i89o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
3z9 
THE BOSTON HORSE SHOW. 
The long-looked-for horse show has come 
and gone. Mechanics’ Fair Building is es¬ 
pecially adapted to a show of this kind; 
the vastness of its area is such that evolu¬ 
tions of horsemanship can be freely ex¬ 
hibited, except fast trotting. The ap¬ 
pointments connected with the show were 
very elaborate. On the lower or basement 
floor, stalls were constructed—mostly 
roomy box stalls—in which the horses 
could be shown to the best advantage. 
These stalls opened into wide aisles which 
gave ample room for making the horses 
display their especial points to inquiring 
visitors. Upon the floor above, which is 
the main floor, all the appointments had 
the same completeness. 
There were about 350 horses brought to¬ 
gether to compete for the various prizes 
and among them were some very fast ani¬ 
mals, such as John Shepard’s Arab, (2.15) 
Little Brown Jug owned in Bangor, Me., 
which has a trotting record of the fastest 
three consecutive heats ever known—2.11%, 
2.11% and 2.12%. There were many curi¬ 
osities in horse flesh, some remarkable for 
their diminutive size and others for their 
extreme old age. Among the latter class 
was Old Billy, the West End street-car 
horse 40 years old. For 25 years he ran on 
a car from Brookline to Boston and ac¬ 
tually traveled 125,000 miles. About five 
years since he was placed on the retired 
list. His development is marvelous to the 
present day and shows horsemen at a 
glance wherein lay his wonderful powers 
of endurance. 
Jumping horses attracted much interest, 
particularly Ontario, which was to receive 
$500 for breaking the record by jumping 
seven feet. He made several attempts to 
do so during the show, and on Saturday 
night he made two, clearing the rails about 
six feet eight inches. But when the rail 
was raised to a hight of seven feet, when 
to clear it would have been a triumph, the 
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to 
Animals interfered, claiming that the 
horses were too tired to jump again. The 
spectators accepted the objection in a 
placid manner; but the owner of the horse 
and the managers of the fair denounced 
the act as a piece of unnecessary interf er- 
ence. 
The umbrella race was a rare piece of 
horsemanship. Four poles were in each 
corner of the ring. The first movement was 
to saddle up, circle around the poles and dart 
to the center of the ring ; then unsaddle, 
light a cigar, put up au umbrella, saddle up 
and go around the ring twice. 
The classes of exhibitions in the ring, for 
which prizes, ranging in amount from $25 to 
$100,were offered, were: juvenile riding; best 
colt foaled in 1889 served by New England 
stallion; the handsomest mule; best nighest- 
stepping carriage horse shown in harness; 
Hunters—mare or gelding, carrying -180 
pounds; bending race for gentlemen riders; 
best pair of high-stepping carriage horses 
shown in harness; four-in-hands mares or 
geldings four years old or over; Cobs under 
saddle; polo ponies; hurdle-jumping polo 
ponies; standard polo pony 14 hands one 
inch, to be worked in the ring with a mal¬ 
let; tandems in harness; coaching stallions; 
ladies’ saddle horses; cross-matched pair; 
high school horse; police horse. E. P. K. 
WILL IT PAY ME TO ATTEND AN 
AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE? 
The R. N.-Y. knows that there are thous¬ 
ands of boys on American farms to day 
who are asking themselves the above 
question, and it feels sure that the answer 
will have much to do not only with the life 
and character of the individual questioner, 
but, to a considerable extent, with Ameri¬ 
can history as well. We do not propose to 
consider the shortcomings of our agricul¬ 
tural colleges, their failure to carry out in 
every particular the purposes for which 
they were designed or the fact that many 
of their graduates have become business 
or professional men rather than farmers. 
These things have been repeated over and 
over again. We would rather have a boy 
ask himself if it is possible for him to learn 
anything at an agricultural college, that 
will make him a better farmer and a better 
man—in short, make life better worth the 
living. 
No controversy is desired with the dog¬ 
matic individual who has firmly satisfied 
himself that agricultural education is 
worthless—that the sole end of agriculture 
is to plow, sow and reap and sneer at “ olo- 
gies”and “book farming.” We will ad¬ 
mit that the agricultural college is not the 
place for such a person; we would not have 
him go there at all; so we can have no ar¬ 
gument with him. We are talking to the 
boy who wants to learn and who is ready 
to work hard and faithfully if he can be 
assured of a just reward for his labor. 
