THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
MAY 40 
THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY. 
Address 
RURAL PUBLISHING CO., 
78 Duane Street, New York City. 
SATURDAY, MAY 10, 1879. 
CASH AGAINST CREDIT.-No. 2. 
THE COST OF CREDIT. 
from the seller’s point of view; but a 
much worse condition of circumstances 
can be shown to exist from that of the 
buyer, and to appropriate the pertinent 
words of Hamlet : “ Thus bad begins ; 
but worse remains behind.” The truth 
of this we shall endeavor to show here¬ 
after. 
KNOWLEDGE IN DAIRYING. 
Credit is a marketable commodity and 
costs the purchaser precisely what it is 
worth to the seller. In estimating its 
cost, there are several things to be taken 
into account besides the mere matter of 
interest. Interest is defined by the sci¬ 
entific political economist as remunera¬ 
tion for the use of money, which is prop¬ 
erty accumulated by labor, just as a 
house, or cleared land, or a ship, is prop¬ 
erty produced by labor. For the use of 
a house or land, rent is paid; for the 
use of a ship, freight is charged ; and for 
the use of money interest is charged. 
This is just and inevitable. When a per¬ 
son obtains the use of any money or 
money’s value, he is called upon to pay, 
and is morally bound to pay a reasona¬ 
ble sum for this use, and from time im¬ 
memorial, this has been called interest. 
But delays in payment incur many other 
expenses than this. If every debtor 
were certain to pay his debt when due, 
there would be no necessity for the seller 
of goods or lender of money to calculate 
upon, or require, any other charge than 
the interest. But debtors fail to pay in 
an uncertain proportion to the number of 
them; but every year there are more or 
less of them who ‘do not meet their en¬ 
gagements in time, or fail to pay at all; 
and actually—’speaking literally and to 
the point—cheat their creditors, perhaps 
not intentionally, but none the less effect¬ 
ively, out of their just dues. In business 
this risk of loss enters into the estimates 
of expenses as inevitably as interest upon 
the use of the money, and must be pro¬ 
vided for out of the cost price of goods 
made and sold. 
Again : A eredit business involves the 
use of a greatly increased capital; sev¬ 
eral times larger than would be required 
if cash were paid on delivery. This is 
evident and can be made plain to a farmer 
who would for a moment consider what 
would happen if circumstances were 
changed, and he were obliged to wait a 
whole year for the money for his pork, 
wheat, butter, cheese and other products. 
He would have to double that part of his 
capital which represents all this property; 
that is certain, or he could not pay 
wages, meet expenses, provide seed anil 
fertilizers and sustain the numberless 
charges which fall upon his business in 
the course of a year. The people from 
whom he buys are then placed in pre¬ 
cisely this predicament, when he buys on 
a year’s credit. It is necessary that they 
should purchase and carry two years’ 
stock of materials, and find money to pay 
for two years' labor, and this also ‘involves 
larger buildings; the risk of deprecia¬ 
tion in value; cost of extra insurance 
and other onerous charges. No business 
man can afford to take risks ; security is 
the life of business, and he must provide 
against whatever event might bring a loss 
to him, and it is only common prudence 
that would estimate” the charges which 
thus arise, in a sufficiently libera! manner 
to be on the right side, and so avoid un¬ 
certainty. Then, a year’s credit involves 
the necessity for the keeping of many ac¬ 
counts, and for collecting many debts” and 
these are troublesome and expensive ser¬ 
vices done for the debtor, for which, of 
course, he must pay. 
It is hardly necessary to pursue this 
point further. Any thoughtful person 
can see through it, and can realize to 
what a large extent it enters into all kinds 
of business. Lot such a man put him¬ 
self in the place of another forced to do a 
large credit business ; to suffer constant 
harrassing anxieties, to be ever on the 
most lively watch ; to keep himself in¬ 
formed continually on hundreds of im¬ 
portant points ; to meet hundreds of 
otherwise needless expenses ; and he will 
acknowledge readily the seriousness of 
this consideration. What all this costs 
the purchaser, can hardly be told. But 
one can form an idea of its cost, if he will 
think of it in this light : Let him sell a 
cow to this man ; a bushel of wheat to 
that ; a load of com to another ; and so 
distribute his year’s production among 
a thousand people, opening accounts for 
every one, watching when these come 
due, writing off lost accounts of default¬ 
ing debtors ; and, in fact, selling just as 
he buys, and then figure up the result. 
