THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
March 5 
166 
The Rural New=Yorker. 
THE BUSINESS FARMERS' PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 1850. 
Ei.bkrt S. Carman, Editor-in-Chief. 
Herbert W. Collingwood, Managing Editor. 
Frank H. Valentine, I Associate Editors 
Mrs. E. T. Rotle, f Associate Editors. 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
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safest means of.transmitting money. 
Address all business communications and make all orders pay¬ 
able to THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
Corner Chambers and Pearl Streets, New York. 
SATURDAY, MARCH 5, 1898. 
Look over the appended list of books. Don’t you 
want one ? You can get one or more without money. 
You have a neighbor who does not take The It. N.-Y., 
but who wants it. Get his subscription, send us his 
dollar, and for your work, we will send you your 
choice of these books: 
The Nursery Book.$0.50 
Horticulturist’s Rule Book.50 
New Potato Culture.40 
Business Hen.40 
The Dairy Calf.25 
Spraying Crops.25 
Landscape Gardening.50 
You may have a book for every new name sent. 
O 
Take two farms side by side, producing much the 
same crops and stock, and with equally good farmers 
in charge of them. Let one farmer become “ clover 
crazy,” crowding both Red and Crimson clover into 
his rotation whenever it is possible to do so—plowing 
in the Crimson and feeding the Red. After a term of 
years of such work, who does not know that the clover 
farm will outyield the other on any crop ? 
O 
For many years, Reading, Pa., has been a center of 
the wool felt hat-making trade. Of recent years, this 
trade has declined. In consequence of this, the Read¬ 
ing hat-makers are changing to fur felt, which will 
necessitate a large outlay for new machinery, and an 
entire change in the manner of working. The fur 
used is almost exclusively from rabbits, a majority of 
the skins being imported, and the fur clipped here. 
Undressed skins enter the country free, but there is a 
30 per cent duty on the fur when clipped for hat¬ 
ters’ use. 
O 
It is now proposed, in Germany, that American 
horses be subjected to six weeks’ quarantine, on their 
entry into the country, and that they shall be branded 
to indicate their origin. Such legislation would be 
almost prohibitory, for the quarantine would add to 
the cost of the animals, while the branding would re¬ 
duce their value. It does not seem likely, however, 
that these stringent rules will become law, for Ger¬ 
many has need of American horses, and is not likely 
to inaugurate a general commercial war, in spite of the 
dissatisfaction over our existing tariff legislation. 
O 
The authorities don’t seem to agree on the question 
of the desirability of having a rooster with a flock of 
hens kept solely for eggs—page 159. The weight of 
opinion, however, seems to be against the useless 
rooster. Only one refers to the fact that eggs keep 
better if the hens are kept without males. Not a 
single one refers to the pernicious practice of keeping 
a lot of unnecessary roosters, which, surely, is a cause 
of great loss. Even granting that a single well-be¬ 
haved rooster is an advantage, we don’t believe that 
he is worth enough to pay the cost of the feed he con¬ 
sumes. 
O 
Questions concerning cow peas are pouring in from 
all quarters. There is a great desire to try cow peas 
on poor fields that have been considered too far from 
the barn for hauling manure, and too “ leachy ” to 
risk with fertilizers. In the South, the cow pea has 
been remarkably useful in renovating such soils, and 
now northern farmers want to try it. The R. N.-Y. 
started the boom for Crimson clover, but would ad¬ 
vise farmers north of Pennsylvania to begin the use 
of cow peas only as an experiment. The plant is 
really a bean—tender and very susceptible to frost, 
and demanding heat and sunshine for its best growth. 
It is truly “ the poor farmer’s friend,” but only where 
the poor farmer lives in the right locality for cow-pea 
growth. Two weeks hence, The R. N.-Y. will print 
a Fertilizer or Soil-Improving Special issue, and then 
we hope to answer all the questions about cow peas. 
O 
A movement in the right direction was the passage 
by the New York State Senate of the bill providing 
for biennial sessions of the legislature. The subject 
of the passage of similar laws in other States has been 
frequently agitated, but usually, the politicians op¬ 
pose any such action, and this settles it. The direct 
saving to the State of New York in case this bill be¬ 
come a law, it is said, will approximate $500,000 each 
two years. But this is only one of the many advan¬ 
tages to be gained. Too many new laws have been 
enacted during many of these sessions, and there has 
been altogether too much changing, amending and 
twisting around of existing laws. There may be some 
disadvantages in having sessions of the legislature 
onty once in two years, but the advantages are likely 
far to outweigh these. 
