E 
RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY. 
CONDUCTED BY 
ELBERT S. CARMAN. 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
78 Duane Street, New York City. 
SATURDAY, SEPT. 27. 1879. 
THE LESSONS OF ADVERSITY. 
Adversity 1ms its lessons in agricul¬ 
ture not less than in politics, medicine, 
finance, morals. Of the latter we spoke 
in a late issue. Of those to be drawn 
from the present agricultural adversity 
and distress in England we spoke at con- 
stfierable length a week or two before. 
If that distress shall lead even remotely 
to a change or modification of the laws of 
inheritance and entail, of rental of farms 
and the compensation to be paid to 
tenants for the “betterments” they 
make, of forestry and game, etc.. which 
B3em to us Americans not only oppressive 
and unjust to tenants but most unwise 
even lor the landlords,—if this be the 
result, then that adversity will not have 
been without its wholesome effect. 
In the different parts of our own coun¬ 
try, various forms of adversity have at 
different times taught their various les¬ 
sons. In parts of New York, some thirty 
years ago, wheat raising became almost 
the exclusive industry ; soil and climate 
seemed to favor, and it paid better for a 
time than anything else. Every available 
acre for a few years was put to wheat. 
Not enough stock w as kept to return to 
the soil in manure any adequate propor¬ 
tion of the fertility exhausted by the 
successive crops. Of course, adversity 
followed, crops dwindled. The fly, the 
“winter-kill" (another name for poverty 
of soil) and the weevil made havoc. Men of 
our own acquaintance who had raised two 
or three thousand bushels of wheat 
annually, now harvested hardly as many 
hundreds, and were finally forced to 
abandon the industry entirely, until the 
land, as if under the old Mosaic law, had 
enjoyed its sabbaths of rest. The farmers 
learned the lesson before the land was 
exhausted, and now under a wiser system 
of mixed husbandry, with rotation of 
crops, and more, cattle and sheep, and the 
freer use of clover and manure, and the 
careful husbandry of all animal manure, 
both liquid and solid, the fertility is re¬ 
stored and retained, and even wheat in 
many cases is yielding nearly its former 
abundant harvests. 
In parts of Illinois the same lesson is 
hardly yet learned. It was deemed at 
first "that the marvelously deep, black 
soil had fertility exhaustless, and that 
manure was needless. Corn after corn, 
and wheat after wheat were raised and 
sold oil' of the farms, the straw and stalks 
were burned or wasted, and even the 
manure made by the few head of stock 
kept on the farm’s, was not properly saved 
or used. That which collected about the 
barns was voted a nuisance and seldom 
carted to the fields. The joko used to be 
that when the manure pile grew' to be 
larger than t he barn, the bam was moved 
to a new spot! The rich gifts of nature 
in soil and climate even led to shiftless¬ 
ness and slovenliness in farming. Of 
course, reverse would come in time, and 
already on many farms, and even in whole 
districts, diminished jerops, and frequent 
failures are teaching that the lavish gifts 
of Nature are not to be abused or over¬ 
estimated, and that industry, economy, 
tidiness, and thoroughly good farming 
bring their due rewards there even as in 
the older and naturally less fertile States. 
In the daily districts of New York and 
Ohio the farmers are learning a new les¬ 
son, or rather the old lesson slightly 
varied. The high prices of dairy pro¬ 
ducts during and after the war led to 
over-production. In many sections dairy¬ 
ing became the exclusive industry. Every 
acre was devoted to permanent meadow 
and pasture, and every animal was a cow 
and every gallon of milk W'as jealously 
taken to the cheese factory. The calves 
were “ deaconed ” and not raised. 