This will be the cost of credit business 
Oitr present low prices ought to work 
a complete revolution in the dairyman's 
plan of operations. The great mass of 
dairymen heretofore have counted on the 
number of their cows, instead of the 
amount of their product. In fact, they 
have not studied the individual character 
of their cows—nor have they established 
any standard by which these shall be 
tried. They are judged as a herd, and 
no effort is made to determine the value 
of each cow. With butter at fifteen to 
twenty cents per pound, and cheese at 
seven to nine cents, a poor cow is the 
poorest kind of investment. A yield of 
2,500 to 3,000 pounds of milk will pay, 
after deducting the expense of delivery 
at the factory and cost of making, only 
from $12.25 to $15. This will not j>ay 
the cost of keep in any part of the coun¬ 
try. A loss of from $10 to $15 per cow 
would be incurred with each animal. But 
the dairyman has other cows that pay 
even in these times, from $25 to $35, and 
it is these better cows that prevent a dis¬ 
astrous failure. How utterly inexcusable 
in a dairyman it must be to go on, year 
after year, retaining his unprofitable 
cow t s to eat up all possible profits from 
the better ones! .What would be thought 
of a ehair manufacturer who should make 
a style of chairs, year after year, and sell 
them at 25 per cent, below the cost of 
production, simply because he had not 
taken an account of the cost of manufac¬ 
ture ? 
Yet the dairymen who have an accurate 
knowledge of the production of each indi¬ 
vidual cow in the herd, do not amount to 
more than one in a hundred. But if the 
dairyman would study his business thor¬ 
oughly, he would fix a standard below 
w'hieh no cow can pay him a profit, and 
consequently any animal whose yield falls 
below this, inust be discarded. With the 
most satisfactory prices, a cow giving less 
than 4,000 pounds of milk pays no profit 
worth having; and now, when prices are 
very low', the standard should be ad¬ 
vanced to 5,000 pounds per cow. {Select¬ 
ed herds average 6,000 to 7.000 pounds, 
and there is no insuperable difficulty in 
raising the standard for the poorest cow 
to 5,000 pounds. 
A cow that will not, under good food 
and care, reach this standard, should be 
fattened and sent to the butcher. She 
has no value to the progressive dairyman 
as a milk-producer for cheese. For the 
cheese factory she is judged wholly by 
her weight of milk; but if the standard 
is to be fixed for butter, then the weight 
of good butter and not the weight of milk 
is most, important. This requires a sep¬ 
arate test of each cow for butter. And 
here it may frequently happen that the 
cow that would be discarded for cheese, 
would be accepted for butter-makiug. A 
yield of 200 pounds of butter per cow' 
should be the lowest standard for a butter 
cow ; 200 pounds of the best butter will 
bring as much money as 500 pounds of 
the best cheese. Some cows will average 
a production of one pound of butter to 20 
pounds of milk, and thus 4,000 pounds 
of milk from such a cow will reach the 
standard. 
The first test—that of weight—is so 
easily made that no dairyman can have a 
valid excuse for omitting it. A small 
spring scale, hung in a convenient place 
in the cow-stable, with a small book, con 
taining the name of each cow, and a pen 
cil attached, will enable the milker to 
weigh and record the yield of each cow, 
one day in a week, with uo appreciable 
loss of time. These weighings added, 
and the sum divided by the whole num¬ 
ber of weighings, will give the average 
yield per day with sufficient acciu’acy. 
There is no reliable way of determining 
the butter yield, except in churning the 
cream and weighing the butter. 
The future successful dairyman must 
study and fully understand all the factors 
in the problem. Skill is the sign by 
which he must conquer. Knowledge Ihid 
skill are required in the successful engi¬ 
neer, navigator, ship-builder, surgeon, 
lawyer, statesman, and these are no less 
needed by the successful dairyman. 
“Prioes of farm produce will never reach 
paying rates again until a great many 
engaged in farming find work at some¬ 
thing else. " We believe that this is a 
serious mistake, and that it leads to other 
mistakes quite as serious. The idea is, 
that there are too many farmers because 
too much produce is grown. Obviously 
then, the world would be benefited if every 
farmer would produce less. A step farther, 
and we should all be more prosperous, if 
our soil were poorer. Fertility then, is 
found to be a curse and barrenness a 
blessing ! About here a clear-headed 
thinker will see that there must be a fal¬ 
lacy somewhere in this logic. Let us 
briefly point out wherein the fallacy con¬ 
sists. 
The trouble of this country is, not that 
there are too many farmers, or too many 
producers of any kind, but that there are 
too many producers who cannot sell in the 
markets of the world because they produce 
too expensively. So, we see that) after all, 
it is because our land is too poor rather than 
too rich, and produces too little rather 
than too much, that American farmers 
are suffering. We cannot have too much 
production of anything provided it, is pro¬ 
duced cheaply. There are not too many 
farmers, but too mauy poor farmers and 
too much poor farming. When we get 
the cost of production here down below 
that of other countries, we can always 
undersell them and there will never be 
any glutted market. 
