71 ® 
Cuban Queen 
is better known, and needs no description. 
We have raised it every season since its intro¬ 
duction, and though not of the first quality, it 
is yet productive and a popular market variety. 
HACKENSACK VALLEY 
MUSK-MELON SEEDS. 
THE BEST STRAINS OF THE BEST 
GRO WERS. 
For years and years this valley has been 
noted for its musk-melons, which bring a 
higher price in the New \ork market than 
any other kind. As one of the Rural Editors 
has lived near the most successful growers for 
18 years, he has been enabled to select for this 
distribution seeds of the best strains of the 
most successful growers. The melons vary in 
size from very large to small—but all are 
deeply lobed and densely netted. The flesh is 
yellowish green, sweet, and tender. The 
vines are strong growers and immensely pro¬ 
lific, ripening their melons as early as any 
other variety. Each grower's melons differ 
more or less from all others, according as each 
has selected seed to suit his own taste or his 
views as to what will command the readiest J 
sale in the market. Hence it is, that we have 
selected our seeds from several of the oldest 
and best growers. 
Angel of Midnight Corn. 
This originated with Joseph Breck of Bos¬ 
ton, Mass., by whom seeds were sent to the 
Hural Grounds where it was tested with 35 
o.her kinds the past season. It was planted 
May 18 and the kernels began to glaze August 
5 , showing it to be an extremely early corn 
and decidedly earlier than any other field corn 
we have ever grown. There are few kinds, 
indeed, that have not been tested at the Rural 
Grounds, afe our older readers are aware. 
The following is taken from our book of 
record: 
“Begins to ripen Aug. 5, and is the earliest 
we have ever tried. Longest ears, 14 inches, 
8 rows, over 60 kernels in a row. Kernels 
large, broad, yellow flint/ Plants six feet 
high only', very leafy at bottom—slender top; 
ears low, often two large ears to a stalk; 
stalks small, shanks long, cob small. This 
will certainly ripen, judged by this season, 
anywhere that corn will ripen. 
The Rural has made a mistake in its pre¬ 
vious distributions of Indian Corn in selecting 
those kind? which’ are too late in ripening for 
high latitudes. But this time we are as confi¬ 
dent a 3 we can be from a single trial, that this 
variety, with a name so-absurd, will ripen 
wherever any kind of field corn will mature. 
PLEASE NOTE THIS. 
The Rural New-Yorker has never in any 
case sold seeds or plants to subscribers, 
This being well known, our reports of the re¬ 
sults of our tests are fully accepted as trust¬ 
worthy, and the true value of hundreds of 
new and high-priced seeds and plants is made 
kuown. When, by such tests, we find that a 
given plant is more valuable than others of its 
kind which have been generally cultivated, 
we, at once, if practicable, place it in our next 
Distribution, and send it without charge to 
all of our subscribers who apply. These dis¬ 
tributions are not premiums and are 
ABSOLUTELY FREE, 
and their primary object has always been, 
and is, to promote the interests of agriculture 
and horticulture. 
AND, FURTHER, 
in order to protect ourselves from imposi¬ 
tion, we shall send the seeds to such appli¬ 
cants onlt as are regular subscribers and 
whose names are therefore upon our lists. 
IT WILL SAVE 
us trouble, and it will save our subscribers 
trouble and exju nse if they will make their 
applications for the seeds and plants in the 
same letter in which they reneio their sub 
scriptions. It i? only necessary to say<jgj 
XffT' Send seeds.” But the application^^ 
£§rmustbe made upon a separate slip<J£$ 
Iff* giving the full name and address ofjgft 
'j-sjTlhc applicant 
WE SHALL BEGIN 
to distribute the seeds about the end of Janu¬ 
ary—or sooner, if possible. As we are pre¬ 
paring for 
Twenty Thousand 
applications, the amount of work to be done 
will be appreciated by those who will give the 
matter a little thought. Twenty thousand 
envelopes are to be addressed, stamped, folded 
and clamped. One hundred and twenty 
thousand envelopes have to be printed, filled 
with seeds, folded and placed in 30,000 bags; 
NOV U 
EACH SUBSCRIBER 
is requested to inclose a two-cent stamp 
within his application, and the request is 
EARNESTLY MADE 
that none will apply for the seeds unless they 
are willing to give them a careful trial. 
TO STRANGERS. 
