7l2 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
OCTOBER 26 
THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
(34 Park Row, New York), 
A National Journal for Country and Suburban 
Homes. 
Conducted by 
ELBERT S. CARMAN. 
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26, 1889. 
NOTICE. 
T 
'HE RURAL NEW-YORK¬ 
ER is invariably discon¬ 
tinued at the end of the term 
subscribed for. Any copies sent 
to non-subscribers are sent with¬ 
out charge as specimens merely. 
If the standard of purity fixed by 
law is a certain per cent, of solids, are 
not the producers of such milk—as 
some of them claim—justifiable in 
watering their milk down to the legal 
standard ? The chemists cannot tell 
the difference, and yet if the milk- 
owner should be detected putting 
water in such milk, though it be above 
the standard, he could be arrested, 
and if proved guilty, must pay the 
penalty or go to prison ! See page 710. 
At the Minnesota Experiment Sta¬ 
tion a “school for meat inspectors” 
has been established. It is proposed 
to give such instruction as will quali¬ 
fy men for the duty of ‘ ‘ inspection on 
the hoof. ” In spite of the adverse de¬ 
cision of the courts, it seems evident 
that Western farmers look to this 
“meat inspection ” as the best means 
of handling the trade in dressed beef. 
The probabilities are that efforts will 
be made to push a law having this in¬ 
spection for its basis, that will be so 
framed as to be declared constitu¬ 
tional. 
Our friend A. L. Crosby, has this to 
say about a matter that would please 
many farmers: 
“The Blush Potato, by the way, is 
improving. It used to scatter very 
much ; thei’e would be almost as 
many potatoes between the rows as hi 
the rows ; but now they are much 
more sociable, and there is no trouble 
in digging them with a potato plow.” 
Can it be that the location of the 
manure or fertilizer has anything to 
do with the position of the tubers? 
Will a concentration of the manure in 
the hill or drill tend to produce a con¬ 
centration of the tubers? 
Some of our friends have manifested 
a good deal of concern about the adul¬ 
teration of buhach. It has been 
claimed that Eastern firms adulterate 
the California product. A friend in 
California writes as follows concern¬ 
ing the matter: 
1 * Inquiries have been made through¬ 
out the country in regard to buhach 
which is retailed at every little cross¬ 
road store. While much of it does 
not seem to be up to the standard 
quality, no incident has yet come to 
light in which direct fraud can be 
proven, although there is but little 
doubt that in some instances it is 
practiced. The crop of buhach in Cali¬ 
fornia this year is very good, but is 
not ha excess of the demand.” 
Some of our impatient friends want 
to know why we do not tell them 
more about the famous butter exti'ac 
tor. We have already given about 
all the facta. We might print any 
amount of theory and pliilosophy 
about the machine, but the actual 
facts can only be demonstrated by 
E ractical results. Will the extracted 
utter keep? Will the machine su¬ 
persede creamers and pans and 
churns ? Will the dairy business be 
4 4 revolutionized ? ” Thei-e are plenty 
of men who stand ready to give an 
opinion i-egarding all these matters, 
but the actual results will have to be 
worked out in the old, old way. When 
any facts regarding the quality of ex¬ 
tracted butter or the economical 
value of the extractor are presented, 
the R. N.-Y. will gladly-give them. 
Efforts are being made to render 
the coming New York farmers’ insti¬ 
tutes very valuable. Secretary Wood¬ 
ward informs us that lie has secured 
the services of Prof. J. W. Sanborn, re¬ 
cently Director of the Missouri Experi¬ 
ment Station. The other workers 
who proved so popular last winter 
will all report for duty. It is proposed 
to hold 40 institutes this year, although 
if all the places that call for one could 
be served thei*e would be 100. The 
first will probably be held November 
18 and 19. The R. N.-Y. will print a 
full list of the locations as soon as it is 
decided upon. It is not necessary for 
the R. N. Y. to repeat that it is most 
heartily in favor of this institute work 
and that it urges all its friends to at¬ 
tend all the meetings possible. 
