3 
THE BUBAL WIW-Y0BK1B. 
JAN 7 
THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
A National Jou rnal for Country and Suburban Home '. 
Conducted by 
ELBE R T S. CA.BMAN. 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
No. 84 Park Row, New York. 
SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 1837. 
We this week continue our list of the 
best three fruits of various kinds for many 
different States. 
In our special club list is now included the popu¬ 
lar Weekly Courier-Journal of Louisville, Ky. 
We will send it and the Rural New-Yorker one 
year for $2.75. As for many years past, we con¬ 
tinue to club with the Inter-Ocean, of Chicago, 
Ill., and the Free Press, of Detroit, Mich., either 
of which and the R. N.-Y. will be sent for $2.50 a 
year. The price of the Rural and N. Y. World, of 
this city, with its book premium, will be, as hither¬ 
to, $2.60. Subscribe through the Rural New- 
Yorker. Send for specimens to the publishers of 
the above journals. 
Mrs. FisnER begins her series of arti¬ 
cles entitled “The Dark Side of Farm 
Life” in this number. It is a side of farm 
life that isn’t talked about enough by the 
farm journals of the country which are 
often too ready to join voices with politi¬ 
cians in indiscriminate sycophantic praises 
of the farmer and everything about him. 
Mrs. Fisher tells her story in vigorous, 
unsparing language, which may, in some 
parts, go to the other extreme. But our 
readers will judge of that for themselves. 
There is no harm in their accepting or re¬ 
jecting just as much of it as they may 
deem sound or unsound fact or teaching. 
TnE Rural is frequently asked to tell 
how “fancy markets” for eggs, butter, 
etc., etc., are worked up. A “fancy 
market” means a fancy price generally, 
and who does not desire that? We have 
taken the pains to interview many of 
these so-called “fancy” customers to try 
and find out what they want and how 
they want it, Our readers will learn the 
particulars in good time. B. Brown, in 
another column, rather broadly suggests 
that the proportion of dairymen who can 
make “fancy” butter is about the same as 
the proportion of poets that can make 
good poetry. Both the dairymen and the 
poets who fall short of the “fancy” mar¬ 
ket will resent this statement, but there 
is more in it than they think. 
Side by side in experiment plots w« 
have raised as many as 75 different kinds 
of wheat. The best yield was at the rate 
of 37 bushels to the acre—the lowest 25. 
Side by side we have raised 100 different 
varieties of potatoes. The highest yield 
in our rich garden soil has been at the 
rate of over 1.200 bushels to the acre— 
the lowest about 350. In field culture in 
poor soil well fertilized with potato fer¬ 
tilizers we have raised .from one variety 
150 bushels to the acre—from another 
300 to the acre. Now, what wheat on 
your soil, good farmer, will give the maxi¬ 
mum yield? What potato? What kinds 
of oats? Isn’t it worth your while to find 
out, or don’t you believe in such differ¬ 
ences ? 
In order to protect the Rural’s cross¬ 
bred wheats and hybrids between rye and 
and wheat against accidents, a small plot 
is surrounded by a five-foot wire-netting 
fence. In this little plot duplicates of 
every variety are planted, single seeds 10 
inches apart in drills also 10 inches apart. 
They were planted September 18. After 
the first freeze, the plants were lightly 
covered with old manure. It may inter¬ 
est our readers to know that the plants 
made so fine a growth as in most parts to 
cover the soil, the leaves of contiguous 
drills overlapping. Is this or is it not an 
evidence that farmers sow too much seed 
provided the soil is well prepared for its 
reception? Or does not it pay to so pre¬ 
pare the soil? Mulching wheat in this 
way is one of the Rural’s hobbies. In 
our experience there is nothing, consider¬ 
ing its cost and probable effect upon 
subsequent crops, that will pay better. 
I t will scarcely be gainsayed by any 
readers of to-day that the Rural was 
the first to point out as one of the results 
of its potato experiments, that larger 
crops of potatoes—in impoverished soil at 
least—can be raised by the use of what 
are known as “complete potato fertilizers” 
than by the use of either stable or cow 
manure or what is called barn-yard man¬ 
ure. All of our experiments during the 
past eight years have shown this, and our 
statements are now supported by many 
farmers in different parts of the country. 
