788 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
November 19 
The Rural New-Yorker 
TEE BUSINESS FARMERS' PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 1850. 
Elbert S. Carman, Editor-In-Chief. 
Herbert W. Collinowood, Managing Editor. 
Frank H. Valentine, Ia™,...,. F(litorB 
Mrs. E. T. Roylb, ( Associate Hu i tors. 
John J. Dillon, B-^sinesa Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTIONS. 
Price, One Dollar A Tear. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, 82.04, equal to 
8s. 6d., or b'/x 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 Price 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-oflice 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, NOVEMBER 19, 1898. 
5 Send us a club of four subscriptions with $4, 
for and we will advance your own subscription 
a one year free. New subscribers for next year 
will now get the paper from the date the sub¬ 
scription is received until January 1, 1900. 
Under “On the Wing” this week has begun an 
account of a trip through a part of New England 
where glass gardening is a thriving industry. While 
we are talking of the great West, with its rich soil 
and heavy crops, let us not forget the way our eastern 
friends are facing the situation. Under glass they 
produce an artificial southern climate, and produce 
tender crops while, outside, the frost bites and the 
storm rages. 
The article on page 784, concerning a form of copy¬ 
right for new varieties of plants, will be read with in¬ 
terest by many who feel that the originator of new 
plants is not adequately protected. It is, however, a 
difficult matter to frame such a protective law. We 
have before urged the appointment of a committee on 
nomenclature by all horticultural societies, such com¬ 
mittees to examine into cases of substitution, or to 
decide concerning priority of name. Such work would 
be a great aid in enforcing the copyright law proposed. 
A writer in the Botanical Magazine asserts that 
the omnipresent bacteria dwell even upon hailstones, 
averaging nearly 1,000 upon each scrap of ice! One of 
these bacteria proved to be fatal to rats. We have no 
objection whatever to any bacterium which devotes 
itself to killing rats, but the miscellaneous collection 
of its relations, which every hailstorm is liable to 
bring, sounds quite alarming. We may obtain insur¬ 
ance against hail, but who will insure us against the 
deadly bacilli that lurk in the compost heap, the milk 
pail, and even the innocent, though frigid, hailstone ? 
Our contemporaries are beginning their annual re¬ 
marks about themselves—claiming almost everything 
in sight or out of sight. We prefer to let The R. N.-Y. 
speak for itself. Nothing that we could say would, 
probably,'change the views of any intelligent man re¬ 
garding the value of this paper. “ Deeds, not words!” 
One thing, however, we can safely call attention to, 
and that is the large amount of editorial correspon¬ 
dence contained in The R. N.-Y. Our editors get out 
of the office and go among the people, and come back 
with original opinions and reports. Our contempor¬ 
aries have somehow forgotten to make any claims in 
this direction. 
Farmers have used lime for years, and often with 
great success, but our scientific men are even now 
finding out why some of these results are obtained. 
At the Rhode Island Experiment Station, Messrs. 
Wheeler and Tillinghast found that in a certain soil 
phosphoric acid was very deficient. Subsequently the 
land was limed, and the results since obtained show 
that the kind of plants formerly grown are now able 
to obtain from the soil nearly all the phosphoric acid 
required. Lime seems therefore to have unlocked for 
the use of plants a large quantity of phosphoric acid 
which they were formerly unable to utilize. This is 
a benefit from the employment of lime which was 
hardly anticipated, and it furnishes another reason for 
its use on many soils. The experiment promises to be 
of indirect value in facilitating the study of chemical 
means of ascertaining our soil requirements. It is 
also directly useful in calling attention to precautions 
which should be taken in carrying on soil tests with 
plants, by means of which farmers can learn for them¬ 
selves what their soils lack. Its chief value would 
seem to be in showing how phosphoric acid which has 
been stored up in the soil in large quantities, in an 
almost useless form, may be rendered assimilable by 
plants. 
The National Horse Show Association, at Madison 
Square Garden, November 14-19, if we may judge from 
the entries, and the interest manifested, will be one of 
the most successful shows in the history of the Associa¬ 
tion. It is the event of the season among horsemen 
and in New York society. The stores and shops make 
great preparations for this event, and the value of the 
new suits and dresses, hats and furbelows, jewelry 
and decorations of all kinds is reckoned by the hun¬ 
dreds of thousands of dollars. Besides this, the car¬ 
riage maker, the harness maker, the dealers in horse 
furnishings, all profit largely. An immense amount 
of money is scattered among the workers. Society 
has a chance to spread itself, and so long as it has 
money to pay the bills, who shall say it nay—besides 
the horses ? 
