1898 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
439 
hooks. Luckily, its owner is the happy 
possessor of a handy husband, and from 
him really emanated the idea of taking 
the top off the ease and placing it as a 
bracket against the wall, immediately 
above the case at a distance of about 2)4 
feet. Under this bracket, which had 
previously been painted dark green, was 
placed the row of hooks. 
The case proper was painted to match, 
and duly established in the hall. Then 
the ingenuity of the housewife was 
brought into action, and with the help 
of four yards of olive green art serge 
and one yard of Roman satin in a lighter 
shade she has succeeded in establishing 
in her hall a really handsome piece of 
furniture. She worked the serge in a 
dull shade of gold wool, in a design at 
once so simple and so effective that a 
child might copy it. A round bit of gold 
satin from one to three inches across is 
gummed to the serge. A few cross 
stitches of darker -wool convert this into 
an effective center, from which long 
stitches are taken outwards, thus form¬ 
ing what is called in fancy work a “sun.” 
A dozen or so of these adorned the serge, 
which was then divided in two, and 
tacked to the bracket, thus forming cur¬ 
tains that entirely hid the case below. 
Over the top of the bracket was draped 
the Roman satin, quite plain except for 
the narrow gold silk fringe that borders 
it. A few bits of bric-a-brac find a secure 
resting on the top of the shelf. 
Where one does not possess a regular 
bicycle case, a shallow cupboard of this 
SHUTTING OUT SUN’S RAYS. Fig. 196. 
class may easily be put in the hall; it 
will hold the wheel, and its accessories, 
as well as hats and caps. So many 
houses are unprovided with hall closets 
that it is often necessary to improvise 
something of this sort. 
A SUNSHADE FOR CARRIAGES. 
Where canopy-topped carriages are 
used, annoyance is frequently felt from 
the sun shining in at one side or the 
other—or at the back, it may be. A very 
neat sunshade for such carriages is shown 
in Fig. 196. A piece of cloth, preferably 
of the same color as the upholstering of 
the carriage, is pulled over two bands of 
elastic. Hooks are sewed at the ends of 
these bands, as shown, the hooks being 
covered with cloth. This little curtain 
can then be stretched and hooked to the 
uprights on either side of the carriage, 
or across the back, putting it at the 
right height to protect the face from the 
sun. It will, also, serve excellently as a 
windbreak, either at the sides or in the 
rear, and will protect the occupants of 
both seats, as is plainly shown. If the 
hooks are covered with rubber, they will 
be less inclined to slip. w. 
KITCHEN SUGGESTIONS. 
Stewed figs or prunes are a good laxa¬ 
tive. Cover them with cold water, and 
soak them an hour or more, then stew 
until tender. If desired, a little sugar 
may be added, and a few drops of lemon 
juice. Breakfast is the best time to eat 
them. They are very good for children, 
and should be used in place of the medi¬ 
cines generally used. 
Beans, baked or boiled, are healthful, 
but are difficult of digestion. Persons 
working in the open air should eat them, 
as they contain a great deal of nourish¬ 
ment, but for those whose habits are 
sedentary, they are not desirable. 
Preserves will become sugary on top 
when they stand in too hot or too cold a 
place, or when they are cooked too long. 
Cream that is 24 hours old will whip 
more readily than new cream. Separated 
cream will not whip the day it is 
separated. The cream may be sweetened 
before or after being whipped, but pref¬ 
erably before. k. f. m. d. 
ON THE WING. 
BITS OF TAI.K ABOUT FARMERS. 
[EDITORIAL correspondence.] 
Sugar Beets. —It is held by many con¬ 
servative men that sugar beets possess 
great possibilities for the farmers of New 
York State, and faith in this is evinced 
by the capital now being put into sugar¬ 
making plants. Binghamton will soon 
have a beet-sugar factory with double 
the capacity of that of Rome, previously 
described in The R. N.-Y. It is held by 
its promoters that no other section of 
the country can compete with New York 
State in the quality of the beets, if grown 
properly, while the convenience of man¬ 
ufacture is greater than farther west. 
Beets, coal, and limestone are the three 
great needs of such a factory, and with¬ 
out going into the fact that New York 
State beets may be produced with a 
higher sugar content than those of the 
West, coal and limestone are far cheaper 
here, while there is a large market at 
the immediate command of the factory. 
