696 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
October 23 
The Rural New-Yorker. 
HHE BUSINESS FAR ME US' PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 1850. 
Hubert 8 . Cabman. Editor-In-Chief. 
Herbert W. Collingwood, Managing Editor. 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
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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, OCTOBER 23, 1897. 
The “three lone women” mentioned on page 695, 
certainly show good grit, and also show the effects of 
early training of the right sort. Too many farm girls 
are brought up in such a dependent sort of way, that 
they would be perfectly helpless if left in such a 
position. Of course, woman’s first place is as a home¬ 
maker ; but it is little short of a crime against her to 
confine her to such a narrow sphere when she is liable, 
by stress of circumstances, to be placed in positions 
where other training is an absolute necessity to keep 
her from suffering. Broaden the field of the girls’ 
education. 
0 
From the Western States and from Canada, come 
reports of great scarcity of beef cattle. Just as the 
people begin to secure more money with which to buy 
beef, they learn that there is hardly beef enough to 
go around. During the past years of low prices, 
breeders have become careless. Calves have been 
killed and, in many cases, beef herds have been filled 
with dairy blood. All at once, it is discovered that 
there are comparatively few beef cattle in the country, 
while the demand is greater than ever before. For 
the next few years, beef making promises to be a lively 
industry. A good many unstable farmers who have 
bred away from beef, will now head their herds with 
beef bulls again. Here is another opportunity for the 
dairymen. Let the vacillating beef brother return to 
his first love if he will, but stick to dairy blood your¬ 
self ! Within a few years, good dairy cows will be 
worth more than ever. 
6 > 
A contractor left a pile of steel rails on a paved 
street in New York City for 10 days. At the end of 
that time, the spaces between the rails were green 
with grass. It grew from the horse manure that was 
left between the paving stones. When the street 
was clear, the busy hoofs kept the grass down. Keep 
travel off New York streets for a month, and the 
pavements would resemble a meadow. Horse manure 
is a weed and grass seeder. Compare the strawberry 
bed mulched with horse manure with that mulched 
with hay from marshes or swamps I On page 693, Mr. 
Clinton compares manure made from animals fed on 
ensilage with that from those fed on hay. One point 
worth considering is that there are very few weed 
seeds in ensilage, while hay is full of them. Grass, 
outside the lawn, pasture or meadow, is out of place— 
a weed ! Put ensilage manure on the ground you 
wish to keep clean ! 
© 
The Government report estimates this year’s potato 
crop at 155,396,000 bushels. Compare this with the 
1895 crop, 297,237,370, and we can readily see what a 
tremendous falling off has taken place. As we have 
frequently stated, potatoes are not likely to bring 
over $1 per bushel. In fact, during this season, pota¬ 
toes, wheat and first-class apples promise to range 
nearly even in price. The men most likely to profit 
by the present conditions are the southern growers 
who supply the first early potatoes in spring and 
summer. By next April and May, the old stock will 
be about cleared out, and after eating rice and maca¬ 
roni all winter, buyers will eagerly turn to new pota¬ 
toes from Florida, the Carolinas and Norfolk. Growers 
at these places will have a great opportunity, for 
their crop will be likely to find an empty market. It 
is evident, from reports, that southern growers realize 
the situation. There has been an immense demand 
for northern seed, and the second-crop potatoes are, 
probably, already contracted for. This anticipated 
trade for the southern growers will cause increased 
demand for fertilizers, tools and supplies of all 
sorts. It will prove a blessing to the South and, 
probably, will not interfere with the trade in north¬ 
ern grown potatoes. 
With the prospect of a small potato supply which, 
owing to the prevalence of rot, is likely to deteriorate 
in quality, it may be necessary to consider some sub¬ 
stitutes for this vegetable. Sweet potatoes are now 
freely substituted for the others and, as the season 
extends, some of the farinaceous foods will, doubt¬ 
less, be added. Rice is usually the first potato sub¬ 
stitute considered, and macaroni or spaghetti, hom¬ 
iny and hulled com are also used. Chestnuts are 
little used as a vegetable served with meats, yet they 
are both nutritious and agreeable. The cheapness of 
canned goods renders a shortage of potatoes less 
serious to the consumer than it would have been a 
few years ago, but this year, there is, also, a short¬ 
age of tomatoes, one of the most popular of all canned 
vegetables. It would seem likely that we may ex¬ 
pect a very large consumption of corn products, both 
canned and in cereal form. 
