766 
THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
ANatlonal Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Conducted by 
ELBERT 8. CARMAN. 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
No. 84 Park Row, New York. 
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1888. 
BETWEEN THE WOMEN OF 
AMERICA. 
^S^OUNG girls, young ladies, old ladies. 
enter your names for the Women’s 
Potato Contest! You see that a liberal 
list of presents will be provided, and it is 
the R. N.-Y.’s desire that every deserving , 
meritorious effort shall le rewarded. We 
desire to swell both the lists of presents 
and the lists of contestants as far as pos¬ 
sible. We ward it to le a potato contest 
between the women of America. Make the 
plots any shape you choose, only so that 
each contains 1,089 square feet or over. 
Raise any variety of potato you choose 
and plant and cultivate the plot in your 
own way. Use as much or as little man¬ 
ure or fertilizer as you choose. 
We want to show the world that 
women may take an interest in agricul¬ 
ture as well as men, and we want to show 
the world the result next fall. Fall in, 
ladies—the lines are forming. Send 
names and addresses on postals, adding 
“For the Women’s Potato Contest.” 
“Some one has said that if you would 
have a man or woman possess a lovely and 
loving nature, the childhood must have love 
infused into it. He who has never been 
loved will show small capability of loving 
again .”— Oliver Howard, page, 762. 
--<♦< » ♦ « ♦»- 
Lively, ladies! The “Women’s Potato 
Contest” is for you and the souvenirs are 
coming in freely. Send in your names. 
"It is a general rule that any fodder 
likely to affect the odor or taste of the milk 
will be less likely to do so if fed at milking 
time It will not affect the milk then drawn 
and will have time to become dissipated be¬ 
fore the next milking .' 1 ' 1 — Prof. H. H. Wing, 
page, 764. 
The R. N.-Y’s Red-caps are said by 
experts who have seen them to be a very 
uniformly-marked, promising lot of fowls. 
They are rather slow of growth. Their 
plumage is a rich dark brown and black. 
Mr. J. S. Woodward, of Niagara Co., N. 
Y., is a farmer, a practical farmer, a 
scientific farmer and a successful farmer. 
He has proven himself the best Secretary 
that the N. Y. Agricultural Society has 
ever known. He is a man of solid edu¬ 
cation, of pleasing address, of sound 
health. He has ever been the uncom¬ 
promising advocate of temperance. Who 
can mention a man better qualified to be 
our next Commissioner of Agriculture? 
•- ! »»•- 
“The tales of mortgages , debt, and ruin, 
that hang over so many farms devoted to 
special crops, like cotton, wheat, etc , ought 
to teach us not to put all our eggs in one 
basket. I believe that the man who comes 
nearest to producing all the necessaries of 
life at home comes nearest to being inde¬ 
pendent.'"— C. C. W., page 767. 
The farmers of the country are often 
besought by smart agents to purchase 
various “concentrated feeds.” In the cir¬ 
cular describing such feeds will be found 
an analysis from some supposed chemist 
indicating a wonderful feeding .value. Such 
tables of analyses are very taking to far¬ 
mers who prefer to say “nitrogenous food” 
in the place of bran, or “carbonaceous 
food” in the place of corn meal, and 
many costly experiments are made by 
those who ought to know better. A 
case of this kind has just been brought 
to our notice. A farmer in Pennsylvania 
paid $120 per ton for a “Concentrated 
Food” that proved to be a mixture of 
wheat bran and corn meal. Prof. Ams- 
by, of the Pennsylvania Experiment 
Station, has written us a very sensible and 
important article, taking this case as a 
text. It will appear in our Thanksgiving 
Number. 
“7 wanted them to see for themselves that 
a man could be a farmer and a gentleman, 
could be a farmer and not a clod-hopper 
and a fool, could love his farm-work and 
have intelligence and common sense, and 
learn that education and brains are of as 
much use to the farmer as to the business 
man." —M. C. B., page, 772. 