Extent of the Crop. —Naturally, a 
conservative farmer does not attempt a 
new crop until he has learned something 
about it. The promoters of the Bing¬ 
hamton factory, who have shown their 
faith by investing large capital in ma¬ 
chinery and appliances which may be 
used for beet-sugar making, and for 
nothing else, have made contracts for 
the present season with about 1,100 
growers, extending over a large section 
in the ednter of the State, the total area 
in beets being about 2,100 acres. It will 
be seen that the individual acreage is 
not large, other crops being displaced 
but little by it. Probably, the only crop 
slightly diminished by the sugar beets, 
is potatoes, and this is, in many eases, 
due to scarcity of seed. The beets are 
all grown under contract, and thus the 
farmer is sure of payment immediately 
on delivery, making the beets more sat¬ 
isfactory than potatoes, especially as the 
beets are to be paid for in cash, not 
partly in factory stock, which has been 
done in some cases. 
Crop Inspection. —Naturally there is 
still much to learn in beet cultivation, 
both on the part of farmers and pro¬ 
moters. The Binghamton factory has 
laid out a plan of inspection, which will 
give valuable data for future crops. 
Every farmer under contract is to be 
visited three or more times during the 
progress of the crop, the inspector filling 
out a form which gives particulars as to 
soil, former crop, cultivation, kind of 
fertilizer and how applied, when applied, 
date and manner of sowing. By the 
end of the season, the data thus obtained 
will be of very great value, giving a 
consensus of experience which could 
never be obtained by isolated experi- 
m ents. 
Quality in New York State. —The 
contracts made with the farmers here 
give the factory the right to reject beets 
which contain a sugar content of less 
than 12 per cent. But Mr. J. E. Rogers, 
of the Binghamton factory, says that 
beets grown in New York last season 
tested as high as 19]^ per cent sugar, 
and averaged almost 17 per cent, which 
is fully five per cent above the require¬ 
ments of the German factories. 
A Few Figures. —“What does the 
Binghamton sugar factory mean to the 
adjacent district?” Mr. Rogers was 
asked. 
“ This factory, having a capacity of 
300 tons of beets a day, will produce al¬ 
most 6,000,000 pounds of sugar in a sea¬ 
son. So long as the State pays a bounty 
on the sugar, we shall pay the farmers 
$5 per ton for the beets. That means 
$140,000 for the farmers. It will, also, 
give employment to 100 men in the fac¬ 
tory, as well as the men and children 
in the beet fields.” 
It must be noted that the beet sugar 
MOTHERS.—Be sure to use “Mrs. Wins¬ 
low’s Soothing Syrup” for your children 
while Teething. It is the Best.— Adv. 
industry is practically dependent on the 
farmers ; the capitalists who put money 
into the factories can do nothing with¬ 
out them. If the capitalist cannot make 
the beets pay the farmer, he must lose 
his investment. There are few crops in 
which the interests of the farmer and 
the capitalist are so nearly ideutical. It 
would be a National misfortuue should 
we permit political changes to prejudice 
the status of this industry. 
The Cow in the Paper trade. —At 
first glance, there would appear to be 
very little connection between a cow and 
a sheet of paper ; yet there is a connec¬ 
tion, for we now size paper with skim- 
milk ! The disposal of skim-milk be¬ 
comes quite a question at the creameries, 
where the patrons do not want it for 
feeding. Sometimes it is made into cot¬ 
tage cheese, but this does not seem re¬ 
munerative, and finally, some genius de¬ 
vised a method of using it as sizing. This 
is done at the Standard Butter Factory, 
at Owego. The skim-milk is made into 
curd, from which all the whey is pressed, 
and is then put into wooden racks, and 
dried by hot air. After drying, the curd 
looks like flaky cracker crumbs, which 
are bagged and shipped to eastern paper 
mills. The curd is very gluey, and makes 
a cheap substitute for other sizing ma¬ 
terials. Of course, it would not pay to 
do this other than as a by-product, which 
would be wasted otherwise. 
Milk Preservatives. — The inquiry 
was made at Owego whether any of the 
milk producers are in the habit of using 
preservatives in the milk furnished to 
the factory. There would appear to be 
little trouble from this. Apart from the 
question of adulteration, any use of pre¬ 
servatives is strongly objected to, be¬ 
cause it hinders the ripening of the 
cream. It is certain that the use of such 
substances is short-sighted on the part 
of any producer, whether for creamery 
or dairy. The buttermaker doesn’t want 
it, and it is an imposition upon the milk 
buyer. 
About Spring Wheat.— It has been 
supposed that New York farmers might 
be tempted by the high price of wheat 
to attempt Spring seeding. In the central 
part of the State, however, the season 
has been so wet that much land which 
would have been devoted to this crop 
could not be worked in time. It is gene¬ 
rally reported that more Spring wheat 
has been sown in the western part of the 
State than in the central part. The same 
conditions of weather appear to have 
lessened the area of oats, and delayed 
the sowing of sugar beets. 