The Department of Agriculture has shown that the 
best English market does not desire butter which 
Americans rank as first-class. Such butter must have 
more body and less salt, and must be put up in special 
packages in order to sell well on the other side. The 
same may be said of horses. America produces millions 
of horses, but only 25,126 were exported last year, 
and only 13,984 the year before. As in the case of the 
butter, we are not producing the sort of horses that 
are wanted abroad. Less salt and less working in the 
butter, and different blood and more care in the horse! 
That is what must be done to secure foreign trade. 
No man can make his customers take what he sees 
fit to sell them—at least, not where there is fair com¬ 
petition. America is competing with the world on 
uneven terms for the British trade, and in order to 
hold a share of it, we must produce what the English 
want, whether it be horses, hogs, butter or what not. 
© 
From the various views given on the m aking of new 
breeds of poultry, as given by different breeders on 
page 690, we would like to know how one is to be cer¬ 
tain what sort of stock he has. The original Wyan¬ 
dotte was the Silver, and the later varieties of Golden, 
White, Buff, Black, etc., are popularly supposed to be 
variations or sports from that type Yet it is possible 
that many of these may be manufactured from crosses 
of Cochin, Plymouth Rock, Leghorn, or other breeds 
or even from scrubs, and the resulting “ breed ” may 
not contain a drop of Wyandotte blood. Or one breeder 
may manufacture a certain breed by means of certain 
crosses and combinations, and another breeder manu¬ 
facture the same breed by using entirely different 
blood ; yet both will be brought to the point of ful¬ 
filling standard requirements for the new breed. Mr. 
Proctor admits having used no less than seven differ¬ 
ent breeds in manufacturing one new breed. One 
thing is certain, the results accomplished show the 
high degree of skill exercised by breeders in reaching 
the desired end. 
o 
Feeding buffaloes on ensilage sounds very unusual, 
but this is done at the great Corbin game preserve 
in New Hampshire. This place consists of 26,000 
acres of land, which includes many deserted farms 
where the old fields are already covered with under¬ 
growth, and where the young forest is encroaching 
even upon the abandoned dooryard. The entire park 
is surrounded by stout wire fencing, boundary riders 
being on constant duty, to see that the fence is intact. 
Within this domain, buffaloes, Virginia deer, Euro¬ 
pean deer, elk, moose, and wild boars from the Ger¬ 
man forests are naturalized, roaming at large in a 
state of nature. Most of the animals forage for 
themselves entirely, but the buffalo herd needs winter 
feeding, and they are served with ensilage. While 
it is sad to think of these old farms retrograding to 
the conditions of two centuries ago, there are other 
parts of the country where the farmer has fewer 
natural disadvantages to contend with, and where 
the sturdy men and women reared on these New 
Hampshire hills will find fuller reward for their toil. 
© 
Our first-page picture this week shows how useless 
ledges of rock may be made into useful road metal. 
As they stand, these great rocks are of no value to 
society. When crushed and scattered over the roads, 
they have a vast influence in determining the value 
of property and in changing the course of commerce. 
During the past 10 years, there has been a wonderful 
development in improved road building. At first, only 
the roads close to the deposits of rock and gravel were 
rebuilt. Now it is understood that crushed stone may 
well be carried hundreds of miles. Hundreds of cities 
and towns have sidewalks of flat slate or blue stone 
hauled 500 miles or more from the quarries, and drivers 
see that it is just as sensible to haul broken stone for 
road building. The Government is helping by build¬ 
ing samples of good roads near the agricultural col¬ 
leges and experiment stations. For example, half a 
mile of model macadamized road will soon be built 
on the grounds of the Rhode Island College, where 
students may see how it is made and farmers may 
compare it with other roads. The thing is to convince 
the farmers on soft, stoneless soil that it will pay 
them to go back to the rocky hill country and buy 
stone. 
© 
The Keystone Gazette, a Pennsylvania paper, sent 
a special reporter to a recent Grange picnic to describe 
the gambling devices that were permitted on the 
ground. The report shows a disgraceful state of 
affairs. Here is a sample : 
Old Mr. -was tempted into this game, and when he finally 
realized that his money was gone, he fainted dead away on the 
board. In another instance, an old man, whom we did not know, 
but who hadn’t a tooth in his mouth any more, lost all of his 
money, and when he came to his senses, he threw back his head 
opened his mouth like a young robin, and began to cry like a 
child. 
