DEC 34 
TOE 
a 
THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
A National Journal for Country and Suburban Home 3. 
Conducted by 
ELBERT S. CARMAN. 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
No. 34 Park Row, New York. 
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31, 18t>7. 
“Happy New Year” —We say ‘ ‘Happy 
New F<?«r!” Do you hear friends? 
Can any one tell why what is called 
“overpotting” hurts plants? 
Head the articles on painting begun in 
this number. They are by a painter of 
40 years’ experience in both outside and 
inside painting. 
The attention of our readers is called to 
the series of short articles on the third 
cover page under the general heading of 
“Lessons of the year.” A more instruct¬ 
ive page of reading is rarely seen in our 
farm journals. 
The R. N.-Y. desires to make this note 
about celery. We are trying all the lead¬ 
ing varieties this year, and thus far find 
the Covent Garden Red the best, that is, 
the most tender—freest from fibers—and 
of perfect quality. Crawford’s Half¬ 
dwarf, treated in the same way, is pithy, 
half of the stems splitting asunder. The 
Golden Blanching blanches nicely, but it 
is with us a coarse kind and inferior in 
flavor. 
“Doctor: I am sick. SeDd me some, 
medicine.” There would be just about 
as much consistency in your doctor’s 
complying with your request as there is 
in giving your horses or cattle “condition 
powders” when you haven’t the least idea 
what is the matter with them. Now 
when a farmer spreads special chemical 
fertilizers on his fields without knowing 
what the land needs, we have a pretty 
nearly parallel case. 
1 
There can be no disguising the fact 
that there is, in this country, a growing 
sentiment, in favor of restricting immi¬ 
gration. Never, before in the history of 
the country has this feeling been so pro¬ 
nounced. The idea is universal that 
we have no more room for the paupers 
and convicts which the Old World has 
been dumping upon us. Americans are 
ever ready to welcome all who come here 
with the intention of dropping their Old 
World life and taking up the duties and 
responsibilities that Americans believe to 
be a part of Amcncan citizenship; but 
there is no place in this country for those 
who are not willing to abide by our laws. 
It seems highly probable that Congress 
will at the present session at least begin 
the work of restriction. 
Last Tuesday the Experiment Station 
Council of Cornell University, Ithaca, 
New York, consisting of President Adams, 
ex-President White, W. A. Wadsworth 
and Professors Roberts, Caldwell, Prentiss 
and Comstock, recommended that the 
$15,000 appropriated by Cougrcss for an 
agricultural experiment station should be 
divided into two parts—$10,250 for sal¬ 
aries and $4,750 for supplies. Besides the 
Director of the Station, there will be assis¬ 
tants in the following departments: ex¬ 
perimental horticulture, experimental ag¬ 
riculture, chemical analysis, veterinary 
science, experimental botauy and experi¬ 
mental entomology; also two second 
assistants in experimental agriculture and 
and one in chemical analysis. The farm¬ 
ers of this and other States should learn 
something really valuable from the work 
of such a stall devoted exclusively to 
matters agricultural. 
A grocery dealer in one of the markets 
of this city had numerous cards about his 
lace stating be sold oleomargarine, but 
id not sell butter. The oleomargarine 
he offered for sale, however, looked like 
butter, being colored yellow. One sec¬ 
tion of the New York oleomargarine law 
forbids the employment of artificial color¬ 
ing matter in any imitation of butter, and 
this section has been declared constitu¬ 
tional by the Court of Appeals; but in the 
present case it has been maintained by the 
defendant that no artificial coloring has 
been used. The manufacturer testified 
that the concoction was simply com¬ 
posed of oleomargarine oil, leaf or natural 
lard, cotton seed or sesame oil, milk or 
cream and salt. The District Attorney 
and the State Dairy Commissioner con¬ 
tended that law absolutely forhids the 
manufacture or sale, within this State, of 
any substance of animal fats in imitation 
of butter except those from milk and 
cream. In accordance with an agreement 
of counsel on both sides, the judge 
charged the jury to convict, and the de¬ 
fendant was fined $ 100 . It was a case 
purposely made up to obtain a decision 
from the Court of Appeals with regard to 
the interpretation of the clause forbidding 
the manufacture or sale of anything re¬ 
sembling butter. One set of chemicai ex¬ 
perts declared positively that the stuff 
was colored artificially, another set testi¬ 
fied with equal positiveness that it was 
not. Oleomargarine and butterine should 
both be colored artificially—a nice, aesthe¬ 
tic appetizing pink. 
