THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
A National Journal for Country and Suburban Homes 
Conducted by 
E. S. CARMAN, 
8. WOODWARD, 
Associat*. 
Address 
TKE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
No. 84 Park Row, New Y jrk. 
SATURDAY, JANUARY 9, 1886. 
Some 20 articles have been selected for 
the second Potato Special of the Rural, 
which will be published about Feb. 15. 
All perishable plants or tubers which 
our friends desire us to test, should be 
sent to the Rural New-Yorker, River 
Edge, Bergen Co., New Jersey, not to this 
office. The name and address of the send¬ 
er should be written on the package. 
The Potato Special will be dated 
the 16th instant as promised. We 
have worked better than we knew, having 
received contributions enough to till two 
papers. AYe extend our thanks to all. 
No one should fail to look carefully over 
the list of presents, which we shall dis¬ 
tribute next May-Day. An opportunity 
to get so much value for so little effort, 
doesn’t often occur. Some people will get 
them for so few subscribers and so little 
effort as to surprise even themselves. 
AYe have articles enough (thanks to 
many friends) to fill at least two Potato 
Specials. The first will appear next week 
with a four-page supplement. The second, | 
in time to be serviceable for planting the 
next crop. Perhaps this will please our 
readers better than to devote our pages 
two weeks in succession to this subject. 
The Jewell Strawberry received very 
high praise at the meeting of the New 
Jersey Horticultural Society held at 
Trcntou last week. It was conceded by 
all to be the most promising berry now 
being introduced, and was put upon the 
list for extended trial without a dissent¬ 
ing vote. This only corroborates what we 
have said of it. We really want every 
one of our present subscribers to try it. 
This they can do at no expense beyond a 
few moments' work, as we shall be most 
happy to send eight plants, direct from 
the originator. P. M. Augur, to any old 
subscriber who procures us a new one. 
You can thus benefit yourselves and us at 
the same time. Isn't this worth an effort? 
AYe shall soon begin to notice the cata¬ 
logues of seeds, implements, etc. for 1886, 
sent to this office by the leading Anns of 
the country. As usual, we advise our 
readers to send for them, compare them, 
make inquiries as to the firms sending 
them out, to the end that they may pur¬ 
chase goods of the best quality, and at 
the lowest cost. Our several farms and 
the experience of many years in testing all 
kinds of plants, seeds and implements, 
whether new' or old, should enable us to 
aid our friends in making their selections; 
and this, as has been our custom, we shall 
endeavor to do, by calling attention in a 
thoroughly impartial way to the notable 
features of the catalogues received. 
judges, at show's of this character, are in¬ 
fluenced by a fat, sleek appearance, and 
frequently overlook finer points in less 
well-rounded animals. It is the duty of 
the breeder of animals for a fat stock 
show', to cover his beasts with all the tal¬ 
low and meat they can carry. The prize 
animals arc seldom used as breeders, and 
it is doubtful if, as individual animals, 
setting aside the prizes they obtain, they 
pay for the care bestowed upon them. 
They serve to show' what can be done by 
forcing, and they enhance the value of the 
breeding stock of the owner. It is differ¬ 
ent with draft horses. Those exhibited 
at show rings are to lie used chiefly for 
breeding purposes, and fat, over-fed ‘ ani¬ 
mals are notoriously poor breeders. An 
extra quantity of soft fat is out of place in 
a w orking animal. AYe would as soon 
think of a fat man trying to win a running 
match. AA r e hope the tendency to breed 
fat and awkward horses will be done 
away with. 
A considerable number of the cattle 
kings who had illegally fenced in large 
tracts of the public domain, have removed 
the obnoxious fences in compliance wdth 
the President’s proclamation of last August. 
Others have failed to do so: while a few 
have not only refused to remove the illegal 
fences already up. but have actually add¬ 
ed to them. A number of arrests of re¬ 
calcitrants have been made in New' Mexico, 
Colorado and AV yoming, and a number of 
warrants have been issued for others in 
Kansas and Nebraska. There is, on the 
side of the authorities, a resolute deter¬ 
mination to deal promptly and vigorously 
in tliis matter. The public laud is for 
the public, not for cattle kings or syndi¬ 
cates, native or foreign, or for railroad 
corporations, or any other land-grabbers. 