At the election the other day, the 
farmers of Massachusetts did some good 
work without regard to the rational is¬ 
sue. In the State Legislature the House 
has always been in favor of “honest but¬ 
ter,” while the Senate has persistently 
favored the bogus article. Several bills 
to protect alike the producers and con¬ 
sumers of butter have been passed by 
the lower body and defeated by the up¬ 
per. This having again occurred at the 
close of the last session, when the Sen¬ 
ate “went back” on its previous ac¬ 
tion, the farmers became weary, and 
black-listed, the chief offenders. The 
result should be a good lesson to farmers 
and politicians in other States also. In 
the new Legislature out of the 40 Sena¬ 
tors elected, 28 have pledged themselves 
to vote against “oleo.” Good for the 
farmers of Massachusetts! Hurrah for 
“Honest Butter!” 
'•'Labor uses up all the receipts from crops 
unless worked to the very best advantage. 
The labor of handling 10 or 13 cords of 
manure would nearly buy and apply fer 
tilizers enough for an acre, and the crop 
could be got in many times two or three days 
sooner by using the fertilizer instead of the 
manure."— Stephen Hoyt’s Sons, page, 761. 
-♦«» ♦ » »- 
A correspondent in this issue points 
out some of the absurdities to be found 
in school-book illustrations. Are not 
these criticisms just? It has always been 
so. Years ago the writer acted for a 
short time as agent for a system of school 
books. It was a part of the printed in¬ 
structions to refer to “the costly and 
truthful engravings.” In the geography 
was an illustration of a lumbering scene. 
One director, a keen farmer, looked at 
the picture and noticed that two men 
running a cross-cut saw were both push¬ 
ing upon it in a way that would have 
made it impossible for them to saw T wood. 
He would not take the books because he 
said that men who had such a poor idea 
of farm work could not know what coun¬ 
try boys and girls ought to know. Is 
there any reason why we should not have 
a set of school books with pictures and 
printed matter particularly suited to coun¬ 
try scholars? If there is we would like 
to hear about it. 
- ♦ «» ♦ . »» - 
"Poultry raising has been boomed as a 
rich placer, but 1 can buy lots of deserted 
glass houses and unused incubators, show¬ 
ing that the average farmer is better off by 
following his regular~course. Although 
there will always be found men who prosper 
in any calling, the ! r number is compara' 
tively small. I should advise any one to go 
slow in new departures ."— N. Hallock, 
page 761. 
We do not find that a thick skin to a 
grape insures long-keeping qualities, as 
is often stated. It seems to us that more 
depends upon whether there is much or 
little free juice in the grape. It is grant¬ 
ed that of two varieties of Labrusca, the 
one that has the tougher skin will prove 
the better keeper. But if we compare the 
Catawba with the Jefferson, we shall find 
that the skin of the former is tougher 
than that of the latter and yet the latter 
is the better keeper. Both are of Lab- , 
rusca origin, so far as known. The Ca¬ 
tawba has considerable pulp and also a 
good deal of free juice between the pulp 
and skin. 
The Jefferson is meaty throughout. 
The Malaga and other varieties of Vini- 
fera are fine keepers, though they have 
very thin skin. But the juice is held by 
the meaty flesh. There is no pulp or free 
juice. The one decided improvement in 
American grapes needed, is a hardy, vig¬ 
orous variety like the Victoria, Moore’s 
Early or Cottage, that shall bear berries 
with meaty flesh—that is, without pulp 
and without free juice. 
The fifth “National” Horse Show, so- 
called, opened at Madison Square Garden 
in this city, last Monday, with 400 entries. 
All classes, from the tiny pony to the 
heavy Clydesdale, Shire and Percheron, 
were represented. Probably the largest 
exhibit was that of hunters and saddle 
horses, but the trotters, as a class, easily 
led in quality. The tandem and four-in- 
hand teams were also excellent. Many of 
the finest heavy draft horses on the conti¬ 
nent are in this city and the neighbor¬ 
hood, and those exhibited made a very fine 
display. The attendance was large and 
fashionable. Indeed it is doubtful 
whether any other live-stock show in any 
part of the world attracts so much 
wealth, style and fashion as the one an¬ 
nually held here. The exhibitors, the 
judges and the visitors are all—or nearly 
all—members of “society” Indeed the 
“Show” is a “society” event more than 
anything else. There’s nothing inter¬ 
national or even inter-State about it, un¬ 
less a few exhibits from New Jersey may be 
regarded as satisfying both claims. Still 
such displays encourage the breeding of 
the best strains of horses and tend to en¬ 
large the market for them, and are there¬ 
fore worthy of hearty commendation. 
