648 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
SEPT. 27 
results. Pruning of all plants except the grape had better 
t)e deferred until late winter or early spring, although the 
old raspberry and blackberry canes can be removed at any 
time during the winter; but one should not cut back the 
bearing canes until just before the new growth starts, 
otherwise the spring winds will dry and injure the freshly 
cut, pithy canes. 
A very important job for early winter is to secure all 
young fruit trees against damage from mice and rabbits. 
(By the way, ought not fruit growers to ask the repeal of 
the law prohibiting the hunting of rabbits with ferrets ?) 
I have protected my trees cheaply and efficiently by bank¬ 
ing. Just before the ground freezes make a smooth, conical 
mound of mellow soil eight or 10 inches high around the 
trunk of the tree. A carbolic acid preventive has always 
proved effective: with one ounce of carbolic acid (crude 
will answer) mix one gallon of strong soap suds and dilute 
with three or four gallons of water; apply with a swab to 
the trunk of the tree. Where carefully applied this has stood 
the severest tests without a failure, although I have never 
applied it oftener than once in the season. In a wet, open 
winter it would be safer to repeat the application about 
midwinter. Of course the horticulturist will secure a 
full supply of posts, stakes, crates, boxes, etc., for the ap¬ 
proaching season and also select and order his trees, plants, 
seeds, etc., in good time. He should keep as many of his 
best men as he can find employment for, even if he has to 
spend a part of his own time in studying and planning or 
visiting his friends. He may find that he has gained even 
in dollars and cents by so doing, besides the benefit con¬ 
ferred on the hired man and on himself in other ways. He 
must combine head-work with hand-work. Let him attend 
his farmers’ institutes and county horticultural meetings. 
If there is none why not organize one ? 
VERMONT FARM NOTES. 
Low Pricks in Farm Produce.— The relation of de¬ 
mand and supply is the great factor that governs prices. 
An over-supply sends them down ; while a short supply 
sends them up. It is so in all things. If in a city there 
are tenements for 100 families, and there are just that 
number, they rent at fair prices. If there are 125 families 
and only 100 tenements the landlord is enabled to rent at 
better prices. So it is with farm produce—with a short 
supply prices go up, and with surplus they go down, often 
even below the cost of production. 
Scratches in Horses.— Years ago I had a horse affected 
by scratches. I tried many recommended remedies with¬ 
out success. Knowing from experience that pine tar 
would cure chapped hands, I applied it to the cracked and 
sore parts, and only three applications were necessary to 
effect a complete cure. Since then I have several times 
applied it with equally good results. It softens the dis¬ 
eased parts and keeps out moisture and dirt. I do not 
want a better remedy, and were I to add anything to it in 
obstinate cases, it would be a very little pulverized blue 
vitriol. 
Colic in Horses.—I have given one-half fluid ounce of 
tincture of arnica in one pint of water and the cure was in¬ 
stantaneous. I have used it only twice. The first time 
the horse had rolled and thrashed about for 20 hours, and 
in two minutes after it had been administered he got up 
and began to eat, and gave no more signs of pain. The 
other dose proved equally salutary. 
Pruning an Apple Orchard.— I pruned my 30-acre 
apple orchard in March and April, before the sap began to 
run, or the buds to swell. I did not cover the wounds with 
any dressing. They healed without decay and the trees 
remained healthy. 
Digging Potatoes by Machinery.— The farmers will 
not be satisfied until a machine is made that will dig the 
potatoes clean, and shake them from the soil into an ele¬ 
vator that will deliver them in bags. Such is the future 
of the potato harvester. Why not f The plow can deliver 
them to a sieve where they are shaken free from the soil, 
and from this they go to an elevator to be sorted and 
bagged. L. H. SPEAR. 
Orange County._ 
LETTER FROM BAVARIA, GERMANY. 
