692 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
October 8 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMERS' PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 1850. 
Elbert S. Cabman, Editor-in-Chief. 
Herbert W. Colling wood, Managing Editor. 
Frank H. Valentine, ( . . . 
Mrs. E. T. Hoyle, Associate Editors. 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
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Price, One Dollar A Year. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, 82.04, equal to 
8s. 6d., or 8*4 marks, or 10*4 francs. 
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of 10 or more lines, and 1,000-line orders, 25 cents per line. 
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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, OCTOBER 8, 1898. 
The managing editor of The It. N.-Y. is now in Ohio 
visiting various parts of the State for the purpose of 
studying farm methods and conditions, and compar¬ 
ing them with eastern farming. Later he will go 
farther west to Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and 
beyond the Mississippi on the same errand. Doubt¬ 
less, our readers will be interested in the reports of 
these trips, which will indicate how the great West 
appears to an eastern man after nearly 20 years’ 
absence. 
@ 
The man who said he did not object to agriculture 
in his paper, but still wanted some farming, knew 
just what he meant. In fact, this is a nice distinction 
to make. By farming, he meant the every-day life 
and methods of the farm. To him, “ farming” meant 
work, while “ agriculture ” meant talk, or the dis¬ 
cus ion of new methods or theories. Too many of 
our writers and speakers talk agriculture rather 
than farming, forgetting that the great proportion of 
country people are farmers rather than agriculturists. 
© 
Congressman S. E. Payne made some remarkable 
statements about filled cheese at the great meeting at 
the Geneva Experiment Station. Western makers of 
filled and skim cheese are still selling it under the 
New York full-cream brand, and thus far, they have 
defeated efforts to have Congress securely protect our 
State dairymen by prohibiting the fraudulent use of 
our State brand. Common honesty as well as common 
law demands that this counterfeiting should be 
stopped at once. These filled-cheese rascals are as 
bad as the oleo men. 
O 
Crowing roosters are a decided nuisance in a city, 
where night-workers are often just falling asleep 
when the birds begin their morning salute. An Eng¬ 
lish authority suggests the use of a wire muzzle, 
which, without preventing the bird from eating or 
drinking, would not permit him to open his beak wide 
enough to t;row. This is quite as ingenious as, and 
more humane than the expedient of a railway express 
messenger who was disturbed by a crate full of pro¬ 
testing ducks. He slipped small rubber bands over 
their beaks, and thus kept them silent while he took 
a nap. 
0 
Two prize-fighters agreed to pound each other with 
their fists, after tiring their tongues at calling hard 
names. They carried out the latter part of their pro¬ 
gramme, but now find it impossible to find a spot of 
civilized America where they can fight. Gov. Mount, 
of Indiana, notified them that the moment they crossed 
the line of his State they would be treated as common 
criminals. Serves them right. A good way for them 
to settle their difference would be to take spades, and 
see which can do the most good ditching in half a day. 
That wouldn’t answer, however, because it is useful 
labor! 
© 
A horticultural friend, commenting upon nope 
Farm’s experience with corn and the commission man, 
observed that plenty of farmers in the same section, 
who go to market all through the season with corn, 
melons, Lima beans, etc., are entirely unable to tell 
whether their crops paid them or not. They might 
realize, by the end of the season, that some one crop 
did not pay, and should be dropped, but they could not 
tell, accurately, which crop to drop. It seems to us 
this opinion is tolerably correct. It is difficult to farm 
with any clear knowledge if no account is kept with 
each crop. If the farm is running ahead, or running 
behind, we should be able to put our hand on the ex¬ 
act point of strength or weakness. Some of the great 
cut-flower growers calculate the running expenses to 
every foot of bench-room, and then discard varieties 
of plants which do not pay a profit above the expense 
of space occupied. It would seem necessary, now, to 
grow farm crops upon equally business-like principles. 
•j 
A certain nursery firm has been sending its agents 
through western New York selling so-called new varie¬ 
ties of peaches at a high price. Among other ex¬ 
travagant stories and claims is the statement that the 
Department of Agriculture at Washington has given 
a certificate or patent, which will not permit other 
dealers to sell these peaches. We shall give the full 
facts about this business in a few w r eeks, but want to 
say right now that this claim about the Department 
of Agriculture is a fraud and a humbug. The Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture has no authority to issue any 
such patent or certificate. 
