THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
MAY 21 
THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
ANatlonal Journal for Country and Suburban Homo . 
Conducted by 
KLBHRT S. CABMAN. 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
No. 8-1 Park Row, New York. 
SATURDAY, MAY 21, 1887. 
Late-planted peas are nowhere that 
we know of a profitable crop. But it is 
very nice to have green, tender, sweet 
peas in August and September. We 
planted last year as late as the 20th of 
July. The plants were neither strong nor 
productive, but the few peas gathered 
were relished much the same as the first 
picking in June. 
Miss Ohmerod, Entomologist, to the 
Royal Agricultural Society of England, 
finds that a disease which injures oats is 
due to an insect in the root. She thinks, 
as first^ suggested by Dr. Lawes, that 
clover sickness may he due to a similar 
cause. When the damage which May- 
beetle grubs, onion maggots, wire-worm's, 
cut-worms, and other insects do to the 
roots of various plants in soils peculiar¬ 
ly suited to these forms of insect life, is 
considered, the explanation of clover sick¬ 
ness seems so very reasonable that one is 
left to wonder why it was never suggested 
before. 
The farmers of Texas, Arkausas, and 
Louisiana are arranging a scheme of co¬ 
operation, which, if properly carried out, 
will be of great benefit to them and speed¬ 
ily rid them of the mortgage incubus. 
The idea is to construct cotton, cotton¬ 
seed oil, and flour mills at different cen¬ 
ters so as to enable them to get. local mar¬ 
kets for their produce and be sun; of ob¬ 
taining fair prices. The mills are to be 
owned by the farmers themselves, who 
will act as their own commission agents 
and employ suitable men to manufacture 
their own products. The worst of such 
plans is that however feasible they are in 
theory, it is always extremely difficult to 
put them into practice. 
A strong effort is being made in Eng- 
cates for the property taken in. For 
example, the manufacturing and shipping 
plant of the old “ringsters” Morris & Co., 
at Chicago, is sold to the Trust for certifi¬ 
cates at one-fourth of their par value. 
Several owners of extensive cattle ranches 
have put in their property on the same 
advantageous terms. No ranchman is at 
present.asked to come in, hut any of them 
may. If u large number should come in 
within a few months, the Trust would ho 
in a position to dictate terms to those re¬ 
maining outside, and would certainly use 
power, 
manner of other 
land to establish 
parcel post," 
means of which fresh butter and new-laid 
eggs can be cheaply and quickly brought 
from the farm into London. Such a sys¬ 
tem, it is thought, would bring producer 
and consumer into closer trade relations 
and do away with a certain c ass of mid¬ 
dlemen. Besides, it would insure fresher 
and better produce. Perishable goods, 
like butter and vegetables, lose rapidly in 
value when kept in the sun and exposed 
for sale. Those who have eaten green 
corn an hour after it was taken from the 
stalk know how superior it is to that kept 
for hours in the sun. It. is much tlm 
same with Irutter and eggs. If some sys¬ 
tem could lie arranged in this country 
whereby city consumers and country pro¬ 
ducers could be brought into closer rela¬ 
tions, both would be benefited. 
Work is no less pressing and varied at, 
the Rural Grounds tins year than in any 
preceding season. As a subject of prob¬ 
able interest to many of our readers and 
moreespeeially to our later friends, we may 
say that there are 90 of the newer varie¬ 
ties of strawberries (notineluding our own 
seedlings, of course) under cultivation, 
each kind with a label-stake on which are 
marked the name, date of planting, etc.; 
83 different, kinds of grapes (for the most 
part of late origin); 24 of blackberries, 13 
of currants, 15 of gooseberries and 70 of 
raspberries; potatoes planted in 110 dif¬ 
ferent ways or with different fertilizers; 
40 different kinds of peas; 20 of sweet 
corn, 20 of newer kinds of musk and 
water-melons, 15 different kinds of celery, 
15 of field corn, 00 of wheat crosses or 
rye-wheat hybrids. When to the above a 
considerable"amount of time is allowed 
for crossing plants and the care of seed¬ 
lings as well as to a pretty full collection 
of trees and Jshrubs, our readers may be¬ 
lieve that the people at, the Rural Grounds 
find that the days are all too short and 
that work is ever pressing. Still, the 
writer of this note enjoys the life beyond 
measure. 
As the plan of the American Cattle 
Trust is developed, it becomes evident 
that if it succeeds it is destined to grow 
into a vast monopoly us oppressive as the 
Standard Oil Company or that cognate 
monopoly, the Cotton-seed Oil Trust. 
