THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
December 25 
84o 
The Rural New-Yorker. 
THE B USINE88 FARMERS' PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Home* 
Established 1850 . 
Elbert S. Cabman, Kditor-in-Chlef. 
Herbert W. Colltngwood, Managing Editor. 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
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able 40 THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
Corner Chambers and Pearl 8treets. New York. 
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 25, 1897. 
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© 
The incubator fraud has started. Watch for her 
letter in the papers. “ Mrs. J. D. Moore ” is her name 
this year. She claims to have made an incubator 
which cost 83. She hatched eight lots of chickens, 
and cleared 8612.18. As usual, she wants you to send 
stamps to her address for further particulars about 
that wonderful incubator. This fraud hatches out 
every spring, and usually harvests a rich lot of 
stamps. If you send stamps to such a character, you 
will stamp yourself as worthy of being stamped on. 
® 
The controversy between the live stock shippers 
and railroads, in consequence of the change in rates, 
by which cattle were shipped by weight instead of by 
the carload, is now ending, with concessions to the 
shippers. The Missouri Pacific and the Burlington 
and Missouri River railroads have already gone back 
to the old rates, and it is expected that the Union 
Pacific will follow. This change is due to the agita¬ 
tion of Nebraska, Kansas and Wyoming stockmen, 
who were much dissatisfied with the recently-adopted 
freight tariff. Corporations never make farmers a 
present of their rights. Every right requires a fight. 
© 
The sale of the Kansas Pacific railroad has been 
adjourned for 60 days, in order to give Congress a 
chance to decide what the Government shall do. The 
Government is now qualified as a buyer, but the 
President evidently does not care to assume the re¬ 
sponsibility of buying in the road rather than lose 
any of the money which the Government has loaned. 
The road as it stands is not the most desirable piece 
of property, except for local and State traffic. If such 
a thing were possible we would like to see the State 
of Kansas control and operate the road. Such an ex¬ 
periment would be right in line with dozens of smaller 
issues which the Sunflower State has forced to the 
front. 
A small woolen mill was started in Topeka, Kan., 
last week, and of course there were speeches full of 
eloquent promise. The wool itself talked and said : 
“ I came from Montana via St. Louis. Kansas, with 
all her boasted agricultural wealth, is out of the race 
as a wool-producing State I ” Statistics show that 
the wool is right. The sheep in Kansas are worth 
less than the sheep of Maine. Virginia, North Caro¬ 
lina, Georgia, Mississippi, West Virginia, South Da¬ 
kota, all lead Kansas in number and value of 
sheep. Ohio has 12 times the value, Michigan eight 
times, Indiana, Iowa, and Wisconsin five times, and 
Missouri four times 1 Why is this ? One word nearly 
answers the question—Dogs 1 The Kansas Populists 
are down on monopolists—they should open fire upon 
the dog at once. 
At the recent meeting of the Massachusetts State 
Board of Agriculture at Taunton, a banquet was given 
to the farmers by the local Board of Trade. Not a glass 
of liquor or a cigar was served. Some of the older 
men present could well remember when it was next 
to impossible to hold any public ceremony without 
washing it down with unlimited liquor. Public 
sentiment is now demanding higher things. Even 
the United States Senate has prohibited the sales of 
liquors in its public restaurants. Railroads and other 
corporations prohibit the use of liquor among their 
employees by threats of discharge for all who drink. 
Why do these business men believe in prohibition so 
far as their own business is concerned, and yet oppose 
it as a general public policy ? 
® 
The account given on page 834, of the way in which 
plants are hired out, will be new to many, yet it is an 
industry which has already assumed very large pro¬ 
portions. It is now confined almost entirely to the 
large cities, but it offers a good field for florists in 
the smaller towns. There is a large class of people 
who are compelled to board, either in hotels or priv¬ 
ate houses, and while they are not plant buyers, 
many of them would be quite willing to rent plants 
for temporary adornment of their apartments. To 
do this profitably, the florist must not only possess a 
well-selected stock, but must be able to decide just 
what plant is best adapted to the situation and cir¬ 
cumstances. People who rent plants usually end by 
buying some, and anything that encourages such 
tastes brings them nearer to nature and the soil. The 
plant-renting florist not only extends his trade, but 
does missionary work as well. 