Six years ago we first began to advocate 
the benefits of trench culture for potatoes 
in connection with trench, instead of 
broadcast fertilizing. This, too, is now 
favored by many good farmers who have 
given it a fair trial. We are now fully 
convinced that a larger crop of potatoes 
can be raised under trench culture at d 
trenoh manuring than, considering the 
cost, can be raised in any other way known 
at the present time. We have used chem¬ 
ical fertilizers on all sorts of crops often 
with little apparent benefit—never with 
the results that seem to have come from 
farm manure. But side by side in dupli¬ 
cate or triplicate trials, for five or six 
years, the fertilizers upon potatoes have 
given us the best crops at a less cost. Why 
is this? Is the plant food in potato chem¬ 
ical fertilizers better suited to potatoes, 
than are those for corn, wheat, rye, or 
vegetables? 
NOTICE. 
The Rural New-Yorker will le mailed 
to any aIdress for the regular yearly price 
of $2.00. The senders of clubs of five or 
over may reset ve 50 cents for each yearly 
subscription in payment for the work in¬ 
volved in securing the clubs. Or they may 
select suitable articles from our new pre¬ 
mium list. In this case, there is no cash 
commission allowed. Specimens and pre¬ 
mium-lists and our senes of four cartoons 
will be cheerfully and promptly sent to all 
applicants. 
THE CANADIAN FISHERY EM- 
BROGLIO. 
T nE Fishery Commissioners to adjust 
the trouble between this country and 
our northern neighbor, are to meet again at 
Washington in a few days. As gathered 
from all available sources of information, 
the issue now before the Commission can be 
thus briefly stated: Canada offers to throw 
open her fishing grounds and also to allow 
the usual commercial privileges in her 
ports to our fishing vessels, provided we 
admit, duty free, her fish, lumber and 
agricultural products. Secretary Bayard, 
on behalf of the United States, declines 
the offer on the ground that we do not 
care to buy the Canadian inshore fishing 
privileges, while the commercial privi¬ 
leges are due us in any event under the 
general rule of maritime reciprocity. He 
insists that commercial reciprocity is not 
properly an issue before the Commission. 
The Canadian and British Commissioners 
reply that by the treaty of 1818 the 
United States surrendered the port privi¬ 
leges for fibhing vessels, except for shelter 
and repairs; but the answer is that the 
treaty of 1818 was made at a time when 
no American’vessels had the privilege of 
entering Canadian ports. If Canada in¬ 
sists on a strict construction of the treaty 
of 1818, then America has the right to 
restore the exact conditions of 1818 by 
closing its ports against all Canadian ves¬ 
sels, just as they were closed at that date. 
This argument appears sound, and Con¬ 
gress at its last session authorized the 
President, in his discretion, to close our 
ports against Canadian vessels, provided 
Canada continued to prevent our fishing 
vessels from purchasing stores in Cana¬ 
dian ports. Although New England fish¬ 
ing smacks are frequently found catching 
fish within the three-mile limit, yet the 
New England fishermen unanimously tes¬ 
tified before the Senate investigating 
committee that they care nothing about 
the privilege of fishing on the inshore 
fishing grounds, and our action must be 
based on this assertion. It was hoped by 
many Canadians, especially farmers, that 
a commercial union might be negotiated 
between the two countries as a result of 
the negotiations. This hope will certainly 
be futile. Such a union is opposed by 
Mr. Chamberlain on the part of Great 
Britain, as a mere preliminary to a sepa¬ 
ration of the Dominion from the Mother 
Country and a union with the United 
States, and the President's late message, 
devoted solely to the topic of reducing 
the surplus by tariff reform, has brought 
to the front the whole vplume of existing 
opposition to tariff changes, except those 
in the direction of higher protective du¬ 
ties, and therefore intensified the oppo¬ 
sition to a commercial union with Canada, 
which would greatly lower the tariff on 
importations from that country, or repeal 
it entirely. 
“WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?” 
T nE series of powerful pictures on our 
first page brings to mind a painful 
memory of the fate that befell a friend 
some years ago. This friend bought a 
place at River Edge, N. J. He spent money 
lavishly with the design of making his 
home as beautiful and happy as possible. 
