5o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
JAN 25 
I find that some varieties are much 
less injured by it than others, and, 
further, that if the canes are not head¬ 
ed back at all until spring the dis¬ 
ease is not so serious. Of course, if we 
do not head back to make the cane self- 
supporting we must either tie them up, or 
abandon cultivation after July 1. I pro¬ 
pose to try them a while longer. Among 
grapes only one or two varieties resist this 
malady entirely among a hundred kinds 
that I have. The Cynthiana is entirely 
free from it so far as I know, probably 
also Norton’s Virginia. By the way the 
Cynthiana makes a refreshing little table 
grape for fall eating in spite of its seeds ; 
after one is cloyed with the sweet and high- 
flavored Goethes and other so-called “best” 
varieties. Contrary to the “notes” I 
thought I could see that the disease was 
rendered less harmful this year by the ap¬ 
plication of the Bordeaux Mixture. Per¬ 
haps I was mistaken, but I feel like trying 
it again. The Snyder Blackberry has not 
been affected in the least by this disease 
here, but I have often noticed it on beans. 
I think, with Mr. Campbell, that the 
Woodruff must be a popular market grape, 
both on account of the vigor and the bear¬ 
ing qualities of the vine, and the size and 
showiness of its fruit, the latter count¬ 
ing more in market here than quality. But 
with me it is very pulpy and foxy, and, 
withal, a poor keeper. 
It has not been my good fortune to see 
any of Mr. Burr’s grapes except Jewell and 
Early Victor. The latter does not succeed 
here, failing in nearly all the points. Jewell 
may do better, but it is too small for a 
market grape in these anti-Lilliputian days. 
What we need most here is a heavy-bearing, 
reliable, large table grape ripening with 
Goethe and Black Defiance. Of course 
further north this remark would not apply. 
I have often heard that by grafting a 
weak upon a strong growing vine, as recom¬ 
mended by Mr. Snook, the stock would 
impart some of its vigor to the cion ; but 
such has not been my experience, and a 
Delaware grafted on a Concord is no more 
vigorous with me than if growing on its 
own roots. Does a difference in the soil 
account for the different result? 
Now while talking about grapes, let me 
answer an inquiry on page 662, by telling 
how I keep the fruit—for home use only— 
until New Year’s or later. First, I sack 
them at the proper time, and then let them 
hang on the vines in the fall as long as I 
dare for fear of freezing. Then I select the 
most perfect bunches of the long-keeping 
varieties and without taking them from 
the sacks, place them loosely in shallow 
boxes not more than a foot in depth in a 
cool, airy, and dry cellar. They may wilt 
a little and loosen from the stems, but 
nearly all of the meaty grapes that mature 
late will keep fairly well until Christmas 
and some much later. 
I sympathize with the imprisoned New 
Jersey man—page 664—to this extent, that I 
think a farmer should have the right to 
sell any wholesome product of the farm 
under its proper name. Do they expect 
every man to keep a Jersey cow down in 
Jersey ? Law-making is a serious thing, 
and our country is cursed with too many 
politicians, and they are all so anxious to 
distinguish themselves. I move that the 
originator of the law take the farmer’s 
place in jail a few months. Yes—same 
page—the R. N.-Y. is published too far 
“ East,” but where in the West or any¬ 
where else are we going to get a better 
paper, or anywhere nearly so good a one for 
that matter ? 
The bee question—same page—has two 
faces, viz : bee-keeping is a legitimate busi¬ 
ness, and the reverse. A man has a right 
to defend his property on his own premises. 
We cannot save our plums, peaches, 
cherries, etc., from the curculio and many 
other insects unless we poison the bees. 
Further, bees damage grapes very badly, 
especially in dry seasons. Where is the 
redress to come in ? The poor man with 
house and small, unfenced lot concludes 
that poultry-raising is very profitable. 
“ Hens k don’t cost anything to raise,” he 
says. But his neighbors with adjoining 
gardens or strawberry patches figure it 
differently. So, many bee-keepers live at 
their neighbors’ expense. 1 believe in the 
greatest stretch of freedom compatible 
with the rights of others; but do the rights 
of others include your land ? 
Sangamon County, Ill. 
NOTES ON NO. 2072, OCTOBER 12. 
