436 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
June 18 
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. Collinowood, Managing Editor. 
V R*o"t E ™' t ' 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTIONS. 
PRICE, ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04, equal to 
8s. 6d., or 8V4 marks, or 1054 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. 
Ad vertisements 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, .TUNE 18, 1898. 
All conmunieations intended for E. S. Carman, should 
he mailed to River Edge, Bergen County, N. J., from 
now until October 1. 
© 
The Year Kook of the Department of Agriculture 
for 1897 has just been published by the Agricultural 
Department at Washington, D. C. This is a valuable 
and interesting volume of 792 pages, giving a synopsis 
of the work done by the Department, and also a num¬ 
ber of special articles on important topics. The book 
costs 60 cents, which should be sent to the Superin¬ 
tendent of Documents, Washington, D. C. 
© 
Attention is called to the new department “ On 
The Wing,” on page 439. Tiie R. N.-Y. intends to 
make this feature of brief, personal reports from prac¬ 
tical people a prominent feature henceforth. We 
want our editors to have something stronger than a 
postage stamp to stick them to their readers. We 
wish to make The R. N.-Y. more than ever like a big 
family—and the bigger the family the better for all. 
The farmers of Washington Valley, N. J., are re¬ 
ported to be considering the use of wire fencing for 
telephone wires. The staples holding the wires to 
the posts will be replaced with insulators, and other 
wires run from the fences to the houses. An expert 
electrician will be employed to connect the wires, and 
it is expected that this may be done at little expense. 
If preliminary attempts prove successful, this system 
will be used through the entire farm district. 
© 
A recent Maine enactment requires that a seed 
dealer shall provide a guarantee as to the purity of 
his seed. This is good as far as it goes, but since he 
is not called upon to declare the viability of the seed, 
he would comply with the law in telling the truth as 
to the freedom from impurity, whether the seed would 
germinate or not. Legislation concerning seeds seems 
to be quite equally divided between that which goes 
too far, and that which does not go far enough. 
© 
An ingenious western man recently devised a new 
industry, which was the extraction of alcohol from 
old spirit barrels. If such alcohol were free from 
taxation, the process would be very profitable, as each 
barrel yields about one-third gallon of alcohol. It has 
been decided, in a test case, that this alcohol is ex¬ 
empt from revenue tax, the tax having been already 
paid upon the original package. According to this 
process, a whisky barrel does not become harmless 
even when empty. 
© 
It is a discouraging sight to see the condition of the 
peach foliage along Cayuga Lake, in New York State. 
A more beautiful sight could not be imagined by a 
fruit enthusiast, than these orchards and vineyards, 
sloping right down to the water’s edge. But the peach 
orchards have never before received such a visitation 
of curl as this year. The trouble showed itself last 
year, but, apparently, interfered very little with the 
crop, most of the trees quickly making a secondary 
growth of leaves. This year, however, the curl is far 
more severe, and, in the case of several varieties, the 
crop will certainly be seriously affected. Elberta and 
Crosby are very badly affected ; so are Hill’s Chili and 
Mt. Rose. Crawford shows less of the trouble than 
other varieties, and is already making a vigorous 
regrowth. In the worst cases, the curl affects the 
young twigs, as well as the foliage. At least one ex¬ 
perienced grower thinks seriously of starting in at 
once to cut back these badly affected trees. If left as 
they are, there is nothing but very feeble growth to 
bear next year’s crop, and the prospects for that crop 
would seem extremely uncertain. It would appear, 
even from the most conservative estimate, that the 
northern peach crop will be seriously affected by this 
prevalence of leaf curl. 
O 
One thing often referred to, in talking sugar beets, 
is the labor required on this crop. The thinning calls 
for careful hand work, at just a certain time. In 
Nebraska, they have tried an implement for this pur¬ 
pose, with but partial success. At Cornell, they are 
watching this crop closely, and are trying the effect 
of partial thinning with the cultivator, followed by 
final hand selection. The ideal time for thinning is 
also to be decided by careful test. The results ob¬ 
tained this season will do a good deal in deciding the 
value of the crop in New York State. 