All .efforts to preserve, the lands for their 
legitimate purpose, or to restore them to 
it, should he heartily approved In' the 
public press, especially by the agricultural 
part of it, for live agriculturists or the nation 
are the chief gainers thereby. Of course, 
it is the bounden duty of the government 
officials to enforce the law in this matter: 
nevertheless, their hands are strengthened 
and their hearts encouraged by public 
approbation of their action. 
In addition to the manufacturers aud 
dealers of bogus dairy products, the 
assailants of these concoctions are be¬ 
ginning to find other opponents in the 
raisers of hogs and beef cattle, as the 
growth of butterine and oleomargarine is 
thought to enhance the value of these 
animals by the greater demand created for 
portions of hog and beef products. At 
the recent Fat Stock Show at Chicago, the 
exhibitors of bogus butter, in their suc¬ 
cessful attempt to obtain permission to 
exhibit their goods, received no little sup¬ 
port from that section of cattle and hog 
exhibitors who had little or no interest 
in dairying, and we notice that at several 
recent meetings of live-stock men, resolu¬ 
tions have been passed commending the 
action of the State Board of Agriculture 
in admitting the concoctions. If the ex¬ 
hibition of them tended to advance the 
interests of fat stock, why were they not 
shown in the fat-stock department, instead 
of in the department devoted to dairy 
interests, which they confessedly injure"? 
But even the hog and beef cattle raisers, 
like all other honest men. must join with 
us in denouncing every effort to’sell oleo¬ 
margarine and butterine as genuine butter 
by manufacturers or w holesale or retail 
dealers. AYe demand that artificial butter 
shall stand on its owm merits, and to pre¬ 
vent error and fraud, that it shall have a 
distinctive color. 
AYe have so 'often advised our friends 
to go slow in disposing of their flocks of 
sheep, because of the low prices of both 
meat and wool, that we have sometimes 
feared they might thiuk we w'ere trying 
to bore them. But those who have 
heeded our advice aud tenaciously held 
on, weeding out the flocks, aud in every 
w'ay improving those kept, are in fair way 
to be thankful that they have done so. 
The w'ool market is getting stronger, and 
prices are better, and we are quite sure that 
the price of mutton will be higher before 
Spring. Meantime every sheep owner 
should strive in every way to improve his 
flock, both in fleece and carcass. There 
is not the least danger of their getting 
them too good. 
In England, where horse shows are 
numerous and well attended, there is a 
growing tendency to exclude over-fed and 
extremely fat animals from competition. 
This seems like a good move. Too many 
The value of a really independent paper, 
one conducted by honorable, upright men, 
and backed up by capital enough to ren¬ 
der its editorial opinions free from bias by 
the advertising department, may be in¬ 
ferred from revelations just made by a 
Senate investigating committee with re¬ 
gard to the hidden sources of certain 
manifestations of the "power of the press” 
in this State. Duriug the last session of 
the Legislature there was a remarkable 
agreement of opinion among a large num¬ 
ber of the journals of the interior, belong¬ 
ing to both parties, regarding the unad¬ 
visability of legislation hostile to the inter¬ 
ests of the gas companies. 
It turns out that the editorial out¬ 
pourings of no fewer than 37 newspapers 
in count ry places were inspired by a single 
mind. Four articles, two for Republican 
and two for Democratic papers, were pre¬ 
pared by a writer in the employment of 
the consolidated gas companies, * and the 
insertion of the articles as editorials wa 9 
procured by an advertising agent! Among 
flagrantly extortionate monopolies, the 
gas companies hold a foremost place. How' 
dangerous to the public welfare the cor¬ 
rupting pow'er of such unscrupulous cor¬ 
porations, East, AYcst, North and South, 
with those w ho make and those who should 
execute the laws, and even with those who 
should impartially, honestly and fearlessly 
criticise both and hold them strictly to their 
duty. 