Despite the large areas of new lands 
brought under cultivation at the West, 
the number of men employed in farming 
rather decreases. Every year a larger 
proportion of our people*live in cities and 
villages. It would be strange, indeed, if 
too many farmers were the cause of hard 
times, w'hen there are undoubtedly fewer 
farmers in proportion to the whole popu¬ 
lation, than there w'ere twenty or thir ty 
years ago. 
DO THE BEST YOU CAN. 
Where is the farmer that comes up to 
his ow r n ideal; who succeeds in accom¬ 
plishing his own plans to his owm satis¬ 
faction ? There are too many incidental 
matters that come in to modify our fond 
expectations. The weather, the interrup¬ 
tion of sickness, the reasonable claims 
and frequent necessities of family and 
friends, social obligations, accidents to 
tools and machinery and horses; una¬ 
voidable losses by flood or other causes, 
and, perhaps, mauy other things that 
cannot be anticipated, often, if not al¬ 
ways, prevent the fulfillment of “ the 
best laid schemes.” But there is one 
very prominent difficulty that every 
farmer must encounter. He caunot got 
laborers that will faithfully follow liis 
directions. Those whom * he employs 
may strive to please him while he is look¬ 
ing on; and some may even do their best 
at all times ; but many will prove care¬ 
less when the directing eye is turned 
away ; and even the truest are almost 
sure to bring disappointment aud trouble 
because of their want of knowledge and 
skill. Perfect work cannot be done by 
any one who is not, himself, perfect. Un¬ 
fortunately, many on whom we must 
rely to carry out our wishes, are destitute 
of the active desire and intention to im¬ 
prove—being content to move on in fu¬ 
ture as they have done in the past. Many 
Beem to have no capacity for better work 
than that which they have long per¬ 
formed, and only disappoint, those who 
strive to instruct them. 
What can be done to meet this great 
evil? First, as you know that it will 
come in some form or degree, be not dis¬ 
heartened by it. Secondly, keep trying— 
make your mark high ; give all practi¬ 
cable attention ; and rest assured that, 
though you do not see it, the workman is 
learning, and the character of the work 
'Will improve. Try on ! Hope on ! 
---- 
BREVITIES. 
TEOSINTE. 
ARE THERE TOO MANY FARMERS 1 
IfclT is a no more common complaint of 
farmers than of men in other avocations, 
that their business has been overdone or 
that, as one of them recently said to us, 
Last fall we tested Teosinte, reporting 
that as a forage plant it is not to be com¬ 
pared to corn. But in warmer climateB 
different accounts are given. M. Durieu 
experimented with it in the south of 
France, and pronounced it to be a plaut 
d'une vegetation prodigieuse, as every 
seed produced 100 stems which reached 
the hight of ten feet ! Still the climate 
was not warm enough to induce seeds. 
In Egypt it bears seeds abundantly. The 
London Gardeners’ Chronicle says that 
“ it flowered in the Water-Lily house at 
Kew last year, its stems attaining the 
hight of fifteen feet. If M. Durieu’s 
statement is to be credited, it ought to 
prove of value in our Southern States. 
Its botanical name was first given as 
Reana. It is now referred to Euchlsena, 
and is nearly allied to oorn. 
The Crescent Seedling is the most prolific 
variety Mr. Roe has ever seen. 
Roger’s 19 and 53, (Merrimack and Salem) 
says Mr. S. B. Peck, make the very best 
raisins—not inferior to any imported. 
Mr. J. J. Thomas considers the Sharpless 
Strawberry “marvelous.” He says “a dish 
of the berries would be mistaken for tomatoes.” 
Professor Beal, writes us “your editorial, 
Cash versus Credit, on page 268, is all right, 
even to the italics. The credit system is too 
common and the privilege much abused.” 
The Fairs. — Horse-racing.— If you are 
opposed to horse-racing at Agricultural fairs, 
use your influence with your neighbors not to 
attend unless it be prohibited, and do not at¬ 
tend yourself. 
When there are only a few Pansies and 
spring bulbs in bloom, the leaves of Spinea 
sorbifolia are invaluable for the green of little 
bouquets made of those flowers. Spiraa sor¬ 
bifolia is almost the first shrub to leaf out. and 
the leaves are as fresh and feathery as those of 
ferns. 
Mr. Orson Grover of Michigan sends us an 
18-rowed white Dent corn peculiarly colored. 
The outside of the cob is of a deep claret color 
—the inside white. The husk is also of a deep 
claret color. The combination is new to us. 
Mr. S. W. Howe sends us an ear of 8-rowed 
yellow flint, within a fraction of fourteen 
inches in length. The tip is covered. 
