THE 
RURAL NEW'YORKER, 
A National Journal for Country and Suburban Homes 
Conducted by 
K. 8. CAKMA.N, 
WOODWARD, 
Associate. 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
No. 34 Park Row r , New York. 
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1885. 
SPECIAL NOTICE. 
We have just about, completed arrange¬ 
ments which will enable us to offer our 
friends a sewing machine made on an 
entirely new principle. We have care¬ 
fully examined it, and are sure it is the 
simplest, easiest-running, and nearest to a 
noiseless machine ever invented, and it 
has also the fewest pieces. This is no 
cheap imitation of some noisy, old-style 
machine, but a new departure , and the Imt 
and TtigJmtrpriced machine yet made, 
and it has not yet been put into the 
general market. The list price will be 
$60, but we shall offer it for 40 sub- 
•cribers. 
We shall guarantee it fully in every 
way. A full description with illustra¬ 
tions will be presented at an early day. 
The object of this note is that, trusting 
to the Rural’s impartiality in such state¬ 
ments, our friends may commence the 
work of securing subscribers for the rest 
of this year and all of next, at the regular 
yearly rate, $2, and have them count 
towards this or some other premium. 
Will any of our subscribers having 
nice, smooth potatoes weighing four 
pounds or over, please send us a postal 
card announcing the fact? We are very 
desirous of procuring a few that will ex¬ 
ceed even the monsters of last year. 
-♦- 
At the Long Island Rural Farm the 
White Star Potato was planted in a field 
beside the Beauty of Hebron, in soil which 
rare'y suffers from drought. The yield 
of the White Star was 418 bushels to the 
acre; that of the Beauty of Hebron 1TG, 
Specimens of the Comet-Lawson Pear 
were sent to lion. Marshal P. Wilder by 
Mr. A. J. Caywood, which were presented 
to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 
Mr. Manning, Mr. Hovey and Mr. Wilder 
all thought that they were identical with 
the French Jargonelle, which was dis¬ 
carded by the American Pomologieal 
Society in 1849. Mr. Wilder has since I 
received foliage and wood of the Comet- 
Lawson and he does not now concur in 
the belief that it is, as at first thought, 
the same as the Jargonelle. Leaves and 
wood of both trees were also sent to the 
Rural office by William Parry, of New 
Jersey, showing marked differences. 
Upon one part of the Rural Farm’s 
wheat field Silver Chaff was sown; upon 
the other the Diehl Mediterranean. The 
field contains four acres of which 1.17 
acre was in Silver Chaff; the rest in 
Diehl-Mediterranean. The yield of the 
former was 40‘j sheaves, which gave 26>s J 
bushels of wheat.; the yield of the latter \ 
—2.83 acres—1,405 sheaves, which gave , 
87K bushels of wheat. Looking at the , 
wheats before they were cut, it seemed 
that the Silver Chaff would yield more t 
than the Diehl-Mediterranean. The straw j 
was taller, the heads longer. But the ( 
breasts on the Diehl-Mediterranean are f 
crowded upon the rachis, while the others t 
are separated much as in the heads of the 
Clawson. 
• * •- £ 
One day last week, in passing through t 
one of the fields of Chester County Mam- t 
moth Corn at the Rural Farm (Long Is- i 
land), we pulled three ears as large ap- t 
parently as any we passed. They weighed 1 
4% pounds. They were 16, 14 and 10- 1 
rowed, with, respectively, 58, 60 and 51 s 
kernels to the row. The length was one c 
foot. This variety has been grown at the ‘ 
Rural Farm for eight years and has never \ 
failed to yield a large crop. It is slow to 
start, and the fear is every season felt 
that that corn will be a failure. But when 
it does start, it grows with wonderful 
rapidity. The seed has been selected 
with a view to a single large ear to a 
stalk. When a stalk hears two, it is rare¬ 
ly that the two will weigh as much 
as the best of the single ears. It requires 
the whole season to ripen; the stalks are 
thick—the ears borne high. 
