285 
MAY 5 
linral (Tajiks. 
NOTES ON BACK NUMBERS. 
T. H. HOSKINS, M.D. 
Rural, March 81.—The remarks on Smith’s 
Cider (p. 103) and previous notes on Ben Davis, 
all by men of the widest experience, demon¬ 
strate that, as yet, high quality is not neces¬ 
sary for high popularity of any kind of fruit. 
But I do not regard this as really any reflec¬ 
tion on the discrimination of the people, for I 
notice that they always take the best that is 
well known and in abundant supply. If 
Northern Spy, or some other variety equally 
showy and good, were as abundant in market 
as Ben Davis or Smith’s Cider, it would not 
be long before both those sorts would be dis¬ 
regarded. But where shall we find a choice 
variety equally cheap and easy to grow as the 
above-named sorts? The nearest to it is the 
Baldwin. 
»«« 
Kiefer’s Hybrid Pear is another fruit 
that seems sufficiently good to be highly 
salable. Like Smith’s Cider Apple, it is not 
suited to a very high latitude. It will at least 
be a boon to the canners. I have never yet 
seen any good canned pears. The Bartlett is 
wretched for that purpose. 
Is it surprising that the great strawberry 
growers at the New Orleans meeting (p. 194) 
all indorsed Wilson as the most profitable 
market berry? It has not seemed impossible 
that a prominent rival to the Wilson might be 
found, but somehow the bottom drops out of 
each one in succession, and it is the only sort 
now, this year, offered that is the true king. 
Is it not about time for this annual production 
of false heirs to stop? And especially in the 
form of pistillates. 
Is there not a great difference between 
Maj. Roundtree’s calculation of the full pro¬ 
duct of his orange orchard ($2 per tree, p. 195.) 
and the estimates sent to us by Florida land 
speculators? According to all I can learn 
from the older orange-growers in Florida, 
Maj. R’s estimate is not often exceeded in 
large groves. So orange growing is no more 
profitable, nor any less risky than apple, pear, 
or peach growing. 
- 
Is not Gen. Noble (p. 197) unjust to the set¬ 
tled and civilized Indians of the Indian Terri¬ 
tory? And can our Government afford to ig¬ 
nore solemn treaties by which that Territory 
was set apart for their use in consideration of 
their relinquishing more valuable lauds else¬ 
where? I suspect that the General, who evi¬ 
dently purposes no wrong, is not acquainted 
with the historical facts in the case, or he 
would agree with Sherman that more strin¬ 
gent laws should bo enacted to punish in¬ 
vaders. The time is past (or should be) when 
men of any color may be said to have no 
rights that white ruffians are bound to respect. 
- 
Is there any real “monopoly” in the glucose 
combination (p. 200) ? I think, Mr. Editor, we 
must use words in their right meaning. A 
patent is a monopoly; a railway corporation 
is a limited monopoly, subject, however, to the 
law of common carriers and the reservations 
of its charter. National Banks were monopo¬ 
lies, before banking under the National sys¬ 
tem was made free, but not now. Business 
combinations may lie prejudicial to the public 
interest, like the Standard Oil Company and 
the glucose makers’ arrangement, without 
being monopolies. Anybody can go into the 
business who wants to; but, of course, he will 
have a strong company to “buck against.” 
[Isn’t our friend a trifle hypercritical here? 
We were quite aware of the original meaning 
of the word monopoly; but the meanings of 
words often change or w iden, and that of 
monopoly is at present in a state of transition. 
From indicating the exclusive command or 
possession of a thing, it lias come to be applied 
to such control of it as virtually to defy suc¬ 
cessful competition. Again, if a railroad is “a 
limited monopoly” in spite of the fact that 
other railroads can be constructed close to it, 
provided capital can lie raised for the work, 
why shouldn't the consolidation of the Buffalo 
Glucose Works be "a limited monopoly” backed 
up, as it is reported to lie, by 815, (XX), 000— 
enough surely to defy local competition? Of 
the New York dailies that noticed the above 
consolidation three headed it a monopoly and 
several of the Western papers, we distinctly 
remember, spoke of it in the same way. In 
words as in many other matters there is a 
fashion, and it is the part of wisdom to follow 
the old adage which tells us: 
Be not the first new fashions to uphold 
Nor yet the last to lay aside the old.] 
Rural, April 7.—The nitrogen question, as 
discussed by Sir J. B. Lawos (p. 21S), is an 
intensely interesting one to farmers. The 
practical solution of it has been to me, koepiug 
the ground full of organic matter, with the 
free use of wood-ashes and ground plaster. 
