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THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
April 22 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S RARER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 1850. 
Elbert S. Carman, Editor-In-Chief. 
Herbert W. Collinowood, Managing Editor. 
sr e h t v no i s; , “' «««»- 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
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order, personal check or bank draft. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
409 Pearl Street, New York. 
SATURDAY, APRIL 22. 1899 
That plan for providing for a family supply of 
honey, referred to by A. I. Root, on page 301, seems 
like a great scheme. One could have a regular honey 
mine accessible any day in the jear. One of the most 
healthful sweets could be secured at a merely nominal 
expense. The bees are, in one sense, scavengers, for 
they gather what would otherwise be a total loss 
Kept in this way, they would require but little atten¬ 
tion. The idea certainly seems feasible in many 
localities. 
In some parts of the country, we see farms aban¬ 
doned because the old people, after toiling on them to 
rear a family, see their boys leave them one by one, 
to learn a trade or profession in the city. The daugh¬ 
ters become clerks or school-teachers, and they, too, 
leave the old homestead to join the hurrying army of 
women wage-eai'ners. Next week, The R. N.-Y. will 
tell something about a farm run by daughter power, 
which suggests that, when the boys leave the farm, 
the girls may be found an efficient substitute. It af¬ 
fords another answer to the oft-repeated query as to 
what we shall do with our daughters. 
In New England, some of the old hill towns are five 
miles or more back from the railroad, with steep 
grades on the way. People in these towns realize 
that, unless they can establish quicker communica¬ 
tion with the steam railroads, they are lost. The 
strange thing is that these shrewd Yankees are get¬ 
ting to see that light electric lines chartered to carry 
. freight will serve them better than State roads of 
stone or gravel. In many places, there is abundant 
water power for generating electricity. A steady and 
rapid electric car service would bring these old towns 
into the world again, and give them a new lease of 
life. But what a change from the oldtime life when 
the distant farm is joined to the great markets of the 
world by electricity I 
Some of the agricultural papers are just awakening 
to the fact that it is pop liar now to talk about cow 
peas. Most of them, evidently, never saw a cow pea, 
but they plunge in with all sorts of advice about it. 
For example, they advise readers to sow it with oate, 
evidently confusing it with the Canada field pea. 
Whoever sows the cow pea with oats, will never Eee a 
vine of it. It is a small bean, and must have a warm 
soil in order to germinate. Frost will kill it. Its 
chief value at the North is as a manurial plant. In 
our opinion, it is a mistake for the northern farmer to 
cut it for hay. We would either use it for a hog 
pasture, or plow it under L'ke Crimson clover, the 
cow pea, to be appr. ciated, must be fairly tried and 
given a fair chance. 
In 1897 there was dug out of the mines in this 
count r y $57,363,000 worth of gold and $32,316,000 worth 
of silver—$89,679 000 in all. In 1898, this count y im¬ 
ported from foreign countries $120 391 674 worth of 
gold and $30,177,458 worth of silver. Of this vast sum 
in gold, $22,799,157 came from France, $43,133 538 from 
England, $8,428,050 from Germany, and $8,670,220from 
Canada. In other words, the nations that buy mest 
of our food and fiber products sent us most gold in 
return. The farmer digs more gold for Uncle Sam 
than the miner ; for his grain, provisions and cotton 
bring it back across the sea. Thus agriculture not 
only feeds and clothes the people, but it gives National 
credit, and provides capital for all business Let no 
plow be put into the soil for one year, and commerce 
and manufacturing would be ruined. How strange, 
then, that those who conduct the country's business 
should try to put the farmer last of all in their plans 
for legislation. Thus it seems strange to us that such 
statements as the following should pass unnoticed: 
As soon as the necessary authority is obtained, the Department 
of Agriculture will be able materially to assist the planters of 
Porto Rico, Cuba and the Philippines, in increasing not only the 
quality but the quantity of their crops. Scientific agriculture 
has not been applied to the products of any of the tropical 
countries.—Chicago Record. 
Among the products of these islands, are sugar, wool 
and rice, three products that are peculiarly needed 
by our American farmers. Suppose for a moment that 
any National Department at Washington started out 
to develop the manufacture of iron or cotton, cloth or 
furniture in these islands—the goods to be sent here 
for sale ! What a ho wl there would be from the stout 
lungs of our “ infant industries ”. “ All the farmer asks 
for is fair vlay!” Correct. lie does not expect foul 
play in the house of his friends. 
