404 
THE 
RURAL- NEW'YORKER, 
National Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Conducted by 
K I. BERT S. CAE SI AX. 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
No. 34 Park Row, New York. 
SATURDAY, JUNE 19, 1886. 
Now, Rural readers, let us again press 
it upon you to save, seeds of your best 
strawberries, and sow them at on.ce in fine, 
rich, mellow beds. If you would have 
the greatest variety of seedlings, sow the 
seeds of pistillates that grow among dif¬ 
ferent perfect-flowering kinds. Select 
berries that are shapely and of good quali¬ 
ty. A good way to gather the seeds is to 
mash the berries between thick pieces of 
paper and let the pulps dry. 
The value to the farmer of many of the 
reports of our experiment stations 
is seriously injured by the confused man¬ 
ner in which the results are presented. 
The teachings of a given experiment are 
often so much mixed in with the details 
of it, that they become clear only after 
considerable study. We can easily im¬ 
agine an intelligent farmer who is really 
seeking after knowledge, giving up in be¬ 
wilderment and despair his attempt to 
digest one of these muddled reports. 
However valuable the information may be, 
if its arrangement is such, and it is ex¬ 
pressed in such terms that the kernel can 
not be extracted without hard and pro¬ 
tracted study, it remains practically worth¬ 
less, The director of an agricultural ex¬ 
periment station should be able to report 
his work in such a way that the intelli¬ 
gent farmer may be able readily to compre¬ 
hend what u given experiment was inten¬ 
ded to show, and what useful deductions 
are to be drawn from it. If he cannot do 
this, it is a conspicuous proof of his in¬ 
competency as a public teacher. 
The influential papers that so bitterly 
oppose the oleomargaiine bill, and call 
upon the President to veto it should it 
be passed b\ the Senate, characterize it as 
a “vicious*bill.” They claim that it 
simply opens the way for unlimited 
fraudulent taxation; that if it is passed, 
any business that can command sufficient 
power in Congress may tax its competi¬ 
tors out of existence. These papers do 
not attempt to deny the fact that if oleo¬ 
margarine had always been manufactured 
and sold for just what it is, legislation 
against it would be impossible. They 
are forced to admit that the action is 
taken solely against the fraudulent char¬ 
acter of the business. Further than this, 
they very carefully neglect to suggest a 
bill that would he more appropriate than 
the present one. As to the taxation 
which may follow this opening, can there 
be too much of it? Almost every article 
of food is adulterated, and shoddy goods 
of all’descriptions are manufactured and 
sold for a fraudulent price. If in passing 
the “oleo” bill Congress opens the way to 
effective legislation against various fraud¬ 
ulent practices, we may well congratulate 
ourselves on our part of the work. 
The Senate by barely one majority— 
22 to 21—last Monday, referred the Oleo¬ 
margarine Bill to the Committee on Agri¬ 
culture instead of to the Committee on 
Finance, which would have certainly 
failed to report it—in other words, it 
would have pigeon-holed it till the close 
of the session, next month. The Com¬ 
mittee on Agriculture will report it favor¬ 
ably at an early day, and most likely the 
Senate will pass it in some shape. Of 
this there is no doubt if producers and 
consumers of butter and all lovers of 
honest dealing will ‘ bring pressure to bear 
on the Senators, directly by writing to 
them personally, and indirectly by urging 
the various State Senators and Repre¬ 
sentatives to take action in the matter. 
Only two Democrats voted to refer the 
bill to the Committee on Agriculture, aud 
five Republicans voted against that refer¬ 
ence. An analysis of the vote shows that 
of Senators whose terms of office expire 
March 3, 1887, and who must, therefore, 
be re-elected this year, ten voted for the 
reference and only four against it, while 
eleven refrained from voting. Of those 
whose terms expire in 1880 only four voted 
for the reference, seven against it, and 15 
did not vote at all. Of those whose terms 
expire in 1801, eight voted for the refer¬ 
ence, ten against it, and seven did not 
vote. Thus, judging from this point of 
view alone, it appears that those Senators 
who must soon appeal for re-election to 
their constituencies, were much more in¬ 
clined to vote honestly as the people de¬ 
sire than those who imagine thepeoplehave 
short memories, and will forget or forgive 
their conduct before time for re-election. 
ABOUT IRELAND. 
