6oo 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
September 11 
The Rural New=Yorker, 
1‘BE BUSINESS FARMERS' PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 1850. 
Elbert S. Carman. Editor-in-Chief. 
Herbert W. Colling wood, Managing Editor. 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTIONS. 
PRICE, ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04, equal to 
8 s. 6d., or 8!4 marks, or 10!4 francs. 
ADVERTISING RATES. 
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of 10 or more lines, and 1,000-line orders, 25 cents per line. 
Reading Notices, ending with “ Adv.," 75 cents per 
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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 
Pcst-offlce and State, and what the remittance is for, appear in 
every letter. Money o> ders 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. 
SATURDA Y, SEPTEMBER 11. 1897. 
We Are Waiting! 
For What? 
For you to send 25 cents and the name of your 
friend or neighbor as a subscriber for The R. N.-Y. 
until January 1, 1898. Send us just one at least. For 
four at 25 cents each, we will send you your choice 
of these books : 
The Forcing Book, by Prof. Bailey. 
The Nursery Book, by Prof. Bailey. 
The New Potato Culture, by E. S. Carman. 
The Business Hen, by H. W. Collingwood. 
These names will count for the premiums, if you de¬ 
cide to get up a larger club. 
© 
The symposium on “ The Early Laying Pullet ” 
found on page 606, is well worth the study of every 
poultryman. While ThedR. N.-Y. does not pretend 
to be a special authority on poultry matters, we 
realize that our readers are very much interested in 
hen-keeping. Most of our readers appear to believe 
in the Business hen—that is, the bird that will pro¬ 
duce the greatest weight of eggs or salable meat from 
a given quantity of food. We have little to do with 
the fine points of judging stock. Our discussions deal 
with the practical side of poultry keeping, and we are 
quite surprised to notice how freely the poultry 
papers quote from our columns. Years ago, The R. 
N.-Y. started the symposium plan of obtaining answers 
to important questions. In this way, we have been 
able to bring together for comparison the experience 
or opinion of the best practical and scientific writers. 
It is a singular fact that no other agricultural paper 
has yet adopted this plan with any particular success. 
0 
Four years ago, The R N.-Y. described the steri¬ 
lized milk business just started by Mr. Nathan Straus 
on an east-side pier in the poorer part of the city. 
The best of milk was sterilized, and prepared in such 
a way as to furnish the most healthful food, especially 
for infants’ use. It was sold at about cost price, 
and much was given away to those too poor to buy. 
This business has been extended until stands have 
been established for the sale of milk in many of the 
small parks and other places of resort. The writer 
has tested this milk and found it excellent. It is 
sold at one cent per glass. Recently, Mr. Straus has 
endeavored to secure permission from the Dock Board 
to open a stand on the new recreation pier at East 
Third Street. He failed to do so, and the privilege 
was granted to another firm, rivals of his in business. 
Considerable discussion has followed. Now Mr. 
Straus has been arrested on the charge of selling 
adulterated milk. An inspector of the Health Board 
claims to have visited one of these milk stands at 
night, and secured a sample of milk which, on being 
tested, fell one-eighth of one per cent of butter fat be¬ 
low the legal standard. We know nothing of the 
merits of this particular case, but it savors strongly 
of official persecution. It is impossible that Mr. 
Straus could have made any profit from this venture ; 
it has been a philanthropic work, and has been of in¬ 
estimable value to the poor. Not only have thou¬ 
sands of them been benefited by the milk furnished 
at these stands, but it has resulted in many dealers 
selling milk at lower prices, and thus enabled many, 
otherwise unable to afford it, to secure healthful 
milk. This whole milk inspection business isn’t what 
it is cracked up to be, by a long shot. Many a farmer’s 
herd of cows, kept under the best conditions and fed the 
best of foods, would fail to give milk containing the 
required per cent of butter fat; yet he would show 
poor sense who would call in question the purity of 
such milk. The truth is that many persons can not 
drink milk containing the required butter fat, but 
can use a poorer milk, or skim-milk. Then why not 
allow the sale of such milk for what it is ? We need 
a little more common sense among our officials. 
Q 
During the past season, we have used considerable 
basic slag or Thomas phosphate as a source of phos¬ 
phoric acid. The results have been very satisfactory. 
