318 
f HE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
THE 
RURAL- NEW'YORKER, 
A National Journal for Country and Suburban Homes 
Conducted by 
K. S. C A K M A N , 
Editor. 
J. S. WOODWARD, 
Associate. 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
No. 84 Park Row, New York. 
SATURDAY, MAY 9 18S5 
In reply to many requests which both 
our own pecuniary interests and regard 
for our friends would lead us to grant, 
we must state that the contests for the 
Rural presents will positively close on the 
15th inst. While many desire an exten¬ 
sion of time, there are those who do not. 
and we must keep good faith with all. 
All subscriptions received after the 15th. 
may ount on our next list of offerings to 
our subscribers. This list we shall en¬ 
deavor to make more valuable than any 
we have ever presented. 
We are preparing another Farmer’s 
Club Supplement. 
Do you receive the Rural New-Yorker 
promptly? If not, kindly notify us. 
- 
We have now 7 planted over 80 kinds 
of new 7 potatoes. Those of our readers 
who are guided in their selection of new 
and high-priced potatoes by the Rural’s 
reports, will not go far astray. 
The Judd Journal gives a picture of 
Lawson’s Cypress aud something of its 
history. Tne article states that it is per¬ 
fectly hardy in the neighborhood of New 
York. This is not so. It is so far from 
Leing hardy that, unless grown in some 
favored place or in some way protected, 
it will never survive our average Winter. 
The tree is beautiful—one of the most 
beautifully graceful evergreens we have 
ever seen. 
During the past month or more we 
have received from various nurserymen 
roses, chrysanthemums, bouvardias, etc. 
Some of these were infested with the 
green lice known as aphides. Two appli¬ 
cations of liquid Buhach or Pyrethrum 
powder, blown from spraying bellows, 
killed every one. A teaspoonful of the 
powder was first dissolved (as far as it 
would dissolve) in a gill of alcohol. To 
this was added a quart of water. Is not 
this preferable to tobacco smoke? 
W k made about 25 crosses of green peas 
last year with such care that 'we know 
them to be crossed. The parentage of 
each was carefully preserved. Unfortu¬ 
nately there was not one of these cross¬ 
bred seeds not w T eevil-eaten. All w T ere 
planted, however, as, if the germ is not 
destroyed by the weevil, the seeds will 
grow, though in most cases the growth 
will be feeble. We are sorry to see that, 
ignorant of the Rural’s tests made years 
ago, many people believe that weevil- 
eaten peas will sprout and grow as well as 
sound peas. 
- 
If you have some trees of the old 
Orange Quince, instead of digging them 
out and replacing with any of the newer 
sorts with big names, dig the grass away 
from about them, apply a quart each of 
bone dust and salt aud a peck of hard¬ 
wood ashes, and then give a heavy mulch 
of corn-cobs, chaff, straw or any other 
substance that will keep the grass and 
weeds down and the ground moist and 
cool. Next Fall you will be enabled to 
win the first prize for fine quiuces, even 
though you have Rhea’s Mammoth, Cham¬ 
pion or Meeeh’s Prolific as a competitor. 
St x weeks ago we announced that the 
Rural New-Yorker’s circulation was 
larger than ever before. It has steadily 
increased ever since as compared with any 
other year. We trust that our readers at 
the end of the year will feel like saying 
that the Rural has been better than ever 
before. We owe our best efforts to this 
end in any case; but more especially in 
appreciation of the continued kindness of 
our friends to whose persistent efforts, 
even in the face of adverse times, we owe 
the ability to make this very gratifying 
statement. Words are inadequate to ex¬ 
press our great thankfulness. 
We are what we are, largely as the re¬ 
sult of the training and surroundings of 
our first few years. Parents cannot too 
carefully consider this fact, aud surround 
their children with these influences that 
tend only to make them better aud wiser. 
Nothing has such an elevating and refin¬ 
ing influence on the minds of children as 
the perpetual companionship of growing 
flowers and trees. Will it not pay, there¬ 
fore, to devote the spare moments to 
planting a few trees and to making some 
rich beds in which the little, ones can 
plant the Gaiden Treasures? The inter¬ 
est on the investment will be over ten 
per cent.! 