The deserted country church figured on page 312 is 
a melancholy sight. The blight of decay has settled 
upon it, and a cursory observer might fear lest it was 
an index of the spiritual decay of the surrounding 
people. The Fast-day proclamation of the Governor 
of New Hampshire certainly takes a very pessimistic 
view of religious life in the country. Yet, in our so¬ 
journs among farming friends, we are often impressed 
by the unostentatious, yet deep and sincere spiritual 
life among them. We believe that the trend of mod¬ 
ern religious belief is towards a weakening of theo¬ 
logical dogma which, though now in a transition 
stage, will ultimately strengthen spiritual growth, 
and lead to religious unity, recognizing one fold and 
one Shepherd. 
• • 
Every year we are more and more impressed with 
the fact that farmers must adapt their methods to 
their individual circumstances. What may be an ex¬ 
cellent practice on one farm, may be all wrong on an¬ 
other, even but a short disiance away. On page 301, 
Dr. nalsted' speaks of the ad vi ability of planting 
potatoes so that the surface may be less shaded, and 
the sun may dry it out, and thus render conditions 
less favorable for rot and blight. But a year or two 
ago, we had an account of potato growing in Kansas, 
where millet was sown in the crop at the last cultiva¬ 
tion, for the purpose of protecting it from the extreme 
heat of the sun. and absorbing surplus water. In 
some localities, potatoes are mulched to protect the 
soil from the drying rays of the sun, and some plant 
thickly to shade the surface. Radically different 
practices these. Still each may be best. 
The beef investigation is likely to have one result 
that was not looked for. Canned beef and dressed 
beef are under a cloud. Go out among eastern people 
who buy this beef, and you will be surprised at the 
statements made about it. The opinion seems to be 
quite general that the great beef monopolies have 
grown so greedy that they use inferior stuff in their 
cans, and would not hesitate to use poisons to pre¬ 
serve the dressed meat. The result will be that, in 
many eastern towns and cities, two classes of meat 
will be offered—dressed and home-killed. The small 
slaughter-houses that formerly dotted the country 
have mostly disappeared. We expect to see many of 
them return, and we expect to see beef-growing once 
more profitable on the back farms of New England 
and New York State. The greedy packers with their 
oleomargarine, their “embalmed beef” and their 
slippery business methods, are responsible for the 
feeling against western beef. It is a shame that 
western cattle growers should lose a good market 
thrdugh such operations. 
• % 
« « 
When one great corporation meets another in a 
legal fight, the plain people may stand from under, 
and take lessons in strategy. One of the railroads 
entering Chicago recently desired to obtain a new 
right of way, and found no difficulty in buying the 
required land near the Indiana shore of the lake east 
of Chicago. This district is a wilderness of sand dunes, 
valueless for agriculture, but at a certain point, the 
railway was blocked by a tract belonging to a Chi¬ 
cago ice company, which refused to sell the land. 
Nothing daunted, the railway people began con¬ 
demnation proceedings against the ice company, ard 
victory seemed ready to perch upon their banner. In 
the meantime, the ice company laid low, like Bre’r 
Rabbit, and induced the State legislature to pass a 
bill prohibiting railways from disturbing any burying 
ground. They then laid out the center of their tract 
as a cemetery, interred in it a number of bodies which 
had been destined for the Potter’s Field, and blandly 
pointed out the legal status of the land to the rail¬ 
way company. Of course, the condemnation proceed¬ 
ings failed, and the strategic ice company is jubilant. 
Some of the recent developments in the beef inves¬ 
tigation have set people to thinking on the subject of 
canned goods in general. It is more than suspected 
that various other lines of goods could a tale unfold 
about their pedigree, history, and lineage more an¬ 
cient than honorable. It is said that old stocks of 
canned goods of various kinds are frequently worked 
off as of the last season’s vintage, by re wrapping the 
cans in the fancy paper wrappers which give them 
such a showy appearance. It has been suggested that 
a law be passed requiring canneries to stamp, with 
plain figures, all their cans with the year in which 
they were filled, so that the customer may know what 
he is buying. This would certainly seem feasible, 
and ought to prove effective. 