© 
We thank our friends for sending notes on the 
handling of the hay crop. We can print only a few 
of the letters entire, but the combined experience of 
our haymakers makes a few things clearer than ever. 
Cut the Hay Early. 
Don't Let It Be Sv/nbumed. 
'The Wind Dees the Curing. 
Hustle It: Keep It Moving. 
Don't Let It Qet Too Dry. 
The mowers have begun to click ! Forward, March ! 
with the hay tools. 
© 
Two of the prize house plans are printed this week, 
others will follow. The judges had a hard time de¬ 
ciding the third prize. There were two that ranked 
about even. The final decision went to the one that 
seemed nearest the means of a farmer who must pay 
for such a house out of the products of the soil. We 
shall print them both in a week or so. A good many 
of the plans failed because they made no provision 
for a bath-room and water privileges. There is no 
good reason why a farmer should be denied such com¬ 
forts. Water should be led through the house when¬ 
ever it is possible to halter it. 
© 
Two Philadelphia lawyers have been disbarred for 
unprofessional conduct. One man erased with acids 
the record of a mortgage. The other was guilty of 
barratry, that is, he made a practice of inciting 
others to lawsuits and litigation. This man sent 
agents or runners to persons who had been injured in 
accidents, or who imagined that they had some griev¬ 
ance against others. He advised them to bring suit, 
and agreed that all moneys recovered should be 
equally divided between lawyer and client. This con¬ 
stitutes a crime, and the man was disbarred. The 
traditional “Philadelphia lawyer” is supposed to be 
a shrewd person, but this man went too far, and meets 
with his just deserts, and dozens of others like him 
should be punished. 
0 
The winner of the second prize in the house-plan 
contest, in writing about her plans, page 430, says 
that they did not wish to build an expensive house, 
because it would not add enough to the selling price 
of the farm to make up the outlay. It’s a good idea, 
when investing money in any improvements, to take 
into account the prospect of getting it back in case a 
contingency should arise. But in the strictly agri¬ 
cultural districts back from the towns and cities, not 
so much stress is likely to be put on a good house by 
a purchaser, as upon a good barn, fertile land, or other 
improvements that are more closely associated with 
the making of money on the farm. But why take these 
thing into account ? The farmer should have a con¬ 
venient and comfortable house, and it and its sur¬ 
roundings should be made so attractive that neither 
he nor his family will ever want to leave it. 
© 
Some married couples might be inclined to turn up 
their noses at the idea of givingtheir joint services for 
$30 a month—see page 430 ; but we will warrant that 
not one-tenth part of the farmers, the country through, 
will have so much clean money at the end of the year 
as a couple working on these terms. Of course, board 
and washing are included, and these are worth at 
least $20 a month more for the two, making the actual 
amount received not less than $50 a month, or $600 a 
year. The sole outlay necessary is for clothes, and 
these need not be expensive. Compare this with the 
income of the city man receiving, perhaps, $1,000 per 
year. His house rent will be anywhere from $15 to 
$30 per month, say $250 per year. His railroad fare 
will be about $75 ; his bill for groceries, $125 ; meat, 
$100 ; milk, fruit, etc., $100 ; fuel, $50—total, $700. 
This leaves only $300 to buy clothing—which must 
necessarily cost more than on the farm—pay doctors’ 
bills, church and other expenses, and the numerous 
little incidentals that are continually arising. Car¬ 
riage rides, excursions, and any little outings must 
be paid for in cash. The above estimate of expenses 
is a very modest one, and doesn’t take into account 
the keeping of a servant. So it would seem that, under 
the proposed arrangement, the hired man and his 
wife would have more clear cash at the end of the 
year than the city man who is working for what 
many people consider a very fair salary. 