We would respectfully state to those who 
read this Special Number of the Rural Ne?V- 
Yorker, who are not subscribers, that this 
journal is invariably stopped when the sub¬ 
scription expires. Those who are familiar 
with it will, as we believe, support us in the 
following claims: 1, Tire Rural New- 
Yorker is filled with original reading matter 
from beginning to end, by the best writers of 
America and England. 3, It i3 printed upon 
fine, natural-colored paper, 8, lb contains 
yearly not less than 560 engravings, mostly 
original, by our own artists. 4, Itisconduct- 
ed by practical farmers, whose first aim it is, 
irrespective of advertisers and all merely 
pecuniary or personal interests, to tell the 
truth. 5, The Rur^l is the first newspaper 
to have established Experimental Grounds in 
connection with journalism. They comprise 
300 acres. All new farm and garden imple¬ 
ments, seeds and plants are there tested and 
the results are impartially reported upon in 
its columns. G, The Rural New-Yokker is 
conscientious, progressive, aggressive, spark¬ 
ling and original. It knowingly admits no 
ambiguous or fraudulent advertisements. It 
is pure in tone; it is a farm, garden, religious, 
news and litarary paper all in one, and is, in 
short, the complete family rural journal of 
America. It is national in every department 
and advocates no sectional interests. It con¬ 
tains 16 pages weekly and four page supple¬ 
ments are issued whenever advertising would 
otherwise trench upon its reading matter. 
The Rural Experiment Grounds (over 390 
acres) conducted as they are, purely in the 
interests of readers, ofl>r rare facilities for 
making the paper valuable. As we have said, 
all new and high-priced seeds are tested at 
once, and reported upon according to their 
worth, so that subscribers have before them a 
trustworthy guide as to wbat novelties are 
worthy of trial. 
We ask all progressive farmers and horti¬ 
culturists to examine the Rural New- 
Yorkkr before subscribing for any family 
journal another year. We wish to make the 
truth appear and to show that those who 
would meet with success in laud-culture can¬ 
not afford to do without this journal, and that 
it should be subscribed for as a measure of 
economy. 
The price is #3 per year, and there is no 
club or second price. Those who would aid in 
getting up clubs should send for our new pre¬ 
mium lists and posters, which will be for¬ 
warded at once without charge. 
■-♦ » » 
Previous Free Seed Distributions 
of the Rural New-Yorker. 
It has occurred to ub that a list of the lead¬ 
ing seeds and plants whiyh have been sent to 
our subscribers through the Rural’s Free 
Seed Distributions since they were begun in 
1877, might interest our readers as showing 
bow many different kinds have thus been tried 
over a large part of the United States, as well 
as in Canada and other countries. This list 
alsoshows how many of them previously un¬ 
known are popular now. 
1877— Pelargonium needs mixed),Moluccella 
l*vis (Shell Flower), Dioseorea batatas (Chin¬ 
ese Yam), Riciuus Gibsouii (Purple Castor- 
oil Plaut), Cloome spinosa, 
1878— Pearl Millet, Beauty of Hebron Potato, 
Voorhis Watermelon, Golden Rural Tomato, 
Acme Tomato, Bronze Rietnius, Hibiscus Mos 
cheuto3,CallicarpaAmeriuana,Chater’s Lemon 
Hollyhock,Weigelaa in variety (seeds),Deutzia 
crenata fl. pi,. Hibiscus mOitaris, Eryngium 
Lmvenwortbii, Geranium sanguineu a,Yucca 
filamentosa, Vitis beterophylla. Rural Hybrid 
Aquilegias, Defiance Wheat, Grindeiia squar- 
rosa. 
1879— Cuthbert Raspberry Plants, Chester 
Co. Mammoth Corn, Telephone Pea, Mold's 
Ennobled Oats, Bebb’s Aquilegia (seed), Mag¬ 
nolia seeds (in variety), Abies Sibirica, Pent- 
stemons, Ipomiea leptophylla. Iris iawigata, 
Aristolocbia Slpho, Mangel New Golden. 
1880— Blount’s White Prolific Corn, Champ¬ 
lain Wheat, Clawson Wheat, Salix pentan- 
dra (cuttings), Pentstemon Hybrids, Rural 
Hybrid R Lein US, White Elephant Potato, 
Rural Branching Sorghum, Argenteuil As¬ 
paragus, Giant Dutch Purple Asparagus, 
choicest strains of Chinese Pinks, Carnations 
andPicotees, including “Eastern Queen ” and 
“Crimson Belle.” 
1881.—Rural Dent Corn, Rural Thorough¬ 
bred Flint Corn, Wysor’s Fultzo Clawson 
ANGEL OF MIDNIGHT CORN. 
From a Specimen grown at the Rural 
Grounds. Fig. 491. 
Wheat, Surprise Wheat, Shumaker Wheat, 
Challenger Lima B ans, Perfection Golden 
Heartwell Celery, Perfect Gem Squash, Rural 
Chater Hollyhock (mixed.) 
