1900 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER: 
255 
THE MAN WITH THE SHOVEL 
He does not write you poems with his pen; 
But, with a plow and Nature’s alchemy. 
That makes the gold leap up behind the share, 
He writes them in a mile of waving wheat, 
That bends and leaps and sings the whole day long; 
A song of lovely cadence in the breeze, 
A song of rosy children by the hearth, 
A song of mighty ships, that plow the main, 
A song of better races yet to be! 
That there are backs o’er-bent with hopeless toil, 
That there are foreheads narrow, seamed and low, 
That there are eyes that scarcely think to raise 
A look of hope to God’s o’er-pitying skies, 
Held down by burdens men conspire to bind— 
We grant you; but, why shall we court despair? 
Look on this giant, our good western growth, 
And better, finer than the early gods, 
As with a smile he treads the teeming earth, 
Lord of the best that life and love can bring. 
Aye, proud indeed the curl of yonder lip, 
And scornful, too, the flash of kingly eyes, 
Knowing their heritage beyond the touch 
Of emperor or Dives! His are heart, 
And health, and strength, and joy, in every vein! 
Come hither, Kings! Can ye boast any more? 
No, not so much, poor harried bones and brains! 
Man with the Sceptre, neither are you free; 
Go, stand beside your bondman with “the hoe!” 
But you, our yeoman, with a heart and brain, 
Go on with Nature down the gladsome year, 
Winning her smiles that millions never know, 
The while her kisses turn your cheeks to bronze— 
Her favorite son—while, ere the East has made 
The prairies blush along their fruitful breasts, 
You rise a^ glad as breeze or birds or sun. 
So, flanked by your good friends, the Steam and Horse, 
And cunning implements of later days, 
You drive the furrows through the fragrant soil. 
You sow the seed in happy, wholesome faith. 
Cheered by the laugh of children, song of birds, 
And when the Harvest smiles, the reaper hums; 
And yours the sheaves upon a thousand plains, 
And yours the cattle on a thousand hills; 
Then, if the flower of Human Life is best, 
The joy is yours who by your toil have made 
Two lives to grow in place of one before. 
No scheming cramper of the limbs of Trade, 
No heartless lord of other people’s lives, 
No Old-World despot with his sharpened sword 
Forever threatening another’s neck; 
But simple, honest almoner of God, 
Upbuilder, not destroyer, there he stands, 
Our nature’s gentleman, our son, 
Our noblest product of our noble land! 
And shall the men who loll in gilded halls, 
The dandy of the salon or the mall, 
Or millions who are tied to stool and desk 
Be slow to grasp the hand that sows the wheat? 
Firm as the rock-base of our snowy peaks 
Shall still abide this rock-base of our breed— 
The country blood and brain and bone and brawn— 
And God forbid, for many a century yet, 
The Harvest or the Harvester should fail! 
New Canaan, Conn. chahles h. crandall. 
GERMINATION TESTS FOR SEED. 
On page 215, under the title of Germination Tests 
for Seeds, Prof. A. J. Pieters refers to an Ohio firm 
who brand and date their seed. He says: “A simi¬ 
lar statement, covering the purity and germination 
of grasses and clovers, accompanying, say, every 
lot of one pound or more, and bearing the seal of a 
reliable station, would enable farmers to buy seed 
with a full knowledge of what it is.” I tried that 
branding and dating business, and here is the snag 
I hit. The dealer says: “I don’t want them that 
way.” He cannot always furnish fresh seed if he 
wanted to, and he knows it. If he furnished seed 
of a particular kind that was invariably good, the 
people woultl soon take nothing else. It would 
boom the other fellow, and boost him. The careful 
seedsman will take them, and then you hit another 
snag. The bulk of farm seeds are not handled by 
careful seedsmen. The farmer wishes to trade with 
a man he knows, although the seed he buys has 
passed through half a dozen hands, and all responsi¬ 
bility is lost on the route. . If the farmer bought 
any particular brand, and that was always good, 
the light would hit him, but where would the dealer 
be? The dealer who buys here and there, and just 
where he can the cheapest, is the medium it passes 
through. Here in Tennessee thousands of bushels 
of dead millet seed are sold every year, and they 
never want for a buyer at a few cents off. Those 
men don’t want branded and dated seed, not a bit 
of it, and if they took it, it would be with that 
mental reservation that means, “I will fix you,” and 
fix you they would. You would soon have a worse 
reputation than they have, as they could sell stale 
stuff for your seed. 
The careful seedsman is too careful to allow your 
seed to go out in your own sacks. If you insist 
that he return them when they are emptied (he 
will empty them at once), it is discourteous to him, 
and if you press that you make a sore. This is a 
diary of experience, not much theory about it. 
There is a premium that the farmer is entitled to 
on honest fair dealing in a great many farm seeds, 
and the man who will show him how to get it will 
benefit the human race. W. H. A. 
Thompson, Tenn. 
DEATH OF A PIONEER INVENTOR. 