Thousands of people in the world write 
verses; only once in a very great while do we 
find one who can write actual poetry. 
Thousands of boys are sent to col¬ 
lege ; only now and then do we find a 
thorough student who masters his studies 
so thoroughly and well that the world 
rushes to recognize him as a leader. It seems 
to be almost a law of Nature that only a 
small percentage of those who enter upon 
any chosen work have the faith and the 
courage to fight their way to the head. Be¬ 
fore a boy starts at an agricultural college 
he should remember this fact. The 
strength of character, the inspiration, the 
habits of thought and observation may all 
be found there. The tools are there—he 
must provide the patience and the courage 
needed to sharpen them. And does not 
agriculture to day offer opportunities for 
the exercise of the best manhood, the best 
thought and the highest patriotism? Brave, 
skillful, honest men must be found to lead 
and to follow. We do not say that such men 
cannot be trained outside of these colleges 
—it would be nonsense to say that—but we 
do say that it is possible for a sensible, 
thoughtful young man to acquire at the 
best of these colleges habits of thought, in¬ 
vestigation and work, which if rightly fol¬ 
lowed out will make him a power for good, 
and place him on an equality with trained 
men in other professions. Yes, at our agri¬ 
cultural colleges, just as they exist to day, 
with all their faults and shortcomings, it 
is possible for an enterprising boy to pre¬ 
pare himself for a profitable, honorable and 
fascinating life-work. What college in the 
world offers more than this ? We would 
not have a boy enter one of these colleges 
for the fun he expects to find there. He 
will probably be able to find more amuse¬ 
ment at other institutions. Our agricul¬ 
tural colleges should be filled with earnest, 
thoughtful boys who are ready to learn and 
think. There are thousands of the boys 
we have in mind on our farms to¬ 
day who need a broader foundation for 
their education than they can find in the 
newspapers or in the family library. Per¬ 
sonal contact for four years with men who 
are investigating the principles of agricul¬ 
tural science will quicken their powers of 
observation without dulling in the least 
their interest in practical farm matters. 
In short, the R. N.-Y. believes that the 
young man who proposes to become a good 
farmer will find an agricultural college 
course just as helpful as a course at a law 
school would be if he intended to become a 
good lawyer. We also believe, looking at 
the matter from a purely business stand¬ 
point, that in the majority of cases, the ag¬ 
ricultural course can be made the more 
profitable. We would therefore say to the 
young man who has made up his mind to 
become a farmer and who feels that he has 
the faith and the courage to work and 
wait for a sure reward, to make an agri¬ 
cultural college course a part of his life- 
work. Take our word for it that no one will 
ever regret having done so. 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
Illinois. 
Pleasant Valley, Jo. Daviess County, 
April 28.—We are having a very dry April 
and grain and grass are improving very 
slowly at present, and there is no prospect 
for rain very soon. Plowing for corn has 
fairly begun; but we have had no corn 
weather yet. It is too early to state the 
outlook for fruit, though fruit trees seem 
uninjured. Mammoth Cluster Raspberry 
briars winter-killed worse than usual for 
some reason—surely not on account of 
severe winter weather. I never saw cleaner, 
whiter or sounder potatoes than my Rural 
No. 2 are this spring. Hogs are selling at 
four cents, live weight. Poultry was more 
profitable than usual this winter, selling 
at from five to six cents in the fall, to seven 
and eight cents in the spring. Eggs eight 
cents. Plenty all winter. w. s. 8. 
New York. 
ELBA, Genesee County, April 29. —There 
is one farm in western New York that pays. 