P. B. CROSBY. 
Home-made Fertilizers : Yes, let us 
have more home-made fertilizers, not only 
because they save in dollars and cents, but 
because when a man buys his fertilizing 
elements separately, instead of mixed to¬ 
gether in bulk by a manufacturer, he is 
more apt to test each one and thus find out 
what his land needs, and anything that 
makes a farmer experiment is an aid to 
better farming. 
Photographs of Kitchen Tools : 
Some one wants a photograph of the tools 
used by Mrs. Terry in the kitchen. I hope 
the Rural will be able to carry out the 
idea; but how many of us are there whose 
tool-houses are filled with improved imple¬ 
ments, but whose wives are compelled to 
do the household drudgery with almost 
nothing to lighten their labor. 
Prize Butter Making: In the six ac¬ 
counts given, three different races were re¬ 
ported—Jerseys, Short-horns and scrubs. 
Now while the results do not prove that 
Jerseys are not the best butter breed, they 
do prove that good butter can be made 
from common cows if the right methods are 
used, and this fact ought to encourage the 
farmer who has common cows and who 
cannot as yet grade up. 
One of these right methods strongly em¬ 
phasized in the reports, is that butter-milk 
is now washed out, not worked out. 
Just Enough: The Rural gives an ex¬ 
cellent photograph of butter churned just 
enough. But when is just enough ? We 
used to stop when the Rural does, but I 
noticed that no matter how clear the “last” 
water, the water that ran out of the chum 
after the butter was gathered was slightly 
colored with butter-milk. From this fact 
I reasoned thus: This butter-milk was in¬ 
side the granules and when the butter was 
gathered the granules were more or less 
broken and the butter-milk escaped : now ( 
therefore, the smaller the granules the less 
butter-milk in them, and consequently the 
better for the butter ; so, hereafter, we will 
stop at the corn-meal stage. I did so and 
my reasoning was upheld by facts. It was 
a little trouble at first, but with the aid of 
a wire strainer and patience I overcame the 
trouble. 
Steamed Fodder vs. Silage : The Ru¬ 
ral wants to know why corn-fodder spec¬ 
ially cured and then steamed should not be 
as good as silage. I don’t know and never 
expect to ; but I know that it isn’t. Green 
corn-fodder or good silage will keep hogs 
in good order; but no dry corn fodder, 
however cured and steamed, will do so 
much. It would seem that when fodder 
dries it undergoes some change, may be 
too delicate for the chemist to detect, by 
which it loses some of its nutritive proper¬ 
ties, and to prevent this change and a cor¬ 
responding loss is the mission of the silo. 
The photograph of the Rosa rugosa hy¬ 
brid I am glad to see, not only because of 
its beauty, but because it may help us to 
take more interest in flowers. 
In striving after the mighty dollar or in 
toiling to make both ends meet we are too 
apt to forget the flowers. 
Catonsville, Md. 
.NOTES ON NO. 2070, SEPTEMBER 28. 
C. S. VALENTINE. 
Comparisons may be odious, but they 
are helpful; it needs but a glance to fix 
that grand object-lesson (the picture of 
Mr. Terry’s tools) in our minds, and to 
convince many of us of the error of our 
ways. 
Potatoes (page 637) may now be put in 
“more evenly than any drill puts in 
wheat.” Let us hear this note of praise 
above the clamor for a better planter. Mr. 
Terry’s words and his tools show that 
much of the drudgery can be dispensed 
with. Let it no longer keep from the farm 
men who would be glad to try “going back 
to Eden.” 
(Page 638.) What of the prevalent idea 
that farrow cows’ milk makes longer 
churning and inferior butter ? 
Petroleum is about the cheapest and 
most useful article known to farm and 
kitchen use. It is even a good medicine 
and artistic girls with scant funds use it 
to mix their paints. 
(Page 639.) Is it our generous and just 
Mr. Terry who “smiles” at his brother 
farmers who are not so progressive as he ? 
Results are the chief test, and Mr. 
Crosby’s results are excellent. But why 
not say: “ Deduct from the $1.84, 60 cents 
for the corn, and we have $1.24. Can we 
credit all this to the milk ? Most of us 
would think that nonsense; a few would 
say: “Why not?” 
(Page 640.) Cannot Mr. S. explain that 
“success mainly due to marking out,” a 
little ? Was it because of closer planting ? 
