THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
©CT 4 
THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
A National J ournal for Country and Suburban Hornet 
Conducted by 
ELBEHT S. CA11MAN. 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
No. 84 Park Row, New York. 
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1887. 
The soil over the roots of a Moore’s 
E arly Grape was covered for a distance 
of four feet each wa} r with six inches of 
raw stable manure early iu the season. 
The soil of another vine of the same grape 
was not covered. Both vines bloomed 
and ripened their fruit at the same time. 
The mulch in this case had no retarding 
effect. 
One of the statements of rose people 
that needs a reproach is that the Hybrid 
Remontants “bloom again in the fall.” 
It is true we have a bud here or t here, 
but it is a sort of “last rose of summer” 
that really is not worth counting. The 
month of June is the “mouth of roses” 
and the few buds that open in the fall are 
scarcely more than the occasional 13 to 
the baker’s dozen. 
Tnn Rural New-Yorker begs to ask 
its readers what special topics they 
would desire us to treat during another 
year. What subjects have we neglected? 
In what do they most stand in need of in¬ 
struction? Kindly tell us and every sub¬ 
ject so suggested that seems to be of gener¬ 
al importance, will receive due attention 
by the Rural itself and by those of its 
contributors who are best informed upon 
the Subjects so named. 
-— -- 
While digging our potatoes raised 
from seeds this year, those which best 
show the variations and extremes were se¬ 
lected to be drawn and engraved. Ac¬ 
companying these illustrations, we shall 
endeavor to tell what wo have learnt 
about seedling potato growing since our 
last report, made some five years ago. 
Potato seeds should not be sown until 
February, before which time we hope 
to tell our “enlarged and revised” story. 
Some few agricultural societies near the 
cities have tried the plan this year of 
having some well known commission 
man act as a judge of fruits. This made 
a change in many of the awards. The 
merchant, with the commercial instincts 
of a business man, wanted to give prizes 
to the fruits that would sell best. The 
other judges, in many cases, wished to be 
guided by their time-honored “scale of 
points.” We believe this idea of having 
a judge who represents the purely busi¬ 
ness side of the exhibited article is a good 
one. Most farm produce is raised to be 
sold and it is highly important to know 
what condition is necessary for its best 
sale. Exhibitors of fruits and vegetables 
and also poultry or even cattle and dairy 
products could learn much from the fair 
judging of a business man. 
The Henry George movement has lately 
directed a great deal of public attention to 
the subject of taxation, and many of the 
speakers at recent agricultural fairs have 
dwelt at large on the matter. No class 
in the community are more interested in 
it than farmers; for there is none upon 
whom it hears more heavily. The farm¬ 
ers of this State at their late convention 
made a fair demand which must be met 
in the near future. They demanded that 
the same rate of taxation shall be applied 
to both real and personal property and 
that the indebtedness of the taxpayer 
shall be set off against his real property, 
the same as it is now against, his person¬ 
ality. If this reasonable demand is re¬ 
fused, they insist that there shall be no 
deduction for indebtedness in any case. 
A man may own a farm worth $10,000; 
but if his debts amount to $5,000, his in¬ 
come. is only on $5,000; why then should 
he be taxed on $5,000 more than he has? 
Debts arc not property, and should cer¬ 
tainly be deducted from the taxable value 
of a man’s estate, real and personal. A 
business man is taxed only on the amount 
of his property clear of all indebtedness; 
why shouldn’t the same rule apply to a 
farmer? If debts are not deducted in 
all cases, the next best alternative and 
most equitable plan would be that they 
should not be deducted in any. 
when Mr. Armour was trying to obtain 
oil at low rates from the Cotton Oil 
Trust, he asserted that his factory alone 
consumed one-fifth the entire product of 
cotton-seed oil, or about 3,500,000 gal¬ 
lons a year. Since this oil is mixed with 
lard because it is cheaper, it is only fair 
that the consumers who are willing to use 
it, should be able to buy it at a lower 
figure than is demanded for pure lard, and 
that the manufacturers of the latter should 
gain some reward for their honesty. The 
manufacture of lard adulterated with cot¬ 
ton-seed oil is clearly forbidden by the 
laws of Illinois under penalty of fine and 
imprisonment in the penitentiary; but 
that the law is a dead letter is a notor¬ 
ious fact. Not only is more adulterated 
lard made in Chicago than in any other 
part of the country, but the adulteration 
practiced there almost compels manufact¬ 
urers of lard in other places either to 
abandon the business altogether or to be 
equally unscrupulous. If one firm alone 
uses three and a half million gallons of 
oil a year as an adulterant, what a vast 
quantity of adulterated lard must, be on 
the market; yet whoever sees any offered 
for sale except as pure lard ? Of course, 
dealers know what they sell, but have 
not the consumers a right to know w r hat 
they purchase? 
