OCT 20 
THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
A National Journal for Country and Suburban Home . 
Conducted by 
ELBERT 8. CARMAN. 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
No. 84 Park Row, New York. 
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1888. 
NOW, LADY READERS, HERE IS A 
PROPOSITION TO YOU. 
HOW MANY WILL ACCEPT IT ? 
The R. N.-Y. proposes that its lady 
readers enter into a.potato contest of their 
own. In the way of suggestion merely at 
this time, let us propose that the plot be 
33 feet square, or just one-fortieth of an 
acre. This is a very convenient size and 
shape. Each contestant will choose her 
own method in every particular, the kind 
and quantity of fertilizer, or manure, the 
variety of potato, the distance apart to 
plant, etc., etc. It will not of course be 
required that the contestant do all or any 
of the actual work herself, but merely 
that it be done under her direction and 
supervision. The aim will he to produce 
the largest quantity of merchantable potatoes 
on this area at the least cost ; the standard 
of what constitutes a “merchantable” 
potato to be fixed hereafter. The reports 
(to be satisfactorily substantiated) will 
give the full particulars as to the kind of 
soil, fertilizer, manure, variety of potato 
and method of culture, and to be handed 
in before the first of next October. 
THE REWARDS. 
The R. N.-Y.’s further suggestion is 
that from 50 to 500 rewards, or souvenirs 
be settled upon to be given to a corres¬ 
ponding number of the most successful 
contestants. The Rural New-Yorker 
is ready to subscribe $100 for this purpose. 
We believe this to be a very laudable 
project and certain to do a deal of good 
in very many ways. TheR. N.-Y. begs to 
express the hope that those of its friends 
who may take the above view of the 
project, will encourage it by donating 
suitable articles or by contributing such 
moderate sums of money as in the aggre¬ 
gate may enable the] committee (to be 
appointed) to extend the number of sou¬ 
venirs as far as possible, and in this way 
help to secure a general interest and en¬ 
thusiasm throughout the entire potato¬ 
growing country. The Committee to ex¬ 
amine the reports and to award the prizes 
will be made up of persons (either men or 
women as preferred) whose names will be 
a sufficient guaranty of strict, impartial 
action. 
FINALLY, 
All of our female readers, whether young 
or old, who desire to enter the lists will 
kindly send in their names and addresses 
on postal cards, adding the words “For 
the Potato Contest.” -j 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
The Japan qpince worked upon an 
apple stock last spring has made a growth 
of one foot. The edible quince worked 
upon the same stock has grown 20 inches. 
“The refrigerator meat will not bear the 
carting about and the exposure necessary to 
the country trade. This one fact, it is to be 
hoped, Providence will preserve for our bene¬ 
fit. The back towns may yet grow younq 
cattle for beef, to be turned off, when no 
more than two years old, and driven for¬ 
ward to other towns, where forage is more 
salable and commands a higher price." 
col. f. d. curtis page 692 
It is a mystery to the R. N.-Y., why 
bu ders do not have their chimneys put 
up with cement instead of the usual lime 
mortar. We refer especially to that part 
of the chimney above the dwelling which 
is exposed to the weather. 
“It is not poverty or stinginess that makes 
our country schools the outrageous burial 
grounds they are, but a habit of indifference 
and the American fashion of leaving to our 
neighbors all interference in troublesome 
matters. Arouse a public sprit and the 
work is done." 
lelia s. taylor, page 699. 
Suppose you supply a mellow soil 
10 inches deep and plant the seed 
potatoes at the bottom. Where do the 
tubers form? Near the bottom; near the 
middle or near the top of the soil? That 
is what we have tried to find out this sea¬ 
son. 
At the end of the season we may now 
repeat that Papa Gontier has given us 
more roses, than any other tender rose in 
our collection. It has been in bud or 
flower during the entire season. This 
rose is a first rate success as an out-door 
constant bloomer. 
Statesmen are fond of telling how the 
steel rail has revolutionized the world by 
rendering the railroad a certainty. We 
are told on page 694 of a new business for 
the steel rail. It can be used as an agri¬ 
cultural implement. One must farm on 
a grand scale however in order to profita¬ 
bly employ the power needed to move 
the rail. In a neighborhood where the 
farmers are on such good terms that they 
can “change work,’’horses enough to draw 
the rail could be as readily secured as they 
are for work in the horse-power thrasher. 
Why would not the steel rail do good 
work on our country roads? 
The White Pine, cut back every year 
or so, is, as we have stated, one of the 
most charming of evergreen trees. Every 
year it engages one’s admiration more 
and more. The tree in the course of from 
10 to 12 years becomes as thickly clothed 
with its airy foliage as does the Common 
Hemlock and it bears cutting back just 
as well. 
At this season White Pines so treated 
assume a new and striking appearance. 
The outer foliage or new growth is of the 
light or steel-green, characteristic of the 
tree, while the inner or older foliage is of 
a golden color—the leaves which soon are 
to fall and cover the ground underneath. 