Life seemed as bright and cheerful as it 
well could be. One day he started for 
the station in a covered carriage. Upon 
nearing the track the road runs down a 
steep hill—the counterpart of that shown 
in the engraving. It is next to impossi¬ 
ble for one in a covered carriage to see the 
tram until it is directly upon him. A 
train rushed by striking the carriage in 
which our friend was riding, upturning it 
and inflicting injuries upon the occupant 
from which he cued. We speak of this 
because the incident came under our im¬ 
mediate observation. Any man who reads 
the newspapers knows that hardly a day 
passes without adding to the ghastly rec¬ 
ord of deaths at railroad crossings. There 
is hardly a township in this country, 
through which a railroad rgns that has 
not given up some victim in this w r ay. 
Near the large cities and towns, the loss 
of life at railroad crossings is simply 
frightful. Who is responsible for this 
hideous record? Railroad corporations 
when called upon to pay for such acci¬ 
dents, attempt to prove that the injured 
parties did not observe proper caution. 
While some drivers may be careless, the 
majority of those who are injured are not, 
as we believe. Even if all such deaths 
were due to carelessness on the part of 
the injured, the railroad company ought 
to feel an interest in devismgsome means 
to prevent careless people from placing 
themselves in positions of danger. There 
are numberless instances where horses 
have become unruly, and cariied 
women or even strong men direct¬ 
ly into the track of the oncoming 
train. We hold that it is not enough 
that railroad corporations should put up 
warning signs aud compel engineers to 
blow whistles before reaching a crossing. 
Gates should be provided for every cross¬ 
ing, to be shut whenever a train passes. 
Several automatic gates have been in¬ 
vented, which are opened and closed by 
passing trains. They require no watch¬ 
ing and but an occasional inspection. 
They should be placed in operation on 
every railroad that runs through a region 
where roads cross the track. The hor¬ 
rors caused by the car stove at recent rail¬ 
road accidents so aroused the people that 
the Leg slatures of several States passed 
laws forbidding the use of the stove as a 
means of heating. Far more people lose 
their lives at dangerous crossings than 
are killed by ordinary railroad accidents. 
If it is right to drive the car stove out of 
existence it is doubly right to compel 
railroad managers to protect life and 
property at crossings. Legislatures in 
many States are now in session. It is 
time to bring this matter before them 
and force them to take notice of it. 
PATENT AMENDMENTS NEEDED. 
^I^nE Rural has for years frequently 
1 insisted on the necessity of an amend¬ 
ment of our patent laws, from the abuses 
of which farmers are the greatest sufferers. 
At length there appears to be a general 
sentiment that such an amendment is 
needed. The last revision of our laws 
was in 1870—17 years ago—and several 
novel abuses have since crept into the sys¬ 
tem. Most other countries have also re¬ 
vised their patent laws of late, and some 
improvements in our laws are suggested 
by theirs. The patent laws of Great Brit¬ 
ain, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, 
Russia, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, 
Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Turkey, Bra¬ 
zil, Chili, the Argentine Republic, Para¬ 
guay, South Australia, New Zealand, 
Canadaand Newfoundland decree the for¬ 
feiture of a patent for failure to work the 
invention within a reasonable time or to 
make it reasonably accessible to the in¬ 
habitants of the country during the term 
of the patent. When our patent laws 
were revised, in 1870, it was thought that 
there was no possible reason why a per¬ 
son who had incurred the trouble and cost 
of patenting an invention should keep it 
secret; hence such a provision was omitted; 
but experience since has shown that large 
organizations and wealthy firms often get 
possession of a patent to keep the inven¬ 
tion inoperative so as to prevent the ne¬ 
cessity of changing expensive manufactur¬ 
ing machinery or to delay the cheapening 
of their products. England, France, 
Germany, Austria and Belgium provide 
that patentees must perforce grant licenses 
for the use of their patents by others on 
terms fixed by the Courts or Boards of 
Trade. Here a patentee can absolutely 
prevent others from infringing his patent 
on any terms, or fix the royalty at an ex¬ 
tortionate figure, and hence the enor¬ 
mous profits exacted by the Bell Tele¬ 
phone, the Bessemer steel and other un¬ 
scrupulous monopolies. 
Why should an exclusive right to an 
alleged invention be conferred on an 
alleged inventor on a one-s’ded, secret 
examination by a low-paid, often incom¬ 
petent official in the Patent Office, who, 
however painstaking, cannot possibly, in 
99 cases out of 100, form a correct opinion 
as to its novelty or utility as compared 
with the vast multitude of inventions al¬ 
ready recorded in this and other countries? 
