THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
THE 
RURAL NLW'YORKER, 
ANatlonal Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Conducted by 
ELBERT S. CARMAN. 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
No. 34 Park Row, New York. 
SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 1887. 
In order that any of our friends who 
propose visiting the Rural Grounds be¬ 
tween August 20 and September 1st, may 
not be disappointed, we beg to say that 
the family will spend the interval between 
those dates at the Kittatiuny Ilouse, Dela¬ 
ware Water Gap, Pa., where any commu¬ 
nications of a pressing nature may be ad¬ 
dressed. 
Referring to the article under “Cor¬ 
respondents’ Views,” p. 543, “A New Hay 
Press,” it may be remarked that it is in¬ 
deed a question whether green hay or 
corn might not be kept in such bales as 
those described, as well as in silos. The 
note is suggestive in other respects. 
•- ♦ ♦♦ 
The Connecticut State Board of Agri¬ 
culture will hold a field meeting, August 
16, at the farm of Hale Brothers, South 
Glastonbury, Conn. All friends of Hor¬ 
ticulture are invited. Hale Brothers pro¬ 
mise “Earhart Raspberry full of a second 
crop of berries, lots of weeds, and a look 
over the peach orchards,” as some of the 
attractions. 
♦ » »-- 
At this season of the year, as we are 
informed, Judge Parry employs 150 men. 
Now, when tomatoes, berries, and fruits 
are to be picked, the poorest laborer can 
be made useful. Temporary buildings 
are erected about the premises, and in 
these the better class of tramps sojourn 
for a time. They help out at a time 
when it is difficult to get efficient farm 
help. 
The American Association for the Ad¬ 
vancement of Science is in session here 
this week. The attendance is unusually 
large, and many notable men are present. 
The session of the agricultural depart¬ 
ment, or rather of the distinct agricul¬ 
tural society, was considered as import¬ 
ant as any ever held. A full report will 
be found on another page. 
August 8.— The heads of the Kaffir 
Sorghum, so called, are now appearing. 
The plants average a little over three feet 
high. The stems are as thick as those of 
corn, but the leaves are close together. 
They average about 15 to a plant, being 
only three inches apart, and resemble the 
leaves of corn in size. The season has 
been very wet, so that no opportunity 
has occurred to test its ability to resist 
drought. This has been advertised as 
Kaffir Corn, evidently an objectionable 
name, since it is a sorghum. 
August 10.—The Earhart Everbearing 
blackcap is now ripening us second crop. 
The berries are large and of good fiavor. 
The fault that this variety seems to de¬ 
velop is a disposition to fruit itself to 
death. 
Ocr next cartoon will show where we 
stand on the question of beer-selling at 
agricultural fairs. The liquor devil 
loves to enter these in closures. He can 
reap a rich harvest there. We have de¬ 
cided views on this question. We believe 
that intemperance forms the main-spring 
for nine-tenths of our poverty, wretched¬ 
ness and crime. Let us be men. Let us 
put our hands right into our pocket-books 
and back up the agricultural societies, ra¬ 
ther than have them go to the rum-sellers 
for support. As well bring some person 
afflicted with the small pox or any other 
loathsome disease into the midst of the 
fair grounds, as to open the gates to rum. 
Fanners can help in this work of refor¬ 
mation. If the managers of your fair 
go into the rum business, don’t go near 
it ! If they keep the stuff off the 
grounds, go wiih your entire, family and 
all the friends you can invite. 
Tiie Rurau’s method of grafting old 
trees is unquestionably of the first value. 
We call it the Rural’s method with the 
permission of Mr. Augustus Hewlett, re¬ 
siding near the Rural Farm, who was the 
first, as far as we know, to employ it. 
Similar methods have been in use for 
many years, but this differs from them in 
not requiring grafting wax; in the use of 
paper around the cion-insertion, extend- i 
ing above the stock which forms a basin 
to hold the liquid mud, and the cion is 
cut on one side only. A number oF |our 
readers advise us that they tried this 
method w T ith perfect, success. This has 
been our experience. By this method it 
is just as easy to graft a tree 100 years old 
as one 10 years old. The union of cion 
and stock is perfect. The wound thor¬ 
oughly heals in two years. It is really a 
combination of bud and cion grafting in¬ 
suring the utmost simplicity and effect¬ 
iveness. 