Scarcely an acre was plowed in whole 
townships, and the farmers bought flour 
and potatoes for their families and shorts 
and grain for their cow sand horses. Ordi¬ 
nary and regular farm work almost ceased, 
except to milk the cows and cut tiie huy 
in summer, and feed the cows and cut the 
fire-wood in winter. With no regular, 
steady, well-directed labor, men grew 
shiftless; fences and farms ran down; old 
meadows ran out. Simple top-dressing 
did not bring in the lost seed. Plowing, 
manuring, judicious rotation, and reseed¬ 
ing were needed. Had the price of dairy- 
products remained high, this wretched 
state of things might have continued till 
the farms w r ere even worse run down. 
Reverse was needed, and the sudden and 
tremendous decline in prices set men to 
thinking. It was plain they could not 
make a living on the old plan, and there 
must be a change. The orthodox creed 
that “ the cow is bettor than the plow,” 
began to be doubted. The land long 
rested from wheat and other grain and 
vegetables was found to produce fine 
crops if properly tilled, especially when 
tile-drained. More plows and other im¬ 
plements for the cultivation of the soil, 
we are credibly informed, were sold in 
these dairy regions, in 1877 and 1878, 
than in ticeftiy years just before. The 
adversity in dairying thrust three lessons 
before the farmers and forced them to 
heed them:—that farm labor must be 
regular, persistent, well-directed, and 
fairly distributed through the year, to 
meet due rewards ; that over-production 
in any one direction is unsafe ; and that 
in the long run a system of fairly divided 
mixed husbandry is the best. 
But enough of special examples. In 
general, it may be said that adversity 
sets men to thinking. It jostles them 
rudely sometimes, out of the ruts they 
were mechanically following. It sets 
them to searching for the causes of failure 
or distress. It makes them students 
instead of automatons, men and not 
machines. It teacheB that patient, 
thoughtful, persistent, well-divided, well- 
directed effort is sure of reasonable re¬ 
ward. 
-- 
AN INFLUX OF LABOR. 
A very tidal wave of immigration bids 
fair to overwhelm this country with 
laborers, The recent report of the con¬ 
dition of labor in European countries 
made by our State Department lias shown 
that this country is a paradise for the 
workingman, who here enjoys, not only 
a measure of comfort, but one of liberty 
and freedom, unapproaehed elsewhere. 
The knowledge of this gained, not only 
from widely published statements to that 
effeet, but from many years’ experience 
of friends, relatives and neighbors who 
have found a home here, has created 
wonderful exoitement abroad. The 
English miners’ association, numbering 
200,000 workmen, has determined to move 
hither as soon as possible. English 
farmers and farm laborers are preparing to 
come over by thousands. Russians, 
Swedes, Germans, French, and other 
Europeans are either coming with all 
their property and capital, or are pre¬ 
paring to come, and are disposing their 
affairs with that end in view. Even the 
Icelanders are abandoning their glaciers, 
their rocks, volcanoes and spurting geysers, 
and are coming here where they can still 
have all these with other more desirable 
comforts in greater plenty than in their 
native home. What will be the end of 
it ? Who can forecast the result of this 
gathering of the nations in this continent ? 
Doubtless as what has occurred in this 
way heretofore has tended to develop 
the best interest of the country, so here¬ 
after, civil freedom, material comfort, and 
ease of position, which every inhabitant 
may enjoy, will, in the end, make good 
citizens of these foreigners and the nation 
will be benefited. 
-■*-*-*- 
PAY YOUR DEBTS AT ONCE. 
For; years thousands of our farmers 
have been harrassed by heavy burdens 
of indebtedness, the interest on which 
alone has been a grievous annual tax 
upon their resources. Not a few have 
been forced to abandon to their creditors 
the farms in the improvement of which 
many of the best years of their lives were 
laboriously expended. Thousands of 
others are still threatened with a like 
disaster. Crops nearly everywhere this 
year are good. Owing to a very unusu¬ 
ally wide extent of misfortune to foreign 
farmers, the prices for farm products 
here leave a fair margin of profit to those 
who have raised them. Farmers, there¬ 
fore, will have more money this year 
than they have been accustomed to han¬ 
dle lately—probably more than they will 
handle for some time to come, for we can 
hardly expect a repetition of this year’s 
disasters to foreign crops, and it may be 
our own turn to experience such a mis¬ 
fortune next year. 
