582 
fHE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
THE 
RURAL NEW'YORKER, 
A National Journal for Country and Suburban Homes 
Conducted by 
E. S. CARMAN, 
J. S. WOODWARD, 
Editoi. 
Associate. 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
No. 34 Park Row, New York. 
SATURDAY, AUGUST 29 1885. 
About the first of September we shall 
lay before our readers a proposition that 
will greatly please those who are willing 
to interest themselves in extending the 
circulation of the Rural New-Yorker. 
We know we have hosts of good friends 
who will aid U9 all they can anyway, and 
■we take it that there are many others 
who would be glad to work for the 
Rural, if by so doing they could earn as 
much as or more than they could in any 
other legitimate way. We propose, in 
that number, to show that this can be 
easily done. The intention is to make 
subscribers the most liberal propositions 
ever offered by any farm journal. Mean¬ 
while we will thank our friends to send 
us lists of names (no matter how long) 
of those to whom they desire us to send 
specimen copies. We will mail to each 
name one or more numbers, as may be re¬ 
quested. In the absence of request, we 
will mail a single specimen, at our con¬ 
venience. Large as the circulation of the 
R. N.-Y. is, we do not see why it should 
not be doubled during the next season, and 
we are going to try in every way, c insistent 
with reasonable economy and honorable 
business enterprise, to do it. The kindly 
words and the persoual efforts of our 
readers, who can speak knowingly of the 
Rural’s merits, will certainly hriDg suc¬ 
cess, and when our propositions are fairly 
understood by them, we feel assured that 
they will heartily assist us in doubling the 
circulation of the Rural New'-Yorkkr, 
and thus proportionately extending its 
field of usefulness. 
Dr. E. L. Sturtevant, Director of the 
N. Y. Ex. Station, writes us: “I see that 
the English spairows are troubling you. 
They have been a great annoyance to us. 
I do wish you would advocate eating 
them, for such a use might tend to re¬ 
duce their numbers.” 
Mr. W. S. Moore, of Mt. Upton, N 
Y., who secured the reaper prize last 
Spring, thus writes us:—“I have beeu 
using, for several weeks, the Walter A. 
Wood Self-Twine-Binding Reaper which 
I received as a premium. I am now cut¬ 
ting for my neighbors. I have rur. it for 
daysatatime without missing to bind 
a single bundle. The binder is well made 
and & perfect success in every respect. I 
cut a piece of oats that was so heavy that 
it bound a bundle every second. Surely 
it is a pleasure to use such a machine. 
Many thanks to the Rural, and to the Wal¬ 
ter A. Wood Manufacturing Company for 
the pleasure.” 
4 » ♦- 
Reports from the Northwest state 
that beyond doubt the real Rocky Moun¬ 
tain locusts have appeared in vast quanti¬ 
ties in parts of Iowa and Illinois. Atele- 
gram from Davenport tells us that they 
were recently noticed “flying in such mil¬ 
lions over Keokuk County as to appear 
like a snow storm.” Another from Chi¬ 
cago says: “Much damage has already 
been done to Northern crops, and the 
State Entomologist expresses the opinion 
that the fall wheat crop will be ruined 
unless immediate steps are. taken to pre¬ 
vent the march of the grasshopper army.” 
Other reports express apprehension of ser¬ 
ious injury to the growing corn; while 
others say that more is to be feared from 
the vast masses of eggs they deposit than 
from any damage they are likely to com¬ 
mit this.eeason.^The best way to destroy 
the eggs is to plow up the fields, thus ex¬ 
posing them to the desiccating effects of 
the atmosphere. The government ex¬ 
periments show that they retain the power 
of hatching after exposure to frost, while 
the breaking up of the egg masses and ex¬ 
posure to the air kills a large percentage 
of them, besides putting tbern within reach 
of their numerous enemies. 
- 
POLITICAL TRAMPS. 
A man with a red nose, a diseased-look¬ 
ing lace, a great slit of a mouth and a re¬ 
ceding forehead, stood on the sidewalk. 
The seams of his coat were glistening. 
His hat was brushed the wrong way, and 
he looked like a plant justgoiDg to seed. 
