THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
528 
AGRICULTURAL DEPRESSION. 
C. 8. RICE. 
Present depression due more to increase of unnecessary 
expenses for fine houses, clothes, furniture, etc., than 
to decrease in the value of land or orovs; with infla¬ 
tion of the currency came inflation of income and 
outlay, but the former having ceased, the latter, hav¬ 
ing become a habit, continues; comparative prices of 
farm products “before the war ” and now; farm 
implements never cheaper; with economy the farm¬ 
er's lot may be a happy and fairly prosperous one. 
There are no deserted farms in this vicinity, but many 
farmers have the spirit of deserters, and are ready to join 
in the general cry about the low prices of dairy products, 
and the depreciation in value of farming lands. Perhaps 
it may be well to recall some earlier experiences, and 
inquire whether the former days were really better than 
these. 
During the war, and for years after its close, high prices 
prevailed through depreciation in the value of the paper 
money when compared with gold, the real standard. As 
no one wishes or expects a return of civil war, it would be 
useless to institute a comparison between that period and 
the present. A state of war is not a normal one, and our 
country is still suffering from its evil effects. In sympa¬ 
thy with the premium on gold, farming lauds advanced in 
price from 50 to 100 per cent., aud farmers who had pos¬ 
sessed real capital to the amount of $5,000, suddenly ad¬ 
vanced in apparent wealth to $8,000 or $L0,000. Some sold 
their farms and retired from business. Others continued 
farming and paid debts while the inflation lasted. Nearly 
all began a course of more expensive living in keeping 
with what was supposed to be greatly increased capital, 
sure to produce a corresponding increase of income. Cus¬ 
tom has with many all the force of necessity, and a return 
to the simpler ways and cheap living of former times is 
regarded as an impossibility. Through changes in the cur¬ 
rency and competition with the large amount of cheap, 
fertile, Western land lately brought under cultivation, it 
cannot be denied that farms in New York have decreased 
in value until they are now worth no more than they were 
before the war. The general wail of farmers over the low 
price of farm products, has accelerated this deprecia¬ 
tion and forced the value below reasonable limits. They 
have decried their own property by joining in the declara¬ 
tion that ‘‘farming does not pay.” It is true that if a 
man bought high-priced land several years ago, and it is 
still heavily mortgaged, his prospects are not very encour¬ 
aging ; but when there is little or no debt, a family with a 
homestead farm, fairly well situated, need not raise the 
question of value per acre. If the fertility of the soil has 
been maintained, advance or depreciation in price is of no 
great importance to the permanent owner. 
If the present is compared with a former period, the 
prices of farm products and the amount of necessary farm 
expenses are the principal items relevant to the inquiry. 
In the year 1833 the first cheese that found a market beyond 
the limits of the county was made in Lowville. It was made 
from a dairy of 15 cows and was kept through the season. 
In the fall the dairyman learned that his butter aud cheese 
could be sold for cash in Rome, 42 miles distant. He ac¬ 
cordingly loaded them into his wagon and drew them 
to that market, and there sold the butter for nine cents 
and the cheese for five cents per pound. He returned home 
so well pleased with the result of his venture that he took 
measures to increase his dairy to 30 cows for the next year. 
He was for many years a successful dairyman aud amassed 
quite a respectable fortune in the business. He and his wife 
made every dollar that they possessed by the labor of their 
own hands aud brains, and of course used good judgment 
in the management of their affairs. This fact is mentioned 
to show that the business of dairying was more promising 
than any other at that time. It is evident that if this had 
not been so, this wide-awake man would not have engaged 
in it. Farmers had tried raising peppermint and distilling 
oil from it, but after a considerable amount had been ex¬ 
pended in building stills, and one or two crops had been 
sold at a fairly remunerative price, it was found that there 
was an over-production of oil and the business was soon 
abandoned. About the time of the introduction of cheese¬ 
dairying wool was largely produced here. Large flocks of 
sheep were kept on nearly all the farms in this vicinity. 
There was no market for mutton, and as nearly all the 
sheep died a natural death, the only profit derived from 
them was from the sale of the wool. 
It is manifest that Mr. Bowen when he drew his first 
cheese to Rome and received five cents per pound for it, 
was engaged in the best paying business of that day. 