Iu view, therefore, of the oppression 
of indebtedness iu the past, and of the 
anxiety and sorrow it lias brought upon 
so many homesteads throughout the coun¬ 
try, what better use can be made of what¬ 
ever money each indebted farmer can 
spare from the proceeds of his harvest 
this year, thau to promptly employ it to 
free himself from the load that lor years 
has been an affliction and a menace to 
himself and those dear to him ? 
Earnestly, therefore, do we urge all 
our friends who may be in debt to get 
rid of it at once. We have lately said a 
good deal about the evils of getting into 
debt; much more can be said about the 
blessings of getting out of it. Now is 
the acceptable time for doing so. How¬ 
ever urgent may be, in your opinion, the 
desirability of expending your money in 
other ways, there is none which will 
bring you and yours more lasting satis¬ 
faction and advantage than by using it 
to dear your homestead of indebtedness 
with its persistent tax and trouble. You 
can do so now, wholly or in part. Provi¬ 
dence alone knows when you will be able 
to do so if this opportunity passes by un¬ 
improved. 
BREVITIES. 
The Farmer says that Indiana is now re¬ 
joicing over the largest wheat crop ever se¬ 
cured iu the State. 
It will be found that strawberry runners 
are growing freely now. If large fruit be de¬ 
sired another year, cut them off as soon as 
discovered. 
The London Garden (Aug. 30) contains a 
beautiful colored plate of varieties of Iris 
Kwmpferi. seeds of which we arc offering iu our 
next seed distribution. 
Tub volume of mercantile business, judged 
by clearing-house transactions—one of the 
best cri tenons—is nearly one-third greater 
now than at the same time lust year. 
“ Is Life Worth Living? ” is the title of a 
book lately published in Loudon by William 
Humll Mallock : a pertinent query in that 
connection would be “Is Death Worth Dy¬ 
ing ? ” 
In the single item of oxen and hulls, the im¬ 
portation into the United Kingdom from this 
country has increased iu value from sixty 
thousand iu 1873, to nearly six million dollars 
in 1878. 
A writer in an English agricultural paper 
bays that they are fast getting ADglo-Ameri- 
eauized over there, and that the best tiling 
they can do is to uuuex the Uuited States. Hero 
is richness for you ! 
Which of our fairs did xt? What? Why 
offered a premium for the best device for ir¬ 
rigating purposes and misspelt the word, “ ir¬ 
ritating,” whereupon a hen-pecked farmer 
straightway entered his wife for that premium. 
The silk crop of France is not half an aver¬ 
age one; the grain crops are short and business 
is not too lively, yet financiers there, iustead of 
seeking quiet iu view of rough times, are un¬ 
usually busy launching speculative compan¬ 
ies. 
The valuation of California has fallen off 
$37 million, being $547 million, against $584 
million last year. The new constitution, Ker- 
neyism etc, are believed to have contributed 
most to the shrinkage. The lax rate now is 
62^ cents ou each $100 worth ol property 
against 55 cents last year. 
Markiaoes ought to ho pretty plentiful here 
this year, as statistics show, more clearly per¬ 
haps thau anything else, that there is a con¬ 
stant reJatlou between the numberof marriages 
and the character of the harvest—abundant 
crops, frequent pairings; harvest scanty, wed¬ 
dings few. 
Jdst fancy! week before last we actually ship¬ 
ped 4,160,000 bushels of wheat to the European 
Continent from the Atlantic ports, and 2,936,- 
000 bushels to the United Kingdom, besides 
sending across the Atlantic 4811,000 bushels 
from California and Oregon, to say nothing of 
808.000 bushels of Indian corn, 67,000 barrels 
of Hour, aud a large amount of barley, etc. 