The following letter, dated early last month, was written 
to a friend in Illinois by an educated gentleman familiar 
with Western agriculture, who is a politician of more than 
local reputation: 
‘•This country is virtually a garden, that is, in cultiva¬ 
tion; but the soil is very poor; much of it naturally so ; 
some, no doubt, made so by careless cultivation. Much 
time is lost in going to and from the fields, as all the 
people live in villages huddled close together. The family 
live in one end of the house, the goats, sheep, hogs an a 
poultry in the other, where smaller animals do not have 
the entr6e of the living-rooms. The principal ornament of 
the front yard is the manure heap. In and upon this c-xl 
the leaves, sweepings, night-soil, water, etc., are placed 
and worked over; the droppings from passing teams are 
swept up, and, in fact, the manure pile is the most valu¬ 
able thing on the place. Generally each little house has a 
small garden and there may be a half dozen trees, con¬ 
sisting of plum, cherry, pear and apple ; but no space is 
devoted to shade trees—they produce nothing. All trees 
have a stunted appearance. There is no such luxuriant 
growth as in the United States, and the bodies are covered 
on the north side with moss. Weeds do not grow with the 
same luxuriance as with you ; if they did the people would 
be ruined. Daisies grow almost everywhere, and often 
destroy the pastures. I saw in Bohemia the genuine 
Canada Thistle and May-weed. Dandelions are very 
abundant and the Sour Dock and Burdock are also here. 
I presume with you both wheat and oats are already in the 
stack or thrashed ; here they are standing uncut in the 
fields and not ripe. So far I have not seen a reaper or 
mower at work; but did see, a few miles west, a field of 
rye that had evidently been cut by a reaper. There were 
ripe fields for miles and miles, but though I strained my 
eyes looking for the machine it was not in sight. 
There is about as much discussion in this country over 
the tariff as there is at home. The city people object to 
paying a duty on grain, flour, meat; and the farmers ob¬ 
ject to coming into competition with America, India, 
Russia, Austria and Bulgaria. Russia stands ready to 
supply Germany with all the wheat, rye and whisky it 
needs, and Bulgaria furnishes an unlimited supply of cat 
tie and hogs, but the duty makes it practically impossible 
to import them. Pork is the dearest article of meat, and 
costs—so the girl who buys for the house tells me—90 pfen- 
nige a pound—22% cents, and the government is discussing 
the question of raising the price four pfennige. While the 
price of labor is very low here, in Russia and Austria it is 
much lower; common day labor here, the cheapest of all, 
averages about 40 cents for men and 23 to.25 cents for women. 
Skilled labor, such as that of carpenters, painters, cabinet¬ 
makers, molders, etc., never exceeds 90 cents a day and does 
not average more than 60 cents for from 12 to 14 hours’ work. 
In Russia and Austria one can divide this by two and then it 
will be more than the average. Women’s work is what 
keeps the price so low. A woman will do as much as a man 
in the field, or in »hoveling coal, unloading boats, etc., and 
will work for half of a man’s wages. House help is very 
cheap. The girl who does the work where I am now stay¬ 
ing, gets 30 marks and board for three months, or less than 
$7.50. In Furth, I inquired for a first-class girl, and was 
told plenty could be had for 80 marks a year, or $20. 
All the prices for labor above given are in full for board, 
none except house servants getting board, and they have a 
poorer quality of food than the master. Meat may be 
served on the latter’s table twice a day; the servants get 
it twice a week. All food is kept locked up so that the 
servants may not eat too much. We read of such things 
in English works, and I find that such is the fact in every 
house here. The mistress or housekeeper has the keys 
and, as anything is wanted, one or the other deals it out. 
Breakfast here in the best circles means rye bread and but¬ 
ter and coffee. We have made an innovation and insist 
on wheat bread, butter, eggs and coffee. No butter is eaten 
with a meal when there is meat, and we astonish, yes, 
nearly paralyze the waiters by asking for butter when we 
have meat. Americans are regarded as eccentric, and so 
can have anything they pay for. If our people lived as 
Germans do, we would have no poor. We have, however, 
been too much used to pampering our stomachs to deny 
our appetites anything. 
