THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
7i9 
A JERSEYMAN’S JOTTINGS. 
THE CONGRESS OF AMERICAN NATIONS. 
T HE rains have been so constant of late 
that I have had more time than us¬ 
ual for reading. I am considerably inter¬ 
ested in the coming meeting of the repre¬ 
sentatives of the Republics of America and 
I have read all I could find printed on the 
subject. My interest in what I may call 
Spanish America dates back to my boy¬ 
hood. In my younger days the rush to the 
California gold diggings carried off four of 
my brothers and various other relatives. I 
wanted to go myself, but it seemed better 
that I should stay at home on the farm, 
and so I stayed. But those who did go had 
so many curious tales to tell about the peo¬ 
ple and practices of the South American 
countries that 1 became deeply interested 
in their history and resources, and it has 
been a sort of hobby of mine to keep posted 
regarding their progress. All readers know 
that they have a special liking for the his¬ 
tory of some foreign country or for some 
period of old history. I have enjoyed read¬ 
ing about the history of Spanish America 
rather than about that of European coun¬ 
tries. So it may be seen why I am deeply 
interested in this gathering or convention. 
Why It Is Called .—It looks to me like a 
matter of business rather than one of senti¬ 
ment. We are all “Americans” to be 
sure, from Alaska to Patagonia. As a 
matter of fact, the American pedigree of 
our Spanish-speaking friends is about 100 
years longer than ours is. Still, w r e 
Yankees and Jerseymen have always as¬ 
sumed that the English-speaking folks are 
the true Americans. Before we get through 
with this convention, we shall doubtless 
look at this matter somewhat differently. 
The Southern Republics have always re¬ 
garded the United States with a little sus¬ 
picion. It is a good thing we can’t read 
Spanish, for some of the articles in South 
American papers would make us feel like 
going on the war-path at once. This con¬ 
vention is based on business and not on 
sentiment. It is a question of trade. 
These Spanish Republics have sent the 
wisest and brightest men they have to look 
over our resources and compare prices so 
as to see what they can buy here to advan¬ 
tage and also what they can sell. The bulk 
of their trade at present goes to England 
and Europe. As a matter of fuct, so far as 
any sentiment goes, they would just as 
soon trade in Europe as trade with us. It 
is a matter of dollars and cents, of return 
business, of cheap transportation and fa¬ 
vorable tariffs. The countries south of us 
have fruits, hard wood, dye-stuffs, cotton, 
sugar, rubber, minerals, hides, meat and 
wool to sell. They want to buy manufac¬ 
tured goods, dairy products and bread- 
stuffs. 
Do We Want Their Tradet Certainly 
we want to sell them all we can. We are 
conducting business in this country for the 
purpose of selling goods. Give us the chance 
of supplying, say 75 per cent, of the im¬ 
ported bread-stuffs and dairy products used 
in South America, and every dairyman and 
wheat grower, would feel the effect of the 
new market at once. Give our manufac¬ 
turers a chance at this trade, and every 
manufacturing town in the country would 
brighten up. But this is not to be any one¬ 
sided affair. If we sell to these countries, 
we will have to buy something from them. 
Other nations do so, we must. Suppose, 
for example, Brazil says : “ We can provide 
you with all the coffee and sugar you need 
Buy of us and we will buy our butter, 
cheese, flour and manufactured goods of 
you.” Then the Argentine Republic says: 
“ Buy our wool, and we will buy our 
supplies of you.” And Mexico, Columbia, 
Peru and other countries come forward 
with si nilar propositions. They all want 
to buy, but they all have something to sell 
in return. They have traded with European 
countries for a long time. They don’t care 
to change unless they can “ better them¬ 
selves.” But now come the United States 
wool-grower, sugar-maker, and the official 
who draws a big salary for “investigating” 
sorghum or thecotton planter. “ You must 
buy our products first,” they say. “ We 
don’t care for this foreign trade if it neces¬ 
sitates the purchase of the products we 
handle at a cheaper rate than we can 
profitably produce them.” Then the agents 
of foreign countries go to the Spanish Re¬ 
publics and say: “ We control the com¬ 
merce of the world. The United States 
have not the necessary steamships for 
transporting their goods. ” So two of the 
most important things to come before this 
convention will be 
Transportation and Tariffs.—As for 
transportation, there is not much to fear 
about that. A railroad through Mexico 
that shall connect with the railroad sys¬ 
tems of South America, so that a car can 
run from New York to Buenos Ayres, is a 
possibility, and steamships can be built 
and manned by Yankees as well as by 
French or Germans. But all these vast en¬ 
terprises will require millions of capital, 
and that must come from merchants and 
manufacturers who will not invest it unless 
they are assured that the tariffs can be so 
adjusted that the goods they handle will be 
put through the custom-houses on the 
most advantageous terms. The custom¬ 
houses of the Spanish Republics are some¬ 
thing wonderful as regards their ability to 
mix things up. In many of them the cus¬ 
toms authorities receive no salary, but 
depend upon the fines which they are em¬ 
powered to impose and of which they re¬ 
ceive 50 per cent. A slight clerical error 
will prove sufficient for one of these 
officials to impose a fine of 50 per 
cent, of the value of the article. 