The scheme is precisely the same as that 
of the latter. The Trustees issue certifi- 
Trusts. After a great power has been 
secured and a monopoly is in sight, inde¬ 
pendent producers must surrenderor fight 
a losing battle. The Chicago slaughter¬ 
house ring is a great evil; it. remains to 
be scon whether the Cattle Trust organ¬ 
ized to ruin it, will not turn out. a greater. 
The farmers of Manitoba have long 
been vociferously dissatisfied with a good 
deal of the policy of the Dominion, 
especially with its railroad and tariff 
policy. A short time ago the Provincial 
Legislature passed charters for the con¬ 
struction of railroads to the American 
frontier, where they were to he connected 
with lines communicating with the North¬ 
ern Pacific and other trunk roads in this 
country. By this means the people hoped 
to escape the exactions of the Canadian 
Pacific monopoly. The Dominion Gov¬ 
ernment, however, lias decided to dis¬ 
allow those charters. It considers itself 
hound by its promises to the Canadian 
Pacific Company not to permit competi¬ 
tion, That the road’s charges are exor¬ 
bitant is shown by Sir Hector Langevin’s 
admission in committee, that if independ¬ 
ent railroads could lie built from Mani¬ 
toba across tho border to connect widi 
roads in this country, “the people of the 
Eastern Provinces would not see a car¬ 
load of freight from the Northwest.” The 
tax on the people of that fast-developing 
section must be paid in order that the 
Eastern Provinces may be recompensed 
for the millions expended in building the 
Canadian Pacific. This decision is sure 
still further to exasperate the angry fann¬ 
ers of Manitoba, especially in view of the 
Impending increase of tariff duties which 
the agriculturists of that region already 
regard as oppressive. 
SHALL WE CULTIVATE STRAWBER¬ 
RIES WHILE IN BLOSSOM OR FRUIT? 
The perennial question as to whether it 
is better or not to cultivate the soil be¬ 
tween the rows of strawberry plants be¬ 
fore and during fruiting ir now upon us, 
and each according to his predilection will 
take one side or the other. Our own ex¬ 
perience has been confined to small plots 
and not to the. field, and having tried the 
various ways that have been advocated by 
skillful growers, during 13 years past, we 
are not as yet ready to change our belief 
that cultivation should be deferred until 
after the fruit is gathered. Mellowing 
the surface soil if not covered with mulch, 
and destroying grass and weeds as they 
appear can do only good. But our way 
for two years has been to mulch heavily 
with manure between the rows and be¬ 
tween the plants, and to leave the mulch 
until the last berries are gathered. The 
strawberry plant is taxed from blossoming 
time in early May until July to its utmost. 
We do not think of any plant that for its 
size yields so much fruit. It needs dur¬ 
ing this trying season its full vitality, and 
any cultivation deep enough to injure the 
roots must impair its vigor, and the ber¬ 
ries suffer accordingly. We do not, ap- 
pove of mulching or covering the plants 
during the winter except it may he very 
lightly. The heavy mulch between, the 
plants and rows seems to give all needed 
protection. If not, disturbed, it preserves 
the moisture of the soil, except in pheno¬ 
menal droughts, during the entire season 
of fruitage, and this means for the straw¬ 
berry a full crop. As soon as the berries 
are picked, a few days should be allowed 
until the plants recover from their labors. 
Then the mulch may he spaded under, 
and thorough cultivation given. 
DECORATION DAY. 
We arc sorry to have to record some¬ 
thing of a falling off in the interest in 
Decoration Day exercises. Two causes 
have led to this result. Time has smooth¬ 
ed out much of the terrible sorrow and 
fervent enthusiasm with which the beau¬ 
tiful ceremonial was inaugurated. While 
many of the old soldiers have died, hun¬ 
dreds of young people have grown up to 
manhood and womanhood. These know 
little of the real meaning of war. They 
cannot understand, by personal experi¬ 
ence, what freedom and union really cost. 
Then again, politicians have too frequent- 
' | ly seized upon Decoration Day ns a chance 
for making a stump speech and advancing 
their own interests. Those who deeply 
and keenly feel the memories which are 
called up by the beautiful ceremony, have 
been too frequently disgusted by some 
ignorant, partisan orator, who could not 
see that the bitterness and hate he tried 
to stir up were out of place beside the 
flowers which loving hands had prepared. 
We are sorry to see the celebration drift¬ 
ing away from its original meaning. It 
is the moat beautiful ceremony of modern 
civilization. It is needed, too; but not to 
keep alive any trace of hate or bitterness. 
