6i2 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER.’ 
September 8 
The Rural New-Yorker 
men specially trained for this work. The agricultural 
colleges ought to fill this want. 
THE RUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 1850. 
Herbert W. Collingwood, Editor. 
Du. Walter Van Fleet, | 
H. E. Van Deman, ^Associates. 
Mrs. E. T. Royle, ) 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04, equal to 
8s. 6d., or marks, or I0y t francs. 
ADVERTISING RATES. 
Thirty cents per agate line (14 1 nes to the inch). Yearly orders 
of 10 or more lines, and 1,000-line orders, 25 cents per line. 
Reading Notices, ending with "Adv.," 75 cents per 
count line. Absolutely One Prick Only. 
Advertisements inserted only for responsible and honorable houses 
We must have copy one week before the date of issue. 
Name and address of sender, and what the remittance is for, 
should appear in every letter. 
Remittances may be made in money order, express order, 
personal check or bank draft. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
409 Pearl Street, New York. 
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1900. 
Farmers in Jackson County, Ind., have to thank a 
team of impatient mules for the discovery of a valu¬ 
able mineral deposit. The mules were tethered under 
a tree, and in their struggles with the flies they pawed 
up a fine material, which proved to be tripoli, a pol¬ 
ishing substance worth $4 to $6 a ton. There are said 
to be but three extensive deposits of tripoli (also 
called rotten stone) in the United States. The lesson 
to be learned from this is not to leave the mules ex¬ 
posed to the flies. 
* 
The writer does not like to tell big stories, or get 
readers excited over an account of fabulous farm 
profits. It is a fact, however, that he recently picked, 
in a few minutes before breakfast, over $50 worth of 
berries in a small basket. The “berries” were seeds 
of ginseng. We had heard so much about this crop 
that we went to Mr. Stanton’s place to see it. Great 
stories are being told about the profits in ginseng cul¬ 
ture. A note of warning is needed, and we hope to 
give the facts about it within a short time. If 10 per 
cent of the farmers of this country are capable of 
growing ginseng at a profit, our estimate will be 
doubled. 
* 
An English paper devoted to the fruit trade recent¬ 
ly contained an article on “punneted fruit.” To the 
American reader, punneted fruit is a deep mystery, 
but it may be explained very simply as fruit dis¬ 
played in punnets, or wide, shallow baskets, which 
are used very largely in the English retail trade. 
Strawberries make a most attractive display in these 
baskets, quite different from the splint boxes which 
American trade conditions demand. The English 
paper referred to especially advised that small pur¬ 
chases of fruit be sold in punnets, instead of paper 
bags, for the convenience of the consumer. The sen¬ 
sible advice given was to study the wants, not of the 
exclusive few, but of the many, whose custom is the 
best in the long run. 
* 
TnE San Josd scale is being found in many new 
orchards in New York State. No use talking, this 
dangerous pest is now firmly established in eastern 
orchards. What is to be done? Shall all infested 
trees be condemned, cut down and burned? We do 
not think so yet. It seems fairly certain that careful 
spraying with crude petroleum will destroy the scale. 
We do not know yet how much of this spraying the 
trees will stand. What is known as “crude petro¬ 
leum” is not a uniform substance. It seems to vary 
considerably. We must have some standard compo¬ 
sition, and know just what we are doing. This scale 
is going to prove a terrible pest. It is a good thing 
that the wise men at the experiment stations are try¬ 
ing to learn how to head it off. 
* 
During the past few years a new class of farmers 
has rapidly appeared. They are city men who have 
bought farms and started in to develop them as they 
would a manufacturing or commercial business. Some 
of these men were born in the country; others have 
for years desired a country home. They want to 
make even a hobby self-supporting. They can put up 
the money to buy the land, stock, and tools, but they 
say that they cannot get the brains. They can find 
four capable managers of a factory where they can 
find one for a farm. That is the story we hear again 
and again. What does it mean? Are these men too 
exacting? Do they ask too much of their “farmer,” 
or is the trouble with the latter? There are two 
sides to the question, but the fact remains that some 
of these jobs offer a fine opportunity for a man who 
knows how to run a farm. There is need of a class of 
* 
Some farmers report the loss of their clover this 
season. The dry weather has killed the seeding. No 
wonder the farmer feels poor when this wonderful 
crop dies. It means fodder for the stock and life to 
the land. Many farmers feel that money cannot re¬ 
place what the clover would have supplied. We have 
found the southern cow pea a good manurial substi¬ 
tute for clover. We think it supplies to the soil all 
that clover does, except the large, deep root growth. 