Before any satisfactory business can be 
done there must be a system of uniform 
tariffs and customs regulations to serve 
for all the countries. When we consider 
that our present administration was put in 
power because of its advocacy of a high 
tariff, and also the immense difference be¬ 
tween the volume of trade in this country 
and that from each of the smaller count ries, 
the difficulties in the way of the convention 
can be understood. To my mind it is the 
most wonderful business scheme that the 
world has ever known. Its possibilities 
are absolutely beyond ordinary comprehen¬ 
sion. If it be rightly managed and wisely 
developed it will change the history of 
America. 
Other Points .—If we are going to do bus¬ 
iness with Spanish people we shall have to 
have people who can talk Spanish. If this 
Congress is a success we shall come to the 
times when Spanish will be a more impor¬ 
tant study in our schools and colleges than 
French now' is. The delegates are now 
traveling about the country to see what 
things we have to sell, and how we produce 
them. We don’t hear of their looking at 
any Eastern farms. Those in charge of the 
trip seem to think the West is the only ag¬ 
ricultural section worth showing them. 
JERSEYMAN. 
CATALOGUES, ETC., RECEIVED. 
N ational silver convention. 
This convention is called to meet at 
St. Louis, November 26. The object of the 
convention may be learned from the follow¬ 
ing extract from the circular sent out by 
the chairman: 
“ We believe that our senators and repre¬ 
sentatives in Congress should be urged to 
restore silver to its ancient use as money, 
by giving it free coinage. This will place 
it on an equality with gold, and we believe 
at a par with that metal. Until this is ac¬ 
complished, it should be earnestly insisted 
upon that the maximum amount of 4,000,000 
dollars’ w'orth of bullion should be coined 
per month.” 
“ Bitter Weed.”— Bulletin No. 9 of the 
Mississippi Experiment Station. Those 
who are familiar with agriculture in the 
Gulf States must have noticed a beautiful, 
green plant with large, golden-yellow flow¬ 
ers. It creeps everywhere—along road¬ 
sides, into pastures and old fields—wher¬ 
ever it can do any damage. From the date 
of its coming till frost the Southern dairy¬ 
man is w'eary of life. The milk, the butter 
and the beef are all tinged with a bitter 
taste strongly resembling the characteristic 
taste of quinine. The common bitter* 
weed, Heleuium tenuifolium, while giving 
the bitter taste to everything produced 
from it, is considered harmless so far as its 
effects upon the system are concerned. In 
fact, it is considered a good tonic for cattle 
in the spring, while it promotes digestion 
in a proportion of human beings. Dr. 
Phares, who prepared this bulletin, has ob¬ 
served the matter for 46 years. But an¬ 
other plant closely related to this one, viz : 
H. autumnale, does injure and kill some 
domestic animals. Experiments conducted 
at the Mississippi College, show that calves 
and sheep are injuriously affected by this 
plant, w’hile horses and mules are driven by 
its effects to violent efforts. A pint or two 
of lard poured down the animal’s throat al¬ 
ways gives prompt relief. Animals seem to 
have no special fondness for this weed ex¬ 
cept w hen they have been deprived of green 
food for some time and are then driven 
where the weed is plentiful and other 
green plants scarce. 
Animals, notably sheep, once intoxicated 
by the plant and recovering, seem to ac¬ 
quire a mania for it, and when finding 
themselves in localities where it grows 
hurry to and devour it. 
A MONTHLY POULTRY PAPER with the 
alluring motto: “ How' to make Money 
with a Few Hens,” has been started by the 
enterprising firm of I. S. Johnson & Co., 
Boston. It is edited by A. F. Hunter, and 
s 
c 
o 
T 
C 
H 
Fordhook Kennels. C 
O 
Full Pedigreed and Registered 
Stock. Twelve Liiters ready to ship 
soon : bred direct from the finest stock, 
and sired by our Imported Stud Dogs. 