1883 —Catalpa speciosa, Black-bearded Cen¬ 
tennial Wheat, Niagara Grape (seeds), Rural 
Blush Potato, Garden Treasures (in great va¬ 
riety), Perfection Watermelon. 
1883 —Wysor's Early Shoe peg Corn, Rural 
Union Corn, Cleveland's Rural N. Y. Pea, 
oross bred Diehl-Mediterranean Wheat,Thous¬ 
and Fold Rye, Ilorsforu’s Market Garden Pea, 
Black Champion Oats (in great variety), Best 
varieties of tomatoes mixed. 
1884.—Corn, 50 different varieties, crossed 
at the Rural Grounds, Carter's Stratagem Pea, 
Sorghum balapense, Rural Bicolor Tomato, 
King Humbert Tomato, Prince of Wales Pea, 
Green Flageolet Beat), Garden Treasures. 
It will occur to our friends who have looked 
over the announcement of our present Dis¬ 
tribution that the varieties offered are quite as 
valuable—as promising at least—as those of 
any previous year. 
The Rural “Calico,” a potato originating at 
the Rural Grounds, which in yield and quality 
as an early variety, has never been surpassed 
(if equaled) by any of the 500 kinds there tested, 
will be distributed next year, should the season 
prove a favorable oue;—and another Rural 
seedling of equal value as a late potato will be 
distributed the year after it is hoped. 
Meanwhile we.are “fixiug”and propagating 
our many kinds of cross-bred wheats and 
Hybrids Between Wheat and Rye, so much 
talked of by the agricultural press of late 
years, with a view to distributing them as scon 
as possible. 
&l)t &pinricm. 
1 HE ONE THING THAT FRAUD CAN¬ 
NOT COUNTERFEIT. 
PROF. A. J. COOK. 
I am surprised to note the following re¬ 
sponse to an inquiry in the Farmers’ Club 
of a late Rural New-Yorker: ‘*It * is 
probably true that men, without the aid of 
bees, now make and sell comb honey in which 
neither wax nor honey is used; that the comb 
is made of paraffine and filled with a sul>- 
stance like honey,” Now, Mr. Editor, I wish 
to say that tho above is not only not prob¬ 
ably true, bub that it is utterly absurd, mis¬ 
chievously false and entirely impossible. No 
such thing has ever been done, and it is very 
certain that no such thing ever can be done. 
Only Nature's deft and delicate fingers can 
fashion the beautiful comb honey. Comb 
honey is one thing that fraud can not counter¬ 
feit. Whoever purchases the beautiful, white, 
incomparable comb honey, , may bo sure that 
he has Nature’s product, pure and genuine. 
A few years ago Prof. H. W. Wiley, now 
Chemist of the Agricultural Department at 
Washington, published au interesting article 
on sugar, in the Popular Ecieuce Monthly, in 
which he made the above statement, appar¬ 
ently in all soberness. Afterward, when 
Prof. Wiley was called upon for proof of 
what was palpably absurd to any one who 
knows of the real nature of comb honey—a 
substance which is clearly inimitable—he re¬ 
plied: “I only said it as n snentlflo pleasan¬ 
try.” This statement was apparantly as can¬ 
did and earnest as any part of the article, and 
so was widely copied by the press of the 
country, and now, like all untruthful state¬ 
ments, it is, ever and anon, lifting its ungra¬ 
cious head only to do mischief. 
Comb honey owes its excellence to its very 
delicate structure. The cell walls of the comb 
are only l-U0of an inch in thickness, and thus 
the delicate wax breaks up in the mouth al 
most without any extraneous force, and just 
serves to reduce or dilute the exquisite honey, 
and so becomes one of the most coveted articles 
of diet. It seems almost like sacrilege to say 
thatsuchunincomparablearticlu can be made 
artificially. As before stated, it is utterly im¬ 
possible; never mis been done and never can 
be done, I hope, Mr. Editor, you will publish 
this correction at once, aud that the many 
papers that have spread the error may be 
equally quick to fling out the correction; even 
-then much wrong will be done, for as we all 
know, falsehood will traverse the globe while 
truth is hitching up her horse. 
Agricultural ColL. Mich. 
The Rural New-Yorker is for the 
progressive, thoughtful , industrious farmer 
and gardener in every part of the country; 
for the suburban and country home; for the 
North, South, East un i West., It is con¬ 
scientious, sparkling, original , practical. 
It will instruct and interest every member 
of the household. It is conducted in a way 
that inspires the unqualified trust and re¬ 
spect of Us readers. 
i 