No country in the world is attracting 
more of the. attention of Christendom than 
Ireland just now. With an area of 82,531 
miles—over 1,300—less than that of Ind¬ 
iana—it has a population of somewhat 
over 5,000,000 the number of inhabitants 
having steadily decreased since the fam¬ 
ine of 1848, when they numbered over 
8,000,000. Of the 20,810,840 acres in the 
island, 729 Englishmen own one-half, 
3,000 other holders own the majority of 
the other half, and there are but 19,288 
land-owners altogether. The tenants and 
peasantry pay a yearly rental of $05,000,- 
000; while tiie income tax of the island 
amounts to $35,000,000 and the local 
taxes to $15,000,000 more, making an 
aggregate of $115,000,000 wrung from the 
wretched inhabitants of a island much 
less than Indiana, South Carolina, or Maine. 
According to the statistics of 1880. 
the latest attainable, Irelaud produced 
that year 4,000,000 bushels of wheat; 
8,000,000 bushels of barley ; 70,000,000 
bushels of oats; 110,000.000 bushels of 
potatoes—within 00,000.000 of the entire 
product of the United States for the same 
year. She also produced 185,000,000 
bushels of turnips; 60,000,00 pounds of 
flax and £50,000.000 cabbages, besides 
3,800,000 tons of hay. and avast aggre¬ 
gate quantity of fruit and garden truck. 
She had over 4.000,000 cattle, 3,500,000 
sheep, 560,000 horses and 210,000 asses 
and mules. In that year she exported to 
England 700,000 cattle; over that num¬ 
ber of sheep and nearly a millftn swine. 
What a marvelously rich laud I But the 
people, how wretchedly poor! 
* • • — 
COUNTRY GRAVE-YARDS. 
In a single verse Whittier has well de¬ 
scribed the old-fashioned country church¬ 
yard : 
“A wliwjlnir wall of mossy stone 
Kroet flung and broken, lines 
A lonesome aero thinly crown 
WJtli grass and wandering vines.” 
Who has not seen these dreary, dismal 
places? The grass grows out over the 
walks; blackberry vines climb over the 
graves; a few bushes lean over the wall. 
Through the broken gate the sheep come 
at will. A few wild flowers struggle 
through the tall grass as through ashamed 
to show themselves to the sun. Now and 
then some mourner cuts the grass from a 
few graves, or some member of the dis¬ 
trict, takes the contract for mowing the 
whole yard for the sake of the hay* 
Careless feet go tramping over the graves, 
the frost throws the grave-stones out of 
line and the moss creeps over the letters. 
It seems as though our ancestors wished 
to make death appear as dismal and hor¬ 
rible as possible, There is no reason why 
this feeling should continue. Flowers, 
trees, shrubs and clean-kept graves add 
much to the beauty of the grave-yard, 
and take nothing from the saeredness of 
the place. In fact they add to it; their 
beauty gives a feeling of rest to the mind, 
a thought that onr friends are resting in 
peace. Decoration Day has done much to 
improve our country grave-yards. The 
graves of the soldiers are always trimmed 
and beautified, and the crowds that an¬ 
nually come to witness the ceremony have 
taught the owners of grave lots a certain 
pride. The grave-yard should lose its 
old look of horror and repugnance. Each 
neighborhood should combine to take 
measures for beautifying the place. We 
do not believe in erecting costly monu¬ 
ments to the memory of the dead, but we 
believe the harsh and ugly features that 
so often characterize their resting places 
should be removed. 
A GREAT HORSE SHOW. 
The American Percheron Horse-Breed¬ 
ers’ Association intends to have a grand 
exhibition of Percheron horses in connec¬ 
tion with the Illinois State Fair to he 
held at Chicago from September 6 to 11. 
Premiums amounting to $5,700 in money, 
aud a large number of gold, silver and 
bronze medals will be offered. The jury 
of awards, always the most important 
feature of such exhibitions, as the accom¬ 
plishment of the objects for which they 
are held must depend on their compe¬ 
tency and fairness, will consist of three 
members, one to be appointed by the 
Minister of Agriculture of France, one by 
the Commissioner of Agriculture of the 
United States, and one by the Minister of 
Agriculture of Canada. Ample provision 
seems therefore to have been made to 
secure the best men for this responsible 
position. All pure-bred animals entered 
for competition must be recorded in the 
Percheron Stud Book of America. Is it 
intended by this provision to shut out the 
large numbers of excellent animals of the 
same race recorded in the Norman Stud 
Book? If so, the public at large will not 
be able to derive the best and widest in¬ 
formation from the show, however satis¬ 
factory it may be to the importers and 
breeders of French draft horses, who form 
the American Percheron Horse-Breeders’ 
Association. A part from this, however, 
great care and foresight mark the rules 
made to govern the exhibition, and we 
predict a very large, interesting and in¬ 
structive show of this magnificent race of 
draft horses. Wc trust, however, that 
before the opening of the exhibition, the 
breeders of “Percheron” aud “Norman” 
horses, really the same race, will have 
amicably ad justed their differences so that 
all may exhibit their best stock under the 
same name, and have them recorded in 
the same Stud Book. A similar agree¬ 
ment has been found economical and in 
every way advantageous by breeders of 
cattle, as in the case of Holstein-Friesians; 
and of swine, as in the case of Duroe- 
Jerseys: and a like harmony in the case 
of French draft horses would he better 
for the breeders, and more satisfactory to 
the public than the present discord. 