Cmftos Chief Fordhook Squire, Bard 
and Bobble. Never before had we such 
a grand lot of Pupoies to offer. Write 
now- for prices and full particulars. We 
furnish a full and complete pedigree. 
and register every Pup In A. K. C. Stud 
book .free of all expense to purchasers. 
satisfaction and saf“ arrival guaran¬ 
teed. Intending purchasers Invited to 
call and make personal selections at our 
Kennels. Address 
W. ATI.EE Bl'RPEE & CO., 
473 and 477 North Fifth Street, 
Philadelphia, Pa. 
I 
E 
S 
is called the Farm Poultry Monthly. It is 
well filled with practical poultry matter, 
draw'n quite liberally from various papers. 
It is intended for the farmer more than for 
the fancier. 
Digest of the Annual Reports of the 
Agricultural Experiment Stations.— 
The pamphlet is issued by the Department 
CANADA UNLEACHER HARD 
WOOD ASHES, 
NATURE’S COMPLETE FERTILIZER* 
For Fruit, Grass and Grain, Quantity and quality 
guaranteed. By rail In car lots. Send for price, 
PAMPHLET and SAMPLE. 
of Agriculture. It is prepared by Prof. 
W. O. Atwater an’d contains a condensa- 
MUNROE, JUDSON St STROUP, OSWEGO, N. Y. 
tion of the reports of the directors of the 
experiment stations. As the R. N.-Y. has 
before stated, the law requires the directors 
to make annual reports giving a synopsis of 
the work done during the year. The De¬ 
partment of Agriculture at Washington is 
to condense these synopses. Thus we have, 
in this volume, an outline of the work done 
at all the stations during 1S88. It is a val¬ 
uable pamphlet—an excellent index of 
American agricultural experiments. 
Manures for Minnesota.— In Bulletin 
No. 8 from the Minnesota Experiment 
Station, we find a number of timely arti¬ 
cles. In spite of the belief, quite general 
among a class of Western farmers, that fer¬ 
tilizers and manures are at present unnec¬ 
essary, the Minnesota Station wisely begins 
to talk about these substances now. We 
are given a list of the crops produced in 
Minnesota with the values of the various 
fertilizing elements contained in them and 
the amounts removed by each crop. This 
makes a startling showing. The Minnesota 
farmers who begin to study it now will be 
richly repaid for their study 20 years hence. 
There is another excellent article on the by¬ 
products of wheat. In 1888 the mills of 
Minneapolis alone produced 7 , 056,680 bar¬ 
rels of flour, requiring over 30 , 000,000 bush¬ 
els of wheat. This of course threw on the 
market vast quantities of bran, shorts, 
screenings, weed seeds, etc. The wheat 
crop of Minnesota yields, in addition to the 
flour, 200,000 tons of bran, 50,000 tons of 
shorts and 75,000 tons of “ screenings ” con¬ 
taining light grains of wheat and many 
seeds of weeds. Not half of this vast “ by¬ 
product ” is kept in the State—it goes to 
other sections where the farmers know its 
value for fertilizers and feed. Strange as it 
may seem to Eastern farmers, the “screen¬ 
ings ” are most sought for by Minnesota 
farmers. Near the mills these screenings 
cost $7 per ton, and wideawake farmers 
are begining to see the great value of this 
product. Fed whole to horses the “ screen¬ 
ings ” compare favorably with oats ; when 
crushed they are well liked by dairy cows. 
Many sheep are now winter-fed near Min¬ 
neapolis and St. Paul on “screenings” and 
hay, while hogs and poultry thrive well on 
this feed. In fact, of all the by-products 
produced at the flouring mills, the “screen¬ 
ings ” seem the most economical food. In 
fact, we are told that the demand for the 
“ screenings ” is so great that it is impossi¬ 
ble to supply all that is called for. Many 
millers grind the screenings and either mix 
it with shorts or bran or sell it as “ flfffir of 
screenings.” It must be remembered that 
while all the “ screenings ” is demanded for 
near-by feeding, tons of bran and shorts 
are shipped out of the State. The follow¬ 
ing table gives the average composition of 
“screenings” as compared with other sub¬ 
stances. 
protein. fat. carbo-hydrates. 
per cent, per cent. per cent. 
