400 
tHE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
JUNE 45 
THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
A National Journal for Country and Suburban Homes, 
Conducted by 
BIBKBT 8. CABKiH, 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
_ No. 34 Park Row, New York. 
SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 1889. 
The R N.-Y. tried the Bordeaux 
mixture, of the strength recommended 
for grape-vines by Col. Pearson, on rose 
bushes. The effect was to kill the 
foliage and blast the buds. We shall try 
it again, using but one-quarter of a 
pound each of copper sulphate and un¬ 
slaked lime to one gallon of water, it is 
necessary to pass the lime-water through 
a sieve if the liquid is to be sprayed on 
the plants. 
Active preparations are now being 
made tor the taking of the next census 
A special effort is to be made to render 
*7®. re P ort on mortality and vital 
statistics as complete as possible. 
Robert P. Porter, the new superintendent 
of the census, informs us that efforts are 
being made to communicate with every 
physician in the country in the hope of 
obtaining an accurate estimate of the 
birth and death rates ot sections where 
there may be no satisfactory system of 
btate or municipal registration. 
owner of the trespassing hens. The ef¬ 
fects ot the measure are already excellent. 
Leghorns, Minorcas and Games, seques¬ 
tered behind picket fences 15 feet high 
are as harmless to neighboring flower 
beds and truck patches as are Brahmas, 
[ Cochins and Wyandottes in three-foot- 
high inclosures. Sweet Peace begins to 
smile through all the rural districts, the 
cause of endless bickerings between 
neighbors having been removed. We 
bear a good deal at times about “protec- 
tmn for the American Hen; would that 
we heard more about protection against 
'The agricultural colleges have done more 
to raise the standing of agriculture and ag¬ 
ricultural papers than most people are 
aware of, and they have made it possible to 
establish and maintain the experiment sta¬ 
tions. 1 '—Du. Beal, page 395. 
Would agriculture have kept pace with 
the advances in other lines without the aid 
of the agricultural colleges and trial stations 
of Europe and America f 11 — Professor 
Budd, page 395. 
. A careful farmer who “ makes farm- 
ing pay, ’ tells us of two points about 
poisoning potato beetles that he is satis- 
fied about. He can put on the mixture 
of Paris-green and plaster at less expense 
than he can handle the water mixture. 
Thl D fi‘ P e C L" Dg , thC beetleS P a ? 8 bim. 
the first brood can be picked with little 
trouble. At the first hoeing it is not 
much extra work to destroy the eggs 
that are m sight. Any mixture of 
poisons, he thinks, injures the plants to 
shrmid^if ® x * ent and tb e application 
should be delayed as long as possible. 
The eggs hatch out irregularly. A 
few vines will be first attacked. The 
grubs can be knocked from these few 
vines with little trouble and one appli¬ 
cation of poison will then answer for the 
main crop. 
eveyy one wants, viz., a perfectly hardy, 
double, ever-blooming, fragrant rose. The 
beautifully distinct foliage, like that of 
its mother, is, moreover, less subject to 
attacks of insects than the leaves of other 
roses. It is proposed to place this rose 
in the hands of some nurseryman or florist 
for propagation and introduction, since 
such work is not in the R.N.-YVs line. 
Professor Shelton’s pig-feeding ex 
periments go to show that farmers in the 
\\est, where pork-making is the main 
business, should as a measure of econo¬ 
my continue to use com as their staple 
fattening food. Doubtless this conclu¬ 
sion is in full accord with local condi 
Hons. In Kansas as Professor S. says, 
milk, peas and other supplies of nitrog¬ 
enous food are not to be thought of— 
they cost too much to produce. Profes- 
f ii £ ive an opinion as to 
what would follow in a section where 
these foods can be secured. As a matter 
8 , . an opinion has little to do 
with the business of the Kansas farmer 
whose object it is to produce all the pork 
® & o_nt the cheapest possible cost. It 
is the R. N.-Y. s. opinion that the farmer 
who can establish a reputation for pro¬ 
ducing “lean” pork will be able to work 
up a profitable business for that product. 
po . rk witb a greater proportion 
of lean than is found in that sold in the 
general market. The demand is for lean 
pork,there can be no use in denying the 
fact and it seems evident that this lean 
product is to be produced outside of 
what is known as “the corn belt.” 