0 
n Milk farmers are complaining of low prices for all 
milk products. At some points in central New York 
milk nets only 44 cents per can ! At the same time all 
through the dairy sections good milch cows are higher 
in price than they have been in years. This curious 
contradiction is hard to understand. The value of 
most machines is regulated by the value of what they 
can be made to produce. The value of the cow’s 
product is lower than ever, yet the cow herself 
costs more than formerly. It is hard to understand 
why this should be so. A number of milk farmers 
realize the situation and are keeping back some of 
their milk to feed to good heifer calves. They think 
it will pay better to put good grain and fodder into 
the cow herself, and let some one else feed the cow 
for milk. 
© 
On the following page we give a careful synopsis of 
the views of American seedsmen concerning the pro¬ 
posed Government inspection of seeds. The chief 
objection urged against it seems to be that the samples 
may not be fairly taken. We are assured that such 
samples will be purchased by correspondents of the 
Department, both farmers and others, in such a way 
as to insure that they represent seeds which are offered 
by the seedsmen to their customers in the regular 
course of trade. The tests will be carefully made in 
duplicate, both in the laboratory and in soil. Portions 
of each sample will be reserved for further test in case 
it should be deemed necessary. The need of such 
tests has been shown by the many samples of poor 
seed examined from time to time by various experi¬ 
ment stations and the Department. Numerous in¬ 
stances of serious and willful adulteration, especially 
in seeds of clovers, grasses and other forage plants, 
have come to light, and the Department has been earn¬ 
estly requested by prominent seedsmen and others to 
take active measures to suppress such frauds. We 
feel confident that the tests will be fair and helpful. 
O 
BREVITIES. 
The gods gave out this oracle, ’tis said, 
“ Man, know thyself! ” I’d like to edit that. 
“ Know! ” Strike off K which stands there at the head. 
Still for our purpose “ now ” is quite too fat. 
Strike off the W—we have a word, 
A mighty bulwark in the smoke of strife, 
And all because it is too seldom heard. 
A wave of trouble sweeps above your life. 
This “ know thyself ” is excellent advice, 
Perhaps the best the ancient gods could give 
But I would cut it with a smaller slice, 
So say “NO ” to thyself—and thou Shalt live! 
Good grass—water—hay. 
A ripe life leaves a green memory. 
Don’t rush to extremes—walk there ! 
Better keep your privations private. 
The liar’s share is too often the lion’s. 
Don’t be afraid to admit your failures. 
Two classes of hens—may lays and do lays. 
The click of the mower is heard in the land. 
It’s high time you dropped that low thinking. 
Peace meal —“ a dinner of herbs where love is.” 
Out of place—an apple tree in a cow pasture. 
The “kicker”. Ye are the assault of the earth. 
Watch the bull, or there will be watchers at your bedside. 
“ I believe in an axy dent policy said the boy at the wood pile. 
“ Filthy lucre! ” Every man has the power to clean it by good 
usage. 
One of our reader^ asks whether we want some “ Hopeless 
farm notes.” 
The little black flea-beetle that punctures potato leaves does 
not like tobacco water. 
Kansas harvest hands seized a train on the Santa Fd Road and 
started after work in the southern wheat fields. 
An early way to “ cure bacon ” is to keep a mixture of wood 
ashes and salt and some charcoal before the pig. 
There seems to be a great “ boom ” among sheep meu for sow¬ 
ing rape seed at the last cultivation of corn. This will give good 
sheep pasture until heavy frosts. 
If we had a boy “ at the front ” as a volunteer in any of the 
military camps, w r e would keep him well supplied with “ letters 
from home.” Don’t let him shoot off his mother’s heart strings! 
One of the house plans was designed to “ help keep the old 
folks on the farm! ” Usually the young folks are most likely to 
fly. It’s a good thought, though—this providing for the comfort 
of the old folks. 
The publishers that continue to send their papers to sub¬ 
scribers after subscriptions expire, would have burning ears if 
they could get out among their readers. One farmer said last 
week that, after a paper once got started, the only way to stop it 
was to go and shoot the editor. 