As a contrast to the ease with which tomatoes may 
be grown in Florida, as detailed upon the first page, 
we may refer to suggestions given to English garden¬ 
ers concerning this crop. The consumption of toma¬ 
toes in Great Britain has increased enormously within 
a few years, vast quantities of the fruit being ripened 
under glass, in addition to foreign importations. In 
the south of England, it is possible to ripen the fruit 
out of doors, and it is said that tomatoes are now being 
raised as a farm crop there, but in most parts of the 
country the fruit may not be matured outside. In ad¬ 
dition to selection of plants and thinning of fruits, it 
is advised that manuring should consist of shallow 
surface dressing, no nitrates or phosphates being ap¬ 
plied, except at the time of planting. It is also recom¬ 
mended that the tomatoes be kept very dry, to hasten 
ripening, an aid to this being to loosen the roots, first 
on one side and then on the other, when the fruit is 
nearing maturity. 
During October, the daily papers reported a num¬ 
ber of cases where entire families were poisoned by 
eating mushrooms. In several cases, the poisoning 
resulted fatally. Investigation by experts shows the 
fungus eaten to have been Amanita phalloides, the 
Death-cup. This is the most deadly of our fungi, and 
so distinct in appearance from the mushroom of com¬ 
merce (Agaricus campestris) that we cannot imagine 
any one familiar with it making such an error. It is 
an evil-looking thing, its clammy, corpse-like cap 
very different from the satiny surface of the whole¬ 
some mushroom and, if all other distinctions are over¬ 
looked, its character is shown by the cup of thick 
skin from which the stem arises. When the whole¬ 
some mushroom breaks the vail in which it is inclosed, 
it leaves a ring of skin upon the stem. In the case of 
the Amanita, there is no ring, but the ruptured vail 
leaves a cup at the bottom of the stem, in which it is 
implanted. Fungi are, in many cases, wholesome 
and nutritious, but one would better get acquainted 
with them before eating them. 
Many people have an hour or more a day during the 
Winter to devote to reading. This can be wasted on 
trash, or much of value may be picked up by using a 
little judgment. What shall be read, the daily news¬ 
paper ? Yes, if reasonably near the post office, and 
you can afford it, take a daily. But learn to read it 
with a skimmer instead of spectacles—glancing over 
the headings and skimming out here and there what 
is worth reading. A newspaper is made for many 
different people. To read it all or spend the whole 
evening on it is a waste of time, besides filling the 
mind with useless stuff that will soon make it resem¬ 
ble a garret. Unless there are long articles of special 
importance, 15 or 20 minutes are enough to give the 
daily paper. This will take practice, but the habit of 
reading rapidly and knowing at a glance what ought 
to be read, is worth getting. Next comes the trade 
paper. Every man, whether farmer, mechanic or 
whatever his business, ought to have the benefit of 
the best thought and experience in his special line of 
work. More time may be spent on the trade paper, 
but it is well to use the skimmer even here. Then 
there are magazines and books. Here is a great bill 
of fare, but the busy mortal can’t take in the whole 
feast. Guided by his own judgment and the advice 
of friends, he must sort out what seems best. To read 
for mere amusement is lazy business for a healthy 
person. Get a writer with some depth of thought— 
some good, live ideas, which take hold of you like 
bulldogs and never let loose. Some people have been 
shaken up by one or two such bulldog ideas, until they 
have amounted to 10 times what they otherwise would. 
Probably many of our readers have heard of the 
Christian Scientists and their ideas respecting the 
sick. They refuse to use medicines or methods pre¬ 
scribed by practicing doctors, but claim to cure by 
faith. As we understand it, the patient is to think he 
is well, and thus become well through the influence 
of mental force over his bodily ills. Be that as it may, 
Mr. Harold Frederic, a well-known writer, recently 
died in England. He refused to have regular doctors, 
and was attended by two women, who treated him 
according to Christian Science methods. He died, and 
an English coroner’s jury has held the women crimin¬ 
ally responsible for his death. Under the English law 
they can be tried for manslaughter, not that they 
wanted to kill the man, but because they neglected to 
do things which might have saved his life. In this 
country the courts in Maine decided that if a man saw 
fit to choose the Christian Science treatment, and 
agreed to pay for it, he must pay whether it helped 
him or not. In Wisconsin the courts hold that a clair¬ 
voyant doctor “ must possess the knowledge and skill 
of a physician of good standing” before attempting 
public treatment. We understand that the Christian 
Scientists are increasing in numbers. Very likely one 
may make himself sick by brooding over his ills, but 
we would not expect to think away a broken leg, a 
broken lung, or a case of typhoid fever ! 