Tuesday, the 16th, was a great day for Kan¬ 
sas, when the young giant celebrated its quar¬ 
ter Centennial! At Lawrence a vast multitude 
of sturdy farmers aud others met to commem¬ 
orate the occasion, while speeches and letters 
from some of the most distinguished men of 
the country did honor to the anniversary. 
Success, a brilliant success, to this vigorous 
young member of the Uuiou! 
France has the largest wheat area, in pro¬ 
portion to population, of any country in 
Europe; but white Eoglaud’6 average wheat 
yield is from 28 to 30 bushels per acre, that of 
France is only 151. An increase of one bushel 
an acre there would amount to 16,000,090 
bushels. This small yield is attributed to poor 
cultivation, and, iu the Boullr, to the dryness 
of the climate in spring. 
On the 11th lust, a number of delegates from 
the tenant-farmers of lrcJuud, England aud 
Scotland,left Liverpool under the aupiccs of the 
Canadian Government, to investigate the ad¬ 
vantages for settlement offered in thcDommion 
and report the same to their constituents. 
Some of our Southern aud Western States 
would And it to their interest to be equally 
wideawake on the subject of immigration. 
The walking mania is likely to have a 
revival again this fall aud curly waiter. Crazes 
of this kind, like those of other sorts, par¬ 
take of the nature of an epidemic, breaking 
out at a great number of places at the same 
time, The baker’s clozeu of pedestrians who 
have just started ou a six days’ trump around 
the sawdust arena in this city, are likely soon 
to have a host of poor imitators all over the 
country. 
Our principal exports of cattle arc to Cuba, 
Canada and Great Britaiu. During the first six 
months of this year ihe average price of cattle 
exported to Cuba was $17; to Canada, $46. and 
to Great Britain, $96. Cuba is supplied almost 
exclusively' iroil) the gauul herds ot Texas und 
Florida; Canada draws uer supplies from the 
West in a llnu condition, and after fattening 
them, ships them mostly across the Atlantic; 
while those expel led iliilher from [IBs country 
are usually in prime condition aud belong tq 
the beet class of animals. ' 
The growth of our exportation of cattle to 
Great Britain during the last five years is as 
follow's: 
Year ended June 30— 
Number. 
Values. 
Dollars. 
1874 .. 
193 
103,800 
1875 .. 
110 
73,300 
1878 .. 
31.220 
1877 .. 
5.091 
548,898 
1878 .. 
24.982 
2.408,813 
As the season of cold nights and bleak days 
is again at baud, we would once more remind 
our readers of the necessity of shelter for 
stock, aud of timely preparations for winter. 
So much has been said, year after year, on this 
point that a reminder alone seems here neces¬ 
sary. Judging by the earliness of frosts In the 
Northwest, winter promises to visit us unusually 
early this year, and no time should he lost iu 
getting everything in good order before its 
arrival. 
American people of all shades of political 
faith are likely to extend a hearty welcome 
home to Gen. Grant., who has just landed in 
Sau Francisco from bis triumphal trip around 
Ihe world. Never has any personage, royal or 
famous, met with so hearty a reception from all 
classes iu every land he has visited; and 
wherever he liARgonc, his presence has directed 
the attention of the people to this country, its 
advantages and resources, more forcibly thau 
could have been done iu any other way. 
We hear so much vasrne laudation ot Old 
Country folks, and equally vague depreciation 
of ourselves, that it is pleasing to come upon 
some ctose figuring with regard to morals of 
both sections. Fcoin these it seems that here 47 
million people consume yearly, 450 million 
dollars’ worth of liquor, while iu the United 
Kingdom 33 million people consume 6S7 mil- 
liou dollars’ worth. We consume 1021 gallons 
of alcohol per head, against 2.87 In Great 
Britain ; of beer and wine, Great Britain’s 
consumption is 31 times ours. 
