58o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
August 20 
The Rural New-Yorker. 
THE BUSINESS FARMERS' PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established, 1850. 
Elbert S. Carman, Editor-in-Chief. 
Herbert W. Collingwood, Managing Editor. 
Frank H. Valentine, I 
Mrs. E. T. Royle, f Associate Editors. 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTIONS. 
PRICE, ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, 12.04, equal to 
8s. 6d., or Sy t marks, or 1014 franc3. 
ADVERTISING RATES. 
Thirty cents per agate line (14 lines to the inch). Yearly orderB 
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. 
Be sure that the name and address of sender, with name of 
Post-office and State, and what the remittance is for, appear in 
every letter. Money orders and bank drafts on New York are the 
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, AUGUST 20, 1898. 
Remember that The R. N.-Y. will have a tent on 
the grounds of the New York State Fair at Syracuse. 
We shall be on hand, glad to meet old friends and to 
pick up new ones. We have learned to know thou¬ 
sands of readers by correspondence—now we hope to 
meet some of them face to face. Come and leave your 
baggage, and feel free to walk about and enjoy the fair. 
© 
The Hawaiian Commission, which recently set out 
from San Francisco, has among its duties the settle¬ 
ment of the labor problem in the islands. A good 
many of us have a strong impression that Uncle Sam 
need not leave his own dooryard to find labor prob¬ 
lems in need of settlement. A recent cartoon showed 
Uncle Sam and Columbia taking in to their orphan 
asylum a batch of little foundlings left upon the door¬ 
step. That is meet and right, but we must not over¬ 
look the crying needs of our own household in car¬ 
ing for these adopted children. 
© 
It is perfectly legitimate for a cooperative creamery 
company to buy binding twine, fertilizers or seed 
potatoes for its patrons. Such a company can easily 
conduct a wholesale business. Oftentimes, instead 
of dividing its surplus, the creamery managers could 
well use such funds for wholesale buying. There are, 
probably, a dozen things that all the patrons will 
need during the year, on which 20 per cent may be 
saved by wholesale buying. The creamery is a busi¬ 
ness concern, and is, therefore, well qualified to buy. 
Patrons use it for manufacturing purposes—why 
not use it for trading as well ? 
© 
Delaware might well be known as the whitewash 
State. One who travels through the State is at once 
struck by the neat and clean appearance of the barns 
and outbuildings. They are painted or whitewashed 
regularly, and this gives a very attractive appearance 
to the country. Why not keep the outbuildings neat 
and clean ? It doesn’t cost much, but how it does add 
to the looks of the farm! In some ways, Delaware 
farming is like the good old farming of New England 
or New York State. There are but few towns and 
cities. The smaller towns do not seem to increase in 
size, and farmers represent the most respected class 
of society. 
G 
It is reported from Kansas that “ leading farmers ” 
of Harvey County have organized a movement to as¬ 
sist .Joseph Leiter and his father in their financial 
difficulties. Since the collapse of his wheat deal, the 
young man is supposed to have lost about all he pos¬ 
sessed, and his father, who was a multimillionaire, 
has been selling real estate and borrowing money by 
the millions of dollars to aid his son. Now these 
Kansas farmers are reported as purposing to lay aside 
from this year’s wheat sales, one cent per bushel, to 
be deposited in some bank, the money thus collected 
ultimately to be transferred to “our friends”, the 
Leiters. The incentive is the fact that they believe 
that these benevolent gentlemen were responsible for 
the high price of wheat. We don’t question the sin¬ 
cerity of these promoters, but we deprecate the senti¬ 
ment that prompts such a proposition. Even allow¬ 
ing, for the sake of argument, that Mr. Leiter did 
raise the price of wheat, he wasn’t doing it for any 
love of the farmers, but because he expected to make 
more money for himself. Wheat would have advanced 
any way, not to the unnaturally high price to which 
it was forced, neither is it likely there would have 
been such a reaction as has followed his boost. There 
is no doubt that wheat would have been higher to-day 
had it not been for his deal. It is the height of ab¬ 
surdity for farmers to take any such measures. They 
might much better contribute their cent a bushel to 
some of the starving wretches who were brought still 
nearer to starvation by the unnaturally high price of 
flour caused by this grasping, greedy leech. 