The ensilage required by a cow from November 1 
to May 1 occupies 181 cubic feet in the silo ! That is 
less than one-fourth the space required by the cow to 
insure a supply of pure air. In the old days, when 
cows were fed on hay, a large room wag required to 
hold her rough fodder. Now a small closet will hold 
it. This makes a great difference when a new dairy 
barn is to be built. Instead of a great two-story 
building, a long, low shed with a silo at one end and 
a small hay-loft at the other, with a feeding track run¬ 
ning through the center, seems the ideal home for the 
modern dairy cow. One trouble is that this modern 
building does not contain air enough to supply the 
cows, and extra ventilation is needed. The roomy old 
barns contained a good supply of air. Neglect to ven¬ 
tilate the new ones has caused some disease among 
cows, which has been attributed wrongly to the use 
of ensilage. 
• • 
v 
BREVITIES 
“ AN AMERICAN CITIZEN.” 
He goes among his fellow men, and roars, 
A very lion In the people’s cause; 
He sits before the grocery, and soars 
With flights of eloquence that never pause. 
He builds up men of st-aw and wrongs of air, 
And then upsets them with his burning tongue. 
He beards the money demon in his lair, 
How fearlessly his verbal rocks are flung! 
His comrades nod their heads, and point with pride, 
This bold and fearless man—but wait and see 
With what a lamb-like air he sneaks inside 
The kUchemdoor—his 1 is changed to We. 
The tongue that wagged so loud against the State, 
Is like a clam before his wife’s stern look. 
She’s only half his size, but dinner’s late, 
And well—she knows him like an open book. 
In public, Biowhard roars his noisy part, 
But trace him home, his good wife you shall see 
Take up the woman’s burden with good heart, 
And prick the gas bag of his vanity. 
Don’t make Sunday a weak day! 
The first person singular—Adam! 
A good state to live in is the try state. 
Grade up the sheep with “Down” blood. 
“ Taking pains ”—Sitting on the grass in April. 
A drop of do is good medicine for the lazy man. 
Insects are ruining the maple trees in Vermont. 
The legumes are the horses for hauling nitrogen. 
The only curse that is cursed by cultivation is a weed. 
You will notice that southern peach growing costs money. 
The price of a clean conscience—external, internal and eternal 
vigilance. 
Reports are that Kansas and Nebraska may not produce wheat 
enough for home needs! 
From July 22 to April 1, a New Hampshire woman made 508 
pies—all eaten at home. 
Some of the stories told about the flesh served to our soldiers 
seem both fishy and fowl. 
Is corn a cleansing crop ? It gives you a good chance to keep 
the weeds down—that is all. 
Bad luck should punch up—with a special goad—the foolish 
farmer who would kill a toad. 
You can make something out of nothing by adding a straight 
line to it—0+1 9. That is more than any crooked mark will make. 
A newspaper must be either a leader of public opinion or a 
feeder of private opinion, stamped with somebody’s dollar to 
appear as public. 
The R. N.-Y. will go on record as opposed to the scheme of 
cutting beans, peas or clover into the silo with corn to make a 
“ balanced ensilage.” It won’t pay. 
It wouldn’t be so strange if, after the rich men have fully 
organized the trusts, the poor common people bought them out 
and ran them for the common good. 
Formaldehyde is now named as one substance used in “process¬ 
ing ” the soldiers’beef. It is a famous bacteria-killer and, used 
in this way, can be depended upon to injure or destroy the bac¬ 
teria of patriotism. 
When your wife asks for a dollar, and you put her off with 50 
cents, she may manage somehow to look neat and cheerfuL 
When your potatoes call for a square meal, and you make it half, 
they quit. Your wife should have more of the potato’s spirit. 
When Dollar fights with Duty, with your heart the battle¬ 
ground, you’ve got to back your Duty with a conscience clean 
and sound, or else Almighty Dollar will be sure to win the fight, 
and Duty’s haggard countenance will haunt you day and night. 
Regarding the discussion of bearded or bald wheats, we think 
most farmers regard the beard as a nuisance, and accept it only 
when compelled to, for the sake of getting other good qualities. 
The birds object to the beards, and as a rule, we think the 
bearded varieties do not shell as early as the bald ones. 