In this column last, week Magnolia Halleana 
was printed Magnolia Halbana. We believe it 
is decided that the specific name should be 
stollata. At all events this Magnolia is hardy 
at the Rural Grounds, and because of its com¬ 
pact growth, shrubby, dwarf habit, small, 
glossy green leaves aud abundance of white 
semi-double, flowers, must prove a choice ac¬ 
quisition. 
For corn, if no hint to the contrary has been 
obtained by experiment, superphosphate of 
lime will prove in most eases the most effective 
of the chemical fertilizers, aud muriate of 
potash next. If a complete fertilizer be de¬ 
sired, add nitrate of soda. As a top-dressing, 
all or any of these, if thoroughly mixed with 
sand, using as much sand as time and conven¬ 
ience permit, may be spread more evenly and 
consequently more economically. 
The Loudon Garden tells us that the true 
Paradise stock is that on which nearly all 
dwarf apple trees are now grafted and the 
amount of fruit that is gathered from these 
dwarf trees is astonishing, Cox’s Orange 
Pippin, Stirling Castle, Hawthornden, War¬ 
ner’s King and Lord Suffleld are mentioned 
as among the best varieties to work upon the 
Paradise stock. We are having splendid suc¬ 
cess with these dwarf trees, aud what we would 
like to understand is why Paradise-dwarf ap¬ 
ples are uot valued for small places the same 
as quince-dwarf pears. 
The Montclair Raspberry.— In the Rural 
New-Yorker of Oet. 12 appeared an engrav¬ 
ing of a new variety of Raspberry, the Mont¬ 
clair. We are are always glud to lie the first 
in presenting new varieties of plants which we 
have ourselves tested aud found to be possessed 
of qualities valuable beyond those of older and 
better known varieties. We need uot now re¬ 
peat what was then said. But we may now 
say what could not then be said, that in our 
grounds it has stood the past winter, which 
seems to have been an uuusually trying one to 
the Raspberry, without the slightest injury. It 
is. no doubt, a seedling of the Philadelphia, 
and if our report of its hardiness should be 
supported by reports from other sections, 
there can be uo doubt of its superiority in all 
essential respects over that well-knowu variety. 
We asked a prominent director of one of ou 
•‘agricultural” fairs why horse-racing thereat 
was not abandoned? He replied: "Because 
it is the life of the fair." “ Many good people 
seriously object to it,” we remarked. “Not so 
mauy as pretend,' he said. “ If horse-racing 
is the life of the agricultural fair, why not give 
up the agricultural part of it?” we asked, “and 
make it. a horse, race pure and simple." “ Be¬ 
cause the agricultural part of it gives an ex¬ 
cuse for coming, to many people that would 
not come otherwise,’ 1 was the prompt answer. 
We ask our readers to test this question dur¬ 
ing the approaching fair season. If horse¬ 
racing is to he a department of the “agricul¬ 
tural ’ fair—stay away and use your influence 
upon your neighbor to stay away. If the Agri¬ 
cultural fair has no bottom of its own—if 
liorse-racing be the life of it—let it sink. It 
does uot deserve to live. 
‘ Is it POSSIBLE that a fruit grower can es¬ 
tablish u reputation” for the fruit he may send 
to market for sale; and if so, how Is it to be 
doue? is a question which Mr. Whitlesey asks 
and answers in the late Report of the Mich. 
Bornological Society. “ By always putting his 
fruit up honestly as to quality in fair-sized 
packages, the fruit to be as good on the top 
of the package as it is in the middle or bottom. 
Then be sure to ship his entire, crop to one 
responsible, honorable, and reliable commis¬ 
sion house, ami to uo other ; give this bous£ s 
the handling of all your fruit this year aud 
next year; uud soon, 3 'car after year, or so 
long as you may grow fruit for'market, re¬ 
serving however, the right to discontinue when 
not fairly dealt by. 1 feel well assured this is 
about the only way a reputation can be es¬ 
tablished. It cannot he done in my judgment 
by to-day consigning to half a dozen houses, 
and to-morrow to as many different ones. 
Scud to one house for a term of years, and in 
this way it will begin to tell. Purchasers will 
soou inquire for this man’s fruit, and will pur¬ 
chase it in preference to any other, for they 
will kuow just where to find’it. My own ex¬ 
perience after fifteeu years’ trial ol shipping 
fruit, as above stated, demonstrates to me, 
I am ou the right track." We would add this 
suggestion to the above : Let the packer have 
slips printed as follows and let him place one 
or more ill every barrel or package of what¬ 
ever sort: “ Thisfruit was grown and packed 
by Jones of Jonesville. If you are pleased 
with it, ask for Ms fruit another season.” 