The cow pea is more of a surface feeder, but in one 
short season it will supply more humus and nitrogen 
than the average clover crop. When it was evident 
that the clover had died out the land could have been 
worked up and sown to cow peas. They will make 
a large growth before frost. We do not advise north¬ 
ern farmers to cut and cure the peavines for hay, but 
they will replace the clover for manurial purposes. 
• 
It is often felt that agricultural bulletins and re¬ 
ports issued by the Government are ignored by many 
practical farmers in spite of the valuable information 
they contain. The Provincial government of Mani¬ 
toba recognizes this, and, desiring to warn farmers 
against the grasshopper plague, and to induce them 
to use preventive measures, resorted to what may be 
termed, with entire respect, circus advertising. Huge 
posters were displayed through the farming districts, 
these danger signals bearing a grasshopper grazing 
in a wheat field, with the motto beneath, “In this 
wheat bye and bye.” This ingenious device attracted 
immediate notice, and the preventive measures ad¬ 
vised have made an impression upon hundreds of 
farmers who would scarcely have looked at an or¬ 
dinary government bulletin. This poster system 
strikes us as a cheap, efficient and practical means of 
getting close to the plain people. 
* 
It seems evident that neither S. E. Payne nor J. W. 
Wadsworth can now be nominated for Governor of 
New York. The farmers were prompt to inform the 
politicians that no oleo man need apply for their 
vote. We venture to say that a few years ago these 
politicians would have felt inclined to ignore the 
farmers, and go ahead with their plans. Now they 
know better. This result ought to nerve many a 
farmer to make a more vigorous protest against the 
nomination of men who have shown their unfriendli¬ 
ness to farm interests. Many a farmer will say, “Oh 
—my influence doesn’t amount to anything—there is 
no use in my writing a letter of protest!” If all farm¬ 
ers had taken that view the politicians would surely 
have carried out their schemes. It was the prompt, 
clearly-expressed sentiment straight from the farm 
that made them hesitate. Keep up the good work. 
Let farmers show their power in defence of their own 
interests, and they will have a fairer share in that 
“prosperity” which likes the town and city too well 
to suit us. 
Discussing the imported fruit now entering Eng¬ 
land, an English trade paper says: 
We are particularly pleased to testify to the quality of 
the Canadian fruits. They are far superior to the Ameri¬ 
can, the flesh of the fruits is finer, more juicy and tooth¬ 
some, whereas a good many of the California Newtown 
apples are hard and quite different to those sent from 
Canada. This is proved indirectly by the excellent prices 
which rule for best Canadian stuff. We throw out a 
hint to the retail fruiterers and dealers in the cities and 
towns of the United Kinguom. Why not ticket these 
fruits as “Canadian?” If that were done the public 
would do its duty without hesitation, and a taste of “the 
real thing” would soon create an immense demand for 
the finest of fruits from the fair Dominion of Canada. 
It is evident that our friends north of the border 
are making strong efforts to extend their trade, and 
our fruit growers must be prepared for a certain 
amount of competition in the foreign market. It is 
more than ever necessary that the greatest care be 
exercised in handling and packing; a few careless 
shippers may ruin a good market. Our fine fruits 
need not fear any competitor as far as quality is 
concerned, though we are quite willing to acknowl¬ 
edge the excellent flavor and texture of the Cana¬ 
dian product. 
There was once a good deal said by some writers in 
favor of selling off half the farm and giving the rest 
much more thorough tillage. Such advice, taken lit • 
erally, will not apply to most farms at the present 
time, if it ever did. It is next to impossible to sell 
farm land back from the towns at any price, even 
when good buildings costing, perhaps, more than one 
offers the farm for, are already on the farm. If one 
were to offer a part of his land, without buildings, he 
would look long before finding a buyer at any price. 
