THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
JAN 26 
8 56 
THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
ANatlonal Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Conducted by 
ELBERT S. CARMAN. 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
No. 34 Park Row, New York. 
SATURDAY, JANUARY 26, 1889. 
The Rural New-Yorker for 1889, will 
be, as hitherto, invariably, $2.00 a year for 
single subscriptions, and $1.50 in clubs 
of five or more. 
Farming is my ideal life ; therefore I am a 
farmer. E. Y. Lyon. 
One of the best evidences that the R. 
N.-Y. No. 2 potato is a superior variety 
is that there are so many parties claiming 
that it is their seedling, which the R. N.- 
Y. has appropriated. Thus, you see, 
how delightful it is to help on agricul¬ 
tural progress by original contributions. 
I have seldom seen a man that did his ivork 
well who did not perform a fair amount of 
it. E. Davenport. 
The R. N.-Y. never varies its 
rates (as published in every issue), 
for advertising. All advertising patrons 
are treated precisely alike. This state 
ment is made every year at about this 
time, in order to spare intending adver¬ 
tisers the trouble of any corresp^ ndence 
with a view to obtaining lower rates. 
There are but few journals published in 
this country whose rates are absolutely 
invariable. The Rural New-Yorker is 
one ot the few. 
Pres. W. I. Chamberlain proposes, in 
a few weeks, to favor the R. N.-Y. with a 
series of short articles which will discuss, 
in a popular way, the rights of person 
and property and their limitations in 
society and under government, especially 
the limitations of property under com¬ 
merce and when invested in monopolies. 
This covers the ground of land owner¬ 
ship, taxation, control of commerce, 
especially in regulating weights, meas¬ 
ures and currency, and forbidding and 
punishing counterfeiting and adultera¬ 
tion. It also covers the ground of patent 
rights, railway property, pools, trusts, 
grain and stock gambling; in short, all 
that tends to interfere with or “corner ” 
the prices of necessities of life. 
The time has come when farmers must 
“ earn their bread by the sw’eat of their 
brows ” (brains) and not wholly by their 
hands. Hence the prices of what they 
raise as affected by the above, are fit sub¬ 
jects to be discussed in an agricultural 
paper, following on our first page 
cartoons. 
“ There is no such thing as a cheap man. 
You must either pay full wages for a capable 
man, or hire an incapable man at a serious 
loss. Generally speaking, these “ cheap ” 
hands are worth considerably less than noth¬ 
ing. They do not often ask me for a job ."— 
T. H. Hoskins, page 50. 
From a recent decision of the Supreme 
Court of Iowa, it is evident that no miti¬ 
gation of the rigors of the prohibitory 
laws of the State can be expected from 
its judicial tribunals. The Court has 
just decided that any drink containing 
ever so small a quantity of alcohol is “in¬ 
toxicating” within the meaning of the 
State Constitution. In the case in ques¬ 
tion, the Court below had decided that a 
certain drink called “Cummings” was not 
intoxicating. Chemical analysis showed 
that it contained only three per cent, of 
alcohol, and the chemists testified that it 
did not have an intoxicating effect except 
in cases where persons wholly unused to 
alcohol might take large quantities of it. 
The Court, however, held that in the 
meaning of the law it was immaterial 
what effect the alcohol might have upon 
the drinker. The stuff is intoxicating 
and remains such as a drink, no matter 
how much it may be diluted or disguised 
in other liquors. The same principle 
applies to cider and perry, the sale of 
which is illegal in the State. The farm¬ 
ers of Iowa, however, can well afford to 
lose any profit from the prohibition of the 
sale of these beverages in their own State 
in return for the blessings ot peace, econ¬ 
omy and morality that go hand in hand 
with rigidly observed abstinence from 
intoxicants. 
“ A bath tub with water handy should be 
found in every farmer's home, and the hired 
man should be made to feel free to use it 
every night during the heated term. He will 
do more work the next day ."— T. B Terry, 
page 50. 
•--• 
GOOD. 
T HE souvenirs contributed up to the 
19th inst. to the Women’s Potato 
Contest amount, in money value, to over 
$1,000. The entire list will appear in a 
few weeks. 
“ In so far as it is practicable, it seems to 
me in every way desirable to try to furnish 
work throughout the year to desirable men , 
rather than compel them to be idle and on 
expense during the winter , or, at the best, to 
seek employment [elseivhere ."— Prof. G. E. 
Morrow, page 51. 
CONCENTRATION BETTER THAN 
DISPERSION. 
