THE RURAL «EW-Y©MER. 
JAN E9 
THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
A National Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Conducted by 
ELBERT B. C A K M A K. 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
No. S4 Park Row, New York. 
SATURDAY, JANUARY 25), 1SS7. 
Our readers will be disappointed when 
they receive the Pond Corn. We have 
stated that the kernels are large. This is 
quite true as they form in favorable sea¬ 
sons. But the drought was almost un¬ 
precedented among the Catskills (Green 
County) the past season, and the grain is 
scarcely half its usual size. 
Joseph Harris, referring to our potato 
experiments,as published in the Rural of 
Jan. 15, says: “I suspect that you have 
got hold of some new truths of great 
value.” Again he says, referring to the 
first page illustration: “That picture 
makes one shiver. Hut it will call atten¬ 
tion to the matter and do good.” 
■ ■ ♦ » — - — 
Readers will find certain kinds of so- 
called Russian watermelons offered in all 
the seedsmen's catalogues. They are va¬ 
riously named. Seeds of these melons 
were kindly sent to us three years ago by 
Professor Budd, of Ames, Iowa. The 
shape is nearly round, the skin smooth. 
As a market melon they will not attract 
much attention. At the Rural Grounds 
the quality was very good, the seeds 
small. The vines beai heavily and the 
melons ripen early. 
We are pleased to see a fine engraving 
of Patrick Barry in the Loudon Garden, 
and that the thirtieth volume of that, in¬ 
comparable journal is dedicated to him as 
vice-president of the American Pomologi- 
cal Society. Had (he portrait appeared 
later, it would have been inscribed ^Pres¬ 
ident.” We know of no one who has la¬ 
bored more earnestly and effectively to 
promote the interests of horticulture in 
our country than Patrick Barry, An ex¬ 
cellent, full-page portrait of Mr. Barry ap¬ 
peared in the R. N.-Y. of Sept. 20, 1884, 
page 617. 
The papers are very kindly hunting out 
odd jobs for the farmer. They seem de¬ 
termined that he shall be kept out of mis¬ 
chief. It is well to have work done on 
time, uud there arc many lit tle things that 
can he done to advantage during the win¬ 
ter, but too much “pottering” is to be 
avoided. The farmer does enough work 
as it is. There is small need of his hunting 
about after extra jobs. The winter is the 
season for pleasure and study on the 
farm. Farmers are not small boys to bo 
kept out of mischief by odd jobs. They 
had much better let the “odd jobs” go 
and spend the time devoted to them in 
visiting with their wives, attending far¬ 
mers' meetings or reading. They can 
work with more system and heart next 
Summer to pay for it. 
NOTICE. 
All subscribers who desire the Rural's 
Seed Distribution must apply for it. 
Hitherto we have not required those who 
subscribe for the Rural in connection 
with other papers to make an application. 
This has caused confusion. It is only 
necessary to say “Send seeds.” 
A Mistake. Our friend, the editor of 
the American Garden, states, in the Jan¬ 
uary number of that Monthly, that in 1878 
the connection of Houghton Farm with 
an agricultural journal was announced, 
and that so far as he knows, “that was 
the first announcement of an experi¬ 
mental farm in connection with the agri¬ 
cultural press.” “Unforeseen events,” he 
continues, “prevented the practical con¬ 
summation of the scheme.” By refer¬ 
ence to the Rural New- Yorker of 1877, 
it will appear that the farm which we had 
owned for 15 years previously, was an¬ 
nounced as the Rural Experiment Farm, 
and that regular communications from it 
began July 28 of that year, and have con¬ 
tinued ever since. We are unwilling that 
the R. N.-Y. should not receive whatever 
credit belongs to it as being the first jour¬ 
nal to establish an experimental farm, and 
we doubt not that our esteemed contem¬ 
porary will cheerfully correct its mistake. 
Evils of Over-Eating. —Over-eating 
causes more disease than over-drinking. 
This idea is generally laughed at, but it 
comes nearer the truth than most, people 
believe. Scores of our put He men are 
now complaining of gout, E icumatism 
and kindred troubles. The\ ■ ave simply 
gone on eating more than I hey could 
digest, until nature has |;one into 
a just rebellion. Much . the sick¬ 
ness that makes farm homes unhappy 
at the opening of spring is caused by over¬ 
eating during the season when there is 
least exercise and most leisure. Many a 
farmer finds himself at the opening of 
spring in a condition akin to that of his 
horses which have stood in the stable, all 
winter with little exercise. They come 
out “fat, as seals,” but the first touch of 
hard work shows how “soft” they are. 