LEGISLATION NEEDED. 
S o far as is possible the laws of the dif- 
_ ferent States should be harmonious. 
A little attention to this matter would be 
of great convenience in many ways. Our 
attention just now is particularly directed 
to the law's relative to weights of bushels 
of various agricultural products. If, for 
instance, a man in New York contracts 
with his neighbor just across ihe Con¬ 
necticut line for 100 bushels of oats, at a 
certain price per bushel, no weight named, 
must he be content to receive 28 pounds 
for a bushel, as is the legal wt ight in Con¬ 
necticut, or may he demand 82 pounds, 
the New York legal weight? Let us look 
at the variation in different products. 
Take barley, for instance; in most of the 
States a bushel is 48 pounds; but, in one 
it is 32; in one 40; in two 40; in two 47 
and in two 50. Tn some States 50 pounds 
are a bushel for potatoes, but in most. 60 
pounds are the legal weight. We find 
shelled corn, varying from 52 to 54, 06 
and 58 pounds per bushel; buckwheat, 
from 40, in California to 56 m South 
Carolina—and so on. We believe wheat 
is the only product of which, a bushel 
weighs the same, 60 pouuds, in all the 
States. A very little trouble would 
remedy this matter. If the Hon. Com¬ 
missioner of Agriculture, after consulta¬ 
tion and deliberation as to what is best 
for standard weights, should send a 
request to the Legislatures of the differ¬ 
ent States to adopt it, no doubt it would 
be done without hesitation. What say 
you Mr. Commissioner? Will you do it? 
A’DIFFERENCE. 
F armer Randall of the Rural 
Grounds keeps poultry upon his own 
place. He has now 20 laying hens—five 
Wyandottes, nine Leghorns and six mixed, 
lie is now getting an average of eight 
eggs a day. The hens are fed in the 
morning, half Indian meal and half 
wheat-bran mixed so as to crumble, with 
hot water. At noon wheat and at night 
corn are given. Iti mild spells wheat is 
substituted for corn at night. Bone- 
meal is before them always. They are 
never fed as much as they will eat at any 
meal. Oat6 are given twice a week scat¬ 
tered over straw so they will scratch for 
them. His houses are eight feet square 
and not over 20, whether young or old, 
are permitted to roost in a house. The 
houses, roosts and nests are sprayed with 
kerosene (through spraying bellows) once 
in three weeks. Pyrethrum powder is 
dusted on their bodies every two months 
or so. 
Farmer Voorhis has a flock of about 75 
well-bred White Leghorns. Wheat or 
corn or both are kept, before them all 
the time. They are not fed bone. 
They all roost together in one house 
which 19 about 15 feet square and 
warm. This house is never kcroseued, 
though cleaned out from time to time. 
He is now averaging from two to three 
eggs a day. We present the case as it is. 
Farmer Voorhis takes better care of his 
flock than most farmers of the neighbor¬ 
hood. He thinks the difference is due in 
part to the fact that mauy of his hens 
are old. 
- - ■ ♦♦♦ - 
THE NEW YEAR. 
^T?xtremes meet!” The first of the 
year is naturally selected as a day 
of reckoning in most lives. It is well to 
have such a day. Just as a business is 
better for a thorough overhauling and 
balancing, so we all hold a little nearer 
our ideal road of life because of occasion¬ 
al stops by the w'ay to think over our 
course. The New Year is a thoughtful 
time for all who have passed out of child¬ 
hood. What hopes, what sorrows, what 
joys have been covered by the years be¬ 
hind us 1 What memories come to us as the 
old year falls away forever. To some past 
years bring the healing balm of comfort, 
to others but the burning sting of re¬ 
proach. Yet if the old year brings sad 
and bitter memories, the new year should 
br ng hope and courage. The past lies 
behind us, but the future with its unre¬ 
vealed possibilities is opeuiug at our t ouch. 
It is belter to hope than to dread, better 
to believe that 1888 will bring us its full 
measure of prosperity and happiness than 
simply to fear that all the disasters and 
troubles of the past year will only be 
magnified in the new one. Our first page 
picture brings out a thought, that all may 
heed. It is the close of the year. The 
farmer has figured up the year’s business. 
As a mere matter of mouey gel ting the 
year has been a failure. The ghost of 
Trouble pulls back the curtain that hides 
the past and reveals the causes of the fail¬ 
ure. The farmer thinks only of the days 
of hard work gone fur naught and the 
carefully laid plans so rudely swept away. 