Frederick Nishwitz, a man who in a quiet way con¬ 
tributed to the world’s agriculture, died at Millington, 
N. J., March 17, in the 72nd year of his age. Mr. 
Nishwitz was born in Germany, in 1829, and in 1840 
his father, with the entire family, came to this coun¬ 
try, and located on a New Jersey farm. At 15 years of 
age, he left the farm, and was apprenticed to a manu¬ 
facturer of agricultural implements. Before his term 
of apprenticeship expired, he was made a member of 
the firm, and for some years confined himself to the 
manufacture of plows and small implements. About 
1853, he brought out the Champion mower, later the 
Monitor, and then the Advance. He sold one of his 
patents on mowing machines for $90,000. This patent 
covered the uoating frame, such as is now used on all 
mowing machines. He finally purchased a large tract 
of land near his boyhood home, and commenced 
farming. He saw the crudeness and imperfections in 
implements used in preparing the soil, and perfected 
what is known as the Acme harrow, which is to-day, 
probably, one of the best-Known tools in the country. 
Strange to say, although this tool does a certain char¬ 
acteristic work in preparing the soil, no one has been 
able to perfect a machine that would do this peculiar 
work to better advantage. It is not generally known 
that Mr. Nishwitz was the inventor of the Acme, for 
the implement was put on the market in the name of 
his associate in business. Mr. Nishwitz was a man 
of strict integrity, with wonderful energy and tenacity 
of purpose, and was most liberal in his charities. The 
work he did in devising improvements on mowing 
“THE MAN WITH THE SHOVEL.” Fie. 79. 
machines and tillage tools, has proved a blessing to 
the farmers of the country. Although working in a 
quiet, modest way, he has, none the less, done his 
share in dignifying agriculture, and increasing the 
power of tne farmer. 
Events of the Week. 
DOMESTIC.—March 22, chemicals exploded in a photo¬ 
grapher’s laboratory at Philadelphia, Pa., killing one 
man, injuring six others, and causing a property loss of 
$65,000. It is supposed that the explosion resulted from 
the contact of sulphuric acid with chloride of potash. . . 
In Chesterfield County, S. C., a young white woman, 
whose mode of life is said to have offended the neighbor¬ 
hood, was taken from her home by a crowd of so-called 
“regulators” and burned to death. Four arrests were 
made March 22, and lynching is expected to follow. . . 
Andrew Carnegie and H. C. Frick have adjusted their dif¬ 
ferences and agreed to combine all their interests in one 
company, with a capital of $160,000,000. . . In Cleveland, 
O., 1,500 machinists struck March 22, demanding a nine- 
hour day. . . The explosion of a sawmill boiler at 
Muncie, Ind., March 23, killed three men and wounded 
several others. . . Tabulated statistics show an in¬ 
crease of smallpox all over the United States. For the 
week ending March 16 the increase was 1,272 cases. . . 
Three more cases of plague were reported March 21 in 
Chinatown, San Francisco. . . Three firemen were 
drowned in a New York factory March 24, being carried 
down into the flooded cellar by the collapse of a wall. 
Four others were injured. . . The Merchants’ National 
Bank of Rutland, Vt., closed its doors March 26, in conse¬ 
quence of the defalcations of the cashier; his shortage is 
said to be $145,000. . . Spreading rails wrecked a fast 
mail train near Cusetta, Ala., March 26; one man killed 
and several hurt. . . A fire at New Brunswick, N. J., 
March 28, caused a loss of $100,000. 
CONGRESS.—An amendment offered March 26 to the 
Alaskan Code bill provides that no aliens be allowed to 
locate and hold mining claims in Alaska. The week be¬ 
ginning March 26 was chiefly given to the Porto Rican 
question; the Tariff bill and Civil Government bill are 
to be considered separately. . . March 27 the House 
Committee on Commerce directed a favorable report on 
the Sherman bill, to prevent the false marking or brand¬ 
ing of food and dairy products. 
PHILIPPINES.—An uncensored lettter from Manila, 
published March 22, declares that since Jan. 1 the insur¬ 
gents have captured as much arms and ammunition as 
the Americans, the present tactics of the Filipinos being 
very effective. . . Insurgents on the Island of Leyte 
beheaded an American volunteer, who was a prisoner of 
war. . . General Otis is to be recalled, as his health is 
breaking down from overwork. It is said that most of 
the 70,000 men now in the Islands should be returned to 
the United States and replaced by others, owing to the 
effects of the climate. 
PORTO RICO.—The situation here is now more serious 
than it has been at any time since the terrible hurricane. 
In many places the poor are starving. The price of rice, 
beans and codfish has increased from 50 to 100 per cent. 
Demonstrations against the delay of the United States 
Government in settling open questions have recently been 
held at Mayaguez, Yuace, Arecibo, Aguadilla, Fajardo, 
Juana, Diaz, Guayama and many other towns. The peo¬ 
ple are unable to understand the delay, and they condemn 
all Americans indiscriminately. Bad feeling is arising 
which it will take years to overcome. Even riots are 
threatened. Trouble is almost inevitable unless the ten¬ 
sion is relieved. Even wealthy land-owners cannot com¬ 
mand ready cash, and many Americans are penniless, be¬ 
ing glad to work for their board. 