Sin J. B, Lawks, in a private letter 
under date of September 7, says: 
“There can be no doubt in the world 
that com, being a cereal crop, depends 
upon a large supply of nitric acid in the 
soil. The increase of the green color in 
the leaf is a clear proof that chlorophyl 
has been produced, as I have several times 
pointed out. Corn is not so dependent 
upon an artificial supply of nitrogen as 
other cereal crops on account of its sum¬ 
mer growth enabling it to avail itself of 
the nitric acid produced in the soil. You 
would do good service if you could grow 
for a few years crops of corn with miner¬ 
als only and with minerals and ammonia 
or nitrates. I have felt some doubt 
whether nitrogen in artificial manures is 
not too dear for your farmers to use with 
profit.” 
The other day Judge Clayton, at 
Media, Pa., rendered a decision which is 
of importance to makers of gilt edged, 
bulter everywhere, rs Betting a precedent 
which should, in justice, be followed by 
the Courts in all parts of the country 
where similar cases may arise. For 70 
years the Darlington family, of Delaware 
County, have been making first-class but¬ 
ter, and using a cornucopia as a print to 
distinguish their make. The excellence 
of the butter marked with the cornucopia 
secured it a high price in the market, and 
neighboring farmers some years ago began 
to use the brand on their own product. 
The Darlingtons brought suit against the 
most prominent of the users to prevent 
this infringement on their prescriptive 
right to the brand, and a decision has 
just been rendered in their favor, the de¬ 
fendant and all others having been pro¬ 
hibited from using the Darlington brand. 
The litigation has lasted Beverul years and 
the costs, which the defendant must pay, 
lmve nm up among the thousands. 
It is high time that the name of the 
Lawson or Comet, Pear were determined, 
since it is widely advertised by some as 
the Lawson, by others a9 the Comet. As 
we understand the case, cions of the seed¬ 
lings were given by the Lawsons, upon 
whose land the tree gruws, to Mr. A. J. 
Caywood, who propagated, named and 
sold it as the Comet. If he did this with 
the consent of the Lawsons, the name 
should be Comet. If not, the name should 
be Lawson, if the Lawsons so desire. We 
are unable to learn that the Lawsons gave 
Mr. Caywood the privilege of selling or 
naming it, and it is therefore our view 
that the pear should be called Lawson, 
As to the pear itself, let us say, in the 
interests of our readers, that, while it is 
the handsomest early pear we know of, 
the quality is hut fair—“good” as the 
Amencau Pomological Society would rate 
it. The illustrations in the catalogues 
and circulars that present it, are larger 
than the average, or even the largest size 
of the specimens we have seen. In fact, 
the illustration in the Rural New-Yor¬ 
ker, where it first appeared, though 
smaller than those now advertised, was 
itself too large. 
ones. We have caught several in succes¬ 
sion in the same trap set in the same 
place, and within 15 minutes of each 
other. With us it is a great success: try 
it! 
SURE DEATH 10 THE RATS. 
Rats are a great, nuisance on most 
farms, however well the latter may be 
ft'gulated, and unless the pests are con¬ 
tinually warred against, they will cause 
much damage by their gnawing propensi¬ 
ties and appetite, as well as by their filthy 
habits. We have a method of catching 
them which is new to us, and we believe 
quite original on the Rural Farm. It is 
wonderfully effective, and never fails to 
secure the rodent. We use the oidinary 
steel trap, setting it on a level spot at any 
convenient place near their runs, or where 
they “most do congregate.” When set. 
so us to spring easily, we spread over it 
a piece of thinnish, white muslin, about 
two leet square, more or less, and over this 
scatter carelessly a few cookey, cake or 
cheese crumbs, but not too many. Having 
no fear of evil from a white cloth, in eat¬ 
ing the crumbs they are sure to get into 
the trap, and the cloth does not in the 
least prevent the trap from holding them. 
Whenever the cloth becomes bloody or 
soiled, it should be changed for a fresh 
one, and for some reason they do not get 
“on to the racket,” and the oldest and 
wisest are as easily caught as the young 
HANDLING APPLES. 
It is now high time the winter apples 
were picked. As soon as ripe and the 
seeds are black, they are in the best con¬ 
dition for keeping, and no time should 
be lost in removing them from the trees 
and the danger of being blown off and 
injured by severe wind storms. 
