436 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
June 21 
The Rural New-Yorker 
TEE BUSINESS FAliMER'S RARER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homei. 
Established 1850- 
Herbert W. Colling wool). Editor 
I)K. Walter Van Fleet, 
Mrs. K. T. Ko ylk, 
Associated 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, J2.04, 
equal to 8s. 6d., or 8^ marks, or lOVfc francs. 
paid for and stocked by your own labor! A life free 
from worry and care, with family and friends about 
you who love the country and who have all helped 
to make the farm productive. If you cleared the land 
from the wilderness, or if you took it when others 
rejected it and gave it strength and character, you 
ought to be prouder than a prince at the tribute it 
now pays. We hold that the man who owns such a 
farm home needs nothing more of material wealth. 
Where can one go off the farm to find an equal mea¬ 
sure of value? 
“ A SQUARE DEAL.” 
We believe that every advertisement in this paper is 
backed by a responsible person. But to make doubly 
sure we will make good any loss to paid subscribers 
sustained by trusting any deliberate swindler advertising 
in our columns, and any such swindler will be publicly 
exposed. We protect subscribers against rogues, but we 
do not guarantee to adjust trifling differences between 
subscribers and honest responsible advertisers. Neither 
will we be responsible for the debts of honest bankrupts 
sanctioned by the courts. Notice of the complaint must 
be sent us within one month of the time of the trans¬ 
action, and you must have mentioned The Rural New- 
Yorker when writing the advertiser. 
Name and address of sender, and what the remittance 
is for, should appear in every letter. 
Remittances may be made in money order, expres* 
order, personal check or bank draft. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
409 Pearl Street, New Y«r* 
SATURDAY, JUNE 21, 1902. 
We have heard eastern farmers seriously ask 
whether Chinamen cannot be utilized as “hired men.’’ 
As the word “hired” is generally understood the an¬ 
swer will without doubt be no! From all we can learn 
the Chinaman is not a success as an individual farm 
worker. He might work well in a gang, but not alone. 
* 
Ouk foreign exports for May fell short of the same 
month last year. The heaviest loss was in grain and 
breadstuffs—$13,000,000. With the present awful 
prices for grain we question the good sense in griev¬ 
ing over the fact that feed is not leaving the country. 
The export trade should give way to the home market 
whenever such prices are reached. 
* 
It is understood that the British government has 
contracts with firms in this country to supply a large 
number of high-grade cattle for restocking the veldts 
of South Africa. The first shipment of 650 head was 
recently made from Pensacola, Fla. The possibili¬ 
ties in the cattle business in South Africa are great. 
Much of that country is also well suited to fruit grow’- 
ing, an industry which has heretofore been practical¬ 
ly neglected. Better sell cattle for peace than mules 
for war! 
* 
Tiie few who have had large and well-colored 
strawberries this year have coined money. The dry, 
cold weather of May cut the crop severely, and only 
the experts were able to get the crop through in fair 
condition. The northern crop is reported short from 
frost and drought, so that high prices will continue. 
Cherries are also likely to command fair prices, and it 
usually happens that all small fruits and early apples 
follow in line. 
* 
The United States Senate has apparently killed the 
proposition to elect Senators by popular vote. There 
is a genuine demand among farmers for such method 
of election. A few things that have happened of late 
show that the common citizen has a much better 
chance of obtaining recognition when his vote can 
directly affect the man who represents him at Wash¬ 
ington. Are the “common people” the only ones to 
be considered? No, but it has come to a point in 
this country when uncommon people are well able to 
take care of themselves, and if any rights are clipped 
the shears are most likely to snip at what belongs to 
the poor and humble. 
* 
The R. N.-Y. has been gently criticised because it 
does not tell more “big stories” about farming and 
make the profession of agriculture appear easier and 
more attractive to young men! We have, personally, 
no “big stories” to tell. We know from experience 
that actual farm operations run down close to the 
small end of the horn in the most unaccountable way! 
