774 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
NOV 23 
labor and supervision. It can do this with¬ 
out counting any income except that di¬ 
rectly from the farm, and the farm is hard¬ 
ly run to more than half its full capacity 
either. Nearly all farmers, like Mr. Gree¬ 
ley, have their own fruits, butter, milk, 
meat, chickens, eggs, etc. They may get a 
little idea of what the farm is doing for 
them in this line by noting what we pay 
for all these things. My wife says: “ Do 
tell them that we feed the cats pretty well; 
that will help out a little. I am afraid 
they will think us pigs from the quantities 
of provisions bought.” You will kindly 
note that the R. N.-Y. particularly called 
for this article on our private affairs. 
Summit County, Ohio. 
LONG ISLAND SMALL FARMING. 
T. T., Brooklyn, N. Y.—It seems tome 
that the Rural’s correspondents “O. A. F.,” 
“ L. I. Farmer,” and “H. A. Brown,” are 
not the farmers properly to advise a poor 
man as to how he can make a living on 12 
acres of average Long Island land. They 
are altogether too high-toned, and evidently 
have now and always have had sufficient 
means. W. D. Pyle’s letter has the true 
ring. Farming, like all other vocations, de¬ 
pends more upon the man than on the land. 
I am a poor city lawyer earning perhaps 
about $1,200 per year. In my younger days 
I had about five years of excellent instruc¬ 
tion in farming, particularly in vegetable 
culture. To my mind truck or milk farm¬ 
ing amounts to slavery. I would not follow 
either for the gift of a $25,000 farm, but other 
kinds of small farming I love, and I have 
found them profitable. Let me here say that 
in my opinion the cheapest and best way 
to clear land of Scrub Oak on Long Island 
is to do it by a large coulter plow drawn by 
two yoke of oxen. Hire the oxen if not able 
to buy them. It is all very well for the few 
fat and well-to-do Long Island farmers to 
sneer at the methods of the poor German 
ones; but do not the Germans usually 
thrive better with fewer advantages than 
our small farmers ? And why ? Simply 
because they are more frugal and industri¬ 
ous. The small Long Island farmer is, as a 
rule, shiftless. He can sit in the town 
store and talk politics all day and consider 
himself a statesman. Go to his farm and 
see his house and barn without the paint 
they so much need ; his horse and cow lean ; 
his plow, harrow and tools out-of-doors, 
and the stable and stock uncleaned for 
weeks ! No saving of manure, no proper 
frugality and little industry. 
Now, I think any ordinary man ought to 
make at least a living on 12 acres. I own a 
farm of 14 acres in Hempstead. I bought it 
because I got it very cheap last summer, 
and I calculate to make $500 above ex¬ 
penses this year, and if I do not I shall be 
disappointed, for I have done that much 
and more before under similar circum¬ 
stances. Now I would say to the owner of 
12 acres: Wait until March next. Then 
go upon your farm. Get a cheap horse for 
about $25 at one of the city horse-car 
stables. Hire a green German by the 
month at, say, $10. Attend the auctions of 
second-hand farm implements in your lo¬ 
cality, and buy a plow, harrow, hoes, and 
such tools as you need. Start a hot-bed at 
once. Plant all the vegetables you want for 
your family liberally. Buy a cow, plant 
one acre of corn for fodder for her. Buy 100 
chickens and inclose them in a quarter of 
an acre of wire fence, moving this fence 
upon a fresh quarter 'of an acre every 
month. Shelter your chickens either by 
excavating earth and covering it like a cis¬ 
tern, giving air and light, or putting up 
posts eight feet high with cross-pieces on 
top, or pieces inverted Y-shape, and covering 
the roof with sea weed or leaves, covered 
with grass in profusion. Have no smaller 
breed than Wyandottes. The eggs and 
manure will well repay you. Now, that 
you have cleared your farm of the Scrub 
Oak—a man and yourself ought to clear 
half an acre per day, if the Scrub Oak is 
light—you will have, say, 10 acres left for 
crops. Put five acres ot it in the best varie¬ 
ty of sweet corn you can get. If you can¬ 
not have it very early, let it be very late, 
say, ready to market in September. Put 
three acres more in late cabbages, and the 
other two acres in potatoes. Do the work 
all by horse labor. Keep the cultivator 
going. Manure the hills all you can on 
the top of the ground after about one 
month of growth. Write to all the hotels 
within 10 miles as soon as your crops are 
ripe, and offer corn at 25 cents less per 100 
ears than they may be paying, and push 
the sale of other things, such as eggs, 
chickens, vegetables, etc., being careful to 
grow only the best varieties of the latter. 
