288 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
MAY 3 
THE 
Rural New-Yorker 
TIMES BUILDING, NEW YORK. 
The grades that can be grown here are, however, 
worth as much as the best wool, and in regions 
where sheep-killing dogs abound the goats will un¬ 
doubtedly prove most valuable. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
ELBERT S. CARMAN, 
HERBERT W. COLLINQWOOD, 
[ EDITORS. 
Rural Publishing Company: 
LAWSON VALENTINE, President. RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
THE AMERICAN GARDEN, 
EDGAR H. LIBBY, Manager. OUT-DOOR BOOKS. 
Copyright, 1890, by the Rural Publishing Company. 
SATURDAY, MAY 3, 1890. 
If public taste changes and consumers 
demand sweet-cream butter, you will have to 
' pay for the fun of churning sour cream. Can 
you afford to run a business for the fun of it ? 
The weekly index, so otten called for by our 
readers, will be found this week and hereafter on 
the last page. _ 
Leggy, drawn tomato plants will bear late. When 
set out in the open ground, they cannot stand the 
exposure as stocky plants do. They are feeble, 
sick as one may say, and require a couple of weeks 
to recover. 
Large pieces of potatoes for seed will give 
stronger vines at the outset than smaller pieces, 
though not necessarily a larger yield of potatoes. 
The comparative yield will depend, in a measure, 
on the season and fertility of the soil. Seedlings 
often make a feeble growth for a month or more 
and yet yield heavily. A sufficient quantity of 
flesh to the «ye or eyes acts much the same as ma¬ 
nure in the hill. 
Which would you prefer: grapes from such or¬ 
dinary varieties as Eaton, Victoria, Moore’s Early, 
Cottage, Berckmans, Worden, Concord, Brighton, 
etc., or no grapes from such superior kinds as Jef¬ 
ferson, Eldorado, Duchess, Lady Washington, 
Highland, etc. ? We shoud select varieties adapted 
to the situation and climate. It is well to test all 
new and promising varieties; but let the testing be 
confined to a vine or so. 
You might do worse than to plant a Papaw— 
Asimina triloba of the botanies. Young specimens 
may be found along the banks of streams or in 
moist, isolated thickets. Cultivated specimens 
grow as high as 20 feet, well clothed with large, 
oblanceolate leaves so placed on the stems as to 
give the tree a distinctive drooping appearance. 
The flowers, of a chocolate color, appear with the 
leaves and are nearly two inches in diameter. The 
fruits are oblong, about three inches long, smooth, 
fleshy and custard like. 
Farmers often fail to start celery seed simply be¬ 
cause the seed-bed is not properly prepared or the 
seed not properly sown or cared for after sowing. 
The soil must be mellow and compact, yet it should 
never be allowed to become baked or dry on the 
surface. Sow the seed in drills on the surface of a 
mellow, yet compact bed and merely press it in 
with a lath smooth on one side. Cover the drills 
with boards so as to retain the moisture until the 
seed germinates. There will be no trouble after 
that. A safe and easy way to start celery seed is 
to sow it in flat or shallow boxes three or four 
inches deep. One of these, three by two feet, will 
suffice for plants enough to last a family of six until 
spring. Sow the seeds now. 
In view of the fact that many New England 
farmers are thinking seriously of giving up sheep 
and breeding Angora goats instead, the R. N.-Y 
has endeavored to learn all it can about the possi¬ 
bilities of disposing of mohair at a profitable figure. 
Statements have been received from all the leading 
American manufacturers of mohair goods. From 
these it seems clear that the use of mohair is in¬ 
creasing rapidly ; in fact, the demand for mohair 
dress goods was never better than at present. All 
the manufacturers seem to agree that the Ameri¬ 
can-grown fleeces are, as a rule, inferior to those 
brought from Asia Minor or Africa. Whether the 
Angora goat can reach its highest perfection in our 
climate is as yet an unsolved problem. Of course, 
these manufacturers know nothing about breeding 
the goats; they merely know what they want in 
their manufacturing. It' would seem, then, that a 
farmer may safely depend upon selling all the 
mohair he can produce at a price somewhat above 
that obtained for wool. It is by no means certain 
that the best quality of mohair s can beJgrownJhere. 
Nature is the best farmer that man can go to for 
instruction. She is particularly sound in the 
science of adapting plants to the best locations and 
in providing suitable successions of plants. There 
are plants that require light, others that require 
shade and the sun-loving plants grow tall so that 
they may provide shade for the others. Some 
plants require more water than others, some require 
a stronger soil, a thicker mulch—in fact, there are 
among plants hundreds of special needs that Nature 
recognizes and provides for. Left to themselves, 
water-cresses never grow on a hillside, nor do black 
raspberries grow in a swamp. Do you not know 
farmers, however, who, in locating plants, make 
almost as unprofitable arrangements as would be 
seen with water-cresses at the top of a hill? Nature 
is the model farmer. Go to her and learn lessons 
in plant location. 