We do not try to make farming appear an easy and 
gentle method of getting rich, because we know it is 
not. True, there are instances where men have dug 
a competence and much more out of the soil. There 
are still plenty of chances for doing this, but we re¬ 
gard it as one of the crimes of agricultural journalism 
to paint only one side of the picture, and gloss over 
the work and hard self-denial which lie at the foun¬ 
dation of every farm success. Is the outlook for farm¬ 
ing so discouraging then? Not at all—we do not 
know of any business which offers to man a surer 
path to the greatest measure of wealth which this 
world can bestow! What is that? A good farm home 
A good many persons who have planted Govern¬ 
ment seeds from time to time have formed an im¬ 
pression that this is not the best way to utilize them. 
The following request received by an Illinois Repre¬ 
sentative, shows that they are undoubtedly useful, 
thus fulfilling the spirit, if not the letter of the law: 
Dear Congressman: Please send me as many packages 
of garden seed as you can. Put in plenty of sunflower 
seeds. I haven't got a garden, but I have a parrot and a 
canary, both of whom enjoy these seeds very much. 
Some of my neighbors say you sent them garden seeds 
and that when they planted them the seeds did not come 
up. Now, there is no use wasting seed like this when 
my birds will eat them. 
There is sound reason in the above; if seeds de¬ 
cline to come up when planted they should be thrown 
to the birds, only it would seem fairer to do so before 
selling them. 
• 
That Guatemala earthquake and eruption of Mt. 
Tacana, with the loss of more than 1,000 lives, is add¬ 
ing emphasis to the discussion of the Nicaragua Canal 
route. We cannot accuse a volcano of party politics, 
and we must turn to science to learn whether there is 
a possibility that Mother Earth may treat our tri¬ 
umph of modern engineering with the destructive 
scorn we display towards an intruding ant hill. We 
once knew a man who had acquired a coffee planta¬ 
tion in San Salvador. It was very fertile and alto¬ 
gether desirable, but one day an unusually severe 
earthquake happened along, and instead of his plan¬ 
tation that man found he possessed a large and un¬ 
desirable lake with a small island in the middle! He 
came north, observing that his next investment would 
be in less fluctuating real estate. For similar reasons 
Uncle Sam must needs be sure that his canal is not 
fluctuating either. 
* 
Why do not eastern farmers, with a fair amount of 
grazing land, breed and feed fat cattle for beef? Prices 
for good steers are now high, and seem likely to con¬ 
tinue high, at least until another heavy corn crop is 
produced. One reason is the lack of local butcher¬ 
ing places. During the past few years the meat busi¬ 
ness has been completely changed. The trade in fat 
stock has been nearly wiped out in many places where 
formerly hundreds of cattle were fed and slaughtered. 
Another reason Is the fact that of late years farmers 
have bred dairy cattle. The smaller breeds, which 
excel at butter production, have been used until the 
herds are filled with animals which are unfitted to 
produce prime or profitable beef. Butter now brings 
a fair price with good prospect for the future. Natur¬ 
ally a dairyman will hesitate long before introducing 
blood into his herd that will turn his cows from but¬ 
ter to beef. While, in theory, eastern beef-making 
ought to pay, in some localities, we do not expect 
much change while the prospects for dairying are as 
hopeful as they are just now. 
* 
On page 368 J. S. Woodward told us of some suc¬ 
cessful experiments in taking nitrogen from the air 
in such form that it can be used as fertilizer. For 
years the scientists have known of this aerial nitro¬ 
gen. The trouble has been to capture and hold it. 
It was thought that clover and the other pod-bearing 
plants possessed a trade secret in this business. It 
appears that man’s brains are equal to clover’s fixed 
habit. Now we are told of a Spanish scientist wflo 
has devised a method of taking the electricity from 
the air and storing it so that it may be used for power 
or heating. Another scientist claims to have a sim¬ 
ple device for cooling our houses which will cost but 
little more than an ordinary stove! By the time 
these scientific gentlemen get fairly at work upon the 
air they are likely to sift and screen unnumbered 
blessings out of it. Why not? The water of the 
ocean, which represents the washings from the earth, 
yields up quantities of every mineral or gas known to 
human knowledge. In like mannej- the air probably 
contains particles of all known matter. It is man’s 
duty and mission to capture and control these sub¬ 
stances and forces so that they may be utilized for 
humanity. Yes, the air has its undiscovered secrets. 
It is a great storehouse of wealth and force which 
cannot be monopolized and “cornered,” but which will 
iu time be free to all. 
