332 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
MAY 24 
THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
PUBLISHED EVERT SATURDAY. 
Address 
RURAL PUBLISHING CO., 
78 Duans Street, New York City. 
SATURDAY, MAY 24. 1879. 
TO EVERY READER. 
We respectfully aud urgently call the atten¬ 
tion of our readers to the necessity which exists 
that they should address their communications 
to t.b» Editors or the Publishers of the Ru¬ 
ral New-Yokker, if they would insure prompt 
responses. Letters addressed to individuals 
are often delayed in this office for weeks. Mr. 
Moore, to whom letters intended for us are 
still occasionally addressed, has had no con¬ 
nection with this journal for years. 
-»-»■» . 
HAY. 
The much that has been said aud 
written about the value of early-cut hay 
has unquestionably had its influence up¬ 
on the practice of many, if not of all 
farmers. The current of opinion has 
been changed, and there are few who do 
not now hold, at least in theory, that 
early-cut hay is best, though some yet 
doubt its being, on the whole, the most 
profitable. 
But no great step in advance can be 
taken in regard to a single matter with¬ 
out its being revealed that many other 
things must be made to keep step "with it, 
in order that the expected benefit may be 
fully realized. The mowing machines 
called^ for smooth fields. The importa¬ 
tion of improved domestic animals neces¬ 
sitated better housing, feeding and care. 
The new methods of setting mill< for cream 
cannot yield their full advantage without 
more care iu milking and in making but¬ 
ter. And so it is with regard to the early 
cutting of hay : before it can be put in 
practice with the surety of reaping all 
its advantages, we must abandon some 
old ideas and take in some new ones. 
We must cease to look upon the grass 
crop as a free gift of nature, and begin 
to regard it as a cultivated crop ; one not 
to be stolen from the ground after a full 
yield of grain, but to be made a primary 
object in our culture, the same as corn 
or potatoes. 
The proper complement and conclusion 
of the theory of early cutting are that we 
must have two, and sometimes three full 
crops of grass from the same land in one 
season. We can only get them by man¬ 
uring and seeding for them. It is of no 
use to talk of early cutting and two crops 
upon land in such poor heart that the 
early quick-growing grasses, like June- 
grass and orchard-grass, cannot make a 
crop on it, and where timothy, weak and 
scattering, does not get strength to head 
out before the middle of July. On such 
land we must wait for the grass to ' ‘ thick¬ 
en up,” or we shall not be able to see 
it after the machine has passed over the 
field. 
There are farmers who say that June- 
graes is worth nothing for hay ; and we 
have seen farmers cutting it at the rate 
of two tons to the acre the first week in 
June. It would be a good thing to bring 
these two kinds of farmers together iu 
a farmers’ club, and have the latter tell 
the former how it w as done. Orchard- 
grass and clover will usuallv be fit to cut 
about June 12, and all that will dry on 
the ground may be grown on it, if’ one 
knows how. Directly adjoining such a 
crop, with only a board fence between, 
on land equally good by nature, we have 
seen about six spears of timothy to the 
square foot struggling with sorrel, daisy 
and five-finger, all together making per¬ 
haps one-third of a ton of 4 ‘good horse 
hay” to the acre about the last of July. 
It was of no use to talk to the owner of 
that field about early cutting, for there 
was nothing there to cut early. 
In the good old times, before mowing 
machines, tedders and horse rakes, it 
would have been cruelty to talk about 
two or three hayings in one summer. 
But now that the handling of grass is re¬ 
duced to so small an item, there is no 
difficulty about it, if we can raise the 
grass. Can we do it ? Is it “ all hum¬ 
bug” to talk about carrying a herd of 25 
cows on the feed of a 50-aere farm ? We 
know a practical dairyman who keeps 
that number on 25 acres, but he soils in¬ 
stead of pasturing them. There are 
thousands of farms better suited to dairy¬ 
ing than his, yet we will not frighten 
our readers by proposing to them to 
stock up at the same rate. But we do 
think any of us might be smart enough 
to make 50 acres carry a herd of twenty- 
five, if we would only make a study of the 
subject. It will take manure to do it, 
and knowledge and skill ns well. 
