THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
A National Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Conducted by 
ELBERT S. CARMAN. 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
No. 34 Park Row, New York. 
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 25, 1886. 
Index Number of the R. N.-Y.—the 
last of 1886. 
NOTICE. 
All subscribers who desire the Rural’s 
Seed Distribution must apply for it. 
Hitherto we have not required those who 
subscribe for the Rural in connection 
with other papers to make an application. 
This has caused confusion. It is only 
necessary to say “Send seeds.” 
The Hon. Marshall Pinckney Wilder, 
the venerable President of the American 
Pomological Society, died suddenly at 
his home near Boston last Thursday after¬ 
noon in his 89th year. Few men were so 
honored aud beloved in the community in 
which he lived, or so highly esteemed in 
the country at large; aud there are few 
whose death will be so widely regretted. 
Many departments and all illustrations 
are omitted from this number to make 
space for the index, which will be found 
not to have been slighted in any way. 
One of the most forcible sketches we 
have ever seen illustrative of the going 
out of the old year and the coming in of 
the new will appear on the first page of 
next week’s R. N.-Y. 
Any of our readers who desire to order 
other journals in connection with the R. 
N.-Y. are referred to our clubbing list on 
page 777. Our subscription department 
is well equipped and we promise prompt 
aud careful attention to all orders. 
TnE Rural next week will be printed 
upon the heavy machine-calendered paper, 
and our readers will have the opportunity 
of comparing it with the super-calendered 
upon which the Rural lias been printed 
for several weeks past. We shall be 
pleased to learn which they prefer. 
It is probable that many of our new 
subsciibers have uot seen the Rural New- 
Yorker's Premium-list, account of its 
present Seed Distribution, posters, etc. 
All will be forwarded promptly to appli¬ 
cants. We are pleased at all times to send 
specimen copies as required, to all who 
desire to aid in enlarging the Rural’s 
circulation for 1887. 
Our friend, Mr. .7. 8. Woodward, has 
begun to propagate one or the Rural’s 
cross-bred wheats for distribution among 
our readers. It is quite a problem with 
us how to raise these wheats in sufficient 
quantity for this purpose since we have at 
least, couuting the rye-wheat hybrids, 
over 50 well-marked varieties, with prob¬ 
ably many more to come from later hy¬ 
bridizations. Mr. Woodward thinks the 
variety above referred to the most promis¬ 
ing wheat he has ever raised. 
Tire series of articles by Joseph Harris, 
reviewing the experiments of Lawes and 
Gilbert will be complete m themselves; 
nevertheless,they will be progressive, and 
each one will have a certain dependence 
on the others, making it desirable that 
readers should study even/ one , if they 
would avail themselves of the full meas¬ 
ure of instruction which this most valua¬ 
ble series may impart. The regular 'series 
will begin in the third number of the R. 
N.-Y. (Jan. 15.). The first article by 
Joseph Harris (not of the above series) 
will appear in our next number—the first 
of the New Year, ft will tell why it has 
been necessary to use so much farm man¬ 
ure to produce maximum crops, aud show 
how with less manure larger crops may be 
raised. 
Langshans. —It is never well to jura]) 
at conclusions. We sometimes think it is 
not well to chronicle things as they are or 
seem to be, for our statements are often 
copied by our contemporaries as positive, 
ultimate facts. The latest occurrence of 
©EC Si 
this kind is what we said of our Worden 
Grape. We have now again to speak of 
our Langslian fowls, the latest of the many 
breeds tried at the Rural Grounds. Rut 
we. speak of them as they are . not as they 
may be. Hatched out May 21st, they are 
now fully as large as Brahmas of the same 
ago—fully as long and thick-legged and 
fully as long-necked. They are the light¬ 
est in weight of any fowls we have ever 
raised of their age and size. The pullets 
have not as yet layed, and we guess they 
will defer this business until next Spring. 
