484 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
July 9 
The Rural New-Yorker. 
TEE BUSINESS FARMERS' PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban HomeB. 
Established 1850 . 
Elbert S. Carman, EdItor-in-Chief. 
Herbert W. Collingwood, Managing Editor. 
a.’Vr.HSS'”• 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
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We must have copy one week before the date of issue. 
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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, JULY 9, 1898. 
The value of some things is not always in propor¬ 
tion to their size. A number of firms in this city have 
miniature delivery wagons drawn by small ponies 
which attract 10 times the attention that horses of 
common size would do. They attract because out of 
the ordinary. Some men attract attention because of 
their smallness in various ways. It’s an undesirable 
attention, however. It doesn’t pay to be a small man. 
© 
The chemists who make “pure fruit syrups” for 
flavoring ice cream soda-water have discovered a use 
for deviled butter. Rancid butter is distilled with 
alcohol and sulphuric acid, and the result is ethyl 
butrate. This substance has a very strong pineapple 
odor, and when dyed an attractive yellow with aniline 
coloring, it is ready for our glass of soda. Rancid 
butter, sulphuric acid and gas-tar waste, rendered 
effervescent by marble-dust, don’t suggest a highly 
refreshing combination, from a hygienic point of 
view. There are plenty of genuine fruit syrups made 
in this country, but the facility of adulteration and 
imitation should make us careful in selecting them. 
© 
Last week, we spoke of a bill before Congress which 
provides that American cheese shall be served to the 
soldiers. It is said that the Department of Agricul¬ 
ture does not favor this bill. Why ? Because so much 
bogus cheese is on the market that army contractors 
would, probably, see that the soldiers got lard and 
suet flavored with skim-milk, and colored with poison¬ 
ous coal-tar dyes. It is a shame that these dishonest 
rogues should stand in the way of a plan to give our 
soldiers wholesome food, and at the same time, benefit 
dairymen. The same bill provides that canned sweet 
corn shall be used in the army. Now we shall, prob¬ 
ably, be told that this is a mistake because some rogues 
boil old field corn and put in salicylic acid to help 
“ preserve ” it. 
© 
The Colorado beetles seemed to be very scarce in 
our part of the country during the early part of the 
season, and many growers became careless. Finally, 
when hot weather came, the slugs came on at an 
alarming rate, and in some cases, nearly finished 
many of the vines before the owners were aware of 
their presence. Eternal vigilance seems to be the 
price of potatoes as well as some other things. If 
every potato grower would be particular to destroy 
all the beetles, early and late, every year, they would 
soon become so few as not to be a serious menace to 
the potato crop. But there are always some careless 
ones, and enough are left each year to “ seed ” the 
whole country for the next year’s crop. Let no 
striped foe escape ! 
Q 
Another “butter increaser” fraud is trying to do 
business in Kenton, O. Here is an extract from his 
circular: 
I have letters patent for my new butter process. 
With it I can take one pound of butter, and one pound (or pint) 
of fresh milk, and make two pounds of butter. 
I can make a better per cent of butter, of course, with two 
pounds of butter aud one pound of fresh milk, and thus produce 
three pounds of butter. 
I put nothing in the milk or butter (only salt and butter color¬ 
ing, if desired). 
No extra machinery is needed; any churn will answer, and the 
butter can be made in a short time, in 20 or 30 minutes, according 
to the quantity. The butter thus made is a good keeper. 
I can take strong butter and with my process and sweet milk, 
take away all the strong smell and taste. 
He then goes on to tell how smart men can make $5,000 
by selling county rights to farmers. These “butter 
increasers ” have been analyzed and exposed again and 
again. The liquids are, usually, a mixture of vinegar 
and salicylic acid, while the powders are composed of 
alum and bicarbonate of soda. They “ increase ” the 
butter by combining with it the casein or cheesy 
matter and a quantity of water. The most foolish 
thing an honest dairyman can do is to use such stuff. 
This fraud bobs up serenely every season, and seems 
to increase his store of cash. 