These are total. Men insure against fire, 
but who on land insures against water ? 
Even the payment of life insurance risks 
will be jeopardized or hampered by the 
impossibility, in most cases, of identify- 
ing the dead or even of proving actual 
amn I hen again, pestilence threatens 
to add to the horrors of the tragedy. 
Let no one say “Enough has been given 
or will be given without my mite;” but 
let each give as generously as his means 
wil permit, and give at once. All classes, 
ranks and ages are represented among 
ie sufferers, and all classes, ranks and 
ages should contribute toward their relief. 
A WORD ABOUT STOCK IM¬ 
PROVEMENT. 
>-♦ n »■ 
A few weeks ago the R. N.-Y. said it 
w as puzzled at the ability of a Jersey cow 
to extract a high, rich color for her but¬ 
ter from food that gave, when fed to other 
cows, but a pale,- light tint. Here is an¬ 
other case. We have a Langshan hen 
running in a yard with some White Leg¬ 
horns. Of course, these hens get the 
same kind of food. The Langshin lays 
an egg with a dark-brown shell, while the 
egg from the Leghorns are pure white 
After all perhaps this is not any more 
strange than the evident fact that a cer¬ 
tain action or statement may suggest to 
the minds of two different men cntirelv 
different ideas that lead to widelv differ¬ 
ent results. J 
Professor F, C. Short concludes, on 
page 398, that “it is absolutely impossi¬ 
ble for the farmer to make an analysis of 
his fodders.” He says that fodder 
analysis is becoming more and more com- 
plicated^ His idea is that the farmer 
will do better to look carefully after the 
quality of his fodders, take the figures 
given m the experiment station tallies 
and knowing the history of his handling 
wu A C i U u nD g’ make his own estimates'! 
What the R. N.-Y, wants farmers to do 
is to study into the real meaning and 
value of an analysis of food stuffs. It 
still believes that the successful farmer of 
the future will have to be a chemist, in a 
small way, at least. 
“ Are the 17 men whose barns I passed by 
in a 30 -mile ride, last winter, ignorant that 
they ought not to throw out the manure of 
their long cow stables under the stable eaves 
the d certainly did?"-B. Brown, page 
The variety of strawberry which it is 
proposed to call the Parker Earle if it 
prove worthy, bears at this time’ more 
berries than any other kind we have ever 
raised. It remains to be seen how well 
they will ripen. Its season is probably 
from medium to late. It originated with 
James Nimon, of Denison, Texas, and 
will be introduced by Prof. T V Mun¬ 
son of the same place. Mr. Nimon'writes 
us, under date of May 25.: “ In fruitful¬ 
ness, beauty of berry, high quality and 
vigor of plant it certainly surpasses any 
thing we have here, and we have a ma¬ 
jority of the wonderfuls in the straw- 
berry hne.” if this berry prove to be all 
that it promises now, we shall give care¬ 
ful illustrations later. 
TnE R. N.-Y. has had considerable to 
say about the patent silage or “preserved 
fodder” made by Mr. S. M. Colcord, of 
Massachusetts. We have been at some 
little pains to investigate the process by 
which this “preserved fodder” is made, 
and do not hesitate to say that the spec¬ 
imens of it we have examined are su¬ 
perior to any sample of ordinary silage 
we have ever seen. The last sample sent 
was taken from a part of the silo where 
20 bushels of early apples were thrown 
with the corn. These apples were pre¬ 
served In excellent condition, fully 
good enough to eat. ” The experiment 
stations of W isconsin, New York, Massa- 
chusetts, Michigan, and in fact, a dozen 
other States, ought to test this “preserved 
tK 8ld ebvside with ordinary silage. 
The R. N.-Y. asks them to do so. 
A. subscriber calls attention to the lack 
?, lnfor “ atlon regarding what he calls 
the underground geography ”of farms. 
He refers to the drainage and he makes 
an excellent suggestion when he says 
,, at , tbe re ought to be a careful map of 
all drains so that a new-comer may know 
just what facilities his farm en¬ 
joys for the disposal of surplus water. 
3“® t map accurat ely prepared 
should be given with a deed of 
the farm. It would add considerably to 
the farm value. We know of farmers 
who have been put to a vast deal of 
trouble and expense by their inability to 
locate drains that had become clogged or 
broken. A man should never put his 
property in a hiding place so secure that 
he cannot find it. That is what a man 
does who digs a drain through his farm 
and then fails to mark the place where 
it runs. 