Think of this, ye discouraged dairymen of to-day 1 Five 
cents per pound for cheese after keeping it through the 
summer and drawing it 42 miles in a wagon with the mud 
in many places a foot deep, was not a very great price; 
but Levi Bowen, a man of sound sense and marked ability, 
came home from that sale with a face radiant with smiles, 
and, telling every one of his good fortune, went to his work 
with fresh courage and increased energy. From this 
small beginning cheese dairying soon grew to be the lead¬ 
ing industry of the county aud has continued to be such 
for more than 50 years. Cheese was sold for five cents in 
1833. A fair dairy of cheese was delivered at Rome in the 
year 1842 for $4.62 per cwt. In 1652 cheese sold for cents 
per pound. At no time previous to 1860 did milk manufac¬ 
tured into cheese bring better net returns than it did last 
year. Eighty cents per 100 pounds of milk was about the 
average price received by dairymen last year. This is far 
better than the average of the 20 years between 1840 and 
1860. Beef was sold from my farm last year for a higher 
price than was realized at any time before 1860, and the 
price of pork was above the average of 20 years previous to 
that date. Colts have brought 50 to 100 per cent, more 
during the last four years than at any time before the 
war. Formerly there was only a limited market for 
potatoes, and they seldom brought more than 20 or 25 
cents per bushel in Lewis County. In 1840 a good farm 
hand could be hired for eight months for $12 per month 
and in 1850 for $13, and in 1861 for $15. The same class of 
help was hired this season for an average of $18 per month. 
This is an increase of about 50 per cent, in the cost of hired 
help, but for 10 years the greater net profit on the potato 
crop alone,through better facilities for marketing the same 
has more than paid the increase. Railroad freights are 
higher than they ought to be, and farmers justly com¬ 
plain ; but potatoes raised on my farm last year brought 
20 cents per bushel more than they would if the canal were 
the only available method of transportation. Of course 
this view of the subject is wholly local and limited in its 
application; but it is a matter of experience. Hired help is 
perhaps the only item of necessary expense that costs more 
now than before the war. Coffee is higher, but it is not 
generally regarded as a necessity, and was but little used 
in former times. It is also true that whisky is more 
costly, but I am happy to know that representative farm¬ 
ers have no use for that article. 
Farmers expend more for implements than formerly; 
but tools were never so cheap as at the present time. The 
opportunity to purchase and use labor-saving implements 
and machinery is really a very great advantage enjoyed by 
the farmer of to-day. If he makes the best possible use of 
improved tools and so cares for them as to secure their 
durability, greater profit may be realized through this out¬ 
lay. If the large amount paid out for tools is a disadvan¬ 
tage to the farmer, perhaps he would better go back to the 
hand scythe, the hand rake and grain cradle, to the hand 
fork for unloading hay and the flail for thrashing grain 
and give up the use of cultivators, improved harrows, 
grain drills and the whole catalogue of implements un¬ 
known to agriculture 50 years ago. 
In this vicinity well managed farms are as productive as 
they ever have been. Prices of farm products average 
higher than they did for a period of 20 years before the 
war. Necessary farm expenses are not greater than they 
were then; but family and personal expenses are much 
larger, and herein is found the principal reason why farm¬ 
ers cannot now save moneyas they formerly did. Comfort 
seems to require that a farm house should be carpeted 
throughout; but, after all, it is a necessity only as custom 
makes it such. Formerly if there was one spare room in 
the house and that was carpeted, the requirements of cus¬ 
tom were fully met. That one carpet was usually the 
handiwork of the farmer's wife and involved no cash ex¬ 
pense except for carding the wool and buying coloring ma¬ 
terial for the yarn. Time and space forbid that I should 
more than mention the costly furniture, the splendid musi 
cal instruments, the fine carriages, sleighs and harnesses 
that illustrate a class of expenses which custom proclaims 
necessary to present farm life. While it may be neither 
desirable nor practicable for the young farmer to go back 
to the frugal habits and simple life of his father it is the 
hight of folly to let fashion dictate expenditures of the 
class above mentioned beyond what assured income war¬ 
rants. Enjoyment of life does not necessarily depend on 
these things. The universal testimony of successful and 
wealthy farmers who have become such through years of 
toil and strict economy, is that they enjoyed life as well 
during that period as subsequently when living in fine 
houses and in a far more expensive way. Farmers as a 
class are quite as well situated to enjoy life as the average 
of those engaged in other occupat ions and tneir numbers 
are such that when perfect combination is secured their 
rights will be protected and they will be able to reap 
the full benefit of their toil. Meanwhile by attending to his 
business carefully, by breeding and keeping improved 
stock, by adopting the best methods of cultivation and 
practising strict economy, the farmer may retain his home 
aud add something to his capital each year. But the 
farmer who spends his time shouting that “ farmin’ don’t 
pay,” that farms are all mortgaged, that farming land is 
not worth anything : in short, that agricultural bank¬ 
ruptcy is impending over the whole country, will probably 
succeed in making himself quite unhappy and bring about 
still further reduction in the value of his property. 