AYE AYANT 
a large number of sketches for 1886 from 
our readers, for which we propose to pay 
our regular price for such matter, as the 
illustrations appear in these columns. It 
matters not how rudely the sketches are 
drawn, if only our artist can understand 
them and the descriptions which accom¬ 
pany them. The sketches desired are 
those of any contrivance w hatever which 
will save labor or promote economy or 
comfort, whether for man or beast. For 
the farm, garden, orchard; for the barn, 
stable, shed, corn-crib, carriage house, 
tool-house, granary; for the pig-pen, 
poultry yard, poultry house, chicken coop; 
for the sheep, cattle, swine;for the house, 
kitchen, laundry; for wells, pumps, well- 
houses, ice-houses, we want sketches for 
illustrations. AYe want sketches and plans 
ot farm houses, dairy houses, and all sorts 
of farm buildings; of every sort of tool or 
implement used iu country life; of any¬ 
thing, in short, which may help in any 
way the farmer, the farmer’s wife or 
children, and all w ho w ork the soil either 
for pleasure or profit. Go to your neigh¬ 
bors and see if the}' cannot help you; sec 
if they have nothing upon their premises 
which you would like, and which you 
think w ould be w orthy of being illustrated 
in the Rural New-Yorker. AYe do not 
ask or expect artistic sketches or good 
writing. We only ask for legible writing 
and for sketches w'hich may readily be 
understood. Photographs of any of the 
above wdll be acceptable. 
LAND COMMISSIONER SPARKS. 
A great deal of discontent exists all 
through the far AVestern States and Terri¬ 
tories at the course of Land Commissioner 
Sparks in regard to land entries. The 
chief charges against him may be briefly 
summarized thus: He has announced that 
75 per cent, of all the entries are fraudulent; 
and consequently that 75 per. cent, of 
those making them are rogues, without 
any proof. He has suspended action on 
40.000 entries until their legality shall be 
decided, thus bringing a vast amount of 
distress on a large body of settlers who 
can raise no money for the improvement 
of their land or for supplies while their 
titles are iu doubt. He has changed the 
rules relating to public entries, so that a 
horde of his agents may rob the settlers by 
threats of prosecution. He has sought to set 
aside by his rulings the settled land policy 
of the nation, by declaring null entries 
under settlement laws, which for 25 years 
have been considered good evidence of 
title and upon which the authorities of 
States and Territories have taxed lands so 
entered. He has vilified former officials 
as rogues from party rancor. In addition 
to ignorance of the land-laws and their 
administration, he has an ungovernable 
temper and a vicious tongue. A charge 
of fraud he considers a proof of fraud, 
and an assertion in the matter he at once 
proclaims a fact. Some of his decisions 
have been so oppressive to frontier indus¬ 
tries. that they have been overruled or 
modified by the Department of the Interior. 
The Commissioner maintains that the 
clamor against him, which is loudly 
heard iu all the public-land States and 
Territories, comes from greedy and dis¬ 
honest laud agents, money lenders and 
land-grabbers "of all kinds and their 
henchmen in the office, the counting- 
room, the farm and the press: and that 
honest settlers silently approve of his 
course, while the dishonest make all the 
uproar. There has been a vast amount of 
dishonesty in Western land occupation. A 
great deal of what the Commissioner says 
is undoubtedly true; but the complaints 
are too numerous, wide-spread and un- 
partizau to permit the supposition that his 
course has always, or even generally, 
been judicious or just. A more prudent 
Commissioner could easily be selected; a 
more unpopular one could hardly be found. 
» »» 
THE RURAL’S 
Special Contributors 
For 1886. 
With a Revised List of the Subjects to le 
Considered. 
(ENGLAND.) 
SIR J. B. LAWKS. 
Subjects not as yet decidedjipon, 
v PROFESSOR J. P. SHELDON. 
Dairy and Stock Notes. 
JAMES SINCLAIR. 
, General English Farm Notes. 
I - 
(UNITED STATES.) 
PROFESSOR G. E. MORROW, Illinois. 
1. A series of short articles on The Princi- 
I pies of Breediug and Improvement of Animals, 
I with Descriptions of Breeds and their Adap- 
I tatious. 
I 2. Notes on Live Stock in general. 
GEN. CASSIUS M. CLAY, Kentucky. 
How Live Stock may ire Improved. 
;■ GEN. AT. H. NOBLE, Connecticut. 
‘ I Rural Adornments aud Comforts. 
I PROF. THOMAS MEEHAN, Penns’a. 
■ I The Relation which Water boars to Success 
1 ful Culture. 
I MAJOR HENRY E. ALYORD, Houghton 
Farm, New York. 
1 I *■ A Noteworthy Change in Public Opinion 
regarding the Bureau of Animal Industry. 