One farmer in southern New York, whose farm is too 
large, says he purposes to sell off a part of it to— 
sheep. He does not purpose giving up dairying, but 
the plan is to keep fewer cows, feed them better, and 
demand better performance of them, or else they go 
to the butcher. He thinks that cows, sheep and hens 
make an excellent combination. Sheep do not require 
so much labor, and perhaps do not pay quite so well 
as cows, but the hired man’s wages are a good big 
item that needs curtailing, if possible. There are 
other farmers who do not care to keep extra stock, 
yet would like to make the back fields more profit¬ 
able. They lack the manure needed to produce good 
crops of grain, and cannot afford to buy fertilizers. 
They might make use of cow peas to great advantage 
on these back fields. These cow peas will grow where 
few other crops will thrive, and they will enable the 
soil to produce a fair crop of grain. 
• 
The anarchist’s idea of the use of power is to have 
it upsetting something. Loud talk, the torch and the 
assassin’s weapon appeal to him more than the duties 
of a peaceable citizen. His ideal government would 
be a runaway train rushing to destruction, and he on 
board cheering and going down with the ruins. If 
the universe were run on his plan, every star and 
planet would suddenly go mad; there would be a 
grand smash, a few puffs of smoke, and then chaos. 
He freeiy gives his life in the bad cause. No doubt 
there is some right on his side, for rulers misuse their 
powers, and underlings get scanty favor. A clean 
government is possible where people have the ballot 
and handle it rightly; but if improperly used the 
liberties of the citizens may be sacrificed. A repub¬ 
lic may be the best or the worst of governments. No 
man should be frozen to a political party so tightly 
that a State or local issue, where morality, common 
honesty and the good of the community are at stake, 
cannot thaw him loose enough to vote for a better 
man on the other side. The ballot may go to the root 
of things, and when really used has an unmeasured 
silent power to do. The trouble is that it may be so 
firmly rooted to a bad cause or an obstinate preju¬ 
dice that it cannot be used to root out evil and abuse. 
* 
BREVITIES. 
My name is A. Bacteria, 
This heat agrees with me; 
Just let me work inside your milk 
Some muggy day and see. 
While other workers drop their tools, 
And look around for shade, 
I peel my coat and go to work, 
For that’s the way I'm made. 
I sour the milk, I spoil the fruit, 
1 carry foul disease; 
I dance for joy in filthiness 
1 sleep right through a freeze. 
Lut boiling water knocks me out. 
And cleanliness I hate; 
I travel when I see them come, 
And use my swiftest gait. 
Don't let the fakirs fall foul of the fair. 
Who has fruited Sultan and Climax plums? 
What has become of all the beet-sugar talk? 
Of course, the tighter the man the looser his talk! 
Chestnuts should make good “food for reflection.” 
There are too many civil lies in modern civilization. 
Don't use lime within 12 months before the potato crop. 
“I represent the power of the press,” said Mr. Apple 
Cider. 
It is harder sometimes to find the bright side than it 
is to look at it. 
How many applications of crude petroleum before the 
trees will peter out? 
“You beat me for a while,” said the cabbage to the corn¬ 
stalk, “but I’m a head now.” 
We hope those tartaric acid frauds will catch a Tartar 
when they call their stuff lemonade. 
There are two kinds of hired men—one hunts a job, 
while the job always hunts the other. 
They say liquid air is fearfully cold. We wish this 
were true of the wet air of a muggy day. 
To make big roots use potash, for large firm seeds, 
phosphoric acid, and for leaf and stem nitrogen. 
How does your account with society stand? The chances 
are that you have a good-sized obligation to pay. 
Some farmers put all the eggs into one basket—the 
bread basket—and then don’t have enough custard pie. 
Be it mud or be it dust, ankle deep or solid crust, come 
what may the farmer must keep his think works clear 
from rust. 
Water is all right for sprinkling the road, but to do 
away with the “dust” in a man’s pocketbook, rum is 
much more effective. 
Don’t let men who claim a profit of $6 a hen discourage 
you. You can’t do it; but if you can make 75 cents a 
head you have a good thing. 
A man will accumulate fat on a diet of compliments, 
but wholesome criticism taken in the right way will give 
him muscle, intellectual and moral. 
The Loganberry is receiving praise from a number of 
English growers, who say that it comes in aiter the bulk 
of the raspberries are over, and thus prolongs the season. 
The tiger may not be a near relative to the Emperor of 
China, but he has no difficulty in proving that he be¬ 
longs to the Mancheto dynasty, if the man does not keep 
out of his way. 
