475 
THE BUBAL MEW-YOBKEB. 
strawberry growers are commencing to clamor 
for protection—not to enable them to pay 
better wages, or to develop the resources of 
the country, or because theirs is an infant in¬ 
dustry and needs fostering. If they were 
more cunning and less honest, they would 
give some plausible excuse, as all others have 
done. They ask protection on its own merits 
so that their profits may be increased. The 
time has come when in many localities the 
market is over-supplied, and growers are at 
their wits’ ends to find purchasers. In looking 
for some way out of the difficulty they have 
tried the plan of growing better berries and 
have sent them to market m a more attract¬ 
ive condition, but even this inducement to 
purchasers is inadequate. The sugar that 
sweetens berries is made dear aud hard to get 
by protection, and by a trust that could not 
long exist without protection; the cans in 
which the surplus may be put up are raised in 
price by the same means; and why not pro¬ 
tect the growing of the berries that flavor the 
sugar aud fill the cans? It is now proposed to 
have the government interfere and raise the 
price of bananas aud pine-apples with the ex¬ 
pectation that fewer will be consumed, and so 
the demand for home-grown fruits will be in¬ 
creased. Of course, there is no justice in 
such legislation, but as nearly all other classes 
are protected, by all means let strawberry 
growers have their share in the prosperity 
that comes from the protective system. 
Summit County, Ohio. 
FROM H. M. ENGLE. 
There is no occasion to rush for a tariff on 
bananas, since they cannot take the place of 
berries. There have been seasons heretofore 
when mai kets were glutted with fruits. An¬ 
other season may bring about changed condi¬ 
tions. There is a tendency among the people 
to consume more fruits and less animal food, 
especially during the warm season, and if this 
increases it will add largely to their health 
and happiness. Let us encourage the use of 
more fruits and of less flesh, especially of such 
as is of questionable soundness. 
Lancaster County, Pa. 
FROM WARD D. GUNN. 
Yes, a tariff on bananas. I see no good rea¬ 
son why a foreign tropical fruit like the ba¬ 
nana, coming in direct competition with the 
products of our own soil and labor, should be 
exempt from duty. It the American protec¬ 
tive system furnishes tempting markets to 
foreign producers, why should they not pay 
for it ? 
Ulster County, N. Y. 
FROM PRESIDENT T. T. LYON. 
I believe it to be sound policy on the part of 
our government to encourage the home pro¬ 
duction of everything susceptible of being 
economically produced in our climate. If, 
therefore, the growing of bananas is one of 
these practicable interests, it should be en¬ 
couraged. Aud if, owing to the cheapness of 
the labor employed abroad, or other cause, 
the home grower is unable, for the time, to 
profitably produce bananas, in competition 
with free importations, the protection of a 
tariff on importations is doubtless as propel 
here as in the case of any other imported ar¬ 
ticle. Excepting only for the need of revenue 
to the government, I deem it impolitic to im¬ 
pose a tariff save upon the principle already 
stated. It would seem that all the various 
and occasionally conflicting interests of our 
soil should receive, as nearly as practic¬ 
able, equal favor from the government, aside 
from that already specified. A paternal 
government, such as ours, canoot reason¬ 
ably be expected to extend a helping hand to 
any one of its numerous interests at the ex¬ 
pense of another, and for that reason, if for 
no other, a tariff.upon sub-tropical and tropi¬ 
cal fruits should be confined within the limits 
required to develop the growth of these upon 
our own soil, leaving Northern aud Southern 
products to compete freely with each other 
in our home markets. If the Northern fruit¬ 
grower will eschew the miserable, though 
showy trash with which the markets are so 
largely burdened, aud give reasonable atten¬ 
tion to the quality of his products, he will 
have little occasion to droid the competition 
of the banana or even of the pine-apple in his 
local markets. 
Van Buren County, Michigan. 
FROM DR. T. H. HOSKINS. 
1 am glad, even in so limited a way, to see 
the Rural desirous to discuss the most im¬ 
portant economic question of the day. It is a 
shame that political intolerance amongst a 
people claiming to be the freest aud most en¬ 
lightened on earth, should compel the closure 
of all but party papers to such subjects. Tue 
party papers never discuss any public ques¬ 
tions fairly. Fairness is not their object. 
That is party success through popular pas¬ 
sions and prejudices, and these are stimulated 
and pandered to by political editors in a 
way wnich shows a most cynical estimate of 
the intelligence of their readers. 