Finally , the farmer ought not to be 
ashamed of his calling, neither should he 
cause his fields to be ashamed of him. He 
ought to put on his thinking cap and make 
his calling a study. He ought to use sense 
and judgment, for if there is a calling under 
the sun that needs a proper use of these two 
virtues, it is the farmer's."—A. B. Saunders 
page 396. 
What the R. N.-Y r . has tried upon the 
pot a to vines of its “Contest” plot to re¬ 
pel or kill the villainous Flea-beetle: To¬ 
bacco soap, tobacco (stems) water, whale- 
oil soap, thymo-cresol, Paris-green, Lon¬ 
don purple, crude carbolic acid ok corn 
cobs, one each between the plants, helle¬ 
bore, Buhach, sulphuric acid, Bordeaux 
mixture aloes, ammonia,snuff, “Peroxide 
of Silicate and unleached wood ashes. 
The result of all this (excepting the last 
mentioned) has been to weaken all the 
vines and to kill 36 plants. The unleach¬ 
ed wood ashes have the effect of repelling 
the flea, but it is necessary that every leaf 
should be covered, underneath as well as 
on top, to give perfect protection. The 
vines are first sprayed with water and the 
ashes are then sifted over them. Paris- 
green or London-purple is mixed with 
the ashes, the same as with plaster to kill 
the potato beetle. 
The Flea-beetle’s preferences are no 
less marked than inexplicable. A neigh- 
boring field of Early Sunrise potatoes is 
not infested, while across the road the 
i horburn is alive with them. TheR.N.-Y r . 
No. 3 is in one field much infested, while 
m another, it is not attacked. The same 
may be said of Brownell’s Winner. To¬ 
mato plants are dying by hundreds from 
the effect of perforated leaves caused by 
this terror. J 
A m h J° subscri ber writes as follows: 
, Ahe Rural has struck the key-note 
of more failures in raising trotters on the 
fu e d ' ie t0 a11 other causes 
combined— breeding inferior mares to 
high-priced stallions.’ The chances arc 
all against such methods. All one can 
get at the best will be an animal just fast 
tackles!” t0 ** by ever * thin g i4 
And yet hundreds of farmers will not 
aC / prefer t0 la y the blame at 
some other door. It is strange, indeed ' 
that some fanners will not understand 
the . principles of profitable breeding 
Here is an instance: The R. N-Y 
has an excellent Jersey cow-good 
enough to be called a “great” one. 
A farmer in the neighborhood has a scrub 
«nl *I m ' X ° f 7 arious breeds, with ab- 
solutdy nothing m the way of shape or 
p digree to indicate dairy superiority 
a ^ 1 ? nal was not castrated, simply be¬ 
cause his owner meant that he should 
pay for his food until three years old by 
f™ T ~ a ? er - tbat he i8 t0 be castrated 
and turned into beef. This neighbor 
■ elt much hurt because we refused to 
thl . s an V raa, » laughed at our 
plan of hunting the country over for the 
best Jersey bull in it. Another neighbor 
hears about the affair and at once pro¬ 
poses to patronize the Jersey bull His 
cow has a pedigne about like that of the 
scrub bull; but he has thoroughly con- 
vinced h'mself that the calf will fully 
* N k Y -’ S C0W ’ 8 sim P , y because 
its futher can boast “ Jersey ” blood He 
W1 { J* 6 v a , Bad 'y disappointed man and 
will doubtless do all he can in future to 
ridicule the plan of stock improvement 
by careful breeding. 
“Colleges make neither doctors, lawyers 
preachers nor engineers. After the college 
has done for the student all that it can do 
it has only brought him to the gateway of 
is profession. ~\Vhen the professional col¬ 
leges turn out none but fully equipped and 
successful professional men, then, and not 
till then, shall we have a right to demand 
that the agricultural colleges graduate onh, 
fully equipped and successful farmers. 1 '— 
Director Thorne, page 395. 
THE CONEMAUGH HORROR. 
The industrial revolution of our genera¬ 
tion, of which the railway and telegravh 
and the wonderful improvements in ma¬ 
chinery of every description are but the ma¬ 
terial indications, does not stop at the gates 
of agriculture in its intellectual phases any 
more than in its material manifestations .” 