If you would let us have the money which frauds 
and swindlers have taken out of the pockets of farm¬ 
ers during the past 20 years we could easily pay the 
entire National debt! Two more nursery rogues are 
exposed this week. Does it not seem strange that 
such rascals can go on year after year telling their 
improbable stories and finding not only listeners but 
buyers? Surely no reader of The R. N.-Y. has any 
business to be bitten by such fellows. We have ex¬ 
posed their methods again and again, and we know 
that many of our people nave become immune to this 
form of swindling. One reader tells us that The R. 
N.-Y. has taught his boys so that they can “talk a 
tree fraud to death—if he would stay long enough to 
listen!” He might stay long enough to swear at the 
paper, but that will hurt nobody but himself. The R. 
N.-Y. would be poorer than a woodchuck at the close 
of Winter if it were obliged to live on the good words 
of these rascals! 
* 
There are few people in town and city who realize 
what the Grange has done for American agriculture. 
Could they know how this organization has strength¬ 
ened and developed the qualities that give power and 
force to true American character we should never 
hear the word “Granger” spoken with a sneer! Of all 
the fraternal oi'ganizations in this country we belHve 
the Grange stands at the head in solid and true use¬ 
fulness. This is largely because it has reached and 
helped individuals and communities which could not 
have been reached by any other influence. The best 
results of its work are to be seen among the decaying 
hill towns of New England. This is not because the 
organization is most powerful there, but because of 
the brave fight it has made to provide a social, moral 
and business influence. It would be hard to say how 
dull, if not hopeless, life among these hills would be 
were it not for the Grange. Church and school house 
may be closed, but the Grange hall remains open- 
providing a place where the best farmers may come 
together for mutual improvement. These hill towns 
have made rich contributions to the history of this 
country, and the Grange does its best work in keep¬ 
ing alive the true farm spirit. 
* 
Speaking of the roads in his section of the country 
a correspondent says: “The annual scraping of sods 
and stones into the roads has been going on lately, 
and, as there has been rain enough to make it mix 
up well, the wheeling is not prime. But as they do it 
only in sections, there is usually some fair road mixed 
in here and there.” The above description would ap- 
.ply to many other parts of the country. In early 
Spring the mud is hub deep. When this dries up. 
deep ruts are left, which worry horses and use up 
wagon wheels; and nothing more is done until the 
roads are “worked” by plowing furrows beside them 
and hauling in the sods and other rubbish thus loos¬ 
ened. If the weather happens to be favorable late in 
the season, the hummocks may get worn down some¬ 
what, so that traveling may be fair until the Fall mud 
season. One great cause of these poor roads is the 
lack of proper ditches. When the snow melts or 
heavy rains come, the water runs in the road, making 
it so soft that heavy loads cut still deeper water 
courses. Ordinary dirt will make a fair road il’ the 
middle is kept high, though gravel or broken stones 
are far better. The highways in some townships have 
been greatly improved by thoroughly graveling a 
small portion each year. When properly done, this 
work lasts a long time. 
* 
BREVITIES. 
Goldfish, sunfish and minnows will eat mosquitoes. 
Is the hired man lowered by the treatment you give 
him? 
What about spraying in windy weather? Who likes 
to do it then? 
Who can tell of cases where buildings carrying lightn¬ 
ing rods have been struck by lightning? 
The most innocent person we ever heard of is the man 
who thinks that a short hop crop will mean a “shortage" 
in beer! 
There are some qualities about babyism that a man 
should retain to the grave. He usually retains the wrong 
qualities. 
It may be philosophical to take things as they come, 
but it is a good deal more business-like to go after them 
sometimes. 
A report comes from Maryland of a chick hatched out 
with an extra bill. It appears to be qualifying to get in¬ 
to the meat trust. 
Half each of kerosene and crude petroleum burned on 
the end of a long stick make a good torch for burning 
tent-caterpillars. 
Ant hills! The usual advice is to drive a crowbar down 
into the hill and pour into the hole a pint of bisulphide of 
carbon. Then throw a blanket over the hill. 
A sweet potato grower will produce 300 bushels of 
‘‘sweets’’ on soils so poor that 20 bushels of shelled c irn 
or 40 of while potatoes would be called a large yield. 
How is it done? 
