820 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
December 
The Rural New-Yorker 
) THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homei. 
Established I 860 . 
Herbert W. Collingwood, Editor. 
Dr. Walter Van Fleet, I 
H. E. Van Deman, > Associates. 
Mrs. E. T. Royle, J 
John J. Dlllon, Business Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
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THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
409 Pearl Street, New York, 
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1900. 
Some of our bee-keeping friends stop making honey 
to complain because we give the fruit growers a 
chance to say what they think about bees. That won’t 
do, gentlemen! The fruit men have a perfect right 
to say what they think. The R. N.-Y. believes in the 
bee, but it is not doing any special pleading for him. 
Our position is that of a judge, and when the evidence 
is all in we will sum it up. Bear in mind the fact 
that most of these men who say that bees hurt their 
fruit would not banish the bu~y fellow if they could. 
* 
In the discussion as to seeding grass with wheat or 
rye the point is made that rye usually goes on poorer 
soil. Few farmers think of manuring as heavily for 
rye as ihey would for wheat. Thus it happens that 
the grass seed put in with rye does not have an equal 
chance with that on wheat ground. Farmers have 
come to regard rye as a “hustler,” capable of making 
a fair crop where wheat would fail. That is true, but 
grass is not even a baby hustler when in the cradle. 
With good preparation and soil we think rye would 
prove a good nurse crop, but grass does not need a 
nurse. In most cases we prefer to sow it alone. 
* 
Those Illinois corn growers who purpose to breed 
corn (see page 816) know what they are about. Breed 
corn? Yes—why not? Why not breed the food as 
well as tne animals to which it is fed? We may have 
scrub corn as well as scrub cows. Neither will be 
saved by heavier feeding or by a different food, but 
by a wiser selection of parents. They might be helped 
by better feeding, but not saved. Those men seem to 
have gone at the thing in a businesslike way and they 
will, in time, surely improve the quality and yield of 
tneir corn. It is a good thing to buy seed corn on the 
ear! You probably would not buy a cow from a sam¬ 
ple of her butter! 
* 
American fruit was well advertised at the Paris 
Exposition. From May 9 until the end there was a 
constant display. This showed the Europeans that 
American fruit growers are able to provide an un¬ 
broken supply right through the year. This is sure 
to help the sales of our fruit in Europe. Last year we 
exported $2,456,192 worth of apples, green and dried 
In 1890 there were imported $1,789,176 worth of plums 
and prunes. Last year this sank to $63,574, for Cali¬ 
fornia now prunes our meals for us. Last year’s im¬ 
ports of bananas were valued at $5,665,588. We ex¬ 
pect to see within a few years this value more than 
offset by exports of apples. 
* 
The constant fight for the Grout bill which has 
been made during the past year has forced people to 
think about oleo who otherwise would hardly have 
known what it is. We all know how the oleo men 
insist that only a few selfish farmers desire the pas¬ 
sage of tne Grout bill. They do not want the con¬ 
sumers to understand the real merits of the case. Here 
they are claiming to produce the “poor man’s food” 
while all the time they attempt to obtain for it a rich 
man’s price! The oleo oil as exported brings less 
than seven cents a pound. The manufacturers could 
afford to sell oleo for half the price of natural butter, 
and make a large profit on it. This is just what the 
Grout Dill would force them to do with their uncol¬ 
ored fat. Of course, the oleo men do not want the buy¬ 
ing public to know this, but the agitation of tne past 
10 months has done more than hold certain Congress¬ 
men in line. There are three classes of people who 
are interested in this butter question. The dairyman 
who squeezes the fat out of the cow, the consumer 
who buys the fat and the politician who fries the fat 
out of the oleo men—if he can. The first two classes 
should get together to watch the third. We have al¬ 
ways claimed that there can be no real quarrel be¬ 
tween producer ana consumer. They may well get 
together to check the middleman and the lawmaker. 
* 
A vast amount of charcoal is consumed in Boston 
and other New England cities. It is sold in packages 
of 10 pounds and over and thousands of housekeepers 
find it a handy and economical fuel. Where does it 
come from? Many farmers in the hill towns of New 
England have large supplies of hard wood and could 
make a profit in selling charcoal at a fair figure. The 
present supply seems to come from a large company, 
it is marked "Vermont Charcoal.” If any farmers in 
Vermont are in the business of supplying it we should 
like to hear from them. 