Every time he made a gesture, his ragged 
cuffs showed under his coat Bleeves. He 
had secured for audience an old farmer 
whom he had firmly hooked by the button¬ 
hole. A few disconnected sentences gave 
an idea of his talk. “Tendency of the 
Times !” “Thieving Tariff 1” “Cause of 
the Working Man !” “Power of the Peo 
pie !” and all the rest of it. He was a 
good specimen of the class of men who at¬ 
tempt to run our politics by controlling 
primary elections and nominations. To the 
shame of all good men be it said that they 
too often succeed. With a double-jointed 
tongue and a conscience like rubber, they 
are the true * ‘dangerous element” in Amer¬ 
ican politics to day, If this mau had taken 
the farmer by the nose and attempted to 
lead him along the street fora block or so, 
there would have been a fight without 
doubt. We were a little sorry he did not 
try it. We would have enjoyed seeing 
that coat, in the grasp of a little home¬ 
bred muscle. Yet is it not possible for 
such men to take the great farmiug inter¬ 
ests of the country by the nose and lead 
them about? It seems as if this very thing 
had been done already. It is high time 
farmers woke up to a sense of their power 
and possible influence: 40 per cent, of 
all the workers in this country are con¬ 
nected with the farm. This vast army of 
workers represent an invested capital of 
$15,000,000,000, fourtimesas large as the 
capital invested in manufacturing The 
nose of this great multitude should not.be 
in the hands of politicians. It ought to 
be smelling out the dubious ways of its 
would-be leaders. 
ANTI-OLEOMARGARINE LEGISLA¬ 
TION. 
The Legislature of Maryland, like 
those of several other States, has beeu 
suspiciously over-jealous in its war against 
oleomargarine. A short time ago, it 
passed a law making it a crime to sell the 
concoction unless it was conspicuously 
branded as such. It first imposed a fine 
for every violation of the act, and then, 
in another section, added imprisonment. 
The Maryland Court of Appeals has just 
decided that neither penalty can be en¬ 
forced. It says:—“There is a plain in¬ 
consistency and repugnancy between the 
punishments prescribed by the second and 
third sections. By Recti m2 the offense 
is punished by a line of $100, and by 
Section 3 the same offense is punishable 
by imprisonment in the county jail. To 
this extent,these two sections mu9t bead- 
judged invalid, because it is impossible 
for the Court to say under which of them 
the party is to be punished.” 
In view of the numerous flaws found by 
the Courts in most of the anti-oleomar¬ 
garine laws hitherto passed in the differ¬ 
ent. States, it is hardly uncharitable to be¬ 
lieve that the acts, while ostensibly favor¬ 
able to the dairy interests of the country, 
were purposely so drawn up as to turn out 
invalid before the Courts. It is very un¬ 
likely that the majority of the legislators 
who supported such legislation, were 
aware of the defects in the acts. They 
doubtless wished to prevent the sale of 
deleterious products under false pretenses, 
and were imposed upon by the legislative 
friends and paid advocates of the oleomar¬ 
garine interest. There is no doubt that 
powerful corporations and wealthy manu¬ 
facturers have hireling representatives in 
every Legislature in the land, and it would 
not be difficult for these, in the guise of 
supporters of any proposed act, to deal it 
a death blow by treacherously incorpora¬ 
ting in it provisions that could not 
be upheld bv the Courts. Legislators of 
this stripe are generally lawyers, and in 
this role they can all the more easily ac¬ 
complish their object in the Legislatures, 
and at the same time afford opportunities 
for fat fees to themselves and their breth¬ 
ren of the bar, in the upsetting of the laws 
they helped to formulate. 
AN IMPORTANT PATENT DECISION. 
Last Tuesday a decision was rendered 
in the United States Circuit Court at 
Grand Rapids, Michigan, which is of no 
small importance to the farmers of the 
country. Several years ago suit was 
brought by D. C. & H. C. Reed & Co., 
patentees of the spring-tooth float-harrow, 
against Chase, Taylor & Co. and others, 
for infringement of their patent. After 
dragging slowly along for years, the case 
ba9 just been decided by Judge Stanley 
Matthews in favor of the plaintiffs. This is 
one of the most important patent cases ever 
decided in this country, as so many are 
interested in it The decision is not, how¬ 
ever, the “end of a great patent suit,” as 
several papers head their account, of it. 