But they do excel any other fowls in bril¬ 
liancy of plumage. We should think that 
it would pay to raise them for their feath¬ 
ers, winch might be sold for ladies’ hats 
instead of those of the song birds now 
slaughtered for that purpose. Thus far 
we should prefer cither the Cochins or 
Brahmas to the Langshans either for eggs 
or meat. _ 
“Geobgeism.” —The most noticeable 
thing we observed during a recent “dis¬ 
cussion of the land theories of Henry 
George,” was the evident inability of most 
of the speakers to understand what they 
were talking about. We notice this pe¬ 
culiarity in about all students of Henry 
George’s works. Their vocabulary is 
largely increased, but not one in ten can 
state plainly and fairly, in a few words, 
what the new theory is and what its ulti¬ 
mate effects would’ be. “Georgeism” is 
the best name we have yet heard for the 
theory. Too much of it is still locked up in 
the.ponderous brain of its author. However 
it may speak to the fair-minded and hon¬ 
est poor, aud all who recognize the fact 
that there are defects in the present social 
system, it will always be enthusiastically 
indorsed by the lazy and the vicious. The 
idea of taking wealth away from one class 
and putting it into the hands of another 
will always find favor with those who dis¬ 
like to work or dislike to save. 
The Washington Seed Humbug.— 
We are advised by several who are famil¬ 
iar with the inside doings of Government 
matters at Washington, not to oppose the 
seed business. “You will merely waste 
time anti words,” they say. “The seed 
business is popular among Congressmen 
and the tendency is not only to continue 
but to enlarge it. They view it as an 
easy method of showing consideration to 
farmers and of thus gaining popularity 
among them.” Well, if popularity among 
farmers is to be purchased in this way, 
the best course for us to pursue is to 
smother our individual mortification 
thereat, and let the matter drop. But we 
do not believe it. There may be farmers 
who believe that the Washington seed 
distribution is maintained for their bene¬ 
fit, and who do not know that even 
though the best of seeds were sent out, 
they cost the country a hundred times 
more than they are worth. Such farmers, 
when undeceived, will, with the better- 
informed class, show their Congressmen 
that they had better take a rather differ¬ 
ent view of what will increase their popu¬ 
larity among their farmer constituents. 
Within the last twenty years the aver¬ 
age auuual production of grain to each 
inhabitant of this country has increased 
from 32K to 521/ bushels; while at the 
same time the cost of transportation from 
Chicago to New York lias decreased from 
3,45 Cents to .68 of a cent per ton per 
mile. Thus the Western farmers, in spite 
of their distance from market, have been 
able to make a profit on their superabund¬ 
ant products, while Eastern consumers have 
been benefited to a remarkale extent by 
the cheapening of all staple articles of 
subsistence. Eastern farmers, however, 
can hardly took upon this condition of 
affairs as an unmixed blessing, as it brings 
the products of the cheap, virgin lands of 
the West into too close competition with 
those of the dear, partly exhausted farms 
of the East. Although the American la¬ 
borer’s food is better and more liberal 
than that of any other workingman on the 
globe, the average cost of it in the East¬ 
ern States is only 25 cents a day. and this 
is considered a fair estimate for the rest of 
the country also. When we consider that 
only 302.500 of our 3,500,000 square 
miles of land are used to raise food, there 
is no grave reason why the American peo¬ 
ple should fear starvation—in the near 
future at any rate. 
Fighting Contagious pleuro-pneltmo- 
nia.—T he bill now being prepared by Con¬ 
gressmen aud representatives of the. cat¬ 
tle growers’ association for the eradica¬ 
tion of contagious pleuro-pneumouia and 
similar diseases among cattle,provides for 
the appointment by the President of a 
Commission of three men of good execu¬ 
tive ability, whose functions aud pay are 
to be suspended by the President when¬ 
ever the public safety will permit, and re¬ 
stored whenever he deems it necessary. 
They are to have ample powers to dis¬ 
cover, quarantine, appraise, slaughter and 
pay for diseased and exposed cattle, and 
to establish needed rules and regulations 
which are to have the force of law when 
approved by the President. Penalties arc 
imposed for obstructing the officers or 
concealing cases of the disease. They are 
to have the right to engage the best vet¬ 
erinary skill to be found, together with 
other needed assistants, and to make all 
necessary expenditures; for which an 
appropriation of $1,000,000 is asked. The 
provisions and machinery of the bill are 
reported to furnish simple aud effective, 
means, under proper legal safeguards, for 
promptly extirpating the plague which 
has already inflicted millions of dollars’ 
worth of damage on the cattle interests of 
the country, and is now threatening 
still greater losses. 