T HE Ives bill, which became a law in 
New York State, in 1887, gave cer¬ 
tain racing associations the privilege of 
selling pools within specified limits of 
time and place, and on condition that 
they should pay to the State Comptroller 
five per cent, of their gate-money. Un¬ 
der this law, $22,619.10 or $23,139 69 
(reports vary), were received by the Comp 
troller in 1887,and $25,012.61 in 1888. Sec¬ 
tion 5 of the law provided that all rev¬ 
enues from this source should be “ annu¬ 
ally distributed in behalf of the State for 
prizes for improving the breeds of cattle, 
sheep and horses at the various county 
fairs throughout the State, by the State 
Agricultural Society.” No disposition 
has hitherto been made of any of this 
fund, which now amounts to about $48, 
000. There are 59 counties in the State, 
so that about $800 which should go to 
each county society, according to the 
provisions of the law, are still in the 
Comptroller’s hands. This is due to the 
action of the town associations, many of 
which are stock companies—mere private 
affairs. Last year their friends in the 
Legislature opposed the distribution of 
the money among the county societies 
alone, and a bill was introduced to allow 
the private stock associations to share in 
the “fund.” It was vigorously opposed, 
however, and defeated, but the distri¬ 
bution of the fund was suspended. 
The town associations are again on 
hand t® press the passage of the 
measure this winter. The county as¬ 
sociations insist that it was mainly by 
their aid that the Ives bill was passed; 
that the lav/ intended that the money 
should go to them; that if the town as¬ 
sociations share in it, the tendency will 
be to induce the organization of more 
town associations, whereas the county 
societies even now find it difficult enough 
to pay premiums and running expenses. 
They will, during the present Bession of 
the Legislature, urge its members to 
stand by the law distributing the money 
exclusively among them. They are now 
considering the feasibility of sending 
delegates to a meeting to be held at Al¬ 
bany on January 31, for the purpose of 
organizing in support of their view of the 
question. It seems to us that their view is 
the right one. What public benefit can 
result from frittering this fund away 
among a multitude of associations, with 
many of which the notion of benefiting 
the public is altogether subordinate to 
the effort to benefit themselves? The 
farmers of the Empire State should 
promptly inform their representatives, in 
both branches of the Legislature, of their 
conviction on this subject. 
“A poor, blundering, careless man will lose 
every year more than woxddpay for a good 
man, through mistakes and carelessness in 
leaving gates open and fences down, and also 
tools out in the rain and sun to rust and 
warp ."— H. A. March, page 57. 
ENSILAGE CORN. 
TT'NSILAGE PEOPLE—your ear! 
Tell us why you advocate the use 
of B. and W. corn? B. and W. corn 
means, as nearly as we can find out, 
Southern corn of any kind, of which 
there are 100 or more different varieties. 
Southern corn, that known as such, grows 
to a great hight—12 feet or more. The 
joints of the stalks are far apart; the leaves, 
as compared with the stalk, are few. We 
have a maximum of stalk, a minimum of 
leaves. Is that what you ensilage people 
want? If so, why not settle upon a 
known variety, such, e. g., as the Chester 
County Mammoth? This variety does not 
sucker much. The main stem grows, at 
the Rural Farm, from 10 to 12 feet high. 
It bears, generally, one fine ear a foot 
long, with from 14 to 30 rows of kernels 
of rather large-sized yellow dent. 
What’s the use of talking about B.and W. 
corn if it does not mean anything but 
Southern corn? 
Now, the R. N.-Y., some 10 years ago, 
distributed among its subscribers a variety 
of flint corn called the Rural New- 
Yorker Thoroughbred. Thoroughbred 
indeed it is, having been grown, far away 
from other varieties,for over 40 successive 
years. The ears are remarkably long, 
often measuring 14 inches. The kernels 
are broad, though not deep. For a flint 
coin it is soft. Each kernel, in good soil, 
will give from three to four stalks which 
grow so large that it is impossible to say 
which is the main stalk and which are 
suckers. Each stalk will generally bear 
one ear. The stalks are short-jointed, 
the leaves are many and broad. One- 
quarter of the seed usually planted will 
suffice on account of its suckering pro¬ 
pensity. Why not use this corn for ensilage? 
We ask for information. Messrs. Gould, 
Henry and Co. kindly tell us why not. 
It is needless to say that the R. N.-Y. has 
no pecuniary interest in this variety. It 
has never sold a cent’s worth of it, or of 
anything else whatever to any subscriber. 
It is against our principles to sell anything 
except the R. N.-Y. And there is not 
one of our subscribers, *fld or new, that 
can say otherwise. 
» » ♦- 
“The crying evil of the time here is the 
servant girl question. The supply of good 
girls is utterly inadequate to our needs. In 
this the city ought to help its, but it does not." 
—C. F. Eastman, page 51. 
UNDER TAXATION OF PERSONAL 
PROPERTY. 
CCORDING to the census of 1880, 
the assessed value of land in the 
United States was $13,036,766,925, and 
that of personal property only $3,886,000- 
000, making the total assessed valuation 
about $17,000,000,000. From all acces¬ 
sible data, however, the best statisticians 
then put the value of the property of the 
country at $50,000,000,000, the census 
estimating its true value at over $43,000- 
000,000, and it was thought that at least 
one half of that amount consisted of per¬ 
sonal property. In some of the States, of 
course, the disproportionate value of the 
personal property was very much greater 
than in others. The disproportion 
between the assessed valuations of both 
kinds was, of course, least where the popu¬ 
lation w T as sparse, and greatest where the 
population was dense and wealth in the 
hands of a few. In the large cities where 
there is certainly much more personal 
than real property, the inequality was 
maintained. The explanation of this un¬ 
just disproportion is plain. Land cannot 
be concealed; nor can it be undervalued 
as easily as personal property. There is 
more difficulty in concealing property in 
sparsely settled than m thickly settled 
sections, in the country than in cities. 