The time has come when all may look at 
the. war, its causes and results, calmly and 
patiently. The ceremony should be kept 
alive if only for the education of the 
younger men and women of to-day. They 
need these lessons of patriotism and de¬ 
votion. They should he taught the real 
meaning of the day. A nation cannot 
live on brave memories alone. There must 
always be men as brave and women as 
tender and devoted as those who saved 
the Union 25 years ago. 
PEACH GROWERS AND MIDDLEMEN. 
Tite refusal of the commission men in 
this city to return their baskets to the peach 
growers of New Jersey, Delaware, and 
Maryland bids fair to re'sult in something 
more serious than the protests to which 
farmers have thus far, as a rule, confined 
themselves. The. discussion of the mat¬ 
ter has been long and acrimonious, and 
the indignation of the growers has reach¬ 
ed such a point that, they propose to do 
away with middlemen altogether. At a 
convention of the fruit growers of Dela¬ 
ware and Maryland, held at Dover, Dela¬ 
ware, last, Thursday, a resolution was 
adopted to dispense with the services of 
all middlemen of what, kind soever, and 
to use their best endeavors to get the buy¬ 
ers to deal with the growers at their own 
orchards. For this purpose a fund is to 
he raised at each fruit shipping station to 
be placed in the hands of the Fruit Ex¬ 
change to employ agents to travel through 
the different cities and towns to solicit all 
fruit dealers to go and purchase the 
fruit directly from tho growers’ wagons. 
It was resolved to organize branches of 
the Fruit Exchange at all whipping points 
in the Peninsula,and by all possible means 
to discourage the shipment of peaches on 
consignment, whenever they can be sold 
on the spot. They refuse to give the 
peach baskets to the commission men of 
New York, as they arc too valuable to he 
given away. They will deal only with 
reliable commission men who will agree 
to pay five cents each for all baskets not 
returned. 
There is no doubt but it is a great 
trouble and vexation to commission men 
to look after and return fruit, packages, 
and a source of considerable loss to pay for 
those lost. Fruit sold in the original 
packages ought to bring an extra price 
large enough to pay for the baskets, and 
the growers in selling should charge for 
these in the prices they demand. If, 
however, they can induce or force the 
buyers to deal with them at home, it. will 
he an advantage, as they will save com¬ 
mission, cartage and freight, and avoid 
the risk b naturally incident to the trans¬ 
portation of such perishable products. 
The buyers, however, are sure to take 
these points into consideration in offering 
]»ricc*8, as the disadvantages will be merely 
transferred from the growers to them. 
SEED FOR LAWNS—AN EXPERIMENT. 
A good deal of lnwn repairing has 
been done at the Rural Grounds this 
spring, and the repaired places have been 
sown with grass seeds. It has thus hap¬ 
pened that wc have been enabled to no¬ 
tice more than ever before two things. 
The first is that, no matter how much 
seed is sown or how well the soil is pre 
pared, grass seed will not sprout and grow 
freely unless the soil after sowing is com* 
parted. We have always assumed that this 
was the case in starting lawns or grass- 
plots from seeds, so that we have never 
until now—and now only by an oversight_ 
had the opportunity of knowing tho full 
effect, of firming the seed-bed. Besides a 
large plot that had been used for flowers, 
there were depressions in the lawn and 
circles from which trees had been removed, 
which were tilled with soil and seeded! 
Most of these were rolled after seeding; 
hut several were overlooked or neglected. 
On those rolled the seed sprouted in due 
time, and soon became velvety with the 
fresh seedling grass. But the neglected 
places showed no signs of grass,and it was 
nt. first thought that the seeding had been 
forgotten, The truth, however, appeared 
to be that the seed had cither not sprout¬ 
ed or if it had, the tender rootlets had 
died for want of a close contact with the 
soil in which they were to feed. The seed 
sown was a mixture of Timothy, Red-top, 
and Blue Grass, the Timothy beiDg added 
so that the advantage of using it, claimed 
by many, viz., that of hastening a green 
sward, might be tested. It would cer¬ 
tainly appear that if Timothy or other 
grass seed is slow to sprout in a well- 
raked lawn-soil, without being rolled, a 
large proportion of the seed must be lost 
when sown in the coarser, looser soil of 
the field without subsequent rolling. 
