THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
A National Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Conducted by 
ELBERT 8. CARMAN. 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
No. :U Park Row, New York. 
SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 1887. 
We have mailed oar present seed distribu¬ 
tion to all subscribers icho applied prior to 
March 7th. Any who have not. received it 
will kindly notify us at once. 
Tire best advice we can give those who 
intend, to plaut trees or shrubs, whether 
for fruit or ornament; whether evergreen 
or deciduous is — to plant early. Plant 
as early as the ground can be worked. 
A new poster, “The Farmer Supplying 
the World,” will be sent to all who apply 
for it, together with an account of the 
Rural’s seed distribution, premium-lists 
and specimen copies, to aid our friends in 
forming clubs. 
* » • 
Two acres of poor land have been add¬ 
ed to the Rural’s Experiment Grounds. 
For the purpose of certain kiuds of ex¬ 
perimentation, as, for example, the effects 
of fertilizers, poor land is better than 
rich. 
Tile New York State Legislature should 
appropriate at least $10,000 for next year’s 
Farmers’ Institutes. This money can be 
used to good advantage— we do not, know 
how it could be placed so that it would 
work more good to agriculture. Next 
year thete should be a meeting in every 
county of the State. New York farmers, 
give your representatives at Albany to un¬ 
derstand that you want these Institutes 
continued and that you expect the Legis¬ 
lature to support them. Let this be done 
at once. This is a matter of importance. 
The questions the R. N.-Y. is receiving 
show that great interest, is taken in nitrate 
of soda. It costs about 2 3-8 cents per 
pound,or, say at retail, about $50 per ton. 
Again we would guard our readers against 
throwing their money away on nitrate of 
soda. If we were to spread it on land in 
early April for corn to be planted in May, 
we should consider that about half of it 
would be lost. On late corn we should 
prefer to scatter the nitrate of soda not 
until the corn was planted, or even after 
it had sprouted. Again we should con¬ 
sider that money was thrown away if it 
was used upon poor land, or land defi¬ 
cient in potash or phosphate. 
The New York Sun of Sunday, March 
3th, prints a long leading editorial against 
the N. Y. Experiment Station. The ar¬ 
ticle concludes: “In the name of New 
York’s insulted fanners and in the name 
of good government, we demand of the 
Legislature that it abolish the Geneva Ag¬ 
ricultural Experiment Station. It is a 
humbug.” Aside from the Director’s pas¬ 
sion for jumping at conclusions; for form¬ 
ulating theories from absurdly insufficient 
data and using language too “scientific” 
for ordinary people to comprehend, we 
have always thought that the actual work 
of the Station, as shown by the reports of 
the Director’s assistants, was carefully, 
conscientiously and effectively performed. 
There is no particular variety of the 
Japan Chestnut which is yet offered for 
sale. Rural readers, bear this in mind. 
In ordering trees, you will get seedlings 
which may be good, bad or indifferent, 
just the same as if jou raised plants from 
the seeds yourselves. First-rate varieties 
are being propagated, but they will not 
be offered for sale in several years, we pre¬ 
sume. We are anxious that our readers 
who can afford to experiment should try 
the Japan Chestnut, but we would not 
have them deceived by assuming that be¬ 
cause they buy and plant Japan Chestnut 
seedlings the trees will bear either 
large nuts or nuts of good quality. The 
risk is much the same as that of raising 
any other seedlings. 
Is the Springfield blackcap the same as 
Davison’s Thornless? Practically they are 
both without thorns; the fruit is about the 
same size and sweet. It is also rather soft 
for market. But is not the habit of the 
Springfield^ quite differentj,from that^of 
Davison’s? The main stems of the Spring- 
field are quite stout, but the secondary 
branches are so mauy and so slender that 
they droop on every side, forming pendu¬ 
lous bushes. It is years since we culti¬ 
vated the Davison; but we have no re¬ 
membrance that the plants assumed this 
weeping form which in the Springfield is 
so pronounced as to give them a value as 
ornamental shrubs. We have just been 
examining the cancs of the Springfield 
and find them alive to the very tips. It 
seems as hardy as any variety of raspberry 
we have ever raised. We should like to 
hear from Mr. H. S. Anderson, of Union 
Springs, N. Y., who sent us these plants 
for trial. 
TnosE who are interested in gardening 
matters or small-fruit culture, now that 
spring is upon us, will naturally want the 
assistauce of trusty horticultural papers. 
