438 
THE tfORAL MEW'YORKER. 
JULY 24 
FARMER’S CLUB. 
(Continued from page 483.) 
ashes for an orchard of any kind. But there 
is no use whatever in placing the ashes near 
the trunks of old trees. The feeding roots ex¬ 
tend out as far, at least, as the branches. Hen 
manure would be excellent also for trees, 
though it would be better not to mix it with 
the ashes before application. The hen manure 
is strong in nitrogen and phosphoric acid and 
weak in potash. The ashes are strong in pot¬ 
ash, so that the two make a first-rate complete 
manure. 2. It does not much matter when 
such trees are pruned so long as they are not 
in leaf. Cut out all decayed or sickly branches. 
BOARDING DOGS. 
Subscriber, Cherry Hill, N. J .—Quite a 
number of farmers take dogs to board. 
City men frequently have valuable ani¬ 
mals that they cannot carry through the 
summer. They are glad to make arrange¬ 
ments with some reliable farmer to take the 
dogs and care for them until fall or winter. 
Many of the dogs sold by the fanciers are 
kept in this way, the farmer taking the female 
and caring for her until her litter are large 
enough to sell. Some farmers like this busi¬ 
ness, but there is little money in it. A Setter 
dog, boarded in our neighborhood last sum¬ 
mer, was a constant source of trouble and an¬ 
noyance. 
Miscellaneous. 
M. W., Mount Pleasant, Utah. —Where can 
Canary Grass seed be obtained, and will it 
thrive here? Where can Couch or Scutch 
Grass-seed be purchased? What is a pest 
elsewhere may prove a blessing here on 
our hills and roiling bench lands, rich 
in everything except moisture. Alfalfa with¬ 
stands our drought of three months’ dura¬ 
tion, but we cannot use it for pasture, for if 
we did so regularly all the horned stock 
turned on it would bloat and die before the 
end of the season. It is a blessing for hay, 
but a curse for pasture. 
Ans—C atalogues offer it as Phalaris arun- 
dinacea, a variety of which gives the “ Rib¬ 
bon Grass ” of gardens. The price of seed is 
about 60 cents a pound. Couch or Quack 
Grass we find offered iu J. M. Thorburn & Co.’s 
catalogue at 20 cents per pound. The seed is 
usually imperfect, and but a small proportion 
will grow. Look for Triticum repens, its bo¬ 
tanical name. 
II. J. F., Columbia, N. J. —Iu my potato 
field there is a small patch on which no 
signs of potatoes have appeared ; the same 
is the case with other’s in this neighborhood. 
Why ? 
Ans.—W e can not answer this question. 
The fact holds as to other crops, trees, etc., as 
well. We can no more explain it than we 
can the cause of clover sickness—so-called. 
Possibly it may be due to an accumulation of 
iron or other material iu such places, which 
in too large quantities is harmful to vegeta¬ 
tion. 
No name or address. —1. What is the in¬ 
closed plant? 2. What would be a fair price 
per gallon for skimmed milk sold to laboring 
people iu this neighborhood? 
Ans. —1. The plant is Trifolium arvense— 
Rabbit-foot or Stone Clover. It is a natural¬ 
ized annual from Europe, of no value. 2. The 
price would depend somewhat on the locality. 
About the Rural Grounds eight cents a gallon 
is considered a fair price. 
S. K., St. Anns, Ont., Can. —How can I get 
rid of ants that build their nests on the roots 
of my fruit trets ? 
Ans. —We know of no better way than to 
pour down the holes the kerosene emulsion. A 
small quantity of carbolic acid shaken up in a 
large quantity of w ater would kill them if used 
in the same way. 
W. II. J., Edgewood, Pa. —Who is a dealer 
in live pigeons? 
Ans. —If the pigeons are to be eaten, prob¬ 
ably E. &. O. Ward, of this city, will handle 
them. If they are for breeding purposes you 
might write to the Associated Fanciers, Phila¬ 
delphia, Pa. 
