788 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
November 1 l 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 1850. 
Herbert W. Collingwood, Editor. 
Dr. Walter Van Fleet, 1 
H. E. Van Deman, ^-Associates. 
Mrs. E. T. Hoyle, j 
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 8 l /t marks, or 10& francs. 
ADVERTISING RATES. 
Thirty cents per agate line (14 lines 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 Street, New York. 
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 1899. 
New subscribers to The R. N.-Y. will 
now get the paper from the time sub¬ 
scription is received until January 1, 
1901. If you will send us a club of 
four subscriptions, new or renewal, 
with $4, we will advance your own 
subscription one year free. Take a 
few copies with you to the polls election day, and get 
up a club. If you want more samples, drop us a postal 
card. 
* 
The Navy Department has just been introducing 
high-grade cattle into the Island of Guam. A family 
of Jerseys, consisting of three cows, a bull, and a 
calf, were recently landed from the collier Brutus, 
for the purpose of supplying milk to Governor Leary 
and the officers of the garrison. Guam has no milch 
cows, but the climate is considered suitable for rais¬ 
ing them, and these navy agriculturists say that they 
expect to succeed with their experiment. The fact 
that the Navy Department is sending these cattle 
makes one wonder whether the Department of Agri¬ 
culture will provide the reenforcements to the garri¬ 
son, now called for. 
* 
The annual meeting of the Eastern New York Hor¬ 
ticultural Society will be held at the rooms of the 
American Institute, New York City, February 7 and 
8, 1900. There will be a midwinter exhibition of 
fruits, flowers, and fruits and vegetables grown under 
glass, for which prizes aggregating $250 will be of¬ 
fered by the American Institute. A good programme 
will be arranged. A great city like New York, where 
most of the fruit grown by these horticulturists will 
be sold, ought to be a good place for the meeting, but 
as a rule, it is hard to secure a fair attendance in 
this city. In addition to this meeting the society 
should hold several smaller meetings at points along 
the Hudson. 
* 
In a paper recently read before the State Medical 
Association of New York it was charged that from 
six to 15 per cent of practicing physicians are ad¬ 
dicted to the use of morphine, opium and other nar¬ 
cotic drugs, either openly or in secret, and a much 
larger proportion habitually use alcoholic stimulants 
to excess. Comments on this rather sensational 
statement in various papers indicate surprise and 
consternation at this revelation, yet any one familiar 
with the exacting duties of a doctor lin busy prac¬ 
tice, and the constant physical and mental strain he 
is under, will rather wonder that a far greater num¬ 
ber do not yield to the temptation to “brace up” 
their nerves when worried and depressed. The local 
doctor must be at all times alert and ready to re¬ 
spond and sympathize, too often with trivial and 
imaginary ailments. He must face at any moment 
the most desperate and agonizing problems of human 
suffering, and must undertake fatiguing journeys, re¬ 
gardless of season or weather. His rest is broken, 
and meals disturbed and hurried. He is often the 
hardest-worked and poorest-paid person in the com¬ 
munity. All this and more can be said in extenua¬ 
tion of indulgences intended to soothe and tem¬ 
porarily fortify an exhausted nervous system, but 
nothing, after all, can excuse a physician—who as¬ 
sumes to accept responsibilities for life or death; to 
act as the arbitrator of the health of his fellow-men— 
from a weakness which may cloud his judgment at 
any critical moment. Whatever sense and discre¬ 
tion nature and experience have given him should be 
available at all times, and to the utmost extent, but 
this cannot be the case, when fuddled with liquor or 
drugs. The doctor, whether rightly or wrongly, rep¬ 
resents, in common with the clergyman, a certain 
moral standard, and should be held as rigidly respon¬ 
sible for its maintenance. If he cannot stand the 
strain of medical practice wiithout resorting to stimu¬ 
lants and narcotics, he should give up the business. 
People can only blame themselves for unfortunate re¬ 
sults, if they knowingly employ doctors who have 
become slaves to the liquor or drug habits. 
