856 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
DEC. 13 
John Fleming, Manitoba, Canada.— In 
The Rural of October 25, Mr. H. T. Law- 
son bewails the sad lot of Canadian farm¬ 
ers since the passage of the McKinley Bill. 
“ Absolute free trade with the Americans,” 
he says, “ is the only thing that will make 
us prosperous.” He then proceeds to 
prophesy the union of the Canadian and 
American people; says that not until this is 
accomplished will this section—by which I 
presume he means Canada—be prosperous. 
According to Mr. Lawson, therefore, free 
trade is the only cure for agricultural de¬ 
pression in Canada; but there is another 
.“ only cure ” and that is annexation. 
I agree with him that free trade will go a 
long way to make us prosperous, free trade 
not only with the United States but with 
the world. If our business relations were 
extended to other countries by means of 
free trade we would not mourn so much 
the loss of one market. Protection natur¬ 
ally tends to limit our markets, and yet 
Mr. Lawson would cast in our lot with the 
United States where protection is even more 
rampant than it is in Canada and where 
manufacturers rule the country just as 
much as they do on this side. Whatever 
benefits might accrue to Canadians through 
annexation, it would never remove the 
evils that result from protection, evils from 
which Mr. L. says Canadian farmers have 
suffered so much during the last 12 years. 
The next time Mr. Lawson goes over to the 
United States and comes home feeling 100 
years behind the age, I hope he will “ get a 
move on,” and, instead of looking longingly 
across the fence at his neighbors, seek for 
some of the numerous opportunities for 
advancement, which are to be found at 
home. Good farming pays here as well as 
in the States, and Canadian farmers gener¬ 
ally are as prosperous as their brethren 
across the line. Annexation may be, as Mr. 
L. thinks it is, in the near future, and it 
may have benefits in store for both coun¬ 
tries ; but if it comes as a consequence of 
the McKinley Bill I am afraid farmers on 
either side of the line will not reap many 
advantages from it. 
Horsford’s Mammoth Grape. 
E. Williams, Essex Co., N. J.—That 
picture of Horsford’s Mammoth Grane in 
The Rural of November 1, is a beauty, 
and as soon as it met my eye I sought the 
text regarding it on page 739, and read it 
with interest. The account of its origin is 
novel, to say the least—I might say too in¬ 
credible for belief; but the illustration and 
the statement that vines produced from it 
retain its original characteristics are suf¬ 
ficient evidence of its distinctness. But I 
fail to see wherein the editor can perceive any 
resemblance between it and the Eaton save 
in the size and quality of the berries. Did 
he ever see a cluster of the Eaton or Con¬ 
cord that resembled this? Presuming that 
the specimen illustrated represents a typi¬ 
cal bunch as there were several others to 
select from, I must say that it differs in 
form and shape from any Eaton or Con¬ 
cord I ever saw. The editor says it has 
more acidity than the Concord. That asser¬ 
tion seems to fit the Eaton as I have tasted 
it; but I have to suspend judgment in this 
respect till I can sample some of my own 
growth. The fact that these grapes reached 
The Rural office in good condition shows 
that it possesses carrying qualities that the 
Concord or Worden does not—an important 
item in a market grape—and if it does well 
elsewhere there will be room for it. 
R. N. Y.—It occurred to us that two vines 
might have been planted for one and that 
the weaker vine grew between the stronger 
canes of the other. Yes, we have raised 
Eatons closely resembling the picture. In 
quality, size and color, it would be difficult 
to distinguish one from the other. 
A Barrel of Cider Will “ Work” Like 
a Slave. 
E. W. Russell, Stafford County, N.H. 
—A short time ago The Rural was asked 
how to make sour cider sweet. I shoulu 
have told the inquirer to let the grocer have 
it for vinegar in exchange for sugar and 
molasses, because It Is worth more for that 
purpose than for drink, and I presume that 
the party wanted it sweetened in order 
that it could be used as a beverage, as I 
know of no other use for cider. Altogether 
too much cider for their good is drunk by 
the farmers. I think that in proportion to 
the population there is more drunkenness 
in the country than in the city. I have 
lived in both places. Many a country boy 
learns to drink intoxicating liquors by bo¬ 
ginning with sweet cider. I have seen it 
stated that if a boy begins to drink from a 
barrel of sweet cider, and takes a drink from 
the same barrel every day as long as it lasts, 
he will not notice the change in its contents, 
but will get to like the hard cider which 
he could not have drunk when ho began. 
Last week, one cold, rainy day, I saw a 
strong, able-bodied man picking up apples 
to be taken to the mill to be made into 
cider for drinking purposes. This man lets 
his grass stand until it is dry before he cuts 
it, and then lets it lie in bunches until some 
of it is rotten. His potato field resembles 
a birch hoop-pole lot, as the weeds are so 
large, being higher than a man’s head. He 
had a good farm and might have been in 
good circumstances, but is about out-of- 
doors. There are other instances like this, 
and so I think the cider mill is a great in¬ 
jury to many in country districts. A great 
many think they cannot do their haying 
without potations of cider, and I know 
some who do very little with them. Apples 
make good food for cows and hogs, and it 
would be better to feed them out, or even 
let them rot on the ground, than to convert 
them into cider and get drunk on it. Al¬ 
ways a total abstainer, I see enough every 
day to convince me that there is need that 
something should be done to restrict the 
manufacture and sale of strong drink, and 
I think there is a chance for the Grange to 
do a good work In this line. 
