772 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
NOV. 20 
THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY. 
CONDUCTED BY 
ELBERT S. CARMAN. 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
78 Duann Street, New York City. 
SATURDAY, NOV. 29. 1879. 
This point is fully realized by those 
who are best informed on the business, 
and more than one company is now being 
organized for the erection of proper 
works. The industry is now fairly 
started, and experience will suggest the 
improvements in the manufacture, that 
are needed to produce the highest attain¬ 
able results. 
■-- 
WASTED TIME. 
The Rural New-Yorker will be sent from 
now until January let, 1881, for $2.00. 
If any of our subscribers do not receive the 
Rural New-Yorker promptly, they will con¬ 
fer a particular favor by advising us of the 
fact. 
When the sire and quality of this journal are 
considered ; its accurate illustrations from na¬ 
ture ; the standing of its world-renowned con 
tributors ; its exclusion of untrustworthy adver 
tisemeuts ; its Free Plant and Seep Distribu¬ 
tions ; its market and 8rECUL Reports from 
all parts of our country; its Experiment 
Grounds; its independence of all merely per¬ 
sonal interests, we submit that it is by far the 
Cheapest Country Home Journal in the 
World. It will be sent from now until Jan., 
1881, for Two Dollars. 
THE .SUGAR INDUSTRY. 
The two main sources from which the 
world has bo far drawn its supply of 
sugar, are the sugar cane and the sugar 
beet. A third source, however, and one 
that for this country promises to be far- 
richer than either, has been fairly opened 
during the past year; we refer to the 
manufacture of sugar from sorghum. 
Never before has a farm industry been 
developed under more favorable circum- 
stanc38, or been seized upon with so much 
enthusiasm. 
It is not easy to imagine any industry 
the development of which would better 
meet an existing want, by profitably sup 
plyiDg from our domestic resources a pro¬ 
duct for which enormous sums are now 
annually paid to foreign countries. Dur¬ 
ing the year 1878 the United States paid 
$77,537,569 for imported sugar and mo¬ 
lasses, and were it not for the certain de¬ 
velopment of the manufacture of sugar 
from sorghum cane, this amount would 
increase rather than diminish with coming 
years. 
The area along the Gulf of Mexico on 
which the sugar cane may be successfully 
cultivated is far too limited to produce the 
needed supply. Careful and intelligent 
observers have estimated that, even at the 
best, Southern resources could not fur¬ 
nish more than about one-fifth of the sugar 
needed. The manufacture of sugar from 
beets, which has become an extensive in¬ 
dustry in France, has not, so far, proven 
veiy successful here. The expensive ma 
chinery and nicety of manipulation re¬ 
quired to reduce the beet juices to sugar, 
are serious drawbacks to the development 
of the business in this country.' 
pfcWith regard to sorghum, however, the 
fact that sugar can be made from it in 
paying quantities has been established 
beyond a doubt by the past season’s ex¬ 
periments. Crude as have been the ope¬ 
rations, still the results have been almost 
uniformly satisfactory. The most en¬ 
couraging feature of this cane is, that 
while the sugar cane proper will thrive 
in only certain portions of the South, sor¬ 
ghum cane will thrive over the whole 
country, and is more especially adapted 
to the North. The variety known as 
Minnesota Early Amber has so far given 
the best results; but improvements have 
already been made, and a cross between 
the Amber and Liberian varieties is now 
mentioned as being richer in sugar than 
either of its parents. Well grown canes, 
cut and worked up at the proper time) 
yield as high as ten per cent, of crystalliz- 
able sugar, which is equal to the quan¬ 
tity yielded by the average Louisiana 
sugar cane. 
Its cultivation is so similar to that of 
corn that any farmer who can raise good 
corn can raise sorghum cane also. Nor 
is the cultivation expensive. It has been 
estimated that a crop can be raised at 
from $17 to $18 per acre, including the 
cost of drawing the cane to the mill; 
while an average product of ten tons per 
acre may be calculated upon, which, when 
sold to the mill, will realize at least $3 
per ton. This is not a large profit, 
though it will compare favorably with 
the average of other crops, and if the cane 
is worked up at home, the profit will, of 
oourse, be greatly increased. 
But. if sugar is to be manufactured in 
telling quantities and on the most prac¬ 
tical and best-paying basis, it must be 
done in large manufactories. The best 
machinery and expert sugar-makers must 
be employed to attain the best success. 