Those who care to ward off bodily pain, 
sickness and fretfulncss, will live moder¬ 
ately in all things. Eat plain food that 
you find gives you no feeling of uneasiness, 
stop eating before you are fully satisfied, 
and avoid every temptation to transgress 
the good rule of health. 
SHALL WE RETALI AT ? 
The Bellmont Bill now before the House 
gives the President power to exclude 
from American ports all vessels from Ca¬ 
nadian ports flying the British ting. The 
penalty for violation of the order is to be 
the confiscation of the vessel and all the 
goods on board; and any person attempt¬ 
ing to prevent the enforcement of the 
regulation would be liable to a fine of 
$1,000 and imprisonment for two years. 
The President is also authorized to forbid 
the entrance of ears and locomotives and 
merchandize from Canada into the Unit¬ 
ed States In fact,under the bill he could 
place a complete embargo on all sorts of ex¬ 
ports from the Dominion into this country. 
It is by this extreme severity that hopes 
arc entertained of extorting from the Can¬ 
adians the concession of equal rights for 
American citizens in the enjoyment of the 
Dominion inshore fisheries. The project is 
somewhat of the nature of “cutting off 
ouc's nose to spite one's face.” If we stop 
taking goods from Canada, Canada is very 
likely to stop taking goods from us. Dur¬ 
ing the last, fiscal year the total imports 
from t he Dominion were valued at $37,- 
490,278. Of this amount, $20,120,077 
earne “by cars and other land vehicles.” 
During the same period our exports to 
all parts of Canada amounted to $81,053,- 
122, of which $15,880,947 went bv land. 
The fishery question really affects only a 
few hundreds or thousands of fishermen 
in Maine and Massachusetts, and it is for 
their benefit that all the rest of us now 
pay, under protest, a tax on fish. The 
stoppage of our trade with Canada would 
affect, directly or indirectly, millions in 
all parts of the country, iu ft vain effort to 
obtain relief for a handful of fishermen 
whose interests can be bettor promoted by 
the peaceful negotiations with England 
now in progress. Of course, if redress 
were refused for any real wrong or un¬ 
doubted injustice inflicted on the poorest 
or weakest of our citizens,there would be 
ample cause not only for retaliation but 
for war; but the fishery trouble is a di¬ 
plomatic question already in a fair way of 
peaceful settlement,. 
But, apart from financial considerations, 
would the measure he likely to prove 
succesful in accomplishing its object? It. 
is in the nature of a threat. It fulmi¬ 
nates an edict of reprisals against Cana¬ 
dian commerce, and then leaves it to the. 
discretion of the President to execute it. 
With weak persons and inferior, helpless 
races threats sometimes work wonders; 
but the people of Canada and back of 
them the people of England are hardly 
likely to be scared by hostile foreign 
legislation. The President has sagacious¬ 
ly left the settlement of the dispute in 
the hands of diplomacy; wouldn’t it be 
well for Congress to follow the Presi¬ 
dent's exam pie? 
NON-VOTER,S RESPONSIBLE. 
In several State legislatures disgraceful 
scenes are being enacted. The strength 
of the two parties is so evenly divided 
and the interests involved in the selec, 
tion of U. 8. Senators are so great that 
men are pushed on to acts of violence and- 
passion that they would hardly dream of 
in calmer moments. Needed legislation 
will be blocked, thousands of dollars 
spent in useless quarreliugand bitter par¬ 
tisan feeling will be aroused, the traces of 
which will be evident for years. Close 
legislatures, where one or two men may 
hold the balance of power, are injurious 
to the best interests of the 8tate. The 
party whip is used without mercy, and 
the bitterness of the opening lasts t hrough 
the entire session. There is small chance 
for the passage of a bill upon which 
members of both parties could unite and 
discuss calmly and disinterestedly. The 
voters who stay away from the polls at 
election have themselves to thank for 
this state of affairs. There are always 
men who never vote, because they think 
polities are corrupt and beneath their 
notice, or because they think there are 
plenty of others who can do the voting, 
it,is this very class of men who play into 
the handsof politicians and make possible 
such scenes as have been witnessed in 
Nebraska, Indiana and New Jersey. In 
all three of these States there are several 
districts where a dozen votes would have 
changed the entire face of affairs and ren¬ 
dered the victory of one side or the other 
so pronounced that all this excitement and 
violence would be impossible. The men 
who stayed at home and failed to exer¬ 
cise their rights as voters should hold 
themselves, in a sense, responsible for 
this trouble. It is the duty of every man 
to he enough of a politician to know when 
to vote and how to vote. It is only by 
educating the rank and file of politicians 
that the numbers of those who make 
their living out of politics can be dimin¬ 
ished. Politicians are well pleased when 
good men keep away from the polls and 
use only their voices against corruption. 