In pickiog and handling, their deli¬ 
cate structure should never be forgotten ; 
no matter how small the bruise maybe, 
every one detracts from their keeping 
qualities. No apple intended for any¬ 
thing but cider making or hog feeding 
should ever be clubbed or shaken from 
the trees, or when picked, thrown about, 
or droppeji into barrels, but in every op¬ 
eration every apple, intended for maikot 
or home use, should be handled as care¬ 
fully as if au egg; and in sorting and bar¬ 
reling we don’t believe it pays to put up 
for market anything but perfect apriles; the 
bruised and imperfect ones had better go 
for drying, canning, etc. In the final 
settlement of all things, there is no doubt 
but the bogs will have a fearful account 
against many men for depriving them of 
their share of the apple crop. And so 
will the honest packers for the loss of 
price,by reason of having these worthless 
hog apples put into the market in compe¬ 
tition with their good fruit. 
HAVEN’T YOU SEEN HIM? 
The man who has no use for an agri¬ 
cultural paper makes his appearance at 
the fairs about as usual this year. He 
looks a trifle more Beedy perhaps, but that 
is about the only change in him. His old 
wagon rattles and screams to the same 
tune as before. That old harness has cot 
been mended. His wife has the same 
weary, discouraged look, and his children 
still look nut of the corners of their eyes 
at him. He does not spend any valuable 
time in looking over stock and tools—he 
knows better than that. He buys a paper 
of candy and a pint of peanuts, and sits 
on the railing of the race track with his 
legs hanging down in front He knows 
how to enjoy life, he does. He shoots 
the air gun, and throws the base ball at 
the sticks with unerring aim. Ask him 
if he wants to subscribe to a first-class 
agricultural paper, and lie says be could 
not possibly afford it. Crops are bad; 
luck seems to be all against him. Point 
out the fact that he has spent enough to 
pay for a year’s subscription, and he get.g 
angry. Agricultural papers arc all frauds. 
The editors are all “dudes” and “crunks.” 
who never did a stroke of work, and only 
want to pet the farmers’ money. You 
don’t catch him paying out his hard- 
earned cash to keep such fellows in lux¬ 
ury, and you never will catch him. depend 
upon it, until one of those boys of his be¬ 
comes so disgusted with the state of 
affairs that, he cuts through the crust, 
and lets a little of the world’s light into 
the family. Always pass such men by— 
talking is useless—hut give the boys half 
a dozen back numbers. 
WHEAT AT HOME AND ABROAD. 
Our exports of wheat and flour com¬ 
bined last month did not reach 6,000,000 
bushels against over 15,000,000 for the 
month of August last year, and 23,000,000 
for the same month in 1882. Why this 
decrease in the foreign demand in spite 
of the low price of the wheat in our mar¬ 
kets? In the first place, the visible sup¬ 
ply, both here and in Europe, is unusually 
large, and this is a constant discourage¬ 
ment to foreign buyers, as they imagine 
that the longer they wait, the cheaper 
will they be able to buy, on account of 
the growing pressure to sell off the load 
here and elsewhere. Then there is a strong 
impression abroad that the accounts of 
shortage hero arc exaggerated; and even 
if they are not, the exportable surplus, 
they argue, is certain to he large. 
The September report of the Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture puts the yield at 
351,000,000 bushels. The amount brought 
over from last year is estimated by good 
authorities to he about 120,000.000 bush¬ 
els, making an aggregate of 471.000,000 
bushels. Feeding a population of 58,000,- 
000, allowing 4.6 bushels per capita—the 
largest consumption yet known in the 
country—would require 266,000,000 bush¬ 
els, and to seed a larger acreage than has 
yet been sown, would use up, sa", 50,- 
000,000 bushels more; while various 
other domestic uses would consume, say, 
anjadditional 5,000,000 bushels, making 
the total^home’ consumption 327,000,000 
bushels, and leaving 144,000,000 bushels 
of surplus, which is 11.000,000 bushels 
more than foreigners took from us last 
year. Tie ameut t on hand each harvest, 
however, from the previous year’s crop 
has always been much greater than this, 
a fact which those who wish to “bear” 
the market do not dwell upon. Moreover, 
it is highly probable that the estimate that 
120.000.000 bushels of old wheat are 
still on hand, is far top high : it strikes us 
that one of 80.000,000 bushels would be 
much nearer flip truth. 
