they shall have nothing left to show for their 
former property. Please explain. 
TRUTH SEEKER. 
R. N.-Y.—We believe our correspondent has 
misrepresented the George theory to himself. 
Surely if it ‘‘would lead men to put their 
money into improvements,” it “would he a 
good thing, 7 ’but would the system bring no 
disadvantages? Unquestionably the tracts of 
laud held for higher prices and assessed at a 
fraction of the values demanded for them are 
in many cases a disadvantage to any neigh¬ 
borhood. But in how mauy towns, couuties, 
or States do the owners of these unimproved 
tracts form a majority? Tue voters who elect 
the assessors have it in their power to elect 
men who will assess this property as the ma¬ 
jority of citizens desire, lu many instances 
this very thing has been done already without 
any help fi oni Henry George. What we claim 
is that a satisfactory settlement of this matter 
of taxing unimproved land can be arrived at 
without taking up the disadvantages and im¬ 
possibilities of the George theory. Some weeks 
ago we showed that uuder George’s system the 
rate of taxation on land at its present value 
would be eight per cent Uuder George we 
would have not one cent raised from the tariff 
or from an internal revenue. The burden 
would in the main fall directly upon the farm¬ 
ers, who are the least prepared of any class to 
pay more taxes. Many persons holding large 
tracts of land would be forced to sell or give 
up a portion of their property, supposing the 
George theory to be in force, but for every 
one such land-owner there would be 100 farm¬ 
ers in the same boat. The large land-owners 
mostly have other property—the farmer, as a 
rule has not. lu 1880 the assessed value of 
taxable property in the county in which 
the writer lives was £15,937.854, divided as 
follows: Personal property, $2,872,864; and 
real estate, including houses, etc., *18,064.960. 
The value of the land, which, according to 
the George theory should pay all taxes, was, 
in rouud figures, *0,500,000. There is 
but one large town. There are 1.710 
farms. There are 69, 1 63 acres counted as im¬ 
proved land and 24,845 acres called unim¬ 
proved. Now what would be the probable 
result in this county if the George theory 
were enforced? First, the total of taxation 
would be larger because the State would 
be called upon to pay to the general govern¬ 
ment her share of the funds now derived from 
the tariff and internal revenue. Second, the 
rate of taxation would be determined on an 
assessment of $6,500,060 instead of $15,937,854, 
that is to say, it would be about times as 
high, exclusive of poll tax, and 1,710 farms 
would pay 90 per cent, of the whole tax re¬ 
quired to minister to the public wants of 18,- 
704 persons. The “unimproved land” in¬ 
cudes thousands of acres of salt marsh and 
swamp. Could farmers pay such rates of tax¬ 
ation? Would they not be forced to give up a 
portion of their property, be “taxed away from 
it” in fact? Would this loss fall upon- the 
non-land-holding classes? It occurs to us 
that for the farmer to saddle himself with 
three times his present rate of taxation for the 
purpose of compelling a dozen meu to ni¬ 
tre a»e their rate would be worse folly than 
•utting off one’s uose to spite one’s face, and 
w« hold that the same is true of the man 
who proposes to pay the taxes now paid 
ou buildings and personal property in 
towns and cities because the taxes ou his 
•wn buildings will be removed. Our corres¬ 
pondent appears to overlook the fundamental 
principle of the George theory, which is the 
assumption that all land should be free, that 
one man should have as much right to it as 
another. He would make all land holders 
tenants of the State. Instead of being a free¬ 
holder, the fanner who, under present laws, 
•wns his farm, would be a tenant uuder the 
aew system, with nothing left to represent his 
former property. 
More About that “Sorghum Trust.”— 
The announcement that the managers of the 
proposed sugar mills in Kansas propose to pay 
$2 per ton for sorghum caue ls the first state¬ 
ment 1 have been able to get hold of that gives 
the farmer nDy definite idea of what he may 
expect from the sorghum sugar business. 
Two dollars per ton for the cane delivered 
at the mill! Now, if llie grower lives five 
miles from the mill he can figure at once what 
are his profits. As a general rule, it would lie 
worth that much to cat, strip and haul it. 
leaving nothing for the use of land or the 
labor of raising it. I may remark here that 
30 years ago i, with a number of my neigh¬ 
bors, organized a sugar company in the then 
Territory of Kansas, and we investigated this 
sugar business quite thoroughly, aud were 
obliged to come to the conclusion that it 
would not pay the former, and that conclu¬ 
sion was based not on the difficulty of making 
gugar, but on the fact that we could not raise 
[id hardle the raw material cheaply enough 
ooatinue the enterprise. True, we did not 
have the modern improved machinery, but 
we well knew that that could be produced if 
other things warranted the demand for it. 