■■ *» . - 
The election is over. Some of our 
readers are, doubtless, supremely happy 
over the result; while others are 
supremely miserable. These elections 
discipline the American people. In what 
other country on the earth could a com¬ 
plete change of policy be effected so 
quickly, so easily and so good-naturedly? 
Who talks about revolution or blood¬ 
shed, because we are to change rulers? 
The man who talked such things would 
be laughed at. This country is safe. 
After all, the people decide these con¬ 
tests. The voice of the majority is gen¬ 
erally right. In our country, the voice 
of the majority will seldom be found 
twice in succession on the wrong side. 
Let us view this election fairly. The de¬ 
feated voters must not think the country 
is going straight to the dogs. It will do 
nothing of the kind. It is too big, too 
strong, too in’elligent to fail all at once. 
The voters who are victorious for the 
time being must realize that they have 
not things all their own way. The mar¬ 
gin is too close to admit of arrogance or 
disregard of the wishes of the people. If 
your leaders do not behave themselves, 
you will be on the under side next time. 
Another point. Many of you have 
neglected business for the past few 
months to help the political cause along. 
Now all that business must be made up, 
and lots of new work must be carried 
out. When you get all ready for busi¬ 
ness again, don’t forget about that club 
ot subscribers you are going to get for 
the Rural, 
NEXiT 
HE M. E. Church of Butler Center 
N. Y., is the first to take advantage 
of our premium offer and secure a bell by 
forming a club of subscribers in the 
church society. Several other church 
societies are forming clubs and there is 
no reason why we should not handle 
hundreds of the bells in this way. Do you 
need a bell on your church? 
AREAS OF THE POTATO CONTEST. 
TN the ‘Ladies’ Contest,’ is itdesira- 
X able to limit the area or specify 
the form of plot? A plot 33 feet square 
means hand culture and means, too, an 
awkward break in a field unless special 
planning be made for much more than 
the ‘contest plot.’ For instance, one 
side of my place is 1G rods and I mark 
rows for all cultivated crops, as corn, po¬ 
tatoes, roots, etc., about three feet 3>£ 
inches or, more exactly, one-fifth of a rod. 
Why debar my wife or daughter from 
growing the family’s supply of potatoes 
in the contest, since the comparative cost 
per bushel is to be the basis of results. 
c. m. j.” 
We would reply that the ladies of the 
“potato contest” are at liberty to choose 
areas of any shape and any size—the 
larger the better—for their plots, only so 
that they be not less than the one-fortieth 
of an acre. The Rural’s idea, respect¬ 
fully submitted, is to allow three-feet- 
square to each plant. Now this gives 363 
plants for a fortieth of an acre plot. Our 
lady contestants may, however, plant two 
feet apart or any other distance apart as 
they may elect. But the entire area must 
be given and it must not be ess than one- 
fortieth of an acre. 
The Rural is open to any suggestions 
whatever, its first desire in the matter 
being to have all things fair and satisfac¬ 
tory to those interested. 
ADDITIONAL 
contributions to the women's potato 
CONTEST. 
R ecorded up to October 3rd. 
$295.00. 
J. C. Vaughan, Chicago, Ills., $10. 
collection of flowering bulbs selected 
from our catalogue for 1889. 
Benjamin Hammond, Fishkill N. Y. 
$12. as follows: Two kegs of Hammond’s 
Slug Shot, 125 pounds each. Two pack¬ 
ages of Grape Dust, 10 pounds each. 
D. Landretii & Sons, Philadelphia, 
Pa , $10 worth of seeds from our 1889 
catalogue. 