■ ♦ ♦ 
ATTENTION, AGENTS! 
We want a good man 
to represent us at every 
fair to be held in this 
country. Ag'ents can 
make money by taking 
yearly subscriptions or 
trial subscriptions for 
the balance of this year. 
We want reliable and 
energetic men who can 
bring the paper to the 
attention of the public. 
To all such we are pre¬ 
pared to offer special 
inducements. Send at 
once to this office for 
particulars. We desire 
a permanent agent in 
every school district in 
>fchis country. 
PUBLIC DAIRY CONTESTS. 
Will it ever be possible to arrange a 
set of rules governing the tests of dairy 
cows that will please everybody ? It 
seems haidlv possible, after reading the 
interesting articles on the subject, printed 
elsewhere. On a few poiuts all agree, 
wdiile there are sharp differences on others. 
It seems settled that the best cow is a busi¬ 
ness cow. The prize should go to the 
cow' showing the widest difference be¬ 
tween the value of her milk product and 
the cost of the food which produced it. 
There is no dissent from this proposition. 
All appear to agree that a record of the 
food consumed by the animal for a week 
previous to the contest should be kept. 
The Jer.-cy men would evidently wish to 
confine the test to butter alone, paying 
less regard to the skim-milk or calves. 
The Holstein men suggest that, as skim- 
iuilk and good calves have commercial 
values, they should in some way l>c 
counted in the cow’s product. We think 
this idea is just. The skim milk fed to 
good calves is certainly worth something, 
and should be measured nud its value 
counted if the test is to be of practical 
use to those who propose to save the en¬ 
tire product of the cowl We do not 
exactly see liow r what we may call the 
calf-producing quality of the cow can be 
measured. We should say that the fol¬ 
lowing plan would be just to all: If the 
test is to be for 24 hours, let all the cows 
be fed under the eye of the committee for 
one w’eek previous to the test. Let the 
cost of the food given during the seven 
days of preparation and the one day of 
test, divided by eight, represent the cost 
of the milk product. Let every specimen 
of milk be treated by the same process. 
Let the butter and skim-milk be valued 
at given prices per pound. Let each 
cow’s product be reduced in this way to 
dollars and cents. Subtract from this 
result the amount charged to the cow for 
fetd. Give the prize to the cow with the 
best business showing. Cannot a test be 
arranged on this basis ? It will take 
longer aDd require more care and skill, 
but it will give more general satisfaction 
and leave less grounds for complaints. 
THE OHIO CENTENARY. 
It is hard to realize that some people 
are now living who were born before the 
first settlement of Ohio, and, therefore, of 
all the mighty States west of it. Not 
until next year—1888—will a hundred 
have passed since tin* first, petmunent set¬ 
tlement was made—at Marietta. At that 
time there were only 13 States, and the 
entire white population was not much 
over 3,500,000, having reached 3,929,214 
in 1790, the date of the first census. 
Nearly all these were distributed along the 
Atlantic, from Maine to Florida, the aver- 
rage depth of settlement, at right angles 
to the coast, not being over 250 miles. 
Less than five per cent, were west of the 
Alleghanies. Now there are 38 States 
and enough go^rl land in the 10 Territo¬ 
ries to make a score more, while at the 
last census (1880)—just 90 years after the 
first—the. center of a population of 50 155,- 
783 souls was eight miles southwest from 
the heart of Cincinnati, the commercial 
capital of Ohio. That State itself has to¬ 
day a population ns large as that, of the 
entire country in 1788, having, in 1880, 
3,198.062, and there has been a large in¬ 
crease in the last seven years. 
Very naturally there is a general desire 
among the inhabitants of the State to 
celebrate the centenary of its first settle¬ 
ment in an adequate manner. There will 
be an exhibition of industrial products in 
which all the States in the Northwest 
have been invited to participate. The 
authorities of the State University, shar¬ 
ing the general feeling, aud desiring to 
make the “centennial year memorable,” 
offer a free scholarship to the University’s 
two years’ course on agriculture to one 
young man from every county in the State, 
who shall be approved by the agricultural 
society of the county. It is suggested 
that the scholarship might be offered to 
any young man who would add the larg¬ 
est number of new and paying members 
to the county society. Thus the socie¬ 
ties might be able “to add to their funds 
sufficiently to justify the offer of a cash pre¬ 
mium” also, “to assist the student to pay 
for board, text books, and traveling ex¬ 
penses.” Each scholarship is worth the 
incidental and laboratory expenses, 
amounting, for the “two years’course,” 
to from $39 to $54 per year." As there are 
88 counties in the State, if all accept this 
liberal offer, the great University will 
make the “Ohio Centennial memorable” by 
munificently helping to aid in the agri¬ 
cultural education of one of tbe greatest 
agricultural States in the Union,by gener¬ 
ously forbearingto exact from the 88 select¬ 
ed students annual fees amounting to $3,- 
432 at the lowest, estimate, or to $4,752 at 
the highest—quite enough to hire a first- 
class professor in one of its literary de¬ 
partments for one whole year. In the 
Michigan Agricultural College annual fees 
for the same purposes would amount only 
to $17.50. 