♦ - 
THE FARM BREED. 
Is the best farm cow contained in the 
ranks of any of the present breeds of cat¬ 
tle? Many farmers are asking themselves 
this question. Breeders who desire to sell 
stock for breeding purposes, thus securing 
a price beyond what animals would bring 
at the block, or milk into the pail, are 
quick to answer “yes.” Farmers who 
have no desire to sell breeding stock are 
by no means certain. There is no use in 
denying the fact that farmers with small 
herds of cattle, are still inclined to hunt 
for that much desired animal the “gener¬ 
al-purpose cow.” The tendency is to breed 
for special purposes, and no pure-bred an¬ 
imal can ever completely fill the place of 
a “jack of all trades.” No breeder, how¬ 
ever skillful, can put beef on the Jersey 
and retain the little cow’s wonderful but¬ 
ter record, and there will always be “a 
great gulf fixed” between excessive milk 
production and excessive beef production. 
Can the desired result be more nearly ob¬ 
tained through high grades or cross-bred 
animals? For all practical purposes a 
good high-grade Jersey is as valuable as 
the average thoroughbred. Her price will 
be measured solely by the number of pounds 
of butter she can make, and for men who 
have no desire to speculate in pedigrees 
or sell breeding stock, this basis will be 
satisfactory enough. Cross-breeding is 
being more generally practiced than ever 
before. There are several herds in the 
country, in which this practice has been 
followed systematically, where the charac¬ 
teristics of what may be called a new 
breed have been developed. The off¬ 
spring of a Jersey bull and a grade 
Short-horn cow has given excellent results 
in manv instances, while calves from a 
Holland bull out of grade Devon or 
Short-horn cows are reported excellent for 
cheese dairies. The farmer who will 
drive his cows by a thoroughbred bull for 
the purpose of patronizing a scrub at a 
small price is foolish, but he is tar from 
wise to buy thoroughbred cows, unless he 
can afford extra time for rearing, adver¬ 
tising and selling lus calves. If he wants 
a “general-purpose” cow, he will be apt 
to find the best animal for lus purpose in 
the off-spring of a thoroughbred bull of 
one of the dairy breeds, and a high-grade 
beef cow. The “general-purpose” cow 
may be known as the “farm breed” as 
distinct from the Jersey, Devon and the 
others. Bearing in mind the fact that 
each of the pure breeds represents certain 
fixed characteristics, a farmer can, at a 
small cost, develop a herd best suited to 
his farm. 
THE RURAL’S NOTES ON LATTER-DAY 
STRAWBERRIES. 
Prince ok Berries does not ripen 
evenly, and, though of good quality, will 
not be the berry for the million. Parry, 
its child, is earlier, larger, ripens more 
evenly, and is more prolific, though not 
so good in quality. Parker Earle, though 
the foliage is variegated, bears large ber¬ 
ries and many of them. It is firm and of 
good quality.* Lida, offered this Spring 
at the modest price of $1 each plant, is a 
rich, dark crimson in color, of fine shape, 
ovate-conical, generally pointed at the tip. 
It is of fair quality, ft is a berry of some 
promise, if we may judge from spring-set 
plants. Jewell, wlint shall we say of this? 
Tn size of berry, in evenness of ripening, 
in keeping up the size during the season, 
in shape, in productiveness, in vigor of 
plant, it is all that c^ild be desired. 
Could we add to its quality and a trifle to 
its firmness, it would be perfect. May 
King disappoints us as to earliness. But 
the plants are vigorous and productive, 
the berry of good quality, shapely and 
firm. It resembles the Crescent, but is 
larger. The Henderson is, at the Rural 
Grounds, a disappointment. The plants 
are variable, some being quite strong, 
others feeble. They arc not, at all events, 
productive as grown with us. The berries 
mature as if protesting against ill-treat¬ 
ment, being variable in size and shape. 
But the quality is superb—in fact it is the 
best berry for one of its size that we know 
of. Were we to grow seedlings with the 
view of producing a perfect berry, we 
should strike for the quality of the Hen¬ 
derson combined with the other merits of 
the Jewell. 