That which grieves the attentive ob¬ 
server most forcibly in regarding the 
young is the waste of time, the, careless 
disregard of precious minutes that are so 
lavishly thrown back into the past, heap¬ 
ing up the store of lost opportunities and 
making, later in life, that background of 
bitter reflection whose sorrowful thought 
finds expression in the wail, 14 it might 
have been.” Rightly used, time is tbe 
most valuable possession of the young. It 
iB the real Arcbimedian lever that prizes dif¬ 
ficulties outof the path of success. System 
and application are the powerfui ful- 
crurns used to accomplish its important, 
results. Aimlessness and lack of motive 
are the chief obstacles to the best and 
most profitable use of time. With a goal 
to attain, an end to accomplish, and force 
of character sufficient to hold the mind 
steadfastly to its purpose, the sands of 
time are easily transmuted into golden 
rain. Life is made worth the living, 
and an elation is felt only to be compared 
to that state of feeling which is described 
by Mad. de Stael as the gradually suc¬ 
cessful attainment to the object in view, 
and which, she says, is the secret of 
true happiness. 
How much wiser, then, would it be 
if our country youth should earnestly 
resolve to cultivate their opportunities 
as sedulously as their fathers cultivate 
their farms. Instead of dawdling about 
the thresholds of taverns among associates 
whose influence is too often corrupting, 
let them resolve in the future to turn to 
the best account the wasted moments, 
and when their opportunity comes to 
them, as come it does at least once in 
a lifetime to all of us, be prepared to 
seize it and extract all of advantage it 
promises. This can be done only by pre¬ 
paring one’s-self in advance. An athlete 
does not rest supinely until the day he is 
to make the one supreme effort. He pre¬ 
pares for it weeks in advance. He utilizes 
the minutes. The men who have most 
distinguished themselves, have risen to 
power and fame against the friction of 
Inverse circumstances. Elihu Burritt, 
tbe learned blacksmith,” found time 
during his work at the forge to master 
several languages, and surprised cultured 
Europe by addressing its chief learned 
body in Sanskrit. Hugh Miller learned 
the secrets of the old lied Sandstone in 
the capacity of a day laborer. While his 
fellow workmen idled during their morn¬ 
ings, he was actively at work finding out 
the why of the specimens and fossils his 
hammer disclosed. Lord Chesterfield re¬ 
lates of one of his friends, that he wrote 
a book of an abstruse character during 
the intervals of waiting for his wife to 
appear at breakfast. He utilized mo¬ 
ments that we usually waste, and see the 
result! Wellington attributed his success 
to the fact that he knew the value of min¬ 
utes. 
Why not, then, profit by such ex¬ 
amples ? Consider what might be accom¬ 
plished in a year, if the time now wasted 
were devoted to acquiring a knowledge of 
botany, and if farming is to be your 
vocation, consider how much better 
equipped you would be for its intelligent 
prosecution by thus investing your waste 
moments. 
It is in the power of every one to im¬ 
prove, and it may almost be said that the 
young hold the future in their hands, to 
make of it and themselves what they will, 
if they but appreciate the power of sys¬ 
tem and application, and the value of a 
moment. 
weak to develop any abilities he may 
naturally possess, or too dependent to 
originate any schemes of his own. Of 
such a one little can be expected. 
There is still another class who sever 
compute the cost of any projects they 
may be about to enter upon ; but rashly 
enhst in the boldest attempts, trusting 
blindly to fruitful results. These are 
generally vacillating in character, and 
rarely thoroughly test the merits of any 
single occupation. They seldom display 
any aptitude for real work, and never 
attain their ambitious goal. Life is a 
kind of lottery, in which only few can 
succeed, the majority living* a hopeful 
but deceptive existence. Were we to 
consider nothing but results, comparing 
successes with failures, we should quickly 
discover some misguided efforts, and our 
fitting conclusion would be at least a 
reflection on the education of our sub¬ 
jects. By education we do not mean 
those vapid methods employed to give 
every child a few facts, but we compre¬ 
hend the word in a deeper sense. It is 
that training which inclines the youth to 
expand his ewn resources, to rely on 
himself, and to adapt himself to circum¬ 
stances without experiencing those hind¬ 
rances whicli surely attend the uniniti¬ 
ated. Our rarest men have not been 
those bred in the lap of luxury ; our 
poorest men have not all been prospered. 