Lowville, N. Y. 
A LISTENER’S NOTES. 
Drunkenness from Coffee.— A friend who has made 
quite a study of the matter tells me that Dr. Mendel, a 
celebrated German scientist, has been making some care 
tul experiments among the workingmen in the gun fac¬ 
tories at Essen. “The people of Essen,” he says, “drink 
immense quantities of coffee, bringing the average for a 
large portion of them up to a pound a week, many men 
taking much more than that. The result is a form of neu¬ 
rosis, in which the nerves are disturbed iu a degree and 
manner approaching that which accompanies delirium 
tremens. Intoxication is followed by gloom and sleepless¬ 
ness, and about all the disorders characteristic of acute 
nervous derangement, added to a hate for work. As iu 
the use of alcohol or opium, temporary relief can be had 
by more and stronger coffee, by tinctures of coffee formed 
by crushing the berries in spirits; but the cure of a con¬ 
firmed coffee drunkard is next to unknown, unless the 
final change to pure alcoholism be counted as a cure. 
Troubles of this nature are said to be much more widely 
spread than one would think from the immediate evidence.” 
If this is the case, the lactoseriue coffee described by our 
correspondent last week will be doubly valuable. 
Paying for Pedigrees.—A friend of mine says he bought 
a dog some years ago, in the following manner: He wanted 
a first-class animal with a good pedigree. The pedigree 
was of no importance except that it indicated individual 
excellence. The dog was not to be used for breeding pur¬ 
poses at all. An animal was offered for $25 without any 
other guarantee than that it was well bred. For $50 the 
purchaser could have the dog and a certified pedigree. 
AUG. 16 
The intrinsic value of the dog was thus considered about 
half its value for breeding purposes. Now, after this ex¬ 
perience, my friend wants to buy a Jersey cow and hopes 
to practice the same plan. He wants a family cow, and 
will never think of breeding stock for sale. Naturally, he 
wants a cow with ancestors that have been successful as 
milk and butter makers. It is the old question of the 
difference between intrinsic value and breeding value. He 
expects to make a bargain with a Jersey breeder similar 
to that made with the dog-breeder. His belief is that 
many breeders of pure-bred cattle will make the distinc 
tion because they cannot sell all their cows at breeding 
prices, while it would not do to sell .choice breeding ani¬ 
mals at “ intrinsic ” prices. 
Living on Little.— Most writers on “ agricultural de¬ 
pression ” contrast the living expenses of the present 
farmer with the similar expenses incurred by his father or 
grandfather. Those of us who live near foreigners who 
run market gardens or small farms know how little is 
spent for food in these families. But even these men do 
not succeed in cutting down their family expenses as 
closely as do the lower class of French-Canadians. One 
who has made a careful study of the habits of these 
curious people furnishes the following account of their 
food and table habits: 
“The first meal of the day consists of a platter of 
skimmed and sour milk, in equal proportions, with buck¬ 
wheat bread broken and soaked in the milk. Dinner is 
served shortly before midday, the bili-of-fare comprising 
pea soup, in which pork has been boiled with green herbs. 