We demonstrated the fact that sugar could bo 
made from sorghum just as clearly as it has 
been done lately at such a cost of public 
money, and even bad a glimpse of the diffu¬ 
sion process, for in our experimenting we cut 
up aud boiled some whole cane and made from 
it a nice sample of dry sugar. I eau see in the 
proposed company only an alluring bait for 
farmers to catch at and find themselves in the 
end swindled out of all the stock they can be 
induced to take, and their condition in no way 
improved as to the cash returns from their 
farms. a Kansas farmer. 
R. N.-Y.—Unless the farmer can get more 
than $3 per ton for his cane, we believe the 
profit, if there is any, will go into the pockets 
of the mill men. It would, indeed, be a glori¬ 
ous thing for Kansas to be able to cut iu two 
the enormous bill we now pay to foreign 
countries for sujLar, but the farmers of Kan¬ 
sas—tho.-e who grow the cane—must get their 
share of the benefit. Kansas cannot afford 
to produce sugar if its production will ever 
necessitate the cheap labor which alone makes 
cottou-growing or even sugar-making at the 
South at all profitable. If a farmer is near 
euough to a null to enable him to haul several 
loads with oue team every day, he may make 
a profit. If he is too far away tj enable him 
to make these trips, he will not make a profit 
and is foolish to go into it. 
That “Valley Mulch System” Again.— 
The Rural, page 676, says, “Valley mulch 
system of plamiug potatoes is a failure.” My 
one season’s trial of it, iu so far as this crop 
was concerned, was almost a failure, but 1 am 
not quite ready to condemn the system yet. 
My soil is poor enough—a “woru-out” grav¬ 
elly loam it might be called, was plowed iu 
May, and one-third of an acre planted June 
ninth to Early Rose, and Empire State pota¬ 
toes. One plot of hall' of an acre was planted 
without fertilizing, in hills three feet apart, 
and hoed by hand. One plot of this same 
size, was fertilized with 100 pounds of Mapes’s 
potato fertilizer, in the trench, or furrow, 
lightly covered with a plow, and medium- 
sized, whole potatoes were dropped oue foot 
apart, then covered with a plow aud relied. 
One-sixth of an acre was fertilized with old 
stable manure of about the same value as the 
100 pounds of Mapes’s, and harrowed in. I 
plowed furrows three feet apart and dropped 
seed 18 iuches apart, covered with a hoe. 
This last piece hoed once, only, by hand. In 
August it was ridged, or hilled, using (for 
went of a better tool) two one-horse plows, 
fastened together, throwing a furrow eachside, 
and finishing off with hoes. In the second 
plot, the weeds came up through the mulch 
so thick and high, that 1 bad to pull them 
out by hand twice. The whole piece 
was dug October 7th, with the following 
result. The first plot yielded at the rate of 
51 bushels per acre, the tecond at the rate of 
118 bushels per acre, and the third at the rate 
of 148 bushels. All of those grown ou the 
first plot were smooth and fair, but only 25 
per cent, of size fit for market. Those grown 
with stable manure were rough and scabby, 
85 per cent, being largo to very large, but only 
10 per cent, wore sound, the remainder being 
in all stages of decay. The plot planted after 
tbe Rural plan yielded fair, smooth potatoes, 
but hardly one of the size of a ben’s egg. 
The vines begau to die the first of August, 
aud were all dead by the 15rh. The season 
was unusually wet after the 15th of June. In 
July there was a rainfall of 7.76 inches: in 
August 8.90 I think the early decay ol' i he 
vines may have been hastened by this great 
amount nf rain, which the mulch would tend 
to hold in the ground, and that in such a sea¬ 
son as the past, it may have boon of doubtful 
advantage: but in an ordinary dry season the 
system possibly would be a good one for my 
soil and location, being high aud generally 
dry. J shall plan to try it again next year. 
Hampshire Co., Mass. Hampshire. 
Spontaneous Combustion.— The subject 
of spontaneous combustion is an important 
one. It is the true explanation of the burning 
of many builoings. Oftentimes a barn is 
filled with pan tally cured hay aud then closed 
so as to admit lut little air, and the result is 
that ihe temperature rapidly rises and may 
reach such a point as to ignite the building. 
I have seen farmers keep a box in which they 
stored old rags used to clean machinery. 
These becoming saturated with oil and being 
packed together become a very dangerous 
agent, as they rapidly oxidize and in a few' 
hours may lake fire. I remember an instance 
where a painter kept, a f»ox of fine sawdust 
with which to Glean the paint from his hands. 