This, in light soil, is all that is needed. Th 
corn crop, in its stubble and strong roots, fills 
the soil with organic matter to decay, and a 
succeeding crop asks for no artificial supply of 
nitrogen, especially where potash and phos¬ 
phates are present. 
♦♦♦ - - 
Is not Dr. Warder in error in calling (p. 
214) the fruit of the Mountain Ash a “stone 
fruit?” Its seed seems very closely to re¬ 
semble a pear seed. And is that of Amelan- 
chier a “berry?” Is it not a pome? I ask 
these questions because I use both successfully 
as stocks upon which to graft pears, and I 
doubt whether the pear can be grafted upon 
stone-fruit or berry stocks. [We have not 
referred to Dr. W.’s article. The fruits of 
both are small, berry-like pomes.— Eds.] 
There never was a more sensible and prac¬ 
tical article written than that of Mr. Stewart 
upon “ How to Produce Milk at Two Cents a 
Quart” (p. 214). It ought to be distributed as a 
tract to every farmer who keeps cows. By 
the way, don’t we need an Agricultural Tract 
Society? 
I am glad to see Prof. Stockbridge (p. 216) 
take the Dakota bull by the horns. Notwith¬ 
standing the present boom, I believe that 
Dakota will prove to be one of the very poor¬ 
est agricultural States in the Union. There 
is no need of dividing it. The whole Ter¬ 
ritory will not bo over-populated for a single 
State. When the wheat is skimmed off the 
boom will end. 
Rural, March 24.—In the article on Pike 
and Pickerel (p. 179) the name “ Mascalonge ’’ 
is applied, and properly I believe, to a species 
of pike, Esox nobilier. But on Lake Mem- 
phremagog and other lakes in Vermont and the 
Province of Qnebec the large lake trout is 
called Mascalonge, or briefly “Lunge.” 
Don’t be afraid, dear Editor, to keep it be¬ 
fore your readers that manuring in the hill is 
an unprofitable practice. It will take many 
years yet and innumerable repetitious, to im¬ 
press this valuable truth upon all who ought 
to know it. 
Rural “Brevities” (p. 184) quotes the report 
of the Illinois Industrial University as saying 
sorghum seed contains so much tannin as to 
unfit it for cattle food. But, according to 
Prof. Collier, of the Department of Agricul¬ 
ture, this tannin is not contained in the seed 
itself, but in its hull. If this is so, the grist¬ 
mills will soon be fitted up with machinery to 
remove the hull, as in the case of buckwheat. 
The meal of sorghum seed is said to be quite 
equal to coru so far as nutriment is concerned. 
This is an important consideration. 
- 
The Rural’s Educational Department, is an 
admirable thing, and well sustained by such 
able writei's as Secretary Chamberlain and 
Prof. Beal When the agricultural journals 
take hold of the agricultural college question 
generally, as the Rural does, we shall see a 
general interest in the colleges on the part of 
the farmers, and vast improvement in the col¬ 
leges themselves. 
AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES. 
In your issue of the 14th of April. I am taken 
to task by Mr. F. A. Gulley, Professor of Ag¬ 
riculture, Mississippi Agricultural College, 
because 1 had questioned the wisdom of an agri- 
eultural college deposing a man who had been 
hired as superintendent of the grounds—a man 
who was acknowledged to bo one of the best 
practical horticulturists in the country—main¬ 
ly. as I understood, from his inability to lec¬ 
ture. 1 merely alluded to the circumstance, 
taken in connection with the facts that had 
come under ray observation, that graduates 
from agricultural colleges generally were uot 
such as had ever distinguished themselves 
either as superintoudents or who had made 
the business of gardening or farming a suc¬ 
cess. Bo far, 1 have never met one or heard 
of one in this vicinity, who has done either, 
and my opportunities for observation in this 
respect are by no means limited. The longer 
I live the less 1 believe in the value attached 
to the so-called science of agriculture. I be. 
Lievo that a fuirly--educated youth would have 
far better chances for success iu life if the 
four or six years spent under the different pro¬ 
fessors of an agricultural college—(as they are 
generally conducted)—were spent in actual 
work of ten hours a day iu a well-conducted 
farm or garden. The work might not lie 
so pleasant and his manners might not have 
the polish that, friction with scholastic minds 
might give, but for the buttle of life he would 
Lie better fitted. 
