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THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
A. National Journal for Country and Suburban Homea 
Conducted by 
ELBERT B. CARMAN. 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
No. 34 Park Row, New York. 
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1SS6. 
We all of us kuow, or think we know, 
the effect of gormandizing on human be¬ 
ings. But we seem to take it for granted 
that the cow may be stuffed without any 
ill effects. A few generations will tell a 
different story. 
In Broadway fruit houses the Niagara 
Grape is selling for 75 cents a basket 
weighing three pounds. They are fine 
bunches with the bloom well preserved, as 
if they had been grown in bags. We 
guess the Niagara is a success. 
■ ■ 
We shall be pleased to send the Novem¬ 
ber 20 number of the 11. N.-Y. to any list 
of names with which our readers may 
furnish us. We trust that our readers 
and friends will interest themselves in 
forming clubs of five or over, thus secur¬ 
ing the club rate of $1.50 for each sub¬ 
scriber from now until the end of 1887. 
Yery soon we shall please our readers 
by a series of articles under the caption of 
“Bucephalus Brown’s Notions and 
Ideas.” They will appear monthly, or 
oftener, during the rest of the year, and 
during 1887. The author, whose real 
name will not appear—not until the end 
of the series, at least—is one of the most 
talented practical farm writers in America. 
The Giant Pera Cucumber was tried 
at the Rural Grounds during the past 
season. The cucumber in form is much 
as represented in the engravings, few- 
seeded and tender-fleshed. The vines, 
however, were less rugged and productive 
than better known varieties. Nichol’s 
Medium Green Cucumber is the best vari¬ 
ety for pickles we know of. They are 
uniform in shape and size and the vines 
are very productive. 
No one can doubt the efficacy of night 
soil as a fertilizer. In its raw state it is 
too offensive to be used, whatever its 
value. Its effect is immediate and its 
valuable properties are soon wasted unless 
carefully applied. It is far more agree¬ 
able and economical to apply it in the 
form of a compost. The compost can be 
prepared in the closet, by using light 
water-tight boxes or buckets and plenty 
of sand or dust. It is sensible, business¬ 
like farming to close up the old vaults 
and make compost of the contents. 
Two specimens of the Fastigiate Oak 
were planted in the Rural Grounds about 
10 years ago. The third year one was 
killed during the Winter. The other has 
never been harmed and is now 30 feet 
high, though scarcely more than six feet 
in diameter. In its way it is a first-rate 
tree. It holds its leaves fresh and green 
long after the leaves of most other trees 
have changed in color or fallen. For 
narrower portions of the lawn w lie re paths 
or roads converge and there is little space 
for trees, the Fastigiate Oak is just the 
thing. It is a variety of the European 
Evergreen Oak. 
--■»» • 
As the result of the past season’s work 
in still further crossing wheat and rye, 
we may report as follows: There are now 
growing from one cross of rye upon half 
wheat and half rye heads, eight plants 
which are therefore by parentage three- 
quarters rye; from another cross of the 
same, one plant; from another cross of 
the same, one plant; from another cross 
three plants half wheat and half rye, from 
another five plants which are seven- 
eighths rye: from another five plants 
which are also seven-eighths rye. These 
hybrid seeds are ‘always shriveled and 
small, and the plants are for the most 
part small-leaved and delicate. The seeds 
were planted September 23. 
One of our neighbors was successful 
last year in keeping celery until Spring in 
this'way: He dug a pit wide enough for 
three rows of celery and nearly as deep as 
the hight of the plants. Then, instead of 
covering the tops with litter, old shutters 
were placed on either side, forming a 
peaked roof, the angle being about 45°. 
This gives a considerable air space within 
the roof, so that the leaves remain green 
and the plants do not begin to rot so soon 
as when the leaves come in contact with 
the straw or whatever material is used to 
protect them from frost. As the weather 
grows colder, litter is piled over the shut¬ 
ters. The pit is opened at one end as 
needed, and the shutters are removed as 
the celery is taken out. 
-♦ » » ■ -- 
TnE views of the Knights of Labor on 
the race question will make both friends 
and enemies. The idea that the colored 
laborers at the South should be educated, 
taught the real value of their labor, and 
upheld in an effort to obtain this value, 
will be considered doubly just by all who 
have never seen the negro exactly as he is. 