GENERAL FOREIGN NEWS.—President Kruger of the 
Transvaal issued a proclamation March 22 annexing the 
Orange Free State. The annexation was repudiated by 
President Steyn, and further friction between the two 
republics has resulted. Gen. Joubert died of stomach 
trouble at Pretoria March 27. . . The Canadian Gov¬ 
ernment has a surplus this year of $7,500,000; it will favor 
closer commercial union with Great Britain, and will in¬ 
crease the preference on British goods from 25 to 33 1-3 
per cent. Reciprocity is proposed with the British West 
Indies. . . At Sydney, N. S. W., 36 cases and 13 deaths 
are reported from bubonic plague. About 8,000 persons 
have been inoculated against the disease. -. . The 
steamer Gleneige foundered off the coast of Gippsland, 
Australia, March 25; 30 lives lost. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—March 22 the Legislative Com¬ 
mittee of the Pennsylvania State Grange appointed a 
committee to collect data for a tax bill, to be presented 
to the next Legislature. Resolutions were adopted oppos¬ 
ing any legislation which will increase the taxation on 
farms; opposing the Loud Postal bill so far as it relates 
to the publication of weekly agricultural, fraternal, re¬ 
ligious and secular newspapers, and the Ship Subsidy bill, 
and indorsing the Grout bill taxing colored oleomargarine 
10 cents a, pound. 
German imports of canned beef from Australia are 
rapidly increasing, being now 30 per cent of such imports, 
as against practically nothing in 1897. It is claimed here 
that the Australian output is better than the American, 
and is supplanting the latter. 
March 16 A. L. Twitchell, New York State Assistant 
Commissioner of Agriculture, was suspended from office 
for misappropriation of funds. The shortage in his ac¬ 
counts is said to be $2,600. His jurisdiction extended over 
a portion of western New York. 
Idaho has organized a Dairy and Pure Food Association. 
The following officers have been elected: President, Prof. 
H. T. French, Moscow; vice-president, A. E. Gipson, 
Caldwell; secretary, R. W. Sweet, Nampa; treasurer, 
John F. Groome, Caldwell. 
Gen. Amasa J. Parker, of Albany, represented the glu¬ 
cose interests of the United States before the State Sen¬ 
ate Committee on Public Health, March 21, at a hearing 
on the Stevens pure-beer bill, which provides for the 
branding as “inferior” of all beer except that made of 
pure malt, pure hops, pure corn and pure water. Gen. 
Parker said that instead of aiding the farmers this bill 
would injure them, because it would deprive them of a 
market for their corn through the closing of glucose 
works. 
A meeting was held at La Crosse, Wis., March 21, of 
egg dealers and produce men representing western Wis¬ 
consin, southern Minnesota and northern Iowa. An or¬ 
ganization was perfected, to be known as the Interstate 
Egg-Shippers’ Association, with the following officers: 
President, Don Ferguson, La Crosse; vice-president, John 
Lynard, Owatonna; secretary, W. H. Garlock, Winona; 
treasurer, W. J. Eaton, Rochester. The object of the or¬ 
ganization is to regulate prices and remove the hostilities 
now existing between merchants. 
The sixth annual convention of the New York State 
Haymakers’ Association was held at Matteawan March 
24. Delegates from all parts of the State were present. 
The annual election for State officers resulted as follows: 
State Chief Haymaker, John J. Slahide, Elmira; S. V. C. 
H., William B. Barber, Binghamton; S. C. of S., Ed¬ 
ward Boyd, New York City; S. K. of B., Thomas J. Mc¬ 
Namara, New York City; P. S. C. PI., A. C. Van Dorn; 
National representatives, Thomas Fennell, Elmira; Daniel 
Devlin, Yonkers; A. P. Corbin, R. D. Tompkins, Edward 
Boyd, New York City, and William S. Engel, Corning. 
March 27 1,500 Americans, farmers, farmers’ wives, and 
farmers’ sons and daughters passed through Chicago 
bound for the Dakota wheat belt. They came in on spec¬ 
ial trains from rented farms in Pennsylvania, Virginia, 
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan. Many will go to 
the Devil’s Lake, Turtle Mountain, and Mouse River dis¬ 
tricts of North Dakota. Fifty tourists’ sleeping cars were 
required for their conveyance, and 80 carloads of house¬ 
hold furniture accompanied them. This is the largest 
"moving party” ever engineered by the Great Northern 
Railway, and is said to be the greatest conducted by any 
road in the country._ 
Weevils and Beans.— I noticed an article in The R. 
N.-Y. on beans and the Bean weevil. Don’t you think 
that they are worse on some kinds than on others? For 
a few years, I have never been able to save seed of the 
Stringless Green-pod unless planted very late, but last 
year I saved seed of this kind, and three wax varieties. 
The weevil ruined the Green-pod, but the wax beans are 
all right at present writing. Other years I have saved 
a limited amount of seed of the Green-pod by planting 
late, but they do not bear so well when planted late. 
Four varieties of pole beans planted very late, two or 
three years ago, were also infected, or rather ruined for 
seed. j\ f. 
Stronghurst, III. 