Regarding the question of “protection,” I am more 
radical than ever. On everything that can be made at 
home I would place a duty so high that foreigners could 
not import their goods ; in anything that we cannot grow 
or manufacture I would have absolute free trade, or a 
duty for revenue only. I am more and more in favor of 
America for Americans, and would have a national law 
requiring all children to attend an English or public 
school until they could pass a certain examination, before 
they should be permitted to attend a private school or 
study any foreign language. This is radical, but if foreign¬ 
ers do not like such laws they would have a perfect right 
to return whence they came, or stay there. No nonsense 
regarding the teaching of foreign languages is tolerated 
here ; they even change the language of a whole nation, as 
in the two French provinces and in Poland; they even pro¬ 
hibit the transaction of business in Polish, in order to 
lose the language. The Poles are a sort of Dutch-Irish and 
hard to manage, but they are bound to cram German into 
them, and they may as well take it willingly, for it is 
going in. 
Speaking of ice, it is not in very general use here. If you 
want it at the large hotels, they bring it broken in small 
pieces, say, a pound in a dish, and charge five cents. Ice- 
water is not drunk at all; in fact, water of any kind is sel¬ 
dom touched; beer is everywhere, and about as nasty, as 
can be made. The beer in American saloons is much 
better, and the Milwaukee beer commands a premium in 
Hamburg where it is sold. When ice is delivered at the 
house it is in a pail and always in small chunks, weighing 
a pound or so each. People never heard of a saw for cut¬ 
ting it. Alfalfa grows up to the tops of the mountains. 
The second crop is now about 16 inches high. It is fed 
green a good deal, and some corn is also sown for 
green fodder. Red Clover is not very abundant, and the 
only Timothy I have seen was at Carlsbad, where a few 
heads grew beside an old wall. The fruit crop here is a 
failure this year, and a worm called the * Nun,’ but whose 
entomological name I do not know, is doing damage to all 
kinds of trees, including the pines.” 
IVomans IVork. 
A PROFESSION WHICH PAYS. 
T HE best answer to the oft-reiterated question as to 
what occupations are most remunerative for women 
is to point the inquirers—that is, a certain class of them— 
in the direction of the various training schools for nurses. 
We say “ a certain class of them ” advisedly; for the de¬ 
mands upon a nurse are constant and exacting, as regards 
time, strength, sympathy, and, most wearing of all, nerv¬ 
ous force. A wise physician, addressing a class of them 
about to be graduated, made the statement that, “the 
ideal nurse is the ideal woman.” Ideal, in many respects, 
she must be as a woman; for unless her strength of mind, 
her patience, her health, are perfect, she cannot make a 
perfect nurse. An examination into the workings of one 
or two traiuiug schools near us will perhaps give our readers 
as good an idea of their general requirements and benefits 
as can be gained without a personal visit. The first which we 
shall study is the one attached to the Buffalo General Hos¬ 
pital. This school, being hampered by lack of funds, is 
very limited in its scope, having accommodation for less 
than 30 pupils. According to its report for 1889, at its 
eleventh annual commencement, held in June of that year, 
it graduated a class of 11 nurses, five of whom were of the 
January and six of the July class. During the year it had 
received 164 applications. Of these 23 were accepted on 
probation, of whom 13 were retained and enrolled as junior 
nurses, this being the title given to those in their first 
year of study and practice. The senior nurses are those 
taking the second year’s course. The probation in this insti¬ 
tution is two-fold ; during the first period, of one month, 
the pupil receives board and laundry work, but no allow¬ 
ance for wages; at the end of this time, she is entered as 
junior nurse, but is required to serve two months more 
before her contract is signed. She must wear the uniform, 
and submit to the rules, and when she is not studying or 
attending lectures, she must be on duty, or her allowance 
ceases. This allowance is $9 a month for junior nurses, 
and $12 a month for seniors, while board, lodging and 
laundry work are free. She receives two dresses and four 
aprons upon entering, and a cap every month. She has 
gratuitous care in sickness, and a vacation of two weeks 
during the year. 