No farmer that wastes all or half the 
liquid manure of his stables, will even 
make hay at the rate of four tons to the 
acre. Nor will he do it by the usual 
routiue of seeding timothy Mml clover 
with grain. An old colored brother was 
once observed fishing from the long 
bridge at Washington, and throwing over¬ 
board everything lie took except the bull¬ 
heads, or what they call cat-fish. On 
being asked why he threw back the bass 
and other fish he answered. “ Well, 
you see, boss, when I goes a-catting, I 
goes a-cattiug." We must be inspired 
with this old man’s method, a little more 
intelligently applied, if we want to be 
eminently successful growers of grass. 
The objective point on all dairy and stock 
farms should be grass, aud every process 
of the farm should have the grass crop in 
view above everything else. When we 
have learned how to grow four tons of 
hay in two or three cuttings, we shall all 
be “ early cutters,” and late cutters, too. 
On moist meadows we shall still grow 
single crops of timothy, red-top andfowl- 
. meadow grass ; on all arable upland we 
shall learn the value of rye-hay, oat-hay 
and Hungarian, as well as of clover and 
of fodder corn properly grown for forage ; 
while on our permanent mowings we 
shall learn what Jline-grass and orchard- 
grass can be made to do by the use of 
manure aud primary seeding—that is, 
seeding without grain. There are lauds 
of an intermediate character, moist and 
and rich, yet well drained naturally or by 
art, where two heavy crops of timothy 
may be cut every season. It is just as 
true that we go over too much ground 
for our grass as that we do the same for 
other crops. But the change in either 
case is not so easily made. We do not 
exactly believ/? what we read about it; 
we have too few visible examples for our 
encouragement and instruction. Yet we 
ought to perseveringly experiment in 
this direction. Those of us, especially, 
who are perforce “small farmers” with 
our ten to fifty acres apiece, must try to 
learn how these things are done, and sur¬ 
prise our big neighbors with our big 
bams filled with big crops from small areas 
of ground. 
MAKE THE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES 
EXPERIMENTAL STATIONS. 
The agriculture of the nation has 
reached a stage in its development where 
the need of scientific facts upon which to 
base its further progress, has become not 
only apparent but eminently pressing. 
Solutions of many puzzling questions, 
and facts that may guide to more assured 
success, are loudly called for by our agri¬ 
cultural and horticultural societies, by 
scientific men, and by all progressive 
tillers of the soil. They call for expe ri¬ 
ments that will determine the best meth¬ 
ods of breeding and feeding stock, and 
that will throw the needed light on ob¬ 
scure questions in grain raising, in po¬ 
mology, and iu gardening. Experiments, 
too, are needed to develop more effective 
methods of culture aud prevent our run¬ 
ning in ruts. Agriculture iB no longer 
restricted simply to plowing, sowing, and 
breeding cattle, but. it also includes the 
knowledge of how and what to breed and 
plant in order to receive the best pos¬ 
sible returns from our efforts. 
How can this knowledge be best ob¬ 
tained ? The people naturally look 
to our Agricultural Colleges for an¬ 
swers to all questions of an agricultural 
interest, but too often they are disap¬ 
pointed. It must be remembered how¬ 
ever, that it requires capital to experi¬ 
ment. Under the very economic (?) man¬ 
agement of the State Legislatures, manv 
of the colleges are barely able to exist as 
educational institutions, to say nothing 
of the carrying out of extended and ex¬ 
pensive experiments. Experiments are, 
indeed constantly under way in many, per¬ 
haps, in all the colleges ; but these insti¬ 
tutions being pinched for want of means, 
their efforts in this direction must neces¬ 
sarily be limited. The question lias 
occurred to us, would it not be true econ¬ 
omy and prove a universal blessing if tho 
respective State Legislatures should es¬ 
tablish aud maintain an experiment sta¬ 
tion at each Agricultural College ? What 
an amount of effective work might then 
be accomplished ! Thirty-seven States 
have availed themselves of the land grants 
of Congress ; think of as many stations, 
not only teaching what is already known, 
but constantly searching for new facts, 
revealing new truths and testing new 
methods ! \fy hat encouraging progress 
might then be made I Stations have, in¬ 
deed, sprung up here and there in the 
country, but to be of much value they , 
must be comprehensive and thorough-go- 1 
ing in their labors, and this, of course, 
requires means. Many of the colleges 
offer all the facilities ’ that can be de¬ 
sired. By no other plan could experi¬ 
ment stations be so cheaply maintained 
aud so effective in their work. The needed 
land is already connected with the schools, 
few having less than 200 acres, while 
many have 600 or more. The ordinary 
farm crops are raised by most of them, 
and stocks of different breeds kept. A 
force of scientific men is already con¬ 
nected with each institution, and the 
young men who will probably in future 
take a prominent, place in the ranks of 
agriculture are there congregated. It 
would be well that these should have the 
benefit of carrying out extended experi¬ 
ments in the business in which the life¬ 
time of most, of them will be passed. Sys¬ 
tematic experiments thus carried on, un¬ 
der the direction of competent men, each 
station communicating with the others 
and all having a central guide iu the De¬ 
partment at Washington, cannot fail to 
confer on American agriculture an impe¬ 
tus that is yet. undreamed of. 