./. E. D.. Kasson, Minn. —For information 
regarding Trade Schools, address Manager 
N. Y. Trade School, First Avenue, between 
67ih & 68tli Sts., Hew York. 
S. J. B., Eau Clair, Wt's.—What paper 
gives information for paper makers? 
Ans. —The Paper Mill, New York City. 
DISCUSSION. 
1850. THEN AND NOW. 1888. 
A. C. B.. Rockville, Ind. —In comparing 
the old Mooke’s Rural New-Yorker with 
the pi esent paper, you quote prices for 1850 and 
1888. Then, in a late issue you ask if the aver¬ 
age farmer of Indiana makes fanning pay in 
1888—if not, why not with the prices of staple 
commodities in bis favor ? Our county, Parke, 
is purely agricultural, and 1 think it is fully 
an average one for the West. 
In 1850, to laise here 10 acres of wheat would 
have cost $14 50: in 1888. it costs $38. Ten 
acres of corn in 1850, cost $10; in 1888, $42.25. 
In 1850, our total assessment of personals vas 
$077,500; in 1888, $2,904,000. In 1850, our 
rate of taxation was 73 cents: in 1888, it is 168 
cents per $100. In 1850, the entire expense of 
the county was $19,400: in 1888, $168,400. The 
farmer of 1850 was frugal with both time and 
money. The farmer of 1888 is not. The aver¬ 
age farmer now works only five days in 
the week. He reads the daily paper six 
days in the w’eek, and discusses its con¬ 
tents on Saturday in his town. In 1850, 
there were no dailies, no discussion, no loss 
of time. In bills for dress, table and all 
little expenses our outlay has increased twenty¬ 
fold, keeping pace with our rates of taxation 
at the least. In 1888 the little misses’ shoes 
would clothe the young girls from bead to foot 
in 1850. Pfa-nuts, candy and toys in 1888 would 
pay for all our “hog and hominy” in 1850. In 
1850 whenever we did go to town on Saturday, 
we hitched Dobbin and Gray to the old farm 
wagon and all took a ride. In 1888, we al¬ 
ways go to town on Saturdays — father, 
mother and the girls in one carriage drawn by 
“pedigreed” bays; and the boys each in a fine 
buggy attached to a horse near cousin to 
Maud S. or Jay Eye-See, accompanied by his 
best girl, race with each other on roads as 
elegant as the boulevards. Still the farmer 
of 1888 does make money—see increase of 
personals. Of course were he to reduce the 
items of expense to those of 1850, he would 
make much more. But he cannot do so; nor 
would he if he could. The discovery of gold in 
California, the inflation of prices incident to 
our “late unpleasantness”and many other causes 
have made our mode of living much more 
luxurious and expensive than the mode in 
1850. What our farmers now buy and use 
often as simple luxuries, such as sewing- 
machines, pianos and music, reapers, mowers, 
thrashers, rail-road travel, telegrams, daily 
newspapers, free schools, fine roads, fine har¬ 
ness, horses, buggies, etc., were in great 
part not in existence in 1850, and for such 
they pay iu 1888 more money than they 
made from their farms in 1850. Farmers of 
Parke County keep ahead of the times, and 
that they are able to do so is the best of evi¬ 
dence that farming here at least does pay. 
A FEW OBJECTIONS TO THE “GARDEN OF THE 
NORTHWEST.” 
R. S. V., Cypress River, Manitoba.— In 
the Rural of January 7, advice was given 
against the purchase of a l un-down farm. 
Now we all know that farming properly fol¬ 
lowed is a profitable business; but here, though 
the land is rich, some seasons good and crops 
large, the separate prices are as small as 
freights can make them; and the climate for¬ 
bids all hopes of a comfoi table home. The 
stockman’s newspapers report horses feeding 
out the year round (such horses!), but a farm¬ 
ers horses should not get on the grass till the 
second week in June, aud before the middle of 
September every blade is frozen down again. 