It is a sad, gloomy ending to the year. 
New Year’s morning tells another story. 
The sad thoughts of the night are forgot¬ 
ten. Hope, in the form of a little girl, 
points into the future where all the dis¬ 
asters of the past year seem remedied. 
This scene may not be realized, but the 
farmer will go to his year’s w T ork with a 
better heart for having had it in his mind. 
It is better to hope than to dread. 
This year, as in the past, we have 
special club combinations with: 1st, 
the Inter-Ocean of Chicago, III.; 2d, 
the Detroit Free Press of Detroit, Mich., 
and, last, the Weekly World of New 
York. And now we are glad to add the 
Courier-Journal of Louisville, Ky. The 
price for either the Rural and Inter- 
Ocean, or Free Press, is $2.50; for the 
Rural and the World (including its 
book premium), the price is $2.60; 
for fhe Rural and Courier-Journal the 
price is $2 75. The publishers of 
these journalswill gladly furnish speci¬ 
men copies without charge. We prom¬ 
ise prompt attention in forwarding all 
subscriptions received. Subscribe 
through the R. N.-Y. 
HARD TIMES IN THE FAR WEST. 
A t this blythesome season, when blaz¬ 
ing fires and abundant good cheer 
rejoice the hearts of dwellers in the older 
settled States, it is sad to think of the 
sufferings of thousands of settlers in the 
bleak Far West. From Dakota, Nebraska 
and Kansas terrible accounts reach us of 
the intense sufferings inflicted by the 
recent cold weather over a vast extent of 
territory. The fearful storms w r hich raged 
through Southwestern lvausas on Monday 
and Tuesday last cuustd an untold amount 
of affliction and mauy deaths. The latest 
dispatches, though meagre, are enough to 
show the desperate situation of many 
snow-bound homesteads nnd settlements. 
All over the country, from the Canadian 
line to Arkansas, the cold for a month has 
been unusually severe, and fuel scarcer 
than ever before in proportion to the de¬ 
mands for it. There has of late been a 
heavy immigration into that country 
and the new-comers have been generally 
poor, depending on this year’s crops for 
a livelihood. In many places the crops 
have failed and starvation as well as cold 
threatens or actually afflicts the settlers. 
The railroad companies arc bitterly de¬ 
nounced for their neglect in mtikiug pre¬ 
parations to supply a sufficiency of coal; 
but they retort that though their lines 
have been extended with remarkable speed 
during the past year, few of them pass 
near coal fields; while the operation of 
all of them makes heavy demands on the 
available supply of coals, and this 
demaud has been greatly increased 
by the new towns and settlements 
that have sprung up along the roads. 
This morning's telegrams tell us of num¬ 
erous cases of death from starvation and 
cold, both out on the prairies and in the 
rude huts meant to protect the hopeful 
sei tiers. If such disasters are so frequent 
in the more accessible parts of the country 
where supplies are to be more readily se¬ 
cured aud help more available, it is natur¬ 
al to fear greater calamities have occurred 
in remoter aud more isolated places where 
dwellings are farther apart, means of com 
munieation and help more difficult and 
settlers, as a rule, poorer and worse pro¬ 
vided. Such a visiiatiou as this always 
stimulates an active sympathy in this 
country, aud generous measures of relief 
are promptly inaugurated, aud this is 
likely to be especially the case at this sea¬ 
son ; but, alas! what a world of suffer¬ 
ing must be endured by the hardy and 
venturesome frontier settlers before the 
promptest succor can afford them relief, 
and how many will have passed away in 
lonely agony before help is possible 1 
brevities. 
God bless every one of you, readei-s, and an 
exceedingly Merry Christmas to all! 
An account of the Black Cetewayo Potato 
will apppar next week. 
“It seems wrong that Santa Claus should go 
around on God’s day,” remarked ouo of the 
youngsters of the Rural Grounds, 
“I must do some good iu order to he con¬ 
tented” writes O. A Green on page 883 A 
good sermon that—suitable to the times too. 
New potatoes are in the market already. 
The first load came from Charleston, S. C., 
this week. They sell at. §6 per barrel. Fresh 
cucumbers are quite plenty for those who are 
rich enough to pay for them. 
Dairy teachers have been fond of stating 
that, prime butter cannot he made from the 
milk of farrow cows. Iu a few weeks we 
shall publish a series of articles on butter¬ 
making, that will give new light on the mat¬ 
ter. 