VIRTUE IN WORK. 
Work ennobles ; luxury enervates and 
demoralizes. This is the verdict of his¬ 
tory, awarded in every notable case in 
which the question has arisen. Simpli¬ 
city of life aud honorable industry have 
ever brought forth a condition of private 
and public virtue, have produced com¬ 
fort and every desirable aspect of wealth, 
with contentment and happiness. It is 
curious to note the change which has oc¬ 
curred of late years iu the condition of 
the people both iu the agricultural and 
other industries, not only in our own 
country but in Great Britain—the greater 
condition of luxury and expensive living 
which now exists and the painful turmoil 
of grumbling and dissatisfaction with 
present circumstances. At. home we are 
complaining that business is very bad ; 
that farming no longer pays; that ex¬ 
penses eat up profits ; that produee sells 
for nothing and tliat, on the whole, every¬ 
thing seems to be going to the bad. 
Abroad the same occurs, but to a great¬ 
er degree. In England agriculture is in 
desperate straits. Every week a hundred 
or more farmers are published in the offi¬ 
cial “Gazette” as bankrupts or insolv¬ 
ents. Ground between the millstones of 
high rents and lngh wages, under the 
operation of the effects of ruinous compe¬ 
tition with cheaper American products, 
the English farmer is in a sad plight. 
And now comes Joseph Arch, who is the 
prophet, of the period in this case, and 
who says, “farmers must return to the 
old-fashioned and homely beer, in jilace 
of the new-fangled costly wine ; must dis¬ 
miss the piano, and put their daughters 
to the churn as in the olden time, in order 
to revive agricultural prosperity.” And 
the “Jeremiad,” although bitter to think 
of, seems to point to the only course 
which can be pursued. 
Is there no food for reflection for Amer¬ 
icans in this ? Not long ago, we traveled 
in the West for a day in company with an 
agent of an extensive manufacturer of 
parlor organs. He was returning sud¬ 
denly and unexpectedly, having already 
taken more orders for instruments than 
his firm could make in a year to come. 
His customers were Western farmers. 
Every family required an organ, and the 
principal reason was because the next 
neighbor had one. All were sold on a 
year’s credit. The young ladies who 
learned to use these instruments doubt¬ 
less no longer milk the cows or man¬ 
age the dairy; spin the wool from their 
fathers’ flockB; knit the family hose, or 
rarely make their own <tresses. One 
luxurious habit, especially if it causes 
work to be thought inconvenient or de¬ 
grading, leads further and becomes dis¬ 
astrous iu the end. The young men, too, 
require a fast horse and a costly wagon and 
more expensive attire ; and then the help 
of a hired man in the field is as needful as 
that of the help in the kitchen. And un¬ 
der the pressure of all these self-inflicted 
taxes, farming does not pay, and it is to 
be feared that it never will until these 
taxes are repealed. 
Agricultural Education. — It is 
evident that, to equalize the production of 
our various industries, agriculture must 
soon receive an impetus in some shape or 
other. This must certainly oorne iu the 
way of a better technical education. It 
requires as good a man in every way to 
make a successful farmer now-a-days as 
to make a lawyer, a doctor, a preacher or 
an engineer. Yet if we compare the num¬ 
bers or the students in the law, medical 
or theological schools with those iu agri¬ 
cultural colleges, what a contrast is offer¬ 
ed ! We must learn this lesson, namely, 
that our boys must be as well prepared for 
the first of all professions, viz, that of 
agriculture, as for any other, and that the 
farmer who lavish es all his spare income 
for some years on John to make a preach¬ 
er or a lawyer of him, and keeps James at 
home with no more than the simplest ru¬ 
diments of school knowledge to make a 
farmer of him , does this boy the gravest 
injustice. Aud yet in spite of this, James 
will probably be called upon to assist 
John in after years to maintain his station 
of assumed superiority ! It may be that 
this division of the paternal resources 
may be thought equal, and that the inher¬ 
ited farm may be considered an equiva¬ 
lent for the cost of the college education. 
