1904. 
549 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
THE PRIZE CLIPPINGS. 
Prizes for clippings are awarded this week 
as follows: 
Lizards as Insect Destroyers. 
There is a new enterprise started this 
year that bids to make the owner, Mr. John 
Minson, wealthy. Mr. Minson conceived 
the idea some time ago that he could pro¬ 
duce an insect destroyer that would cause 
dead shot and Paris-green to take a back 
seat. True to his word, his plans have de¬ 
veloped; success is perched on his banner, 
and he is as busy as the proverbial hen with 
one chicken. Mr. Minson has in his pos¬ 
session 225 trained lizards that are under 
perfect control; that will come to the call 
of a little steel whistle, as a pack of fox 
hounds would to the call of the huntsman’s 
horn. When in the potato patch a little door 
is opened; then the whistle is sounded, when 
the whole pack will come out row by row. 
Those little insect destroyers will go to work 
from hill to hill; every bug is caught, eaten 
or crushed. In two hours they will clear one 
acre of every vestige of insects. The owner 
is very proud of his strange pets; still 
prouder of the shining coin that is fast fall¬ 
ing into his pockets. The little ugly crea¬ 
tures are perfectly harmless, and seem as 
proud as their master. After their work is 
done, the whistle is sounded and the pack 
hustles for their quarters. “It’s amusing,’’ 
said Mr. Minson, “to see the ladies come out 
to watch the lizards work; every one has her 
skirts tied tight just above her shoes.” lie 
lias told them often there was no harm, as 
they would run from a stranger sooner than 
a lamb. Every field of potatoes and melons 
near here has been cleared of Insects. Mr. 
Minson will leave in a day or two for Prin¬ 
cess Anne County with his strange tribe of 
insect destroyers, where he has an engage¬ 
ment for several days with some of the 
truckers, after which he will come home and 
go into raising another colony for next 
Spring. It is believed the toad can be 
trained to use as well, as they are also 
great insect destroyers, but they are lazy 
and will wait in some secluded spot for 
its victim, and when it happens to come' 
near enough, it opens its mouth and takes 
in the insect.—Richmond, Va., Times-Demo- 
crat. 
Good Advice to Mothers. 
A young woman in Catskill flirted with a 
middle-aged trtiveling man, who at once took 
a walk with the frisky young woman. As 
they rambled on he questioned her as to the 
location of her home, and she showed him 
the house, but when he asked her to take 
him in she refused, saying that she did not 
want her mother to see her with a stranger. 
But the man insisted on going in, and before 
she could remonstrate he had seized her by 
the arm and hurried her up the steps to the 
front door. An elderly woman responded 
to the summons. The traveling man In¬ 
quired if she was the mother of the girl at 
his side. Receiving an ainrmative reply, the 
stranger gently led the girl into the hall, 
and, turning to the mother, said: “Madam, 
your daughter flirted with me on the street 
this evening, and I have brought her home 
to you. She does not look like a bad girl, 
and she is altogether too young and pretty 
to be on the streets alone at night. 1 have 
a daughter of my own about her age, and I 
would thank any man for doing what I have 
done fo-night, and so would her mother. 
Take good care of your daughter; don’t let 
her walk the streets at night, and teach her 
the evils of flirting.”—Cooperstown, N. Y., 
Journal. 
When It Gets Dry in Kansas. 
When It gits dry in Kansas 
It does the thing up right; 
The vegetation sizzles up; 
Its’ jes’ a perfect sight: 
The cattle stand ’n bellow, 
’N some folks do the same; 
It’s mighty hard to tell which crowd’s 
The noisiest at the game. 
When it gits dry in Kansas 
The catfish go ’n hide 
Away down in the mucky mud, 
To keep from bein’ fried; 
’N thin white clouds that look jes’ like 
A lot o’ cotton batts 
All frazzled out, go floatin’ roun’ 
No bigger’n my hat. 
When it gits dry in Kansas 
The chinch bugs multiply, 
’N hoppers fly up in yer face 
When ye go passin’ by; 
’N dust gits seven inches thick 
’N hot winds start to blow— 
When it gits dry in Kansas 
There’s nothin’ has a show. 