We are satisfied that this slag provides phosphoric 
acid in an available form for such crops as fruit, 
grain, grass, clover and cow peas. It also contains 
lime in such a condition that it will act the same as 
quicklime for “sweetening” an acid soil. These 
qualities gave a peculiar value to this slag, and the 
importers proposed selling it at a price which would 
force the superphosphate dealers to reduce their 
prices. The result would have been a reduction in 
the price of phosphoric acid to the farmer, and the 
increased use of a product which seems to us better 
than other forms of phosphoric acid for certain pur¬ 
poses. Now the Dingley tariff bill puts a duty of $1 
a ton on this slag which, in this case, is almost pro¬ 
hibitive, so that little of it will be imported. This is 
a case in which the tariff works directly against the 
interests of the farmer. A free use of this slag 
would reduce the price of all superphosphates, and 
the duty simply helps the manufacturers to maintain 
their prices with no benefits whatever to the farmer. 
0 
“The Farmer’s National Congress” is in session 
this week at St. Paul. Comparatively few actual 
farmers usually attend this congress ; for the most 
part, the delegates belong to organizations that prac¬ 
tice agriculture by proxy. Such men, however, are 
good observers, and are able to give a fair idea of the 
feeling among the farmers in their own localities. 
The newspapers report that the delegates are gener¬ 
ally very hopeful. Western men seem to agree that 
the improved prices for wheat and stock will bring a 
large surplus of money to those farmers who can sell 
their products to advantage. There is, however, a 
decided difference of opinion as to whether the im¬ 
provement is to be permanent, or whether another 
year of bountiful crops here and abroad will not 
bring back the low prices of the past few years. The 
majority appear to think that, if the world’s crops 
had equalled those of last year, there would have 
been little improvement in prices. Farmers are not 
yet so full of “ confidence ’’othat they are ready to 
give up the habits of economy that have been so 
hardly acquired during the past. There is not enough 
of a boom to warrant any gambling except among 
those who merely handle farm crops. 
© 
For years, most of the agricultural papers and the 
better class of farmers have been protesting against 
the idiotic and vulgar “side shows” and gambling 
devices to be found at the agricultural fairs. There 
are some who think that theseo protests have been in 
vain, and that the average fair is as low in its moral 
surroundings as ever before. We do not think so. 
Oar observation is that, on the whole, such fairs are 
cleaner than in former years. The New York State 
Fair is a case in point. Two years ago, obscene and 
disgraceful performances were permitted—and de¬ 
fended by the managers. This year, the writer visited 
most of the side shows to see what progress had been 
made in this important branch of the exhibition. 
More useless, silly an d idiotic performances can hardly 
be imagined, yet they were 50 per cent cleaner than 
the obscene shows of two years ago, and they were 
but poorly patronized. We could not find a drunken 
man ora gambling device on the grounds. How much 
of this reform is due to the strong protests that were 
poured in from decent people we are not prepared to 
say, but we assume that the managers had “ horse 
sense” enough to realize that both exhibitors and 
visitors have had enough of public vulgarity and 
wickedness. The voice of the people is still potent 
for good in this country. 
0 
Potato crop reports from all over the Eastern 
States agree in stating that rot or blight has widely 
prevailed. Vines have died prematurely and, in 
many cases, the tubers have begun to decay. In our 
own fields, the vines are all dead, though some varie¬ 
ties should have grown until frost. While it is 
likely that potatoes will bring a high price before 
spring, our own plan this year is to dig and sell the 
crop as soon as we conveniently can. The disease 
attacks first the tips and leaves of the vine—working 
down finally into the tubers where the germs remain 
until the conditions are right for their development. 
Storage in the damp soil during hot or muggy 
weather, or in a warm, damp and close cellar will be 
favorable for the growth of these germs, and rot 
will surely spread through the tubers. As we have 
poor arrangements for storing our crop, we expect 
to dig at once and sell from the field. Those who 
can keep the potatoes in a dry, cool and well-venti¬ 
lated place, may, possibly, do better by holding them 
for a later trade. When dug out of fields where the 
vines have blighted, we would dust a handful of air- 
slaked lime over each bushel of potatoes intended for 
storage. For the benefit of succeeding crops, we 
would rake up the vines and burn them at once. 
Readers might as well make up their minds now that 
seed potatoes will be high next spring. Last April, 
we bought excellent seed at $1 per barrel. It is now 
impossible to contract for the same varieties for 
next spring’s delivery for less than $3. Some growers 
will not talk prices at all until they know just how 
their crops will turn out. 