No doubt good farming pays here aud the 
country is healthful aud dry; iu fact, too much 
so, as sanitary precautions are neglected and 
water fit to drink is often scarce. The short 
summer necessitates a constant rush. Though 
we lose sight of the sun for a few hours every 
evening, we have faint continuous twilight 
all night; then the short daylight in winter 
requires some rustling to get any work done 
beyond necessary attendance on stock. 
I can start here on $800. What could I do 
with that in Virginia or Florida? F. S. G., of 
Phoenix, Arizona, publishes in the Rural, a 
fine business prospectus, but “his is a desert 
country and nothing of value will grow except 
by irrigation.” Now this country produces 
good grass and small timber, but I want a 
good climate, sufficient rain and a climate not 
too cold. Here it requires 320 acres to make a 
farm and all out-of-doors for pasturage. Does 
it pay to travel three-quarters of a mile to the 
plow and four miles to find the cows? In this 
the Garden of the Northwest, small fruits do 
well in a wild state: raspberries, strawberries, 
black cui rants, wild cherries and saskatoons 
are all good and plentiful in their season, but 
some years they have no season. In the serial 
“Andersonville Violets” a fine country for a 
man of small means who wants to make a 
home is depicted. Is there such a country as 
that where John Rockwell made a home, and 
where is it? I got rid of niv place this spring 
and am working for one of your subscribers. 
[II. N.-Y.—The section described in the 
story is North-eastern Mississippi ] 
MORE ABOUT THE BRAZILIAN FLOUR CORN. 
A. H. H. Rayvh.ee, Md. —As I have noticed 
several articles in the Rural about the Bra¬ 
zilian Flour Corn aud as I have raised it aud 
eaten of the article, 1 will give a little of my 
experience with it. In April, 1887, I pur¬ 
chased a quart for 40 cents, and planted it in 
fairly good ground about May 10. I cul¬ 
tivated it several times during the season and 
cut it about October 15. It grew very tall. I 
planted two and three grains iu a hill and it 
produced about as many stalks as there were 
grains planted. It did not seem to tiller much. 
The stalks were very tough and heavy. I 
could not get them to cure; I cut it up and 
set it in large shocks. It remained in the 
shock several weeks and cured very slowly. I 
finally husked it out and had to spread it out 
iu the granary, and then seme of it molded. 
As to its making fkur like wheat, I would 
not like to make the change: it makes 
a kind of meal-flour, neither one thing nor 
the other. I am not raising any this year, as I 
consider it a waste of land to devote any to it. 
It will not make a profitable fodder crop in 
tLis section. I would much rather have the 
sweet varieties for fodder—Stowell’sEvergreen 
or some other good kind. The stalks bore 
two small ears; very few had three, and a 
good many had only one. I raised about 
seven bushels of ears from the quart I had 
planted. I had about 1^ bushel of it shelled, 
and the miller ground it the same as he would 
any other corn for meal. It made beautiful 
white meal, but we would much rather have 
the regular field corn for our use as meal. 
We also tried it green, the same as sweet corn, 
but I did not like it as well. If the season had 
not been a little late the frost would have 
caught it before it was ripe, as we generally 
have frost about the last of October, and 
sometimes as early as the first. 
£w lf)je Bmtmv 
TALKS BY UNCLE MARK. 
We are having a desperate fight with the 
weeds at our place. They sit up at night to 
grow. A man must sleep at m'ght but a weed 
is not so particular. It keeps at work all the 
time. It has no rest. It delights in doing 
evil. It is a thorough rascal. What a tre¬ 
mendous growth these weeds make. What 
are they good for? They grow larger than 
the grass yet the stock won’t touch them; they 
are tender and juicy yet a man would almost 
starve to death before he would eat them; 
they make an eye-sore for every goed farmer, 
and cause no end of worry and vexation. I 
always want to be fair. If weeds 
had any good qualities I would 
mention them, but I don’t know of any. 