- « »« - 
The largest yield of corn raised at the 
Rural Farm (130 bushels shelled) was 
planted in drills four feet two inches 
apart; the kernels dropped by machine 
about 14 inches apart. The variety was 
Blount’s Prolific — average bight over 
nine feet. The next largest yield was that 
of the Chester County Mammoth, which 
grew to about the same bight. The 
drills were three feet nine inches apart, 
the plants about 18 inches apart. The 
cultivation was level and shallow; the 
fertilization broadcast at the rate of 500 
pounds, for the Blount’s; 350 pounds, tor 
the Mammoth to the acre. We repeat 
such items for the benefit of new readers. 
Bright red is the fashionable color in 
Short-horns just now, and, to tell. the 
truth, animals of this color do look nice, 
and no one should dispise it, but the 
breeder who looks more to color than to 
shape, has no more sense than he who, in 
buying an animal, looks more to length 
of pedigree than to length of carcass, 
breadth of loin or fullness and depth of 
ham. The fact js a broacl-backed, deep- 
chested, heavy-quartered roan is worth 
much more thau a cat-hammed, wheezy 
red. Give us the finest form and greatest 
amount of meat on the best points of carcass, 
even if covered with a roan or white hide. 
Color doesn’t amount to a cent’s worth 
when the skin is off. * 
On Tuesday last the New York State 
Senate passed a bill regulating the sale and 
package of canned goods. As originally 
introduced, the bill compelled the packer 
to stamp the date of packing upon each 
can. This was impoitant, as the con¬ 
sumer could then tell how long the goods 
had been put up, and guess the better at 
their condition. The packers, however, 
brought *0 much ‘‘influence” to bear 
on the legislators that this clause was 
stricken out, and also that which per¬ 
mitted the jobber to put his own label on 
cans packed by others. Now the cans 
must bear the packer’s label and the place 
of packing. The last provision will put an 
end to the large trade hitherto done by 
jobbers who have puttheir own labels and 
trade marks on goods packed by others. 
So extensive are the changes wrought by 
the bill in the present law that goods 
packed in other States or countries must 
conform to this law or their sale in New 
York State will be prohibited. The bill 
comes into operation on January 1, 1880. 
A bill to protect the public was demand¬ 
ed, a bill to “protect” the packers of this 
State has been given instead. 
- - -»■»♦- 
We are glad to see that the Southern 
papers are urging the people not to wait 
for Northern or European capitalists to 
come along and develop the rich resources 
of the country, but to set to work vigor¬ 
ously themselves, and make the best of 
their multitudinous opportunities, with¬ 
out the aid of outside cupital. The At¬ 
lanta Chronicle says: “Millions of dollars 
are lost to this section, because we permit 
other people to do what, we should do for 
ourselves,” aud instances a factory which 
is making lots of money by manufactur¬ 
ing pearl buttons from the hitherto worth¬ 
less mussel shells, which abound in the 
neighboring streams, while another con¬ 
cern which began poor, is growing rich 
by making wooden stirrups. The profits 
of cotton mills aud other manufacturing 
industries carried on by outside capital, 
arc spent abroad, like the rents of ab¬ 
sentee landlirds; why not keep them at 
home? The New Orleans Times, and 
many other Southern papers are urgently 
advising planters to raise less cotton and 
more corn and other food stuffs, and also 
to devote more attention to stock-raising, 
for which so many excellent openings ex¬ 
ist in the South. It will take some years 
to induce old plaulcrs to diminish the 
size of their cotton fields; but constant 
repetition of the advantages of mixed hus¬ 
bandry, will ultimately have some effect 
on most of them, and then the rising 
generation are not so wedded to old 
practices. 
CONTAGIOUS PLEURO-PNEUMONIA IN 
THE WEST. 
The excitement about contagious 
pleuro-pneumonia is rapidly growing in 
the West, owing to the virulence of the 
disease in Callaway and adjoining coun¬ 
ties in Missouri. The attempt to raise, 
by public subscription, sufficient money 
to stamp out the disease in "Missouri by 
slaughtering infected and exposed ani¬ 
mals, has failed; at its last session the 
Legislature absolutely refused to pass any 
laws providing fora State veterinarian or 
making any provision whatever for the 
suppression of the disease should it ap¬ 
pear. Right through Missouri at the 
present time there is a world of apathy in 
regard to the matter, except in the in¬ 
fected districts and at the markets in St. 