* 
Our friend who writes on page 817 has bought a lot 
of cooking soda which he wishes to use as a fertilizer. 
We are obliged to tell him that, as compared with ni¬ 
trate of soda, it has no value. Our friend probably 
thought that the soda gave value to the nitrate. Not 
at all—it is the nitrogen. Such things show the great 
value of a book like “Fertilizers,” by Voorhees, to a 
farmer who is haunted by the plant-food problem. 
There are dozens of waste substances offeree for sale 
or as a gift. Some are valuable—others are worth¬ 
less. How can a farmer know which are worth buy¬ 
ing or hauling unless he knows what they are com¬ 
posed of, and which elements are useful? Books are 
useful tools in such cases. 
* 
Mr. H. M. Stringfellow is pretty well known 
throughout the country as the persistent advocate of 
a novel system of starting and caring for fruit trees. 
In sending us the letter which is printed on our first 
page, Mr. Stringfellow writes: 
I mean to show that the peach scepter can again be 
restored to Maryland and want a man who loves the 
truth and has a w’ell-drained piece of ground well adapt¬ 
ed to peaches on which trees once died with yellows. 
This to prove the value of old orchard ground. 
That is a worthy object certainly. We always ad¬ 
mire a man who is ready to back up his convictions 
and stand by them boldly. There have been many 
conflicting reports from those who have practiced this 
Stringfellow system at the North, though reports 
from the South are generally favorable. We hope 
some Maryland grower of reputation and experience 
will undertake the experiment so plainly outlined by 
Mr. Stringfellow. The public will certainly benefit 
by it. 
• 
According to statistics given at the recent conven¬ 
tion of food and dairy commissioners this country 
spends $300,000,000 in adulterated food preparations 
each year. There must be a National pure food law 
before the sale and manufacture of such products can 
be prevented. The Grout bill was strongly indorsed 
at this meeting. Commissioner H. C. Adams, of Wis¬ 
consin, saying: 
Thirty-two States, with a population of nearly 60,000,000 
of people, have prohibited absolutely the manufacture 
and sale of oleomargarine colored in imitation of butter. 
The powerful sentiment of all the great States in the 
Union which have adopted drastic State legislation 
against a dishonest counterfeit is behind the movement 
to obtain Federal legislation which shall prevent or limit 
manufacturers and dealers from sending the goods in an 
illegal form into these States. Primarily the Grout bill 
is not legislation in behalf of the interests of any class. 
It is a measure to render practically impossible the man¬ 
ufacture and sale of a great staple food in such a form 
that the average purchaser or consumer can be cheated 
into taking something which he does not want and which 
he does not pay for. 
The last sentence gives the whole point of the mat¬ 
ter. Anti-oleo laws are not class legislation; they are 
simply legitimate insurance against food frauds. 
• 
The recent arrest of two Chicago swindlers has 
brought to light an elaborate scheme by which many 
persons were victimized, the amount of money se¬ 
cured aggregating $25,000. The operators, who are 
charged with conspiracy, were selling shares in a 
wonderful invention, a mysterious dry-cell electric 
battery, which will produce a powerful light. The 
victims were prevailed upon to buy shares for 
the purpose of developing the invention, which, 
they were assured, would revolutionize all ex¬ 
isting systems of lighting. Many farmers were in¬ 
duced to invest in it, and several widows were 
robbed of all they possessed. The sharpers were so 
plausible that one Chicago bank was almost induced 
to take shares in the scheme. There is such a fas¬ 
cination in the idea of a wonderful new invention, 
and so many precedents for investment in schemes 
that appear visionary, that it is unjust to be too em¬ 
phatic in denouncing the folly of such luckless in¬ 
vestors. But an old and moss-grown warning may 
be repeated once more; do not put too much credence 
in the statements of plausible strangers, and do not 
sow hardly-earnea dollars in the hope of reaping rain¬ 
bow gold. 