There are numerous indications that a 
determined effort will be made at the 
next session of Congress on the. part of 
the oleomargarine men to have important 
modifications made in the oleomargarine 
law. Among other things they will try 
to have the tax reduced from two to one 
cent per pound; to have the cost of the 
dealer’s license merely nominal, and to 
have the “petty exactions thrown around 
the retail trade” abolished, A recent 
pamphlet, published in the interest of 
the oleo. men by a Chicago firm, is filled 
with a rehash of arguments urged against 
the law before Congress. The chief ar¬ 
gument, briefly, is that the origin of pro¬ 
tective legislation in our country being 
the apparent need of nourishing infant 
industries, oleomargarine rather than 
butter is entitled to the fostering care of 
the Government. The butter interest is 
large, wealthy and strong, realizing enor¬ 
mous profits, while the oleomargarine 
interest is so young and small that it is 
hardly able to take care of itself. To 
protect the former against the latter is to 
protect the strong against the weak. 
Isn’t this a good specimen of the impu¬ 
dence and falsification which lmvo char¬ 
acterized the language and conduct of 
the coucoetors and handlers of bogus but¬ 
ter from the first? Knowing what is 
coming, farmers should be prepared be¬ 
forehand. During the approaching elec¬ 
tions they should take care to lot both 
their State and National representatives 
know their wishes and opinions on this 
and other matters of legislation touch¬ 
ing their interests, in an unmistakable 
manner. 
TEMPERANCE IN TENNESSEE. 
On October 1 a recent law forbidding 
the sale of adulterated lurd went into 
force in Massachusetts. A short time ago 
The latest reports indicate that the Prohi¬ 
bition amendment to the constitution has 
been defeated in Tennessee by about 
15,000 majority. It was a very remarka¬ 
ble campaign. The “woman in politics” 
was never busier. The wavering voter 
was pulled this way and that. lie was 
fed with free lunch and cheered with hot 
coffee by the Prohibitionists, and regaled 
with beer and whisky by the Antis. He 
was invited to prayer-meeting on the one 
side, and offered a fresh chew, another 
“go” and lots of free advice by the other. 
It was a campaign of beer, badges, whis¬ 
ky, women, speeches and sermons. All 
took an active part except the genuine 
politicians, and those, warned by the recent 
experience of their Texan brethren, kept 
clear of the trouble. The country places 
and small towns were mostly in favor of 
the amendment, but the large cities were 
all against it.. Chattanooga gave 1,139, 
Nashville 3,200, and Memphis 0,000 ma¬ 
jor! ty against, it. Even if the measure had 
been carried, it is hardly likely it could 
have been enforced in these cities where 
there is such a preponderance of public 
sentiments against it. The campaign 
clearly indicated, however, that while the 
Prohibition is not. a majority sentiment, 
Temperance is. For sucii a condition of 
morality Local Option and High License 
seem the best legislation. By the former 
in any section iu which public sentiment is 
strong enough to insure its enforcement 
Prohibition can be virtually secured; by 
the latter the rum-sellers where the pub¬ 
lic sentiment tolerates them, can be made 
to pay for the evil results of their detest 
able tratfic, not a little to the relief of 
the tax-paying community. Legislation 
in this direction has given a great deal 
of satisfaction in Illinois, Michigan, Ne¬ 
braska, Minnesota and other States. 
The Legislature last winter by a 
large majority submitted this amend¬ 
ment to the votes of the people, and 
it is therefore fair to infer that It lavors 
at least Temperance if not Prohibition. 
It should therefore follow the example of 
the Legislature of Michigan, which on the 
defeat of the prohibitory amendment in 
that State, promptly passed Local Option 
and High License laws. By this means 
Prohibition will be obtained wherever it 
is wanted, and temperance will be the 
gainer elsewhere. 
♦ ♦ - - 
FORWARD OR BACKWARD. 
The action of the Supreme Court of 
New York State in ordering a new 
election for Secretary of the New Y'ork 
State Agricultural Society creates a dis¬ 
tinct issue and thrusts upon the life mem¬ 
bers a responsibility from which they 
should not shrink. If the issue lay sim¬ 
ply between two men both representing 
practically the same policy, it might be 
said that the general public have little 
business to interfere in the matter. When, 
however, as iu the present case, the two 
men represent entirely distinct lines of 
policy, the farmers of the State have a 
right to say which policy they prefer. 