© 
A New Jersey farmer whose specialty is potatoes 
and hay, says that he hires a number of Italians for 
hoeing, at which they are very good, but that they 
are worthless for pitching hay. The best hay pitchers 
are the Hungarians. These foreigners are paid but $1 
per day, and board themselves. They cannot com¬ 
mand high wages, though good workers, because they 
cannot speak English to any extent, and are not 
adepts at all sorts of labor. They are not the most 
desirable beings in the world to have around, and the 
difficulty of communicating with them readily is a 
drawback. Still, as a general thing, they are faithful 
workers, and are willing to work rain or shine, and 
under conditions that would cause some of our Ameri¬ 
can helpers to go on strike. 
0 
In an address delivered before the Park and Outdoor 
Art Association at Minneapolis, Prof. Folwell, Presi¬ 
dent of the Minneapolis Park Commission, stated that 
an old-fashioned farm is the best environment for 
boys and girls ; in such a place they have all the ele¬ 
ments essential for a proper growth of mind and body. 
The city boy has less chance than any other American 
boy, and it was urged that “wilderness parks” be 
preserved in towns and cities, where the children 
could roam and play at will. We are waking up to 
the need of forest reservations now, when so many 
objects of natural beauty have already passed into 
private hands. There is now a bill before Congress 
which has for its purpose the suspension of President 
Cleveland’s forest reserve proclamation, and it is to be 
hoped that efforts will be made to defeat this measure. 
© 
To farmers in some localities in the East where a 
self-binder is almost an unknown quantity, and a 
thrashing machine run by a two-horse tread power is 
the acme of rapid separation of the grain from the 
straw, the stories of 50-foot headers, and giant thrash¬ 
ing machines must give an idea of the immense scale 
upon which farming operations are conducted upon 
the great prairies of the West. Farming is more of a 
science and less haphazard than it was years ago. If 
successful, it must be conducted more upon correct 
business principles. Like other business, the larger 
the operations, the greater the opportunity for econo¬ 
my of operation. The small farmer has little chance 
in competition with these vast farms, except he adopt 
some specialty. The specialists are coming to the 
front in the East. Concentration, application will 
win the day. 
© 
In the Fall of 1897, Mr. F. O. Libby, trustee of the 
Shaker Society, near Alfred, Me., dishorned a herd of 
44 cows. Mr. Libby was arrested for this act, and 
brought before a municipal court, found guilty, and 
fined $20. The case was appealed to the Supreme 
Court, and recently came up for trial. The judge, 
after hearing the arguments in favor of dishorning, 
held that the operation properly performed was not 
cruelty. There was no evidence that the Shakers did 
not properly perform the operation, therefore the 
State had no case, and the judge ordered it thrown 
out of the Court. This, no doubt, puts an end to any 
further prosecution for dishorning in Maine, for this 
was considered a test case. It will, probably, end all 
efforts to stop the process. This is the outcome which 
we predicted last Fall. We do not believe it possible 
for any superior court to convict a man of cruelty for 
dishorning his cows in a proper manner. The opera¬ 
tion has come to stay, and is an established part of 
good dairy usage. 
0 
In his article on the balanced ration for human 
consumption, on page 486, Prof. Snyder points out the 
danger of a too-concentrated food, and the part per¬ 
formed by the waste matter. Many experiments have 
been made in compressed emergency rations, but we 
believe that, unless diluted in some way, they have 
usually caused digestive disturbance. An emergency 
ration now upon the market weighs 20 ounces, and 
possesses material for three complete meals. It con¬ 
sists of a food tablet, which may be either eaten 
without preparation, or boiled in water to make soup 
or porridge, and a tablet of compressed tea and sugar, 
sufficient to make four quarts of strong infusion. The 
food tablet consists of meat and vegetables, and would, 
doubtless, be better, from a digestive standpoint, 
when diluted to form soup and porridge. Those who 
are not tea-drinkers may be surprised that this appears 
in an emergency ration, but the experience of soldiers, 
sailors, explorers, and all undergoing prolonged strain 
of mind and body, testify as to the restorative 
influence of the Chinese herb. 
0 
The poet Longfellow would, probably, never have 
taken the Merrimac into Santiago Bay. We cannot 
possibly imagine him as a member of the Rough 
Riders or as taking Admiral Dewey’s place at Manila. 