-, — - 
LATEST CROP REPORTS. 
The crop report of the Department of 
Agriculture, a synopsis of which was tele¬ 
graphed from Washington on August 11, 
was based on reports of the condition of 
crops on the first of the month, so that 
in drawing conclusions from it, allow¬ 
ance must ho made for the influences 
affec'ting the crops in the interval. In 
July the prospect was still fair for a 
heavy corn crop, with about an average 
rate of yield on an increased acreage; and 
at the first of this month the outlook was 
unimpaired in the Atlantic Stabs. In 
'Texas and Tennessee the prospect had 
materially changed for the worse. In the 
Ohio and Mississippi Valleys, where two- 
thirds of the crop is grown and the com¬ 
mercial supply procured, the decline had 
been heavy—from 97.7 last month to 
80.7. Thiswasdueto the unprecedented 
drought, which was severest in Kansas, 
Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Southern 
Nebraska. In the seven great corn States 
the condition of the crop was as follows: 
Ohio, 82; Indiana, 64; Illinois, 65; Iowa, 
90; Missouri. 80; Kansas, 60; Nebraska,75. 
The report points to a crop equal to that 
of 1886, or possibly per cent, larger 
owiug to increased acreage. 
The condition of spring wheat which 
was very low' last month, owing chiefly to 
the ravages of ehinc-h bugs, has fallen off 
still more, being two points worse than 
at the same date last year. Buckwheat 
is about the same as last year. Since the 
first of July there has been a very serious 
decline in the condition of potatoes owing 
to the drought. The falling off on the 
Atlantic and Gulf coasts was not very 
severe; but in the West it was grievous. 
The decline is put at 20 per cent, of the 
prospective crop; but from a multitude of 
other reports of later date, it appears 
probable the falling off will be consider¬ 
ably greater. The oat crop was un¬ 
changed; average condition 85.6, which 
indicates a rate of yield slightly under an 
average. The barley crop will be nearly 
an average yield. The fruit crop was 
very poor. There will be hardly any 
apples outside of New England; there 
will be a partial crop in Michigan, but in 
the Ohio Valley there will be almost a 
failure. The hay crop was greatly re¬ 
duced, especially in the West, the general 
average being 80. Tobacco was in a high 
condition in the seed-leaf States, averag¬ 
ing nearly 100, except in Wisconsin; but 
in the shipping aud cutting districts of 
the West, the condition was unprecedent¬ 
edly low: Tennessee, 70; Kentucky, 79, 
Ohio, 55; Indiana, 56; Illinois, 52; Mis¬ 
souri. 60. In view of the heavy reduc¬ 
tion in acreage, only a 9mall fragment of 
the usual crop may be expected, says Sta¬ 
tistician Dodge, a considerably more 
gloomy view than that expressed a week 
ago, wlrch roused the wrath of the 
cornering speculators to such a hight 
that they have been demanding his re¬ 
moval for interfering with their operations. 
Unfavorable to other crops. July was quite 
favorable to cotton, the general average 
of condition being 93 8. 
The terrible drought—unprecedented 
in many sections of the West and North¬ 
west which so greatly injured crops in 
July, was broken in Kansas on August 3, 
4 and 5, aud rainfalls have been liberal 
there since. It continued to blast the 
rest of the West, however, until August 
10, 11 and 12, when heavy rains extended 
over the entire region. Reports, as to the 
probable effects these will have on the 
crops, are conflicting. Some say they 
have come too late to do any material 
good. The general impression, however, 
is that they will help corn considerably, 
especially that p’anted late. Potatoes, 
also, especially the late varieties, will be 
benefited. Grass and second-crop hay 
must derive great advantage from the 
down-pour. Indeed, all vegetation must 
be greatly helped, especially if the bles¬ 
sings continue, as the present rainfall is 
not enough to secure permanent improve¬ 
ment in many sections. A careful study 
of a multitude of late reports, especially 
those from speculative centers, lends to 
the. conclusion that, while great, very 
great, injury has been really done by the 
drought, the extent of the injury has been 
considerably exaggerated in a number of 
the most widely-copied reports. 