When it gits dry in Kansas 
The people mighty soon 
Begin to talk ’n worry ’bout 
The changes in the moon ; 
’N grandpa lights his pipe ’n says 
To not git worried ylt, 
“Per sixteen months in ’GO 
It never rained a bit.” 
When it gits dry in Kansas 
It puts some folks to rout; 
They sell off ev’rything they have 
’N go a hustlin’ out, 
A sayin’ they have had enough, 
- N cussin’ jes’ like sin— 
But ev’ry dod-blame one uv ’em 
Jes’ comes right back agin. 
—Kansas Mail and Breeze. 
Against Fractional Currency.—I see 
you strongly advocate the introduction of 
fractional paper money for the use of the 
country people for mail purchases. I am 
afraid that would be a failure, for this 
reason: There would be so much money 
sent through the mails that it would soon 
start the thieves, and so much would be 
stolen it would much more costly than the 
money order system. w. h. hitter. 
Missouri. 
OUTLOOK FOR THE POTATO CROP. 
There is every reason to suppose we will 
have a good big potato crop here this year 
unless it continues too dry. Potatoes are 
growing nicely. o. a. e. b. 
Bridgman, Mich. 
There is the usual acreage of potatoes, and 
crop never looked better at this date. Copi¬ 
ous rain of yesterday (June 30) insured a 
fair grass crop, although clover was the 
cleanest kill-out I have ever experienced. 
Other crops generally good; onions, so far 
as I know, ruined with maggot. What is best 
preventive? e. a. h. 
Windham. N. Y. 
Potatoes are making a rapid, healthy 
growth; average condition, better than one 
year ago. Bugs are plentiful. Corn is late 
and small; needs warmer weather; meadows 
good. Strawberries a light crop, on account 
of severe Winter. Apples looking well. I 
think the crop will be larger than last sea¬ 
son. q. s. 
Factoryville, Pa. 
Early potatoes look well, and are doing 
finely. Bugs are now making their appear¬ 
ance ; too early yet to say what the crop 
may be. No blight as yet. Late potatoes are 
very uneven in growth, which this season 
seems to be more from late planting than 
from varieties. A full acreage is planted in 
this section. c. f. 
Lackawanna Co., Pa. 
We have had a long wet late Spring, and 
as a result three-quarters of the potatoes 
planted in western New York have been put 
in within the last two weeks (July 5). There¬ 
fore they are not above ground as yet. If 
we have a favorable season we should have 
a good crop. Those that are up are looking 
fine. e. f. d. 
lloneoye Falls, N. Y. 
The potato crop is very backward in this 
locality, owing to a cold and wet Spring; 
early planted rotted badly and had to be re¬ 
planted. I do not believe there are as many 
potatoes planted this season as usual on 
account of the scarcity and high price of 
seed. All small grains have suffered from 
excessive rains, and will not average over 
65 per cent of a crop. l. n. n. 
Rose Lawn, WTs. 
As to the potato crop in this county, it is 
rather early to decide, as it was a wet, 
backward season, and some are still planting. 
Most of the main crop are only through the 
ground. The small patches planted early 
look fine. If late ones do as well we will 
have a fair crop. Less acreage than com¬ 
mon in some parts of the county (Seneca). 
Wheat very poor; oats looking fine; corn 
late and looking poor at this season of the 
year. g. a. b. 
Waterloo. N. Y. 
The potato crop through this section is 
no larger than last year, and not any more 
forward, if it is as early. There is very 
little domestic cabbage planted, owing to the 
grubs having destroyed the early plants. I 
think that the acreage of cabbage will be 
less (ban last season. Apples are about 75 
per cent of last season’s crop, and there has 
been but very little spraying done. Other 
fruit is about the same. The Spring grain 
crops look well, but the acreage is light, ow¬ 
ing to the wet, backward Spring. Wheat and 
rye are very poor. The grass crop is heavy. 
Canandaigua, N. Y. c. R. w. 
The potato crop looks very fine up to the 
present time. There are indications of blight 
on some pieces, but this is the exception 
rather than tfle rule. The condition of the 
crop as compared with other years is fully 
100 per cent. I have ordered a sprayer from 
Rochester, N. Y., and shall give the blight 
question a thorough trial, and see if I can 
keep the tops green until potatoes are ripe. 