Yet his decision confers on the patentee 
a power of extortion which can be abro¬ 
gated only at the cost of prolonged and 
expensive litigation. After the expendi¬ 
ture of thousands, yes, of tens of thous¬ 
ands of dollars in litigation, Green’s pat¬ 
ent on driven wells was declared o r igi- 
nally invalid two years after its expira¬ 
tion; but during the term of the patent 
millions of dollars were extorted from the 
public under it, not a cent of which can 
be recovered. Shouldn’t such abuses be 
prevented? Why should the trouble and 
expense of proving the invalidity of a 
patent be thrown upon private individuals 
when the fault of granting it lies with the 
Government? The latter is now contest¬ 
ing the validity of the Bell Telephone 
patent on the ground of public policy; 
why shouldn’t it do the same with r<gard 
to its other obvious or probable patent 
blunders? 
Great Britain, France, Germany, Rus¬ 
sia, Austria-Hungary, Italy, Belgium, 
Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Brazil and 
Canada provide a moderate and progres¬ 
sive tax upon patents during the whole 
of their term, and thus those that are 
trivial, neglected or unprofitable are 
abandoned and annulled; whereas here 
such worthless patents hang for 17 years 
over the heads of those who make, sell or 
use the class of articles to which the 
practically abandoned patent relates. 
Often, however, they are revived towards 
the end of their term for the purpose of 
dishonest extortion. Probably, however, 
the most grievous abuse lies in the fact 
that an innocent purchaser of any article 
that infringes on a patent of the existence 
of which he may be entirely ignorant, is 
liable to a suit for damages. This is such 
a gross outrage and a source of so much 
extortion and rascality,that this provision 
of the law should be at once repealed. 
brevities. 
R. N.-Y. 1850-1888. 
The new catalogues for 1888 just received 
show that the current price for seed potatoes 
is about $4 a barrel. 
We saw some potatoes in Chicago last week 
that sold at 81.25 per bushel. They came 
from Utah and are of excellent quality. 
A commendable forehanded previousness 
is to do all the work this winter that you pos¬ 
sibly can do, that would otherwise have to be 
done next Spring. 
Everybody seems glad that we are devot¬ 
ing more space to poultry. The broiler arti¬ 
cles bv Mr. Jacobs are in great demand. The 
hen is an important member of the Rural 
family, evidently. 
A Subscriber at Selma. Ala., writes: “By 
the wav, at home (some fifty miles northeast 
of this), on Sunday, December 18, I noticed 
that a young apple tree had green leaves on it 
then.” Not bad reading for those who have 
the “Southern fever.” 
Our first-page cartoon is not a cheerful 
New Year’s greeting, but a consideration of 
it may lead to the enactment of laws to pre¬ 
vent such sad occurrences which have brought 
sorrow to hundreds of families, and made 
the New Year greeting a mockery, 
Is the practice of sowing millet in the po¬ 
tatoes at the last cultivating to “keep down 
the weeds” and provide fodder for cows, good 
farming or bad farming? In our country 
those who rent land let the rag weeds grow as 
high as bushes among the potatoes. 
In a circular to seedsmen U S. Com. Col- 
man calls attention to eight varieties of 
grasses which he says have never been intro¬ 
duced to any extent into the market, but 
which have been sufficiently tested to war¬ 
rant their general cultivation, or more ex¬ 
tended trial, in various sections. The circu¬ 
lar will be of interest to all experimenting 
farmers. 
It appears that there are few things thai 
will do farmers more good than well-man¬ 
aged farmers’ institutes. It also appears that 
there are few things that will do more to 
make a guy of intelligent agriculture than 
poorly-managed institutes where politicians 
or other interested parties are given space. 
Without a man at the helm who is keen, 
strong and honest, we believe State farmers’ 
institutes bad better not be started at the 
public expense. 
Advices from the hop-growing regions of 
this and other States are gloomy. Prices are 
again much below the cost of production; 
sales are slow, and there is little prospect of 
improvement, as the influx of foreign bops 
prevents a rise. Growers have become dis¬ 
gusted with the business, and many declare 
they will plow up their yards and raise grain 
instead,'orlgo’into the dairy business. Some 
have three years’ stock on hand, and those 
who did not follow the Rural’s advice early 
in the season, and sell when prices were_re¬ 
munerative, now have cause for regret. 
