THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
JAN 24 
THE 
RURAL- NEW-YORKER, 
A National Journal for Country und Suburban Home. 
~-inducted by 
E. s. CARMAN, 
Editor. 
J. S. WOOUWARn, 
Associate. 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
No. 3t Park Row, New York. 
It is simply reasonable to suppose that 
strains superior to any in cultivation 
may be raised from these crosses. We 
value this corn beyond anything the Free 
Seed Distributions of the R. N.-Y. have 
hitherto disseminated. 
If the number on your address label is 
1826, your subscription term will expire 
next week; if 1827, tbe week after, and 
so on. Please look to this. 
SATURDAY, JANUARY 24. 1885. 
STARTLING! 
We have offered $2,800 worth of 
presents to subscribers (and to them 
only) for the clubs they may send us, 
True, it is yet early; but the largest 
club up to this date is less than 40 ! ! 
We offer 321 presents. So far, less 
than one-fourth of that number are 
working for them. We have always 
supposed there were lots of people 
ready to jump at such rare chances. 
The Prince of Wales Pea is new to 
America. The quality is superb—the 
vines exceedingly productive and of 
dwarf habit. 
Some of our advertising patrons remark 
that they have already offered the Ever¬ 
green Bean (which we shall send to our 
subscribers in the Rural’s present Free 
Seed Distribution) in their catalogues as 
the Marvel of France or Marveille de 
France. We beg to say that, they are 
mistaken. This is not the Marvel of 
France, and it has never been offered for 
sale in America. 
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The Sorghum halapense, or Johnson’s 
Grass of the South, is hardy in the North 
—as far north, at least, as the Rural Ex¬ 
perimental Grounds. Is this a little 
matter to talk about—too small to make 
a fuss over? Pr’ r’ r’ hps. Let us see. In 
a year or so, eur blessed contemporaries 
will be talking about this hardy, peren¬ 
nial, nutritious grass as if the Rural had 
never heard of it. 
We are going to send to every sub¬ 
scriber that applies an envelop contain¬ 
ing sixty seeds (or thereabouts) of the 
genuine Carter ’« Stratagem Pea , which, 
among over 100 tests, has proven decid¬ 
edly superior to any other at the Rural 
Grounds. Friends, try them beside your 
best intermediate varieties, and see if 
what the Rural says does not prove to 
be as true as can be. Send us your re¬ 
ports. We will print all, and if our 
estimate of the Stratagem be overdrawn, 
then the Rural’s conservative reputation 
will suffer. 
Friends of the Rural, we conjure you 
to try carefully the cross-bred corn which 
we shall send to all who apply. If you 
knew the time that had been given to 
the crossing and care of this corn, the 
trouble we have been to in order to se¬ 
cure the very best varieties in cultivation 
throughout the country, you w ould cer¬ 
tainly value it highly. We want you 
to derive the benefits of our labor. Give 
this corn the best of care. Plant every 
kernel and save the best for future culti¬ 
vation. There has never been a more 
careful selection; never a more thorough 
crossing. Remember there were sixty dif¬ 
ferent kinds, and the tassels of alternate 
plots were cut off as soon as they appeared. 
.Jan. 12. Among our potatoes which 
we now find to be most sprouted, aie 
White Prize, Vanguard, Vick’s Extra 
Early, Lee’s Favorite, Pearl of Savoy 
and Nott’s Victor. 
A near farmer is now spreading upon 
his wheat about 20 tons of barn manure 
to the acre. It is spread from the wagon 
as well as may be, and a second man fol¬ 
lows with a fork to break up the clod9 
and evenly cover the surface of the frozen 
ground. This treatment has given us 
our heaviest yield of wheats. 
Next year or, at least the year after, 
we shall have a new potato to send to 
subscribers, which, in our tests, thus far , 
has proven superior in quality and yield 
'to all others. It originated at the Rural 
Experimental Grounds. We hope to be 
able at the same time to send them the 
first of our cross-bred wheats. 
