8o4 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
November 26 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMERS’ PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Home*. 
Established 1850. 
Elbert S. Carman, Editor-In-Chief. 
Herbert W. Collinowood, Managing Editor. 
(As-eiat. Editor.. 
John J. Dillon, B'-siness Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTIONS. 
Price, One Dollar A Year. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, 82.04, equal to 
8s. 6d., or ay % marks, or 10y s francs. 
Watson, Professor of Agriculture, State College, Pa. 
Fill out the blank form and return. A certificate of 
membership will be sent, and a printed lesson will be 
forwarded. Questions on the lessons are sent, and 
when answers are forwarded, another lesson will be 
sent, and so on until the course is finished. The les¬ 
sons suggest methods of study, describe simple ex¬ 
periments illustrating points in question, aim to sup¬ 
ply the deficiencies of the books, and explain difficult 
parts. The work is similar to that conducted in the 
class-room. When a student passes a satisfactory 
examination on one course, he may obtain a college 
certificate. 
ADVERTISING RATES. 
Thirty cents per agate line (14 lines to the inch). Yearly orders 
of 10 or more lines, and 1,000-llne orders, 25 cents per line. 
Heading 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-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, NOVEMBER 26, 1898. 
5 Send us a club of four subscriptions with 84, 
for and we will advance your own subscription 
A New York City wholesale milk dealer has just 
been fined 8350 for selling skim-milk. The evidence 
showed that he handled over 600 cans daily, most of 
which came from Connecticut. His defense was that 
he sold it as sour milk. Selling skim-milk is contrary! 
to law, even though no effort to defraud be made. 
Looked at on its merits, this law is nonsense. But 
the reason for its existence is the fact that, if the 
sale of skim-milk be permitted at all, dishonest deal¬ 
ers are continually using it to dilute other milk or to 
take its place; so its sale is prohibited completely. 
There ought to be a large sale of skim-milk, as such, 
to people who cannot afford whole milk, or who can¬ 
not use the milk with its full fat content. 
j one year free. New subscribers for next year 
will now get the paper from the date the sub- A H as it occurred to the managers of our dairy conven- 
scription is received until January 1, 1900. tions, that there is far too much discussion about 
The advantages of a college education were displayed 
when a highwayman attempted to rob a long-haired 
young man near Montclair, N. J. The victim hap¬ 
pened to be a football player, who organized himself 
into a center rush and tackled the footpad in fine 
form. The footpad managed to escape, considerably 
out of repair, and it is believed that he will avoid 
young men with Chrysanthemum hair in future. 
A few weeks ago, we asked our readers whether 
they could tell us of a case where the building of good 
roads at public expense had really increased the price 
of farm property and attracted newcomers to help 
share the tax burdens. No one has yet mentioned 
such a case. As usually built, the good roads seem to 
increase the taxes so that buyers are likely to keep 
off. Where both tax rate and assessed valuation are 
increased, it is hard to make buyers see the advantage 
of the location. 
methods of manufacture, freights, etc., and that the 
man who milks the cow is neglected far too much ? 
The man who makes the milk is the great economic 
factor who must be looked after. The dairy schools 
and experiment stations are looking after the manu¬ 
facturing part, and the demand of the markets spurs 
up the makers. It is how to produce better milk, 
cheaper-made milk, and getting it to the makers of 
the cheese and butter in the finest possible state, that 
should concern these conventions more. Sanitation 
on the farm, cleanliness in the stables, better and 
more correct feeding of stock, in fact the best up-to- 
date information about the dairy, should be given in 
far larger doses. The greater the intelligence and in¬ 
formation of the dairyman, and the greater the ex¬ 
hortation to him to be not weary in well doing, the 
better will it be for all concerned, and no great prog¬ 
ress can be made until the practices of the farm are 
equal or superior to the manufacturing. 
The compulsory-vaccination law in England has 
been modified recently by a new act of Parliament, 
which permits those having “earnest, conscientious 
scruples ” against vaccination to evade it. This was 
a triumph for the anti-vaccinationists. Their rejoic¬ 
ing is clouded, however, by the action of the insur¬ 
ance companies, who appear agreed in demanding a 
higher premium in such cases. The insurance people 
say that anti-vaccinationists are a bad risk. This 
course induces some speculation, as to an insurance 
man’s view of believers in Christian Science. 