You ought to sell $25 worth of hot-bed 
nlants. With the hired xnan on the place 
all the time, you could spend in the win¬ 
ter certainly half of the week[in the city at 
your real estate business. That is what I 
intend to do as to my business, remaining 
on the farm the other half. The railroad 
commutation fare for 20 miles from the 
city is only $70 per year, and then you can 
go out and in every day for that sum, if 
you choose. Then an honest real estate 
agent ought to stir up some business near 
his farm, drawing papers, etc. Small 
farming well conducted pays better than 
any ordinary small business in the city, if 
one likes it. Some people (almost 
all of the ladies, for instance) would 
sooner live and half starve in a city 
in some over-crowded tenement-house 
than dwell upon a fine farm in com¬ 
fort. It is only a matter of taste. Four 
out of five of the young city lawyers ad¬ 
mitted to practice within one year, either 
become office clerks or go into other busi¬ 
ness, and the same can be said of most of 
the other city vocations. Failures abound, 
and rich men can live best in the city, of 
course. The poorer or middle class of 
city folks, however, would be far better off 
upon small tarms. 
THE “BEST METHOD” OF KILLING POULTRY. 
C. H. W., Rochester, N. Y.—In a re¬ 
cent number of a “ practical ” poultry 
monthly. I find some very concise informa¬ 
tion given as the “ Best Method ” of pre¬ 
paring fowls for market. I quote the pas¬ 
sage in full below, and would ask the R. N.- 
Y. if it is the method usually pursued by 
the amateur or professional poultry-man ; 
or whether there is not some other, more 
practically followed, which is less cruel 
than the "best,” and still free from the ob¬ 
jections to the “old method” of behead¬ 
ing, which the same authority informs its 
readers, “leaves a ragged, bloody, unsightly 
neck exposed which is revolting to many 
sensitive persons .” If not, I for one would 
prefer to deaden my feelings to tne sight of 
the “bloody necks” rather than to the horri¬ 
ble barbarity of the “ best method.” 
The passage referred to is as follows—The 
italics are my own : 
“ The best method of killing and dress¬ 
ing is to hang the fowls by the feet by a 
small cord ; then, with a sharp knife, give 
one cut across the upper jaw, opposite the 
corners of the mouth ; after the blood has 
stopped running a stream, place the point 
of the knife in the groove in the upper part 
of the mouth, run the blade up into the 
back part of the head, which will cause a 
twitching oi the muscles. Now is the time, 
for every feather yields as if by magic, and 
there is little danger of tearing the most ten 
der fowl or chick. Before it attempts to 
flap you can have it picked perfectly clean.” 
This is not, as the humane reader might 
suppose, a ghastly joke aimed at the inex¬ 
perienced slayer injhis abortive efforts to ex¬ 
tinguish life in the too vivacious fowl, 
but it is just what it purports to be—con¬ 
cise and perspicuous directions, seriously 
given, for “ killing and dressing by theb' j st 
method ” and in a manner the least likely 
to offend the supersensitive and aesthetic 
feelings of the cultured or critical public. 
R. N.-Y.—This advice is positively inhu¬ 
man. It is a bungling, cruel operation, 
particularly when done by amateurs. 
When the writer kills a hen he stuns 
it by giving its head a sharp rap and 
then chops the head off as quickly as possi¬ 
ble. This we believe to be the quickest and 
best way. It is true, however, that poul¬ 
try sent to the New York market must be 
killed so that the head remains on the body. 
For this trade the birds should be killed at 
once by thrusting a long, slender knife far 
back through the mouth into the brain. 
This will cause less pain and bring death 
quicker than the butchering process des¬ 
cribed above. 
DRESSED BEEF AND FREE TRADE. 
C. H. W., Bergen County, N. J.—The 
recent discussion regarding the effects of 
the dressed beef business on Eastern farm¬ 
ing was interesting to New Jersey farmers, 
who perhaps more than any other class 
feel the injury done by this business. It 
may interest readers of the R. N.-Y. to 
learn how a local orator takes this dressed 
beef matter as an illustration of the prob¬ 
able effects of free trade. Years ago, he 
says, we made our own beef and sold it to 
local butchers. This represented home 
manufacturing, for we were enabled to 
make our own manure, provide winter 
farm work, make butchering a regular 
trade and make a profit on the beef. 
