772 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
November 17 
The Rural New-Yorker 
TEE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER . 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homea. 
Established 1850. 
Herbert W. Collingwood, Editor. 
Dr. Walter Van Fleet, 1 
H. E. Van Deman, > Associates. 
Mrs. E. T. Royle, ) 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
Io foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, 12.04, equal to 
8s. 6d., or 8* *4 marks, or 10)4 francs. 
ADVERTISING RATES. 
Thirty cents per agate line (141 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 Price 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 8treet. New York. 
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1900. 
How much is corn silage worth per ton? It is 
strangely difficult to obtain actual figures about 
silage. We say strange, because this food is now in 
general use, and many dairymen are enthusiastic in 
praising it. Apparently silage is rarely sold the same 
as hay, stalks, straw or gram. It can hardly be com¬ 
pared with hay or grain, since it is harder to handle 
and also contains “succulence” the value of which 
cannot be figured by any chemist’s tables. The dry- 
fodder men know about what crushed stalks are 
worth. Can we not find some one who has bought or 
sold silage? 
* 
Since we printed Mr. Loop’s article on compressed 
air for spraying we have received a number of sug¬ 
gestions from readers. One friend writes: 
About the matter of compressed air for farm use, 
why not have the wind, by means of a windmill, keep a 
big stationary tank (some old rejected steam boiler, may¬ 
be), filled with it, upon which to draw at will? Make 
the air do its own compressing by turning wasting energy 
to practical use. 
This application of the pop-gun principle for turn¬ 
ing light machinery is sure to give inventors a great 
field for work. We have asked the windmill makers 
about it, but no one seems to know of an air pump or 
compressor that can be worked by wind-power. This 
is one of the things that “we long have sought!” 
What friend of humanity will find it? 
S 
Jacksonville, Fla., is to have a factory for the 
manufacture of artificial or “perpetuated” palms, such 
as were described in The R. N.-Y. two or three years 
ago. Scrub palmettoes are to be used in building these 
embalmed house plants, and the factory at Jackson¬ 
ville is to employ 100 men or more. The palmetto, 
which was regarded as a worthless nuisance in 
Florida, is now being utilized in a variety of ways. 
The roots are used in the manufacture of tannic acid, 
the fibers about the stump make ropes and cordage, 
and the seeds are used in medicine, and also as a 
flavoring for Summer drinks. The perpetuated palms, 
though much used in scores, hotels and theaters, have 
never supplanted living plants in private dwellings, 
among people of taste, but their lasting quality, and 
the fact that they may be poked away in any dark 
corner, make them useful in some situations. No 
palm lover, however, could ever be deceived into re¬ 
garding them as the real thing. 
* 
In handling country produce, which requires the 
more skill, buying or selling? This question often 
comes up, and it is doubtful whether any reply can 
be given that will cover it in a general way. The 
subject is a broad one, and those who are in it all 
of the time find that they can learn, or rather must 
learn, something every day, for new features, like 
mushrooms, are springing up constantly. In many 
cases it is true that a man may be a good salesman 
without being a good buyer, while, when all the con¬ 
ditions are considered, it will be found that to be 
a good buyer, he must be thoroughly acquainted with 
the selling end, and in addition have a knowledge of 
the values of live animals or poultry, fruit on the 
tree, etc. Some men buy apples by giving a certain 
lump sum for the whole orchard. They must be able 
to look over the trees and estimate very nearly how 
many barrels of all grades there will be. Few farm¬ 
ers are willing to dispose of their crop in tnis way, 
except where, in harvesting it themselves year after 
year, they have noted the yield so carefully under all 
conditions that they can drive a close bargain with 
the buyer. If he has bought safely, with an eye on 
the market all of the time, the selling part is com¬ 
paratively easy, for the fruit is barreled and graded, 
and it is then a case of fighting his way with others 
in the market. It would be interesting to nave the 
experience of a large number on this matter of buy¬ 
ing and selling, for new facts are learned from differ¬ 
ent points of view. 
* 
^ The milk producers cannot afford to quarrel with 
the city people who consume their milk. The milk 
drinkers want good milk at a fair price. Who can 
blame them for wanting a good article, and for 
growling if they have to pay more than it is worth? 