When a majority of them believe that 
one policy means progress and the other 
a retrograde movement it is their duty to 
come forward and work for what they 
believe to be right. It was not uutil the 
present secretary assumed authority that 
any systematic effort was made to con¬ 
duct a series of fanners' institutes iu this 
Slate. The former secretary not only did 
not attempt to hold them, but sneered at 
the idea. The present secretary 1ms 
shown himself capable of conducting 
these meetings, and by his energy and 
earnestness has made them popular. The 
late secretary is not only entirely without 
experience at such work, but he is re¬ 
ported to have admitted publicly that lie 
could not conduct such meetings if he 
tried to. At this point then, the issue 
is clear. If the present secretary is elected 
at the special election we have every rea¬ 
son to expect that the institutes will be 
continued. If the late secretary is re¬ 
stored to office the institute movement 
will be without a head and will tail. 
What enterprising farmer in New York 
State would not call this latter result a 
retrograde movement? Again iu the 
management of the annual fair, the late 
secretary practically closed up several im¬ 
portant departments and always advo¬ 
cated the issue of licenses for the sale of 
liquors. The present secretary in one 
year has restored these departments and 
shut the gates of the society squarely 
against the beer-seller. Who represents 
progress and morality on this issue ? 
These two points of difference will an¬ 
swer for most farmers. They are sharp 
and clear enough to suit anybody. Wc 
repeat that the life members of the New 
York State: Agricultural Society will have 
a chance to put themselves on record. 
Their duty is clear. They should elect 
Mr. Woodward by a majority large enouglj 
to settle the matter for good. New Yorli 
farmers should throw their influence or 
the right side. 
-»♦ ♦ 
BREVITIES. 
Will potatoes keep in hags during the win¬ 
ter better than in barrels? 
For the first year, the Champion Quince 
ripens at the Rural Grounds. 
Among all the new varieties of strawberries 
now being tried at the R. G., the foliage of 
the following is burning most: Summit, Truitt 
and Ohio. 
Our next portrait will lie that of Prof. ,J. 
W. Sanborn, of the Missouri Ag, College, at. 
Columbia. It is from u recent photograph 
and the likeness is thought to be excellent. 
Read what J. J. M. says about potato cul¬ 
ture, page t!H7. Manure the land in the fall 
aud plow it under iu the spring. It is a good 
plan as we believe from many successful 
trials. 
On the 18th, 19th and 30th the representa¬ 
tives of t he agricultural colleges ana experi¬ 
ment stations will meet at Washington. 
They are to consult, as to the beat methods of 
executing the Hatch Bill. 
Those who wish to ascertain by trial which 
are the best kinds of grapes that'will succeed 
with them should not omit the Salem. It is 
probably the beat of the Rogers’s hybrids. 
We have always regretted that it does not 
succeed at the Rural Grounds, 
We are having many calls for our now 
posters. In many legislative districts this fall 
a fierce light will bo made against temperance 
representatives, Our pictures of the farmer 
clearing the fairgrounds, uud “ModernGoliath 
and David” will help In repelling these attacks. 
We shall be glad to supply them to those who 
desire to put them up on election day. 
Mr. C. A. Green, of Rochester, N. Y., says 
that he finds the Victoria is the most profit¬ 
able variety of curraut with him aud sells 
best at the cuuniug house. That is what 
Joseph Harris says. It is an old variety and 
its excellence is not appreciated. The berry is 
large, bright-red and the bunches sometimes 
six inches long. The berries hang on after 
other currants have dropped, 
We can tell pretty nearly how much of the 
strength of the soil is removed by a crop of 
wheal, or corn. Chemical analysis enables us 
to accurately determine how much mtrogeu, 
potash and phosphoric acid is taken from the 
earth iu a car-load of grain or a ton of milk. 
This docs not hold of all crops. Suppose the 
honey crop to reach 50,000 tons, as it some¬ 
times does. Who can tell how much poorer 
the earth is after it is token ? 
llow best, to keep potatoes; how best to 
preventseed potatoes from sprouting, are mat¬ 
ters we propose to discuss in n few weeks. 
There is little doubt that sprouted tubers are 
not. so good for seed as those which have not 
sprouted. We say that a potato is merely a 
swolleu, underground stern. Suppose we 
make cuttings of the stems of any plants that 
“strike” freely and rub oil’ the first shoots, 
what will bo the effect upon the cuttings? 
Many Western farmers will appreciate 
Prof. Morrow’s remarks regarding two much 
needed implements. A husking machine is 
now on trial which promises good results, A 
machine that would cut and bundle stalks 
would have an enormous sale. Several in¬ 
ventors are studying into the matter, but they 
can hardly see light yet. Such a machine 
must of necessity be stronger than a reaper 
for wheat, aud COlWuquently heavier. Prob¬ 
ably it will have to run liko a header with 
the horses in the rear. 