© 
The R. N.-Y. can see no good reason why Hawaii 
should be annexed to the United States. If any sound 
arguments have been offered in favor of such annexa¬ 
tion, we have failed to see them. The majority of 
the people on these far-away islands are not of the 
class we desire as citizens. They have little or no 
sympathy with American institutions, and a large 
proportion of them do not want to become Americans. 
Here we are trying to develop the beet-sugar industry 
in this country so that we may produce our own sugar, 
yet we are asked to place our farmers directly into 
competition with Asiatic labor. That is what the 
State or Territory of Hawaii would mean, for most 
of the sugar grown in that country is produced by 
cheap coolie labor. It seems to us that the truth of 
the matter is that a few shrewd men have practically 
secured control of the Islands, and now want the 
United States Government to help them carry out their 
schemes by affording them military and naval pro¬ 
tection. Let Hawaii alone. We do not need the 
Islands. 
© 
Justice in the State of Maine seems to be both blind 
and deaf. For the past 10 years farmers all over the 
country have been dishorning their cattle. In many 
States this has come to be an almost universal prac¬ 
tice, and courts have again and again upheld it as 
humane and necessary. One of our readers in Maine 
dishorned his cattle, and was arrested and brought to 
trial at Biddeford. Abundant evidence was offered 
showing the benefits of dishorning, and no one who 
really knew anything about it testified on the other 
side. In spite of this the judge rendered a verdict of 
guilty, with a fine of 820 and costs. Of course this 
ridiculous decision was appealed, and we are confident 
that the higher courts will never confirm it. It seems 
now like a whisper from the dark ages for any judge 
to decide in a manner so contrary to evidence and 
common sense. “The horns must go” in Maine as 
well as in Iowa. 
O 
During the wet and open fall, the clover, rye 
and strawberries keep on growing. Our Crimson 
clover has made considerable growth during the past 
month, and potted strawberry plants are thriving. 
Most of the fields about us are bare, and the washing 
over and through them that is constantly going on, 
cannot help but carry away a part of their available 
fertility. It is just such a season as this that cover- 
crops, like clover and rye, will do most service. A 
tough, hard meadow or pasture may well be plowed 
in the fall or winter, with the furrows turned up so 
that the frost can work all through them. For most 
other soils, especially those that are light and lacking 
in humus, we much prefer to keep them covered 
through the winter with a living crop of clover or 
rye. We like the plan of seeding to Crimson clover 
wherever possible. In October, if the stand is poor 
and weak, we would harrow it over and seed to rye. 
Several years ago, Prof. E. S. Goff, of the Wis¬ 
consin Experiment Station, described in The R. N.-Y. 
what he called the brine test for potatoes. The best 
potatoes for Americans contain the most starch. 
Starch is heavier than water, thus potatoes sink in it. 
As more and more salt is added, the specific gravity 
of the water is changed, and finally the lighter pota¬ 
toes—those containing the least starch—will rise to 
the surface. The heavier ones will stay at the bottom 
and, in this way, the heavier ones can be picked out 
from the lighter. Now Prof. Goff comes with a 
practical suggestion to dealers as follows : 
SELLING THE POTATO FOR WHAT THERE IS IN IT. 
If I were a potato dealer in New York City, with my present 
faith and knowledge, I would certainly make an experiment. I 
would establish a grade of potatoes styled, “fancy bakers” 
which I would offer at a price considerably above the market, 
and I would secure these potatoes In this way. I would construct 
a wooden tank that would hold 20 bushels of potatoes more or 
less, and would then make a box with a slatted bottom that would 
ust fit inside of this tank. I would then buy a hydrometer for 
measuring liquids heavier than water, which costs only 75 cents, 
and would fill the tank about half full of brine at a specific 
gravity of 1.1. Then I would arrange a system of ropes and 
pulleys for lowering the slat-bottom box into the tank, and lift¬ 
ing it out again, when I should be ready to begin work. The 
next step would be to secure some good, even-sized white potatoes 
having a netted skin, and after placing my slatted box into the 
brine, I would put the potatoes into it, a few at a time. The 
potatoes containing 18 per cent or more of starch would settle to 
the bottom, while those containing less than this amount would 
float. I would rake off the floating ones and place them in a bin 
by themselves, and when I had secured a few bushels of the 
heavier ones, I would haul up the box and, after slipping it to 
one side, would rinse the potatoes in it with clear water. Thus 
I should have two brands of potatoes, both of them clean and 
white; one of them of finer average quality than has ever been 
offered for sale in New York City, and which would sell at a 
fancy price as soon as Its merits were discovered. The other 
grade would still sell at the ordinary price. As the brine became 
dirty, it could be filtered through sand and used again. It has 
long seemed to me too bad that our farmers have so little induce¬ 
ment to grow potatoes for quality. 
