4 o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
January 10 
The Rural New=Yorker. 
THE BUSINESS FARMERS' PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 1850. 
Elbert S. Carman. Editor-In-Chief. 
Herbert W. Collingwood, Managing Editor. 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
SUBSCEIPTIONS. 
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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 al! orders pay¬ 
able to THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
Corner Chambers and Pearl Streets, New York. 
SATURDAY, JANUARY 16, 1897. 
To our recent subscribers, we would say—our older 
friends are well informed of the fact—that The R. 
N.-Y. offers to send a small tuber of the new Sir 
Walter Raleigh potato to all applicants who send us 
a two-cent stamp to cover the postage. The Sir Wal¬ 
ter is a seedling of the R. N.-Y. No 2, and, as we be¬ 
lieve, from trials at the Rural Grounds, is equal to its 
parent in all ways, and superior to it in quality and 
perfection of form. 
O 
There are two classes of ensilage or stalk cutters. 
In one, the knives are placed in a head which revolves 
toward the corn as it is pushed along. In the other, 
the knives are hung on a heavy fly wheel which re¬ 
volves at right angles to the fodder. Now which is 
the better arrangement, and why ? We shall be glad 
to have those who have studied this matter tell us 
why and where one form is superior to the other. 
O 
The Vermont Experiment Station report states that 
a dairyman once employed at the station went to 
work for W. K. Vanderbilt. He began to test the 
cows that were put in his charge. The Babcock test 
showed that 10 of these cows were thieves—not giving 
butter fat enough to pay for their food. These thieves 
were killed, for, as this dairyman wrote, “ Mr. Van¬ 
derbilt cannot afford to keep cows that do not pay 
their way ! ” If a Vanderbilt cannot afford to have 
robbers in his barn, how can you afford such a luxury ? 
G 
Many of our newer readers do not know that Mr. 
E. S. Carman has written a book entitled, The New 
Potato Culture. This volume gives in a condensed 
form the conclusions arrived at after some 20 years 
of careful experiment work. Mr. Carman’s researches 
covered such matters as selecting and cutting seed, 
growing seedlings, culture by means of the famous 
Trench System, the use of fertilizers and fungicides— 
in fact, this book reviews the complete life of the 
potato plant, and shows us how best to prosper and 
protect it. This is a book that should be in the library 
of every one who grows potatoes. The R. N.-Y offers 
it for sale at 75 cents in cloth, and 40 cents in paper. 
G 
Every spring, some one starts the old-time sugges¬ 
tion of fighting off a late frost by building small 
fires through the orchard or fruit field. Usually, 
such persons argue that the heat and smoke from 
these fires will keep off an ordinary frost. Many 
have tried the plan and failed, but the California 
fruit growers have met with considerable success, as 
we learn from a paper read at a recent convention. 
The best results have been obtained by burning a 
damp smudge. Dry material, while giving off more 
actual heat, has not given good results ; but small 
fires of damp straw or stable manure have actually 
saved several plantations. In some cases, bags of wet 
stable manure, weighing about 90 pounds each, are 
distributed through the orchard. When frost threat¬ 
ens, a little kerosene is poured on each sack and fired. 
The wet manure burns slowly, sending off large 
quantities of moisture in the form of vapor, and it is 
this watery vapor or fog which prevents the frost. 
Several machines have been made for creating this 
artificial fog at will; in some of them, frames made 
of chickenyard netting are mounted on wagons filled 
with wet manure or straw. Under them, pots of tar 
or petroleum are kept burning, and as the heat sends 
up a cloud of moisture, the wagon is slowly hauled 
about the orchard. Another machine is a large iron 
tank with a grate on the under side. This tank is 
filled with wet straw ; a fire burns underneath, kept 
at a fierce heat by a blast run by gearing from the 
wheels. A pump and cask of water complete the 
outfit. Water is continually pumped upon the straw, 
and the heat of the fire evaporates it so that it forms 
over the orchard as a dense fog. This machine is said 
to evaporate 100 gallons of water in one hour. Thus 
in many and in strange ways science is helping us to 
feed and care for our plants, vines and trees, as well 
as to protect them. With every new and startling 
device, one may well ask—What next ? 