Western farmers discover that they can 
produce beef cheaper than we can. They 
can grow heavier crops of hay and grain 
while their land is not taxed for one-fifth of 
what ours is. They are cheap producers 
and they want our market. The standard 
free-trade argument, as applied to this case, 
would be that since beef can be produced 
so cheaply at the West, it should be made 
there, and brought here and sold to con¬ 
sumers for a lower price than the New Jer¬ 
sey farmer can afford to sell it for. By 
means of rapid transportation and concen¬ 
tration of capital this plan has been car¬ 
ried out and we may see how the result has 
borne out the theory. New Jersey farmers 
can no longer raise beef cattle. They are 
now obliged to pay cash for manure. They 
now buy their meat instead of producing 
it themselves. There are three or four new 
calls for cash and no new source of income. 
The price of the dressed beef is no lower 
than that of our own beef used to be. It 
was made a little lower while our beef was 
being driven out of the market, but when 
once we failed to compete, up the price 
went again. Nor do Western cattle-men 
seem to be gainers. They are all complain¬ 
ing about low prices. So, then, free trade 
in dressed beef between one State and an¬ 
other destroys an important agricultural 
feature of New Jersey, brings no extra 
profit to the Western producer, gives the 
Eastern consumer little or no relief in the 
way of cheaper prices, and only makes the 
middlemen, or handlers, rich. Carry out 
this same result in the trade between a 
foreign country and our own, and we see 
our own manufacturers crippled, the labor¬ 
ers of the other country and the buyers of 
our own but little benefited, and the im¬ 
porters and handlers getting rich. 
THE JEFFERIS APPLE AND A FEW OF 
ITS COMPEERS. 
T. T. Lyon, South Haven, Mich.— 
Some weeks since, the Rural published a' 
notice of this apple by Pomologist Van 
Deman, of the Department of Agriculture, 
giving it a very high character. I planted 
this variety in my trial orchard as early as 
1850; and I will not essentially differ from 
Mr. V— in his estimate of its quality ; al¬ 
though I regard it as too high—consider¬ 
ably so, as grown in Michigan. I observe 
that Downing designated it as “ very 
good,” (doubtless as grown in its native 
region—Pennsylvania) and I found an un¬ 
mistakable, though slight, deterioration, 
even with the short northward migration 
to this State. It is in season through Sep¬ 
tember. My criticism of Mr. Van Deman’s 
notice is based less upon his estimate of 
the Jefferis than tipon the fact (which 
will probably be admitted to be such by 
most pomologists, and probably even by 
Mr. Van Deman himself,) that there are 
several varieties covering nearly or quite 
the same season, which take rank consid¬ 
erably higher than this as dessert apples. 
The following are a few of those to which 
I more particularly refer; 
Primate, ripening in succession, from 
mid-August to October, is ranked by 
Downing as “very good” to “best.” Its 
most serious fault is that large specimens 
are liable to be water cored. 
Early Joe, ripening from mid-August 
to mid-September, ranks as “best.” The 
tree, though a slow grow'er, is very pro¬ 
ductive, and the fruit, though slightly 
lacking in size, is exceedingly beautiful, 
sprightly and delicate in texture. 
Garden Royal, a Massachusetts apple, 
ripening the last of August and through 
September, is classed as “best.” It is pro¬ 
ductive, even-sized, richly colored and 
mild in flavor. The tree is small and well 
suited to the garden. 
American Summer, (Pearmain) ripen¬ 
ing from the last of August to the end of 
September, ranks as “best.” When well 
grown, it is one of the most beautiful of 
apples; very similar to Garden Royal in 
flavor, although at least twice its size. 
Other varieties would bear a mention in 
this connection; but the foregoing will 
suffice to indicate the true rank of the Jef¬ 
feris as a dessert variety. 
comparative profits from large and 
small cows. 