Going Back to the Farm. 
S. W. Cox, Livingston County, N. Y.— 
The Rural asks for the opinions of its 
readers on the questions asked by H. S. R., 
Brooklyn, N. Y., with regard to a city 
clerk’s going from office work to gardening. 
I would like to give the young man a little 
advice on one point. Prices of small fruits 
and vegetables are almost always higher 
near small towns than in the large East¬ 
ern cities and land not nearly so high- 
priced. In addition to what is under cul¬ 
tivation a man should have a few acres in 
sod for rotation to succeed well in garden¬ 
ing. I agree with the farmer whose note 
is published on page 760, that there never 
was a better time to buy a farm and home, 
and Western New York is full of cheap 
farms where a small farmer can get more 
for a great many kinds of produce than in 
the Metropolis. There are no secrets 
among farmers in regard to the ways of do¬ 
ing work. A man can soon learn if willing 
and in earnest. 
Potatoes “ Running Out.” 
A. Donald, Chemung County, N. Y.— 
N. H. T., of Jamestown, N. Y., on page 
757, asks whether potatoes will run out. 
The answer is, “ No, if the seed is properly 
selected.” Some may ask: “ What is prop¬ 
erly selected seed ?” Here is my mode of 
selecting it so as to keep it up to a high 
standard of quality, and by this practice I 
believe the quality may be improved and 
kept good for all time. First, I take good, 
sound potatoes and cut off one or two cut¬ 
tings from the butt or stem end, leaving 
one to two eyes in each piece. These I keep 
and plant in rows by themselves and each 
year take my seed from the potatoes grown 
from those butt end seeds, and I am satis¬ 
fied that the potatoes will not run out, but, 
instead, will be of better quality each year. 
I have received many compliments on the 
good quality of my potatoes and have 
sold them at 10 cents per bushel above all 
others in the same market. 
Avoid Rickety Fodder Ricks. 
A. G. Sturdevant, Kent County, 
Delaware. —A great many of our farmers 
find it difficult to make corn fodder keep 
properly in ricks; yet fodder can be kept 
from one year’s end to another’s if the rick 
is properly built. First make a foundation 
of rails or other material to keep the fodder 
off the ground ; then start a section 20 or 
30 feet long on one side; lay a row of 
bundles the length of the section, then act 
with regard to the other side in the same 
way. Let the bundles lap at least to the 
band. The great fault with most people’s 
ricks that don’t keep is that they are too 
wide. After making every second or third 
layer all round, lay a row down the middle. 
This will keep the center the highest. Run 
the rick up straight till it is about six feet 
high ; then begin to draw it in, so that by 
the time the desired height is reached it will 
be but a little wider than one bundle; then 
start the cap: commencing at one end, lay 
two bundles side by side, butts out; then 
one on top of the two. These are, of course, 
to be laid in the center lengthways down 
the rick. This will leave a space of about 
two feet on each side; then lean a bundle 
up on one side with the butt in the space 
left on the outside of the center ones ; bend 
the tops down towards the center ; put one 
opposite it on the other side in the same 
manner; settle them firmly. This forms a 
complete rain-shed. Proceed the whole 
length of the rick in this manner, and if 
you take pains to crowd the bundles to¬ 
gether and bend the tops in and the center 
is high enough, so that after the rick has 
settled all the butts drop a little, no storm 
will ever damage it, and the advantage 
over stacking is that but a small surface is 
broken at a time and the feed is always 
dry. I would prefer fodder in ricks to that 
under shelter, as it remains more crisp and 
is relished better by stock. 
Cut Down More Forests! 
J. R., Franklin, N. J.-We have read a 
good deal of late years about the rainfall 
having been diminished by the cutting 
down of forests; but the exceedingly wet 
seasons we have been having of late, make 
some of ns think it would be well if some 
more of the forest trees were cut down. [It 
is now generally conceded that the cutting 
down of forest trees has little or no influ¬ 
ence on the amount of rainfall; but the 
precipitation escapes much more rapidly 
by drainage and evaporation from a tree 
denuded section than from one covered 
with timber.— Eds.] My fine crop of pota¬ 
toes is being destroyed in part by rot, ow¬ 
ing to the excessively wet weather. In 
fact, we are late in securing the crop, as 
the ground is much of the time too wet, 
but pastures and meadows are fine. Some 
farmers, fearing potatoes would not keep 
well, have hurried them into market; this 
prevents high prices. Good, sound pota¬ 
toes must be dear next spring. Hay also, 
if we have a severe winter, will not be very 
low, because corn and, still more, oats, are 
poor crops—oats were so very cheap last 
year that they were fed instead of hay 
(Continued on next page.) 
Pisr-cmiMeous % dvertitfittg. 
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