TROUGH we test every year many novelties 
iu the way of small fruits, it is seldom that wo 
can praise one heartily as being an improve¬ 
ment upon better kuown varieties. The 
Hayes (F. B.) Grape was received from tho 
late John B. Moore in the fall of 1S84. It 
fruits this season for the first, am) is one 
of tho very few kinds which did not suiter 
from rot. It is a white grape, sweet, juicy 
and few-seeded. The pulp is tender, the skin 
firm as that of the Niagara. It is nearly as 
early as Moore’s Early in ripening. 
Many feeders of cut cornstalks have reach¬ 
ed the conclusions given by A. T. T. page 
087. In the elaborate experiments conducted 
bv Prof. Henry, of Wisconsin, attention was 
directed to the fact thul the cut stalks were 
ground and shredded because it was discov¬ 
ered that when cut into common inch-lengths 
the sharp edges of the pieces always made the 
niouths of cattle sore. There is a cutter much 
in use that cuts and shreds the stulk at one 
stroke. It is safe to say that pieces of hard 
com stalks with sharp edges would be a very 
unprofitable feed. 
During the past week Sioux City, Iowa, has 
been jubilant over a grand harvest jubilee 
festival held in its magnificent Corn Balace. 
This consists of a wooden framework covered 
with corn iu all forms and other agricultural 
products. It is “00 by loo feet in area and 90 
feet high to the top of the dome, beautifully 
decorated with the finest specimens of the ag¬ 
ricultural products of the region. With a 
population that lias increased from 7,50(1 to 
80,000 within the last six years, a tributary 
country among the richest In the Union, a 
large cattle and hog packing business growing 
rapidly, four lines of ruilrouds centering there, 
Sioux City' bus good reason to be jubilant. 
Eggs are a good property now. We can 
sell all our fresh-laid eggs either in Paterson 
or New York at 35 cents per dozen. Most of 
tho old hens have stopped laying, while the 
young hens have hardly begun Prices will 
be good until February, and those who breed 
laying hens with care will bewail repaid. The 
New York markets are well supplied with 
limed and ice-house eggs. These stdl at 10 to 
18 for 35 cents. Most Buyers seem to prefer 
the limed eggs. This may be due to the fact 
that such eggs are always very elcau and 
bright. Them is a little feeling, too, against 
Ice-house eggs as many of them are apt to bo 
musty. Many city housewives, ut this season, 
boy eggs m quantity, often buying a box ol’ 
35 dozen and dividing with friends. Rich 
cakes, that seem to improve with ago, can bo 
made in quantity now. 
Commissioner Colman says reports from 
Fort Scott, Kansas, and Rio Grande, New 
Jersey, continue favorable as to the suc¬ 
cess of muking sugar from sorghum. As tho 
work cont inues tho sugar improves, and there 
is every prospect a genuine success has been 
achieved. From numerous inquiries sent to 
tho Commissioner with regard to details of 
the process, cost of machinery, etc., it is quite 
likely that there will be quite a sorghum sugar 
boom n&xt year. There are, however, a con¬ 
siderable number of skeptics yet. who, while 
not doubting that sugar can be successfully 
made from sorghum, do not believe it can bo 
made profitably. A full, straightforward ac¬ 
count of the entire process together with tho 
outlay and income from the business in Kan¬ 
sas and New Jersey will be needed to convince 
these doubters. Reports received this morn¬ 
ing say that 113 pounds Of sugar and 15 gal¬ 
lons ol sirup have been obtuiued per ton of 
cane, while the seed from a ton Is worth 50 cents. 
We learn from Professor J. W. Sanborn, 
Secretary, that the fifth annual exhibition of 
the Kansas City Fat Stock Show Association 
will lie held from October 37 to November 3 
inclusive. It is expected Mint this will be tho 
best show ever held by the association. Some 
radical changes have been made in the cus¬ 
tomary premium list of fat stock shows, and a 
liberal list of premiums for poultry has been 
added. The Consolidated Cattle Growers’ As¬ 
sociation will meet at Kansas City during the 
show, on October SI and November I. It has 
forwarded an invitation to every known or¬ 
ganization of cattle growers in" the United 
Stales to send delegates to participate in the 
convention. Not only will the all important 
question of extirpating contagious diseases 
receive full attention, but other topics, such 
as more economical methods of feeding, roar¬ 
ing, transporting and marketing stock, will bo 
exhaustively discussed. The location^ of this 
show is excellent; its managers are able and 
energetic, aud it deserves the briliiuut success 
which the Rural predicts for it. 