They are frightened only by the ballot 
justly and persistently used. 
ONE REPUBLIC NOT UNGRATEFUL. 
Congress appears to have found in new 
pension hills, a solution of the problem 
“How to Reduce the Revenue,” without 
reducing taxat ion. Last Monday,the 1 louse 
by a vote of 179 (o 70, decided to pen¬ 
sion, at the rate of $12 per month, all hon¬ 
orably discharged soldiers and sailors 
who served three months or more during 
the late war, who are now, or who may 
hereafter he suffering from mental or phy¬ 
sical disabilities so as to render them un¬ 
able to earn their support, and who de¬ 
pend on their daily labor for a livelihood. 
If the Senate concurs in this bill and the 
President signs it, between 80.000 and 
40,000 persons will be added to the pen¬ 
sion list, and the additional expense to 
the count ry is estimated at $0,000,000 an¬ 
nually; but good judges, calculating from 
the results of previous hills, say it is 
likely to exceed $25,000,000, A bill to 
pension, at the rate of $8 per month, all 
who were 60 days with the army or navy 
during the war with Mexico, was passed 
by the House at the last session, and 
amended by the Senate last July, and the 
Senate amendment having been concurred 
in by the House last Monday by a vote of 
243 to five, it now awaits only the Presi¬ 
dent’s signature to be law. It is estimat¬ 
ed that this will involve an expenditure 
of $4,000,000 to $5,000,000 annually, but 
the actual outlay will probably be much 
greater. On the same day the Senate 
passed 40 individual pension bills. 
In round numbers over $800,000,000 
bave been paid for pensions since the 
close of the war. For the first few years 
the yearly payment didn't average over 
$25,000,000, but this amount has been 
gradually increased until the bill for the 
present year, without, the proposed addi¬ 
tions, amounts to $75,000,000. All the 
Powers of Europe combined, with their 
immense armies and. frequent wars, do not 
pay each year for pensions as much as 
does this Republic. That “Republicsare 
ungrateful” has passed into an adage; 
surely this is an exception. 
HOW IS HE TO GET IT BACK? 
It is evident that those market garden¬ 
ers and others who apply yearly to their 
land from 50 to 75 tons of horse manure, 
supply a great deal more food than the 
plants can possibly take up. The soil 
from year to year is accumulating a vast 
store of plant, food at a heavy cost. Such 
land would give abundant late crops for 
years without any more manure, but the 
early crops, by far the most valuable to 
the market gardener, would suffer with¬ 
out continued applications. Aud the 
reason is, as Mr. Harris so plain¬ 
ly explained iu the R. N.-Y. of Jan¬ 
uary 1st, that warm weather is required 
to change the nitrpgen into nitric acid be¬ 
fore it can be taken up by the plants. 
During warm weather nitric acid forms in 
large quantities and the plants grow rap¬ 
idly. In the fall and winter much of the 
nitric acid is washed out of the soil, and 
again the early spring plants suffer for the 
want of it. 
Suppose, now, the cultivator who has 
spread 50 tons of manure on his land 
every year for five years or more,desires to 
get back the money or a considerable part 
of it; how is he to do it? The land is full 
of plant food—phosphate, potash and ni¬ 
trogen—enough, indeed, to furnish ample 
food to all the crops' that can be raised for 
five years or more. The potash and phos¬ 
phoric acid are,no doubt,available as food, 
but the nitrogen is not. lie must supply 
the nitrogen in a form that shall be im¬ 
mediately available. A dressing of 200 
pounds of nitrate of soda to the acre will 
do this if applied in early spring. The 
early plants will then have all the food 
they need, while later plants will be well 
supplied from the manure in the soil, the 
nitrogen of which becomes available as 
the season advances. 
ANNOUNCEMENT. 