© 
Attention is called to the account of the proposed 
artificial formation of nitrates in the air on page 693. 
These wise men are able to look far into the future, 
and make a fair guess at the surprises the years have 
in store for us. It will not do for the rank and file 
to save the money we spend for clover seed, and sit 
down and wait until Niagara can burn up the air for 
us. As an offset to this wonderful story, we shall, 
next week, give some figures, showing how our little 
friend, Crimson clover, has strengthened the soil on 
Mr. Geo. T. Powell’s farm. In one way this will be 
as important an announcement as that of Sir William 
Crookes’s prediction. 
® 
It seems impossible for the government of France to 
do too much for farmers. An act has been passed which 
enables farmers to borrow money of local banks on 
the security of their produce. The government secures 
the banks by issuing an agricultural warrant. A 
farmer may sell his produce when he pleases and ro- 
deem this warrant, which is negotiable. In this way 
the farmer may borrow money on his crop and hold 
it for any possible increase of value. It is quite easy 
to see what an advantage such a plan would be to 
the American farmer. In some cases, he might lose 
money by holding too long, but in the long run he 
would gain. 
© 
A combination of implements has been in use on 
many New Jersey and Long Island farms this season, 
for digging potatoes. Circumstances compelled it. 
The first in the series is a mowing machine. This 
cuts the heavy crop of weeds that seem inseparable 
from every potato field this year. The next is the 
horserake that gathers the weeds into windrows for 
removal, after which the digger has a free field. Talk 
about keeping fields clean this year ! Many a field 
that was as “clean as a whistle” when the vines 
covered the ground, compelling a cessation of culti¬ 
vation, became a veritable forest of weeds before 
digging time. 
© 
A dealer in lubricants, discussing with a silk manu¬ 
facturer, the outlook for Fall trade, observed that he 
had been surprised to note the dullness of business 
among the woolen mills. Many of them are shut down 
entirely, and others keep running on short time only. 
This he accounted for by the fact that enormous im¬ 
ports of woolen goods were rushed into this country 
just before the Dingley bill went into effect, and these 
must be consumed before our mills can realize much 
benefit from the change. The future, however, offers 
more encouragement to the wool grower, and another 
season will be likely to see a great improvement. It 
was also predicted that an early and rigorous Winter 
would be highly beneficial to the wool trade. The 
present dullness is shown by the action of the Wool 
Exchange, in ceasing the wool auctions. 
© 
On Thursday, September 29, the people of Canada 
voted on the following question : 
Are you in favor of the passing of an act prohibiting the 
importation, manufacture or sale of spirits, wine, ale, beer and 
cider and all other alcoholic liquors for use as beverages ? 
As intimated in our reports of three weeks ago, Canada 
as a whole has voted YES on this question. The Prov¬ 
ince of Quebec opposed it, and so did mostof the large 
towns and cities. The farmers, however, voted strongly 
in favor of prohibition, and thus put Canada in the 
front rank among civilized nations. This is not the 
first time that the rural vote has settled public ques¬ 
tions in favor of public morality. In New Jersey, last 
year, the people voted for or against an amendment 
absolutely prohibiting gambling in that State. The 
vote of the towns and cities came in first, and the 
gamblers celebrated a supposed victory. As the rural 
vote came in, however, their victory faded away and 
was finally turned into defeat. 
It is now reported that a Frenchman has discovered 
a method of measuring the strength of an odor. It is 
done by means of the ability of the sense of smelling to 
discriminate between different odors, even though 
they differ but little. He finds that, if some very 
characteristic odor be mingled with the one to be 
measured, there is a certain point where they balance 
and form what he calls a neutral odor. The addition 
of a very minute quantity of either scent causes that 
one to predominate, and thus he is enabled to detect 
and measure “ a very small smell.” It is a pity that 
the right odor for neutralizing some of the odors we 
run across could not be discovered. We don’t need 
anything to measure them—they are too self-assertive. 