The following testimonial from one of 
the first implement manufacturing firms 
in the world, will show our patrons that 
the R. N.-Y. pays Western as well as 
Eastern advertisers—in other words, that 
it is what it professes to be, a national 
farm journal: 
“Publishers R. N.-Y: Gentlemen:— We 
are pleased to state that tbe advertisements 
of our hay presses, feed mills, seed sowers, 
etc., inserted in the Rural New-Yorker in 
the past year, have given us returns as good 
as, if not better than, those in any other 
paper in tbe country, in which we have adver¬ 
tised, although our list has been very large. 
“The rapid increase in the benefits derived 
from your paper is remarkable; two years 
ago we made up our minds to drop it from 
our list, believing you could not reach our 
trade as well as Western papers. We have 
changed our opiuion and shall continue in 
your valuable paper tbe coming year. We 
have sold a very large number of bay presses 
throughout the country and Europe from ad¬ 
vertisements in tbe Rural, and have receiv¬ 
ed flattering testimonials from the purchasers. 
“Respectfully yours, 
“whitman agricultural co., 
“Per Chas. E. Whitman, Pres.” 
PROGRESS IN THE RIGHT. 
We have ever had abundant faith in the 
solid common sense of the farmers of Ohio, 
and when we have criticised her fairs, it 
has never been done in an unkind spirit; 
but only with the best motive, and with 
the desire of thus calling the attention of 
her people to the practices there existing 
and dangers involved, believing that 
when an opportunity should occur, they 
would give such an expression of opinion 
on the side of right, as should command 
respect, and be at once heeded by tbe 
Board of Agriculture having the manage¬ 
ment of the fairs. We have been, at 
times, quite severely censured for our 
plain manner of speech, but we have had 
no fear of the people misunderstanding 
our position, as we were conscious of no 
desire but to benefit the society, and 
through that, the people, old and young. 
We are devoutly thankful to find that our 
confidence m the fanners of that magnifi¬ 
cent State has not been misplaced. The 
Agricultural Convention at Columbus has 
just resolved, by the very significant vote 
of 43 against 2, that the time has arrived 
for the entire exclusion of malt and alco¬ 
holic liquors from all State and county 
fairgrounds. We congratulate the con¬ 
vention on ita good sense and jilain ex¬ 
pression, and we fully believe that the 
State Beard, composed, as it is, of some 
of Ohio’s best men and representative 
farmers, will at once accede to this em¬ 
phatic expression of opinion, and that 
hereafter her fairs shall merit nothing but 
the highest commendation. There is no 
mistake but that agriculture is assuming a 
much higher position; let us thank God, 
and take fresh courage. 
RAILROAD LEGISLATION. 
There is no problem now before the 
public of more importance or more diffi¬ 
cult of solution, than that of a fair adjust¬ 
ment and efficient control of railroad 
tiaffic. To the person who lia9 not stud¬ 
ied the subject, tbe whole matter appears 
to be capable of easy settlement. Let the 
State and National Governments enact 
legislation enforcing a few straightfor¬ 
ward rules, and straightway abuses will 
cease, justice will reign supreme and 
everything will be lovely. Every village, 
nay, every group of village Solons, con¬ 
tains at least one genius who can, i ff hand, 
put such regulations into words. Those 
who study the subject more profoundly, 
however, find very great difficulty in 
meeting tbe multitude of objections that 
can be urged against nearly every plan 
of settlement yet devised. The books, 
pamphlets, magazine essays and news¬ 
paper articles written on the matter in 
this and other countries (for the 
trouble exists wherever railroads benefit 
and liarrass the public) form a literature 
which a life-time could not exhaust, to 
say nothing of the speeches that have 
treated of it profoundly around grocery 
stoves, in debating societies, from the 
stump and in legislative halls. For at 
least a quarter of a century the control of 
the abuses of railroad monopolies has 
been a prominent subject of study and 
discussion in this country by tbe courts, 
the State legislatures, business economists 
and the public at large. Over twenty 
State Railroad Commissions have for 
some years been making annual reports 
on it. * Boards of Trade and Transporta¬ 
tion Conventions have laid bare its mys¬ 
teries. Several Congressional Committees 
have shed light upon it. There is no 
other business matter which has been so 
thoroughly agitated. Surely, then, it is 
time that a measure of relief should be 
formulated, which should be cheap, so 
as to be within the reach of all; prompt, 
so a9 to be of practical utility; and cer¬ 
tain, so that the aggrieved may be sure of 
redress,and the aggressors,of punishment. 