The effect is a mass of light green upon a 
golden back ground. 
•-- 
Some very remarkable things have been 
claimed for the milk separator. Accord¬ 
ing to general belief it cleans milk, des¬ 
troys all disease germs, enables the dairy¬ 
man to make butter and sell standard 
milk from one milking, and performs 
other wonderful things. It is safe to say 
that there is no dairy implement so little 
understood by the farmers in general, as 
the separator. This, while the principle 
upon which it works is the simplest thing 
imaginable. In next week’s number of 
the Rural we shall give the views of 
some of our best dairy authorities on a 
point of vital importance connected with 
the separator. Many dairymen say it is 
a long time since they have heard any¬ 
thing new about their business. They 
will get some new ideas if they read next 
week’s Rural. 
N OW we have a swift and cruel result 
of the recent grain gambling in Chi¬ 
cago. The price of flour has shot up at a 
remarkable speed, and thousands of poor 
families have been driven to the verge of 
desperation by the demands of flour 
dealers. And the misery comes nearest 
to those who buy bread of the bakers. 
The ordinary five-cent loaf weighs 20 
oun-ces. It has just been cut down to 17 
ounces, because, as the bakers say, the 
price of flour has been driven to such a 
point that 20-ounce bread cannot be made 
at a profit. This three ounce reduction 
is like cutting away so much from the 
life of the city poor. The extra money 
thus cruelly wrung from those who can 
least afford to lose it, does not go to the 
producer. It stays in the hands of the 
gamblers who manipulate prices. The 
poor man who might steal the three 
ounces of bread these gamblers have taken 
from him, may be sent to prison; the 
“speculator” with his cruel and contempt¬ 
ible system of wholesale theft seems to be 
protected by the laws. It is wrong 1 It 
is a crime! Farmers who see the profits 
of your labor go to enrich gamblers, la¬ 
borers who see the bread snatched from 
your mouths by designing knaves, you 
have a common interest in this matter. 
Work together and you can right this 
wrong. Stand apart and you will always 
be duped. 
brevities. 
Which of the four courses proposed by Mr. 
Gregory on page 694 would you adopt? 
The name of the friend who sent two large 
Duchess pears to the R. N.-Y. is desired. 
Prices of coffee are steadily advancing. 
We shall have to pay more for our coffee. 
The chestnut crop in New Jersey is greater 
than it has ever been known to be before. 
The trees are literally laden. 
J. J. H. Gregory, after discussing it, pro¬ 
poses to consider the question during the long 
evenings of the coming winter. 
W E have been feeding apple pomace to the 
cows. “The neighbors” thought it would 
make cows shrink in their milk. It hasn’t 
done so yet. 
Iron rails as farm implements. The article 
on page 694 tells how one farmer has utilized 
iron or steel rail road rails in farm operations 
of various kinds. 
Our caster-oil plants, growing where a ma¬ 
nure heap had been for six months or more, 
reached the height of 17 feet when they were 
cut down by frost. 
Read the excellent article on country schools 
on page 699. We are going to keep right at 
this subject until somebody wakes up in your 
district and starts a reform in school matters. 
Cannot the idea advanced by Prof Stock- 
bridge on page 697 be carried out? Why 
should young men go west to start a cattle 
ranch when thousands of acres of land are 
waiting in >ew England? 
We like the European Linden. It is a beau¬ 
tifully symmetrical tree, a rapid grower and 
very hardy. The weeping variety is also 
desirable. Unfortunately it is a favorite of 
the borer at the Rural Grounds. 
After trying to make cider with a small 
hand press we are prepared to offer the opin¬ 
ion that the proportion of profitable product 
to work performed is less with this machine 
than with any other implement we have tried. 
The article on page 676 on Weeds, Apples 
and Sheep credited to J. M Drew was really 
written by Prof. I. P. Roberts. Prof. R. 
neglected to sign the article which was dictat¬ 
ed to Mr. Drew and we made the mistake of 
crediting Mr. D. as the author. 
Consider the fact that in every working 
season there are 50 or 60 working days so 
raiuy or disagreeable that a man cannot do 
full work out of doors. The farmer who plans 
for profitable work indoors on these days is an 
economist in the true sense of the word. 
Do you realize what you can learn by spend¬ 
ing a day in the New York markets? A man 
with a good tongue and with open eyes and 
ears can learn a good deal there aoout selling 
and handling produce. Our friend “JerseyS 
man” proposes to spend a day in looking 
through the markets and will tell us what he 
sees and hears. „ 
The probability is that canned tomatoes 
will be higher in price this season. The crop 
in the regular canning districts has been a 
partial failure. Prepare to spend a little 
more money on tomatoes if you buy the usual 
quantity. It is strauge that farmers provide 
an excellent market for canned tomatoes. 
One would suppose they could can their own 
supply. Perhaps they will after this year’s 
experience. 