The latter, however, can not attribute 
their difficulty to their associations. The 
fault exists in the actor himself, and can 
be referred to one of two classes—lack of 
energy or incapacity. These are defi¬ 
ciencies which can not be easily supplied. 
We assume—and our theory is no conjec¬ 
ture—that the proper discipline has not 
been rightly bestowed. Pages might be 
written on this neglect, but ill results can 
not be obviated uutil the cause is re¬ 
moved, and this we deem the field for 
home training. 
prospective crop is likely to pay best. 
Thus each of onr friends may justly take 
our own motto, Still Onward. 
-- 
PEARS UPON ORNAMENTAL QUINCE. 
We have more than once touched upon 
the question as to whether it was or was 
not desirable to use the Ornamental 
Quince a sa stock for dwarfing the Pear, 
instead of the common Quince, and have 
advised a trial in an experimental way. 
One of our first nurserymen writes us a 
personal letter, from which wo are at lib¬ 
erty to print the following: 
“ I do think this talk of W. C. Strong 
about Pyrus Japonica as a stock for Pears 
is much cry about very little wool that is 
worth anything. The fact is the Pyrus 
Japonica suckers to a very Berious de¬ 
gree. We have grafted choice varieties 
of P. Japonica on the parent., and have 
invariably found them almost ruined in a 
few years (two or three) by suckers. The 
same fate has attended the growth of graft¬ 
ed Py ms Japonica imported from Europe. 
Nurserymen, therefore, grow the Pyrus 
Japonica almost universally from out- 
tings. They do not want the suckers of 
an inferior stock to injure the value of a 
superior graft. I do not say that nur¬ 
serymen generally are aware of this diffi¬ 
culty. The cheapness of the system of 
growing by cuttings is sufficient. But 
intelligent, experienced growers should 
recognize the fact that a plant that suck¬ 
ers like the PyniB Japonica, is unfit for 
a stock on which to graft. Pears. The 
continual cutting of suckers would be a 
serious bar to their usefulnesss. At any 
rate, people should be warned not to 
make extensive experiments in grafting 
Pears on Pyrus Japonica with any assur¬ 
ance of success.” 
STILL ONWARD. 
SUCCESS vs. FAILURE. 
If some one would present an infall¬ 
ible rule for success, it would doubtless 
be eagerly grasped by everyone. So 
valuable a thing would supply a univer¬ 
sal demand ; but, unfortunately, it is 
among the things not kuown. This fact, 
however, does not preclude our giving 
positive reasons for many of the failures 
which occur. To begin with primary 
causes :—not a few parents conceive the 
idea of educating their sons either in the 
occupation of the father, or in one of the 
learned professions, regardless of the ca¬ 
pacity of the son. Following such a 
course strictly is doubtless fatal to the 
success of many a promising man, and 
he who is the admired darling of doting 
parents is frequently among the real 
unfortunates; for he is left either too 
The rise in the prices of farm products 
during the past few months, while add¬ 
ing greatly to the aggregate wealth of the 
farmers of the country, has put a vast deal 
of money into the pockets of speculators 
who never worked a day in their lives, and 
many of whom look impudently down 
upon the class by whose toils they profit. 
A fair knowledge of the prices of farm 
products in the chief markets of the 
country, coupled with an acquaintance 
with the prospective relation of supply 
and demand, would have saved to our in¬ 
dustrious farmers no small proportion of 
the sums that have thus found their way 
into the cotters of middlemen and specu¬ 
lators. 
It is the duty of those who have the 
interests of agriculture at heart, not 
merely to spread abroad a knowledge of 
the best principles and practices of farm¬ 
ing, but also to place before their friends 
the correctest attainable information by 
which they may be enabled to market 
their crops to the best advantage ; for 
there is often as much profit made by sell¬ 
ing produce wisely as by raising it well. 
It Avas this motive that led us to secure 
the multitude of reports of crops and 
prices that have appeared weekly in the 
Bubal, and particularly in our special 
numbers, suclyts the Corn Number. For 
the same reasoa, also, we have from time 
to time given to our friends the results of 
our careful reviews of the most trust¬ 
worthy calculations as to the crops and 
prices in every country whose products 
come into competition with our oAvn. 