The very nature of all sorts of property 
owned by country people renders it im¬ 
possible to conceal it aseasily!as city prop¬ 
erty. In the cities, too. people are accus¬ 
tomed to attend to their own business; in 
the country many attend to their neigh¬ 
bors’ also. Although since the census the 
personal property of the country has been 
advancing in value considerably more 
than the real estate, the tax returns of 
the various States show that taxation on 
it has been, every year, proportionately 
diminishing. 
As owners of most of the real estate, 
the farmers of the country are the chief 
sufferers from this unfair inequality of 
taxation. Of the $13,036,766,925 as¬ 
sessed value of the land in 1880, the value 
of the farms was $10,197,096,776. A 
moment’s thought will leave no doubt 
that while the farmers pay an unfairly 
large proportion of the State, county and 
municipal taxes levied for the protection 
of life and property, their property 
requires the least protection. Land and 
fixtures thereon cannot be stolen. The 
whole expensive array of militia, sheriffs, 
police, judges, jailers, is chiefly engaged in 
protecting personal property, or in pun¬ 
ishing offenders against it. In addition 
to the flagrant injustice to farmers aris¬ 
ing from the escape of personal property 
from its proper proportion of taxation, 
other evils result from it. Those who 
own this kind of property are generally 
careless as to the expenses of the gov¬ 
ernment, to which they contribute little 
or nothing; yet the wealth of a majority 
of the members of our State and National 
Legislatures consists in stocks, bonds, 
mortgages and other forms of personal 
property, which, wholly or in part, es¬ 
cape assessment. If these men shared 
fairly with real estate owners in the load 
of taxation they impose on the people, 
they would be much more likely to make 
the burden lighter. 
There is a good deal of discontent and 
quiet agitation in reference to this matter 
in a large number of the States at present. 
In Massachusetts the disproportion be¬ 
tween the taxation on both kinds of 
property is stigmatized as “absolute in¬ 
justice” and “legalized robbery.” In 
round numbers, the valuation of all the 
property of that State for the purposes of 
taxation, is about $2,000,000,000, of 
which only $500,000,000, are returned as 
personal property, although it is notori¬ 
ous that "the value of the personal prop¬ 
erty in the Bay State is much greater 
than that of the real estate. In Ohio the 
authorities complain that they cannot 
reach a tithe of the personal property 
justly liable to taxation. Throughout 
Illinois there is a loud cry against the 
wholesale exemption of this kind of 
property from taxation. Everywhere 
real estate bears nearly the entire load of 
local taxation, and the little contributed 
by personal property is unequally and un¬ 
fairly distributed, as it comes chiefly 
from widows and orphans whose property 
is laid before the assessors in the probate 
courts, where concealment from the State 
is impossible. There must be a practi¬ 
cable remedy for this flagrant injustice: 
what is it? 
BREVITIES. 
“I am a farmer because then I can always 
know where my home is,and am never out of a 
job. ” Thus writes a subscriber in Steele City, 
Neb. 
One of our correspondents in this week’s 
issue, says he prefers Silver hull to the 
Japanese Buckwheat—the first disparaging 
remark we have heard respecting the latter. 
We have been covering the ground of two 
of our chicken yards with pine “ needles” 
about six inches deep. These keep the chickens’ 
feet warm and dry. The grain (corn and 
wheat), is scattered upon this covering, and 
the birds are obliged to scratch for their 
food. 
Go TO the woods aud cut sticks from one to 
four feet high. Any kind of wood will an¬ 
swer. Shave off one end aud paint it with 
white lead and turpentine—no oil. Sharpen 
the other end. You will have a label stake 
that can be used for at least two years, at a 
trifliugcost. 
It is the It. N.-Y.’s belief that it is during 
such “ open” winters as the present that grape¬ 
vines, strawberry and raspberry plants usual¬ 
ly sustain the severest injury. Heaving of 
the soil can not occur when frozen, aud a uni¬ 
formly cold winter will therefore leave the 
roots intact. But the soil is saturated with 
water, and alternations of frost aud thaw 
occur during almost every 24 hours. Mulch¬ 
ing is the only protection against this. 
A subscriber in Maryland calls attention to 
an important matter as follows: 
“ Can’t something be done to stir up the 
farmers of the country to prepaie for the 
census of 1890 ? The agricultural reports of 
the census are of little value because they con¬ 
sist largely of averages made up by thecensus- 
tauers, and not of actual facts reported by the 
farmers. The farmers don’t know the facts 
and the census man puts down what he thinks 
the facts ought to be.” 
How many farmers can put ajjust valuation 
on their property ? This matter may well be 
investigated. 