Oats. 11.38 4.81 60.05 
Screenings 11.67 3.00 65.83 
Clover Hay 12.55 2.44 40.55 
Bran. 15.36 4.14 57.59 
Shorts. 13.83 3.83 53.50 
H. S. MILLER & CO., 
-MANUFACTURERS OF- 
iJuro A.nlmal Bone 
FER TIEIZERS: 
For all Crops and Boils. Factory and Principa 
Office on Passaic River, Newark, N. J. Baltimore 
Office, 202 & 206 Buchanan’s Wharf, foot of Fred¬ 
erick St. Write for "Farmer’s Manual,” mailed Free. 
<1*0 A Salary. 840 Expenses in Advance 
tDOU allowed each mcnth. Steady employment 
^ at home or traveling. No soli.King. Du¬ 
ties, delivering and making collections No Postal 
Cards. Address with stamp. HAFER & CO., PIqua. O. 
(trees, feeds’ ami giants. 
LANORETH’S LAWN GRASS SEED 
Is a mixture of the finest varieties of perennial grass 
seeds, producing a most beautiful and permanent 
sod in a short time. The lawns and grass plots in 
and around Philadelphia afford ample evidence of 
the superior quality of the Landreth's Laum Grass 
Seed. 
All Varieties of Grass and Clover Seeds care¬ 
fully selected, thoroughly re-cleaned, 
and freed from all imperfections. 
LANDRETH’S LAWN FERTILIZER. 
A most excellent top-dressing for lawns and grass- 
plots. producing a rich and vigorous growth. Sold 
in packages from five pounds to the ton. 
D. LANDRETH & SONS, 
21 & 28 South Sixth Street Branch Store, Delaware 
Avenue and Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pa 
THE IDAHO PEAR. 
What Others Say About It : 
Compared with Keiffer It Is far superior in 
quality. AMERICAN GARDEN. 
Quality best. PATRICK BARRY. 
It Is not so sweet as the Bartlett, but higher fla¬ 
vored—more vinous. THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Trees now for the first time offered for 
sale 
Single Tree by mail, post paid, 
$2.50; Three ior $6.00. 
Send for illustrated prospectus conta’ning a finer 
list of testimonials than any new fruit that has ever 
been introuueed. 
THE IDAHO PEAR Co., 
LEWISTON, IDAHO 
Choice Seed Polatoes. 
Pure Seed Rural New-Yorker No. 2, Early 
Puritan, Early Sunrise. Polaris. Chas. Down¬ 
ing. Burpee’s Superior, Early Ohio, Early 
.Maine. For sale by the barrel bushel or pound. 
SPRINGDALE FARM, Trenton Falls, N Y. 
TREES 
Root Grafts —Everything ! No larger 
stock in U.S. No better. No cheaper. 
Pike Co. Nurseries. Louisiana, Mo. 
PEACH TREES! 
A fine lot of the Best Varieties, including 
“GOOD," the new late white variety. The Para¬ 
gon Chestnut, and a general assortment of Nur¬ 
sery Stock. 
W. IYI. ENGLE <Sc SON, 
Marietta. Pa. 
§Ui$ceUaneou.$! Advertising. 
REV. J. W. MACOMBER, 
Mahopae, Putnam Co., N. Y. 
writes: Dr. Seih Arnold’s 
Cough Killer cured me of 
CONGESTION OF THE LUNGS 
over 2U years ago. I have used 
It with universal success in my 
family ever since. 25c.. SOc. 
and 81 per bottle. 
ALL DEALERS SELL IT. 
L OW-DOWN wagon on high wheels-only 
Praetienl. Common Sense Farm Wagon in 
the world. Send for 28 reasons why. 
GARDINER IRON WAGON CO., 
Muiilea Hill, N. J. 
We Import, from the best sources in HoUand, a large 
assortment of Bulbs of finest quality which we offer 
at reasonable prices. Catalogues and price-lists free 
to all applicants. 
D. LANDRETH & SON, 
21 dk 23 South Sixth St., Philadelphia. Pa. 
PEACH TREES. 
Fine one-year-old and J. B. for distant shipment 
Clean, healthy trees, from Xatural seed: the new 
and leading sorts. Russian Anrteot, Small Fruit, 
Plants, Osage Orange. General Nuraerv stock at low 
rates JOSIAH A. ROBERTS, 
Malvern Nurseries. Malvern, Pa. 