What would be thought of a farmer who 
advocated keeping the stock that will produce 
the most manure for the food given? We 
have those who breed for buttermilk or beef— 
the man who proposed to breed for manure 
would be considered a fit subject for an 
iDsaue asylum. Yet the man Who breeds 
‘ -scrubs,” comes pretty neur doing it, doesn’t 
he? 
Poultrymkn have lost an immense amount 
of money by sending large quantities of poul¬ 
try to the central markets of the country dur¬ 
ing these holidays. The R. N.-Y., in its mar¬ 
ket review two weeks ago warned its readers 
of this likelihood. The first quality of tur¬ 
keys sold for II cents per pound by the barrel, 
while those of a fair quality, a “little heated” 
sold for four and five. 
“The Sugar Trust is booming” is an expres¬ 
sion frequently used during the past week in 
the various exchanges, Hince its inaugura¬ 
tion all kinds of sugar have steadily advanced, 
except raw sugar, wbich has had a downward 
tendency. Thus the consolidated refineries 
have forced down the prices of what they 
have 1o buy and forced up tbe prices of what 
thev have to sell—tbe invariable modus oper- 
andi of Trusts. Every sugar refinery of any 
consequence iu the country has now become a 
part of the Trust, nnd every household in 
ihe land is certain to be taxed for the benefit 
of the monopoly. 
The flock master's and smaller sheep-owners 
throughout, thecouutry, through their conven¬ 
tions and organizations.are loudly protesting 
against the abolition of the tariff on wool, as 
destructive to one of the most promising and 
important branches of agricultural industry. 
Other threatened industries are abo organiz¬ 
ing to oppose any alteration in the tariff 
affecting their interests. From present ap¬ 
pearances it is quite probable the internal tax 
on tobacco will be repealed, and that little 
will bo done in Ihe wuy of altering the tariff 
until the people have indicated their wishes 
by their votes at tbe next Presidential »dection. 
The milk record beutcu again; and, of 
course, by a Holstein-Frlesiati! Her name is 
Pietertge, and she is owned by D B. Whip¬ 
ple, Alleghany County, N. Y. In one day 
the wonder milked 112 7 16 pounds; in 81 con¬ 
secutive days she gave 3,289 10-16 pounds, aud 
in 202 days 26.060 Lj pounds. It is claimed 
by telegraph that (his is more than any cow 
ever milked In 365 days: but Smiths, rowel 1 
& Lamli will hardly agree with this state¬ 
ment. Pietertge has, however, 72 days more 
to complete her year’s record, and if the 
above statement is correct she will doubtless 
beat the record for a year, as she has already 
beateu it for the period during which she has 
been tested. 
The tobacco growers are busy urging the 
repeal of the internal revenue taxes on their 
staple as an excellent means of getting rid of 
the surplus iu the National Treasury. A re- 
ceut canvass of the House of Representatives 
shows, that out of 241) members who replied, 
the whole number being 325.126 favored repeal 
of the tax, 36 opposed repeal, 48 were in favor 
of repeal with tariff reduction nnd 44 were 
uon-eominiital. A good effect of the abolition 
of the tax would be to divert cigar-matting for 
large factories iu cities to many small facto¬ 
ries chiefly Hi grow ing sections, as iu years 
before taxation. The rigid regulations for 
collecting the taxes have driven out these 
small manufacturers, but the abolition of 
taxes would revive their business, aud benefit 
growers by providing homo markets for their 
goods and freeing them from spectators, who 
are always trying to crowd down prices. 
Last Wednesday a committee of prominent 
stock breeders of Illinois and other States 
met at Chicago for the purpose of selecting 
some member of Congress to introduce and 
press to passug<* a bill relating to the im¬ 
portation of nil finals for breeding purposes 
exclusively. Under the old const ruction of 
tbe law ail such auimals were imported free 
of duty; but of lute certain government of¬ 
ficials nave ruled that duty should be paid 
upou all animal* not kept by the importer for 
hL own exclusive use iu breeding, and have 
also required payment of duty ou all such 
animals imported .during the past year. Iu 
compliance with this rule, it annears that a 
Wisconsin firm has been compelled to pay 
over $17,000 back duly on imported horses, 
thougn several telegrams from Washington 
have denied this, alleging that the rulings of 
tlio Customs officials had been overruled by 
the Treasury Department. It appears differ¬ 
ent ofllnals place different interpretations ou 
the law. The stock-men have nrepared a 
bill so explicit as to make it impossible for 
two constructions to be placed upou it. It 
will probably be introduced next week, aud 
ought to pass without opposition. 