The series of articles by Joseph Har¬ 
ris, reviewing the Rothamsted Experi¬ 
ments, the first of which appeared in the 
issue of January 15, will hereafter be sub¬ 
mitted to Sir J. R. Lawes, with his con¬ 
sent, before publication, in order that lie 
may make any needed additions or cor¬ 
rections. Thus, they may be considered 
authoritative and official. 
BREVITIES. 
Those who propose to set arbor-vitoe 
hedges next spring, should remember the 
Rural’s advice to set the plauts at least three 
feet apart. 
A correspondent writes that, if we will 
get seeds of Gr egory’s Sugar-loaf lettuce and 
test them (reside the Tomkatmock Lettuce, we 
will find them entirely different, disproving 
the statement of one of our correspondents that 
they are Identical. 
A noted poultry expert writes us: “Your 
experiment with Lungshans shows that you 
have noticed and confirmed the claim that 
there is a difference between the Cochin and 
Luugshan; yet, strange to say, some of the 
promincut poultry men and experts persist in 
denying it.” 
The American (Michigan) Horticulturist, 
Purdy’s Fruit Recorder, the Garden Review, 
and the Floral World have all been “absorbed” 
by Popular Gardening, a very excellent 
monthly published in Buffalo. We doubt if 
the loss would ever be very keenly felt if a 
score or so of agricultural papers were ab¬ 
sorbed in some way or other. 
Mu. W. Atlee Bn linen states that he thinks 
we me unduly severe on the Turner Hybrid 
Tomato, and that we should try it again. 
This we shall do. He grants that a certain 
proportion of the fruit are not smooth. This 
is the most that we said against it, though wo 
may differ as to the proportion of irregular 
fruit. 
At the recent annual meeting of the Texas 
Live Stock Association it was staled that 
while the average stock cattle were readily 
sold in West Texas two years ago at 820 per 
head; not more than $1(1 can be obtained now. 
The same story is told in hundreds of places iu 
the Fur West. Everywhere iu the ranges the 
price of cattle has fallen from 40 to 50 per 
cent. ;doeFyour butcher’s bill show any dimin¬ 
ution? Everywhere the fail in prices to the 
producers, and the maintenance of old prices 
to the consumers are attributed to the unscrup¬ 
ulous greed of cattle buying and railroad rings. 
Farmers cause themselves much trouble 
every year in putting off the ordering of seeds 
and Implements till the last moment.. It is 
folly to wait till the upeningof the season and 
then rush the order in. Delays and accidents 
ate always liable to occur in business. A few 
days lost, at the beginning of spring by some 
unavoidable delay help eat up the profits, sour 
the 1 armor’s temper und hurt the business of 
the dealer who is honestly trying to (ill his or¬ 
ders. Get the tools and seeds that you need 
in time, this year. 
llow does the Rural edtor. in his “valley 
mulching” of potatoes, prevail on the leaves, 
etc., to stay home?” asks a subscriber Leaves 
were merely suggested. We have never tried 
them. Probably u light, cover of strawy man¬ 
ure or even of soil thrown upon them by the 
use of a brush harrow passed over the ridges 
lengthwise, would suffice. We propose to try 
this system more thoroughly next season and 
are not as yet prepared to reeonuneml its 
adoption except to those who are fond of ex- 
pe runout*. 
The New Hampshire Grange insists on 
mure efficient management of the Agricultur¬ 
al College, which is now a branch of Dart 
mouth University. While the Patrons of Hus¬ 
bandry have never cut much of a figure in 
the greater part, of New England, they have 
been quite active, and have increased in 
number in New Hampshire. Then' are in 
that Stale now SI subordinate' Granges, with 
a membership of 5.200. or 860 more than last 
year. Of all agricultural associations the 
Grange is decidedly the best. May its mem 
berslnpnnd influence increase! 
It appears that New York State can hold 
a Farmers' Institute if she once sets about it. 
The recent institute m Loekport, iu point of 
attendance and interest, has rarely been 
equaled iu this country. I,et. this work lie 
followed up by all means. There is nothing 
that will help New York agriculture so much. 
The next meeting will be held at Ithaca Feb¬ 
ruary 16 IS. In addition to home speakers, 
President Willitts. of the Michigan Agricul¬ 
tural ('ollege.and Professor Atherton, of Penn¬ 
sylvania, will he present. We urge every far¬ 
mer who can possibly do ho to attend. The 
nwuuwho goes to one such meeting will bo sure 
to go to toe next one. 