There are disagreeable things about a na¬ 
tional election. It interferes with business 
considerably. No man can march around 
with a torch at night, go to political meeiings 
or get excited over a political talk with his 
neighbor without neglecting his work. It 
takes a cool head to go through an exciting 
Presidential election without “slopping over” 
now and then. Keep cool, friends, the coun¬ 
try is safe, for a while at least, no matter who 
is elected. 
We have received a bunch of a new grape 
called White Bell, from D. Wettlin, Hornells- 
ville N. Y. It is said to be a chance seedling 
originating at Naples N. Y.; as early as Con¬ 
cord, a vigorous grower. The berries are 
about the size of Concords and of the color of 
Niagaras. They cling to the stem closely; 
the skin is very firm, the pulp much the same 
as that of Concord though a little more acid 
in the center; seeds rather large. It should 
prove a long.keeper. 
Mr. Jno. II. Evans, of Lewiston, Idaho, 
under date of September 24, writes as 
follows: “We find since gathering the 
Idaho pear that all are affected with the 
Coddling moth. We wanted the man 
who owns the orchard to try Paris-green 
last spring, but as the moth had only en¬ 
tered the orchard last season, he thought 
he would try some other expedient this 
season, as he hoped they would not hurt 
the fruit much. Next spring spraying 
will be resorted to largely.” 
A valid objection to the Cratmguses is 
that they are the first to lose their foliage 
in the fall. The double-flowering thorns 
are beautiful while in bloom. Nothing 
can be more showy than Paul’s with its 
thousands of little double red roses, and 
a pleasing effect is produced by working 
the Double White upon it. But having 
duly appreciated these little trees during 
their blooming periods, there is little leit 
to praise. A tree stripped of its foliage a 
full month before' its neighbors mars the 
effect of ornamental grounds decidedly. 
-- 
The articles on the relative merits of 
fall and winter plowing which were pub¬ 
lished in a late Rural have called out 
renewed discussion. This is one of the 
topics that seems to be always new. Suc¬ 
cessful farming is indeed a study. What 
other business has to deal with such va¬ 
riable conditions? There are standard 
principles of agriculture that are sure to 
hold good whenever thoughtfully applied. 
The successful farmer is the observer who 
thoroughly understands the condition and 
situation of his soil and then works on 
fixed agricultural principles. 
-■*-■»» »«-■»- 
Commission merchants are charging to¬ 
day (13th) two to two and a half for Con¬ 
cords—nine pound baskets for 25 cents. 
Rebecca (white) 30 cents in five-pound 
baskets; Catawbas four to five in five or 
10-pound baskets. Dedawares are scarce. 
The price is six to eight cents. Salems, 
five cents; Brightons four, Ionas five, 
Duchess six cents. 
No 1 Bartlettsare three to $3.25 per keg 
holding a bushel; No. 2, $2.00; Seckels, 
No. 1,$3.50; No. 2, $2.00; Greening apples 
&1.50 per barrel; Baldwins $1.50, Northern 
Spy $175. Chestnuts are from $3 to $3.50 
per bushel. 
Among our last lot of hybrids between 
Rosa rugosa and Remontants is one with 
canes nearly thornless. One shoot is en¬ 
tirely so. The foliage is remarkable, 
being clustered, peculiar in form and of a 
very dark color. 
Rhus Osbeckii, a single plant, was 
received from ,Ellwanger & Barry in the 
spring of last year. It was killed 
to the ground during the past winter. This 
season it has made a growth of two shoots, 
nine feet high. This sumach is a recent 
introduction from China. It is said to 
grow to a large size and that its foliage 
turns to a beautiful autumnal color. Its 
leaves remind one of those of the ailantus. 
In the spring of 1883, the following 
grape-vines were received from Mr. Jacob 
Rommel, of Morrison, Mo: Amber, 
Elvira, Faith, Pearl and Transparent. 
They have fruited for the past three years. 
Something may be said in favor of each, 
but we have little or nothing to add to 
last year’s report. There are other and 
better grapes for this climate. 
Events of the past few weeks have 
drawn public attention to two facts con¬ 
nected with our postal service that de¬ 
mand attention. '1 he various political 
campaign committees are flooding the 
mails with campaign documents of all 
sizes and shapes. This is all right so 
long as the proper postage is paid on such 
matter, but the authorities should work a 
force large enough to handle these docu¬ 
ments without interfering with the regu¬ 
lar mail matter. There is a general com¬ 
plaint that in many instances these politi¬ 
cal documents receive first attention, and 
that the regular mails are delayed, 
waiting the distribution of this political 
stuff. This is all wrong and ought to be 
stopped. Another complaint is made to 
the effect that many congressmen are 
using their franking privieges to dis¬ 
tribute thousands of political documents. 
It has even been found that names of 
prominent congressmen have been forged 
and Democratic documents sent under the 
supposed frank of a Republican, and vice 
versa. Why keep up this franking priv¬ 
ilege for congressmen? Let them pay 
their own postage. Reduce the rate or 
postage. Put a stop to this dead-head 
business. 
WHEAT AND BREAD. 