© 
In the article about iced strawberries—page 576— 
T. J. Dwyer says that such strawberries, at this sea¬ 
son, ought to sell in New York for 50 cents to $1 per 
quart. Only a short time ago, hothouse strawberries 
were offered at 50 cents per quart wholesale, and sold 
slowly at that. They were beautiful berries, too. 
Would these iced berries sell better than those from 
the hothouse ? Are they better ? Can they be more 
cheaply produced ? Can the time of ripening be more 
readily controlled than by means of a hothouse ? 
These are questions that growers would like to have 
answered. The experiment is an intensely interesting 
one for northern horticulturists, where ice is plentiful; 
we don’t imagine that those in the South will see 
much in it for them. 
© 
At the New York State Fair, prizes of $200, $125 
and $100 are offered for the largest and best collec¬ 
tions of fruit grown in the State, collected and ex¬ 
hibited by any society or organization. The Eastern 
New York Horticultural Society will compete for the 
first two prizes. B. D. Van Buren, Stockport, N. Y., 
will have charge of the exhibit. It would be a great 
thing for the Hudson River fruit district if its horti¬ 
cultural society could win first prize this year. There 
is a fair chance for such an outcome if members will 
help Mr. Van Buren to secure the best possible speci¬ 
mens. Of course, there must be cooperation in a con¬ 
test of this sort. Those Hudson River growers who 
can contribute first-class fruit ought to correspond at 
once with Mr. Van Buren. 
© 
In Mr. Dwyer’s account of those cold storage straw¬ 
berries, on page 576, he suggests that asparagus might 
be retarded in the same way. There seems little 
reason to doubt this, for asparagus is very easily 
started into growth by a slight addition of heat and, 
one would imagine, the roots might be as easily re¬ 
tarded as refrigerated lily-of-the-valley pips. But we 
would not imagine that there would be much induce¬ 
ment for retarded asparagus. This is one of the 
earliest green vegetables in the open market; its 
season is now quite a long one, and by the time it is 
over we have a great variety of other vegetables to 
choose from. We think that a good many city buyers 
grow tired of asparagus by the time peas are in, and 
it is unlikely that retarded asparagus could com¬ 
pete with Lima beans. It would be like offering be¬ 
lated rhubarb as a rival for Summer fruits. 
O 
Angora cats would not prove a remunerative form 
of live stock in the Philippine Islands, for in that 
climate, cats become weak and lazy, and worthless as 
vermin-hunters. Their place is supplied by house 
snakes—great serpents that grow to be 12 or 14 feet 
long, and as thick as a fire hose. They are great 
ratters, and may be heard writhing about above the 
muslin ceiling in their rat-catching expeditions. These 
reptiles are domesticated in most old houses, but if 
one runs short of house snakes, a supply may be pur¬ 
chased, for the natives bring these reptiles in to mar¬ 
ket coiled around a bamboo pole, to which the snake’s 
head is tied. A house snake cannot purr if stroked, 
and can hardly be recommended as a homelike com¬ 
panion upon the hearth-rug, but in all other respects, 
it appears quite as useful as a cat, without any tend¬ 
ency towards nocturnal concerts and midnight prowls. 
© 
While the bicycle on the farm may never take the 
place of the plow, harrow or cross-cut saw, it is a 
great saver of time and labor in doing the “running 
around.” Errands at the near-by store or blacksmith 
shop can be done almost before a start would be made 
with horse and wagon. One young man went four 
miles over the hills, and brought back a mowing 
machine fixture weighing 10 pounds or more. A jug 
of water, a hoe, ax or other light tools may be carried 
across smooth meadows or pastures or even on wood 
roads. There will be an occasional puncture, but 
these are easily repaired and, with a good tire, the 
danger is slight. Of course, for use of this kind, or 
for any other use, in fact, reasonable care must be ex¬ 
ercised and a good strong wheel is necessary. A poor 
one makes a constant expense, as well as endanger¬ 
ing life and limb. The wheelman has a sort of 
Damon-and-Pythias feeling toward good roads. Thou¬ 
sands of farmers and their sons are using wheels. In 
this fact is a suggestion of greatly improved country 
roads for the future. 
The interest in the war has rather crowded out the 
discussion of some worthy things. Not much has 
been said about free delivery of the mails in rural 
districts, yet good progress is being made. The 
Government has received 157 petitions from 35 States, 
asking for new free delivery routes. Eighteen new 
stations have been started and many more are to fol¬ 
low. The United States Government is far behind 
other countries in the work of delivering mail in 
country districts. Probably 45,000,000 people in this 
country must carry their mails at their own expense. 
