 8. CARMAN, 
J. 8. WOODWARD, 
Associate. 
Addres* 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
No. 84 Park Row, New York. 
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1884. 
THE 
Rural New-Yorker. 
From now until January 1, 1886, for 
TWO DOLLARS. 
The R. N.-Y. will feel deeply obliged 
to any of its friends who, at the fairs, 
will interest themselves in extending its 
circulation. Our special and regular Pre¬ 
mium Lists will be mailed to all of them, 
without application, in due time. 
A Special Premium List of $2,000 
worth of Presents to Subscribers, and 
to them alone! 
Any subscriptions sent to us now, wheth¬ 
er one or a dozen, will count for premiums, 
the same as if sent later. As an additional 
inducement, our subscribers may offer the 
RURAL NEW-YORKER 
From now until January 1, 1886, for 
the regular price, viz., $ 2 . 00 ; that 
is, the paper will be sent from now un¬ 
til next January Without Any Charge 
Whatever. 
COME ONE; COME ALL! 
- -- 
Prof. W. J. Beal, of the Michigan 
Agricultural College, says: “T received 
your hybrid wheat and rye; a real curi¬ 
osity, and a very valuable experiment.” 
4 ♦ ♦ — 
We do not think that the question 
whether wheat turns into Chess will ever 
be ended in our farm journals until this 
transformation actually occurs, and it 
never will. 
■ - 
R. P. Greenleaf, M. D., of Delaware, 
when he received the Fultzo-Clawson 
Wheat sent out in the Rural's Free Seed 
Distribution of several years ago, selected, 
by the aid of a glass, all the dark and 
light grains and planted them separately. 
The yield was again sown the next year, 
and he now sends us samples of two dis¬ 
tinctly different wheats. One is uniform¬ 
ly amber—tlic other dark, and apparently 
much harder. 
■- 4 4 4 
Joseph Harris, of Moreton Farm, near 
Rochester, N. Y., writes us, under date 
of September 19: “ Ido not like the Rural : 
it takes too long to read it. 1 spent half 
an hour looking at the portrait of Mr. 
Barry, and glancing back on the 34 years 
that I have known him. I have a pro¬ 
found respect, for his character; for his 
energy; for his sterling integrity, his in¬ 
tellect., and his honor. He is a remarka¬ 
bly truthful man—one of Nature’s noblest 
gentlemen. The picture is a good like¬ 
ness; but it is too sad, or else my own 
sadness, as I look back at the past, colors 
my glasses. On the whole, however, it’s 
a good likeness of a good man.” 
TnE American Pomological Society. 
—Few are aware of the influence of the 
American Pomological Society, now m the 
35th year of its existence, as ttte leader in 
the promotion of pomological science on 
this continent. It was the first national 
society of the kiud ever established in the 
world, and its example has been followed 
by many of the nations of the Old World ; 
and one lately-introduced reform in the 
nomenclature of fruits wilL, ere long, be 
as popular with them as it is now with 
us. Wo have had a capital illustration of 
this in the recent exhibition of the Massa¬ 
chusetts Horticultural Society, all of the 
fruits being purged of long, useless, and 
improper affixes and suffixes. 
At the Toronto Exhibition we found a 
new cross-bred wheat which had been on 
trial for eight years, and which so pleased 
the originator, that two years ago he be¬ 
gan to propagate it; he now lias about 
six bushels. It is a long-headed, red- 
chaffed. bald wheat; the kernel very close¬ 
ly resembling the. most popular wheat 
ever grown, viz., the “Soule's,' being 
perhaps a little more flinty. We were so 
well pleased with it, that, after much per¬ 
suasion, and at a high price, we succeed¬ 
ed in obtaining two of the six bushels. 
This we propose to grow on our Western 
New York Farm, and if it is as good as 
we think and hope it is, we shall take 
great pleasure in distributing it free 
among our subscribers in the winter 
wheat section. We are carefully exam¬ 
ining every new thing with an eye to se¬ 
curing something that shall benefit, the 
Rural’s friends, so they may rest, assured 
of being always in our remembrance. 