—Director Thorne, page 395. 
The Connecticut legislature ought to 
fee proud of having just passed a law 
forbidding hens to trespass on other peo- 
ple s gardens. The penalty for violating 
this beneficent law is a penalty of seven 
dollars with costs, to be inflicted on the 
“ One of those six flowers in the gob- 
Kt of water is General Jacqueminot. 
Which is it ? ” (Its foliage was concealed 
by the others.) This question was put to 
three persons in the R. N.-Y. ofllce. The 
roses were carefully examined as to color 
shape, number and size of peta's, and also 
as to odor. Not one of the three select¬ 
ed the Jacq. The other five roses were 
from a plant of Rosa rugosa Harrison’s 
fellow origin. Strange, is it not, that a 
rose so closely resembling Jacq. should 
have come from such parentage? The 
leaflets, as our readers have already been 
informed, are much larger than those of 
Rosa rugosa, with the same peculiarities 
though less pronounced. It is thought 
that we have in this hybrid just what 
While the actual loss of life in the 
Conemaugh Valley can never be known 
enough about it is already known to leave 
no doubt that it is the most fatal calami¬ 
ty that has ever occurred in this country 
or in the civilized world in modern days. 
Unlike all other catastrophes within our 
remembrance, this grows greater as we 
get nearer the facts. Its enormity has 
outdone exaggeration. There is no silver 
lining to the dark cloud that flooded the 
unfortunate valley. In a few hours, al¬ 
most without warning, a scene of busy 
life and cheerful, profitable industry was 
changed into a scene of awful turmoil 
death, destruction and desolation. The 
flood that swept the inhabitants of the 
valley to death has forced open the pock¬ 
ets of the world. From all parts of this 
country generous contributions of money 
food and clothing are pouring towarde 
the scene of the disaster to repair, as far 
as possible, the material losses of the suf¬ 
ferers and to relieve their distress. 
Foreign countries are also liberally con¬ 
tributing to the charitable tide, but how¬ 
ever magnificent the display of sponta¬ 
neous benevolence, even the material 
relief can only be comparatively small in 
view of the enormity of the losses. 
BREVITIES. 
Friends of the agricultural colleges are 
evidently by no means bashful about defend¬ 
ing these institutions. enu 
N.-Y. is very glad to learn that ex- 
N««v W l fc w poultry are contemplated at 
the New Y ork Experiment Station. 
“The issue of the R. N.-Y. for Mav 2K fill* 
billfor an agricultural paper better than 
any other issue I ever saw, and as I have tak- 
f0r 36years seems ns though 
I ought to know something about it.” * 
Y ayne County, N. Y. john bradley. 
^f SED Cr ® am ” is the latest dish of- 
fered to city people. It is put up in one- 
pound cans, and sold for 10 cents per can. It 
£. as ^suspicious flavor of corn-starch about 
t. ihe word cream as applied to all 
canned products of the dairy, is copy-righted.” 
Mr Drew’s “eye-opener” this week is a 
novelty. It is a, true statement of fact. It 
ought to put visitors to this city on their 
guard. Scoundrels like our friend “Cum- 
“'“5 s ' are constantly on the watch forvic- 
tims Their favorite prey is the “smart” 
young man—the one who “knows it ail”. 
parts of Michigan farmers are re- 
^ paying nearly two bushels of po¬ 
tatoes, at five cents per bushel, tor one pound 
at nm ? cents Per pound! There 
isn t stock enough to consume the surplus 
tubers, and they are not considered worth five 
cents per bushel for fertilizing purposes so 
long as tons upon tons of manure are allowed 
£££ T e - is t0 be hoped that prices 
for other farm products are high enough there 
to even up the list to a profitable level. 
hJ? 18 L ei 7 wel] to P ut into the nests car¬ 
bolic acid, lime, tobacco and the like as many 
TheTrtefvA tl B r fc the ! e are mer elY repellants" 
kill -fil, ,lceout o f the nest, but do not 
Mill them. Many years ago the R. N. Y 
began its advocacy of spraying the houses 
and nests with kerosene. We find it a perfect 
aUl f 01 ¥r that is l l uickl y applied at a 
trifle of cost Houses treated in this way once 
T^Ti, riled Snr™ be -m*.™**. 