The great majority of people in this coun¬ 
try who firmly believe that “a man's a 
man for a’ that!” will applaud the ac¬ 
tion of the Knights in grappling with a 
vital question. The Southern members 
of the K. of L. and the property owners 
at the South will not look upon the mat¬ 
ter so kindly. The country is sure to find 
some day that the proper educating and 
training of its mental paupers, both black 
and white, is the greatest problem'of the 
day. We have no place in this country 
for ignorance or stunted manhood. 
We examined a horse last week, that 
came as near our ideal of the perfect farm 
horse as we have seen. Broad and strong, 
gentle and kind, of good color, a willing 
worker, a fair roadster and with far more 
than the usual equine intelligence. The 
first reason her owner gave for her excel¬ 
lence was: “It cost $50 to sire her.” 
There is a good deal in that remark. If 
you will think it over you will find that 
every first-class horse that you know of 
cost more money than the common horse. 
A $50 colt is a $50 colt, and a five dollar 
colt is a five dollar colt, every time. Back 
iu the pedigree of every first-class animal 
will be found a good-sized service fee. 
We do not wish to be understood as say¬ 
ing that by simply paying a large service 
fee a farmer may consider himself sure to 
secure a good colt. We do mean that the 
service of a first-class, shapely, well-bred 
animal is worth ten times as much as that 
of a scrub. There i9 no law of nature 
that can enable scrubs to produce any¬ 
thing but scrubs. 
Mn. J. T. Lovett, whose statements in 
such things we have always found trust¬ 
worthy, says, in his fall catalogue, that 
he fears the Earhart Everbearing Raspber¬ 
ry will prove identical with the old Ohio 
Everbearing. This surprises us not a lit¬ 
tle. The writer is not familiar with the 
Ohio except from hearsay, and we have 
presumed that its “everbearing” power 
was confined to the production of a mod¬ 
erate crop in the Autumn. But the Ear- 
hart at the Rural Grounds bore during 
the entire season. Its first crop was abun¬ 
dant and its later crops scarcely less abun¬ 
dant. If this is the old Ohio Everbearing, 
then we are left to wonder why this old 
variety is not found in every garden in¬ 
stead of having fallen into desuetude* be¬ 
cause its first crop was less valuable than 
that of other blackcaps, while its second 
or fall crop did not amount to much. We 
are naturally exercised over this question, 
if question it is, since we have commend¬ 
ed it to our readers as a new variety of 
high promise, and many of them no doubt 
have, been induced to purchase it at a 
price much higher than that they would 
have been obliged to pay for the Ohio, 
which probably they would not have cared 
to purchase at any price. 
NOTICE. 
The 'ITianksgiving Number of the Ru¬ 
ral New-Yorker will be dated Novem¬ 
ber 20th. It will present a full account of 
the Rural’s next Seed Distribution, and 
we shall issue 24 pages. Advertising rates 
will be the same as usual for the regular 
paper (30 cents per line) and 50 cents per 
line for the Supplement, which will be sent 
out from its date until next .Tune. Adver¬ 
twing spare strictly limited to six columns. 
-»»• — 
PRICES OP WHEAT. 
Last Monday wheat at Chicago was 
69% cents a bushel—the lowest price for 
24 years except in December, 1884. when 
it was down to 09% cents. On a back¬ 
ward examination of market figures, we 
see that wheat was not so low since May, 
1862, when it sold at Chicago for 66 cents. 
In the previous January tlic price was 65 
cents, and in 1861 it was at one time 55 
cents. In 1872 the lowest and highest 
prices were $1.01, and $1.61, and in 1877 
they were nearly the same. In the inter¬ 
vening years the bottom prices ranged be¬ 
tween 80 and 90 cents. In 1878 the price 
was considered very low at 80 cents; but 
owing to the enormous crop of 1884 (512,- 
000,000 bushels) wheat at Chicago went 
down to 69% cents, the range being from 
that to 96% cents: and in 1885 it was 
from 72% to 91%. Last year the crop was 
only 357,000,000 bushels, but the large 
surplus carried over from the previous 
year and heavy foreign crops lessening 
the export demand, kept down prices. 
The latest report of the Department of 
Agriculture indicates a crop of about 
457,000,000 bushels this year—over 10.- 
000,000 bushels more than was indicated 
by the previous report. This unexpectedly 
large crop, together with a heavy decline 
in demand for export, lias knocked down 
the prices of wheat everywhere in spite of 
the threatening aspect of European poli¬ 
tics. Should war break out across the 
Atlantic—and all indications are very war¬ 
like just now—prices of wheat here would 
at once jump up, as the foreign demand 
would immediately increase owing to the 
partial suspension of agricultural opera¬ 
tions, the probable destruction of many 
crops and the greater consumption of ce¬ 
reals inseparable from the movements of 
vast armies in belligerent countries. 
