460 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY. 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
78 Duans Street, New York City. 
SATURDAY, JULY 19. 1879. 
ANNOUNCEMENT. 
The latter part of August we shall publish 
our Fair Edition. We promise, in advance, 
—life spared, — that it Bhall be the most 
costly if not the most interesting and in¬ 
structive number of the Rural New-Yor¬ 
ker ever published. We shall issue at least 
50,000 extra copies and all of our read¬ 
ers—our agents and the Secretaries of Fairs— 
are invited, indeed solicited, to send for as 
many copies as they are willing to give to their 
friends or to distribute. These will be cheer¬ 
fully forwarded to any address free of any 
charge whatever. 
Our semi-annual subscribers are respectfully 
reminded that the price of the Rural for six 
months is ©1.10, not $1.00. 
CROPS AND PRICES. 
The latest crop reports from across the 
Atlantic are muoh more gloomy than 
even those of last week. A fortnight ago 
the Mark Lane Express said : “ Should 
rain continue, the hay crop will be use¬ 
less, except as manure. The condition 
of wheat is unimproved. Barley in heavy 
land is nearly ruined. Nothing but the 
Bpeedy advent of sunshine can prevent 
an almost general failure of the principal 
crops.” On Wednesday last, Mr. Mechi 
despondently reports: “ Another week of 
flooding storms and low temperature has 
put the finishing touch to the agricul¬ 
tural disaster. It is now too late for crops 
to recover. On ill-farmed and undrained 
lands the matter is simply ruinous. 
Wheat will suffer less than spring crops." 
Thus it appears that the newspaper's dis¬ 
astrous anticipations have been realized, 
and that the outlook for the harvest iu 
England is anything but encouraging. 
The unfavorable weather that has 
proved so disastrous to English crops, 
las been nearly as fatal to those across 
lie Channel. Already the Bank of France 
las raised its rates of diaoount in order 
to keep gold at home, in view of the pros¬ 
pective heavy drain of specie to this 
country in payment of the large quantities 
of grain needed to supplement her short¬ 
ened harvest It is expected that from 
eighty to one hundred thousand bushels 
of foreign wheat alone will be required 
to keep France from starving during the 
coming year. Reports from Spain, just 
received, indicate that that peninsula 
also must buy in our markets ; and it is 
not improbable that, owing to the poor 
harvest, the ministry will be forced to 
admit grain, at least temporarily, free of 
duty. A tax upon the bread of a starving 
people is an anomaly in civilized coun¬ 
tries in these days. Northern Italy has 
been swept by flood and storm, and its 
crops are, therefore, scanty, but those of 
the southern part of the country are said 
to be a good average. 
The large deficit in the food supply of 
the Old World during the present year 
must be mainly supplied from the New. 
Large quantities of grain from past har¬ 
vests are still held in Odessa and other 
Black Sea port*, and, according to Sat¬ 
urday’s telegrams, there seems to be, as 
yet, no rush of buyers; but the pros¬ 
pects for the present harvest throughout 
the greater part of the Russian wheat 
belt, are so extremely disastrous that it 
is not improbable that a large portion of 
the reserved stock will be needed for 
home consumption. The ravages of 
storms and locusts there seem to have 
been far more ruinous than last week’s 
reports indicated, and already the Czar’s 
attention has been urgently called to the 
matter as a national calamity. 
The crop reports from all over the 
country, which our friends have enabled 
us during the year to place before our 
readers, will give a fair idea of the ability 
of the New World to feed the Old. A 
few of our cereal products, such as bar¬ 
ley, are, nearly everywhere, a trifle below 
a good average, others are injured more 
or less severely here and there; but, on 
whole, the harvest is pretty certain to be 
a good one—not an exceptionally abun¬ 
dant one by any moans, but yet, in view 
of the fair prices almost certain, good 
enough to lift the agricultural community 
out of most of its troubles, and to place 
the nation at large on a firm road to pros¬ 
perity. There is, however, an old saying 
which tells of the imprudence of ‘ * shout¬ 
ing before getting out of the woods, ” and 
it must be borne in mind that a great 
deal of the crops is still subject to mishaps 
from insect peRts and the weather. Al¬ 
ready the ravages of grasshoppers are re¬ 
ported to be exceedingly disastrous in the 
western counties of Minnesota and Ne¬ 
braska, while recent storms have played 
havoc with the crops in several parts of 
Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin. 