As to a duty on foreign fruits, in behalf of 
the domestic production, if our national pol¬ 
icy is to be protective one, I think, as a fruit¬ 
grower, that we ought to have as high a tariff 
tax on all foreign fruits as we can drive our 
Representatives and Senators in Congress to 
enact. We have a great country, extending 
widely in latitude and longitude, and we only 
need one large West Indian island, say Cuba, 
to make us a world by ourselves, with perfect 
free trade! But, then, would not our own 
Cuban bananas hurt us jest as much as the 
foreign ones do now? Here we, in Vermont, 
think nothing of that free trade which makes 
us victims of Western competition; but we are 
ready to fight to “protect” ourselves against the 
poor and pitiful competition of the ice-bound 
province of Quebec. Yet we should probably 
make little opposition to the annexation of Que¬ 
bec or of all Canada! The wisdom of our atti¬ 
tude in this matter is hard to see. We cry 
out for “protection;” every industry insists 
upon it. But when all are protected alike. 
we shall discover that protection is no better 
than free trade. So far, we have not all been 
protected alike; and farmers practically get 
little or no protection. In the very nature of 
things they cannot, because in most of our 
products home competition brings prices 
down to rock bottom, lower than anywhere 
else. Manufacturers and trade have been go¬ 
ing the same way; but Rockafeller’s great in¬ 
vention of “ The Trust ” is supposed to be a 
cure for that. Can we unite the different 
branches of agriculture aud horticulture into 
trusts? If we cannot, (and that seems self- 
evident,) what can we do to defend ourselves? 
Will a heavy duty upon bananas solve this 
question? Let us try it, by all means. A 
good many minds are iron-clad against all 
forms of demonstrative reasonings, short of 
the “ reductio ad absurdum .” Let bananas 
be taxed. Lots of them are sold in our streets, 
within half a mile of my orchard. Why 
have I been so blind that 1 did not see that they 
were ruining my business? And I, like a 'col, 
have been buying aud eating them! 
Orleans County, Vt. 
FROM I\ M. AUGUR. 
With regard to taxing imports of bananas, 
all I have to say is that, on general principles, 
I believe in “the greatest good to the greatest 
number.’' That American fruits suffer from 
the great influx of bananas is undoubtedly 
true, aud fruit-growers uave as good reason 
tor protection as any other; yet 1 have no de¬ 
sire to act selfishly in the matter, and I am 
glad thut the common people may partake 
I freely of this tropical fruit. Bunish the sa- 
I loon, aud the §1)00,000,000 now wasted there¬ 
by will build up every Industry, aud domes¬ 
tic and foreign fruit will both alike find a 
quick demand. 
Middlesex County, Conn, 
CORRESPONDENTS’ VIEWS. 
Choice Apples —The Westfield Seek-no- 
Further, in the vicinity of Chautauqua lake, 
is universally subject to cracking, sometimes 
so badly as lo render it unfit for market. In 
flavor it is par excellence a dessert apple. 
For a cooking apple I prefer one more tart. 
There are few that excel the R. I. Green¬ 
ing, the Esopus Spitzenberg, Northern 
Spy, or one more mild, the Baldwin. The 
latter ranks among ihe first in this county. 
-Chautauqua County, N. Y. h. a. w. 
I have been testing a few valuable pota¬ 
toes according to the trench system; but ow¬ 
ing to heavy rains they have all decayed, 
while potatoes planted in accordance with the 
old way—in hills—are up one foot high and 
are looking fine; there is not a missing hill. 
The trench system will do for sandy loam. 
The Rural No. 2. are up and doing nicely. 
Charlotte, Vt. o. H. a. 
Report on a Contest Plot. —My contest 
potatoes were planted according to the R. N.- 
Y. method,about the middle of April,on mod¬ 
erately rich, sandy soil very easy to work, but 
weedy. The trenches were plowed out six 
inches deep, five bushels of ashes were scat¬ 
tered in them, aud the potatoes, cut two eyes 
in a piece, were planted in the bottom, cut 
side down, no manure but the ashes being 
used in the trenches at planting time. 
The vines were a long time coming up, and 
grew very slowly afterward on accouut of the 
protracted, severe drought, which was never 
brokeu with rain enough to wet the ground 
from April 11 till May ~7. On May 21 the 
weather turned very cold, with heavy frosts 
on the 23J, 25th, 2Cth, 28th and 29th, aud on 
the latter date the worst snow storm ever 
known so late in the spiing. Unprotected po¬ 
tatoes were killed by the frosts. I partly saved 
mine by drawing tho earth down on them. 