The prevailing wet weather of the past few weeks 
throughout western New York, Ohio, and some other 
localities, has put a quietus upon the work of the 
husking machines. At no time has the corn been dry 
enough to husk with these, and there is slight pros¬ 
pect that it will be before Winter closes in. The 
ground has been so soft, too, that using the potato 
diggers has been out of the question. Valuable as 
these machines are, there come times when circum¬ 
stances are too much for them. Even hand digging 
and husking have been almost impossible, though it 
requires greater stress of weather to interfere seriously 
with these good old-fashioned methods. 
The best preparation a farmer can have for success¬ 
fully carrying on his work and solving problems that 
confront him is, undoubtedly, a course at a good agri¬ 
cultural college. But a small proportion of farmers 
can avail themselves of such advantages. Few, how¬ 
ever, but can avail themselves of a privilege which 
Uncle Sam will bring to them. A complete course in 
agriculture by mail is within the reach of every 
farmer. The Pennsylvania State College is now offer¬ 
ing five courses, one each on Crop Production, Live 
Stock Production, Horticulture and Floriculture, 
Dairying, and Domestic Economy. Seven books are 
used in each course, and arrangements are made 
whereby students can procure the required books 
at reduced rates. The entire expense for the course 
is the small amount needed for the books—in the case 
of the course on Crop Production, 85.43—and a small 
amount for postage. The method of procedure is as 
follows : Send postal for blank form and pamphlet 
describing the work in all the courses, to George C. 
When the war-tax bill was passed compelling ex¬ 
press receipts to bear a one-cent stamp, the express 
companies decided to shift this expense upon the 
public. Most of them had made great profits, and had 
received immense public benefits; yet, instead of 
offering to pay their fair share of the expenses of the 
war, they decided to make their patrons pay it for 
them. The revenue officials said they must pay it, 
but still they refused, and finally suit was brought 
against the Adams Express Company to compel them 
to pay this tax. Judge Lacombe of the United States 
Circuit Court has decided that the express companies 
have the right to compel shippers to pay for the 
stamps. He says, however, that his decision is 
not final, but that the Supreme Court must settle 
it. We don’t see how the Supreme Court can 
justly uphold this decision. The war has increased 
the business of the express companies. They are 
abundantly able to pay the tax, and there is no fair 
reason why they should shirk their duty and compel 
the public to pay their taxes for them. These great 
transportation monopolies that have grown fat upon 
public favors, seem to have an idea that they own this 
country, and it does look sometimes as though they 
were about right in thinking so. 
Within the past 10 days, the white citizens of North 
Carolina and South Carolina have succeeded in nulli¬ 
fying the United States Constitution. They have 
settled the principle that, in those States, the black 
American has no rights which stand in the way of the 
wishes of a white American. This has been done in 
spite of the protection supposed to be granted to the 
negro by the United States Constitution. The singu¬ 
lar fact is that no prominent white man seems to care 
very much about it. Twenty years ago, such a state 
of affairs would have set the politicians from one end 
of the North to the other a-shouting. To-day, a few 
educated colored men meet to protest, and that is 
about all that will be done about it. What does it 
mean ? Has the old moral sense and love of justice 
been dulled, or have our statesmen and politicians 
come to realize that they have made a great mistake 
in their treatment of the negro ? In either case, we 
submit that the recent Indian outbreak and these negro 
riots came at an unfortunate time. Unable to treat 
colored men justly at home, how can we expect to 
take hold of Cuba and the Philippines with clean hands? 
The Royal Agricultural Society, of England, has 
taken a commendable step in forbidding the exhibi¬ 
tion, at its show, of horses with docked tails. The 
Hunters’ Improvement Society, also of England, 
adopted a similar resolution two years ago, and at its 
coming show, all yearlings must be exhibited un¬ 
docked ; next year, all two-year-olds, and so on, until 
eventually, all horses must be shown unmutilated. 
While this doesn’t settle the matter definitely, it cer¬ 
tainly must carry great weight, and it is to be hoped 
that it will lead ultimately to the abolishment of this 
cruel and uncalled-for practice. The laws of many 
States already forbid it, yet it is such a fad among 
the would-be smart set, that many horses of this kind 
are seen in the cities. 