Louis and Kansas City, whose large cattle 
trade is endangered or paralyzed by the 
outbreak, and the vigorous measures 
against infection adopted by the neigh¬ 
boring States. Governor Oglesby, of 
Illinois, has prohibited the importation 
of Missouri cattle “without a certificate 
from a recognized competent veterinary 
authority, showing such animals to be 
healthy,” and that they have not been ex¬ 
posed to infection for 100 days next pre¬ 
ceding their removal from the State. 
Any corporation or individual violating 
this proclamation is guilty of a misdemean¬ 
or, and on conviction shall be fined not 
less than $1,000 or more than S10.000 for 
each and every offense, and shall be liable 
lor all damage or losses that may be sus¬ 
tained by anybody by reason of the im¬ 
portation or transportation of prohibited 
stock. As this prohibition greatly 
bumpers or entirely ptevents the transpor¬ 
tation of Missouri cattle to the East, it 
causes a great excitement in the Missouri 
cattle markets, and numerous petitions 
have been urging Governor Martnaduke 
to call an extra session of the Legislature 
to enact legislation providing for the 
eradication of the plague. 
Haste is also necessitated by the action 
of other States. Governor Sherman of 
Iowa, last Wednesday proclaimed quar¬ 
antine boundaries for all auimals infected 
with pleuro-pneumonia in the State or 
that have been exposed to it, and forbid¬ 
ding the importation of cattle not accom¬ 
panied with certificates of health, from 
Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, 
Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West 
Virgina, Delaware, Ohio, Kentucky, Ten¬ 
nessee, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and 
the District of Columbia. On the same 
day the Governor of Montana issued a 
proclamation requiring a quarantine of 
ninety days on cattle from Missouri, the 
District of Columbia, Virginia, West Vir¬ 
ginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, 
Arkansas, Illinois, and the Indian Terri¬ 
tory, and requiring an inspection from 
all other States and Territories. Kansas, 
Colorado and New Mexico which hatl 
previously scheduled only Callaway and 
the adjoining countries in Missouri, last 
Tuesday prohibited Importations of cattle 
from any part of the State, because, as 
stated by Governor Martin “the authorities 
of Missouri have adopted no adequate 
measures for stamping out pleuro-pneu¬ 
monia.” 
HONEST VERSUS DISHONEST NURSE¬ 
RYMEN. 
There is no calling more honorable or 
which has conferred more substantial and 
lasting benefit upon tliis country than 
that of growing and selling trees. The 
abundance of fine fruits with which every 
neighborhood is provided, the many 
beautiful lawns in country and village arc 
largely due to the persistent good work 
of these men. With a very extensive ac¬ 
quaintance among those in this business, 
we assert that there is no calling whose 
followers are moie largely intelligent, 
thoughtful, honest men, who would neith¬ 
er do a dishonorable act nor countenance 
one. But, unfortunately, no other busi¬ 
ness offers such an inviting field for 
fraud. Few of the buyers of trees, 
shrubs or flowers are able to distinguish 
between an ornamental and a fruit tree, 
and fewer still, to tell to which class even, 
of fruit or ornamental trees, any one 
offered them belongs. Nor can they in a 
single year, or, as a rule, in several years, 
ascertain whether they have received 
what was supposed to be purchased. It 
is not strange that a field so inviting and 
offering almost absolute immunity from 
punishment, lias found so many men only 
too glad to avail themselves of its advan¬ 
tages, that, the name “tree peddler” has 
become almost odious, being synonymous 
with blackleg and swindler. In some in¬ 
stances we are forced to believe that even 
the nurserymen have become accomplices 
in this robbery by sharing in the profits of 
substituting discarded and worthless 
trash for high-priced novelties. We 
might recount numerous instances of this 
Knavery, but the truth of our statement 
is too patent to need confirmation. This 
class of scoundrels not only rob the buy¬ 
er of his money, his labor in planting and 
caring for these worthless plants, and his 
yqjirs of waiting; but they injure honest 
nurserymen and dealers by filling the de- 
mnnd for carefully grown, valuable sorts 
with stock that costs nothing, and is 
worth less, and by destroying confidence in 
the varieties and the business. Nor is the 
buyer altogether blameless; many are far 
too willing to give their honest neighbor, 
with his genuine stock at fair prices, the 
“go-by,” and purchase of some glib-talk¬ 
ing stranger with. his monstrous pictures. 