They were a good deal hurt for all that, and 
when uncovered they were pallid, ragged- 
looking objects. On account of the damage 
from drought, frost and cold weather, my 
hopes of making much of a figure in the con¬ 
test have grown very faint, but I mean to 
continue taking good care of my plot to see 
what it will do. I have had it dressed to-day 
with water from the barn-yard (about 30 pail¬ 
fuls) for the nitrogen supply, relying on the 
ashes for potash. In about a week the plot 
shall have another such dressing. 
Dul I use too much seed ? It took a peck of 
R. N.-Y. No. 2 and half a bushel of Burpee’s 
Empire State to plant the plot, which is at 
the rate of 30 bushels to the acre. The R. N.- 
Y. No. 2 came up first and are now much 
thriftier, larger and greener than the Empire 
State. They were bought of Thorburn. They 
are budded quite full, and if we can get a lit¬ 
tle warm weather the blossoms will soon be 
out. 
June, so far, has been very cold. Nothing 
grows but wheat and peas. Corn that was 
planted three weeks ago is just peeping 
through the ground and looks as if it were 
made of white paper. Apples and cherries 
are not hurt by the frosts. Peaches are a 
complete failure and strawberries are not 
much better. mrs. e. d. c. 
Thornville, Michigan. 
farm (Toyics. 
AGRICULTURE; AN ART, A BUSINESS 
A SCIENCE, 
T. H. HOSKINS, M. D. 
I. 
AS AN ART. 
Farming, as an art, is as old as civilization 
—when, after recognizing the food value 
of ajsingle plant, a man first tried to promote 
its growth and increase, he found the task at¬ 
tended with difficulties; and in surmounting 
those difficulties he acquired some of the ele¬ 
ments of the art of agriculture. In this art 
many ancient- people became very proficient. 
Considered from this point of view, it is prob¬ 
able that ancient agriculture reached as high 
a development as the best among modern na¬ 
tions. We have types of this to-day in the 
agriculture of China, Japan, India and Egypt. 
Neither mechani; arts nor science have con¬ 
tributed, except in a trifling degree, to its pro¬ 
gress. It began as a manual art simply, and 
so it remained, practically unchanged, 
until the opening of the modern era. In 
every country, and in each district of all 
large countries, rules were gradually worked 
out which were found to serve in practice; 
and these were handed down from generation 
to generation. Intermingled with them were 
many superstitions—unfounded beliefs in re¬ 
gard to the action of certain supposed or real 
forces, natural or supernatural, upon the 
growth of crops. But It is a singular fact 
that the part played by these superstitions 
was but slightly, if at all, unfavorable in their 
effect upon results. Tney often made 
the work difficult and tedious ; but men in all 
ages have had such an eye to the main chance 
that superstitious notions, while they might 
and did cause the expenditure of much need¬ 
less work, were not of sufficient force to 
greatly lessen results. They did a3 much 
good, probably, in restraining waste of effort 
in vague experiment, as they did harm by in¬ 
ducing needless operations. Numbers of old 
agricultural maxims, superstitious as they 
now seem, were really well based, and em¬ 
bodied the observation of many in a pithy 
saying that endured, because it was in a way 
true. Slowly a body of facts was collected 
and transmitted that enabled well-trained 
farmers to so regulate their operations as to 
achieve success. As yet, our modern science 
has done more in recognizing and explaining 
ancient rules, and placing them upon intelligi¬ 
ble bases, than in discovering valuable ad¬ 
ditions to them. It is only just now that the 
systematic collection and comparison of well 
observed and skillfully recorded facts have be¬ 
gun to lay the foundations of a new agricul¬ 
ture, in which a sound reason for doing a 
needed thing will supersede a grotesque or 
fanciful one. 
When the activity of European effort was 
transferred across the Atlantic to America, 
new conditions were encountered that have 
not yet been rightly understood or surmount¬ 
ed. The eastern parts of North America 
much more closely resemble Eastern Asia 
thau Western Europe. The consequences 
have been unfavorable to our agriculture. 
Tbe maxims of European agricultural art 
did not fit A merican conditions; and the re¬ 
sult has been that the wisdom of the ancients 
has seemed like folly among us. Setting 
aside the slight and slowly acquired knowl¬ 
edge of scant two centuries, under these 
strange conditions, it may be said that, as 
compared with the older nations, American 
farmers hardly possess any true art of agr 
culture. The European dogmas mislead us 
and we have worked out very few sound ones 
to replace them. This is both an injury an 
a benefit. It harms us to have no good em 
pirical rules transmitted from father to son; 
but it benefits us to be comparatively free 
JAMES NIMON, 
Originator of the Parker Earle Strawberry. Fig. 180. 