A Connecticut Farmer, Fairfield 
County, Conn.— I infer by the remarks in 
the R. N.-Y. at different times that the 
friends of Jersey cattle claim that because 
they are small, it therefore takes less to 
keep them than to keep animals belonging 
to larger breeds. Now for over 20 years I 
have had the care of a dairy varying in 
size from 15 to 23 cows, and at the same 
time I have looked after other stock, and 
my experience has been that Jerseys and 
other stock of that class are, as a rule, 
harder keepers than the animals of the 
larger breeds, or, in other words, it takes 
more grain, besides hay or grass, to get a 
dollar back in products and then the Jer¬ 
seys generally do not keep ia as good cou- 
dition as the others. On the same ration 
which would keep a large cow gaining and 
at the same time giving a good flow of 
milk, the smaller one would almost always 
lose in milk and condition. There are, to be 
sure, exceptions. Some of the smaller cows 
are closely and compactly built, and some 
of the larger ones are coarse and raw-boned; 
but I am speaking of average herds of 
both kinds. There are more exceptions in 
the Devon breed than any other. My prin¬ 
cipal business was selling milk, but at 
times I made butter and sometimes fat¬ 
tened calves, and I think there is more 
profit in a cow that will give a large 
quantity of milk (even for butter) than 
from one that gives only about half as 
much, providing both make the same num¬ 
ber of pounds in a year. Why ? Because 
the skim-milk of the larger animal is 
worth so much more, not only in quantity 
but in quality. 
“DISEASED LIVE-FOREVER.” 
O. O. S., Fredonia, N. Y.—I notice in 
the R. N.-Y. of October 26, a communica¬ 
tion from W. H. C., East Freetown, N. Y., 
about “live-forever,” in which he says that 
a diseased root of it, if introduced among 
healthy roots, will just make ’em sick. 
Now I’m just pining away for a diseased 
root. Give, O give me a diseased root! 
Where can I get one? Mine are awfully 
healthy—just “bustin’wid health.” Can 
the R. N.-Y. put me in connection with 
W. H. C. ? Or has it a “ diseased root ” 
around the office or the experiment grounds? 
What is the distinctive feature of a “dis¬ 
eased root?” Any light in this Cimmer¬ 
ian darkness, this grim gloom, will brighten 
the path to the tomb of live-forever. 
FROM W. H. CALDWELL. 
O. O. S. can procure a “diseased root ” or 
a root of diseased live-forever by addressing 
me. One may set out a root of diseased 
live-forever in a patch that is “ just bustin’ 
wid health ” and in about three months he 
w ill see “ awfully healthy ” roots begin to 
pine aw'ay. The stalks will begin to die just 
above the ground, and the roots will turn a 
reddish color and begin to rot. Then these 
roots may be taken out and planted in other 
fields of the “ awfully healthy ” pests. It 
takes about two years to rid a piece of the 
nuisance. 
IS BRAN, BRAN ? 
J. B., Franklin, Tenn.— In one of the 
back numbers of the R. N.-Y. a certain 
professor claims that the new roller-pro¬ 
cess bran is as good as or even better than 
the old-fashioned mill bran. It may be so 
in an analyzing pot; but not in the cow'’s 
stomach. Is bran more valuable and 
w'holesome with nails, screw's, long sack 
needles in it and therefore in the cow', than 
the coarse, clean, old-fashioned country mill 
bran? Just look in an old dairy cow’s 
stomach and you will be astonished. I have 
found an alarming quantity of such stuff in 
the stomachs of cows that were killed be¬ 
cause no longer profitable for the dairy ; 
they w'ere not sick either; they merely 
failed at the pail and were not thrifty to 
sell for beef. Cannot the bane of the dairy 
business (abortion) be traced to this source? 
Has a miller a right to sell floor sweepings, 
dust, cheat, cockle, etc., for bran ? Why 
is cockle in the bran whole, and not 
ground up like the w'heat ? Is it separated 
from the wheat before the latter is ground 
and then thrown into the bran ? If I had 
a valuable herd of cows I w'ould not feed 
bran, but w'hat is a substitute for it ? 
What can a farmer feed to cows for milk 
or butter production besides corn-meal? 
Talk of an English Farmer.— An in¬ 
teresting talk with Mr. Burpitt, an English 
farmer who has settled near Atlanta, Ga., 
is given by a writer in the Southern Farm. 
He says: “Think of a farmer after his day’s 
w T ork is done, working until 10 or 11 o’clock 
at night by moonshine. Think of his refus¬ 
ing to stop at his work to talk to a visitor, 
but carrying the writer at a dog-trot with 
him up and down his furrow's. Think of a 
farmer who stands by three rules: ‘ Not an 
idle day in the year ; ’ * not an idle acre on 
the farm ; ’ * not an idle hand in the fami 
ly.’ And w'hat a wonderful island is Jer¬ 
sey, of W'hich he tells—only seven by 12 
miles, and yet supporting 63,000 people out 
of the soil—and-covered with 1-800 miles of 
glass frames. And how r a farmer is ridden 
there, giving one-tenth of all cereal crops to 