- -» » » 
A Retrograde Movement. —The Mil¬ 
waukee Chamber of Commerce protests 
against the publication of the monthly 
reports of the Department of Agriculture, 
on the ground that wdiile they “subserve 
uo useful purpose to the agricultural or 
commercial interests of the country,” 
they “enable our foreign customers to 
establish values for our crops in advance 
of the harvest, often less than the out¬ 
turn would warrant.” The Chamber, 
therefore, urges that the Department of 
Agriculture should only “report on the 
acreage as soon as it is definitely ascer¬ 
tained, and on the yield of grain and cot¬ 
ton at the end of the calendar year.” 
This is a retrograde movement which 
should not be countenanced. A discon¬ 
tinuance of the official monthly reports 
would not prevent foreigners from obtain¬ 
ing a knowledge of the condition of our 
crops ; while it would tend to increase 
the publication of untrustworthy state¬ 
ments made for the express purpose of in¬ 
fluencing prices, agaiust which the pres¬ 
ent monthly reports are a very salutary 
check. It is not so much the foreigner 
as the home speculator in options who 
takes advantage of all unfair influences 
to “establish values for our crops in ad¬ 
vance of the harvest,” and if the public 
should be deprived of the valuable service 
rendered to the legitimate industries of 
the country by these official monthly re¬ 
ports, the power of the speculator “to es¬ 
tablish values ” iu an unfair manner 
would he vastly increased. 
FOR 1887. 
As we say to our readers “ Happy New 
Year!” and “God bless you!” we would 
take the occasion to thauk them for their 
support during the year aud for the many 
kind expressions and words of apprecia¬ 
tion and encouragement with which they 
have been pleased to favor us. Without 
making any specific promises for the new 
year, we shall endeavor to do the best 
that we know how. It is better that our 
readers should judge of the Rural’s 
course in future by its past course. If we 
can not retain their support by what we 
have done, it is doubtful if any promises 
to do better will secure it. Out aim in 
the future, as it lias been in the past, will 
be to aid our readers to produce larger 
crops at a less cost; to be more successful 
in their occupation, aud, indeed, to add 
to the happiness of life, the love aud ap¬ 
preciation of home. We have little re¬ 
spect for that sort of benevolence that is 
more ready to help a stranger than a 
needy member of one’s own family. Be¬ 
nevolence should begin at home. And it 
may be doubted if there is any real happi¬ 
ness outside of home while the home is 
divided against itself. There is no other 
occupation on the face of the earth in 
which prosperity and love and harmony in 
the family circle are so closely dependent 
as in that of farming. And the farm 
paper in striving to do its highest duty 
should consider the one phase of farm life 
as well as the other. 
Our friends are respectfully reminded 
that they may materially help the Rural’s 
circulation and influence by sending an¬ 
other subscription with their own re¬ 
newal. and that for those who are willing 
to act as agents either a cash commission 
or our liberally-scaled premium-list is 
available. We are always glad to send 
specimen copies,etc., as desired,to all who 
apply* ___. 
THE HATCH BILL. 
Strenuous efforts are being made to 
push what is known as the “ natch Bill ” 
through Congress during the present 
session. The leading principle of the 
bill—that of appropriating money to be 
spent in experiments in agricultural sci¬ 
ence—cannot be too highly commended. 
We need experiment stations rightly con¬ 
ducted. This need is conceded by all 
thoughtful farmers. Does the “Hatch 
Bill ” contain any absolute guarantee that 
the money it calls for M ill be spent for 
the purpose desired ? Is it the strongest 
bill that could be presetted ? These are 
questions •which may rightfully be asked, 
before commending the bill to our read¬ 
ers. The bill calls for an annual appria- 
tion of $720,000. The proposed stations 
are to be under the control of the various 
boards which control the expenditure of 
the money obtained from the sale of pub¬ 
lic lands for the purpose of establishing 
agricultural colleges It, may be well to 
ask how this money has been spent. Over 
$10,000,000 have been applied to agricul¬ 
tural education, nearly $5,000,000 worth 
of lands remain unsold, and the various 
States have appropriated, in round fig¬ 
ures, $6,000,000 more. We believe f. at 
not over 80 per cent, of this vast sum has 
been applied as tlie original act designed 
it should be. Nearly $400,000 of the an¬ 
nual appropriation proposed by the 
“ Hatch Bill ” would go into the hands of 
the trustees of the State Universities— 
men who, as a rule, have little idea of the 
true needs of agriculture. We have, from 
time to time,urged upon Congress the ne¬ 
cessity of investigating the condition of 
the various so-called agricultural colleges 
of the country. Wo believe that an in¬ 
vestigation will prove that a large pro¬ 
portion of the money spent on agricultur¬ 
al education has been clearly misapplied. 
