664 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
OCTOBER 5 
THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
(34 Park Row, New York), 
A National Journal for Country and Suburban 
Homes. 
Conducted by 
ELBERT S. CARMAN. 
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1889. 
PERSONAL. 
4 4 13RINT THE R. N.-Y., on 
Jf a poorer grade of paper; 
give up your artists and use 
second-hand illustrations which 
can he bought for a song. Pay 
less for contributions. Then put 
down the price to a dollar, and 
you’ll double its circulation/’ 
Such has been the advice ten¬ 
dered us at various times by ac¬ 
quaintances and friends. Though 
thankful at all times for sugges¬ 
tions and advice, we have never 
been able to accept the above as 
worthy of serious consideration. 
To do so is and always has been 
discordant with our progressive 
aims and hopes. We have never 
felt quite contented unless we 
could feel at the end of every 
year that the R. N.-Y. has been 
better than ever before and more 
worthy of the support of a dis¬ 
criminating patronage. 
Cherishing such views, encour¬ 
agement from prominent men 
who cannot afford to bestow su¬ 
perlative praise indiscriminately, 
is peculiarly gratifying. The fol¬ 
lowing lines are an extract from 
a note just received from W. 
Atlee Burpee,of Philadelphia, Pa.: 
“The typographical appear¬ 
ance of the R. N.-Y. is grand and 
the paper excellent. * * * * 
I am glad that you have deter¬ 
mined to stick to your plan of 
giving a high-grade paper. The 
Rural already is head and 
shoulders above any competitor, 
and to maintain this rank rather 
than cater for the cheap trade is 
certainly a wise policy. Do you 
know that the ‘ Sometliing-for- 
Nothing’ policy of these cheap 
publications has almost destroy¬ 
ed their usefulness even as ad¬ 
vertising mediums? You have a 
broad field if you can only main¬ 
tain health and strength to work 
it with the same energy.” 
Ask any questions you choose, read¬ 
ers of the R. N.-Y. We or some of our 
many and widely-distributed corre¬ 
spondents will answer them as best 
we or they may. The Farmers’ Club 
and its Discussions have grown to he 
one of the most useful and interesting 
departments of this journal. 
Mr. E. F. Stevens, of Dickey 
Countjq Dakota, has the following to 
say, in a recent letter: 
“I planted our field potatoes some¬ 
what after the R. N.-Y.s trench sys¬ 
tem : result, I have potatoes to sell to 
my neighbors who planted theirs in 
the old way and hilled them up. Hur¬ 
rah for the Rural ! I am about £30 or 
$40 ahead this year by taking it.” 
This note is printed for the benefit 
of those Western farmers who object 
to the R. N.-Y. because it is “printed 
too far East to do them any good.” 
1 ‘ Editors who accept courtesies and 
perhaps pay from railroad companies 
and town-site syndicates, and, in re¬ 
turn, make their editorial columns ad¬ 
vertising mediums to boom the prop¬ 
erty of their patrons, are corrupt in 
morals and are betraying a high 
trust. ” 
So says a correspondent on page 662, 
writing of the Montana boom. Chas. 
A. Dana says: 
“ Never print a paid advertisement 
as news matter. Let every advertise¬ 
ment appear as an advertisement—no 
sailing undeivfalseuoforsY’ 
“The Rural New-Yorker is pub¬ 
lished too far East; it is not suited to 
Western farming !” This remark is 
often heard by our agents at the West. 
What do farmers who say this think 
of the following note ? 
“I did not believe a few weeks ago, 
when I sent for a sample of the Rural 
New-Yorker, that I would care to 
take any Eastern paper; but I find 
that I cannot do without the Rural, 
and so I inclose $2 for a year's sub¬ 
scription. I find everything in it 
worth recording, even in those lines 
that are foreign to my own special in¬ 
terests.” 
Rockford. Ill. j. b. u. 
• * ■ > • 
It is very" evident that the question 
of selling potatoes from fields where 
the rot has appeared is to prove 
quite an important one for farmers 
and seedsmen. The R. N.-Y. has 
given the statements of the purely 
scientific people, which are to the 
effect that it is unsafe to plant pota¬ 
toes from fields where the rot has ap¬ 
peared. Practical farmers do not 
generally believe this; see for instance 
what “Farmer” says on page 662 
Now, if the scientific side of the story 
be taken without question, it will 
be seen that potato sellers who have 
seed for sale, which was grown in lo¬ 
calities where the rot has not prevail¬ 
ed, could rightly claim superiority 
for them seed potatoes and would be 
justified in demanding an extra price 
for them. Before farmers buy their 
seed, therefore, the R. N.-Y. wants 
this subject understood, and we shall 
print, within a few weeks, the best in¬ 
formation that can be obtained re¬ 
garding this matter, which we deem 
of considerable importance. 