For nearly one-tenth of a century, Mr, 
Reagan, Representative in Congress from 
Texas, and formerly Postmaster-General 
of the Confederacy, has devoted all he 
possesses of ability, assiduity and states¬ 
manship to the formulation and enact¬ 
ment of a law regulating “inter-State 
commerce.” For years the “Reagan Bill” 
has been before Congress; it lias received 
all the amendments the wisdom of that 
body, and the intelligence of the public 
could suggest; it has been greatly modi¬ 
fied in details emce its first appearance, 
having been made much shorter and sim¬ 
pler during its slow legislative journey. 
At last it passed the House the other day 
by a vote of 158 ayes against 75 nays. 
Among other tliiugs it provides that it 
shall be unlawful for any person or corpo¬ 
ration engaged in the transportation of 
property lroma foieign country into this, 
or from one State or Territory in the Union 
to another, to “exact or receive” from any¬ 
body any grenter or less rate of freight 
than is charged to any other person, “for 
like and contemporaneous service;” that 
all such charges shall be reasonable, and 
that the same facilities for the delivery, 
storage and handling of all property ol a 
like character shall be furnished with¬ 
out discrimination. It fixes three cents 
a mile as tbe maximum passenger 
charge from one State to another. It 
makes it unlawful to allow any re¬ 
bate, drawback, or other advantage, in 
any form on shipments of property. 
It forbids “pooling freight,” or divid¬ 
ing the earnings of different and compe¬ 
ting railroads. It is declared unlawful 
to charge any greater compensation for 
storing, handling or carrying a similar 
amount and kind of property for a short¬ 
er than for a longer distance ®n any line 
of road controlled by the same company. 
It forbids any combination or contract, 
by change of schedule or any other means, 
‘ to prevent, continuous carriage from the 
place of shipment to the place of desti¬ 
nation.” It further provides that sched¬ 
ules of rates shall le kept posted, in 
conspicuous type, where freights are re¬ 
ceived, and shall not bo changed except 
at least five days’ notice has been previ¬ 
ously given. Power is also given to the 
Circuit or District Courts of the United 
States, upon complaint of un just discri¬ 
mination, to compel the transportation of 
freight on such terms as may seem just 
and proper to the Court. There are sev¬ 
eral other provisions of minor importance. 
Violations of the act are punishable by 
a fine of three times the damages caused 
thereby, and the officers of any company 
who willingly allow such violations arc 
liable to a fine of not over $2,000 for each 
offence. The damages are to be recov¬ 
ered through the State or United States 
Courts. The provisions of the bill no 
not apply to the transportation of proper¬ 
ty wholly within the State. The inherent 
- 3 
weakness of this measure is thought to 
be the utter impossibility of enforcing it. 
What are “reasonable charges” for ser¬ 
vices? What are unjust discriminations 
in rates? The remedy provided in the 
bill, too, must be expensive, wearisome 
and uncertain to persons seeking redress. 
Suits for damages in the Courts are invari¬ 
ably slow and vexatious under any circum¬ 
stances, and against the legal resources, 
dilatory motions and trickery of railroad 
corporations, relief or redress must be 
exceedingly tardy and precarious. A con ¬ 
viction under the penal provision of the 
act would be extremely difficult to secure. 
Probably the greatest objection to it, 
however, is that it establishes no institu¬ 
tion by which its provisions can be effec¬ 
tually carried out. 
