452 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
June[]25 
The Rural New-Yorker. 
THE BUSINESS FARMERS PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 1850 . 
Elbebt S. Cabman, Editor-in-Chief. 
Hebbebt W. Collingwood, Managing Editor. 
Fbank H. Valentine, ) _, _„ 
Mbs. E. T. Rotle, J-Associate Editors. 
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 814 marks, or 10*4 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 Pbice 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, .TUNE 25, 1898. 
All conmunleatlons Intended for E. S. Carman, should 
be mailed to River Edge, Bergen County, N. J., from 
now until October 1. 
0 
The New Jersey Supreme Court has, at last, decided 
that the recent anti-gambling amendment to the con¬ 
stitution was legally carried. The gamblers fought 
this amendment in every way, but now they are at 
the end of their rope, and race-track gambling in New 
Jersey is certainly a crime. It’s a good thing for the 
State. 
© 
There is a remarkable demand for information 
about the use of dynamite. Half our readers, ap¬ 
parently, have stumps or rocks to be blown out. Not 
long ago, Mr. P. B. Crosby spoke of buying dynamite 
at 7A cents a pound. At once, readers began to ask 
where the stuff can be bought at such a price—which 
is far below what most of them pay. It now appears 
that Mr. Crosby meant to say that a “ stick ” of dyna¬ 
mite cost 7 A cents, and a stick weighs about half a 
pound. 
© 
There seems to be little doubt that the practice of 
using grain hay is increasing among farmers. Oats, 
wheat and rye, are cut before the heads are fully 
formed, and cured like Timothy and other grass. 
Barley seems to make an excellent hay for horses, 
with wheat probably coming next. We have often 
thought that dairy farmers lose a great deal of the 
value of the oat crop by letting it go to seed. Our ex¬ 
perience is that oat hay makes a cheap and excellent 
feed for all kinds of live stock. 
© 
Speaking of the recent Supreme Court decision re¬ 
garding oleomargarine, ex-Gov. Hoard says that the 
Massachusetts law, which declares that no substitute 
shall take the yellow color of butter, has been sus¬ 
tained. This law says, “ Thou shalt not steal the 
yellow color of butter with which to cheat and de¬ 
fraud the consumer”. Yellow is the characteristic 
color of butter, and the court has said that “ oleo ” 
shall not steal it. Doubtless, this principle in our 
anti-oleo laws would prove effective and helpful. 
© 
The “California cold-process” rogues are in the 
field again trying to sell their stuff to people who 
ought to know better. They offer an “ extract of 
Salyx ” or some powder which is to be burned under 
a closed dish containing the fruit. In plain English, 
salicylic acid and sulphur are the ingredients used, 
and whoever undertakes this “ cold process ” will part 
company with a supply of cold cash. The good old 
Methodist plan of boiling out the bacteria of evil and 
decay is hard to improve on. “ Cook and seal while 
hot ” is still the motto for fruit preservers. 
© 
A dealer in bee supplies in this city kept several 
hives of bees on the roof of his building. Bee pasture 
is scarce in the city. Next door is a candy factory. 
This promised a fair return, and the bees invaded it 
in force. They created nearly a panic, and the only 
employees who escaped unscathed were those who 
took to their heels at the first invasion. Those who 
tried to fight them off know more about bees than 
they did. The bees pointedly resented efforts to drive 
them out. The only way in which they could be per¬ 
suaded to leave was by heating the factory so hot that 
they couldn’t endure it. Then they went back to 
their hives, and these were taken to the country 
where artificial candy factories are unknown. 
The New York Chamber of Commerce, at its last 
meeting, covered itself with satisfaction by passing a 
resolution calling upon Congress to appropriate money 
to enable the Department of Agriculture to present 
the merits of Indian corn as a food to the people of for¬ 
eign countries. These gentlemen are several years 
behind the times, for the Department of Agriculture 
has been doing this very work for several years, and 
with very gratifying results. Our exports of corn are 
large, and have been increasing. We suppose that 
Congress furnished the funds ; if not, the resolution 
was certainly called for. There isn’t such a difference 
between the prices of wheat and corn as there was a 
few weeks ago. 
© 
At this time of the year, a scourge appears in many 
chicken yards. When about three weeks old, some of 
the chicks refuse to eat. The wings droop, the breath¬ 
ing is labored, and they waste away. The wing 
feathers and bills seem to grow, and some of the 
chicks look like old fowls in the face. They are un¬ 
usually thirsty, and act cold, crowding into the 
brooder, and refusing to exercise. Some think it 
tuberculosis, others overheating in the incubator or 
brooder, weak germs, fat hens. They are nothing 
but skin and bones when they die. From one hatch, 
two-thirds may die, and the next may all live with the 
same treatment, stock and methods. The trouble 
usually is worse in hot weather and later hatches. 