One day this was observed to be stu-ikiug, and 
before it could be carried to the street it burst 
iuto flumes. 1 have frequently had my atten¬ 
tion called to rafters which were blackened 
and charred by heat which was still insuffi¬ 
cient for ignition. Spontaneous combustiou 
can be prevented in two ways: by allowing a 
very free circulation of air*, or allowiug no 
circulation whatever. If it is necessary to 
put green fodder, or that ouly partially cured, 
iuto the barn, the doors aud windows ihould 
be left open for a time to admit as much air 
as possible. The second method is illustrated 
by the.silo. _ a. e. hart. 
Carrots for Horses.— The Rural has 
published several articles on the wisdom of 
providing a supply of carrots to feed to the 
horses during winter. I want to add my tes¬ 
timony to that already given. I believe that 
a regular feeding of carrots through the win¬ 
ter adds 25 per cent, to the horse’s spirits and 
general health. Most farmers feed too much 
grain through the winter. The bor.-es do not 
need to be kept ho fat. Take away half the 
grain and feed chopped carrots mils place and 
the horse will keep just as well and be 1 letter 
prepared for spring work. Horses that work 
in our lumber camps suffer severely from 
colic. This, I claim, is due to the way they 
are fed They get three big grain feeds ev«ry 
day with a litiledry bay. They have but little 
time to eat. at noon aud are out in the woods 
before light iu the morning and after dark at 
night. The grain rations are too heavy, and 
are not properly digested. If the drivers 
would feed less grain and more carrots I be¬ 
lieve there would be less colic. The crop 
could be raised by the. small farmers who Jive 
about these lumber camps and can now find a 
market, ouly for oats and potatoes. 
Missaukie Co., Mich, h. w. b. 
9avt) manure, Ltut 1 SCOUKI 
have bard work to get men to do it. 
Passaic Co., N. J. h. j. p. 
Thrashed Corn —I send you by this mail 
a sample of corn fodder that has been through 
a thrashiug machine Perhaps five or teu per 
cent, would be coarser than sample. No sharp 
edges to make mouths sore; saves husking 
corn, as the corn is served the same as wheat 
or oats. There will be, 1 presume, lliO acres 
thrashed in our locality this fall. It has beeu 
done here for two or three years, and iu some 
other places. It seems to me to be far in ad¬ 
vance of all other ways for preparing corn 
stalks for cattle or for filling silos from the 
same material. Perhaps this is nothing new 
to you. I presume uot, but I thought, per¬ 
haps, if the attention of farmers were called 
to it some of them might think it would be 
economy to prepare their fodder in this way, 
and what corn one wishes to feed during the 
winter will not have to be husked. 
Kalamazoo Co. Mich. H. Cox. 
R N.-Y.—The sample was sent, in a tin box, 
crowded in almost like straw. The targe 
stalks are cut into lengths of about l l i' inch, 
and split and crushed so that there are no 
sharp edges. This is fur better fodder than 
any ordinary cut stalks we have ever seen. 
Wo believe that corn thrashing, on mauy 
farms, promises to rank with the silo as a 
measure of ecouomy. Corn to be thrashed 
should be well cured and dry. Green or damp 
stalks would mold in the s'ack or mow. It 
is often found necessary to spread out the 
thrushed corn on the. barn floor or some other 
sheltered place, to enable it to dry properly. 
Spread a foot deep, and shoveled over every 
day for a few days, it wifi not be injured. 
Breeding for Sex.— The articles in a recent 
number of the Rural on the subject of breed¬ 
ing for sex have attracted much attention 
aud are unquestionably of much practical 
value. My attention was first called to the 
subject or at least I obtained my first definite 
theory front an urtiele in the Loudon Lancet. 
It Ls the same as that of W. G. as stated in a 
recent Rural.. It is that the weaker sex in¬ 
variably determines the sex of the offspring. 
To corroborate this theory 1 have in mind a 
number of very conclusive examples. Aside, 
however, from individual cases, this theory is 
based upon the higher law of the equalization 
aud perpetuation of all forms of animal life. 
In countries or sections where woman are 
strongest physically the sexes are nearly 
equally divided, but wbpre they are strong 
mentally but. weak physically they predomi¬ 
nate largely. A rule which is proven by the 
masses, may apparently not hold true when 
applied to individuals, but I am iuclined to 
think that the sex of the offspring will in the 
groat majority of cases be that of the weaker 
parent. g. h. jambs. 