The recent decisions regarding the 
constitutionality of certain anti-dress- 
ed-beef laws promise to provide some 
interesting test cases regarding game 
laws. Many Western States have 
laws forbidding the exportation of cer- 
tain kinds of game from the State at 
any time of the year. The decision in 
the di’essed-beef cases was based upon 
the fact that Congress has the sole 
right to regulate the traffic between 
the States. Game dealers in this and 
other large cities claim that if the 
State authorities have no right to pro¬ 
hibit the entrance of di’essed-beef 
they have no right to prohibit 
the expoi’t of game. They propose 
to test the matter. The prohibition 
of game exports has hitherto proved 
one of the best means of preserving 
game from market sportsmen. 
The R. N.-Y. the past spring for the 
first tried the effect of spraying an ap¬ 
ple-tree with water and Paris-green. 
The tree (Newtown Pippin) is about 14 
years old from the nursery, and has 
borne for four seasons without matair¬ 
ing a single apple, so far as known, 
that was not injured by the coddling 
moth. It was first sprayed when the 
apples began to set and the tree was 
not entirely out of bloom. It was 
again sprayed four days after, and 
again when the apples bent from an up¬ 
right to a downward position. It bore a 
moderate crop and though every apple 
was examined there was not a trace of 
the coddling moth. The quantity of 
Paris-green used was a level "tea¬ 
spoonful to two gallons of water. It 
was sprayed on every part of the tree 
underneath and over the leaves, 
through a Vermorel nozzle. The ex¬ 
periment was conducted in a small 
way certainly, but it proved what the 
R. N.-Y. desired to prove for itself, 
that thoroughly spraying apple-trees 
wall insure the destruction of the cod¬ 
dling moth without the slightest appar¬ 
ent injury to the foliage. 
The losses recently incurred and 
likely to be incurred soon by Eastern 
companies engaged in making loans on 
Western farm mortgages should teach 
a salutary lesson. There has never 
been any system of inspection or su¬ 
pervision in case of loans made by such 
corporations. In their eagerness to 
earn commissions and to make 
prompt use of the funds entrusted to 
them, they have often taken unjusti¬ 
fiable chances and accepted insuffi¬ 
cient security. Indeed the people of 
the West have been hardly more 
anxious to borrow than the people of 
the East have been to lend. In many 
cases farmers have been over-persuaa- 
ed to take loans when they could 
have done without. Tens of thou¬ 
sands of Easteni money have been 
invested in mortgages solely because 
the rates of interest were irresis¬ 
tible, without any proper investiga¬ 
tion into the value of the land or the 
borrower’s ability to pay. Even de¬ 
cisions of the courts were neglected in 
the greed for high interest. The re¬ 
action from such feverish imprudence 
must be expensive; but it is safe to 
say that the vast majority of Western 
farm mortgages are good, and that 
they will be duly paid as fast as they 
mature. 
Wherever the Grange or the Farm¬ 
ers’ Alliance establishes a store or de¬ 
pot for furnishing its own members 
with supplies at first cost, there is al¬ 
ways a tendency to excite the ill-will 
of other store-keepers in the place, and 
also that of their friends. This is 
quite natural. The goods furnished 
are good and unadulterated; mid even 
the general public can usually pur¬ 
chase them for the same prices 
charged for ordinary goods of the 
same kind elsewhere, and sometimes 
for lower figures. So long as human 
nature remains what it is and always 
has been, such competition must be¬ 
get ill-will. The fanners very nat¬ 
urally support their own side, but it 
is seldom the feeling finds vent in vio¬ 
lence. An exception has just occurred 
at Dotlien, a small town in Alabama, 
The Farmers’ Alliance had established 
a farmers’ warehouse there. As soon 
as it began business, it was called up¬ 
on to pay the usual drayage and 
other licences imposed on other 
business houses in town. This de¬ 
mand was i*efused and the manager 
was arrested. On the day set down 
for his trial 300 heavily armed Alliance 
men assembled round the Coui't 
House, and the town’s people also 
came armed to the teeth. A pitched 
battle took place between the two 
parties, which resulted in the death of 
two men on each side and the wound¬ 
ing of many more. Such events are 
truly deplorable, and in this case all 
the more so inasmuch as the farmers 
appear to have been most in fault. 