During July and August the foreign 
demand was lively, as we exported 27,- 
000,000 bushels of wheat, including flour, 
against 12,000,000 in the corresponding 
months last year. These large receipts 
abroad, and the heavv deliveries in our 
home markets, induced foreigners to sus¬ 
pend buvingin a falling market, although 
it ; s admitted that, Europe will need an 
unusually large supply of wheat from 
abroad before next harvest, so that, war 
or no war, the export movement is likely 
to he soon resumed. Is wheat at 70 cents 
at Chicago profitable when the average 
yield is only about 12 bushels per acre, 
and a large proportion of the area under 
it must, therefore, yield considerably 
less? Prices will probably go up ticfore 
long with the resumption of a brisk ex¬ 
port demand, but “dollar wheat” in Chi¬ 
cago, is probably a blessing of the irre¬ 
vocable past. 
A CAUTION NEEDED. 
That advertisement of vast estates in 
the moon is still appealing to public gulli¬ 
bility in the columns of some excellent 
papers. A few days ago we were pained 
to see it the most conspicuous display in 
the last, issue of an esteemed agricultural 
contemporary in this State. Before that, 
it seemed to find place only in the weekly 
“agricultural” issues of the non-agricul- 
tural journals. From the large number of 
inquiries we have lately received with re¬ 
gard to it, it is very evident that it has 
been widely read by the farming commu¬ 
nity. and from the anxious tone of some 
of them there is no doubt that the writers 
are disposed to put faith in the tangible 
existence of the mythical fortunes it tells 
about. And why shouldn’t they? The 
conductors of the papers in which it lias 
appeared are intelligent, well educated, 
wide awake men. and, of course, they 
must have thought the statements it con¬ 
tained trustworthy, otherwise as honora¬ 
ble gentlemen they could not have admit¬ 
ted it into their columns to beguile their 
patrons It cannot, of course, be for a 
moment supposed that any financial con¬ 
sideration blurred their perception of its 
character. 
Manv of the papers that have publish¬ 
ed it, however, have from time to time 
also published the exposures of the unsub¬ 
stantial nature of the estates it speaks of, 
as made bv the United States Ministers in 
England, Holland and Germany, through 
the State Department, But what publish¬ 
er reads his own paper, or can remember 
all it speaks of—in business hours, at any 
rate? Then, again, who is free from mis¬ 
takes? Do not deceitful advertisements 
occasionally creep into even the most care¬ 
fully conducted papers? 
True, these are generally small, incon¬ 
spicuous items, as more pains are gener¬ 
ally taken to investigate the character of 
lengthy advertisements demanding extra 
display; hut the fact that the advertising 
compauy is incorporated under the laws 
of this State may have misled them, al- 
• though a tyro ought to know the incor¬ 
poration of a company is in no way what¬ 
ever a proof of its trustworthiness. 
When errors of this sort are made, how¬ 
ever, by which others may lose money, it 
is certainly the duty of those committing 
them to make reparation by exposing the 
real character of the advertisements. In 
the present case the advertisers must spend 
a great deal of money for advertising, and 
must expect to 1 recover much more from 
the gullible public, so that a warning to 
the unwary is all the more needful. We 
are glad to see that other papers are seeing 
the necessity of this. The New York 
Times and the Chicago Tribune have al¬ 
ready editorially exposed the mythical na¬ 
ture of the estates. The New York Jour¬ 
nal of Commerce, the oldest and one of 
the most conservative commercial pa¬ 
pers in the country, has emphati¬ 
cally denounced the “enterprise.” 
It is to be hoped that other pa¬ 
pers, especially those that have published 
the advertisement, may be equally out¬ 
spoken. Agricultural papers especially 
should speak boldly on thematter, as it is 
very evident that the advertisement was 
particularly addressed to the agricultural 
community in the expectation that farm¬ 
ers are superlatively gullible, 
BREVITIES. 
A friend sends us fruits of the beautiful 
hardy vine Akebin quinata. It has never 
fruited with us and rarely fruits anywhere. 
One of the fiuest white grapes we have seen 
was sent to us by Marshall P. Wilder last 
week. It is called Miuuehaha and is a second 
cross by E. S. Rogers.of Muscat of Alexandria 
ou Massasoit. 