The reports of foreign crops, even those 
from excellent sources, are extremely con- 
ll'ct'ug; but the latest, estimates of the 
British crop by good authorities put it at 
72.000.000 bushels, which would leave a 
deficiency of about 118.000.000 to be sup¬ 
plied from the outside world. According 
to the lafpst. official statements, the French 
crop is 283.000,000 bushels, and that of 
Tndia 280,000,000 bushels—about 22,000,- 
000 more than usual. Austria has a con¬ 
siderable surplus, which is being tlirowp 
at low prices on the French and German 
markets, while Indian wheat is being un¬ 
loaded on the English. Italian, Spanish, 
and southern French markets in larger 
quantities anrl cheaper than last year. 
It is thought by many that the prevail¬ 
ing prices abroad are regulated bv the 
very abundant supplies in sight, -without 
taking into account the probable scariety 
later in the year: but this supposition 
would imply a want of foresight and 
shrewdness on their part, of which they 
have given no indication in past years. It 
is far more probable that the state of the 
foreign markets expresses the best judg¬ 
ment of foreign dealers ns to the present 
and prospective relations of supply and 
demand, aud their means of learning the 
probable supply are at least as great as 
those of anybody in this country, while 
their opportunities of estimating the prob¬ 
able European consumption and conse¬ 
quent demand, must certainly be greater. 
Nevertheless, we certainly think that be¬ 
fore next harvest there will be ample op¬ 
portunities for those who can hold the : r 
wheat to market it at remunerative rates. 
BREVITIES. 
It is reported that some farmers in Michi¬ 
gan have been unfortunate enough todiscover 
eold nu their farms, VVesav thev are “unfor¬ 
tunate " We shall hear the old story or the 
rush for wealth, the dropning of peaceful aud 
honorable occupations, the selling of farms 
for the purpose of investing in mining. The 
truth of mining operations is as old as the 
hills. “Whpre one roan wins, a thousand 
hearts are slaves.” There is gold enough on 
the farm already. Turn it. lip with the plow 
noiDt. stamp it out of fat. bogs ami cattle. 
Let the “gold mines,’’that starve the hope out 
of a man’s heart, go. 
Subscribers who believe in the Run At, New- 
Yohkkk are requested to send the paper to a 
friend or acaruaintavce nr to some progressive 
fanner for the rent <>l the iieur, and to renew 
at the same time for llir rest of 188.5 and all of 
1880 . for the usual price of 00. BY make 
the present to our subscribers: the;/ to their 
friends. We do not see why any subscriber 
who appreciates the Rural should not grant 
this no/nest It costs him nothing . since he 
will renew at the end of the year ail thesume. 
How monv farmers, looking back over tbeir 
lives, are sorry they have spent a life upon the 
farm! We doubt, if there are irauy true 
farmers who would change tbeir occupation 
if they could live their lives over again. They 
would doubtless improve their methods aud 
babita, but there is still something about, the 
old farm that has viven them a wonderful 
satisfaction. Bay what vou will, there is no 
other business or profession that holds ouo to 
it so closely. The number of men in the 
so-called “genteel” professions who care to 
have their children take up the same line of 
w ork that they have followed.is comparatively 
small. The farmer has been content to take a 
position inconsistent with the dignity of his 
labor. He is working out bis social iudopeud- 
enee. and the work has been done, for the 
most part, by himself. With the grand pos¬ 
sibilities for thought and stud v and educated 
work thntopen before him, what farmer's boy 
eonld ask for a greater profession? 
Just K fure the close of President Arthur’s 
Administration, a part of the Crow Creek 
Indian Reservation in Dakota, was thrown 
open to settlement, under the supposition that 
it did not belong to the Indians. Settlers 
rushed iu ntonc.fi mid took up all choice claims. 
Shortly after President Cleveland’s inaugur¬ 
ation. Attorney-General Garland decided that 
the lands really belonged in the Indium;, aud 
tha settlers were ordered to remove them¬ 
selves and their property withiu n specified 
time. They refused to move, and threatened 
resistance. The time for removal has been 
twice extended, but uow |*eremptory orders 
for them to leave before Octalier 7 have been 
issued by the Department of the Interior, 
under peualty of forcible ejection by the 
United States troops. Their case )s a hard 
one in many respects; they won* perfectly 
justified In occupying the coimtry; they have 
spent considerable time, labor and money in 
making improvements: and lost chances of 
making money elsewhere. A sub-committee 
of the Beuate has been investivating the mat¬ 
ter; whv not suspend action till Congress can 
act on their report next December? In any 
case, that body should reimburse the settlers 
who went on the reservation iu good faith 
under President Arthur’s order. 