1 hey can get extra water out of the city faucet if they 
want it—they don t want the milk dealer to put the 
water in the can with the milk! We repeat that the 
farmer should have no quarrel with the milk drinker. 
They should get closer together, and squeeze the 
water out oi the middleman. The city man thinks 
he knows what milk is, but he doesn’t. He thinks it 
is a luxury, when it is a food. When he learns just 
what it is, he will use more of it, and be better for 
such use. The farmer will be better off, too. Both 
parties will be benefited by milk education. The 
farmer must do the educating, and the only way he 
can do it is to come to the city and control the dis¬ 
tribution of the milk. Tne water added by the mid¬ 
dlemen washes away the farmer’s profit and reputa¬ 
tion. The way for the milk farmer to become head 
man is to become nis own middleman. 
m 
Visiting a commercial rose-growing establishment 
recently we noticed that many of the piants had been 
carried over, as the florists say, that is, they were not 
new piants of the present year. They were strong 
and healthy, bearing large, well-colored flowers. It 
is not a great many years since the practice of carry¬ 
ing the plants over for more than one season was 
given up almost entirely, and many practical growers 
considered that the plan would never be resumed. 
The reason for this change was the damage inflicted 
by Fuller s rose-beetie, an insect whose white, grub¬ 
like larvae feed on the tender rose roots. It is essen¬ 
tially a greenhouse pest, and it often so weakens the 
plants as to render them unprofitable, if it does not 
kill them. A decade ago some pessimistic florists 
considered that the pest must eventually destroy the 
rose-growing industry. Every florist who grew roses 
tried to circumvent the insect, and we now find it so 
far under control that annual replanting and refilling 
the benches with fresh soil is frequently omitted with 
entire safety. This shows the practical value of con¬ 
certed action in dealing with insect pests, and is as 
strongly applicable to the farmer’s business as to 
that of the florist or nurseryman. 
• 
^ Both J. W. Wadsworth and S. E. Payne, the New 
York Congressmen who were doubtful on the oleo 
question, were reelected. We have not heard the ex¬ 
act vote in their districts yet, and cannot say how 
many dairymen voted against them. We shall know 
that later. After we went to press last week we 
learned that the legislative committee of the Cortland 
County Pomona Grange asked Mr. Payne how he 
stood on the Grout bill. His printed answer is as 
follows: 
I have always favored the end sought to be attained 
by the Grout bill. I think it ought to be amended in the 
interest of the dairyman. But I shall vote for it on its 
passage whether it is amended or not. 
That is quite satisfactory. We stated nearly six 
months ago that Mr. Payne would finally conclude to 
vote for honest butter. He was a long time making 
up his mind, and it required a good deal of prodding 
and punching to get him to write that last sentence. 
The R. N.-Y. kept at him through the Summer and 
Fall, and we were well supported by some of the best 
dairymen in the district. It is safe to say that but 
for this the Grout bill would have lost a vote. Farm¬ 
ers can obtain their rights if they will work for them. 
Such rights do not come as free gifts! 
• 
In discussions of the temperance question one is 
sure to meet the statement that poor food leads to 
the drink habit. “Poor cooks are drunkard-makers,” 
we are told. “The frying pan is the saloonkeeper’s 
best friend,” and so on. is there any truth in this? 
Are the women who manufacture a tough, indiges¬ 
tible mass over the stove, and then serve it without 
care or attractiveness, in partnership with the rum 
seller? Yes—that seems to be about the truth of it. 
The effect of alcohol on digestion is complex, and 
Prof. Atwater says that no really definite statement 
can be made about it. In large doses it certainly re¬ 
tards the action of digestion. Small doses of some 
forms of alcohol may favor digestion. Perhaps a fair 
illustration may be found in the case of the farmer’s 
wife who adds a little kerosene oil to quicken up the 
damp and soggy wood which her shiftless husband 
has provided. The workingman may crave a drink 
after the coarse and poorly-cooked food which he 
found at home. We have known so-called temperance 
people who give evidence to prove this craving. They 
fall into the habit of taking regular doses of “bitters” 
or “tonics” which are largely strong brandy. No 
doubt about it—the rum seller and the “bitters” man 
love a fat frying pan and a slovenly cook! 