Wake up, Uncle Sam ! You have whipped Spain—now 
give our own farmers freer mail service. 
© 
In the article on training colts, on our first page, 
the boys and the hired men are given credit for con¬ 
siderable disgraceful abuse of the colt. We fear that 
it isn’t they alone who are guilty. How about the 
boss in whom such conduct is still more reprehensible? 
It would seem that self-interest ought to prompt a 
man to kind and careful treatment of his animals. It’s 
a matter of dollars and cents. No animal can do good 
work if threatened and bullied. A large part of the 
horses one sees in the city are well fed and well cared 
for. The horses that draw the express wagons, the 
street cars, the heavy trucks, the fire engines, etc., 
give evidence of the best of care. These are owned 
by business men and by corporations, who realize that 
for their own profit they must feed and handle well 
to get the best service. It is said that corporations 
have no souls, but they give evidence of having more 
in some ways than many individuals 
© 
BREVITIES. 
Only a weed! .vet it calmly grew 
In the onion bed where all could view; 
And it flowered thick and seeded full, 
When all required was one strong pull. 
Only an onion! doomed to die 
Iii the weedy patch where mortal eye 
Could see naught else but children dear 
Of that lusty weed that grew last year. 
Only a man! whose pocket thin 
Betrays the dearth of genial “ tin,” 
And on whose face we plainly read 
Despotic rule of Mr. Weed. 
Only a lesson, slowly taught, 
A weedy farm with profit naught; 
But tillage done for tillage sake, 
Increases crops and profits make. m. g. kains. 
Rum sires ruin. 
The White Farm—page 586. 
Cold comfort—spring water. 
A stamp collector—the door mat. 
Poor culture to breed from culls. 
We prefer to apply lime in the Spring. 
“ The giving hand is the saving hand ”. 
Dawdling is a case of extension of work. 
Square patriotism—rallying 'round the flag. 
Let agricultural writers practice what they teach. 
The thirsty hen is most uncomfortable this weather. 
“ Remember the mane ” said the horse to his cleaner. 
Yes, sir, set backs do make some men take a back seat. 
Good shade tempers the temperature of the shorn lamb. 
A thrashing machine—the American battleship, Oregon. 
The pennywise man is measured by the centy-grade scale. 
Rinse the milk things with cold water first. Sterilize later. 
A ration of good cultivation may have beeu the crop’s salvation. 
The English sparrow does one good thing—it eats cabbage 
worms. 
He daubs himself with deepest shame who leaves wood-cutting 
to his dame. 
A poor way to fill the family pork barrel is to hold it down at 
the corner grocery! 
A pasture gnawed down to the roots is not the kind of” ground 
feed ” that will fatten stock. 
Don’t judge a man by his clothes; even a hog gets only two 
points for “ coat” in the judge’s scale. 
What is the best place for the cow’s salt lump ? Like the 
Spanish—where it can be easily licked. 
Don’t give all the honor to “the men behind the guns”. The 
men who get in front of them deserve credit. 
To make a “ well-balanced woman” out of the farmer’s wdfe, 
you must lighten her labors. They are too heavy now. 
The oleomargarine business has taken a boom since the recent 
Supreme Court decision—1,452,879 pounds in July against 693,707 
pounds in July 1897! 
Prop. Slingerland thinks the Willard plum tree—page 578—was 
attacked by the the Shot-hole fungus. That seems to have been 
the bacterium that destroyed the Spanish warships. 
This season has been highly seasoned. It has been as hot as 
mustard. We have been assaulted by rain and peppered by 
drought. It is hard to catch up, and the whole thing makes a 
chilly sauce for the pocket book. 
As an example of concentrated energy, it is hard to beat the 
common yellow jacket. His mind is on his work. He comes to 
the point at once and hammers away with all his might. A tenth 
of his business ability in proportion to his size would make a for¬ 
tune for most men. 
Clean milk is the purest and best food. It cannot be improved 
by heating. Whatever it touches, however, will in a few hours 
be germ ridden. Don’t sterilize the milk, therefore, but sterilize 
anything that comes in contact with it. Your hands ? By rights 
your hands should never touch the milk. 