Mrs. Alpheus Hardy is the name of a fine, dis¬ 
tinct chrysanthemum introduced several years ago 
and advertised from Dan to Beersheba. Now it is 
called by certain florists the Ostrich Plume Chry¬ 
santhemum. In very small type the name Mrs. 
Alpheus Hardy is given parenthetically. This 
mixing up and changing of names is justified by 
many when the new name is “catchy.” The R. 
N.-Y. regards this changing of names as reprehen¬ 
sible. The “catchy” name is substituted simply 
to make money by advertising as new a variety 
which is not new. Millions of dollars, first and 
last, have been spent for such “novelties,” which 
would not have been spent had the true names been 
known. 
Several years ago the writer bought a “Ball of 
Snow ” Rose simply because he was not aware that 
it was the old “ Boule de Neige.” 
We have to-day a Childs’s Japan Wineberry for 
which, it is said, one thousand dollars were paid 
for each plant ! We believe this to be the old 
Rubus phoenicolasius which has been offered in the 
catalogue of Ellwanger & Barry for years past— 
price 35 cents each. Are we right, Mr. Childs? 
We wish our experiment stations would tell us 
something about the best treatment for hatching 
eggs that have been sent long distances by express. 
There is quite a mystery about this matter. The 
transportation of the eggs by rail or road does not 
necessarily injure them for hatching. Eggs are fre¬ 
quently sent across the ocean or from one end of 
the country to the other and still hatch well 
enough. In other cases, even after a short journey, 
the eggs fail to hatch although the sender knew 
they were fertile and the buyer used all reasonable 
care in handling them. There is nothing in the 
poultry business that proves more unsatisfactory 
than this selling eggs for hatching, and buyers and 
sellers alike would be only too glad to know how 
these transported eggs should be treated in order to 
ensure the best possible results. The most reason¬ 
able explanation that we have seen for the failure 
of transported eggs to hatch is that during the 
journey the layers of the eggs are shaken up and 
mixed together. By letting the eggs stand for a 
few days after receiving them, turning them once 
each day, they may settle back to their proper con¬ 
dition. Many poultrymen believe in this theory 
and advise their customers to treat their eggs in 
this manner. But with all the advice we can ob¬ 
tain, there is much dissatisfaction with transported 
eggs. The R. N.-Y. will be glad to have its readers 
discuss this important matter. 
THE AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT IS 
ALIVE. 
Secretary Rusk has issued a circular headed 
“Agricultural Depression, its Causes and Possible 
Remedies.” This is the first time our Agricultural 
Department has attempted to give positive and 
direct advice on matters outside of what may be 
called practical agriculture. It is evident at least, 
that Secretary Rusk is not disposed to consider his 
Department any less important than any other 
under the Government. The Secretary says that 
for months past communications from individuals 
and associations have reached him earnestly dis¬ 
cussing the present agricultural depression. In 
this circular he has endeavored to answer these 
communications, giving his own views as suggested 
by personal observation and extended correspon¬ 
dence. The matters which, according to Secretary 
Rusk, should at this time engage our most earnest 
thought are, farm mortgages, transportation, the 
middlemen, gambling in grain products, control of 
combinations, protection for the farmer, importa¬ 
tion of agricultural products, competition in our 
own soil, foreign markets and taxation. 
Briefly summarized, Secretary Rusk’s argument 
is as follows: 1. Many farmers are not conducting 
their operations on business-like principles. To 
this may be ascribed in large part over-production 
of certain crops, glutted markets caused by the 
great volume of inferior products and also the 
troublesome and expensive “ middleman ” factor in 
business. 2. Legislation has been one-sided in its 
effects—the farmer taking the small end so far as 
benefits are concerned. This legislation has made 
possible the evils seen in trusts [and transportation 
rates and made necessary the battle against grain 
gambling, adulteration of food products and similar 
evils. 3. Our system of Protection has been of 
immense value to American manufacturers; it 
saved them in fact from grave disaster which was 
threatened during the Civil War when taxes were 
of necessity very heavy. Now, when agriculture 
is suffering from the severest competition, the direct 
benefit of the tariff should be given to agriculture 
rather than to manufacturing. Using the figures 
and argumentsigiven by Statistician Dodge, Secretary 
Rusk estimates that we import $250,000,000 worth of 
agricultural products which can be produced on our 
own soil. The Secretary would encourage the pro¬ 
duction of these articles here just as he says our 
manufacturers were encouraged, viz: by so stimu¬ 
lating prices by a tariff or bounties that farmers 
will grow these products and thus learn how to pro¬ 
duce them economically. Whenever protection is; 
relaxed, reciprocity should invariably be applied 
that is, the advantages derived from the tariff 
should be traded—not given away. 5. There will 
always be a surplus of American agricultural pro¬ 
ducts. We should study to have these products in 
such form that there will be a demand for them in 
foreign markets. Our foreign trade in meats is in¬ 
jured because we have sent diseased meat abroad. 
