THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
February 27 
138 
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. 
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Address all business communications and make all orders pay 
able to THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
Corner Chambers and Pearl Streets, New York. 
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 189 7. 
Here are two new books that The R. N.-Y can 
fully recommend : 
The American Fruit. Cullurisl, by J. J. Thomas. 
This is a new and revised edition of the standard 
work on fruits. Every fruit grower should have this 
book. Price $2.50. 
Vegetable Gardening, by Prof. Samuel B. Green. 
We consider this the most useful and practical book 
on out-door gardening that we have ever examined. 
Both of these books are for sale by The R. N.-Y. 
0 
The Japan plums, which The R. N.-Y was the first 
paper to praise, grow in public favor. They will not 
succeed everywhere, but they succeed over a wider 
country than do any others, and they have distinct 
merits. 
0 
Do not forget to select, at least, one of the Rosa 
Wichuraiana roses—the Memorial rose as it has been 
aptly called. It must please all. The Crimson 
Rambler, too, has come to stay, and we want it to 
stay in every family that reads The R. N.-Y. 
0 
The gross overdrawings of portraits of fruits, flow¬ 
ers, etc., is, of course, a deception. Is it fair to as¬ 
sume that those seedsmen and nurserymen who most 
exaggerate the fruits and flowers they have for sale, 
will just as readily deceive as to the quality of the 
plants and seeds they offer ? 
0 
The Wagener apple is not praised or even alluded 
to as it should be. There are few, if any, better 
apples grown. The apple is, in quality, aromatic— 
an aroma peculiar to itself and, as the writer fancies, 
more agreeable than that of the Spitzenberg. The 
flesh is not quite so tender, but it is crisp and 
appetizing. 
0 
The R. N.-Y.’s first estimate of the Loudon red 
raspberry has been more than corroborated. It is to¬ 
day accepted as the best late red. The Miller is 
growing in favor as the best early red. Our first 
estimate of the Columbian purple was conservative, 
but in no wise misleading. It is in fact an improved 
Shaffer—improved in that the cane is hardier, the 
bnsh more prolific, and in that, finally, the berries 
cling to the stems more firmly. 
The meeting of the Hudson Valley Fruit Growers’ 
Association at Poughkeepsie, March 11-12 promises 
to be a very successful affair. Some of the best 
authorities in the country will be present to deliver 
addresses, and practical men from the Valley will 
discuss local matters of great interest. It looks as 
though this association will grow into one of the 
strongest organizations of the kind in this country. 
Edward Van Alstyne of Kinderhook, N. Y., is secre¬ 
tary. Write him for full particulars. 
The price of steel rails has recently fallen to an 
unheard-of price—upsetting all theories of tariff, and 
supply and demand. It is thought that this means a 
great increase in steam railroad building. We doubt 
it. In most of the older States, the steam railroad 
has seen its best days. The future increase of rail¬ 
road mileage is likely to be in the line of light electric 
roads opening up new sections and feeding the pres¬ 
ent steam roads. We think that farmers will chiefly 
benefit by them. The Delaware Peninsula offers 
great possibilities for the builders of such roads. A 
line running from Seaford to Lewes would open up a 
rich country for water shipment to Baltimore on the 
west and Philadelphia, New York or Boston on the 
east, thus giving a chance for competition in railroad 
rates. Delaware people see the need of such roads, 
and the legislature seems disposed to grant the 
needed rights. Such light railroads must come. 
They are in the interests of producers. 
O 
Wanted I 35,000,000 Americans to sign the pledge ! 
What pledge ? The eating pledge—a pledge to eat, 
at least, three apples, raw, baked or in sauce, on 
every day from August 15 around to July 1. That will 
make 318 days and 11,130,000,000 apples. We want 
them all grown on American soil. That means a 
freer circulation of money among farmers, and a 
freer circulation of blood in the veins of the apple 
eaters ! Apply the apple remedy for the hard times 
and the soft livers ! 
O 
The trained nurse, her work and opportunities, has 
been the subject of a number of queries addressed to 
The R. N.-Y., and, at an early date, we shall give a 
practical talk about this profession. Another inter¬ 
esting subject, to be discussed in the near future, is 
home education in preparation for the public school. 