But it is an injustice that a young man 
should be left unprepared by sufficient 
education to make the most of his re¬ 
sources m after life, and this idea should 
be kept so prominently before the public 
as to lead in time to the perfection of a 
system of agricultural education in the 
public schools and the thorough utiliza¬ 
tion of the agricultural colleges. 
The Preservation of Timber.— 
An easy and simple method of rendering 
timber unusually durable, if not practi¬ 
cally indestructible, is of the greatest 
value to the agricultural community. 
Fence posts, sills of buildings and other 
timber exposed to influences which cause 
rapid decay, last but a few years under 
ordinary circumstances. It has long been 
known that lime is an effective preserva¬ 
tive, acting in this way by coagulating 
the albumen iu the cellular tissue of the 
timber. An easy method of preparing 
the timber has been applied practically 
by a French mining engiueer. A pit was 
made in which the timber was placad ; 
quick-lime was scattered over it and then 
slaked with water. After being exposed 
a few days to the action of the lime, the 
timber was removed and used as sup¬ 
ports for the roofs of a mine. Where 
unprepared timber lasted but two years, 
that prepared in this way has been in use 
for several years without the least appear¬ 
ance of decay. This method of preserva¬ 
tion commends itself for its simplicity and 
cheapness for farm use. 
General Information, as a test of 
qualification in our public-school teach¬ 
ers, is almost wholly left out of the ex¬ 
amination by School Commissioners. This 
is a very grave omission. Only broad, 
well-informed minds are fitted to mold 
the plastic minds of children. Teachers, 
who have only a routine knowledge of the 
common school branches, without any 
proper understanding of the history and 
progress of their age, are quite incapable 
of imbuing the youug mind with a desire 
for knowledge. The inspiration of the 
teacher often lifts the child’s mind to a 
higher plane, and gives an impetus that 
is felt through life. The profession of 
the common-school teacher sadly needs 
elevating; and this higher standard must 
be introduced by the School Commission¬ 
ers, into whose nands the qualification of 
teachers is committed. Farmers are great¬ 
ly interested in this, and they should look 
to the character and qualifications of the 
Commissioners whom they elect. 
BREVITIES. 
Verbenas are now Beilins: in this city at 50 
cents per basket, containing one dozen of as¬ 
sorted colors. 
One of our most prosperous farmers is that 
particular as to the tidiness of bis barn, that 
soiling the floor with tobacco juice is strictly 
prohibited. 
Professor Cook tells us that thoroughly 
rectified benzine, poured into all suspicious 
crevices, Is the best remedy for bed-bugs; as 
may be secu in another column—a useful bit 
of information iu summer-time. 
We have never seen the Japan Quinces so 
loaded with flowers as now. These are fine 
shrubs and groups of the white, rose, red and 
deep-red—blooming as they do at the same 
time—form brilliant objects upon the lawn. 
Feed the young chicks often—bread we4 
with milk is as good as any food for them. 
(Jive them clean water twice a day in clean, 
shallow vessels. Flower-pot saucers answer 
the purpose nicely. 
Without plenty of live stock, 6 ays Mr. 
Mechl, fed on purchased foods, and, in addi¬ 
tion. some purchased manures, there is very 
little hope for the British farmer on ordinary 
soils in competition with the foreigner. 
Artificial Tallow! Now that artificial but¬ 
ter bus been made from tallow, it is in order 
that the tallow should be produced uruflciiLy 
so that consistency may be preserved. This 
has been effected and u patent has recently 
been grunted for making tallow from a mix¬ 
ture ot 00 pouuds of ca«t.or oil, 10 pounds of 
animal fat, 10 pounds of vegetable oil and 20. 
pounds of wheat flour, Perhaps no one will 
object, much less the juveniles who would 
rejoice if all the castor oil in existence were 
disposed of in this way and the product were, 
used by the artificial-butter factories. 