* 
“Good times!” “Prosperity!” People everywhere 
are shouting these words. Among others the cry has 
started up the man with the trust or monopoly. For 
this man the most important thing about prosperity 
is that it gives him a good chance to raise the price 
of the article he has for sale. He does it—don't 
doubt that. It will be noticed that few of the tool 
manufacturers who discuss the situation think that 
farmers as a class are really able to stand the ad¬ 
vance in price. They will get some facts from our 
readers next week, which may surprise them. In the 
meantime, the work of increasing our exports in 
metals and tools goes merrily on. We are building 
up a foreign market at the expense of our own people, 
yet few seem willing to admit it. 
* 
Our Michigan friend, on page 782, says that he was 
kept from trying the cow pea as a manurial crop be¬ 
cause the experiment stations were so slow in recom¬ 
mending it. These stations were also very slow to 
give helpful advice about Crimson clover. The agri¬ 
cultural papers which discussed these plants, and 
held them before the public eye, did a grand thing 
for agriculture. Of course we realize that the ex¬ 
periment stations must be careful and conservative 
about new plants. They might do great harm by ad¬ 
vocating half-tested theories, plants or methods. The 
agricultural paper may well act as a revivalist, in 
such matters, and tell the new story forcibly. It must 
be careful, though, really to know what it is talking 
about, and then talk so that the reader will not get 
an experiment mixed up with a settled fact. 
* 
The mind of the man who makes a living on the 
average American farm is not made of putty. Some 
of our contemporaries seem to think so, for they are 
constantly telling how good they are and what great 
things they are doing. The R. N.-Y. would not care 
to cater to a class of people who have to be told that 
an article or a paper is unusually strong. That is 
too much like the boy who drew a picture and then 
had to write below it “This is a cow!” We Wish to 
spend all our time in scouring the world for the best, 
and then crowd all we can of it into the paper. We 
don’t attempt to tell our readers how good The R. 
N.-Y. !is, because they are not puttyheads. They are 
capable of deciding for themselves. We do our best 
and will gladly listen to any just criticism or helpful 
suggestion. Life is Short, but there may be such a 
thing as trying to stretch it out too long. 
* 
The American Seed Trade Association has pre¬ 
pared a strong protest against the promiscuous free 
distribution of common garden seeds by the United 
States Government, through the Department of Agri¬ 
culture. The points made are as follows: “1. No class 
of merchants in this country, in proportion to net re¬ 
turns from their investment, pay more towards the 
support of the Government, both in the form of 
duties on imported seeds, postage on seeds and cata¬ 
logues sent by mail, than the seedsmen. It is mani¬ 
festly unfair that they should be singled out for Gov¬ 
ernment competition by means of free seeds, sent 
by mail free of postage. 2. The retail value of seeds 
sent by Government to any one person is seldom 
more than 25 cents; but when this amount is multi¬ 
plied by several millions, and the fact considered that 
many others expect to receive Government seeds, and 
withhold their purchases from regular dealers until 
the season is past, some idea can be formed of the 
great injury worked to the legitimate seed trade. 3. 
The original intent of the law was to distribute for 
trial new and improved varieties only, but as now 
conducted common standard and, in many cases, old 
superseded varieties are distributed at an expense, in¬ 
cluding carriage, of over $300,000 annually.” The last 
argument, to the effect that the original intention of 
Congress was to limit distribution to new, rare, or 
improved varieties of seeds and plants, such as are 
difficult for individuals to procure, tis in our point of 
view the strongest of the series. It is true that Gov¬ 
ernment competes unfairly with the seedsmen, but so 
it does with the horticultural press in the way of dis¬ 
seminating a vast amount of free literature on garden 
and farm topics. The abuses of the present system 
of seed distribution, are so flagrant, in comparison to 
the small public benefit, that it is high time that it be 
stopped, and there are indications that the present 
Secretary of Agriculture is reforming the service, to 
To 
January, 
1901, 
for 
$ 1 . 00 . 
the extent of reestablishing the introduction and 
distribution of useful exotic plants, but he has little 
power to alter the present method as long as Con¬ 
gress insists on making the appropriations. It ap¬ 
peal’s that there is an elaborate system of jobbery 
connected with the Government seed distribution. 