G 
The New York Farmers’ Congress is an organiza¬ 
tion in which the agricultural societies of the State 
are represented. Its third annual meeting at Albany 
last week was the most successful it has held. The 
chief object of this Congress is to bring representative 
farmers together for the purpose of considering legis¬ 
lation that may affect agriculture. Bills are often 
passed at Albany that work against the interests of 
farmers. They might be killed if some representative 
of farm societies could appear before a committee, or 
before the governor, and clearly state the objections 
to them. The congress aims to perfect an organiza¬ 
tion so that farmers, through their societies, may 
know what is going on at Albany, and thus be pre¬ 
pared to take a hand in discussing legislation when 
such discussion will count. Of course, the force of 
such an organization will depend upon the men who 
stand behind it. What proportion of New York State 
farmers are represented by the agricultural societies ? 
O 
About 12 years ago, an old Yankee in New Hamp¬ 
shire, with age in his back, went hunting for a new 
way to get the small weeds out of his corn. lie had 
less respect for the old mare’s back than for his own, 
and he wanted some horse tool that would give a bet¬ 
ter imitation of the human thumb and finger than 
the teeth on the ordinary cultivator. He took a board 
and stuck long, flexible sticks in it, and fastened it to 
a pair of shafts. When the old mare pulled it across 
the field, he noticed that the points of the sticks 
jumped and dodged around among the plants, scratch¬ 
ing the surface and pulling out hundreds of little 
weeds which a cultivator would only plant deeper. 
From that humble beginning, a new tool—the weeder 
—and a new principle of cultivation, have sprung. 
The teeth are now made of steel, and experience has 
taught new shapes and arrangements for them. The 
principle of “ weeding” is now as well established as 
that of plowing oi cultivating. The weeder is a har¬ 
row with human fingers. It will not plow or 
dig, but there is a time in the growth of cultivated 
crops when it will do better work than any other tool 
yet made! 
O 
We are certain that thousands of our readers were 
profoundly shocked to learn of the death of Miss 
Frances E. Willard. The Outlook is right in saying 
that it is doubtful whether the death of any other 
woman, save possibly Queen Victoria, could have pro¬ 
duced more genuine and widespread sorrow. Miss 
Willard did much to promote the cause of temper¬ 
ance. Her thought was to organize the homes of 
America unitedly against the saloon. The home is 
the germ or living principle of both Church and State, 
and neither can reach its full measure for good until 
the homes are organized against their recognized 
enemies. Again, it is well said that Miss Willard led 
in the movement that has made “ total abstinence 
respectable.” There was a time when, in some fam¬ 
ilies, the water drinker was ranked almost as a rude 
or disreputable person. It was considered quite 
proper to urge wine upon such a guest. That feeling 
is now passing away, and societj’ recognizes the posi¬ 
tion of the total abstainer. In this, and in other 
social reforms, Miss Willard led, and led wisely. The 
world is better because she has lived in it. Her name 
will ever be spoken with the reverence that belongs 
to the good and the true. 
O 
Last year, the railroads charged the Government 
an average of eight cents a pound for carrying the 
mails, or $29,000,000. At the same time, the great 
express companies were getting a rate of less than 
one cent a pound for much the same service on the 
same trains. Thus these companies were able to 
underbid the Government’s lowest postage rate, and 
carry and deliver small packages at a profit where the 
Government claims a loss. It has often been said that 
private individuals could take the money now spent 
in the postal service and make over $30,000,000 a year 
profit without changing the rates of postage. How ? 
They would carry fewer deadheads and get better 
rates from the railroads. The franking privilege is 
so abused by Congressmen that it costs the country 
thousands of dollars to carry their trunks, old clothes 
and other litter. The free-seed distribution is another 
fearful item of expense. But the chief reason why 
this country loses money on the postal business is 
because the Government is paying the railroads ex¬ 
tortionate rates—far more than the service is worth. 
Let the Government force the railroads to give fairer 
rates—as a private corporation would do—and there 
would be a surplus every year to extend free delivery 
into the rural districts. 