These mishaps at home and the advices 
from abroad have already produced a 
sharp advance in the prices' of all cereals, 
as may be seen by our market reports, 
and it is among the probabilities that 
prices will go higher still. Of course, all 
the speculations on this head are subject 
to so many unforeseen contingencies that 
it would be imprudent to speak definitely 
on such matters where the conduct of 
others might be influenced by the utter¬ 
ance. Whoever might be able to prophesy 
unerringly with regard to the future 
prices of grain this year, oould easily 
make bis way to a place among the mil¬ 
lionaires of the country. The safest 
course, therefore, is, from time to time, 
to place candidly before others all the 
circumstances likely to influence prices, 
and let each form his own opinion as 
to the reliability of any views expressed 
on the matter. 
INNOCENT SUFFERERS. 
It is our duty to protect the lives, lib¬ 
erty and property of our neighbors, as 
far as these are affected by us or by aught 
under our control. This no reasonable, 
honest person will deny. It is also true 
that we have no right to injure others by 
our unpardonable negligence, or by any 
unscrupulous schemes of selfishness. 
Rights never conflict; for one man’s rights 
end where another’s begin, and rights and 
duties are correlative. Still, many a man 
who might be insulted if told that he did 
uot believe all this, is guilty of inflicting 
sundry serious losses and sufferings upon 
his nearest and kindest friends, by per¬ 
mitting what lie could and ought to pre¬ 
vent, and by doing what any truly good 
and honest man would blush and shud¬ 
der to do. If one remonstrates with such 
a person, the answer is : “ Let me alone. 
I don’t trou ble you or your matters. I 
attend to my business ; you go and attend 
to yours. ” 
The importance of this evil in men’s 
relations with one another is better ap¬ 
preciated when it is considered how ut¬ 
terly helpless the injured party often is. 
The law does not take cognizance of very 
many serious troubles of this kind. The 
public do not give them attention. Those 
who do not regard themselves as wronged, 
care little, or not at all, for those who 
suffer. If the law provides for such 
cases, it is too apt to be slow, uncertain, 
and disagreeable in its operation. Let 
us consider some of the evils which these 
unkind and heartless neighbors inflict: 
One family is ever thoughtful as to the 
laws of health and disease. They ob¬ 
serve cleanliness in everything. The 
cellar is kept dry and free from causes of 
malaria. No decaying matter is permit¬ 
ted to remain near the house. The vaults 
are always in good condition. The water 
is guarded against any foul drains. The 
sweet air finds no poison there. But near 
this house live people indifferent to all 
such important precautions. They crowd 
lumber and filth in the cellar and unoc¬ 
cupied rooms. They allow hot-beds of 
malaria to fester around the buildings. 
The servants, knowing nothing of the 
dangers involved, cast slops and offal 
here and there and everywhere. The 
children are unwashed candidates for in¬ 
fection. The chicken-roost, pig-stye and 
cow-stalls are near the window or the 
door. Dangerous forms of disease are 
thus engendered. The air is laden with 
the insidious poison. The school-house 
is tainted by the poor little unfortunates 
that live in the neglected house. Au epi¬ 
demic starts. Everybody is in peril. Ty¬ 
phoid fever prevails. The doctors are 
astonished. The careful parents, for no 
fault of their own, nurse their sweet chil¬ 
dren, and perhaps follow them to the 
grave. Who is to blame ? Life is taken ; 
aye, murder committed. It was done by 
the c rim inally negligent people who 
would not keep the simplest laws of 
health and life for themselves, their ) 
families, or their neighbors. 
Various other illustrations might be 
given. One man has a flock of sheep; 
another man keeps a dog that kills them. 
Two men join fences. One has a fence 
that is proof against all things that would 
break in and injure the crops; but his 
neighbor neglects his part, permits the 
inclosure to decay until it is too low to 
afford protection ; and hence the crops of 
both may be ruined. Ono man keeps his 
ground free of weeds ; a careless neigh¬ 
bor suffers those on his land to mature, 
and the seeds to be borne over the ad¬ 
joining fields by the winds or the birds. 
A mill-pond of little value sometimes de¬ 
stroys the health of the whole town. 
What is the remedy for these evils ? 
Let common sense be instilled into peo¬ 
ple till they can see their wicked negli¬ 
gence and wrong-doing. Let the better 
and kinder parts of society cry out against 
such unwarrantable violence to the rights 
of others. Let it be proclaimed that these 
unfaithful neighbors are guilty, in the 
sight of sensible persons, of tliat which 
involves not only cruelty, but turpitude, 
aud sometimes robbery or murder. 