It is very evident from the notes on 
“Marketing Crops” printed in this 
issue that the R. N.-Y. has among its 
subscribers some very keen and 
shrewd business men. “Selling a 
crop is just as important as raising 
it,” We feel sure that our readers 
will appreciate this opportunity of 
comparing notes. While the products 
and practices of different sections are 
different, thei*e are certain laws that 
hold good the country over. The 
Iowa farmer, with his great herd of 
cattle or horses, may wonder at the 
New Hampshire man with his 2,000 
hens; yet in selling their different pro¬ 
ducts they are both guided by similar 
laws of supply and demand. They 
are both after the highest possible 
price; they hold their products only 
when it seems evident that the supply 
is limited. To the business fanner a 
true report of the condition and loca¬ 
tion of a certain crop is of more im¬ 
portance than present prices. The 
cost of holding a crop is considerable : 
shrinkage, waste and proper storage 
must all be taken into consideration. 
We notice that most of our corres¬ 
pondents seem to agree that in the 
majority of cases it is safer to sell the 
crop as soon after harvesting as possi¬ 
ble, unless the facilities for storing it 
are of the best. If farmers could so 
organize their business that they could 
tell approximately what it costs to 
produce a crop, they could easily de¬ 
termine the profit hi current prices. 
We are speaking now of articles that 
can be kept for a reasonable .time. 
With fruits and other perishable pro¬ 
ducts, of course nine out of every 10 
growers must sell for the market 
price or lose the whole. 
$10. 
T HE R. N.-Y. offers a prize of 10 
dollars for the best column 
of “Notes on a Back Number.” Con¬ 
testants may select any number of the 
R. N.-Y. for 1889. They are to write 
short notes in approval or criticism of 
the various topics discussed in that 
number. The articles must not be 
over one column in length. The prize 
is to be given to the column showing 
the most sense, and in which the great¬ 
est number of topics are discussed. It 
is proposed to publish all the essays 
in the form of a “ Discussion ” sympo¬ 
sium. 
NEW IDEAS. 
OFTEN wonder what there can 
Ji be left of interest to publish. 
Having read your paper seven or eight 
years, it seems you must have covered 
all the ground. But I am agreeably 
astonished to find every copy fully as 
good and fresh and new as the one be¬ 
fore it.” Thus writes a subscriber in 
Wisconsin. The R. N.-Y. has often 
wondered why its esteemed contem¬ 
poraries do not get a little more “ out of 
the rut.” Now and then we compare 
their current issues with the corre¬ 
sponding dates of previous years, and it 
is quite astonishing to see how littlereal 
progress has been made. The same 
things are talked about in almost the 
same language. The R. N.-Y. in its 
farm life comes upon thousands of new 
and interesting things that are well 
worthy of thought and study. We 
take great pleasure in investigating 
what to us are new matters, and one 
subject leads to another until we real¬ 
ize that the science of agriculture is 
full of pleasant and profitable myster¬ 
ies. The R. N.-Y. is blessed with a 
constituency of thoughtful and observ¬ 
ing readers who are always ready to 
contribute from their fund of exper¬ 
ience. As its circle of correspond¬ 
ents widens theR. N.-Y. is very agree¬ 
ably surprised to see how many there 
are who are patiently and systemati¬ 
cally studying the laws of Nature and 
the various conditions of farm life. 