The measure, however, contains some 
excellent provisions, and is much better 
than the Cullom Interstate Commerce Bill 
now before the Senate, which simply 
seeks, in the interest of tbe railroads, to 
defer active legislation, by employing, as 
a preliminary, a Commission of five meu, 
at a salary of 87,500 a year each, and 
traveling expenses, to write more essays 
on “the railroad problem.” The Senate 
being iu great part composed of million¬ 
aires and the attorneys of railroads and 
other wealthy corporations, is always 
dilatory in legislating against corporate 
interests, and ever ready to be more 
strongly influenced by the voice of the 
lobby close at hand than by that of the 
public at an immeasurable distance. 
BBBVIT1E8. 
Wk are a little weary of testing “new” 
kinds of oats. “Clydesdale” is the next nov¬ 
elty among them. 
The new catalogues are beginning to come 
in. We notice their seeming merits without 
regard to advertising patronage. 
Peter Henderson's new catalogue presents 
a cut of an extra-early pea, tbe pods of wl ich 
must be. according to the cut. not less than 
one foot long! 
Among all petunias, new or old. the fringed 
varieties are tbe best. The trouble is. not one- 
tenth of alleged “fringed” seed will produce 
fringed flowers. 
The improved strains of Phlox Drummondii 
bear flowers as brilliant in hues as those of 
tbe pnrt.ulacn. Few annual bedding plants 
are mor e satisfactory. 
It is time to sow tomato seeds in boxes. If 
you want stocky plants, transplant them 
thrice between now and May 15, when they 
may be set iu the garden 
Try the Filderkraut. Cabbage. We tested 
it when first offered in England. It is among 
the earliest. The beads are very solid, taper¬ 
ing at the top to a long point. 
We believe that tbe Rural Garden Treas¬ 
ures for 1885 will be found more varied and 
beautiful than any we have ever before sent 
out. Give them a chance, lady friends. 
Do not forget to sow seeds of tbe insecticide 
plant Pyrethrmn roseutn. Thu Rural was 
the first to find out that it i* hardy in this 
climate, and the flowers are most brilliant iu 
color. 
Next Summer the reports of tbe Rural 
Diehl-Mediterranean Wheat will come in. 
Then we shall see how little or how far astray 
the Rural’s estimate of the variety will 
have been. 
Wk have just finished painting the eDds of 
200 sticks three feet loDg. for labels next sea¬ 
son. A slanting cut. three inches long on tbe 
larger end. is the part painted, so that the 
name, date, etc,, may be written thereon. 
Send us the names of all with whom you 
are acquainted, that, are interested in the farm 
or garden. We will mail them specimens of 
tbe Rural at once. Theu call upon them and 
solicit t heir subscriptions. Readers, you m ust 
increase tbe Rural subscription list for 
1885 The 321 presents are awaiting your 
efforts. 
The annual report of the Department of 
Agriculture, now' in preFS, makes the rpcord 
of corn production for tbe year 188-i l .705,000,- 
000 bushels, that of wheat nearly 513 000,000, 
and of oats, 588 000,000. These aggregates 
are tbe largest ever recorded. The rate of 
yield is 25,8 bushels fnr corn, 18 for wheat, 
and 27 t for oats. These are the figures for 
permanent record. The latest reports, how¬ 
ever, say tbe European harvest bus proved 
less tbun at first estimated. 
The Rural Nkw-Youkbr has never ex¬ 
aggerated the value of its Free-Heed Distribu¬ 
tions. When, therefore, wo state that its 
present Distribution, iu so far as we can judge, 
will prove of more value to the country than 
any preceding one, the statement uinv be con¬ 
sidered worthy of confidence. At all events, 
our friends mav, at least, be induced, by their 
faith in the Rural, to give them a fair trial. 
We merely ask that, they will follow our in¬ 
structions, and then judge them according to 
their fruits. 
One of the prettiest hardy herbaceous plants 
—tbe iris. Try a few roots, or tubers. Iris 
Ktempferi (seeds! was sent to our subscribers 
iu the Free Seed Distribution of four years 
ago. The plants are perfectly hardv aud the 
flowers gorgeous, ranging in colors from pure 
white, through all shades of purple and blue. 
They thrive in oil soils, and iu purtuil shade as 
well as in the full sun. They grow from seeds 
readily, and vary in markings and colorings 
almost us much as do soedliug[gladioli. 