This will be treated from the mother’s standpoint, 
and the varying views of those who must depend on 
the district school for the education of their children, 
will, without doubt, awaken much interest. 
G 
Mr. Jamison gives us, on page 145, a simple illus¬ 
tration of the mixing of a ration for pigs. The bran 
contains more bone-forming food. It is laxative, also, 
and will offset the constipating effect of the finer 
ground shorts. In one sense, this mixture is as simple 
and easily understood as Mr. Derby’s mixture of 
potash and dissolved rock for growing Crimson 
clover. At present prices for large lots, bran is an 
excellent food for all kinds of stock. If some humans 
would eat more of it, they would be better off. In 
former years, bran cost too much. It was out of all 
proportion to the prices of flour and wheat. Now it 
is far more reasonable, and can be used to good ad¬ 
vantage for all stock. 
Q 
At the meeting of the Connecticut pomologists, this 
question was put in the question box : “ What shall 
we do with our fruit after we grow it ?” The chances 
are that most farmers can grow crops much better 
than they can sell them. One young man answered 
the question in a few words : “ We try to grow good 
fruit and then we advertise it.” An advertisement in 
the local paper had enabled him to sell all his apples 
at a good price. Lots of farmers could use ink or 
chalk to good advantage. Where the roads are good 
on well-traveled routes between towns, dozens of 
hungry and thirsty wheelmen pass by every summer 
day : 
COLD MILK SOLD HERE ! 
FRESH BREAD AND BUTTER ! 
It will be no disgrace to put that sign in front of 
your farm. Put a comfortable seat out under the 
tree. Such advertising will make a milk route right 
at your door. We know this, because we have seen 
it tried ! You can sell ice cream in the same way. 
Some one says, “ That ain’t farming !” What is it, 
then ? 
© 
With the fertilization of a flower, its mission is 
ended, and the brilliant colors or perfume, which 
served to attract insects, pass away. The natural 
process of fading or withering is arrested when fer¬ 
tilization is retarded. The most lasting of cultivated 
flowers are the orchids, which will remain in perfect 
condition on the plants for weeks, and even months. 
They are incapable of self-fertilization, and must be 
dependent upon the insects they attract, hence their 
brilliancy of color and strange mimicry of form. The 
early shriveling or closing up of some carnations— 
“sleepiness,” as the florists call it—has long been a 
puzzle, when not caused by atmospheric conditions. 
Last year, a leading authority on this flower asserted 
his belief that it was the result of fertilization after 
the flowers were cut, and while they were packed in 
a mass. A familiar example of this is the Red clover. 
Many clover heads will be noted with the lower 
florets brown and withered, while those above are 
still fresh and bright. The withered flowers are 
those which have been visited by their ally, the bee, 
while the unfertilized blossoms retain their inviting 
brightness. This recalls Darwin’s assertion that the 
clover crop in Great Britain depended entirely upon 
the crop of old maids ! The clover blooms must be 
fertilized by bumblebees. Field mice are very des¬ 
tructive to the bees’ nests; cats destroy the field 
mice ; old maids are the legitimate protectors of cats. 
It is reassuring to know that, even from a masculine 
and scientific standpoint, old maids have a recognized 
place in the economy of nature. 
A 'Friend in Wisconsin sends the following report 
of a case of seed swindling which, he says, is undeni¬ 
ably true : 
A farmer near this city has grown, for six or seven years, a 
large annual crop of the seed of Red Fescue grass for a seed firm 
not located here, which is known all over the country by its ex¬ 
tensive advertising. This season the farmer had an overstock of 
the seed, and offered it to a local wholesale seed firm which was 
well posted in that line; this firm saw at once that it was not Red 
Fescue, and an expert called it Cheat grass. In the meantime, 
this farmer, besides supplying his regular house, has sold 500 
pounds to another seedsman. The farmer, probably, knew that 
he was growing a pest for all farms where his seed would go, but 
the seedsmen who bought it were ignorant, and don’t seem to 
have been informed in several years’ sales. 
Such seedsmen are liable to do great injury to the 
public. We have often shown how such things might 
be prevented by consulting an expert botanist when 
there is any question about the character of a seed or 
plant. It is very dangerous for a seedsman to do 
business as this one seems to have done ! 
O 
BREVITIES. 
RECIPE FOR A CATALOGUE. 