Some experiment station should investigate, as the 
losses in some instances are heavy. 
O 
The war is likely to have a limited effect on the 
Summer boarder crop. In its early days, many timid 
people were frightened at the possibility of the 
Spaniards bombarding the coast, and proclaimed no 
seashore pleasures for them. Summer cottages were 
slow in renting, and some shore hotel managers threw 
up their leases. But the advent of hot weather shows 
about the usual crowds going to the shore, and the 
hotels report their rooms all engaged. There will, 
probably, be the usual contingent going to the coun¬ 
try or the mountains, with some additions of those 
fearful souls who have faith in the assertion of a cer¬ 
tain Spanish general who said that he could land a 
regiment of Spanish soldiers at the Battery, march up 
through New York and capture the city. The crop of 
Summer boarders will, probably, be a full average. 
© 
Three years ago, The R. N.-l r . had a number of 
communications from readers in different parts of the 
country relative to the poisoning of cattle from eat¬ 
ing wild cherry twigs and leaves. Finally J. C. Senger 
explained the why and wherefore of the whole 
matter. He said that the direct cause ot the death of 
these cattle was asphyxia of the respiratory organs, 
and paralysis of the heart, indirectly caused by eating 
the wild cherry. The leaves and bark of the entire 
tree, root and branch, contain a compound substance 
called amygdalin, and this, when combined with 
water under certain chemical conditions, yields a 
volatile oil associated with hydrocyanic acid. By 
actual experiment, two drops of this will kill a cat in 
five minutes. One or two drops of the pure acid will 
kill a vigorous dog in a very few seconds, sometimes 
instantaneously. In the chemical laboratory of the 
animals, the paunch, the amygdalin of the wild cherry 
bushes is converted into this most deadly poison in 
sufficient quantity to bring about fatal results. It is 
said that the leaves are more poisonous when partially 
wilted, as the poisonous acid is developed by this 
process. There have been recent reports of cattle 
being poisoned in this manner, and it is well to bear 
these facts in mind. 
© 
The sensation of the week has been the failure of 
Joseph Leiter, the Chicago young man, who under¬ 
took to manipulate wheat prices by securing control 
of the available supplies of grain. For a time, he 
succeeded, and a few weeks since, it was reported 
that he had made nearly §5,000,000 profit. Not satis¬ 
fied with this, he took further chances, and lost all 
he had made and several millions besides. He seems 
to have failed in underestimating the amount of wheat 
that was actually in the country. It was apparently 
cleaned out, but when the price was pushed up in 
order that the gamblers might make a fortune, mil¬ 
lions of bushels came pouring in from unexpected 
places, and down came the high figures. Most of the 
great city papers argue from all this, that it is im¬ 
possible for any dealer permanently to corner or con¬ 
trol a natural product. They argue that Nature’s 
laws of supply and demand regulate such things, 
hence they say that legislation to restrict grain or 
produce gambling is unnecessary. The weakness of 
this argument is that a failure to establish a “ corner ” 
or monopoly in food may be while it lasts, as dis¬ 
astrous as any success would be. Mr. Leiter did not 
succeed, but he unsettled values, forced up the price 
of flour and bread, and left the grain market worse 
than he found it. If “corners” are impossible, it 
strikes us as being all the more necessary that specu¬ 
lators should be prevented from attempting them. 
© 
From what is said on page 448, about official dairy 
tests, it appears that all is not plain sailing, even when 
the Babcock test is used. A creameryman with a 
grudge against some patron might cause him abund¬ 
ant trouble. In some western creameries, complaints 
of unfair treatment are made by patrons, and have 
caused much discussion. Prof. C. S. Plumb, of the 
Indiana Station, gives us the following experience, 
which may explain some of the troubles of milk 
testing : 
One side of Babcock testing to which I wish to call your atten¬ 
tion is the acid. There is difficulty in many towns in getting acid 
of the proper specific gravity for accurate testing. Last Fall, 
we had a working dairy at the State Fair, and so instead of 
taking acid to Indianapolis from here, I planned to buy my acid 
there. I was simply dumbfounded that, in a city like Indian¬ 
apolis, of over 100,000 Inhabitants, I should have trouble in secur¬ 
ing proper sulphuric acid. I visited several wholesale drug stores, 
but none of the men who attended me, to my amazement, knew 
what the specific gravity of their acid was. I had the same 
experience in a number of retail drug places, and finally, after 
going to about eight drug stores, I had some acid fixed for me by 
a drug house, where they had a chemist. This, on trial, was alto¬ 
gether off. Fortunately, before I got through, I did secure acid 
of the right sort, but at about three times the price it would have 
been at home. Now, if I had not known just what w-as necessary, 
I should have made some bad tests with most of the acid avail¬ 
able. In a case like this, what is there to protect the average 
man who wishes to use a Babcock machine, who is not a stickler 
on the niceties of the test ? No doubt, in many cases, he will use 
the acid and think it will do, while in fact, it will cause consider¬ 
able trouble. I surmise that this may be the cause of trouble 
with some men who are, at heart, honest. 