Bonanza is unique. Of all harlequin¬ 
shaped berries, this takes the prize. The 
plants are marvels of vigor, the berries 
often of remarkable size, but no two 
alike, exccqit ns to a swan-like nock, a 
characteristic of all* The berries are fur¬ 
rowed, eoxeombea, winged, upside-down, 
wrinkled, round, square, parallelogra- 
matic, rhomboidal, and every other shape 
we have ever seen in a strawberry, except 
a regular heart-shape. The plants are 
quite fruitful, the berries of good quality 
but generally hollow and mushy in the 
middle. Iron-clad is this year the earli¬ 
est berry we have. The plants are thrifty 
and healthy. The berries are of medium 
size, about the shape of Crescent., firm 
and of good quality. "We know of no 
better berry that is as early. Amateur is 
a variety with pronounced virtues and 
pronounced failings. The quality is bet¬ 
ter than that of Jewell. It is almost as 
productive, but the berries average small¬ 
er and softer. The plants are as vigor¬ 
ous as need be, but the leaves so o’ertop 
the berries, borne on slender peduncles, 
that the berries ripen, as it were, in a 
dense shade. The foliage of Connecticut 
Queen burns—the berries shrivel. Vine- 
land Seedling is of little promise. Won¬ 
derful is of fair quality, medium-early, 
bright red, quite firm, variable in shape 
and size. Plants vigorous, but not re¬ 
markably productive. Queen of the 
Peninsula bears rather small berries, and 
is not worthy of introduction. Dimondale, 
also, had better be confined to the origi¬ 
nator’s grounds. Gardener’s Colossal 
seems worthy of future trial. The ber¬ 
ries are of fine shape, firm and good. 
Bubach No. 5 is promising. The berries 
average very large, bright red in color, 
variable in shape, firm and of fair quality. 
Iroquois we must not speak of yet. Bom¬ 
ba resembles Lida, but is not so pro¬ 
lific. Later in the season we shall again 
refer to the above berries, and to many 
others being tried this season for the first. 
Illustrations will accompany the best of 
them. 
BREVITIES. 
Thin out the fruit. If we would have large, 
flue fruit, a certain proportion of leaves to 
fruit must, be established. It seemsa waste to 
cut off a dozen bunches of grain's upon a sin¬ 
gle cane; a waste to destroy six young apples 
where there are but. niue Still n green plant 
ean do only so much work. Take your choice 
between an abundance of inferior fruit or less 
of the best quality. 
Pp 'ktno them off or shaking them into a 
pail of kerosened water is the advice given by 
horticultural journals to destroy the dreaded 
rose bug. Our use of pyrethrum powder in 
water, sprayed through a little hand-pump, 
with a rubber hose ending inn cyclone nozzle, 
was quits' successful last year, and we shall 
try it again this. After receiving the spray, 
tha bugs drop to the ground in live minutes. 
We use about two tabloBpoOnfuls of I lie pow¬ 
der (first wet with alcohol) to two gallons of 
water. 
O.nk plot at the Rural Grounds is now es- 
jiecially attractive to all—a plot of roses, con¬ 
sisting of about 100 different kinds. Until 
last year we had avoided the cultivation of 
roses, knowing that they require care to rid 
them of insects and that they must, be made a 
distinct study if one would write about them 
discriiiurmtlngly. But we are involved now 
and do not regret it. As we see the incompar¬ 
able buds of the Hybrid Remontant* unfold¬ 
ing, followed by tho ever-blooming kinds, we 
exclaim again and again, “The rose In queen!” 
Uncouth, illiterate Senator Sbeard, of Cal¬ 
ifornia, “Uncle George” of the “bhoys,” who 
has been lifted into the United States Senate, 
not, by his merits, but hv his millions, is bit¬ 
terly opposed to the oleomargarine bill, and 
says, “The bill cannot, puss. T shall vote 
against it.” Had not tills boorish miner and 
prospector had the luck to strike a bonanza, 
be could not be elected a San Francisco aider- 
man: yet his millions now give him power 
to injure one of the greatest industries in 
the country by giviug him a vote m the high 
e.st legislative body in the Nation. This is 
the genius who, in eulogizing the late Senator 
Miller of California, (Nipped the climax of 
panegyric aud startled his fellow senators, by 
declaring that bo knew the dead Senator had 
at one time an opportunity of dishonestly 
making $100,000, and he didn’t make it! 
Midas in the Senate legislat ing for the Nation, 
and unable to conceal his assiuine trouble 1 
