628 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
SEPT. 2i 
THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
<34 Park Row, New York), 
A National Journal for Country and Suburban 
Homes. 
Conducted by 
ELBERT S. CARMAN. 
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 188!). 
PROGRESS! 
T HIS week the Rural New- 
Yorker, as regards the 
quality and weight of the paper 
upon which it is printed, and in 
its general make-up, will show its 
readers what it will he during the 
rest of the year, and, indeed, for 
the future, or. at least, until fur¬ 
ther improvements shall be made. 
No back steps, friends. When 
the R. N.-Y. lowers its standard 
of excellence, its present editors 
will have stepped down and out. 
A Subscriber in Indiana, in renew¬ 
ing his subscription, says: “The 
Rural is good enough to pay for ; if I 
knew of any higher compliment to 
pay, I would pay it.” This compli¬ 
ment is entirely satisfactory to the 
R. N.-Y. 
Try the Berckmans Grape. It is 
much like the Delaware, but this sea¬ 
son, while the latter has shed all its 
leaves and the berries can not ripen, 
the Berckmans has ripened perfectly. 
The vine is perfectly healthy, the 
bunches compact, of the color of Dela¬ 
ware, a little larger in size and of 
much the same quality. 
The next issue of the R. N.-Y. will 
be a notable one. It will be the regu¬ 
lar Premium List Number. We shall 
offer superior inducements to our 
friends this year to help increase the 
Rural’s circulation. Then we shall 
print the picture of MY. Terry’s farm 
implements. This picture will please 
everybody. We shall also have six 
short symposiums on important and 
interesting topics. On the whole, it 
will be a fine number to show your 
neighbors how far theR. N.-Y. is from 
being asleep. 
There was a walking contest for 
horses at the Ohio State Fair last 
week. A track 124 rods long was 
used. The horses were hitched, one 
at a time, to an express wagon loaded 
with about 1,000 pounds of coal. The 
first prize was won by a mare which 
walked this distance, hauling the load, 
in four minutes and 10 seconds. This 
contest was, as we understand, organ¬ 
ized and carried out by the Ohio 
Farmer. It is an excellent idea and 
we hope this walking contest will be 
introduced at all our fairs. “The 
best farm pace is a walk.” Breeders 
of draft stallions are taking hold of 
this matter as our readers will see in 
a week or so. 
The R. N.-Y's. great expectations of 
the present season have, for the most 
part, been knocked to slivers, to speak 
in a way not quite elegant. But 
among the failures a success or so may 
l>o recorded. Our wheat and oat crops 
were among the largest ever raised at 
the R. N.-Y. Farm, while there is now 
little doubt that the com yield (there 
are five acres) will be fully as large as 
that of the celebrated crop grown 
there eight years ago. One measured 
acre received fertilizer only; another 
fertilizer and farm manure; the rest 
farm manure. The outcome will be 
placed before our readers in due time. 
The variety is Chester County Mam¬ 
moth. 
One story told by the dressed-beef 
men is to the effect that their trade 
has been a benefit to the people be¬ 
cause the public now use more of the 
better parts of the carcass. This, they 
say, accounts for the fact that prices 
for this sort of beef have not been re¬ 
duced. This claim is absolute non¬ 
sense. The R. N.-Y. has consulted 
dozens of local butchers on this point. 
Prices for no kinds of meats have been 
reduced. No parts of the carcass are 
thrown away, and there is just as 
great a demand for the poorer cuts of 
beef as there ever was. Live cattle 
are lower in price than they were before 
the dressed-beef trade was developed, 
while the consumers are called upon 
to pay just as much as they ever did. 
Where does the difference in price go 
to? That is what the American 
people want to find out. 
Minnesota expects a large influx of 
desirable agricultural settlers as soon 
as the 3,000,000 acres lately sold by 
the Chippewa Indians to the govern¬ 
ment are thrown open to settlement. 
The lands surrendered include Leech 
Lake, 04,449 acres; Lake Winnebag- 
shish, 320,000 acres; Mille Lac, 61,014 
acres; Fond du Lac, 100,121 acres; 
Grand Portage, 5,840 acres, BortFort, 
1()7,509 acres, and about 2,250,000 acres 
in the Red Lake and White Earth 
Reservations. The total Indian popu¬ 
lation of the various reservations is 
about 6,300, of whom 4,670 are on the 
White Earth, Leech Lake and Red 
Lake Reservations. The Indians of 
these three reservations are the most 
industrious, and self-supporting, and 
their land is, on the whole, considered 
the best; that of the Leech Lake, 
Winnebagshish and Mille Lac Indians 
being much the worst, as it is subject 
to overflow owing to the recent erec¬ 
tion of a great reservoir dam on the 
head-waters of the Mississippi. The 
land will be reserved entirely for home¬ 
stead settlement, with the exception 
of town sites, but cannot be opened 
by the President’s proclamation for 
many months to come. 
r pWENTY-FIVE dollars are offered 
^ by theR. N.-Y. as follows: Fif¬ 
teen dollars for the largest and best 
shaped R. N.-Y. No. 2; $10 for the 
second-best. Description and weight 
should be sent in before November 
next. Those only who may be entitled 
to one or the other of the above prizes, 
as judged by their own reports, will be 
asked to forward the specimens to this 
office. 