Congressmen have been elected on the strength of the 
seeds mailed to their constituents, and to make their 
promises good have bought the quotas of city mem¬ 
bers, costing the Government the greater part of 
$1,000, for sums as small as $75. City members, on 
the other hand, are often willing to trade their seeds 
for the shares of various expensive and finely-illus 
trated books, published by the departments, belonging 
to the seed-hunting country Congressmen. The pres¬ 
ent seed distribution seems to be a bad business all 
around, and the farmers of the country should see to 
it that their representatives in Congress vote to stop 
'it. 
* 
lx is a pity that many people take their local polit¬ 
ical paper as their standard of journalism. The po¬ 
litical paper is one-sided. It must support its party, 
right or wrong—through thick or thin. Sometimes 
plans or methods are suggested which the editor 
knows are insincere, or made only for effect, but he 
stifles his own honest opinion. He must help the 
party, though he knows that by so doing he may hurt 
many individuals in that party. Some farmers would 
apply this style of journalism to their agricultural 
paper. A case of this sort came to our notice re¬ 
cently. A scheme was under way which, its pro¬ 
moters hoped, would be of great value to farmers. 
\\ e were asked to boost it—to give it unqualified in- 
doisement. Before doing so we demanded all the 
facts, so that we might know just what we were 
doing. “Boom it anyway!” was the reply. “Take our 
void for it, and push lit. Urge the farmers to climb 
on board at once, and then, of course, it will suc¬ 
ceed.” That is the way the political paper would do 
but of course The R. N.-Y. is not built that way.’ 
there are many things about such movements that 
are in every way worthy, and in a general way they 
will always have our support. At the same time, 
before we will indorse, without reserve, any special 
scheme of this sort, we must have the whole story. 
* 
BREVITIES. 
Here’s a sentiment worthy to keep in your mind 
thr ° Ugh Hfe ’ f0r il ’ s true - >'OU will find; 
11 at you ie not so much valued by what you may say. 
As by what you may do in a practical way 
For unless you perform what you say you can do, 
Liave doubts will arise that you’re honest and true; 
though your voice be as sweet as the song of the birds, 
Remember, that actions speak louder than words. 
Nor would I discourage the message that cheers, 
Or the prayer, or the blessing of sympathy’s tears; 
they are always in order; they help in their way 
J'o hasten the dawn of millennial day. 
But a little more gold sandwiched in with your prayers 
Would banish more tears, and lighten more cares; 
(hough your voice be as sweet as the song of the birds, 
Remember, that actions speak louder than words. 
CHARLES W. SCARFF. 
A good-sized apple makes a good “night-cap.” 
Don't make your “higher agriculture” too high. 
\\ hat calling is nearer to God than honest husbandry? 
The teacher of higher agriculture must be worthy of 
his hire. 
An ungallant editor describes a gossiping woman as a 
receiving teller. 
Doesn’t it sound inconsistent for a man with horse 
sense to purchase an automobile? 
When some one asks your opinion of a neighbor, don’t 
butt his reputation with a “but.” 
ft 
XX ho can give us facts about farmers who have gone 
into bankruptcy to settle their debts? 
What a fearful thing old age will be for that man! Do 
people have occasion to say that of you? 
With the price of tools going up, why should there be 
such a rush to increase exports in machinery? 
Ground Hungarian grass seed is the most recent adul¬ 
terant of pepper, according to the analysts. 
If Admiral Dewey would only say the word, you’d hear 
the biggest Yankee yell that ever yet was heard. 
Some people when by duty taught will leave their 
ought behind as ort or else will turn them down to 0. 
In our opinion the Canada pea is behind the southern 
cow pea in its ability to milk nitrogen out of the air. 
It is said that some fruit growers will spray when the 
trees are in bloom, even though they have to pay the fine 
for killing bees. 
It was the stampeding mules that brought on a defeat 
for the British in South Africa. The mules did not come 
from America, however. 
According to official statistics, each inhabitant of Ber¬ 
lin, Germany, consumes 162 pounds of meat yearly, of 
which two pounds are horseflesh. 
A good many hurried Americans are inquiring how they 
may abbreviate the word automobile. One would think 
this a matter of deep interest to Belgians, for we are 
told that in Flemish an automobile is a snelpaardeloos- 
zoondeerspoorwegpetroolrij tuig. 