--- 
Clapp’s Favorite pear is cracking badly 
this year. Probably it is owing to the very 
wet season. 
We have 16 different kinds of water-and 
nmfik-melons growing—all of them said to be 
new strains. The vines are vigorous and 
healthy, but. there is little or no fruit set. We 
attribute this to the wet. weather. 
Ouu largest ripe tomato, up to date, is a 
Turner. There is uo reason to add “hybrid,” 
since it is not a hybrid, and Turner is enough. 
These Turners and Mikados are this season, 
as in the past, about as irregular as the old 
Trophy. 
We see many Helds of thickly-sown fodder- 
corn flat ou the ground. The extra work of 
cutting this fallen crop and picking it up from 
the ground, will generally eat up the profit 
from the extra yield gained by thick seed¬ 
ing. 
Last week some 60 head of South-Down 
sheep belonging to the City of New York, 
were sold at auction. They were flue speci¬ 
mens of the breed, well bred and in good con¬ 
dition. The prices obtained ranged from 
$2.50 to $12.00 apiece—just about one-sixth of 
what thev were worth I Instead of advertis¬ 
ing the sale where breeders of sheep would be 
likelv to notice it. the authorities advertised it 
in the City Record, an official publication 
which goes ton few lawyers and businessmen. 
'1 bus, the city lost, several hundred dollars for 
t he sake of keeping within the bounds of—“red 
tape.” 
The first six months’ term of the Missouri 
Agricultural College, of which our contribu¬ 
tor, Prof. J. W. Bat)born, is Deau, opens Sept. 
13. Tin* college is better equipped now than 
in any former year. If bus a faculty of 12 
specialists, a fine agricultural museum, a 
well-stocked library, a horticultural and nur¬ 
sery department of 80 acres, with two large 
green houses, a thoroughly eqninped veterin¬ 
ary laboratory, a farm of 000 acres, with 
excellent dairy and live stock huildintrs and 
conveniences; to say nothing of the Experi¬ 
ment. Stat ion founded by Congress at. its last 
session at a cost of $14,000, which however, it 
failed to appropriate. The college is now 
excellently fitted for the reception of students, 
whose labor on field work will be paid for. 
Under its present efficient, head it ought to 
prosper, and wo wish it nil kinds of success. 
Catalogues and full information will be 
promptly furnished by J. W. Sanborn, Dean, 
Columbia, Mo. 
The twenty-first session of the American 
Pomologienl Society will open in Boston ou 
4\ ednesday, September 14. President- Barry, 
tlie worthy successor of our lamented friend, 
Marshal l*. Wilder, will return from Europe 
in time to preside. There will be many 
prominent speakers, and a number of valuable 
pai>ers on topics of pomologienl interest by 
recognized authorities in various parts of the 
country, will add 1o the instructive attrac¬ 
tions of tie meeting. It. is of the highest 
importance that, intending exhibitors should 
applv at mice for space to E. W. Wood. Hor¬ 
ticultural Hall, Boston. Mass. Lists of pre¬ 
miums will be gladly furnished on. applica¬ 
tion by Charles \V Garfield, Grand Rapids, 
Michigan. The expenses of maintaining this, 
the leading American pomologienl organiza¬ 
tion, have never been great, the publication 
of the “transactions” involving trie heaviest 
share, Tbe membership fees are the only 
support, of the society. The biennial fee is $4, 
and that for life membership $20. All mem¬ 
bers are supplied with the “transactions” 
gratis , and so high is the character of the 
work that it should secure a large member¬ 
ship among all lovers of pomology and kin¬ 
dred industries. Let all old members at once 
renew their membership), and,assist in obtain¬ 
ing new additions to the list. All remittances 
for membership should be made to Benjamin 
G. Smith, Treasurer, Cambridge,'Mass. I |Suc 
cess to the.Convention and to the.Society 1 