G 
On page 158, is given a somewhat detailed account of 
the valuation of a fertilizer. In order to give more 
force to this important matter, we present below the 
figures showing how the final valuation is made out. 
Prof. Voorhees, of the New Jersey Experiment Sta¬ 
tion, figures the fertilizer marked No. 1 as follows : 
Pounds Pounds Price per 
per 100. per ton. pound. 
Nitrogen. 0.34 X 20 = 6.8 X 14.0c. = $0.95 
Ammonia. 1.49 X 20 = 29.8 X 13.5c. = 4.02 
Organic nitrogen. 1.90 X 20 = 38.0 X 14.0c. = 5.32 
Sol. phos. acid. 5.94 X 20 = 118.8 X 5.5c. = 6.53 
Rev. phos. acid. 3.76 X 20 = 75.2 X 5.5c. = 4.14 
Ins. phos. acid. 3.25 X 20 = 65.0 X 2.0c. = 1.30 
Muriate of potash.... 7.50 X 20 = 150.0 X 4.5c. = 6.75 
$29.01 
With these figures, it will be quite easy for any farmer 
to figure the trade value as stated in any guaranteed 
analysis. It will be seen that the station gives in¬ 
soluble phosphoric acid a valuation of two cents a 
pound. Certainly no farmer should ever buy a fer¬ 
tilizer without knowing what there is in it, and also 
knowing how to tell what it is worth. The most im¬ 
portant thing to know is the source of the nitrogen in 
the fertilizer, and the source from which the organic 
nitrogen is taken. Coarse fish or tankage might give 
a high per cent of nitrogen, but the nitrogen would be 
worth but 8 or 10 cents per pound. In old times, 
farmers could, perhaps, afford to buy or compare 
things by their outside appearance. Now they must 
get inside and pick them apart for comparison. 
G 
BREVITIES. 
February comes a smiliu’; 
Miss Precocious Peach 
Feels the sap within her biliu’, 
Does no good to preach— 
She won’t listen while you’re tellln’ 
How old Mr. March 
Stands a waitin’ for the swelliu’ ; 
Then he’ll take the starch 
Out of all her buds—he’s hidin’, 
With his frosty touch, 
In his pocket long abidin’. 
Trust him ? No, not much! 
Crawl down in your buds and stay there, 
Miss Precocious Peach, 
Shut your eyes and sleep away there, 
Till he’s out of reach. 
Pay as you go—or stop. 
Plausible lies are “ facts made of wax.” 
Klondikkrs are having their golden daze. 
The silo is a cow buoy—a dairy lighthouse. 
Money breeds the moral backbone out of men. 
A conceited Christian may be guilty of I dolatry. 
A dishorning saw may raise a crop of cow peace. 
No, sir—men with a dual purpose seldom do all they should. 
Gardeners who live in glass houses may use rock after it is 
dissolved. 
Make ’em eat dirt! Who ? The crops. Pulverize the soil so they 
can do it. 
Suppose men were ranked by what they have given away! How 
would you stand ? 
One regret of New England is that she can’t possibly claim 
Abraham Lincoln as a son. 
Twenty amendments to the game laws already before the New 
York Legislature—all in the interests of “ sport.” 
It certainly looks as though the great Klondike excitement had 
been largely worked up by the railroads and a few Pacific coast 
cities. 
Air is liquefied at 312 degrees below zero under 2,000 pounds 
pressure. Ittakesacool head and strong words to produce re¬ 
sults with wind. 
There are 4,000,000 cinchona trees in the Province of Bengal, 
India. They were planted in an effort to produce the Indian 
supply of quinine at home. 
My potato vines were killed by the bugs when hardly half 
grown. Will the tubers make good seed ? Test them ? Sprout 
them in the sun and in pots. 
Argentina has been having an awful fight with grasshoppers 
which threatened to demolish the wheat crop. An American 
entomologist took charge of the fight—the crop was harvested. 
Missouri legislation for the regulation of stockyards is less 
stringent than that of Kansas, and as a consequence, the packing¬ 
house interests show a disposition to seek new locations in the 
former State. 
It is said that more gold was taken from two counties of Col¬ 
orado during 1897, than from the whole of the Klondike region. 
Still we hear of no such craze over the Colorado gold mines as 
we do over those of the Klondike. Better go to Colorado and dig 
ground for an apple orchard ! 