We cannot consistently recommond the 
advancement, of more money until a satis¬ 
factory account of what has previously 
been spent shall be given. We believe 
that any system of experiment stations 
that is to be influenced by Washington 
politicians, will cost far more than it can 
be worth. We highly appreciate the en¬ 
ergy and perseverance that have pushed 
this bill so far into public notice, but we 
believe a stronger and safer measure can 
be prepared that will more surely and 
more economically bring nbout the results 
we so much desire. 
BREVITIES. 
Nepaul or Nepal Barley. Have any of 
our readers raised it ? And, if so, how do they 
like it? 
Many readers, old and young, write to ask 
if the teacher in “The Story of a District 
School” was killed in his battle with Jack 
Brawn, and thus rendered incapable of con¬ 
tinuing his diary. The Youth’s Department 
has been crowded out for the past few weeks. 
The teacher is alive and well, however, and 
will pickup the thread’of his story in good 
time. 
The Massachusetts Horticultural Society, 
which so generously offered the sum of $500 to 
be aM-ardod in complimentary prfcses at the 
next meeting of the American Pomological 
Society in Boston, will publish a list of these 
prizes that will be opened to the whole coun- 
trv. Tbe*e. of course, are additional to the 
Wilder Medals that M ill be awarded for ob¬ 
jects of special merit as heretofore. The time 
for the meeting of the A. P. Society will soon 
be decided on. 
Mr. A. M. Purdy writes as that he has 
fruited the Concord and Worden Grapes side 
by side for 15 years aud. while there is a 
marked similarity in the bunch, berry, vine 
and leaf, yet in one respect, they greatly dif¬ 
fer. The Worden colors fully a week to 10 
days before the Concord and is good to eat ns 
soon as it, colors; while the Concord is not 
good for at least a week after coloring, thus 
making the Worden eatable at least two weeks 
before the Concord. The italics are Mr. 
Purity's. 
A Western writer iu planning the planting 
of an acre school lot suggests a roomy front— 
as a sort of reception ground and general 
plav-tield. Evergreen belts toward the back, 
inclose sheltered, suunv spaces for girls and for 
boys alone—the girls space having bays 
formed by projections from the belt for con¬ 
genial groups to play in. Needful out-build- 
ings are also screened by evergreens. There 
should bo representatives of all our most val¬ 
ued trees, and in the front of the lines of belt 
many shrubs and hardy perennial, flon'ers 
could very fitly have place. 
Tire Iowa Butter and Cheese Association 
passed a series of resolutions placing a “boy¬ 
cott” on all dealers M ho take out licenses for 
the sale of oleomargarine. There is a grim 
determination about these resolutions that 
speaks volumes, The secretary of the associ¬ 
ation is instructed to secure the mimes of all 
dealers who have taken out licenses. This 
“black list” M’ill be available for all dairymen. 
If this action is enforced the sale of oleomar¬ 
garine will be driveu into the larger towns 
and cities of IoM r a. Few eouutry grocers 
could live under such a “boycott/’ The oleo¬ 
margarine men are making a strong tight. 
Petitions for a reduction in the tax were yes¬ 
terday presented by six Senators from 
various ports of the country. They were 
referred to the Committee bn Agriculture. 
The friends of the dairy all over the country 
must, stand timily by iheir rights. The vic¬ 
tory has been only half won. No effort should 
bo spared to make the victory us complete as 
possible. The farmer who lias the least hold 
upon his Representative, should exercise his 
influence at once. Congress must know that 
the farmers of this country are opposed to dis¬ 
honest butter, and that they are thoroughly 
in earnest iu.their.fight. 