The second thing referred to is that a 
trial now going on appears to strengthen 
the Rural’s position that Timothy is not 
helpful to a lawn in anyway. Our op¬ 
ponents favor Timothy for the reason that 
the seeds sprout earlier than those of the 
more enduring grasses, and that a green 
covering of the soil—the object desired— 
is therefore secured earlier. Later the 
lawn-mower destroys the Timothy and 
Blue Grass or Red-top or both are left, in 
possession. It has been assumed, we take 
it, and not contradicted that Timothy does 
start earlier. But is this a fact? On 
May 3, three little plots were sown with 
grass seed—the first with Timothy, the 
second with Blue Grass, the third with 
Red-top. On May 8th the Timothy and 
Red-top began to show. On May 9th 
three persons standing off at a distance of 
10 feet were separately asked: “Which 
plot shows the most green?” The an¬ 
swer was prompt from each, “The third 
plot,” or Red-top. Tho Blue Grass (sec¬ 
ond plot.) had not sprouted. On May 13, 
the date of our latest notes, the Red-top 
plot shows more green than the Timothy, 
though the blades of the latter are coarser 
and somewhat taller. The Blue Grass is 
now just beginning to show. Judored at 
present, the trial shows that Timothy docs 
not sprout earlier than Red-top and that 
therefore there is no reason why Red-top 
should not take its p’aeo in all lawn-seed 
mixtures. We repeat, what we have stated 
perhaps too often before, that R'd-top 
makes the best lawn grass; that, in some 
soils Blue Grass may be advantageously 
added; that the high-priced “lawn-seed 
mixtures” offered by seedsmen are not 
worth from three to five dollars per bushel 
when absolutely pure seed of Red-top 
can he bought for $2.25, or the ordinary 
seed for one dollar. 
brevities. 
How sharply tho R. N.-Y, was criticised 
when, after trying one after another of Du¬ 
rand’s new strawberries, we pronounced them 
not. suited for general cultivation 1 Perhaps 
Crimson cluster will prove an exception. 
A subscriber in Paraguay. South Ameri¬ 
ca. writes of tin* difficulty he experienced in 
obtaining U. S. monev to inclose for his sub¬ 
scription. He was obliged to send a package 
of 25 cent script, even after his search. The 
25 and 50-oent scrip of in and 20 years ngo 
were very convenient. Many would like 
them in circulation again. 
TnERKshouldbea farmers’ Instit ute in every 
county of New York State next season. The 
legislature lias appropriated $0,000 for the 
work. Begin now to make preparations. 
Farmers’ clubs and other organizations should 
at once communicate with .Secretary, J. S. 
Wood ward. Albany, making application for 
asststanee from the State Board of Agricul¬ 
ture in holding an Institute. There will be 
many applications, Now is the time to npply. 
The Forestry Division of the Department 
of Agriculture at. Washington is seeking for 
information regarding the observance of Ar¬ 
bor Dav. It is desired to know what, effect 
this institution may have in turning the at¬ 
tention of liie public to the forestry problem. 
There should be some public-spirited man in 
everv township or school district in this coun¬ 
try who can write to the Forestry Division 
and state the number of trees planted and 
other information about Arbor Day. 
ClON$ of the Idaho Pear, one of the most 
remarkable pears we have ever seen, were 
sent to us from Idaho a month ago. Packed 
in dry cotton they were much shriveled and 
it was feared they would not live. Others 
were sent in their place, and workod, some 
noon a Claim’s Favorite, the others upon the 
Kieffer. Most oT these cions aro growing. 
This splendid and most promising new pear 
was first, illustrated and described iu the 
R. N.-Y. of November 27, 1°86. 
Twenty-three persons are now sick in 
Harlem, the upper part of this city, from 
drinking milk, which analysis shows to bo 
infested with a fungus growth known as 
tvrotoxicon or ptomaines, which is generated 
in a yet unknown maimer, sometimes in the 
richest, milk. Milk has always been regarded 
n.s a very wholesome article of diet; but re¬ 
cent 'developments prove that. It is often a 
medium of disease. Milk from tuberculous 
cow's causes well defined disease. Hwill milk 
from distillery stables near this city, recently 
closed by the health authorities, raised the 
death rate among children who drank it. and 
planted the seeds of disease in adults. Many 
an epidemic of typhoid fever has tram traced 
to milk procured from dairies where sanitary 
laws were disregarded. Milk frequently 
serves as a vehicle for carrying poison drawn 
from a polluted well or from contaminated air. 
This obscure poison of putrefaction, tyrotoxi- 
cou, which bus only lately come to public 
knowledge, has caused a good deal of sickness 
in'variouB places,’and has been found in cheese 
and ice-cream as well as in milk. 