He wrote words, however, that will live as long as the 
English language is spoken. Here, for example, are 
66 of his words : 
I Were half the power that fills the world with terror, 
Were half the wealth bestowed on camps and courts, 
Given to redeem the human mind from error, 
There were no need of arsenals or forts. 
The warrior’s name would be a name abhorred! 
And every nation that should lift again 
Its hand against a brother, on its forehead 
Would wear forever more the curse of Cain! 
These are war times in which patriotic sentiment is 
accepted at more than its face value, yet it would re¬ 
quire more than 66,000 words to disprove these eight 
short lines. 
© 
A new method of preserving meat is reported as the 
discovery of a Danish chemist. It is very simple, and 
suggests itself as valuable for military expeditions, 
or any condition where cumbrous or elaborate appar¬ 
atus is impossible. The animal is first stunned by a 
shot from a revolver, in the forehead, and then a skill¬ 
ful cut opens one ventricle of the heart, causing all 
the blood to drain out, the theory of this being that 
the decomposition of the blood is responsible for the 
quick putrefaction of meat. Immediately after this, 
a briny solution is injected, by means of a powerful 
syringe, through the other ventricle into the veins of 
the body. The whole process takes very little time, 
and the beef is then ready to be cut up immediately. 
The meat keeps well, and is thoroughly wholesome. 
The care of fresh meat, when obtainable, will be an 
important matter to our army now in the field. 
© 
BREVITIES. 
A dozen men set forth at break of day, 
Right royally to fight against the wrong. 
Fierce ridicule lurks grinning by the way, 
And only one, divinely true ar.d strong, 
Holds to his task, endures the threat and scorn 
Of weaker souls—in patience holding true 
To the ideals of life’s hopeful morn. 
Loyal to truth, he walks serenely through; 
The others falter at the fierce attack. 
The angry shouts are mighty, and the way 
Is full of scowling faces—they turn back, 
To wait the chances of another day. 
The one, abused and ridiculed, shall steal, 
At last from angry foemen, words of praise; 
The others, flinching from the fight, shall feel 
The sting of cowardice through all their days. 
What bacteria will sour sweet charity ? 
Never! Never!! Never!!! Trust a bull. 
Necessity and ambition are the muscle-makers of thought. 
You can boss a job or botch it. Some people do both at once. 
That common school of yours ought to be an uncommonly good 
one. 
Western grass is said to be so rank that it files the teeth of 
stock. 
No, my son, you cannot turn a mouthful of words into a headful 
of brains. 
“ Words that burn ”. Love letters that fall into our hands 20 
years after! 
The man who does not need a hay tedder usually has a light 
hay crop to handle. 
Small families—as the cradle left the grain fields, it seems to 
have left the houses. 
Young woman, you would better have two strings to your beau 1 
—his mother’s apron strings! 
The Spanish General, Pando, has an appropriate name for one 
vrhose cake is, evidently, “all dough.” 
A well-put word of praise may be the bacteria that will start 
the energy in that lazy boy, w hile a whip would cripple it. 
Whole milk may be too rich for epileptics, but it just Jits the 
stomach of that calf that carries your hopes for an improved 
dairy. 
“ Shun evil companions”! Possibly as bad an exclusive com¬ 
panion as you can have is yourself. Crawl out of yourself and 
give others a lift. 
He who by farming would get rich, his working overalls must 
hitch a little tighter, and must pitch right in aud aid old Time to 
stitch the hole within the plaster which unto success will stick like 
pitch. 
Most men have ideas. Some are afraid openly to advocate 
them. Some prune them to suit the times, and are called success¬ 
ful. Others carry them far in advance of the ways of society, 
and are called cranks. 
The offspring of a Jersey bull 
Her father’s pedigree cholceful 
Of milking habits, never tired, 
May well be said to be well sired. 
But now deny the calf that care 
She ought to have, and steal her share 
Of food away, and w’e shall see 
How quickly she desired will be. 
When streams of opportunity run right across your track, the 
wise and proper thing to do is just to dam them back, and utilize 
the chances that they bring; but many men can never dam those 
streams unless they add another n. 