A farmer in New Jersey rests in 
jail rather than pay a fine imposed 
upon him for selling milk which fell 
below the legal standard. The farmer 
claims that the milk came directly 
from his cow and that nothing has 
been added to it. If this be true, which 
is the culprit—the man or the cow ? 
The New Jersey law requires that 
milk shall contain at least 12 per cent, 
of solids. This looks reasonable 
enough; it would seem that a cow 
giving milk with less than 12 per 
cent, of solids is not worth keeping, 
yet there should be no foolishness or 
carelessness about the official examin¬ 
ation of the milk. The proportion of 
solids in milk from a given cow will 
vary considerably. A cow at the 
Wisconsin Station gave but 11 1-2 per 
cent, of solids in the first pint of milk 
drawn from her; while the last pint 
contained 191-2 per cent. Fright, 
change of feeding, a chill and other 
conditions may affect the cow so that 
a sample of her milk would give an 
entirely untruthful record of her us¬ 
ual performance; so that we see that 
carelessness in the enforcement of a 
milk law. may do injustice. 
Scientists are now discussing the 
desirability of a law which will create 
a very delicate legal difference. Some 
bee-keepers claim that their bees have 
been killed in then 1 search for honey 
on fruit trees that have been sprayed 
with the Paris-green and water mix¬ 
ture for the coddling moth. It would 
seem as though a man ought to have 
a perfect right to use poisons on his 
own land to save his fruit from the 
ravages of bisects. He merely uses 
the best known means of protecting 
his property. And it also seems fair 
that the bees should have a chance to 
gather the honey. Honey is a desira¬ 
ble article of food and its extraction 
takes absolutely nothing from the 
value of the tree or fruit. It would be 
a waste product if the bees did not 
utilize it. Now the scientists say that 
the only danger to the bee lies in 
spraying before the blossoms fall. 
After this point of growth, there is 
nothing left for the bee—it must work 
on other flowers. The coddling moth, 
however, so they tell us, can be killed 
after the bee has been satisfied, so the 
scientists would have a law, if need 
be, making it an offense punishable 
Avith fine and imprisonment to put 
poisons on one’s trees before the blos¬ 
soms fall. It can be readily seen that 
such a law would cause some very 
curious and delicate legal business. 
It must be said, in justification of 
those who desire some legal protection 
in this matter, that several cases are 
reported where bee-keepers have been 
nearly ruined by the early spraying 
of apple orchards. 
The Wisconsin farmers’ institutes 
AA'ill open this year at Phillips, Price 
County, NoA’ember, 19. These insti¬ 
tutes are conducted in an eminently 
business-like way; in fact, it is prob¬ 
able that the Wisconsin farmers get 
more “institute talk ” in the course of 
a year than do the farmers of any 
other State. Does all this talking do 
them any good? Well, the farmers 
claim that it does and they ought to 
know their business at least. There 
will be 60 institutes this year in tAvo 
sets, both in session at the same time, 
so that a large territory may be cov¬ 
ered. There will be fi\ T e sessions dur¬ 
ing each institute, and a general pro¬ 
gramme has been arranged so that the 
same topics may be discussed at each 
institute. The following outline is 
given. The R. N.-Y. prints it because 
it may be useful for managers of other 
institutes. 
First Session (for gentlemen only). 
—Stable management of cattle; prin¬ 
ciples of breeding in domestic animals; 
care of breeding animals; horse-breed¬ 
ing on the farm. 
Second Session (all invited).—Clo- 
A*er, grasses and pasturage; corn cul¬ 
ture; potato culture, grain raising; 
feeding questions—silage or otherwise. 
Third Session (evening).—Educa¬ 
tional topics. 
Fourth Session. —Sheep husbandry, 
avooI and mutton, early Iamb-raising; 
swine-breeding and pork-raising; how 
shall Ave produce cheap beef? 
Fifth Session. —Dairying; butter¬ 
making, cheese-making; gardening; 
fruit-culture; road-making, draining, 
noxious Aveeds. 
Whatever is said regarding the 
value of such institute Avork to the 
farmer (the R. N.-Y. belie\ T es such 
work can be made of great value), the 
business management shown in con¬ 
ducting the Wisconsin institutes is 
most commendable. 
$ 25 . 
HP WENT Y-FIVE dollars are offered 
^ by the R. 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. 
DEATH OF DR. G. IT. COOK. 
L AST Sunday George H. Cook. 
LL. D., Ph. D., State Geologist 
and Vice-President of Rutgers Col¬ 
lege. died unexpectedly at New Bruns¬ 
wick, New Jersey, of heart failure, at 
the age of 72. He Avas born at Han¬ 
over, N. J., in 1817; became a civil en¬ 
gineer in 1836, and graduated at the 
Troy Polytechnic Institute in 1839. 