The pork is generally eaten with molasses. The dessert is 
a bowl of new and sour milk, mixed with the bread, as for 
the morning meal, but they add maple sugar at this re¬ 
past. All their soups, meats and stews are served in one 
large dish, a la gamelle, which is placed in the center of 
the table. They break their pieces of bread, drop them in 
the main dish, and then scoop them out with spoon or 
fork till the appetite is satisfied. This custom is called 
saucez, and the parent is heard now and then saying to a 
child whose appetite is flagging, ‘Sauce done, mon cher '— 
• Dip in, my dear.’ After dinner all take a nap, including 
the servants. Supper brings more new and sour milk, cold 
potatoes and the remains of the pork from the dinner. 
Near the coast plenty of fish is eaten. Occasionally an in¬ 
fusion of hot water and toast, under the name of coffee, is 
served. On a Sunday they enlarge their dietarv. treating 
themselves at breakfast to thick pancakes, crepes, made 
of wheaten flour and milk, cooked with butter, and eaten 
with maple sugar or molasses. Another article of indul¬ 
gence is roast pork, the drippings of which are much ap¬ 
preciated by them, aud also a stew of pigs’ feet. In sum¬ 
mer they seldom eat meat, but they use it in winter when 
game is abundant. When they kill cattle and pigs 
for market they often keep certain portions for family 
use, which they bury in the snow and dig up as wanted.” 
It will thus be seen that these people succeed admirably in 
“ living on what they cannot sell.” As railroads and 
newspapers come nearer to them, however, the young 
people become tired of this simple life and demand some¬ 
thing better. I have often wondered what such farmers 
seek as investments for their money. In my own neigh¬ 
borhood there are many Germans and Hollanders who 
make money every year. Coffee, rye bread, vegetables, 
pork and soup meats constitute their food. They are 
always well and strong, and, as a class, make money and 
save it. They do not seem inclined to invest their money 
in land, but seem to prefer to keep it in cash either at 
home or in bank. 
CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS AND STABLE 
MANURES. 
THEIR RELATION TO EACH OTHER AND TO THE SYSTEM OF 
IMPROVED AGRICULTURE, ETC. * 
W. F. TABOR. 
( Continued .) 
Is It Corn ? —What does corn require? 100 bushels of 
corn and the stalks take of potash, 180 pouuds; phos¬ 
phoric acid, 79 pounds; and of nitrogen, 81 pounds. A ton 
of stable manure supplies of potash, 10 pouuds; phos¬ 
phoric acid, 4 pounds ; aud of nitrogen, 8 pounds. There¬ 
fore it would take 18 tons of stable manure to supply the 
required amount of potash and phosphoric acid; but this 
would give an excess of 04 pounds of nitrogen. This is as¬ 
suming that all these elements are available; but they are 
not, because they will not all be rendered soluble iu the 
time required for the growth of the plant; therefore, 
nearly twice the quantity must be supplied to insure the 
growth of the plant, if the soil did not previously con¬ 
tain it. 
What Does the Potato Crop Want ?—100 bushels and 
tops take of potash, 179 pounds; phosphoric acid, 52 pounds; 
nitrogen, 22X pounds. Now if you apply stable manure to 
the potato crop in order to give sufficient potash, you will 
furnish an excess of 20 per cent, of phosphoric acid and 
over 500 per cent, of nitrogen, giving 144 pouuds, where 
only 22fi pounds are required, and the excess is not 
only lost, but the cause of a positive damage to the crop, 
producing excessive growth of tops at the expense of the 
tuber as well as liability to scab aud rot. 
Let Us Take Wheat.— Twenty-five bushels of wheat 
and the straw take of potash, 36 pounds; phosphoric acid, 
27 pounds; and of nitrogen, 52 pouuds. To supply the 
potash for this crop about four tons of stable mauure will 
be required, but this supplies only oue-fourth of the phos¬ 
phoric acid needed and but little over one-half of the 
nitrogen; therefore, to supply all the needs of the crop 
you must apply about four times the above quantity, or 
16 tons. I am buying about 250 tons of stable manure per 
year, and though I have to haul it only about oue mile, it 
costs me about $1.50 per ton, which I thiuk is as low as it 
can be obtained. (In the analysis here given it is rated at 
$2.23 per ton). 
You will remember that to grow 10J bushels of corn aud 
the stalks required 18 tons of stable mauure. Now we 
will assume that the average corn crop of D .itchess County 
is 50 bushels per acre. Two acres would, therefore, be re¬ 
quired to grow the 100 bushels of corn. Who will say t^gf 