It is situated in Riga, Monroe County, 
and was bought by the present owner six 
years ago. It consists of 100 acres, all 
tillable, and was supposed to be badly run 
out when the owner took possession. He 
commenced by plowing under clover and 
planting to corn, the following spring 
sowing barley or oats, then wheat in the 
fall. If he had manure enough to cover the 
ground, all right; it not, commercial fer¬ 
tilizers were used, and plenty of them. He 
laid out $94 for them one season. His neigh¬ 
bors said he could not afford to buy so large 
an amount; but, said he: “It costs as 
much to put the ground in proper shape 
for a poor crop as for a good one. If by 
extra expense for fertilizers you can grow 
as much grain in one year as you can in 
two without the outlay, you gain one 
year’s work and time—no small item in 
these times when every farmer has to farm 
on shares, the railroads and middlemen 
getting the largest part of the proceeds of 
the crops.” The soil is a dark clay loam, 
rather heavy, and responds to fertilizers 
surprisingly. About 500 loads of manure 
are made each season. At present there 
are on the place nine horses and colts, eight 
head of cattle, 12 hogs and 50 sheep. These 
are being fed in the place of steers this 
year, as beef is too low to be profitable; but 
the manure pile will not be so large in con¬ 
sequence. The amount of grain grown on 
this place in one season was 12 acres of 
barley—625 bushels; 32 acres of wheat— 
1,134 bushels ; 10 acres of corn, in the ear— 
1,200 bushels; 4% acres of beans—100 bush¬ 
els ; nine acres of oats—450 bushels; l%acre 
of potatoes—200 bushels; 10 acres of hay- 
25 tons. The corn and most of the hay are 
fed out on the place, besides a considerable 
amount of mill feed which makes the man¬ 
ure pile (the farmer’s bank) larger and 
richer. The cash sales the same season 
amounted to $2,225, to say nothing of the 
hay and grain fed out. Neither does the 
account include poultry and eggs, as no 
record was kept of them. The ground is 
becoming more fertile every year and fer¬ 
tilizers will soon be dispensed with, for the 
owner can now get a good seeding of clover 
to be plowed under, which is better than 
the fertilizers. This farmer makes farm¬ 
ing pay. c. F. 
Pennsylvania. 
MENNO, Mifflin County, April 28.—We 
have fine growing weather now and wheat 
looks promising. There are very few fields 
that don’t look well, and everything is 
growing nicely. Some fruits were frozen, 
but others escaped the frost as this location 
is favorable, and if prices of farm products 
were only better we could have no cause 
for complaint. Wheat brings 75 cents; 
corn, 35, and oats 25. Fat cattle make a 
little money for those farmers who did not 
sell too soon; but there are not half the 
usual number of feeders. Sheep are the 
highest; they run as high as $2 apiece at 
sales. !>• A. H. 
THE DEACON VISITS THE IN¬ 
CUBATORS. 
“ Hello dar, Mr. Bob! Is you got enny 
fresh eggs in dat wagon ? ” 
“ Plenty of them, Deacon ! We get about 
14 or 15 dozen per day, and can guarantee 
every one nice and fresh.” 
“ How menny you say? Must hab an 
awful pile ob chickens.” 
“ Yes, we have quite a lot when they all 
get in a bunch. We have over 500 laying 
hens, and — ” 
“ Go way, man ! Does you really mean 
dat ? Guess I’ll hab to come ober and see 
dat place ob yourn some day. Kin I fetch 
de ole woman?” 
* 
* * 
“ Hi dar, Mr. Bob I Call off dat dog ob 
yourn 1 Nebber seed so menny dogs afore 
on one place. What’s you a doin ’wid so 
menny dogs, any way ? ” 
“ Some I’m breeding, and the rest I use 
to keep tramps and skunks away. Haven’t 
had but one tramp around the place for a 
long time, and he crawled off lame.” 
“ Is dat so? Don’t think dey will pester 
you much wid all dese dogs round. What’s 
dat you got in dem yards ober dar ? ” 
“Those, Deacon, are breeding pens in 
which we keep fancy-bred fowls. In this 
yard we have the Single-Comb White Leg¬ 
horn, one of the finest egg-producing ma¬ 
chines in the world. There isn’t much 
meat on one, to be sure, but what there is 
is good. A trio of these cost $20, and-” 
“ What’s dat you jes said ? ” 
“ Why, $20 for a trio. A trio is one cock 
and two hens.” 
“ What, man 1 All dat money fur jes 
three chickens like dem ? ” 
“ It’s a fact, Deacon. Y r ou must remem¬ 
ber that good stock costs money, and that 
blue blood is higher-priced than the red. 
Got some in our yards that cost more than 
that.” 
“ Do you hear dat, ole woman ? Most too 
rich fur my blood.” 
“ Here we have a pen of Light Brahmas. 
They cost us $30 in Massachusetts, and $9 
express charges.” 
"Take care dar, boss 1 Gitten higher 
ebery time l You don’t mean to tell me 
dat efinybody goen to pay enny sech price 
as dat fur jes three chickens.” 