There is as awful humbug about many 
pails of the so-called Science of Agricul¬ 
ture. The “ Agricultural Chemist ” anal¬ 
NEW-YORKER. 
yzes the soil and finds that it contains, or 
does not contain, certain elements which must 
be withheld or put in in fertilizing. He an¬ 
alyzes cabbage, corn, potatoes, wheat, turnips, 
oranges, lettuce, strawberries, roses and a 
score of other genera of plants, and makes a 
special formula of a fertilizer for each. Every 
intelligent, practical farmer, with ten yearsi 
experience, knows that this is utter nonsense, 
and yet, in not a few of our agricultural col¬ 
leges, these special fertilizers, for special pur¬ 
poses, are religiously adopted. If, in the 
schools for instruction in agriculture, the les¬ 
sons were given in the field instead of as now, 
in the college, we might then look for different 
results. 
When a boy, I was a pupil in a country 
school in Scotland. It was the time when 
Captain Berkley, and other sprigs of the Eng¬ 
lish aristocracy, made the science of pugilism 
fashionable, and many of the sons of the bet¬ 
ter class of British yeomen, took lessons in 
the “science.” One of these, one day, landed 
from Eilin burgh as a pupil at our country 
school. He was an aggressive fellow and a 
great blower, and in a few days he succeeded 
in making most of us stand in fear aDd awe of 
his wonderful “science.” But one day another 
new boy came, a blacksmith’s sou, who had oc¬ 
casionally taken a hand with the sledge-ham¬ 
mer, a quiet, retiring lad, whom the bully 
thought, a good subject to force a quarrel upon. 
It was accepted quicker than he anticipated. 
In a few minutes the young blacksmith had 
given him a thorough thrashing. He bluh. 
tiered and admitted he was whipped, but said 
the fight had not been a fair one, for "that boy 
had not fought according to science." Maybe 
he had not, but he came out victor, neverthe¬ 
less. It is true that the graduates of West 
Point proved some of the best generals during 
the late war, but it must not be forgotten that 
the training there is but the rehearsing of 
actual war, except the bloodshed—practical 
work, all of it, call it science, if you please. 
“The tree is known by its fruits,” and if ever 
the day comes that the graduates of our agri¬ 
cultural colleges become the leaders—the gen¬ 
erals in agriculture and horticulture—then the 
advocates of these institutions will be justified 
in glorifying themselves, blit while the repre¬ 
sentative farmers come (as they almost exclu¬ 
sively now do) from the ranks of the hard- 
handed workers in old mother earth, the ag¬ 
ricultural community will look with doubtful 
approval on the agricultural colleges, as now 
conducted, as a means of instruction. I have 
certainly not cause for malice against agri¬ 
cultural colleges, as your corespondent very 
unkindly insinuates. In fact, the firm of which 
I am a member has been for years liberally 
patronized by the great majority of them, so 
that we are under obligations and have good 
reason to be grateful. Personally I have had for 
years the most pleasant relations, by correspond¬ 
ence, with many of their officers, and my only 
reason for criticising at all was an honest con¬ 
viction that many of them were conducted by 
men who have had no real working experience 
in the subjects they attempt to teach, and, as 
a consequence, such teachings are barren of 
good results. Peter Henderson. 
Various. 
LYON COUNTY, KANSAS. 
A General Summary of Its Advan¬ 
tages, Development, ltapid Growth 
and Prosperity—Emporia. 
MESSRS. HOLMES AND SWEETLAXD. 
[Special Correspondents of the Rural New Yorker.) 
Lyon County, Kansas, occupies an import¬ 
ant central position in the State. It is 32x89 
miles, having an area of 898,720 acres. Its to¬ 
pography is sufficiently diversified to afford 
ample drainage, while one of the characteris¬ 
tics of the county is the ten rivers and creeks 
which traverse its surface, permeating the 
soil and bringing certain and prolific returns 
to the farmers. The soil is a rich, black loam, 
with a sub-soil of black and yellow clay, cov¬ 
ering strata of limestone in dej osits, especially 
in the northern part of the county, and fre¬ 
quently underlaid by coal. 
About eight per cent, of the area is timber, 
skirting the small streams. The population, 
in June, 1880, was 17,327. It is now 18,550, 
and is composed of people of energy and intel¬ 
ligence. It is a boast with the citizens, that 
no county anywhere, with an equal number of 
inhabitants, has a clearer record, or is freer of 
crime of any kind, and none whose people are 
more industrious or more intelligent. The lia¬ 
bilities of the county may be reckoned at about 
$260,000, while its assets are at least $160,000. 