An appeal lies from the U. S. Circuit 
Courtto theU.S. Supreme Court-the Court 
of final arbitrament in patent cases, and 
the interests involved are so great that an 
appeal will certainly be made. 
The telegraph announces that “by this 
decision every farmer using, and every 
concern making any sort of an infringe¬ 
ment will have to pay a royaltv.” This 
is true only within the jurisdiction of the 
Court that rendered the decision. Should 
it be confirmed by the Supreme Court, 
its effect will extend to the entire country; 
but so many cases are now before this tri¬ 
bunal, and it moves so slowly, that even if 
the case is at once placed on the docket, 
it cannot be reached under three years, 
Those who refuse to pay the royalty, 
however, will have to stand an expensive 
lawsuit, Bbould the patentees decide to 
press their claims in all cases. Another 
U. 8. Judge sitting in another U. 8. 
Circuit Court, may then render a different 
decision, which will be binding within 
the jurisdiction of the Court, un¬ 
til the question shall have been finally 
settled by the Supreme Court. Conflicting 
decisions of this kind have lately been 
Tendered with regard to 'Washburn & 
Moen patents on barbed wire. Speedy 
amendment is needed not only in the 
patent laws; but also in the mode of de¬ 
ciding the validity of a patent. The 
present law's are so oppressive to the pub¬ 
lic in many respects, and patent trials are 
so outrageously dilatory and costly that 
the people should demand prompt 
reformation. 
— -- -— 
FRUIT ALWAYS HEALTHY. 
The absurd idea seems to be quite 
prevalent that fruit eaten at some partic¬ 
ular portion of the day is uowolesome. 
Some say in the morning, others at night. 
The fact is, fruit, ripe fruit, is always an 
appropriate food, whether at morning, 
noon or night, if made a part of the regu¬ 
lar meal, and doubly so during the heated 
term. How much better if our people, 
especially farmers, the proverbial pork 
eaters of the world, would eat less of fat 
and salted pork and bacon, and less of 
the various dishes fried in lard or satu¬ 
rated with grease, and more of the fresh, 
wholesome fruits so easily grown. What 
food can be more wholesome for supper, 
for children or grown people, than bread 
and milk or bread and butter, with a full 
supply of baked sweet or sour apples? 
Farmers with plenty of land that can 
be profitably devoted'to fruit raising, at 
least to the extent of grow’ing a home 
supply, should be ashamed to sit down to 
a single meal during the whole year, of 
which a liberal part is not made up of 
fresh or cooked fruits. It is an unac¬ 
countable fact that country people, with 
every facility for growing the finest fruits, 
should actually cat less of these, and ten 
times more of greasy, heating dishes 
than the inhabitants of the cities 
The fact that notwithstanding the out¬ 
door life, pure air and constaut sunshine 
enjoyed by country people, mortality is 
as great among them as in the cities, is 
no doubt largely due to their persist¬ 
ence in the constant and excessive use of 
heavy, greasv and overheating foods. 
And it would undoubtedly be materially 
lessened if the use of fruit, as a large part 
of their daily food, was made general. 
With our present list of delicious fruits, 
there is no necessity, or excuse even, for 
the farmer’s family to be destitute of an 
abundant supply. 
A single acre, properly divided among 
the kinds available to any section, would 
furnish an abundance to an ordinary fam¬ 
ily, and to what use could it be put that 
would pav as well? It would pay in 
dollars and cents, pay in comfort, and 
pay iu health and life. What other crop 
pays three times over? By all means, let 
us have more fruit! And now is the 
proper time to make the necessary prepar¬ 
ations ! 
♦ ♦ » 
A NECESSITY MONOPOLIZED. 