The man who can formulate his ideas as 
does Mr. S., will never be found in the par¬ 
rot’s company, croaking, “farmin’ don’t 
pay.” The “object of rotation of crops 
should be the increase of one’s income year¬ 
ly,as well as the improvement of the soil.” 
Had the parrot ever thought of that, I 
wonder ? 
(Page 641.) Possibly Mr. C.’s feeling 
about noting the good points of the Wood¬ 
ruff Grape is much like the R. N.-Y.’s 
about the Eaton. 
( Page 642.) Since our cattle are not be¬ 
ing poisoned with adulterants, never mind 
about ourselves! 
(Page 643.) In the interest of hard cash 
let every one who makes much butter,dupli¬ 
cate C. H. E.’s tests! 
A friend writes : “We are making 70 
pounds of butter a week, and I would so like 
to have a creamer.” If one-fifth more butter 
can be made with a creamer, how long 
would it take those extra 14 pounds of 
butter a week to pay for one ? 
(Page 644.) Unquestionably the number 
of those who use wool is greater than the 
number of those who raise it, and the latter 
are also included in the former class. Why 
then will not “ free wool ” benefit the great¬ 
est number, even of farmers ? 
Ignotum is not claimed to be perfect, but 
it is the best cooking tomato I have yet 
seen. 
It stands, then, that we may use alkalies 
for cleansing milk utensils, though we 
may not use soap ? 
(Page 645) The absolute statement that 
the farmer who buys anything he can pro¬ 
duce, has missed his calling, is pure non¬ 
sense 1 Given any good crop for which 
there is a market, and which pays 10 times 
as much as any other, it is good common 
sense to raise that crop, and buy the other 
things. 
(Page 646, Ed.) What of clover ? An ex¬ 
cellent authority states that chopped clover, 
scalded, with one ounce of lean meat per 
day will compel any hen to lay I The meat 
for a year would cost less than 50 cents ; 
clover would cost almost nothing. Many 
consider clover and milk nearly as good. 
With these so cheap, farmers have a big 
advantage over their competitors in subur¬ 
ban towns. Why don’t they use it ? 
Good for the “ Good ” Peach. 
(Page 647.) If the farmer be in any way 
behind the age with respect to his team, I 
think it is in the matter of caring for them. 
A fancy team is a luxury (counting first- 
cost and risk) which the general farmer 
dares not indulge in; but the blood of the 
best French draft horses is being worked 
in as fast as it can be afforded. 
To use a heater is both cheaper and better 
than to run a number of stoves, and the 
single fact that with it one is able to pay 
for thorough comfort and has less labor is 
sufficient to make it pay to put one in. 
(Page 648.) “I might talk on the theme of 
oysters ad infinituvi and yet say nothing 
very interesting to farmers ”—a golden 
thought for all editors of agricultural 
papers to meditate upon. 
(Page 654) Books that have helped us to 
better and sweeter attainments than jam 
only ! Even a boy cannot live by jam alone, 
however tempting it may be. Does “ Chip ” 
mean that the boy is a chip of the old block? 
The Weekly Bee “ adv. ” (Page 654), 
touches the keynote of the question, only 
I should say that one will get information 
best through the local papers of any sec¬ 
tion, however they may “ boom ” the 
country, or try to cover up any damaging 
feature, for in the local items one gets the 
very life and atmosphere of the place. 
Cranford,N. J. 
NOTES ON NO. 2074, OCTOBER 26. 
T. MC ALPINE. 
The frostispiece is pictorial history of 
the farmer in politics, the first half con¬ 
taining some happy hits in the career of 
the farmer who seeks office. To the aver¬ 
age farmer politics is a delusion and a 
snare. 
The first article (page 706) is a series of 
letters in reply to four questions on fruit 
trees. Dr. Hoskins’s reply practically covers 
the whole ground, the other writers agree 
with him, the consensus of opinion being : 
1. It is all right to graft any variety of 
tree on sprouts raised from its own seed. 2. 
It would not injure the tree to graft early 
and late-fruiting sorts, but each graft would 
show its peculiarity. 3. Common paint 
would kill the trees. 4. Trees can be 
grown on either light or heavy soils, but 
particular varieties are best adapted for 
each kind of soil. 