It is a good time to solicit subscriptions 
from such people. Posters and premi¬ 
um-lists of the R. N.-Y. will gladly be 
sent to all applicants. 
THE HATCH BILL. 
The Hatch Bill, the object of which is to 
establish agricultural experiment stations 
in the States and Territories, has received 
no serious opposition from any quarter. 
Neither, with one exception, has it been 
very persistently advocated by the farm 
papers of the country. The one exception 
is the N. E. Homestead, which from the 
beginning has worked persistently to has¬ 
ten its passage. 
While the Rural has always been in 
full sympathy with any measure looking 
toward agricultural progress, and has, 
therefore, approved of the leading object 
of the Hatch Bill, we would yet have 
sought to accomplish the object by very 
different methods from those which the 
bill enacts. We could see no need of 
haste. The bill instead of being passed 
in its accepted form might well have been 
submitted to the consideration of the far¬ 
mers and thoroughly discussed by the 
members of every farmers* club or insti¬ 
tute in the land. It is far easier to pass a 
bill, excellent in the main though faulty 
in detail, during the excitement of red- 
hot noisy enthusiasm than to modify it 
materially after it has become a law and 
the matter-of-fact machinery of its execu¬ 
tion is everywhere put in motion. But 
our view of the case did not prevail and 
we have no disposition to cross the bridge 
of vexation and disappointment until we 
come to it. The bill is intended to help 
agriculture, and it is the duty of all to 
help the intention as far as possible. 
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.” 
LEGALIZING AN EVIL. 
That is rather a plausible argument 
urged in favor of the Ives Bill now before 
the New York Legislature, permitting 
betting at races, but taxing the receipts 
and restricting the racing or trotting on 
each track to 20 days. The advocates of 
the bill insist that it has always been im¬ 
possible to suppress betting; that people 
will bet no matter what restrictions the law 
may impose. They urge that it will give 
the control of race-courses to those who 
will conduct the sport on an honorable 
basis, and will stamp out the swindling 
coucerns which carry on pretended races 
merely to plunder the public. They say 
that the measure would certainly check 
dishonesty, and that, the tax received by 
the State from reputable race-tracks might 
be beneficially given as prizes for the im¬ 
provement of the various breeds of live 
stock at the State and county fairs, and 
thus good would spring from au inevitable 
evil. Just as the Crosby Bill would limit 
the pernicious effects of liquor selling by 
a high license; so the Ives Bill would cur¬ 
tail the evils of betting on race-tracks by 
decreasing the number of these and of the 
days devoted to the sport at each, and by 
placing “high-toned” men in charge of 
them. Well, prohibitionists are generally 
opposed to “high-license,” as tampering 
with an evil that ought to be absolutely 
suppressed; and there will be a great 
many of the same opinion with regard 
to licensing betting. Then again, taxes 
on liquor stores in this city are distributed 
among our charitable institutions; a very 
few refuse to take any of the money on 
the high moral ground that it would be 
wrong to accept, any of the proceeds of a 
damnable trade; would the farmers of the 
State be likely to refuse prizes that came 
from the taxes on betting, on equally high 
moral grounds? 
CHEAP WATCH SWINDLES. 
About nine months ago Charles West 
hired a small office in Maiden Lane, one 
of the down-town business streets of this 
city, and hung out a sign emblazoned with 
the legend. “The Victor Watch Compa¬ 
ny.” "West at once advertised ftcely, 
chiefly in country papers, offering an “18- 
caret gold stem-winder watch” for $6.50, 
and soon papered the country with thou¬ 
sands of alluring circulars through the 
mails. In these he boasted of the super- 
eminent. merits of the Victor Watch Com¬ 
pany's goods, and stated that it bad an 
enormous factory employing hundreds of 
bands and turning out a vast number of 
watches eveiv week. In a short time he 
began to receive a heavy mail twice a day 
and hired several type-writers to do the 
correspondence, and a number of girls to 
address envelopes and mail circulars. He 
never kept any watches in the office and 
never mailed any, though he pocketed a 
great deal of money sent in by gudgeons 
who expected to get a $20 watch fur $6.50, 
As the dishonest gains of the Victor 
Watch Company poured in upon West 
in a steadily increasing stream, he ad¬ 
vertised more extensively, and favored 
the Rural two -weeks ago with an adver¬ 
tisement of $260. The favor, however, 
was promptly declined; for a little investi¬ 
gation left little doubt that the company 
was a swindling concern. The post-office 
authorities here had also come to the 
same conclusion; for during several 
mouths they had been receiving numerous 
Complaints from people in all parts of the 
country, who had sent remittances for 
watches and had failed to receive them. 