To our minds, really the most marvel¬ 
ous invention of the nineteenth century 
is the telephone. It is very easy to ex¬ 
plain its working by saying that the 
sound is transmitted by means of the 
electrical current: but to stand and talk 
at one end of a wire miles and miles long, 
and have a friend with his ear to the other 
end. hear the sound so plainly as to read¬ 
ily distinguish the voice, is to us simply 
wonderful. The discovery of this prin¬ 
ciple and the adaptation of mechanical 
appliances so as to best utilize the prin¬ 
ciple, were great feats of inventive genius, 
and eutitle the discoverer not only to the 
gratitude of the people, but to an ade¬ 
quate financial remuneration. But the 
public at. large have also rights in the use 
of all iuventions.and particularly so. when 
the invention is of some public necessity, 
like the telephone, and they should be 
protected against the extortions of such 
monopolies as are possible under the 
operations of our patent laws; and this 
they have not been, in the use of the tele¬ 
phone. We fully believe in protecting the 
results of brain work in the inventor by 
protecting his inventions; but we as fully 
believe in protecting the rights of the 
public, when they are ignored as they 
have been by such a gigantic monopoly as 
the Bell Telephone Company. 
Mr. Bell, the claiming inventor and his 
whole family have been made immensely 
wealthy, and a company has been built 
up with profits measured by a solid hun¬ 
dred millions, all made in a very few years 
by what is simply extortion from the users 
of the telephone, and all this before it is 
fully settled that Mr. Bell is entitled to 
any protection at all. The facts are much 
against his having rightsasthe inventor, 
as it is quite clearly manifest that a Mr. 
Philip Reis, who died m 1874, was the 
real inventor and first user of the electric 
telephone. It is also certain that other 
and later inventors have brought tele¬ 
phonic. appliances much nearer to perfec¬ 
tion than the instruments now in use, but 
the public are prevented from using the 
improved devices, by the decisions of 
the Courts in favor of the “broad claim” 
of Mr. Bell, biased, we fear, too often by 
the wealth or influence of this eompanv. 
Is it not about time the people's rights 
were a little looked after, and that such a 
grinding monopoly should be compelled 
to let up ou its grasp ? The telephone is 
no longer a luxury; it is a necessity, and 
were this monster compelled to ease up 
on its extortionate charges, a telephone 
would he found in almost every farmer’s 
house. Instead of being compelled, as 
now, to pay from $35 to ft00 per 
year for the mere use of a single instru¬ 
ment, from eight to ten dollars should be 
an ample sum for the erection and main¬ 
tenance of a line and the care of the in¬ 
struments. besides affording a legitimate 
profit on the investment. 
We insist, that it is high time this mat¬ 
ter was settled by the Courts. If, as we 
firmly believe, Reis was the real inventor, 
let. it. be po declared, and let the right to 
build and operate telephones be relieved 
from this incubus; competition would at 
once make their use so cheap that every¬ 
body could share id ao great a conven¬ 
ience. 
“The time to buy Is when everybody is 
anxious to sell.” 
“The time to stick to a business is when 
everybody in it is trying to get out.” 
This is bv no means the worst time sheep- 
growers ever saw. We have seen much worse. 
We have seep sheen slaughtered by the thous¬ 
ands. the pelts and tallow only being saved, 
the rest being fed to swine. 
We have seen people cursing sheen, and sel- 
ing their Hocks for from 50 to 75 cents ner 
head, and have seen the same neople within 
two vears, paving from $2 to 83 for flocks to 
restock their farms. 
Are not the sheep, even at the low prices, 
paving as well as almost anything else on the 
farms? And will it not.nav to hold on to the 
flocks o vear nr two longer, meantime weeding 
out aud improving as much as possible ? 
These are pertinent questions, and wise is 
he who considers carefully and acta wisely. 
Be not hasty in your conclusions. 
Advice from farmers to farmers is what 
we want. 
Another of the marvelous Jersey butter- 
makers has gone. The world-renowned Prin¬ 
cess Second, which gave40nouuds 1 ILj ounces 
of hotter {n the seven dnvs preceding April 
10, 1885. has just died from a cold, contracted 
by being rather suddenly unbknketod. 
We received. Aug 19. from Mr. W. P. 
Runert. Geneva. N. Y , a box of the Russian 
apple “Yellow Transnarent.” They were fine 
specimens. In good order and of good quality 
and great beauty Mr. Runert informs us 
they were grown on trees only two years old, 
which shows they are remarkably produc¬ 
tive This anple we illustrated last year in 
the Issue of Octoher 4. on page 661.. giving a 
full history of its introduction. From the 
fact that the tree is so verv bardv and pro¬ 
ductive and the fruit so good and handsome, 
we* think if must,' become very popular in the 
colder regions of our country. 
BREVITIES. 