There is a chance for some one to make some money. 
There is as much difference between a mealy and a 
soggy potato as there is between porterhouse and 
rump steaks. Customers know that this difference 
exists, but cannot distinguish it from the appearance 
of the outside of the potato. They will appreciate 
the result of this brine test—at least, some of them 
will. 
© 
BREVITIES. 
“WOMAN’S WORK.” 
Now mother, you’re all tired out—why don’t ye let me wipe 
Them supper dishes ? What ye use—that towel with the stripe ? 
I’ll git ’em dry fer once, I bet—set down an’ quityer work. 
An’ jest play lady fer a while—of course—you alnt no shirk, 
But jest wore out an’ sorter dull in feet an’ back an’ head— 
I’ll jest ondress the baby—now the place fer you is bed ! 
Come, little gal, set on my knee, yer mudder’s sick .to-night, 
An’ fader’s gonter strip these clo’es—I guess I done that right. 
Them shoes is off now; what comes next? this dress, it’pears 
to me. 
An’ then this sorter waist an’ skirt, an’-now—jest lemme see— 
This shirt or shimmy ? Here’s a pair—I’ll never git this right. 
I’ll strip off all together an’ jest leave it over night, 
An’ let yer mudder sort it out when mornin’ comes—now here, 
Put on yer little shirt an’ rock to sleepy-land, my dear. 
Yes, mother, baby’s gone to sleep—I’ve gut her in the crib; 
Them clothes peeled off like ellum-bark from stockin’s up to bib. 
I didn’t hear no buttons give—I left ’em in a heap; 
I’m goin’ down to fix them fires—now you jest go to sleep! 
Brace up to the climate. 
Don’t be a Lord unto yourself ! 
Soreness comes after soaring. 
The lard will provide—dyspepsia. 
One should keep his skin up to date. 
The creamery shark runs a steal trap. 
The way to chew tobacco is to eschew it. 
Put the tonic in the skiD, not the stomach. 
There is health in a bath towel and elbow grease. 
Foot rot turns the sheep’s “ golden hoof ” to lead. 
The Palmetto asparagus seems least subject to rust. 
Fair play! The way some of our fairs are conducted. 
Among those who object to butter without grain is the cow. 
The victim of the creamery shark is a “ bird a blue “jay.” 
An Indian election Is like a breed of cattle, because it is a Red 
poll. 
Mr. Woodward’s tree protector, page 835, Is certainly bad for a 
rabbit’s teeth. 
“ There is sunshine in my soil to-day ! ” sang the farmer as he 
drove the harrow. 
Can men continue to take new whines from the same old bottle ? 
Yes, they often do. 
The hen that is not made to come -to the scratch will make a 
loafer rather than a layer. 
Some men won’t give even thanks. They must be paid for the 
time-spent in offering them. 
Ought to be an angel—the housewife who can have a bad cold 
in the family and not an s to it. 
A Michigan law requires a nursery stock agent to file a bond 
and secure a license before doing business. 
Belgian dogs intended for the Klondike have reached New 
York. Can’t we raise enough dogs in America ? 
It doesn’t require 81,000,000 to make a gentleman farmer. You 
can make one if you have not a scent of dishonor about you. 
The New York State Dairymen’s Association is as well worthy 
of support as other organizations. Governor Black vetoed their 
appropriation last year, and blackened his record by doing so. 
Let him whiten it this year by signing the bill. 