We know one community—a town of 
over two thousand inhabitants—in which 
malarial disease rankled with terrible se¬ 
verity for a number of years. The cause 
was, it was thought, a pond that was 
near. After long efforts by a few, finally 
the town succeeded iu inducing the owner 
of the mill to remove the dam, A luxu¬ 
riant harvest of grass soon covered the 
rich, alluvial bottom. The demand for 
quinine, of course, greatly declined ; and 
the health of the inhabitants was sig¬ 
nally improved. 
The evil complained of is seen in con¬ 
nection with the character and habits of 
the young. Some parents train their 
children to purity of thought, language 
and conduct. Other parents either teach 
or penult their offsprings to early learn 
vulgar or profane language, and divers 
base and polluting practices. In associa¬ 
tion in the schools or elsewhere, the cor¬ 
rupted ones communicate the virus of 
their own depravity to those who have 
been carefully guarded. Let faithful 
people persevere in the right way; do the 
most they can to prevent the evils that 
threaten them and theirs; and unite in 
the effort to enlighten and reform the 
guilty persons who are, by negligence or 
otherwise, doing so much harm. 
-♦ ♦ ♦- 
THE IRIS—OUR NEXT SEED DISTRIBU¬ 
TION. 
Among hardy plants, we know of no 
other bearing flowers at once so large, so 
brilliant and so delicate as many of the 
species and varieties of the Iiis; nor is 
there another that this can so truthfully 
be said of, that is so little known, so sel¬ 
dom seen in our gardens. We have no 
doubt that certain kinds of this genus 
will, when better known, command as 
much admiration as the most beautiful 
varieties of the exquisite Gladiolus. It 
is, indeed, a suitable and charming com¬ 
panion to this flower, and nothing can be 
more beautiful than beds filled with the 
Iris and Gladiolus alone. Especially is 
this tiie case from the fact that the Iris 
furnishes just those colors never seen in 
the Gladiolus. 
We shall have more to say of the Iris 
in a few weeks, and write of it now only 
to say that we have secured enough of 
the seeds of Siebold’s Japanese Iris to 
enable us to place it as one of the kinds 
which we shall offer in our next free seed 
distribution. It is conceded that as re¬ 
gards purity, richness and depth of color, 
this species is not equaled by any other 
of the entire genus. We are, ourselves, 
delighted with this happy selection, and 
we are confident our subscribers will also 
be pleased—the more as they learn of its 
surpassing beauty. It will grow quite 
readily from seeds, and the seedlings 
may be relied upon to produce an end¬ 
less variety of colors and marks. 
This species grows about two feet high. 
The flowers are often six inches across, 
sometimes deep-red or plum color with 
bright yellow bauds upon the lower pe¬ 
tals ; sometimes white, sometimes speck¬ 
led and lined; sometimes rose suffused 
with violet; sometimes purple with blue 
throats blotched aud veiued with yellow. 
We have also determined upon five 
other kinds of hardy plants (or rather 
the seeds of them) to offer our friends ; 
but are uot yet prepared to speak of them 
more in detail. We hope to be able to 
present the entire list in the Fair num¬ 
ber of the Rural New-Yorker, which 
will be published the latter part of next 
month—but we cannot as yet promise so 
to do. 
-- 
Bow Turnips in the Corn Field. —A 
little outlay for seed and a little time 
spent iu sowing turnips in the corn fields, 
will furnish a large amount of feed in the 
fall, after the frosts have killed the grass. 
A half pound is enough for an acre. The 
turnips may be fed in the field after the 
corn is gathered. They will keep up the 
flow of milk in the cows and fatten the 
sheep. Pigs will do well on them. There 
is no cheaper way by which a farmer can 
add to the stock of late fall feed. The 
turnips which are not eaten, will make 
excellent manure in the spring, and are 
worth all of the cost and trouble several 
times over for this purpose alone. We 
are surprised that this crop is not more 
generally grown. The seeds should be 
sown right after the last hoeing, when 
the ground is mellow. The first shower 
will cover them. 
-•-*-*- 
BREVITIES. 
Lord Derby suggests emigration as the re¬ 
lief for the worst-placed tenantry of England. 
We have thus far heard of few fields of 
wheat that have been troubled with the Hessian 
fly- 
Dr. E. L. Sturtevant, of the Scientific 
Farmer, praises iu high terms the new straw¬ 
berry “ Hervey Davis. 
Of all the plants now (July 12) in bloom in¬ 
cur grounds, the bees seem most fond of Rhus 
glabra laeiniata, the Bport of our common 
Sumach. 