Peach Curl. —This trouble shows it¬ 
self through central New York to a con¬ 
siderable extent this year, especially 
upon young trees. We have not yet ar¬ 
rived at a point where we may speak 
definitely as to the cause or prevention 
of this; still it appears to show chiefly 
on young wood which has been checked 
by sudden changes in the Spring. The 
remedy or preventive suggested is Bor¬ 
deaux Mixture, given in a first spray¬ 
ing before the leaves unfold. The trouble 
is that we are not likely to think of peach 
curl before the leaves unfold, until it has 
become a yearly visitation. It is gener¬ 
ally noted that the curled leaves fall 
by July, to be replaced by others. We 
don’t seem to be quite sure yet how far 
the fruit crop is damaged by the curl. 
Feminine Farmers. —Just outside of 
Owego, every one on the train turned to 
watch a woman who was at work ridg¬ 
ing up celery plants. Her truck patch 
was on the banks of the Susquehanna 
River, and a number of small irrigating 
ditches carried water from a little stream 
above through the celery. The woman 
farmer wielded her hoe energetically, 
undismayed by the hot sun, and if she 
is the only tiller of that truck patch, it 
does her credit. We don’t very often see 
women doing field work in this country, 
though there is no doubt that they do 
much indoor work quite as laborious as 
hoeing celery under the June sun. 
E. T. R. 
\1 It’s easy to 
rjjPPPjL EH) baul a ^8 
)) load up a] 
fcO J big hill if | 
you grease I 
the wagon 
wheels with 
' MICA Axle Grease | 
Get a box and learn why 
it’s the best grease ever 
put on an axle. Sold everywhere. 
FRAZER ^ 
BEST IN THE WOULD. 
Its wearing qualities are unsurpassed, actually 
outlasting three boxes of any other brand. Not 
affected by heat. GET THE GENUINE. 
FOR SALK BY DEALERS GENERALLY. 
Fire-Weather-Lightning Proof 
Black, painted or galvanized metal ROOFING 
and siding; (brick, rocked or corrugated) 
METAL CEILINGS AND SIDE WALLS 
Write for Catalogue. 
Penn Metal Ceiling A Rooting Co.. Ltd., Philadelphia. 
Cnp CAI C—Irrigated Farm of U0acres, situ- 
rUn OHLU ated in the celebrated Boise 
Valley, lu miles from State Capitol. Unequaled op¬ 
portunity for general Farming or Horticulture. For 
particulars address TATE & sTKIN. Boise, Idaho. 
Frank B. Barkley Mfg. Co., 
. you a Bicycle or sewing Machinedirectfrom factory. 
$9.50 BUYS A OllVDK VICTOR SSZ 
Adapted to Light and Heavy Work. Reliable and Finely 
Finished; Guaranteed for 10 Years Wrim fir 40 l*age Cata¬ 
logue AttachmentH Free. 30 DAYS FREE TRIAL. Addreu 
Dept. JHM) VICTOR fiirU. CO., 90-98 Market St.,Chicago, 
1898 
High 
Grade 
BICYCLES 
‘for Men, Women, Girl 
lWZ Boys. Complete lira 
IJ All brand new modeli 
'$75 *0»kwood’ Tor $32.5 
- --- $C0 ‘Arlington’ “ $21.5 
_ N® Money In Advance. Other.at$15, $17and$2 
WRIT* TODAY for SPECIAL OKKER. j UTen |i„ |7.oo to ,i 2-5 
Snipped anywhere C.O.D.with privilege to examine. Bu 1 
direct from manufacturers,save agents & dealers profit 
Urge Illn*.Cat.lo*ne Free. CASH BUYERS’ UNION 
168 W. VanBuren Street, B Chicago, Ilia 
$50 Sewing Machine for $19.50. 
WITH ONE YEAR’S SUBSCRIPTION TO THE R. N.-Y., $20. 
We should be sorry if any reader of The R. N.-Y. in any part of the country 
should pay $40 or $50, or even $25 or $30 for a sewing machine. We would be sorry 
because we can send him just as good a machine as is made for $19.50. The finish 
and appearance and attachments are in 
eveiy way equal to the best machines 
made. We will send it ON TRIAL, freight 
paid, and you may return it at our ex¬ 
pense, if you are not satisfied; you shall 
be the judge yourself. We shall sell them 
at this price only to subscribers. We have 
sold thousands of these machines to sub¬ 
scribers, and w r e have never had one re¬ 
turned. Several families in connection 
with The R. N.-Y. have them ; that is why 
we can praise them so highly. 
For $19.50, we will send the machine to 
any subscriber, freight paid to any address 
east of the Rocky Mountains. For $20, we 
include a yeai’s subscription. After a fair 
trial, we will return the money and pay 
freight both ways, if you are not satisfied. 
We will send it for a club of 10 subscriptions at $1 each, and $15 extra. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, New York. 