BREVITIES. 
GOVERNOR THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
Well, Teddy, you’re elected, and you made a plucky light, 
Your party nag was spavined, with its wind in sorry plight; 
The Boss had galled her shoulders, and Canals had barked her 
knees, 
And worthless office holders made the poor old critter wheeze. 
And independent voters were disgusted and had said, 
“She’s hopelessly Boss-ridden—let us knock her on the head!” 
And, Teddy, they’d have done it, don’t you doubt it, but for you. 
They somehow got the notion that you’re honest, square, and true. 
They meant to knife your party, but they halted in their track 
And said, “ Let’s give her one more chance ! When Teddy’s on 
her back.” 
They think youHl fight abuses as you fought our Spanish foes, 
And make the thieves and rascals feel the vigor of your blows. 
Don’t disappoint us, Teddy, for the hour has struck at last, 
And golden opportunities within your life are cast. 
Go right out to the people; they have put you in the chair, 
And they can knock you out again—remember that! Take care! 
Kick out the politicians when they whisper evil things. 
Be true, and see what higher trusts the fateful future brings. 
Be firm, and common people will be proud to shout your name; 
Be weak, and ’round your promises we’ll brand a mark of shame! 
Be Governor now, Teddy—be no dummy in the chair; 
Our hopes and faith go with you. Forward march! Old man! 
Get There! 
Regenerate the degenerate. 
Web-footed tomatoes—page 791. 
The best “ text book ” is the Bible. 
The hens like their mash crumbly. 
Why not make a necessity of virtue ? 
The hod carrier has an uplifting job. 
Wood ashes make good pig medicine. 
A popular woman’s club—her tongue! 
Corn is shocked when made into whisky. 
Make the tree agent give you stocky stock. 
“ Now dry up! ” said the wood shed to the stove wood. 
The sow that gives the largest litter makes the cleanest profit. 
Have you ever known a hen or pullet to moult twice inside a 
year ? 
Which “ middle man ” gets the most of your trade—heart or 
stomach ? 
At peace with all the world. How many of us may truthfully 
say this ? 
Yes, my son, a good active dog will change the cat into a raise 
her back. 
There never was a better prospect for the skilled workman in 
any line of trade. 
The cur dog gives a high analysis as a fertilizer—but he is low 
in any other form. 
We understand that the Ohio potato crop is coming out slowly. 
Rain hinders the digging. 
No—we would not use tarred paper for bands on apple trees. 
Fine wire screen is better. 
Show me a fellow who never knew trouble—I’ll show you a 
character weak as a bubble. 
How can an American in New York State compete with an 
“ American ” in the Philippines at sugar making ? 
Right you are, my friend; the man who coats his life with petty 
little complaints and meannesses—that man wears a petticoat. 
Out in Alcona County, Mich., it is reported that as a joke the 
Silver men nominated a woman for county attorney. She was 
elected. It doesn’t pay to play jokes on a woman. 
You will see from the article by Prof. W. A. Taylor, that we 
were right in saying that the Agricultural Department cannot 
give any patent or special right to the introducer of a new fruit! 
If we would “see ourselves as others see us” in the race for 
money and position, it will sometimes be necessary to look over 
into a pen where a lot of hungry hogs are fighting over a scanty 
supply of swill. 
Mr. J. S. Woodward claims that hogs or sheep kept in an or¬ 
chard and well fed on bran or other nitrogenous food will do the 
trees as much good as cultivating and fertilizing. What have 
you to say about this ? 
The strawberry does not like a sour soil, and will not do its best 
an a soil that is very alkaline. This may explain why wood ashes 
give varying results when used on strawberries. When the soil 
is quite acid, the lime in the ashes may neutralize it and give just 
the right conditions. When the soil is not acid, the lime may 
prove too much of a good thing. 