THE DOMINION AND THE UNION. 
B Y far too little is known in the 
United States with regard to 
Canadian affairs. While every trivial 
incident in the daily history of Eu¬ 
rope is flashed under the Atlantic and 
finds its way into newspapers in every 
corner of this country, how many 
Americans, except perhaps those liv¬ 
ing along the border, ever read any¬ 
thing about their northern neighbors? 
Yet in race, institutions and interests, 
Americans and Canadians have far 
more in common than any other peo¬ 
ple on the globe, and should feel a 
warmer interest in each others’ wel¬ 
fare. Isn't it time to start a new poli¬ 
cy in this respect ? Recent statistics 
of the trade and navigation of the 
Dominion during the fiscal year of 
1888, show, beyond question, that the 
most profitable and natural market 
for the products of Dominion is in the 
Union. During that year Canada 
sold to the United States $42,512,065 
worth of goods and to Great Britain 
$42,094,984 worth, showing an excess of 
half a million dollars in favor of this 
country. The imports from theUnited 
States were $48,481,848—$9,000,000 
greater than those from Great Britain. 
The volume of trade with the Mother 
Country—imports and exports—was 
smaller in 1888 than in any other year 
since confederation, in 1857; while the 
transactions with this country were 
larger than in any preceding year ex¬ 
cept in 1882 and 1883. One-half the 
Canadian exports of lumber and other 
forest products are disposed of in the 
United States; so are over three- 
fourths of the minerals, two-thirds of 
the agricultural products, nearly one- 
half of the fish; 40 per cent, of the 
manufactured articles, and practi¬ 
cally all the surplus miscellaneous 
articles. As the two neighbors are 
naturally the best customers of each 
other; why shouldn’t they want to 
know more of each other, and take an 
interest in each other’s prosperity? 
THE AMERICAN BEEF SUPPLY. 
T HE forthcoming report of the Bu¬ 
reau of Animal Industy will con¬ 
tain a report of the investigations 
made of late years hy the Department 
of Agriculture to ascertain the num¬ 
ber of cattle in this country. For a 
number of years past beef growers 
have witnessed a steady decline in 
prices. What caused this decline and 
what are the prospects for future 
trade? These are questions of vital 
importance to stockmen, and they are 
the questions which the Department 
has endeavored to answer. The pith 
of the report is contained in the fol¬ 
lowing summary: 
“ The future tendency of prices with 
cattle will probably be to advance on 
account of the improbability of in¬ 
creasing the stock of cattle as rapidly 
as the population is augmenting. But 
this advance will be slow and uncer¬ 
tain for a number of years. It will 
be at least three years before the stock 
of cattle has been reduced to the pro¬ 
portion, as compared to population 
which existed in 1878, and then the 
mean price of steers was but $4.25 per 
100 pounds, or 82 cents loss than in 1888. 
In other words, the prices of steers 
for several years in the future will 
depend more upon the prices of hogs, 
upon the value of the exports of cattle 
and beef products, and upon the pro¬ 
portion of steers marketed, than upon 
any changes likely to occur in the 
number of cattle per 1,000 of popula¬ 
tion which exist in the country.” 
This “proportion of cattle” to popu¬ 
lation is not a safe guide in making es¬ 
timates of the amount of beef in the 
country. The beef obtained from a 
given number of cattle is considerably 
larger than it was a few years ago. 
This is due to the introduction of 
thoroughbred stock, resulting in 
grades that are marketed younger, 
weigh more and yield an increased 
proportion of edible meats. The De¬ 
partment finds that the prices paid 
for steers have always followed the 
prices of hogs and of corn up or down. 
We hope the Department’s prophecy 
will prove true and that cattle grow¬ 
ing will once more prove profitable. 
TARE ON COTTON BAGGING. 
A HIGHLY important convention 
of the Cotton Exchanges of the 
country was held in New Orleans last 
Wednesday. Delegates from all the 
principal cotton markets of the coun¬ 
try were present, and the Commission¬ 
ers of Agriculture from the Southern 
States and representatives of the 
Farmers’ Alliance were admitted to 
seats on the floor. The chief subject 
of discussion was the difference in tare 
in various markets in the matter of 
cotton bale coverings. Great import¬ 
ance has of late been attached to this 
question by cotton-growers and deal- 
era on account of the wide introduc¬ 
tion of various substitutes for jute 
bagging. After numerous experi¬ 
ments with other materials, a coarse 
form of cotton-sheeting made from 
low grades of cotton has been general¬ 
ly selected as at once the cheapest and 
most effective. By the use of this, a 
profitable home market will be opened 
for staple of poor quality, which will 
have a tendency to enhance the prices 
of better grades in other markets, and 
many millions of dollars that have 
hitherto been sent abroad every year 
for raw or manufactured jute will be 
kept at home. 