• I The Prospective Increase in the Factory 
I System ol Dairying, as tile Result of Compe¬ 
tition from Substitutes for Butter. 
C. A. GREEN, New York. 
Inipi'oving a Run-down Farm, (Continued. 
1 WILLIAM FALCONER, Long Island, 
New' York. 
1. The Flower Garden. 
2. Ornamental Trees and Shmbs. 
3. The Window* Garden. 
4. The Greenhouse. 
j 5. The Vegetable Garden. 
PRES. T. T. LYON, Michigan. 
Horticultural Matters viewed from an 
I Amateur’s stand-point. 
I F. L. KILBORNE, B. V. S., Washington. 
Veterinary Topics for the Farmer's Con¬ 
sideration. 
T. H. HOSKINS. M. D.. Vermont. 
1. Vegetable growing : especially the Test¬ 
ing aud Improvement of Varieties. 
2. Artificial Fertilizers. Which are the Best 
and Cheapest for the Crops Grown. 
3. Fruit Culture—especially for the Cold 
I North. 
DR. C. V. RILEY, Washington. 
1. Bees vs Fruit. 
2. Mildew on Grape-vines. 
3. The Best Remedies against Scale Insects. 
4. Special Insects of Interest. 
DR. W. J. BEAL, Michigan. 
Tin* Structure of a Blade of Grass iu two or 
I three articles. 
PROF. R. C. CARPENTER, MICHIGAN. 
1. House Drainage as Applying to Farm 
I Houses. 
2. Water Supply for Farm Houses. 
PETER B. MEAD, New York. 
Horticultural Notes under a ?iom de plume. 
PARKER EARLE. Illinois. 
1. Mattel’s Pertaining to Distant Markets. 
2. Better Distribution of Fruit Products. 
P. M. AUGUR, Connecticut. 
I High Fertilization and Culture as Affecting 
the Growth and Fruitage of Plants on the 
I Basis of Economy. 
PROF. A. J. COOK, Michigan. 
1. New Points of Value in Bee-keeping. 
2. Principles in Stock Breeding aud in 
I Stock Feeding. 
3. New Injurious Insects and New Reme¬ 
dies. 
PROF. I. P. ROBERTS, New York. 
Recuperative Agriculture, more especially 
adapted to the South. 
PETER HENDERSON, New Jersey. 
Potatoes—Ijirge or Small Sets. 
JOHN THORPE, New York. 
Seedling Chrysanthemums, Pinks, etc. 
JAMES TAPLIN, New' Jersey. 
The Comparative Value of the Newer Roses. 
HON. F. D. COBURN, Kansas. 
A series of articles on Mattel's connected 
with Beef Cattle, and Beef Making, 
Prof. W. W. TRACY, Michigan. 
A series of articles on the Testing, Intro¬ 
ducing, naming and describing of Varieties of 
Vegetables. 
PROF. E. M. SHELTON, Kansas. 
Subjects not yet decided upon. 
'iN GENERAL 
we may say that all of the Rural’s regular 
contributors will continue with us during the 
year. 
- ■ 
BREVITIES. 
This year w r e shall probably be unable to 
supplj' back numbers for any length of time. 
In the last Congress, out of 869 members only 
six were farmers, while 264 were lawyers and 
27 bankers, Certain bald statements' tire too 
suggestive for comment. Without a lawyer or 
a banker, this country would flourish ; with¬ 
out the fanner it. would perish. Only six men 
to represent the twenty millions the effects 
of w hose labors bring prosperity or adversity 
to every class anil industry in tliu land ! 
Mr. Putnam from Cambridge. Vt., writes, 
speaking of our new potatoes; "We must re- 
member that wliat will do well on one soil will 
not do well on others. Lf that was the case with 
the seedling potato I sent you, 1 am anxious 
to know the truth, as l am convinced you 
can neither bo bought nor sold, aud will tell 
the truth aud nothing but the truth.” 
Some one suggests that when whitewashing 
is going on, it may serve for several uses be¬ 
sides those of w hitening walls and preserving 
wood. In the cellar, it will not, only increase 
the light by its reflections, but will check 
mold, especially if some copjamis ur sulphur is 
added. Some posts, stones, tree trunks, etc., 
if coated with it, show even in darkness, and 
serve as guides. With sulphur added, t he lime 
wash is probably t he best of ull applications to 
the tree trunks in the orchard. 