Buhaeh or Pyrethrum powder is every¬ 
where acknowledged as the most effec¬ 
tual of wife insecticides for the cabbage worm. 
We are glad that our early experiments witli 
this powder have proven to be of service to all 
who have used it. 
Our experience This season with Savoy Cab¬ 
bages is unfavorable to planting (hem in large 
quantities either for home use or market. A 
large proportion do not, head well. Tn quality 
they are richer than the plaiu-leaved kinds 
that is, more oily—but not so tender. 
At the Danbury Fair Mr. Theron E. Platt 
exhibited specimens of the Stray Beauty Po¬ 
tato aud Bliss’s Triumph as raised by him 
Thev seemed exactly alike, and Mr. Platt 
thinks they are identical and savs they have 
the same peculiar habits of growth. 
Mr. Bruggerhoff. of Thorbum & Co., fa¬ 
vors us with a few burrs of his .Taiwan Chest¬ 
nut to show that the nuts are much smaller 
than usual. They are about twice the size of 
the average American chestnuts, which, in the 
vicinity of (he Rural Grounds at least, are 
also much smaller than usual. Mr. B. may be 
considered the introducer of the Japan Chest¬ 
nut to this country. 
Dr. T. H. Hosktnk, of Vermont, writes us, 
under date of October 9. as follows: “I have 
just finished the gathering of my apples, a 
most toilsome job. as help that know anything 
about handling fruit are utterly unobtainable 
hero. This is a point In orchard pioneering 
that did not occur to me in advance, and my 
orchard lias become a terror to me. I have 
nearly 2,000 bushels on an orchard that in full 
bearing is capable of yielding more than as 
many barrels, and don’t know* how I am ever 
going to handle (hem. But perhaps vou will 
say ‘sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” 
True great success of the'Bav State Agricul¬ 
tural Society’s Fair at Boston last week is an 
Instinctive lesson to fair managers elsewhere. 
The new organization attracted some of the 
best farmers in the State, who were deter¬ 
mined to dispense with horse racing, gam¬ 
bling. beer nnd'liquor guzzling, and the numer¬ 
ous other disreputable attractions from which 
shamefn! profit is sought at. too many mis¬ 
called agricultural fairs. The Society has made 
a brilliant success from the start, having cleared 
about $10,000 and enjoyed the satisfaction of 
having given sterling value for his entrance 
fee to every visitor at the fair. 
The habit, on the part of a class of women, 
of carrying lap dogs is increasing A more 
senseless occupation for American women 
can hardly be imagined. Old Plutarch, cen¬ 
turies ago, wrote: “One day. in Rome, Caesar, 
seeing some rich foreigners nursing and pet¬ 
ting young lap-dogs und monkeys, inquired 
whether in their parts of the world the women 
boro no children—a truly iuuierial reproof to 
those who waste on animals the affection they 
should bestow on mankind.” Women who 
carry these foolish dog babies about are apt to 
bo those who would pass a crying child with 
contempt. 
A telegram from Walla Walla. Oregon, 
on Thursday, says that, a drove of 40,000 head 
of cattle from Northern Montana to British 
Columbia, had to be abandoned when nearirg 
the British line, owing to the unusually dry 
season which had shriveled the grass and 
dried up the springs. The poor beasts had 
been reduced to skin and bone from hunger and 
fatigue, nmnv had already died, and not over 
200 of the 40,000 are exported to be alive next 
Spring. They belong to a St. Louis syndicate 
which will lose $250,000. Is your sympathy 
with the cattle or the syndicate? In any sys¬ 
tem of herding which causes such untold suf¬ 
fering to poor, dumb brutes, retribution on 
those engaged iu it uppears just and provi¬ 
dential. 
The great strike at the stock yards at Chi¬ 
cago. which has hitherto been confined to the 
establishments where hogs were slaughtered, 
is certain to extend to the dressed beef trade 
as well. Of hog products there is a vast 
quantity on band, so that although the prices 
may bo raised a litt le, there is no danger of 
scarcity for weeks: but the stock of dressed 
beef is small, and consumption follows so 
closely on production that, a stoppage for a 
few days will seriously interfere with the beef 
supply of Eastern cities, which now receive a 
large share of what they need from Chicago. 
This may temporarily put up the price of heef 
stock in the East, and farmers should take 
advantage of any such rise to market their 
cattle. In the vast territory tributary to 
Chicago hogs and cattle should by all means 
be kept back or r sent to 'other markets until 
the trouble is settled, for prices are certain to 
be unprofitable in on^overstocked.uuirket. 