The word “heretic” is sometimes loosely applied to 
one who does not agree with the general principles 
taught by agricultural writers. To show how strange¬ 
ly this works out we take the case of silage. In the 
early days those who talked silo were called “here¬ 
tics,” because their plan was revolutionary—it was 
against “common sense” as then understood. In less 
than a score of years the discussion has been turned 
upside down. Let a man come to the average farm¬ 
er’s institute and advocate feeding dry fodder and he 
will quickly find himself on thd unpopular side. Some 
of our institute friends are carrying this silage mat¬ 
ter too far. There are plenty of cases where the dry 
fodder is well suited to the farmer’s needs. 
* 
The census shows that we have in Greater New 
York 123,846 horses, and 600 mules. There are also, 
within the city limits 4,633 cattle, 4,557 sheep, 2,131 
swine and 1,487 goats. The horses are mostly large 
heavy animals that are well fed. At an average of 18 
pounds of hay and 12 pounds of grain per day the 
horses and mules consume daily over 700 tons of 
hay and 450 tons of feed grain. To feed them for one 
year will require about 200,000 acres of average hay 
land, and to provide the needed grain and straw will 
require at least 200,000 acres more. To show what 
this means we may state that last year there were 
but 404,367 acres of cultivated hay lands in the six 
States of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, 
Mississippi and Louisiana. 
* 
The annual report of Secretary of Agriculture Wil¬ 
son is a long and interesting document. Mr. Wilson 
well says that appropriations made for his Department 
differ from those made for any other. They are really 
National investments, while money paid out for other 
departments simply goes to Uncle Sam’s expense ac¬ 
count. The work done by the Agricultural Depart¬ 
ment adds directly to the wealth of the Nation. Hun¬ 
dreds of instances can be given where the skilled 
work of the Department scientists has resulted in 
saving crops or stock from destruction, producing new 
varieties or testing new methods. All these things 
benefit agriculture and thus strengthen the Nation. 
We think that there will be a general agreement with 
our statement that Mr. Wilson is the most useful man 
who has represented agriculture at Washington, and 
intelligent farmers generally will be glad that he is 
to continue his work through another term of ser¬ 
vice. 
* 
BREVITIES 
Happy the man—he may be tempted, tried, 
Or cursed forever vainly to aspire 
To hopeless things—if after eventide 
He ends his day before an open fire. 
Build up the fire of rubbish—thrown aside 
It served some useful purpose years ago; 
Now all its history and deeds of pride 
Flash out upon us in the snap and glow. 
Here’s an old rail—for years it stood on guard 
Till, weather-beaten and decayed it fell; 
See that old apple chunk—tough, knotted, hard. 
What stories of old farming it could tell! 
There’s a black shingle from the ancient roof— 
That was a gate post In Grandfather’s day 
For years it stood there proudly—weatherproof; 
Now hear its story as it burns away. 
Happy the man who, when the night has come, 
Can drop the busy day’s hard care and blame, 
And watch these beaten relics travel home 
And paint these parting words within the flame: 
“I did my duty through the long, hard years, 
Until I felt the edge of Time’s keen knife!” 
And he who listens drops his doubts and fears 
And goes anew to face the ills of life! 
Whatever became of the Idaho pear? 
Hens eating cow peas—page 827. That’s a new one. 
Put the dot on the i, but above all avoid the dote on 
the /. 
A currycomb and card will largely cure the lick-her 
habit in cows. 
Don’t attempt that South Carolina plan of burying po¬ 
tatoes in Maine. 
A very interesting report of the Virginia Horticultural 
Society—page 825. 
Thanksgiving demonstrated the blood relations between 
Americans and turks. 
A chemist has learned how to degum cotton-seed oil 
so that it will replace linseed in painting. 
In response to a query as to the proper mode of cook¬ 
ing horseflesh, we suggest that it be curried. 
Having celebrated Thanksgiving, let us now give our 
benefactors a chance to celebrate thanks-receiving. 
In Raleigh, N. C., on November 23, the mercury stood 
at 82, with geranium beds and Tea roses in bloom. 
When you dishorn a bull the saw does not enter his 
head and cut off the inclination to kill. It is still there! 
Of course it was a goose that laid the golden egg. A 
wise bird would have known that the moment man set 
eyes on the yellow metal the goose was cooked. 
The president of the Ohio State Board of Agriculture 
stated, at a recent meeting, that the Government crop 
reports were inadequate and misleading. What do farm¬ 
ers generally think of these reports? 