Every big weed preaches a sermon—that is the 
best I eanjsay for them. It shows how a bad 
habit or a wrong idea may do lots of damage 
if neglected. A little weed, just peeping out 
of the ground, hurts nobody. It is only when, 
through our neglect to cut it off.it gets a firm 
hold on the ground and grows big enough to 
strangle a useful plant, that it is to be feared. 
So with a bad habit. If we give it a cut when 
we first notice it, that’s the end. If we 
let it grow and get strong, that’s only the 
beginning. It will change our whole lives 
or it will have to come out by the 
roots and take a good-sized piece of 
ourselves with it. When you kill weeds think 
out plans for killing the bad habits. Thus 
you will kill two birds with one stone. 
We are fattening a hen at home She is 
a greedy old thing. Now that she has 
plenty of food constantly before her, she 
eats until she can hardly walk. She is fool¬ 
ish. The more she eats the fatter she will 
get and the sooner she will be killed. If 
she had good sense she would starve herself 
a little just now and get so thin that we 
would give her up and take another hen. 
The trouble is we don’t look at these things 
until it is too late to make them as we want 
them. 
In talking politics for the past few 
weeks I have urged you to get ac¬ 
quainted with party meanings and 
party men. I tried to give a pretty fair 
statement of what the two parties meant to do. 
I guess I was pretty fair because I have had a 
letter from a man who says he is glad to see I 
am in favor of a certain side of the tariff ques¬ 
tion, when I am not in favor of that side. 
I only wished tostateboth sides just as fairly 
as they could be stated. Now a word about 
party men. We want to investigate the re¬ 
cords of the candidates. I have decided to 
let this part of the subject alone. So many 
men who know far more about it than I do 
are writing “Lives” of the various candi¬ 
dates that I must refer you to them. 
I hope you will read about all the 
candidates and see what sort of boys they 
were aud what sort of men they seem to be. 
This will help you somewhat in taking a party 
stand. 
I am very much in favor of attending 
caucuses. A c aucus is often a very important 
thing in a campaign. A few bad men can 
have a tremendous power to do evil in a cau¬ 
cus, if they can only run things to suit them¬ 
selves. It is a favorite political trick to con¬ 
trol the caucus. A few selfish men can come 
out and nominate themselves as delegates and 
then go ahead and run things to suit them- 
i selves. They go on the principle that the 
majority of the people will let them 
go rather than vote against the 
party. Now, our form of politics provides 
a remedy for such work. If the good men 
would go to the caucus and see that the proper 
delegates were elected and the proper resolu¬ 
tions passed there would be little trouble. It 
That Tired Feeling 
The warm weather has a debilitating effect, 
especially upon those who are within doors most 
of the time. The peculiar, yet common, com¬ 
plaint known as “that tired feeling,” is the 
result. This feeling can be entirely overcome by 
taking Hood’s Sarsaparilla, which gives new life 
and strength to all the functions of the body. 
“I could not sleep; had no appetite. I took 
Hood’s Sarsaparilla and soon began to sleep 
soundly; could get up without that tired aud 
languid,feeling; and my appetite improved.” 
R. A. Sanford, Kent, Ohio. 
Hood’s Sarsaparilla 
Sold by all druggists. $ 1 ; six for $5. Mada 
only by C. I. HOOD & CO., Lowell, Mass. 
IOO Doses One Dollar 
Teacher: “Now, Johnnie, suppose your father has au income of five thousand dollars a 
year from his business. He spends two thousand for your mamma’s clothes; fifty dollars for 
his own clothing, and one thousand dollars iu miscellaneous expenses. How much will he have 
at the end of the year?” 
“Johnnie (after mature deliberation): “ ’Leven thousand dollars.” 
Teacher: “ Eleven thousand dollars! You don’t seem to know your arithmetic.” 
Johnnie: “Well, I know pop. He’s a Nalderman, he is!” 