Another man brought $47, which he was “afraid to 
leave at home,” and lost it all at a gambler’s table. 
What in the name of common sense are fair managers 
thinking of when they permit such things ? We 
notice that street fairs are now being organized, not 
by farmers, but by merchants. These men simply 
want to gather a large crowd of buyers, and almost 
any advertising device is considered legitimate. Such 
fairs should be in the hands of farmers—not such soil 
holders as the men who gambled away their money 
and then cried over it. The best friend of farming is 
the manly farmer ! 
© 
BREVITIES. 
“ We kept our stock at par! That’s what we done”, 
Said father. “ Ain’t no better cows in town; 
I’ll match my poultry up with anyone, 
An’hogs! My stars! We done the thing up brown. 
Now mother over yunder kinder thought 
There warn’t no use-” 
“ What’s that Pa’s tellin’ you ? 
‘ Our stock’s right up to par’ ? Well, yes, he ought 
To know it, an’ fer once, he’s gut it true. 
An’ how’d it get there? Let him tell ye that! 
It warn’t his shiftless ways, I’ll guarantee! 
I had to watch him closer than a cat, 
Fer his idees is hoppy as a fiea. 
I’ve scolded at him till my tongue is sore, 
An’ kep’ right after him ez close as tar. 
Don’t listen to his braggin’ talk no more! 
The stock’s at par because I kept at Pa.” 
The hen forms a coa lay shun with frost. 
Why should dollar wheat mean dearer bran ? 
Get a happy heart on the under side of a sigh. 
So the poultry breeders do “ stuff in the buff ” from outside! 
We have had the first splinter of winter. Now for the woodpile. 
Here is a double cross for the scrub cow—a dairy bull and a 
silo. 
A man’s masterpiece is the ability to master peace—to keep out 
of quaAels. 
Crushed quartz from California is sent to Scotland for use in 
paving stables and yards ! 
The best way to work a soft filling out of a tooth is to gnaw an 
ear of shoe peg sweet corn. 
The Rhode Island Agricultural College will give a short course 
in poultry-keeping this winter. 
It won’t hurt the clover a bit to feed it a little nitrogen. It 
won’t hurt your pocket-book, either. 
Sell your muscles if you must—honest labor is no sin; starve 
on water and a crust e’er you throw your honor in. 
Corn on the ear makes a good winter’s breakfast for horses 
Make them gnaw it off. That will help cure lampas. 
It is said that Concord grapes were sent from the East to 
Oregon this year. Money was lost by the operation. 
New Jersey potato growers are already buying car loads of 
seed potatoes for fall delivery. As a rule, they wait until spring. 
At a Massachusetts town fair, four women contested in a race 
to see which could harness and hitch a horse quickest and safest. 
Such a contest is more useful than a horse race. 
The Japanese have erected a monument to commemorate the 
horses that were killed during the war with China. The American 
sells the faithful old farm worker to the huckster. 
More corn than usual was cribbed in parts of the West last 
year. This seems to have caused a larger rat crop than usual. 
This should mean more cats and, to reverse Darwin’s argument 
more old maids! 
Oh, why does clover rank so high—what gives it such repute ? 
Pull up a plant and you may see the tubercles on the root. 
And yonder friend, the hustling man—his work produces fruit 
No grass you see beneath his heels, but tubercles on his boot. 
An appropriate part of a fruit bhow in Spokane, Wash., was 
a baby show in which 70 babies were exhibited. The prize for 
the liveliest baby was won by a 16-months-old girl who was 
dressed in blue overalls. That “ new woman” is beginning early. 
“Oh! fora lodge within some silo’s depths, where I might 
laugh at frost and rot and rain. Where gnawing tooth of fun¬ 
gus and of mold would not destroy my protein and my fat. 
Thus spoke Corn Fodder, as he sadly watched the hired man 
build up his careless shock. 
Too much mince pie, 
Hear baby cry; 
The doctor swiftly called, 
Pockets his fee; 
“ It is,” says he, 
“ A baby quite pie bawled.” 