“ Better to purchase a few good ones than 
a lot of poor ones, isn’t it ? Their eggs do 
not hatch as well as some of the others on 
account of the hard, thick shells, but I’ve 
got over 30 of them in the incubators.” 
“ Say, Mr. Bob, is you got one ob dem in- 
kerbators dat dey use to hatch de chickens 
wid ? ” 
“ Oh, yes, got two of — ” 
“Hear dat, will you ! ” 
“ Got two that cost over $100. each, with¬ 
out the freight. Have hatched over 500 
chicks in them so far, and they are still 
shelling them out. Have some chicks com¬ 
ing to-day.” 
“ You don’t tell me ! Is dat honest, Mr. 
Bob ? No foolen now !” 
“ That’s a fact, Deacon. Got them down 
in the cellar, and will show them to you be¬ 
fore you go. They are-” 
“ Look adar! What you call dose speckled 
Dominackers ?” 
“Those are the Plymouth Rocks. Nice 
general-purpose fowls, but they don’t seem 
to give the satisfaction that some of the 
other breeds do.” 
“ What does you charge fur dem? ” 
“ Sell you a trio for $10., Deacon.” 
“ Good Lawd, man, I isn’t got dat much 
money. Dem’s my favorite, but I can’t 
stand de price.” 
“ Here are some White-Crested Black 
Polish. What do you think of them ? ” 
“Oh my ! Ain’t dem beauties ? Look at 
dat one wid de high cress. What does you 
ax fur dem ? ” 
“ None for sale. Deacon. Only got a few, 
and want them for breeding purposes. Sell 
you a setting of eggs for $3.” 
“ No sar 1 Nebber touched me! Why, 
man, I kin git eggs in town for 20 cents a 
dozen.” 
“So you can, Deacon, but they won’t 
hatch any Polish chicks.” 
" Look at dose, ole woman ! See dat little 
feller a strutten round, and a putten on his 
airs. What you call dem ?” 
“ Those are Pekin Bantams. Look very 
nice, and make great pets for children. 
These are the new kind that have sprung 
into fame during the last three or four 
years, and are called the Wyandotte. 
Got them from a breeder in Lancaster, 
Massachusetts.” 
“ Don’t like dat part ob de country. 
Got robbed in Boston one night, and de 
Jedge he fined me 10 dollars, and said as 
how I was drunk. How much ’spress you 
hab to pay on dem ?” 
(To be Continued.) 
|Ui.$c*naneou;5i ^Umtising. 
In writing to advertisers please always 
mention the RURAL. 
nnoro for forcing. 
■ V L V Fine, well established plants 
I I of Catharine Merniel, 
■ V V W W Xiphetos, Bride, Salrano, 
■ Papa Gontier. Perle des Jardins. ana 
other choice vat ieties from 4-inch pots. Price 
on application. 
ELLWANCER & BARRY, 
Mount Hope Nurseries, 
50th YEAR. Rochester, IV. Y. 
A Great Bargain. 
In exchange for a herd of Jersey, Alderney or any 
first-class cattle of equal value, X offer a piece of land 
at this city, situated on the Louisville and Nashville 
Railroad, In sight of the great furnaces and n inlug 
industries of this section of country. Land nicely 
fenced and Improved; 8,(00 bearing peaches and 
pears. Very fertile and adaptive soil. Refused an 
offer of 88,UX) cash for entire place; wiU trade iu 
whole or part. This certainly is a rare chance as in¬ 
vestigation will prove. 
Also a fine tract In exchange for horses or stock of 
livery. 
Correspondence solicited. 
A. S. DENT, 
Box 328, Birmingham, Ala. 
DEAF 
NESS A HEAD NOISES CURED by 
Peck's INVISIBLE TUBULAR EAR 
_ _ __ CUSHIONS. Whispers heard. Com- 
-I.kl» s,„.,e.,ful where all Remedies fall. Sold by F. HISCOX, 
A GOOD FARM FOR NOTHING, 
Reasons lor the Decline ol 
AGRICULTURE AND FARM VALUES 
IN NEW ENGLAND. 
By Judge flott, oi tde D. S. Court ol Claims. 
In small pamphlet form. Price 1 cent per 
copy, in small or large quantities. Postage 
extra, 1 cent per five copies. 
Rural New-Yorker, New York Cily, 