It is the duty and privilege of every 
human being to afford whatever help and 
encouragement that may be possible to his 
or her fellows. “No man liveth to him¬ 
self,” wc are told. Then when one man 
can do any good to another, the selfish¬ 
ness that would lead him to withhold 
himself for his own advantage is sinful. 
There is no greater satisfaction to a really 
good man than to do some good to a fel¬ 
low creature, but especially to a neighbor 
or a brother in industry and occupation. 
The enormous advance in our agricultural 
prosperity has been undoubtedly due in a 
great, measure to the unselfish and kindly 
help given by the better and more suc¬ 
cessful farmers to their less favored breth¬ 
ren through agricultural papers. Let us 
have more of it; any thoughtful, practi¬ 
cal ideas; any new facts that are really 
known to be so, and opinions or beliefs, 
given as such, that may awaken thought 
and inquiry into practical questions; all 
these are as valuable for the purpose of 
exhibition in the columns of an agricul¬ 
ture! journal as excellent products are up¬ 
on the benches and tables at the fai rs. Pro¬ 
ducts of the uimd are of as much greater 
value than the fruits of the soil, as the 
mind is more enduring and more widely 
effective tliao the baud. One fine cow, or 
fruit, or vegetable, can go no further 
than itself. It benefits its owner only; 
but a rich thought, an idea pregnant.with 
wisdom, a useful truth put, in print, is at 
once seed sown in thousands of minds, 
each one of w hich is then as much the 
owner as the originator of it. 
A MISNOMER. 
We have had much to say against 
using the word “ stem in ate ” to mean 
the “perfect,” “bi-scxual,” or hermaph¬ 
rodite flowers of strawberries. We 
have reasoned that if “ pistillate ” 
means those flowers which are deficient in 
stamens, “staminate” should mean those 
flowers which arc deficient in pistils. 
Hence, when wc say that a strawberry is 
“staminate” when, in fact, it, is not stami¬ 
nate, inasmuch as it bears "both pistils and 
stamens, we give the word a new meaning 
quite in opposition to that which botanists 
of the present day assign it. When, 
however, we were opposed in our use of 
the word by sucli men as J. J. Thomas 
and C. M. Ilovey, we sought further in¬ 
formation from Dr. Asa Gray and Dr. W. 
J. Beal. 
The first authority says: “A bisexual 
or hermaphrodite flower is one which 
possesses both pistils and stamens. A 
staminate or male flower has stamens, but 
no pistils. A pistillate, or female flower, 
has pistils but no stamens.” This seems 
clear enough, and Prof. Beal’s reply to 
our inquiry is equally decisive. With 
reference to strawberries, he says: “A 
plant is staminate, sterile or male when it 
produces stamens and no good pistils. It 
is pistillate, fertile or female, when it bears 
good pistils; but no good stamens. A 
flower is perfect when it bears both good 
stamens and good pistils. This,” he con¬ 
tinues, “i8 a brief and clear statement of 
this matter as all botanists understand it, 
and it is unwise for 'practical’ men to 
try to adopt any other terms when those 
already in use are clear, simple and easy 
to understand.” 
Now’ that is just exactly the opinion 
we have often expressed, and it is to be 
hoped that, the word “staminate,” as ap¬ 
plied to the “perfect” flowers of straw¬ 
berries will be abandoned. 
AGRICULTURALISTS AND THE 
WORLD’S FAIR. 
The success of the World’s Industrial 
and Cotton Centennial Exposition, which 
is to open at New Orleans on the first of 
next December, appears to be already as¬ 
sured. The project originated about two 
years ago at a Convention of the National 
Cotton Growers’ Association; but it was 
not until February, 1833, that it took 
definite shape, when Congress passed a 
bill providing for the necessary organiza¬ 
tion. Since that time by the earnest ex¬ 
ertions of the managers the requisite 
funds have been raised and buildings have 
been constructed, which afford a larger 
amount of space for exhibits than any 
world’s fair that has ever been held, the 
area being twice as great as that at Phila¬ 
delphia in 1876. The main building is 
1,378 feet long by 905 wide. The build¬ 
ing for the United States Government and 
State exhibits, is 885 by 505 feet; the 
Horticultural Exhibition building! is 600 
by 194 feet; while the building for 
factories and mills is 350 by 120 feet. 