S. H. Parvin’s Sons, Cincinnati, O. 
Six of Moody’s Tailor System of Dress¬ 
making, Price of each $5.00 
P. J. Berckmans, President of the 
American Pomological Society, $10. 
T. F. Hoskins M. D., Newport, Ver¬ 
mont, $10 in iron-clad apple trees (his 
selection) in three premiums. 
Toledo Blade, Toledo, O., $5. in five 
yearly subscriptions. 
Prof. J. L Budd, Iowa State Agricul¬ 
tural College, $50 in 100 trees of valu¬ 
able new apples, pears, cherries, plums, 
apricots and ornamental trees and shrubs 
suited to the special climate of prize- 
takers. 
H. M. Engle & Son, Marietta, Pa., $20 
as follows: five Paragon chestnut trees: 
five “Good” peach trees, 50 peach trees, 
assorted leading varieties. 
W. W. Rawson & Co., Boston, Mass., 
$10 worth of vegetable or flower seeds to 
be selected from their 1889 catalogue. 
Prof. C. V. Riley, U. S.Entomologist, 
$5 in cash. 
Mrs. E. E. Stine, Cuyahoga Falls, 
N. Y., $5. as an extra souvenir to the lady 
who raises the largest crop by her own 
personal cultivation, hoeing and all nec¬ 
essary work. 
O J. Putnam, Leominster, Mass., $5 
in one pair of thoroughbred Barred Ply¬ 
mouth Rock chicks. 
Mrs. O. J. Putnam, $1. in one dozen 
bulbs of Freesia refracta alba. 
C L. Ingersoll, President of the 
Colerado State Agricultural Society, $25, 
in ten volumns of the works of Washing¬ 
ton Irving, neatly bound. 
Wilson Bro’s, Easton Pa , $5. in a 
bone and shell mill. 
F. M. IIance, Elyria, O., $16. in one 
trio of Rlack Cochins and one trio of 
Light Brahmas. 
JonN A. Salzer, La Crosse, Wis. $20 
in flower seeds to be selected from their 
1889 catalogue. 
BREVITIES. 
We have to thank our friends for many 
lists of names for the Potato Special. 
Readers of the Thanksgiving Number will 
fiud a picture of a remarkably useful tool to 
be used in the treuch culture of potatoes. 
If anybody thinks it pays to hire a cheap 
man on the farm, just because he is cheap, all 
right. We don’t find it a paying business. 
The family that can start in for the winter 
with a liking for onions and a good supply of 
that tearful vegetable ought to be thankful 
this year. 
Send in your names, ladies, for the 
Women’s Potato Contest. Our friends, as 
will be seen, are responding very liberally to 
the Rural’s suggestion as to prizes. 
A number of subscribers are sending us 65 
or $10 and ordering the paper “as long as the 
money lasts.” We can accommodate all who 
thus manifest their faith in the paper. 
We are cutting down castor-oil plants, the 
stems of which, near the ground, measure 10 
inches in circumference. These plants while 
still uninjured by frost, are shown in our late 
photographic picture of the visitors at the 
Rural Grounds during the potato contest. 
It is rather hard to find a farmer within 
reasonable distance of a town who now uses 
wood for fuel. Coal is easier to handle and 
on most farms considered cheaper. We are 
now burning the tops of white oak trees in a 
furnace set in the cellar. This fuel gives 
reasonably good satisfaction. 
Does it pay to put water closet fixtures into 
a country house? They are very convenient, 
it is true. In the city where a large system 
of sewage is employed there may be no dan¬ 
ger. In the country, where all waste must 
run into a cesspool, is there safety? Will not 
a good earth-closet answer every purpose? 
In another column will be found a list of 
farmers’ institutes to be held in N. Y. State 
this winter. The meetings last year proved 
very instructive and popular. Those who 
attended were well repaid. The committees 
should be met by a crowded house at every 
one^of these appointments. We earnestly ad- 
visejour readers to go to these meetings and 
see for themselves what is going on. 