Such minds crave new ideas and 
strong thoughts from sections of the 
country where there are special con¬ 
ditions to be observed. We find that 
young farmers in particular want to 
think and reason out agricultural prop¬ 
ositions. It is for this reason, among 
others, that the R. N.-Y. makes a 
strong feature of the 4 symposium ” 
and encourages its readers to discuss 
whatever may be said in these col¬ 
umns. Our agents often meet farmers 
who sav : “One number of the agri¬ 
cultural paper is just like another. I 
want something new." This is a fair 
criticism of too many of our farm 
papers. The student, the progressive 
man, be he farmer, lawyer, doctor, or 
what not, must grow and investigate 
and absorb new things. One cannot 
successfully stand still in these days— 
one must go forward or fall behind. 
TheR. N.-Y. addresses itself to pro 
gressive and enterprising farmers 
who desire to keep up with the times 
and to know all that is going on. 
BREVITIES. 
Don’t let that old horse get too poor be¬ 
fore winter sets in. 
The market was never so well supplied 
with hickory nuts or so poorly supplied 
with chestnuts. 
“I owe my success as a gardener to the 
R, N.-Y., and I shall never be without it.’ 
Leadville, Colo. w. j. p. 
If anybody can give a better egg food for 
winter than that suggested by Mr. Jacobs on 
page 710, the R. N.-Y. w ants to know what 
it is. 
In William Falconer’s article on Hender¬ 
son’s Bush Lima, page 690 of last w r eek’s 
issue, “weighs 63 ounces” should read 
weighs 6% ounces. 
Can anybody tell us wby there should 
not be State Associations formed for the 
New York breeders of IIolstein-Friesians, 
Jerseys and Short-horns ? 
On the farms near New York almost all 
the oats are bought. Farmers feed a good 
many oats to their horses, too, particularly 
during the marketing season. It would 
seem ns though oats w ould be a good crop 
for the “city farmer.” 
IN almost all neighborhoods there is a 
farmer who grows a small crop of buck- 
wheat, has the grain ground into flour and 
then peddles it out among his neighbors. 
The chances are that this member of the 
community will do well this year. 
Two weeks ago the R. N.-Y. gave a de¬ 
tailed account of t he new business of selling 
produce at auction. Thus far the business 
has been confined mainly to fruits. Last 
Wednesday the first auction sale of sweet 
potatoes occurred and resulted very satis¬ 
factorily. 
In many parts of the West potatoes are 
bought at 30 cents per bushel. They are 
being sent to this city where the consumers 
are lucky if they can buy at$1.00 per lmshH. 
It would be quite an interesting study to 
trace this business through and see who gets 
the 70 cents difference. 
A GREAT many silos have been filled 
with clover this past season. A great many 
farmers are regarding these experiments 
with a feeling of misgiving. The R. N.-Y. 
believes that a great majority of them will 
be agreeably disappointed, especially when 
they realize how difficult it would have 
been to cure the clover just right. 
A HEAVY crop of fodder-corn will take 
out of the soil about all the manure you 
can put in. Many a farmer has proved this 
to his sorrow by manuring heavily and then 
sowing thickly the large B. and W. Com. 
He gets a rank'grow th, but the succeeding 
crop tells a story of weakness. In many 
cases a crop of the smaller varieties of corn 
w r ould yield as large a crop of edible fodder 
and leave the soil in much better form for 
succeeding crops. 
Young Jesse Hoyt who inherited about 
$600,000 from his father, the late millionaire 
Jesse Hoyt, is holding up a w’lieat “corner ” 
in this market “ by the tail.” The manly 
young plunger has been quite successful in 
the wdieat pit for the last two or three years 
and is now “long” on 2,000,000 bushels of 
December wheat. He refused to make a 
profit at 89 cents per bushel the other day, 
in the confident expectation that the mar¬ 
ket w’ill go higher before it goes much 
lower. “ Old II utcli ” in Chicago appears to 
be of the same opinion, as lie is reported to 
be preventing a decline there by the power 
of his millions. 