In this all the processes in the manufac- 
equally good results in Canada? Will 
not the same manures and the same 
manipulations of the soil that enable us 
to grow- 43 to 50 bushels of wheat, 70 
bushels of barley, or nearly 600 bushels of 
potatoes per acre in New York and New 
Jersey, applied to a similar soil in Can¬ 
ada, produce nearly the same results? 
Agricultural science and facts are as 
broad as the earth on which we live. The 
needs of the farmer in culture, manure 
and, above all, in education, arc identi¬ 
cal wherever the sun shines, rain falls or 
crops grow; the same methods that make 
one, will make all equally successful. 
The farmers of every Eastern State and 
Canada as well, must do much better, 
more intensive farming if they expect to 
compete with the rich and boundless 
West; and the Western farmers must 
ture of cotto.., ttie treatment of sugar- West; and the Western farmers must 
cane and its products, and the harvesting learn and practice the better system, or 
and milling of rice, will be fully shown. they will speedily impoverish their soil, 
There is also an art building 300 by 100 no matter lmw fertile. The 10 or 15- 
feet, and a variety of smaller structures, bushel crops do not pay; while those of 
the most, notable of which is one for the 
special exhibition of Mexican products. 
The chief characteristic of this grand ex¬ 
position will be its richness in agricultu¬ 
ral exhibits of all sorts. All former expo¬ 
sitions were concerned mainly with the 
products of manufacture; this differs 
from them all, in making agriculture in 
all its branches the chief industry to be 
benefited by tbe multitudinous treasures 
collected from all parts of the world for 
the delight, and instruction of the public. 
Should not. the farmers, the stockmen, the 
horticulturists, the florists, the nursery¬ 
men, and tin- pCUDOlOgistS of the entire 
country, through their local and State 
30 to 40 bushels do, even at the present 
low prices. The difference is mainly due 
to the methods of cultivation and manur¬ 
ing, and the farmers of all countries need 
to lie instructed in these better ways until 
the large and paying crops are the rule, 
not the exception, as now. 
We most sincerely pity any editor with 
such a selfish heart as would impel him to 
give such advice. It, is prompted by a desire 
to keep his patrons in such gross ignor¬ 
ance that, they may be satisfied with the 
sort of paper his avarice allows him to 
make, rather than by a desire to so elevate 
them that they may appreciate a paper 
which he should strive to excel. Such a 
organizations, make special — extraordi- selfish spirit of jealousy is a disgrace to 
nar y efforts to render this exhibition, the editorial profession. The country is 
which is peculiarly their own, the finest broad, tbe field ripe, and not one farmer in 
that has ever been held? 
The Rural New-Yorker from now 
until January 1st, 1886, for $2.00! A 
10 takes and reads an agricultural paper 
of any kind; and not one in 10 of the so- 
called agricultural papers is worthy of the 
name. Instead of being envious of each 
others’ success, wc should strive to excel 
special list of Presents to Subscribers incorrect teaching, nnd in inducing the 
-and to them only-valued at $2,000! farmers generally to more reading, deeper 
., , R thinking and investigation, and to a closer 
This li st, together with the Rural’s 
Seed Distribution for 1885, will be 
published in a 16-page Supplement, 
to be issued early in November. Send 
one—send all! We will send the Ru¬ 
ral containing this Supplement to all 
names forwarded to us before October 
1 st without charge. 
Progressive Farmers! You can not 
afford to be without the Rural for 1885, 
It will pay you 100-fold. 
AGRICULTURAL PRINCIPLES ARE 
UNIVERSAL. 
At Toronto we overheard the editor of 
a Canadian agricultural paper saying to 
a farmer, that while the It. N.-Y. was 
the best agricultural paper within his 
knowledge, Tie thought Canadian farmers 
had better patronize Canadian papers; 
that while the Rural was, no doubt, 
sound authority for “American” farmers, 
its teachings were not adapted to Cana¬ 
dian soil and climate. Just ns though 
Canadians were not Americans as well as 
the inhabitants of the States! Just as 
though agricultural needs and agiicultu- 
ral sciences were local and national, and 
application of the correct principles that 
underlie their business. Instead of be¬ 
littling and trying to pull each other 
down, let us try to build each other up, 
and to extend the influence and usefulness 
of correct science as applied to farming. 