The London Garden gives a colored plate of 
Lilium Parkmanni, which is as pretty as the 
Lily itself. This, as we have already stated, is 
a cross between L. auratum (male parent) and 
L. specioBum rubrnin. 
The editor of the American Rural Home 
“ doubts if cheap potatoes will rule this year,’’ 
which is the reverse of the prediction of the 
Rural New-Yorker founded upon reports 
from all parts of our country. 
Good men will work harder for a kind, con¬ 
siderate. employer than for one who is ever 
petulant and dissatisfied. This is human na¬ 
ture. it is sreuerally easy to determine the 
character of the employer by the character of 
the men he employs. 
Mr. Beecher says that people who want to 
raise fruit on the principle of not having any 
trouble, cannot do better than migrate to the 
next world. We should like to know if there 
is auy reason to suppose that such people will 
fare any better there than here. 
It is time to sow turnips for winter supply, 
though crops may be raised in this latitude if 
sown as late as the latter part of August. One 
pound of seed is generally sown to the acre; 
half a pound it drilled in. In the latter way, 
make the drills a foot apart and thin out to six 
inches. 
We wish to sow3 a great many different 
varieties of wheat this fall and we would thank 
any of onr friends if they would inclose iu a 
a letter giving name, yield etc., any variety 
or varieties they may deem worthy of trial. 
We shall have any heads, of special size or 
6eeiuing merit engraved. 
Our readers will remember our illustration 
of the double Wistaria in Rural of April 26. 
This, says the London Garden, is now iu (low¬ 
er for the first time in Mr. Autbouy Waterer’s 
nursery, and is in all respects a decided ac¬ 
quisition as its blossoms arc perfectly double 
and last a much longer period in beauty than 
the original with winch it corresponds exactly 
in color. 
Speaking of Heath plants in onr last week’s 
issue, reminds u6of the Huckleberry which is 
this year so abundant about the Rural Farm 
and in many other parts of Long Islund, that 
the many people who, during the season, busy 
themselves entirely with picking this fruit for 
market, have the promise of au unusually 
busy time. Huckleberry puddings and huck¬ 
leberries and cream are standard dishes in New 
York restaurants, as well as in the homes of all 
native Long Islanders. 
Since the dispersion of the Jews by Titus, A. 
D. 70, that, race lias never engaged iu its chief 
occupation of old—agriculture. Last week a 
convention of Lhe different Jewish congrega¬ 
tions throughout, the country assembled in 
this city, and the most notable project discuss¬ 
ed was the advisability of fouuding Hebrew 
agricultural colonies, to which might be draft¬ 
ed the poor Jews that now eke out a scant 
livelihood in the cities. It was voted almost 
unanimously that money should be collected to 
found one colony as an experiment. 
We shall shortly present our readers with a 
life picture of that elegant little tree Acer pal- 
matum dissectum rubrum. The fern-like leaves 
may thus be accurately shown—hut the color 
which is nearly as dark as River’s Purple 
Beech, can not, of course, be portrayed. We 
have until recently supposed the specific name 
of these JapaueseMuples, polymorph urn. But 
Mr. James Hogg, who is preparing an article 
to accompuny our engraving, informs us that 
it is palmatum. But polymorphum, as ap¬ 
plied to these Maples ot so many forms, is 
peculiarly appropriate. 
We would remind our readers that all hard¬ 
wood plants may now be layered. _ Dig a hole 
iu the ground under the branch which is to 
form the layer, aud then bend it down and 
cover with earth, so that it remains firmly in 
its place. Next spring the new plant may he 
removed. Thus all sorts of shrubs, Grape-vines, 
etc., may be propagated with little chance of 
failure. The time tor budding is also upon ns. 
As soon as buds can be procured, the only 
other essential condition is that the bark of 
the plain iu which the bud is to be inserted, 
should part readily from the wood. 
We want our Yourig Folks to study the ele¬ 
mentary botanical lessons begun last week by 
Uncle Mark. Our Youths’ Horticultural Club 
is growing with a fine success, and we shall 
send the next seeds and plauts to those mem¬ 
bers who show us they have made the best 
progress. We do not mean that this Horti¬ 
cultural Club of Youngsters shall be a mere 
trick to amuse them. We want to do them 
good and to have them feel in future years, 
when they have become successful or even 
eminent as gardeners, horticulturists or farm¬ 
ers, that the Rural New-Yorker first “ bent 
the twig.” Now, good parents, help along out' 
worthy project. 