The tare on jute bagging has always 
been so excessive that it is estimated 
that in this item alone the Cotton 
States have been cheated out of $75, 
000,000 since the war. The new kind 
of bagging is much lighter than the 
old, and at least a proportionate re¬ 
duction of tare should he allowed on 
bales on which it is used. This has 
not hitherto been allowed in most 
markets. After a lengthy discussion 
it was unanimously resolved that 
“ after October 1, 1889, all cotton shall 
be sold by net weight, allowing 24 
pounds off gross weight for tare on 
jute-bagging-eovered bales, and 16 
pounds off for tare on all 
cotton-covered bales; the cotton 
covering to be of standard weight- 
three-quarters of a pound to the yard.” 
If the cotton-growers will follow the 
advice of the Farmers’ Alliance by 
sending their cotton only to points 
where this tare is in operation, they 
will save millions for their section. 
COOKING FEED. 
r PHE “practical men” have their 
1 inning this week and it must be 
admitted that they make a good case 
in favor of cooking food for swine; 
and their experience does not neces¬ 
sarily cast any discredit on the results 
of experiments at our experiment sta¬ 
tions. These experiments showed that 
there was not enough gain made in 
feeding cooked grain to pay for the 
cooking. This was the only point 
taken into consideration, and we are 
not informed that the stations used the 
most economical apparatus for cook¬ 
ing the food. Aside from the simple 
question as to whether a peck of raw 
corn-meal will make more pork than 
the same peck of meal made into 
“ pudding,” the men who discuss the 
question in this week’s Rural make 
three claims. 
1. The warm food is more palat¬ 
able and comfortable for the hogs, 
particularly in winter. 
2. Cooking enlarges the list of sub¬ 
stances that can be profitably fed to 
hogs. Without it one cannot obtain 
the full feeding value of turnips, cab¬ 
bage, pumpkins and similar foods. It 
is also claimed that hotel swill will be 
made more valuable by cooking it with 
other substances. 
3. Clover hay, thoroughly steamed 
and fed warm in winter provides an 
excellent substitute for pasturage that 
can be obtained in no other way. 
By means of his feed steamer Mr. 
Pendleton is enabled to utilize his cab¬ 
bages and cracker sweepings. He ob¬ 
tains his profit from the utilization of 
what would otherwise become a waste 
product. Mr. Coultas finds that his 
steamer adds considerable value to his 
clover hay. In fact, it seems to the 
R. N.-Y. that the chief value of this 
practice will be found in the utiliza¬ 
tion of other products than grain. 
Some years ago the writer fed chopped 
and steamed corn-stalks to a horse 
with very satisfactory results. The 
stalks were run through a cutter, plac¬ 
ed in a barrel and steamed by pouring 
boiling water on them. An old horse 
ate them greedily. When the stalks 
were given him uncut he was unable 
to eat them. Would not bright, well- 
cured stalks treated in this way equal 
silage in feeding value? Cooking feed 
in one of the modern steamera is quite 
a different matter from the old plan of 
watching a big kettle. 
I believe that the waste of time in 
(growing a long body is so unnecessary 
that I shall allow my fruit trees to 
branch, as soon as they show a dispo¬ 
sition to do so. —P. H. R., page 626. 
BREVITIES. 
Progress. 
There is an extra crop of roots in the 
country this fall. 
Reports of the R. N.-Y.'s Women’s Po¬ 
tato contest are coming in freely. 
Blighted potatoes! That is the cry of 
many of our Eastern correspondents. 
A good deal of the progress of the world 
is due to the fact that we preach what we 
do not practice. There are really very few 
who do practice what they preach. 
A single plant of another variety of 
dwarf Lima bean is before us. The pods 
are as large as those of the large pole 
Lima. Illustrations of each from nature 
will be presented in a week or so. 
Farmers in the hay districts of New Jer¬ 
sey are becoming more and more inclined to 
give up wheat. The grain hardly pays 
them, and many have come to believe that 
the crop is not needed in securing a good 
seeding of grass. 
The shorter the time between the picking 
of a vegetable and the eating of it the bet 
ter the flavor. This applies most particu¬ 
larly to Lima Beans and sweet corn. It is 
much the same with an egg. Eat one five 
minutes after it is laid and see! 
Anticipating a dry season, a good many 
farmers planted fodder corn. The pastures 
have kept up so well that they have had 
little use for the green fodder. Now it, 
should be cut and nicely cured. Thus 
treated it is as good as hay for the cows. 
The stat ement recently made by Prof, 
llalsted and I)r. Scribner, that potatoes 
from rot-infested fields or sections should 
not be used seems likely to lead to a very 
lively discussion. Readers of the R. N.-Y. 
will have t he full benefit of it. We shall 
give the views not only of scientists who 
have studied the potato carefully and 
watched the development of the rot, but al¬ 
so of t he veteran potato growers who have 
had pract ical experience with all sorts of 
seeds and seasons. If there is anything to 
be learned about the matter, the K. N.-Y. 
will have it. 