The requirements are very sensible, though severe. They 
consist of an ordinary, common Bchool education, good 
moral character, perfect health, suitable age (22 to 35), and 
“ suitable mental and physical capacity ” for future duties. 
The pupil must do outside nursiug in families whenever 
required, and she may be suspended or dismissed if she 
does not obey the rules. She must also have three examina¬ 
tions during the course with a standing of 70 per cent. 
Pupils are received during January and July, and at other 
times if there are vacancies to be filled. 
The other school to which we shall refer is the Training 
School for Nurses, attached to Bellevue Hospital, In New 
York City. Its capacity is considerably larger than that 
of the Buffalo institution, it having sent out 400 gradu¬ 
ates since its managers organized it, 16 years ago, “ with 
the express intention of creating a new profession for edu¬ 
cated women.” It has had, at times, an income as high as 
$8,000 a year from the services of those yet under its 
tuition, but of late all its force is needed in the regular 
hospital work. One fourth of its graduates hold high po¬ 
sitions in other schools, as head nurses, superintendents, 
etc. Its graduates for 1889 numbered 27 ; its applicants for 
1890, 1,306. As can be readily seen, the sifting is severe. 
Of this large number of applicants—many of whom no 
doubt had not a single qualification for the position they 
aspired to—355 only obtained a personal interview with the 
superintendent; 40 were received, and the month’s proba¬ 
tion sifted out nine more, leaving 31 to be enrolled. The 
preferred age is from 25 to 35. The applicant must have 
the testimony of a clergyman as to good moral character, 
and of a physician as to sound health, and must also take 
an examination in reading, penmanship, simple arithme¬ 
tic, and English dictation. Other things being equal, 
women of superior education and culture are preferred 
to those less accomplished. Pupils are boarded and 
lodged during probation, and, if accepted, they re¬ 
ceive $7 a month for the first year, and $12 a month for the 
second year. This same is not considered as wages, being 
allowed to cover expenses for dress, text-books, and the 
like. When on duty, the uniform, which consists of a 
simple blue and white seersucker dress, a white apron and 
cap and a linen collar, is worn. Vacation is the same as 
at Buffalo, and an hour for dinner and additional time for 
exercise and rest are allowed, besides half of Sunday, and 
an occasional week-day afternoon. When the course is 
completed, the nurse can choose her own work, in hos¬ 
pitals, as private nurse, or as district nurse. The Bellevue 
school provides for the future of its graduates by keeping 
a register of all who are willing to pay the fee of $10 per 
year. They work at a fixed compensation of $20 a week 
($25 in contagious cases) unless by special arrangement for 
a lower rate, and under rules which protect them from 
imposition through the arrogant or thoughtless cruelty of 
employers. Both employers and employed report in every 
case to the head institution, and thus a full record of the 
most reliable and satisfactory work is always at hand. 
Fully one-fourth of its graduates are registered, and of 
the later classes, notably the last three, nearly all are 
private nurses in the city of New York, while many of 
those four or five years back, are gradually working up to 
higher positions and still greater responsibility. 
It will be seen, from the above resumd, that this is one 
of the few professions which fully support their members 
during their course of study and preparation. This will 
commend it to the many who are not equal to self-support 
while qualifying for a life-work. Further information 
can be obtained from any school by sending a stamp for 
its report, or through correspondence. The institutions 
under consideration may be reached by addressing “ The 
Training-school for Nurses, Buffalo General Hospital;” 
or “The Society of the Training-school for Nurses, 426 
E. 26th Street, New York City.” 
lUi.orcUanmt.o' gUvmisinfl. 
In writing to advertisers, please mention The R. N.-Y. 
When Baby was nick, we gave her Castorla, 
When she was a Child, she cried for Castoria, 
When she became Jllss, she clung to Caatorlu, 
When she had Children, she guvetheiu Caatorlu. 