Page 707 contains an illustration from 
the London Live Stock Journal of the 
Hunter brood mare Florimel. Ireland is 
one of the best nurseries for horses of a 
light build suitable for riding or driving. 
The wonder is that American breeders do 
not go there to buy, at prices too as low as 
those for scrub stock. Probably the lack 
of a pedigree is tbe reason why they do not. 
Another injustice to Ireland ! 
On the same page is a symposium telling 
us how and where to market crops—a verit¬ 
able blizzard of information the sum of 
which is “ watch the markets, ” and then 
use common sense. Any amount of in¬ 
formation will not make a farmer a good 
salesman; it needs brains and good judg¬ 
ment to become one. 
On page 709 is an article on farrow vs. 
fresh cows, by Prof. C. S. Plumb. It con¬ 
tains a formidable array of figures, averages 
and what not, to prove something on the 
question. Towards the end the Professor 
says: “ On the college farm here I breed 
the cows annually.” This common sense 
view of following up Nature is worth a 
whole bushelful of arguments. 
Page 709 tells us of a farmer who rests 
in prison for selling milk which fell below 
the legal standard. It is quite possible the 
farmer may be innocent and in that case 
the cow is to blame. But one must draw 
the line somewhere and until a better 
method for determining pure milk is found 
the law must remain as it is. “ The great¬ 
est good to the gieatest number ” must be 
the rule in this case; but if there is a doubt 
about the fellow’s innocence he should be 
let out. 
Page 710 : P. H. Jacobs’s article on feed¬ 
ing corn to poultry is very good, but it is not 
the “ be all ” or “ end all ” of the business. 
Breed, climate, etc., are factors in the case 
and require a sight of study. 
Potato-diggers: Quite a complicated 
question this, Mr. Inventor, containing 
more than has been dreamt of in your phi¬ 
losophy. 
The Montana Boom : To what base uses 
does the press sometimes lend itself, but 
it’s consoling to think that an antidote is 
also found in the press. All honor to the 
R. N.-Y. for its manly exposure 1 
Saving Wages : Waldo F. Brown wants 
every farm hand to save some of his wages 
every year. It is a devout wish and does 
his heart credit; but alas 1 men are mortal 
and many live like the butterfly enjoying 
life as they go. Don’t worry about it Wal¬ 
do ; we need help and the good will rise 
somehow. 
Page 713: The hog at the South—Mr. 
Bishop’s is a very sensible as well as prac¬ 
tical article on the subject and shows “how 
to do it.” But why must every writer on 
hogs tell us that his hogs have excellent 
health while his neighbors’ are dying of 
cholera ? 
What to do with the straw : This is a 
subject that paper farmers have been 
thrashing for a long time—the wonder 
is there is any straw left. I. W. I. gets out 
of the beaten path by giving a few really 
practical ways of using it, and so far as his 
own ideas go he is all right; but when he 
tells of other men spreading it over the 
fields and burning it, or using it as a mulch 
he is a little off. These are not practical 
uses for it to any extent. 
Page 713: Binkam’s Tool House—A 
good hit on those who are riding a hobby to 
death. 
Grafting the Tomato and the Potato: 
The poet Burns says: “ The best laid 
schemes of mice and men gang aft aglee.” 
Wonder if this is a case in point. 
Page 715: A Dig at Women. It seems 
to me women are booming their cause too 
much. Nearly all the examples quoted 
are a trifle old, having gone the rounds of 
the press for some time. 
Page 719 : The Pan American Congress. 
Jerseyman writes very lovingly on the sub¬ 
ject. Pity he cannot read or speak Span¬ 
ish. “We want their trade,” he says, “ but 
how can we get it ?” Certainly not by jun¬ 
keting trips, or by any amount of fine talk. 
As manufacturers or carriers, we are han¬ 
dicapped by the tariff. We cannot build 
ships or make goods as cheaply as free-trade 
England can—hence we cannot supply 
foreign markets in competition with that 
country. Reciprocity would suit, but it 
would be the thin end of the free trade 
wedge. Jerseyman’s dreams of the pros¬ 
perity to this country consequent on get¬ 
ting 75 per cent, of their trade are just like 
any other dreams. Any State in the Union 
is a better market than a whole kingdom 
in South America. So, Mr. Jerseyman, 