While we have the greatest regard for 
the honest nurserymen and dealers, and 
would do all in our power to aid them in 
disseminating fine fruits aud plants, we 
have not words to express the deep hatred 
we feel for these harpies that take advan¬ 
tage of the best instincts of man’s nature 
to swindle, and who have no right to ex¬ 
ist outside of the penitentiary. He who 
will suggest some way to abolish dishon¬ 
esty in the tree business, will deserve the 
thanks alike of the honest dealer and the 
planter. As a beginning, we ask all, when 
their trees are delivered, to insist on hav¬ 
ing a full list, signed by the agent as a 
representative, binding the dealer or firm 
for whom he sells; then carefully preserve 
these lists nntil the fruiting of the trees. 
All honest dealers will be only too glad to 
furnish such lists, and by-and-by we shall 
have authentic evidence, warranting us in 
making a black-list of parties so lost to 
decency as to be guilty of such gigantic 
fraud. 
-» ♦ ♦-- 
BREVITIES. 
Give the onion patch timely and thorough 
weeding. 
Give good care to the Stratagem and Prince 
of Wales Peas. 
Kieffer’s Hybrid is the first of our pears 
to leaf out. 
Cornus Mas has been in bloom a week at 
the Rural Grounds. 
We find that the Rancocas Raspberries have 
not been injured by the past Winter. 
State of Maine, Blush, White Star and 
Burbank Potatoes are keeping admirably. 
Magnolias Lennei and Soulangeaua are in 
bloom (April 29th), Neither has been injured 
by the past Winter. 
For this climate the first planting of sweet 
corn should have been made ere this reaches 
the eyes of our readers. 
Be prepared to brush the tall-growing peas. 
When the vines are ready to fall over, they 
do not readily take to supports. 
April 24. One of our neighbors who has 
upwards of 100 Leghorn fowls, is angry be¬ 
cause be can not induce one to sit. 
Remember this: If the seed-bed of celery is 
not kept mellow and moist, you will not suc¬ 
ceed in raising fine, thrifty plants. 
Budded roses should lie planted so that the 
junction of the bud with the stock is two to 
three iuebets below the surface of the soil. 
Every farmer should have sweet corn on 
his table until fall frosts. Plant a small plot 
every 10 days from this time until late July. 
It is a good plan to kerosene the boxes in 
which hens are to sit before putting in the bay 
or straw. Then sift flowers of sulphur over 
the hay. 
Did you ever get a crop of fine peas from 
late plantings? Our way is to sow all kinds 
(early, intermediate, late and latest) at once 
or within a few days of each other. 
What a hardy, perennial, herbaceous plant 
is Pachysandru procumbens, aud it is among 
the first to bloom. It is rarely mentioned, aud 
yet it should be valued for its spread of green 
leaves, and for its spikes of whitish flowers. 
We have no patience with farmers who are 
always just a lit*le behind. If they ever meet 
with success, it is by accident. There is an im¬ 
mense difference between being justa little be¬ 
hind and a little ahoud in results, aud there is 
uaught but sluggishness that stands iu the 
way. 
The people of Kansas are learuing that 
less grain and more grass, will insure better 
farms aud more gold, and are wisely seeding 
a very much larger proportion of their land 
thau ever before. There are hundreds of 
other places that could profitably follow their 
example. 
Have auy careful trials been made with a 
view to ascertaining how deep seed potatoes 
should be planted in different soils! The Ru¬ 
ral made a series of trials four years ago on a 
clay-loam soil. The pieces were placed all the 
way from nine to three inches deep. Four in¬ 
ches gave the best yield. We are repeating 
the trial this season on a sand loam soil. 
We received a sittiug of Langahau eggs 
from a poultry raiser of middle Pennsylvania 
last week. The eggs were packed in a strong 
wooden box with perforated heavy paper 
partitions to hold the eggs iu place. Upon 
removing the ltd, every egg was found to be 
broken. The box is patented aud called “the 
Standard Egg Carrier,” manufactured by 
Messer & Co., New York. 