Alexander W. Livingston, the well-known seeds¬ 
man, died at his home in Columbus, 0., November 10, 
aged 76 years. His parents were Ohio pioneers, and 
his early life was filled with the hard toil incident to 
the settlement of a new country. He had few educa¬ 
tional advantages in his early life, and was largely 
self-taught. His life, with the exception of the'10 
years from 1880 to 1890, when he lived in Iowa, was 
spent in, or within a few miles of, Columbus. Al¬ 
though identified with the seed trade, both as grower 
and dealer, for the greater part of his life, his great¬ 
est work was in connection with the tomato, which he 
greatly improved. Livingston’s Beauty and Living¬ 
ston’s Favorite, not to mention other kinds, serve to 
perpetuate his memory. He was also instrumental in 
the improvement of varieties of sweet corn, but the 
great work of his life was the improvement of the 
tomato, in which fruit he became interested when 
but 10 years of age, although he was past middle 
life before satisfactory improvement was secured, and 
the Paragon was placed on the market in 1870. IIis 
latest was the Honor Bright. 
BREVITIES. 
A THANKSGIVING PICTURE. 
An old New England farmhouse crouching low 
On a bleak hillside, raw, cold mist without. 
Within, the crumbling woodiire’s flashes show 
A grouping of dim faces—loooking out 
From the dark shadows—silent, thoughtfully, 
Gathered from distant homes with lives apart. 
The old folks sit before the fire and see 
Lost childhood’s days to busy being start. 
Gray, sad-faced children these—the hand of care 
Has carved deep lines of trouble on each face, 
Yet, lost in memories, all unaware 
Of age and toll, hope paints a newer grace. 
Stern faces brighten, rough and hardened hands 
Reach out with some forgotten, lost caress; 
The ghost of happy youth comes back and stands 
By each gray, wrinkled face to smooth and bless. 
In the next room the happy children play, 
Their hopes and joys of life are all ahead, 
But the old people, at the close of day, 
Find silent happiness back with the dead. 
Oh, sweet Thanksgiving festival, you bear 
No truer blessing than the right to cast 
Aside for one brief hour the yoke of care 
In holy memories of a happy past. 
Make t he wise men tell you why! 
Your light will shine better for trimming. 
The man of large sighs has small courage. 
The ‘Sharp word is usually bluntly spoken. 
Poor stuff! Warmed-over “.cold comfort.” 
New England takes the lead in town libraries. 
Most people “ resolve” and then dissolve the resolution. 
The ox “ passes.” He has no trumps—they are all thumps. 
The man who fools with dynamite is liable to die in a minute. 
Farmers have too many buy products. More should be pro¬ 
duced at home. 
The longing to do something better for self—that’s one of the 
things that won’t go on the shelf. 
Why do we pack the joints of tile? To keep it in place and 
keep out loose dirt. Remembering this, what is better than a sod? 
You may act on another man’s judgment, and feel very glad 
when you’re through; but to judge on another man’s actions is 
a thing you would better not do. 
We notice that some of the army surgeons are trying to put 
the responsibility for the spread of typhoid fever on the flies. 
Lucky for them the flies cannot talk back. 
You may keep a scrub hen if perchance you are driven tco 
hard in economy’s race, but with a scrub rooster you can’t be 
forgiven—I say that right now to your face! 
Think of it—oxen hauled the first wagons across the plains, 
and in two generations, western men have forgotten that the ox 
was ever a beast of burden. Short memories. 
A Missouri man was fined 120 for beating his mule recently, and 
the next day he was fined 82 for beating his v ife. According to 
that computation, it takes 10 wives to equal one mule! 
American colleges are to be asked to give free tuition to a num¬ 
ber of young Cubans. We are already teaching English to 18,000 
persons in Cuba. How many people in this country cannot read 
or write ? 
You writers who want to be helpful and great, now here’s our 
advice—it costs nothing at all. Think mighty ideas, let them 
stew in your pate, and then dress them simply—in words that 
are small. 
A tramp demanded a meal from a New Jersey woman, threaten¬ 
ing to burn the house and barn if his request were not instantly 
complied with. The member of the weaker sex secured a shot¬ 
gun, and pursued the tramp until the velocity of the man before 
the gun took him out of range. 