G 
It is hard to obtain actual facts about the effect 
of feeding cotton-seed meal to poultry. Few have 
actually tried it. Many people are afraid of cotton¬ 
seed meal except when fed in small quantities to 
cattle. In the South, large quantities of the meal 
are fed to steers, but 90 days of heavy feeding are 
about all they can stand. After that, they are liable 
to break down or even go blind. In our own feeding, 
we would never feed the meal except to cattle on 
good pasture, or with a full ration of ensilage. We 
shall try it, however, for the hens. Wheat bran seems 
an ideal food for laying hens. It contains four times 
as much mineral matter and four times as much of the 
phosphates as the whole wheat kernel. It seems to be 
somewhat laxative, and we purpose to see whether a 
small amount of cotton-seed meal will overcome this. 
We shall try mixing it with the bran and also feeding 
it as Mr. Senger suggests on page 36. 
© 
One of the great Chicago department stores makes 
a specialty of its meat market. It supplies meats of 
all kinds at very reasonable rates, but these goods 
are not delivered ; customers must carry their pur¬ 
chases home. The Chicago buyer does not object to 
this rule, and the long counter at the meat market 
is always crowded, most of the customers appear¬ 
ing to be of the well-to do class. Recently a New 
York department store attempted the same plan in 
their newly-established meat market, but the New- 
Yorkers declined emphatically to carry their meat 
home, and the new market is closed for lack of pur¬ 
chasers. It is the custom among many good Chicago 
housekeepers to visit the large retail markets con¬ 
trolled by the packers in the stockyards district, 
where supplies may be purchased more cheaply than 
from the small retailers ; but New York housekeepers 
never seem to take kindly to similar economies. 
© 
The matter of color in fowls is an interesting 
study. It is a curious fact that, in different breeds, 
opposite colors have the preference. For example, 
among Leghorns, white has always been the favorite 
color, though brown is now crowding this color hard ; 
while in their cousins, the Minorcas, black is the pre¬ 
ferred color, few whites being seen. Black is the 
prevailing color with Langshans, also, while among 
P. Rocks and Wyandottes, white is rapidly coming 
into favor. The buff colors that have sprung up in 
different breeds, are manufactured, and seem to be a 
sort of fad just at present. The Buff Cochin is not 
one of these recent productions. For business pur¬ 
poses, it would hardly be expected that these new 
buff breeds would equal some of the other breeds ; 
they are bred to secure a certain color, and are not 
so likely to be bred for business points. They vary 
widely in shades of color, also. The writer saw some 
birds at one exhibition that were the product of a last 
spring’s cross. Probably few would exhibit so soon 
after laying the foundation, yet the same breeds vary 
widely in shades of color, in the older-established 
yards. Judged from many of the exhibits, buff 
would seem to be an extremely variable color. 
Have farmers any rights in the markets of their 
home town or city ? It would seem as though they 
ought to have, yet, almost every week, we read that 
some city council or board of aldermen has attempted 
to restrict or prohibit the common practice of selling 
produce direct from the farmer’s wagon. The latest 
complaint comes from Seattle, Wash. The council of 
that city proposed to establish a market where farm¬ 
ers might sell their products, but they tacked on the 
following stipulation regarding hours for business : 
Section 3.—That said public market place be open between the 
hours of 3 a. si. and 3 r. si., of each day except Sundays and any 
legal holiday; and it shall be unlawful for any growers or pro¬ 
ducers to expose any of said articles and products for sale at any 
other place or places within the limits of the city of Seattle; that 
said growers or producers shall not solicit or sell or offer for sale 
any of said articles and products outside of said market during 
said hours to any consumer. 
Now, suppose a man had a few private customers 
for butter and eggs. Under this ordinance, he would 
be obliged to stand on the street until three o’clock 
before delivering his goods, or else be liable to a fine 
of 325. It is claimed by the farmers that this ordin¬ 
ance is passed in the interests of grocers and com¬ 
mission men. These men import agricultural prod¬ 
ucts from California and desire to keep the home¬ 
grown goods out of the market. For this reason, they 
plan to keep farmers off the streets until grocers and 
peddlers are supplied, or until the day’s trade is prac¬ 
tically over. This same fight comes up in almost 
every large town where farmers attempt to sell from 
the wagon. In all such cases, our advice would be 
for farmers to combine and test the matter in the 
courts. We believe that there is good legal precedent 
to back them. The right of a farmer to sell his own 
produce from his own wagon has been established, 
and we urge farmers to stand by their rights and 
demand a fair chance in the town markets. 