The Canadian renders of the Rural 
New-Yorker are competent judges, and 
they are well pleased with its make-up 
and' its teachings, and all agree that it 
promulgates sound doctrines, and that its 
methods are well adapted to their soil and 
climate; and those who most closely study 
its pages and heed its lessons, are the most 
successful farmers. The facts, laws and 
principles of agriculture, we repeat, arc 
world-wide, good friends, and we should 
not try to localize them. Lot us, rather, 
labor to make their observance universal, 
that mankind may be furnished with cheap 
food at a good profit. Let us not tolerate 
this mean spirit of selfishness, but let each 
labor for the good of all. 
BREVITIES. 
A hay crop of two-uud-a-hftlf tons carries 
off 400 pounds of mineral matter to the acre. 
Thf. Rural has, this season, “slipped up” 
in producing a potato of remarkably large size. 
E. P. Fisher, of Sterling, Kansas, says 
that he has ii r > kinds of grapes, all making a 
good, healthy growth—no mildew. Of the 
dients, put together in the same propor¬ 
tions, make as good bread or cake in 
Canada as in the Stales? Does not the 
growing of wheat, barley or potatoes re¬ 
move the same elements and in the same 
quantity, in England, Canada or Illinois 
as in New York; and unless these are re¬ 
turned to the soil in some form, will not 
the soil finally become exhausted? Will 
not the same food, fed to the same ani¬ 
mals, under the same circumstances, pro¬ 
duce the same quantity and quality of 
meat, in Massachusetts as in Ontario? Is 
not potash as essential to potato, turnip 
or clover, and nitrogen and phosphoric 
acid, to wheat, barley and corn raising in 
one country as in another? Will not 
weeds prove as detrimental to the crops, 
and wilL not the same methods of cultiva¬ 
tion kill them as easily on the west as on 
the east side of the Niagara River, or on 
the north, as on the south side of the St. 
Lawrence? Is it not as good policy to 
feed all the coarse foods, and to buy oil- 
meal and bran for feeding purposes, and 
to make as good meat, and as much and 
good manure as possible, to be used in 
growing large crops, in Ontario as in 
Michigan or New York? And will not the 
same treatment of stock which produces 
the best results in New York, produce 
Early. 
Prof. J. L. Bi-dp, of the Iowa Agricultu¬ 
ral College, recommends the Purple-leaved 
Filbert—Coryltt* avellaua purpurea—for trial. 
We have hail it for a number of years. It is 
extremely hardy, and holds its purple color 
through the Summer about as well us auy 
other of the unusual-colored-leaved shrubs 
that we know of, unless it may be Prunus 
Pissardii. 
The Rural New-Yorker proposes, dur¬ 
ing the present subscription seasou, to make 
an effort still further to extend its circu¬ 
lation and influence. We hope that its 
old friends, when renewing their subscriptions, 
will each endeavor to send us a new subscriber 
also. An effort of this sort ou their part would, 
ot itself, insure us the increased circulation 
which we aim to secure. We promise to en¬ 
deavor to improve the paper in so far as our 
increased means shall permit. To improve tho 
Rural New-Yorker from year to year is 
our earnest aim. 
We have received from Edward Webb & 
Sons, of Wordsley, England, a few heads of a 
new wheat named Kinver Giant. The grain 
is amber in color and of medium size. The 
heads average inches, 10 breasts to a side, 
while each breast will average four grains. 
The chaff is white, the straw very heavy. 
Most of the English « heats we have tested are 
too late for this climate. We shall, however, 
try this Kinver Giant. Messrs. Webb & Sous 
say they can not too highly recommend it; 
that it is an extraordinary cropper; that it 
grows stiff straw, and that some of the ears 
“grow as many as 90 to 100 grains.” 