It is in just such things as this that the graduate of 
a good dairy school has the advantage. As dairying 
becomes more and more of a science, farmers must look 
more and more to the honest scientist to help them out. 
© 
BREVITIES. 
“ Now, Ma, what makes ye dawdle so ? Why don’t ye come to bed, 
An’ not go wanderin’ around ? Yes, dawdle'8 what I said; 
I’ll bet there ain’t no other word in Webster’s spellin' book 
To picture out the way you move. Of course, you’ve got to look 
Inside the closet once again—you’ve looked six times afore. 
I’ll bet you’ve walked a half a mile right up an' down this floor. 
You’ve kissed the baby now four times; I’ve sorter lost the run 
Of all them times you’ve tucked her in—now you may call it fun 
To dawdle this way, but, my stars, ef I was tired as you, 
I’d go to bed an’ git some sleep ”— 
“Now, sir, if you’re all through, 
I’m going to dawdle all I like; I’ll tell you that, right now. 
I’ll go to bed the way I please ! You hear me ? Anyhow— 
You better sleep in t’other room, ef you ain’t satisfied”— 
“ Now, Ma, I wouldn’t git so mad—you know I only tried 
To make things easy for ye ”— 
“ I want you to understand, 
I’m going to dawdle all I like, and won’t take no command 
From no such man as you be; you just get that through your head! 
There’s one place where I’ll take my time, an’ that’s agoiu’ to bed!” 
No use trying to use fertilizers with a closed fist. 
The war is killing paid baseball among other things. 
The Cuban mosquitoes are more deadly than Spanish bullets. 
The war costs over $1,000,000 per day. Are you getting your 
money’s worth ? 
A seasoned plan has been well peppered by criticism and as¬ 
saulted by logic. 
In the race between the hare and the tortoise, the gait receipts 
Avent to the latter. 
The three B’s—Bread, Butter and Berries .' What better dinner 
do you want this hot weather ? 
Key West is army headquarters. Key Waste is sometimes 
headquarters for lack of profit. 
“ Mighty hard lines ”. The case of that Maryland farmer de¬ 
scribed by Mr. Crosby on page 448. 
Stbawbebby whine is produced when the commission man 
squeezes all the profit out of the fruit. 
“ Ninny-hammeb” is the latest name for the young sprouts who 
are being appointed officers in the army I 
How doth the little busy B (bacteria, I mean) get in his work 
and safely lurk in cans that are not clean. 
Ovebwobking the boy is a powerful farm separator. It separates 
the cream of the children from the old folks. 
Don’t try to use a substitute for wheat flour unless you know 
that it will supply all the nutrition that the flour does. 
The New Jersey Supreme Court decides that, since a bicycle is 
not “ drawn by a beast ”, turnpikes cannot collect toll from it. 
“ Plum pockets ” are diseased plums—the disease being some¬ 
what like the peach curl. Of course, such “ pockets ” empty the 
grower’s pocket. 
Thebe is death in the average soda fountain. It comes in the 
shape of so-called “ fruit syrups’’that never saw a fruit plant. 
It’s a shame that such poisons should be sold. 
Will wet, green clover make good ensilage ? That is a question 
asked by some farmers who have good clover beaten down flat 
by the rain. In our opinion, the chances are against it. 
All things are out of joint this season. In Connecticut, some 
farmers report that they had not finished planting ensilage corn 
before the hay was ready to cut—10 days ahead of the season. 
The man in the showy uniform, takes Uncle Sam’s pocketbook 
by storm. The man who fights in his easy chair, can draw his 
pay with a lordly stare—but the people owe thanks to the men in 
the ranks. 
Govebnob Voobhees, of New Jersey, has vetoed the appropria¬ 
tion for a bounty on sugar beets. He has, also, vetoed the new 
game law which gave farmers the right to kill game found des¬ 
troying the crops. 