All other farm crops In this section ar£ 
fine except corn, and that is away behind. 
The average height is about one foot, when 
it should be showing tassels. We have had 
no hay weather to date (July 2), and what 
hay has been cut has been ruined by rain. 
The hay crop is very heavy. e. h. c. 
River Falls, Wis. 
As compared with other years, early pota¬ 
toes never looked finer. The vines are 
healthy and very large, with the usual num¬ 
ber of acres planted. Late potatoes planted 
early are also looking nice, and potatoes 
planted from June 10 to 20 are coming well, 
but it is too early to make an estimate of 
what the crop will be. Corn did not come 
well, and it will do well to husk out 75 per 
cent of an average crop. Oats will be an 
average crop; wheat in this section will do 
well if it yields 60 per cent of an average 
crop. What is left of the wheat standing is 
doing well, but the latter part of W’inter 
with cold weather and no snow proved too 
much for it. Timothy will be an average 
crop. Medium Red clover will fall below the 
average a little. Clover and Timothy that 
were sown last Fall and this Spring are 
looking extra fine. Up to this date we have 
had but little warm weather, but plenty of 
rain. w. w. w. 
Huron Co., Ohio. 
PRIZES FOR GRADE ANIMALS AT 
THE FAIRS. 
Is it desirable to offer prizes at county or 
State fairs for graded live stock—that is, 
animals not eligible to registry? This is an 
important question. We begin the discussion 
of it this week. There will be more to follow. 
I would certainly draw the line on the 
grade bull. Purebred bulls can be pur¬ 
chased now for a very reasonable price, 
and those of high breeding, and the use 
of such only should be encouraged. I 
would favor the offering of a premium on 
grade females in most localities. By the 
term graded I mean the offspring of pure¬ 
bred sire or dam. d. p. witter. 
I would never under any circumstances 
offer a prize for a grade bull or male of 
any animal. Everything should be done 
to discourage their use. Thousands of 
good cows are producing worthless heifers 
because the sire has no prepotency. While 
I would not advise a uniform grade stock 
premium list, there may be localities where 
many valuable grades are kept, and surely 
no one thing would be more stimulating 
than a fine show of high-grade cows, 
where such a practice would stimulate the 
use of purebred bulls by proving how 
easily and cheaply such stock can be 
raised. Our own farms have never raised 
purebreds, but we have succeeded in build¬ 
ing up some valuable grades that are 
worth showing at any fair. One of these 
will this year reach nearly 18,000 pounds 
of milk, and only a half blood. I think 
if herd prizes were offered there would 
often be a great lesson in it. Could any¬ 
thing be more stimulating than a herd of 
fine half bloods headed by a purebred 
bull, all having 300 to 400 pounds butter 
records? This does not answer the old 
oft-repeated question, however, which is 
better, grades or purebreds? Each has its 
place, and every dairyman should aim for 
the largest production and highest merit. 
H. E. C. 
Premiums should be offered for grade 
females in all classes, and for grade males 
for all purposes (flesh or work) where 
they would be useful after castration. In 
other words, we are to encourage grade 
males for every purpose, their use as sires 
only excepted. No reproach attaches in 
any way to the production of grade ani¬ 
mals upon the farm. In fact, for all util¬ 
itarian purposes, either milk or flesh, the 
grade may be quite as valuable as the pure¬ 
bred animal. From the very nature of the 
case, the vast majority of our farm stock 
for many years to come must at the best 
be only grades. There is no more worthy 
or suggestive exhibit than the animal 
whose ancestry was of promiscuous or 
unknown breeding (the so-called “scrub”), 
and which by the use of purebred sires in 
generation after generation is being shaped 
toward an ideal. Most certainly we ought 
to recognize this class of work by offering 
prizes for grade females in ttie full class. 