To complaints of this kind West either 
returned no answer at all or sent an eva¬ 
sive one, saying either that the goods 
must have miscarried, or that the demand 
was so heavy that the supply was tempor¬ 
arily exhausted, or making some similar 
false excuse. Two weeks ago, suspect¬ 
ing that the post-office agents were after 
him, West bought some cheap watches 
(the “enormous factory” having, of 
course, no existence outside the advertise¬ 
ments). and began to send them out to 
some of those who had sent him remit¬ 
tances. It was too late, however; the 
post-office agents bad over 200 complaints, 
and arrested Iho rascal last Tuesday, and 
he is now under bail awaiting trial for 
obtaining money under false pretences 
and using the United States mails for 
swindling purposes. 
Never before was there such an immense 
amouut ot misrepresentations and swin¬ 
dling as at present in cheap watches and 
jewelry. Alluring engravings and decep¬ 
tive statements with regard ito these arti¬ 
cles form the most, conspicuous items in 
the advertising columns of nearly every 
paper in the country. Some are offered 
“absolutely free;” others are “fiee to all;” 
others range in price from $1, asked by 
a Boston humbug, to $6.50, asked by the 
Victor swindle. “Solid gold watches” at 
$3.50 shouts one Cheap Jack. “A gentle¬ 
man’s gold watch worth $55 for 24 cents" 
yells another. And the wonder of it is that 
they all find simpletons credulous enough 
to believe them, and all are making 
money by the Victor system or others 
hardly less disreputable. Every one of 
these Cheap Jacks isentirely irresponsible; 
they are all under heavy expense for ad¬ 
vertising; not one of them can afford to 
be just, much less generous; any one who 
expects to get the best of them is certain 
to be disappointed; any one who deals 
with them is certain to be fooled. 
BREVITIES. 
Send for the Rural’s seed distribution, 
all who, having applied prior to 10 days ago, 
have not yet received it. 
Try the Mouarch Rhubarb. Its stems are 
twice a-s large as those of any other kind raised 
at the R. G., and the quality is flue. 
Milo as the winter has been at the R, G., 
many kinds of raspberries have suffered. We 
are glad to see that Golden Queen is not 
among the sufferers—neither is Harhart. 
Let our readers bear in mind that the 
Rural has sprinkled flowers of sulphur over 
the seed potatoes of a dozen or more of 
trenches and the crop has beeu free of “scab.” 
It seems that the new and beautiful weep¬ 
ing fuchsia which we have alluded to a-s 
“Storm King,” should be called “Frau Emma 
Tqpfer,’’ its proper name—so called after its 
Belgiau originator. 
Smith’s Spruce i Abies Morinda or Srnith- 
iana) is a fine tree. It reminds one of the 
Common Hemlock with longer leaves and with 
a pendulous lmbit. II is quite hardy as far 
north, at least, as Southern Canada, 
Henry Ward RkkubER took pride in act¬ 
ing as his own doctor. If he ever ate food 
that disagreed with him it was hard to get 
him to touch it again. This was common 
sense treatment, yet many will not practice it. 
Many farmers’ clubs in this State are tak¬ 
ing advantage of the offer made by the State 
Board of Agriculture. They make appoint¬ 
ments with the Secretary of the Board to 
meet with them and deliver an address. This 
always calls out an increased attendance and 
creates an added interest. 
You who are in need of hardy vines and 
would like something new aud odd, try the 
Actiuidia polygaim. It made a growth last 
season at the Rural Grounds of 20 feet. We 
have had it about live years. It has not yet 
bloomed. This comes from Japan and is said 
to be splendid when in full bloom. It is said 
the fruit is edible. 
“Very large kernels—very small cobs.” 
Mauy kinds of corn are so described in the 
catalogues. The amount of corn which an ear 
bears depends upon the depth of the kernels, 
assuming that the rows are well filled and 
close together. We have vet to see very large 
kernels on very small cobs. 
The Cayuga Co. Farmers’ Club petition the 
N. Y. Legislature to legalize the use of barbed 
wire for line fences. Most N. V. farmers 
have to go off’ their farms for fencing stuff. 