We have sent poor cheese and improperly 
packed butter abroad, and hence our foreign dairy 
trade is not half what it should be. We should es¬ 
tablish a rigid system of governmentarinspection of 
exported food products and should maintain agents 
abroad whose duty it should be to watch over the 
interests of American agricultural products in 
foreign markets. Leaving out the question of pro¬ 
tection as discussed by the Secretary, the R. N.-Y. 
is satisfied that the circular will be regarded by 
most farmers as a sensible and very important doc¬ 
ument. We request our readers to examine it care¬ 
fully, as we propose to discuss it in subsequent 
issues of the R. N.-Y. We must say that we like 
the sturdy independence that informs our farmers 
that a good deal of the energy expended in shouting 
about transportation rates had better be used to im¬ 
prove our wretched country roads. The R. N.-Y. 
excepts the remarks on protection because it fully 
realizes that a large class of intelligent farmers 
would prefer to bring about the desired fair distri¬ 
bution of favors from the tariff by lowering the 
duty on what they must buy as well as raising it on 
what they have to sell. The quotation from the 
circular found in the “ Lookout Almanac ” is worth 
committing to memory. 
BREVITIES. 
Silage is good. No doubt of that! 
Carry a silo ’round under your hat. 
Day after day. just pack away. 
All the Rood thoughts that come Into your head 
Green crops of thought, good lessons taught 
These are what happy old sge should he fed. 
Pack them away, light thoughts of youth 
They will d»cay Time’s biting tooth. 
Mental green food makes old age fat 
Carry a silo ’round under your hat. 
Roll the newly-seeded lawn. 
Evolution is the soul of real progress. 
The Rural New-Yorker evolutionizes. 
A LARGE cow put in a small stall will spend so much 
tin\e'worrying over her discomfort that she will forget her 
duty at the pall. 
It will not hurt the looks of your place, friend, 10 years 
hence If now you plant a White Pine just in front of the 
wood-shed. There is time yet for this kind of transplant¬ 
ing. 
At the Rural Grounds there is a pure white Patagonian 
rooster, a shapely, handsome bird. These Patagonians, by 
the way, are very quiet, contented fowls—healthy, hardy, 
plump. 
In the evolution of things we should like to paint a sign 
which the birds might interpret. The sign would read: 
“ Welcome ! ” We are not quite sure that we should ex¬ 
tend it to English sparrows. 
Hundreds, if not thousands, of the Tulip Tree (Llriod- 
endron tulipifera) of New Jersey are being destroyed by 
the bark-louse—Lecanium tulipifera). An illustrated article 
on the subject will appear next week. 
Before the hot season fairly opens, the R, N.-Y. hopes 
to give its readers all the necessary information concern¬ 
ing the use of chemicals in producing cold. Some dairy¬ 
men think they can use chemicals in place of ice. 
Sergeant Dunn, of the U. S. Weather Service, says we 
are to have a cool, moist summer. By this time our read¬ 
ers ought to know how much stock to take in these “ official 
reports.” The R. N.-Y. has no private prophecy to make 
this year. All the same, it proposes to plant potatoes in a 
dry place. 
No MAN should own a dog that he is ashamed of, and he 
ought to be willing to put his card on that dog in the shape 
of a collar bearing his name and address. If the dog does 
any damage, his owner should be willing to pay for it. 
If the dog does some good in the world, his owner is en¬ 
titled to the credit. Collar the dogs. 
Has it ever occurred to you that the dung of an animal 
contains the undigested waste of the food, while the urine 
contains the digested waste? Urine is much quicker than 
the solid dung. Quick-growing plants need their food in 
an easily digested form. Consider the effect upon yonrself 
of well-cooked and half-cooked food. 
It is an interesting and suggestive fact that unisexual 
plants rarely bear flowers of brilliant colors. These depend, 
for the most part, upon the wind for fertilization, and are 
hence called in botany entomophilous. The firs and pines 
furnish familiar i llustrations. Their flowers are of a neutral 
color without odor or honey glands and are not therefore 
attractive to insects. The corn plant bears both male and 
female flowers upon the same individual stem, though 
often four or five feet apart. It Is, however, frequently the 
case that the silk is not receptive when the pollen of the 
tassel is ripe, so that the pollen above can not act upon the 
silk (pistils) beneath. Thus, were it not for the wind such 
plants would be sterile, since insects do not, as a rule, carry 
the pollen from the tassels to the silk. There is not one of 
us that knows just to what extent we are dependent upon 
the wind for our corn crop. 