* 
We have exposed some awful nursery frauds, but 
for downright attempt at highway robbery an Iowa 
swindle is about the worst. A reader sends us a 
newspaper clipping describing the rascally work done 
by one D. J. Fogarty, who claims to represent the 
Council Bluffs Nursery. There is certainly a good 
deal of blufi: about the council given by Mr. Fogarty: 
The evil genius of the outfit appears to have been one 
G. E. Guthrie, who selected for his victims the oldest 
and wealthiest farmers. Upon assurance that he would 
personally come and plant the trees he secured one order 
to the amount of $91.50. A few days later he returned 
and requested that he might examine the duplicate order, 
thinking that he had made some mistake therein (?). 
At this time it is supposed that he placed a figure 2 at 
the left of the $91.50, making the order read $291.50, fold¬ 
ing it up, and requested the purchaser to “put it away 
quick before it became lost.” Now comes Mr. Fogarty 
in person, with a few bundles of trees, and demands of 
this purchaser $326.25. Another farmer bought $4.50 and 
his order was raised to $50. In the two cases above cited, 
and in at least one other, payment was refused and legal 
proceedings have been instituted for the recovery of the 
original orders, notices having been served on Fogarty 
for his appearance at the November term of the district 
court. 
That is about the boldest “hold up” over nursery 
stock that we ever heard of. Of course the proper 
thing to do is to refuse the stock and get a lawyer 
after the agent. As a rule these rascals win not press 
such a claim, for they know better. Some farmers 
would compromise with them rather then let the pub¬ 
lic know they had been caught by an old bait. Every 
week we receive letters from readers who ask about 
unknown and irresponsible nursery firms who offer 
them great bargains in trees! Why in the world is it 
that men who know better will play with fire in this 
way, when there are dozens of responsible firms who 
have thousands of dollars invested in the business? 
• 
BREVITIES. 
“What’s your best hour inside the twenty-four?” 
That’s what my daughter asked me t’other night; 
I never figgered out the thing before, 
And I don’t know as I can answer right. 
Some folks that fill their day with fear and doubt 
Think sleep is packed chock full of happiness, 
But I’ve had nightmare come and kick it out, 
And if you press me to it I’ll confess 
That 60 minutes right afore bedtime 
Suits me as well as any I can find. 
The old clock ticks away in sing-song rhyme 
The rain taps on the glass, but you don’t mind; 
The stock is safe and warm—upstairs in bed 
The children cuddle down in dreamless sleep. 
You stretch out by the fire and nod your head, 
And you can feel the glow of comfort creep 
Up to your heart—come, Billy, bring a pan 
Of apples from down cellar—yes, siree, 
You city folks may match it if you can; 
The close of day is good enough for me! 
It’s time to push the pullet! 
Prune your trees prudently. 
Do hens with big spurs ever lay? 
Nasturtium seeds make good pickle. 
Work in the interest of your principles. 
The “kicker” believes his sole is his own. 
Let us have more temperate temperance! 
What’s the remedy for an overdose of dignity? 
Too much hard cider makes the drinker a “soft thing.” 
The Canadian potato crop appears to be up to the 
average. 
That New Jersey grain-moth (first page) certainly has 
had a full dinner pail. 
The southern cities offer a fine market for northern 
apples. Many will be needed this year. 
Is it your experience that there is an extra demand for 
turnips whenever the potato crop is short? 
Yes, sir— when your wife condenses “a piece of her 
mind” and hands it to you it is a genuine case of lumped 
“jaw.” 
Bear in mind that a cow will do nearly her best with 
all the young pasture grass she can eat, and nothing 
else. She will not do her best on unlimited corn silage! 
Why? 
Prof. Whitten on page 766 gives us the latest about 
the scheme of whitening trees to protect the buds dur¬ 
ing Winter. Why not try the resin-lime mixture to make 
the whitewash stick? 
As a preventive of tainted milk after feeding cows on 
turnips, Canadian dairymen are said to put a piece of 
saltpeter, about the size of a pea, into the pail during 
milking. Who can tell anything about this? 
The world’s visible supply of cotton this year is put at 
2,815,025 bales, against 3,624,865 for the same time last year. 
The only field of production showing an increase is India, 
where there are 5,000 bales more than last year. 
What varieties of apples are best suited for ocean 
transportation in cold storage? This is a live question 
when we consider the great European demand for good 
apples. The Department of Agriculture will try to find 
an answer. Will It be Ben Davis? 