© 
The matter of forming an organization among the 
fruit growers of the Hudson River Valley is taking 
definite shape. We are constantly receiving letters 
of encouragement—line those printed on the next 
page. Among the possibilities that may grow out of 
such an organization, are the foHowing, as stated by 
a well-known fruit grower : 
I think that one of the most important objects to be accom 
plished would be to devise some plan by which our products 
could be sold in a way more advantageous to us. Why could not 
the Hudson River fruit be sold at auction as well as the California 
fruit, and would we not receive better results from it? Under 
the present system, the good fruit sells the poor. What we want 
to get rid of, is so many middlemen. A second needed reform is 
to try to get a law passed which shall fix a standard box, basket 
or barrel for all kinds of fruit. An organization could, no doubt, 
if properly managed, help each shipping point in the matter of 
reducing freight rates, cartage in the city, etc. And last, but not 
least, would be the exchange of views in relation to the growing 
and selection of the different kinds of fruit. 
By next week, we hope to be able to suggest some 
definite time and place for a preliminary meeting to 
arrange details and discuss the project. In the mean¬ 
time, let every interested fruit grower talk the mat¬ 
ter up and formulate ideas and suggestions. 
© 
BREVITIES. 
Here’s a bit of advice you would better observe, 
Take a day off and play ! 
You are not walking straight; too much work makes a curve 
Take a day off and play ! 
So hitch up old Dobbin and start on a trip. 
Take mother along, let the boys run the ship. 
Let go for a while and then take a fresh grip. 
Take a day off and play ! 
Take a seat at the front at the next institute. 
Take a day off and play ! 
Tell the folks what you know of potatoes or fruit, 
Take a day off and play ! 
You’ll come back from play with your mind in good trim. 
You’ll hold up your head—you’re once more “ in the swim,” 
You’ll catch yourself humming a new “ Gospel hymn.” 
Take a day off and play ! 
Fishing on Sunday is not a right angle. 
It’s the limber limb that covers the ground. 
A single “ baby act” at 40 is worse than a dozen at five. 
Old Red Nose can find an old whine in every new bottle. 
Stop drugging yourself so much. “ Throw physic to the dogs! ” 
The scrub is not a milch cow— she is a. Jilch cow. She filches 
food. 
Which gets most of your attention—the calf crop or the child 
crop of your farm ? 
The oath of office to take, regarding the scrub, is an oath to 
take off his head at the earliest moment. 
During incubation, the germ rises to the upper part of the egg 
That is where you want the proper heat. 
Be thankful when the wind blows a snowdrift over the fence 
on to your land. There is nitrogen in snow. 
We will guarantee that the “ King’s highway ” was well 
“ crowned ” or else his majesty rode in the mud. 
Corn meal and Timothy hay for cows. It is a back number—an 
ex-ration. It will certainly require an X ray to find the “ bal¬ 
ance” in it. 
How much capital have you invested in your farm ? Do you 
know of any other business in which you could make that sum 
earn a living for your family ? 
Possibly the hens refuse to lay because you did not give them 
a bath tub. What is a hen’s bath tub? A box filled with dry, 
fine dust. The hen cleans herself with dirt ! 
Chemists at the Massachusetts Station found nearly one per 
cent of nitrogen in cattle urine. Oh, yes; it is just as secure with 
plaster and a good absorbent as it would be in a barrel. 
An Arizona Experiment Station bulletin states that, in 1894, 80 
per cent of the days were sunny—without a cloud to dim the sun¬ 
light ! During the same year, the wind blew with a total speed 
of 54,034 miles! 
On page 39, M. M. wants to know the facts about the use of sul¬ 
phur to prevent scab on potatoes. He is right in saying that, 
when a farmer follows the advice of the scientists and still gets 
bad results, he wants to know why ! 
We haven’t much respect for the man who is always trying to 
sell his poor cows to his neighbors. Make beef, chicken feed or 
fertilizer of them. Your neighbor will think more of you, and you 
will feel better for observing the Golden Rule. 
No, sir, you can’t find 15 loads of stable manure that will make 
your corn grow like a good, thick stand of Crimson clover on an 
acre of land. Seed and seeding—that is the only cost of the 
clover. It grows when other crops take a vacation. What does 
manure cost you ? 
The milk of “ strippers ” is usually richer than when the cows 
are in full flush. The milk of the last few days or weeks of milk¬ 
ing is usually extra rich. The Vermont Station has a cow that 
upsets this rule. During the last two days of milking, she gave 
milk which contained only 7. per cent of solids with but 1.10 per 
cent fat ! She was in fine condition at the time. What about the 
legality of such milk ? 