Part of this is school indebtedness, there be¬ 
ing 106 school-houses, iu districts. Not one 
dollar’s worth of Lyon County bonds can be 
purchased below par. There are no Gov¬ 
ernment lands to be had; but there are 8,256 
acres of railroad lands yet unsold, and the 
price of farms (according to location) is $10 
to $40 per acre, and that of unimproved lands 
from $2 to $10. The principal products are 
corn, cattle, hogs and sheep, very little wheat 
being raised. The acreage of corn in 1882 was 
75,8o6, yielding 3,032,204 bnsheLs. 
Of prairie hay 65,500 tons were cut. The 
estimated value of agricultural products and 
stock exported from Lyon County in 1882 is 
as follows: Produce of market gardening, 
$10,329; poultry and eggs, $16,825; milk, $14,- 
293; animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter ; 
$368,968; wool clip (1881), $47,808; horticul¬ 
tural products marketed, $8,780. The devel¬ 
opment of higher grades in cattle, sheep, 
horses and hogs Is under way, and an increased 
interest in stock-raising is being felt through¬ 
out the county. One-half the county is open 
to range for six months’ grazing with profit; 
cost per head for the season, $1.00 for cattle. 
Emporia, the county seat, has grown to be 
a prominent business and moneyed center. It 
is located upon the main line of the Atchison, 
Topeka and Santa F6 Railroad, which is 
crossed at this point by the Neosha section of 
the Missouri Pacific Railroad, It 1ms attained 
a population of 9,000, principally Western 
men, an increase of 3,000 since the Census, and 
has attained an importance as a city, which is 
not accorded the majority of Western towns. 
The necessity is felt, now that the business 
interests are thoroughly represented, for ad¬ 
ditional manufacturing industries, and there 
Is no question that, with the excellent water¬ 
power. good railway advantages, abundance 
of timber, desirable location, and energetic co¬ 
operation, there would be much inducement 
offered to any legitimate establishment. There 
are at present two brick-yanls, two wagon 
and carriage factories, two flouring mills, one 
furniture factory, and two cigar factories. 
The value of permanent improvements in 1882 
was $252,7.34, with over $750,000 for the last 
three years. The Emporia Post-office netted 
the Government $10,550 in 1882, doing a 
money-order business of about $180,000. There 
are two National Banks, averaging over $50,- 
000 daily deposits each. [This would be for each 
a deposit business of 815,000,000 a year of 300 
working days, or a deposit business of 830,000,- 
000 a year for both banks! Good, for a new, 
little town of 9,000 inhabitants!—E ds.] There 
are three well-organized loan companies; two 
loan associations; two building associations; 
and, for a new Western town, an unusual 
amount of wealth, "which is held by enterpris¬ 
ing jneu. Besides the rail roads mentioned, 
another one will be completed to Emporia soon, 
The educational interests of the city might 
be dwelt on at length, as they are certainly 
worthy of mention. Besides the State Normal 
School, which has an attendance of 350, there 
is a good graded school of eight departments, 
having a High School department. School 
property is valued at $50,000. We found 15 
churches, 10 civic organizations, four hotels, 
three good newspapers, two publishers daily, a 
new and handsome opera house, completed in 
1881, at an expense of over $40,000 ; the Holly 
system of water works; a paid File Depart¬ 
ment; a Telephone Exchange; a Board of 
Trade of 35 members; good gas works; and 
other elements of thrift and prosperity. Em¬ 
poria is headquarters for a company of the 
Kansas State guards. As our source of relia¬ 
ble authority for the iufonnation in this letter, 
we desire to thank Messrs. Holmes & Holden 
and IL E. Norton, of Emporia. Altogether, 
we can conceive of no reason, except a lack of 
the union which forms strength among busi¬ 
ness men, why this city should not continue in 
its rapid march. 
SENATOR MARTIN’S WIFE. 
EMMA COSAND STOUT. 
(Continued, from page 269.) 
It was in the gray light of early morning 
that she called at the Donald House and asked 
if Samuel Martin was there. 
“ Samuel Martin,” echoed the clerk as he 
turned the leaves of a big book; “oh, you 
mean the Hon. S. S. Martin, do you? Do you 
wish to see him?” 
“ Yes, sir," meekly responded the woman. 
“I’m his wife.” 
The clerk gazed at the odd figure in old- 
fashioned gray cloak aud black straw-bonnet 
as if he half doubted her, then said: “Come 
this way.” 
“Up, up they went three long flights of 
stairs, and then she was ushered into a room 
where a sick man lay tossing in delirium. She 
placed her cool hand on his burning brow and 
anxiously bent over him, but he did not know 
her. He called her Flora, said he loved her, 
and would stay with her always. Then he 
would moan and say, “ I can’t go home I I 