More deeply impressed than ever Avith the 
importance of this sort of information, by 
the current season’s experience, we have 
resolved to place weekly before our read¬ 
ers, in future, correct reports of the prices 
of farm products in the chief markets of 
the country, as telegraphed doAvn to the 
latest possible moment before the paper 
goes to press. In connection with these 
reports special attention will be given to 
summarizing all information with regard 
to the condition and prices of crops in 
other countries in so far us they may be 
likely to affect our farmers' profits from 
their products. Any other circumstances, 
also, f oreign or domestic, that may bear on 
the Hame subject, will be duly noted 
whenever it comes to our knowledge. 
By means of the various reports, each 
of our readers everywhere, or pretty 
nearly everywhere, will be able to see at 
a glance the condition of the market at 
the collecting center to which his district 
is tributary, and to compare the prices 
there with those at other centers : while 
a remembiance of the accompanying 
Aveek-by-week notes with regard to crops, 
markets, prospects, etc., elsewhere, will 
help him materially towards deciding in¬ 
telligently as to the advisability of hold¬ 
ing on to his products or marketing them 
at once, and sometimes, also, as to what 
, _ In a week or so we shall present a full 
first-page engraving of the so-called 
Southern Cow Pea, drawn from one of 
the varieties raised at the Rural Farm 
the past season, and a very interesting 
account of Cow Peas in general by Dr. A. 
R. Ledoux, Director of the North Caro¬ 
lina Experiment Station. In the course 
of this article Dr. L. says : “I trust that 
some Northern farmers may be induced 
to make a trial of this crop and prove to 
be true what I firmly believe —that some 
A'arieties of this valuable plant will thrive 
and ripen seeds in the Middle States. If 
so, then Avill the agriculture of sandy 
Long Island, of Connecticut, Central 
New York and New Jersey receive an 
impetus that will be surprising. The 
outlay for commercial manures will be 
materially lessened, and once understood, 
the Cow Pea will maintain a hold on the 
intelligent Northern farmer, second onlv 
(if at all) to clover.” 
--- 
The friends of the Rural New-Yorker 
are respectfully reminded that the pre¬ 
sent is the harvest of rural journals. We 
hope that they will kindly tell their 
friends just what the,i/ think of our work 
during the present gear, anil that they 
will in to is way assist in making o ur 
harvest Jutst what it. ought to be —neither 
more nor less. 
BREVITIES. 
If this world were only as full of love as it 
is of beauty ! 
Farley and Anderson haA r e sent us a box of 
fine Duchess gripes for which they will please 
accept thanks. We shall notice this Grape 
more at length in another issue. 
Prof. Johusou finds that the greater rich¬ 
ness of sweet corn in albuminoids and fat is 
very decided as compared with oilier corn, in¬ 
dicating a higher nutritive value. Flint and 
Dent corns have practically the same com¬ 
position, and Western corn has about the same 
nutritive value as Eastern corn. 
From all parts of the country come reports 
that wheat has never made a greater growth 
than during the present fail. Let us bear this 
important Tact in mind aud see what ihe out¬ 
come will be. The acreage under it is very 
considerably larger than ever before, in many 
sections as much as from 15 to 25 per cent 
more. 
It pays uoav above all other times of the year 
to take care of the poultry. See that the 
houses are warm. See that their drinking 
water does not remain frozen over. Pour 
kerosene over the perches. Clean out the nests 
aud supply them with clean straw. Dust sul¬ 
phur in the nests. Supply them with sifted 
coal ashes and Baud for dusting baths. Give 
them green food of some kind daily. Give them 
sroeet food—it matters less what kind than that 
they got a variety. This is the way to make 
winter layers.” 
Petting Bulls.— 44 1 have a thoroughbred 
Hereford bull” says I. T. S., in the Country 
Gentleman, “ that is as gentle as a lamb, and I 
always petted him and never thought I was 
doing wrong. The fact is, animals are like 
men ; some are made to rnind through fear, 
others through kindness.” That is our belief, 
as a rule. We have a young Aldoruey bull 
that has hern petted from birth until of late 
moDths. Now there Is not one of us that 
would feel safe to approach him without 
soothing to defend himself. Is not this the 
rale with Alderney bulls ? 