Chicago is about to hold a peace jubilee, and one of 
the projected features is a grand barbecue. This has 
aroused the ire of vegetarians, who have formed a 
committee to labor with Mayor Harrison, in the hope 
of inducing him to remove meat from the peace bill of 
fare. They consider prunes, cauliflowers and tomatoes 
more fitting emblems of peace, and think the red- 
handed slaughter of cattle, sheep and swine brutally 
incongruous on an occasion when the olive branch 
is preeminent. Why shouldn’t the vegetarians hold a 
joyous barbecue of green corn and potatoes on their 
own account, as a valuable object lesson ? We fear 
that the Chicago public is not yet educated to the 
proper appreciation of stewed prunes in a peace 
jubilee. 
© 
BREVITIES. 
“ Our politics are so corrupt,” says Goodman with a sigh ; 
I do wish we could clean it up,” and then he shuts his eye, 
And with his hand upon his nose, just votes the ticket straight, 
Regretting that his party should run men of such light weight. 
He would not have them in his house or trust them out of sight, 
And yet they are his candidates, the boss marks them, “all right”; 
He growls a little, preaches hard at what he calls a sin, 
And on election day, goes out and votes the whole crowd in. 
Oh, Goodman, can’t you understand the power that you might 
hold, 
If you would come out fair and true with courage firm and bold, 
And use your ballot as a whip to scourge the hungry crew, 
And not stand mouthing idle words, then weakly “ vote them 
through ” ? 
Goodman, the rascals read you as they would an open book; 
They know you’ll growl a little—they have sounded your black 
look; 
They round you in as easy as the rolling off a log, 
“ Before he'll kill the party, he'll support a yellow dog" ! 
Now that’s about the estimate, Goodman, they have of you, 
Let’s see you look us in the eye and say it isn’t true ! 
The do before the son is duty. 
Was the cow drunk ?—page 699. 
‘‘Good roads” always lead to town. 
Jack Frost has been very accommodating this year. 
Let the pig wrap the waste products around his waist. 
Mu. Take A. Drink has robbed many a man of his farm. 
No, sir, you can’t make a purebred loaf from blended flour. 
Raw cotton at five cents a pound cooks the farmer’s prospects. 
The weak-livered man has his constitution regulated by bile 
laws. 
An air-shaft. That is what Mr. Talk may make out of your 
mouth. 
Do horses show revenge? We are collecting opinions from 
good horsemen. 
Only half a citizen—the man who lets any chance for harmless 
fun get by him. 
“ No bugs ! ” That is the suggestive item on the letter head of 
a Florida hotel. 
Nervous, therefore capable of good service, the Pekin duck 
and the Jersey cow. 
The young Minorca pullet is a glutton. She needs to be, in 
order to save her reputation later. 
The best kind of a woodchuck—chuck enough of it into the 
wood house next Winter to last all the year. 
There are 49,640,862 dollar bills in circulation, also 57,293,336 
silver dollars. All of that we ask for is our share. 
We need a line of punishment to back up court decisions which 
make it criminal to put preservatives in provisions. 
Ip you are not satisfied with John Gould’s definition of “ pure¬ 
bred ” on page 699, we wonld like to hear what you have to say. 
A dairyman near New York advertises “ purified milk.” There 
seems to be quite a distinction between pure milk and purified 
milk. 
“ Lead us not into temptation ”, says the foolish man, and then 
he goes out to see how close he can get to the temptation without 
touching it. 
Louisiana has a new fertilizer law. It is not generally known 
that the Gulf States use more fertilizer than any other section. 
Usually a low grade, too. 
Our institutions appear to exercise a progressive influence 
upon the Occidental races. A Chinaman was under arrest in 
Philadelphia recently as a bicycle scorcher. 
One result of the law in New York State against the sale of 
calves less than one month old, is that a larger cow is wanted. 
If the calf must be kept, farmers will get all they can for it. 
A woman in Providence was recently married to her fifth hus¬ 
band, and three of her former husbands are said to have acted 
as ushers at the ceremony. She may be said to be husbanding 
her resources. 
Michigan pays a bounty for the heads of English sparrows. A 
gang of swindlers recently secured a large amount of bounty 
by wholesale poisoning of sparrows in adjoining States, shipping 
them in to Michigan afterwards. 