There seems to be a constant shifting of our 
population. In the political discussions now 
taking place, several startling figures in this 
connection have been vouched for as the re¬ 
sults of careful statistical research. For in¬ 
stance, Ohio has received from the East. 7.30,- 
000 of her population, and parted with 770,000 
to ihe West, while the census of 1870 showed 
that there were no less thau 188,000 Southern- 
born residents of that State. A comparison of 
the statistics of a number of States proves that 
where one Northern man goes South to live, 
five Southern rueu come North to stay. 
There is an increase of over 100 per cent, 
in the number of cattle exported from this 
country during the first six months of the cur¬ 
rent fiscal year, as compared with the cor¬ 
responding months of the preceding year,and au 
increase of 270 percent, in the value of such ex¬ 
ports. The value of exports of cattle during the 
whole of the year ending June. 1878, amounted 
only to $3,896,818; wheruis the value of such 
exports during the first six mouths ot I lie cur¬ 
rent fiscal year, amounted to $4,974,328. or 
$1,077,570 more than the exports of the whole 
of the preceding year. A line show this for 
our cattle trade, hampered as it is by European 
restrictions on our importations! 
The Germantow n Telegraph save that “ Die 
last new plan for raising wheat is to sow one 
quart of oats to two ol wheal. so that when 
the frost nips the oats, it falls und acts as a 
cover or mulch for the wheat. On a trial it is 
asserted that the crop of wheat was excellent, 
while iu an adjoing field whom the old mode 
was followed, it was very poor. The fact is 
that the former crop ol wheat was so well-cul¬ 
tivated, that it proved to be a good crop in 
spite ol the outs, not on account of it. Winter 
wheat requires no cover; and if it did, it would 
hardly be benefited in the result by the oats 
eating up otic half the fertilization of the soil.” 
We think some account should he taken of 
what the oat leaves, roots and stems return to 
the soil. 
Wasn’t it Rochefoucauld who cynically re¬ 
marked that there is always a dash of pleasure 
in learning of t.hc misfortunes of one's friends? 
There are some to-day so hard-hearted us to 
agree with the old fellow in this opiniou. es¬ 
pecially iu the case of those who gain by their 
friends’ mishaps ; and in the latter ease there 
is probably some truth iu the cynicism. While 
regret*iug the late “ hard times,” among our 
transatlantic cousins, it is hard to cheek asonse 
of satisfaction, because they’ve helped to make 
easier times here. The Report of our Bureau 
of Statistics for the year ending Juno 30 last, 
shows that the total exports of our merchan¬ 
dise and specie to Great Britain amounted to 
$303,013,646, while the total of our imports 
from that quarter, during the, same period, 
amounted to only $111,971,766. an excess iu 
our favor of $251,041,880. In other words, our 
exports to the United Kingdom were more t han 
three times out imports from lhat country. 
Hitherto, over since the ouLbreak of the 
late war Imre, with hardly a single temporary 
exception, every month 1ms seeii this country 
drained of Its gold to pny Interest on our debts 
in Europe, aud for goods purchased there, etc. 
Not only is u vust urnOunt of Lulled States 
bonds held there on which interest, must be 
paid by the National Government, but Euro¬ 
peans also hold much ol the indebtedness of 
our Slates, counties and municipalities, as 
well as a large proportion of our rdtlrood 
bonds, and stock in a multitude ol manufac¬ 
turing and other Industries here, on nearly all 
of which limy are drawing interest, In ad¬ 
dition to these drains upon the specie of the 
country, a large amount of gold earned here 
is spent abroad by our abaci tee. citizens. In 
spite of all this, howuver. so great Irtvo been 
our oxpoits of lute that, m addition to paying 
for all our purchases in the European and 
Asiatic markets, and for a large number of our 
bonds ln ld by foreigners, Die surplus price of 
them now causes a heavy importation of gold 
thence into ibis country. Biuce the middle of 
Auirust ibis has amounted to $22,000 000, while 
$6 000 000 more are on their way hither, mainly 
from 1‘aiis. and it calculated that wc shall 
have received Irom 40 to 50 million dollai'B 
specie from Europe by the 1st of next Jam* 
uary. Fiue times ahead! 