But the offering of prizes for grade males 
to be used for breeding purposes is a fun¬ 
damentally different proposition. We be¬ 
lieve that what makes the purebred male 
valuable is not so much because of his 
own special excellencies as because of the 
fact that being a purebred animal, he 
should possess greater prepotency, i. e., 
the ability to transmit his characters to 
his offspring. There is little doubt that 
the grade male, however perfect his form 
and individual excellencies generally lacks 
ability to impress his good characters upon 
his offspring to the same extent as the 
male of pure breeding. For this reason 
we believe that the most rapid improve¬ 
ment of our domestic animals will be se¬ 
cured by the use of sires bred within cer¬ 
tain blood lines for generations, and hence 
we ought not to encourage the use o:: 
grades as sires by offering prizes for such. 
Still I cannot resist the temptation to say 
that the principles of Darwinian biology 
and the orthodox tenets of breeders are at 
variance in many points. I have also a 
good deal of faith in the old Darwinian 
dictum that the intermingling of diverse 
strains of blood increases vigor and fecun¬ 
dity. JARED VAN WACENEN, JR. 
That Rove sometimes cures disease is a 
fact that has recently been called to the 
attention of the public by a prominent 
physician and college professor. In some 
nervous diseases of women, such as hys¬ 
teria, this physician gives instances where 
women were put in a pleasant frame of 
mind, were made happy by falling in love, 
and in consequence were cured of their 
nervous troubles—the weak, nervous sys¬ 
tem toned and stimulated by little Dr. 
Cupid — became strong and vigorous, al¬ 
most without their knowledge. Many a 
woman is nervous and irritable, feels drag¬ 
ged down and worn out, for no reason that 
she can think of. She may be ever so 
much in love, but Dr. Cupid fails to cure 
her. In ninety-nine per cent, of these 
cases it is the womanly organism which 
requires attention; the weak back, dizzy 
spells and black circles about the eyes, are 
only symptoms. Go to the source of the 
trouble and correct the irregularities, the 
drains on the womanly system and the 
other symptoms disappear. So sure of it 
is the World’s Dispensary Medical Associa¬ 
tion, proprietors of Dr. Pierce’s Favorite 
Prescription, that they offer a $500 reward 
for women who cannot be cured of leucor- 
rhea, female weakness, prolapsus, or fall¬ 
ing of the womb. All they ask is a fair 
and reasonable trial of their means of cure. 
Dr. Pierce’s Pleasant Pellets clear the 
complexion and sweeten the breath, they 
cleanse and regulate the stomach, liver and 
bowels and produce permanent benefit and 
do not re act on the system. One is a 
gentle laxative. 
"The Common Sense Medical Adviser” 
is sent free, paper-bound, for 21 one-cent 
stamps to pay expense of mailing only. 
Send 31 stamps for cloth-bound copy. 
Address, World’s Dispensarv. Buffalo, N.Y. 
For Information 
as to Fruit and Trucking: Lands, Grazing Lands, 
Soil and Climate in Virginia, North and South 
Carolina, Georgia, Alabama & Florida along the 
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad 
Write to WILBUR M’COY Agricultural and 
Immigration Agent, Jacksonville, Fla. 
UNION LOCK 
POULTRY FENCING 
AS IT LOOKS WHEN ERECTED 
Is Strongest and Best by every test. Has been 
fully tested by leading poultrymen. All heights (12 
in. to 7 ft.) Has fine mesh for small chicks. 0»er ll'OO 
rods of this fence used on Lakewood Poultry Farm, 
New Jersey. You will be pleased with it. Our low 
prices will surprise you. We ship from mills in 
Conn.,Ill. and Calif.,and guarantee prompt delivery. 
Catalogue of Farm, Lawn and Poultry Fencing sent 
free. Write us what you want qDo it to-day. 
CASE BROS., 14-20 Main Street, Colchester, Conn. 
EUREKA INDESTRUCTIBLE FENCE POSTS. 
Cheap as cedar. Made where used. No freight to 
pay. Great inducements to Agents to work territory. 
For terms, etc., address, with stamp, 
J. W. WYNKOOP. K. K. No. 4. Erie. Pa. 
PAGE GATE FRAMES 
are solid wrought iron, not angle Iron or gas pipe. 
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THE FROST WIRE FENCE CO., Cleveland, Ohio. 