Take a mile or so of paper, let Miss Florid Fancy caper 
With fantastic evolutions and her wing a-drip with ink; 
And then add to the prescription some jaw-breaking word de¬ 
scription 
That will paralyze a botanist and hasten him to drink. 
Feed Miss Wild Imagination on a solid mince-pie ration 
Till she dream, in nightmare, visions such as no man saw before ; 
Till through aching mental felon she beholds a winter melon 
And a pie plant in the garden making custard pies galore. 
Let the peach be grafted surely on the bean and fruit demurely, 
Let the orchid eat potato bugs—the cabbage climb a tree; 
Graft asparagus on cherry and the milkweed on the berry, 
Photograph it, introduce it as the latest novelty. 
Dwarf the pumpkin vine so pliant, make the mustard seed a giant, 
Breed a thorn upon the stamen that will stay men in their grasp; 
Breed a rose without an anther, make it spotted as a panther, 
Hire a poet to describe it, put on every word a rasp. 
Put your picture on the cover, smile like any boyish lover, 
For the people are so anxious to regard your features bold; 
Then your catalogue is finished, and your stock of seeds dimin¬ 
ished, 
For it’s certain that the public and your seeds will both be sold. 
“ Reduce ” the lazy bones. 
The wise man never kicks at a hint! 
A clipped wing is half the poultry fence. 
Square dealing should command a round price. 
Spank the pert youngster and he will become an expert.. 
You must show your own sense. No one can show it for you! 
Yes, in order to “ hatch out a scheme,” you must set your mind 
on it. 
“ Better than rubies” ! The “ know how” of getting enjoyment 
out of life. 
Watch for a chance to buy tobacco stems and dust. They are 
excellent for fruit. 
Young woman—a beau not is often more satisfactory in the 
end than a beau knot. 
Remember ! The Sir Walter Raleigh potato is less than a week 
later than the R. N.-Y. No. 2. 
The horns are going. One “ deborner” in Ohio cut the horns 
from 4,480 head of cattle last year. 
Hide, bone and chicken feed will make a far more worthy end 
than years of costly idleness from your old equine friend. 
The world has 16 troubles to your one ! Don’t make the ratio 
larger ! Don’t scatter troubles. Shatter them. They are like 
weed seeds ! 
A rule for the hen—big in front for meat, big behind for eggs. 
A good layer must be “ roomy ” behind, for that is where the egg 
must be developed. 
There is nitrogen in snow. Watch the place where it drifted 
on the wheat. It is an ideal mulch for the strawberries. It 
spreads itself in the spring. 
Not as a result of our own trials, but because of the many fav¬ 
orable reports we have received from our subscribers, do we 
commend a trial of the new Imperial tomato. 
All of our readers who grow grapes will try, at least, one vine 
of Campbell’s Early. It seems to be the best of its class, and it 
may prove to be the best of any class of hardy grapes. 
A practical man informs us that, if you will cover the ice with 
a layer of cheap building paper before putting on the sawdust, 
you will save the whole top layer of ice. It’s worth trying. 
The R. N.-Y. thinks—hopes, at any rate—that, after many years 
of seedling culture, it has at length succeeded in originating a 
variety of strawberry that will be well worthy of introduction. 
You who have not the Columbian gooseberry should try a few 
plants. As we said when it first fruited in the Rural Grounds, 
we say now. “ It is the best of the large gooseberries of foreign 
parentage.” 
Some fellow with a nimble wit spells nothing with three letters— 
nit. Yet, spell your knit another way, and you have something 
that will stay. With simply O, we come out “ nit,” but with O. 
K., to “ luck ” we knit. 
A commission man receives 10 barrels of apples. They could be 
sold at $1 a barrel. He repacks them and sells eight barrels for 
$12 and two for 50 cents each. Who should have the $3 ? J. H. 
Hale says that it belongs to the farmer, but the commission man, 
probably, earned it by the re-sorting ! 
We would like some of our readers to make this little trial: 
Make a little circle (say three feet in diameter) rich with old 
manure, and in the center sow a few seeds of Teosinte. So soon 
as the plants are well started, destroy all but the most vigorous 
plant. The growth of that plant will surely be a surprise, and it 
will, by no means, disapppoint our friends as to tropical, ampli¬ 
tudinous luxuriance. 