He afterwards became a teacher in 
the Institute and was made “Senior 
Professor” or President in 1842. Lat¬ 
er he became Professor of Mathemat¬ 
ics and Natural Geology in the Albany 
Academy, and Principal of it in 1852, 
accepting the chair of chemistry and 
natural philosophy in Rutgers College 
two years later. Next year he became 
Assistant Geologist of New Jersey, and 
held the position for three years. Ow¬ 
ing to his efforts the office of State 
Geologist, which had been for years in 
abeyance, Avas reorganized in 1864, 
and he Avas appointed its head. His 
work in this capacity Avas varied and 
of great importance. In the same 
year the State Scientific College was 
attached to Rutgers, and Dr. Cook, 
while relinquishing none of his other 
duties, became Vice-President of the 
college. He was the organizer of the 
State Board of Agriculture and was 
for a long time its secretary. In 1886 
he became Chief Director of the New 
Jersey State Weather Service. He 
Avas also member of the State Board 
of Health and held many minor 
offices hi the State, besides being an 
active worker in other directions. He 
was a member of the American As¬ 
sociation for the Advancement of 
Science, and the author of many 
papers and addresses, some of which 
have appeared in the R. N.-Y. He re¬ 
ceded the degree of Doctor of Phil¬ 
osophy from the Unrtersity of New 
York, and the degree of Doctor of 
LaAvs from Union College. A Avife, 
one son and one daughter survive him. 
His life was active, useful and honor¬ 
able, and his death is widely regretted. 
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO 
ABOUT IT ? 
A BOUT WHAT ? Western dress¬ 
ed beef! We are speaking more 
particularly to our Eastern friends 
now, although Western farmers find 
very little to admire in the present 
state of affairs. Our correspondents 
tell their story forcibly and Avell. 
There is little that we can add con¬ 
cerning the effect of the trade in sec¬ 
tions Avhere the meat is to be sold. 
When Ave add that the rulers of this 
business are as greedy in buying as 
they are in selling, it is evident that 
Western farmers are but little better 
off than their Eastern brothers. 
Eastern farms are not going to grow 
up to brush pastures because of this 
trade. There are sorts of live stock 
that can be grown here at a profit and 
which will make the needed manure- 
sheep and early lambs, coach and car¬ 
riage horses, hogs, “fed for lean,”sold 
at special markets, first-class dairy 
cows, and, best of all, poultry. There 
never Avill come a time when the 
farms east of the Alleghanies Avill be 
beaten at the production of such stock. 
No, the R. N.-Y. has little fear for the 
future of agriculture in any part of 
this country. In “Snow-Bound” 
Whittier speaks of the schoolmaster: 
“ Born the wild Northern hills among, 
From which his sturdy father wrung, 
By rugged toil, a living scant. 
Not competence, and yet not want.” 
That same rugged farm to-day 
planted in seed potatoes might produce 
a crop the value of which would fairly 
startle the old farmer. We merely, 
speak of this as an illustration of the fact 
that there is a special product for every 
section. The man Avho is most success¬ 
ful hi discovering this specialty is the 
man who succeeds. Agriculture is safe 
in spite of the dressed beef business. 
The germ of the matter is that a feAv 
keen, grasping business men have so 
manipulated an important business 
that no outside party coming in con¬ 
tact with the business is particularly 
helped, AvhUe all besides themselves 
are in some way injured. This is 
wrong. It is about this state of affairs 
that Ave ask—“What are you going to 
do about it?” 
“ I have tried the Rural's 1 sulphur 
remedy' for the. potato scab and found 
it to be exactly as recommended— 
success. I made a test plot by planting 
every other hill with a tea-spoonful of 
sulphur sifted in at planting time. Tlic. 
potatoes in the sulphured hills came, 
out perfectly clean, while those in the, 
other hills were badly scabbed.— C. II. 
F., page 662. 
BREVITIES. 
A Lively dairy symposium next week* 
THERE is to be a poultry show in this city 
on February Hi to 35, 18fK). 
Feed a few tomatoes to the cow if yoh 
want to see her enjoy a meal. 
Come, Mr. Alfred Rose, let’s have your 
apology now;. Better late than never. 
Be kind enough to weigh a potato just 
under what you term marketable size and 
let us know the weight. 
There is a lively demand for nuts in 
this market. The sale of native nuts seems 
to increase from year to year. 
Western dairymen are talking about 
using the new “Butter Extractor ” for the 
purpose of determining the value of differ¬ 
ent samples of milk brought to a factory. 
“ Break up the trust*. ‘ How can that, 
be done/' By Farmers' votes. ‘ Whcnf’ 
As soon (ts the farmer will learn to vote 
for principles, not parties .”— A. L. Cros¬ 
by, page (559. 
“ I AM a yearly subscriber for the R. N.- 
Y. and received the last number and lost it 
in an hour. I wouldn’t take a dollar for 
it. Will the Rural be kind enough to send 
me another copy? w, p, L, 
Rochelle, Ulmoia, 