Valuable Manure —My German neigh¬ 
bor has a good sized cistern close by his barn 
Into this runs all the liquid manure from the 
stables, and night so 1 is dumped into it from 
the vaults. Twice or three times a year this 
is dipped out. They were working at it. tne 
other day. The liquid was dipped out with a 
long-handled scoop into a barrel to which two 
long pole.s were fastened. Two uum took hold 
of the pole—one in front aud the other be¬ 
hind—and carried the barrel out to the fields, 
where the liquid was poured on to the rye. It 
“Liquid Manure.”— Gardeners and florists 
are frequently advised to use “liquidmanure” 
on plants or flowers. I often vvonder if this 
advice is carried out as I once knew it to be. 
A neighbor told me once he had no faith iu 
liquid manure because he had tried it ou 
some potted plants and it killed more than it 
helped. On questioning him I found he bad 
used pure urine. As I understand it the “li¬ 
quid manure” spoken of by horticultural 
wj iters is ordinary barnyard manure soaked 
in water. chas. Randall. 
Wayne Co., Michigan. 
R. N.-Y.—This point is well worth making. 
At last winter’s meeting of the Montreal Hor¬ 
ticultural society a member stated that the 
best “liquid manure" be knew of came from 
horse manure that had been dropped in the pas¬ 
ture. He took half a bushel of this to a bar¬ 
rel of raiu water iuto which a half bushel of 
soot, had been soaked. The soot was placed in 
a hag and suspended in the water. Half a 
pint of this mixture made a good dressing for 
a plant. This we believe will be far better 
than the usual mixture of cow dung and water. 
Saving Liquid Manure.— Prof. Henry, 
of Wisconsin, saved the liquid manure from 
four cows by using for bedding cut corn¬ 
stalks, He used the stalks stripped of leaves 
—what an Eastern fanner would call “orts.” 
This was run through a fodder-cutter and 280 
pounds supplied bedding for two weeks. This 
question ns to the profit of cutting betiding 
will be determined iu the affirmative by many 
farmers ihis winter. Many are short of hay, 
and will have to cut and moisten rough fod¬ 
der to make it palatable. There has been a 
large sale of fodder-cutters aud manure- 
spreaders. The one makes cutting easy and 
the other makes it necessary. HENRY post. 
Leuawee Co., Mich. 
African Potatoes from Europe.— The 
Rural kindly sent me last spring specimen 
tubers to test. This morning I cooked one of 
them. The dark purple color is what gives it 
this name. It. is in my judgment only a re¬ 
versed seedling of Solarium iuberosum. 
What say you? Origiuators of seedb'ngs 
often come across three purple types: many of 
our old sorts have more or less of this color. 
It Ls a native of America, not of Africa. Most 
of the wild types are apt. to blossom and some¬ 
times seed copiously. The blossoms of this 
aborted, or rather there were none developed, 
following in this respect the present tendency 
of our ordinary varieties. d. r. marvin. 
Watertown, N. Y. 
Poultry on Trees.— Just now the farmers 
who let iheir poultry roost, on the trees all 
summer are having a full supply of trouble 
Hens are great sticklers for custom and the}' 
won’t leave the trees if they can help it. It 
is an hour’s work to drive a flock of heus into 
the hen-house when they don’t want to go. 
There are always half-a-dozeo that have to be 
taken from the tree by hand aud carried to 
the house. When the suow comes the hens 
are glad enough to leave the tree, but until 
that lintc comes it will bo a great chore to get 
them under cover. Purties around hero say 
they leave the hens out through the summer 
to keep them free from lice. It would be 
cheaper to kill the lice. h. e. k. 
Broome Co., N. Y. 
Using Charcoal, —I bad a chuuee to get 
the remains of an old charcoal pit for taking 
it away. There were several loads which I 
put iu a heap near the barnyard. I used it in 
my hog pen and am much pleased with the re¬ 
sult. It destroyed all the bad smell and kept 
the pen dry. I am convinced it would be fine 
for use back of the cows, and I advise farmers 
who live near these pits to get all the wast« 
charcoal they can. n. b. k. 
Washington Co., N. Y. 
Curing a Sucking Cow.—My wife has 
tried the following plan for curing a sucking 
cow and always with good success. It never 
has failed yet. Moisten the teats with the 
milk, then dip them into a cup that contains 
a solution of aloes. Take a small rag and rub 
it in all around ou the teats. They will sel¬ 
dom try more t.huu twice, still wt, keep this 
up for three or four weeks when the cure is 
complete. Always wash tho udder aud teats 
well before milking as the aloes if mixed with 
the milk would spoil the butter. 
Idaho. JOHN LONG. 
Don’t Like the Kikffkr Pear. —I ate my 
first Kieffer pear Irom my own growing yes¬ 
terday; uo I did noteat one, i ouly took one 
bite: l hardly kuovv which it Ls tho most flav¬ 
ored like a cabbage, pumpkiu, or a green 
cucumber. t. a. peffer. 
South Bend. Ind. 