0 
We heard considerable complaint this year, at the 
New York State Fair, from fruit and vegetable grow¬ 
ers. The fair comes too early in the season. The 
date is, evidently, arranged to suit several large 
breeders of live stock and the horsemen who travel 
about from one fair to another. The fair came so 
early this year that most of the fruits on exhibition 
were green and not by any means fair specimens. A 
small collection of hothouse grapes gave really the 
only ripe specimens in that class. If the fair could 
have been held three weeks later, a far better dis¬ 
play of fruits and vegetables could have been made. 
The managers of the State Fair have succeeded in 
changing its character completely. Competition 
among the smaller farmers and breeders no longer 
exists. A few wealthy exhibitors make a fine dis¬ 
play, and as an exhibition of first-class stock or other 
farm products, the fair is, undoubtedly, a success. 
The small exhibitor, however, has been crowded out, 
and he now goes to the fair, if at all, for recreation 
and sight-seeing. Our opinion is that, if the present 
plan be adhered to many years longer, the average 
farmer will stay away from the State Fair and devote 
his time and thought to the smaller town and county 
fairs where his own products have a fair chance for 
competition. He will certainly obtain more real 
good from the smaller exhibitions. 
© 
BREVITIES. 
A most important personage Is Mrs. Dollar Wheat! 
Her name is now in every mouth that undertakes to eat. 
Frank Farmer has been courting her, forlo! these many years, 
And he has led a merry dance between his hopes and fears. 
But now, at last, she’s captured, and along the aisle they go, 
While Europe plays the wedding march in measured time and 
slow. 
Frank Farmer, you have won her—as you proudly pace the aisle 
Remember “th-re are others” who are not prepared to smile. 
Don’t seek congratulations in the largeness of your head, 
From those who see in Dollar Wheat but higher Hour and bread. 
To you she seems angelic, on your happy bridal day, 
And yet, from little children, she may steal the crust away. 
For Mrs. Wheat is fickle, she has ruined men before, 
And shirked her honest duty with the mortgage at the door. 
So don’t you lose your senses, Mr. Farmer, to your bride. 
Or you will wear the harness, and your Dollar Wheat will ride! 
Set in her ways—the broody hen. 
The drink habit roots from tippling. 
The wooden-headed hen is a nuisance. 
The chronic growler is a squalk farmer. 
Matched board—eating your money’s worth! 
Encourage Miss Precocious Pullet to do her best ? 
Remarkable how they all praise the Burbank plum. 
Giving the “cold shoulder” will make some men hot. 
Hawaii will, evidently, not be one of Japan’s “ plums.” 
Will “ dollar wheat ” mean $20 bran and 10 cent bread ? 
Is it any advantage to keep a young rooster with the pullets ? 
Go berry the sorrows that are caused by indigestion! Eat fruit 
Ribs in evidence! That is the proper “side show ” for a dairy 
cow. 
Keep poison off the cabbage. It will kill both worms and 
humans. 
The Columbian raspberry roots from the tips. “ It roots like a 
hog,” as one grower says. 
One of our good wishes is that you have as much good Crim 
son clover growing as we have ! 
Don’t let “ dollar wheat ” lead to wheat idolatry. There will 
be favorable seasons in Europe again. 
The profits of the poultryman took lively wings and flew, be¬ 
cause the surplus rooster made it hard to pullet through. 
“ I want it for a sleepy hired man,” writes a farmer who wins 
that premium alarm clock. Men are not hired to be tired. 
Compare the cost of fertilizers in your rotation with the state¬ 
ments of Mr. Lewis—page 596. Can you make a better showing ? 
If so, let’s see it. 
Read the fruit notes on page 604. The Holland Pippin and Fall 
Pippm apples there mentioned are now selling at $1.30 to $1.70 
per barrel in Boston. 
Ip we had a good clover sod intended for next year’s cabbage, 
would we plow it up now and sow rye ? No. Let it alone till 
ready to plow it under. 
Read what Grundy says about prices that rise or fall “ on 
account of the tariff.” Our merchants try to make us pay more 
for sugar, when they know the country is full of sugar brought 
in before the Dingley bill was passed. 
The pullet that is forced into premature laying dies young or 
never fully develops. Also the precocious child. Don’t make 
the children “ show off.” Let them become perfect little animals 
first of all. We eare little if the baby never goes to school at all 
until she is seven years old! 