Barbed wire is used by many for cross feuces, 
and would be generally used for line fences if 
farmers did not hesitate to do anything that 
may breed a lawsuit. 
Spray the hen houses thoroughly with ker¬ 
osene. This is better and cheaper than white¬ 
wash. A spraying bellows will soon pay for 
itself. The spray penetrates every crack and 
crevice, and it is so fine that a very small 
quantity of kerosene serves for a given sur¬ 
face. This method of cleansing ben houses is 
cheap and effectual. 
And now. it appears, there is a new breed 
of, fowls to be offered for sale. The name is 
“The Downy Fowls,” It is said that the new 
breed springs from the Plymouth Rocks, re¬ 
taining all their virtues with the added virtues 
of, first, not being able to fly over a common 
board fence; and, second, having feathers as 
soft as those of a goose. 
On the beautiful island called Dosoris, 
owned by Mr. Dana, of the N Y. Sun, we 
last summer saw a Japan persimmon tree, 
which in a sheltered place is partially hardy. 
It was eight feet high, with leathery, deep- 
green leaves as large as those of the Cucum¬ 
ber Magnolia. The tree blooms, but the 
flowers drop off and no fruit sets. 
It is surely strange that no monument has 
ever been erected to the memory of Eli Whit¬ 
ney, the inventor of the cotton gin. This in¬ 
vention did more for the South than any other 
dozen acts have ilone No monument that we 
know of has ever been erected to commemo¬ 
rate him, and surely Southern children know 
surprisingly little about him. It is not too 
late, even at this day, for some substantial 
.evidence of gratitude. 
The Rural alone of all the press, began 
talking of the great utility of spiaying-bel- 
lows years ago. Gradually they axe coming 
into use. As they have not been advertised 
very much, they are left to work their way 
gradually, but steadily, upon their own me¬ 
rits. It is but a matter of time. We have 
given up whitewashing our hen-houses, sim¬ 
ply because an occasional spraying with kero¬ 
sene answers every purpose of the wash better 
at a less cost. Those spraying-bellows may 
also bo used to distribute liquid insecticides. 
There are auctions all about us this season. 
It is often possible to make a good bargain at 
one of them. If a man secs something that he 
really needs, it will generally pay to bid on it. 
At such sales there are always farmers who 
propose to buy everything that is sold cheap, 
no matter whether they need the articles or 
not. This is poor business. A farm is 
a poor place upon which to dump a lot of 
cheap goods that have uo virtue but cheap¬ 
ness. Farmers in our neighborhood are most 
anxious to buy the manure offered at such 
sales. It takes a shrewd man to buy manure 
at an auction and get his money’s worth. 
It was telegraphed all over the country 
from Kansas Lily, the other day, that the 
Inter-State Land Company bad completed the 
purchase of TV>.<H)0 .cmm» acres situated in the 
western confines of the Texas Pan-Handle, 
New Mexico and Colorado, embracing a part 
of No Man’s Lund and the famous Maxwell 
graut.. Land Commissioner Hjuirks says there 
is uo foundation for any legitimate claim to 
such land. The Maxwell grant, wax exposed 
as a fraud loug ago, and nobody else has any 
just claim to any tracts of land included in the 
above area. The “persons who purchase ‘quit¬ 
claim deeds’ of alleged private land grants,” 
says the Commissioner, “do so at their own 
risk.” If this syndicate purchased, it did so 
from men who had no authority to sell, anil 
it in turn cannot give a title to a purchaser of 
any part of its alleged domain. 
The Southern Cotton Oil Company was 
organized Monday, under the laws of New 
Jersey, to run in opposition to that gr inding 
monopoly—the American Cotton Oil Trust.. 
Its officers are: President, Henry Butcher, 
Philadelphia; Manager, Frederick Oliver, 
Columbus, 8. ('.; Secretary and Treasurer, 
John Oliver of same place; Engineer, Daniel 
T. Tompkins, Charlotte N. C. Capital f5,000- 
600,of which $4,000,000 have been already sub¬ 
scribed, chiefly by Philadelphia capitalists. 
The very best machinery has already been or¬ 
dered, and the company is sure to start, It is 
reported that Phil, Armour was refused an 
interest, because the incorporators were con¬ 
vinced that his motives for seeking one were 
purely selfish. He has just made n contract 
withjthe Cotton?!)il Trust,Company'for a sup¬ 
ply'of cotton'seedjoil to adulterate his lard, at 
a specified low figure, for three years. 
