i89o 
863 
THE RURAL 1EW-Y0RRER. 
Business. 
HAVE YOU MADE YOUR WILL? 
T. B. TERRY. 
In going around to the institutes I get acquainted with 
many farmers, and sometimes with their wives and fam¬ 
ilies. Three or four times during the past eight or ten 
years 1 have gone home with a certain aged but progressive 
tiller of the soil, whose name, for obvious reasons, cannot 
be given. To-day, while in the town, I found that this old 
friend had passed away, and met once more the now sor¬ 
rowful widow, herself over 70 years old. I think I violate 
no confidence in telling her sad story. She is too good a 
woman not to wish it known, if it may help others, even if 
it does reveal private sorrows. 
Forty-eight years ago they were married. Neither of 
them had any property, except strong hands and a willing 
heart. Little by little they got ahead, and although they 
raised a family of eight children, the man died owning 
a medium-sized farm, with the stock and tools, and no 
debts to speak of. Most of the children have left home and 
been helped to a start in the world by their father. At 
least half of them are well to do. The man was good and 
kind ; but I do not think that Mary was much of a “ part¬ 
ner.” With tears in her eyes (and in mine, too), she told 
me to-day how she had urged him to make a will to pro¬ 
tect her if she survived him ; but he always put her off 
with some excuse. 
“And now,” she says, “the children have had an ad¬ 
ministrator appointed, and this property that I have 
worked nearly half a century to help accumulate, will 
largely go to them. The appraisers have set me off a sewing 
machine, a stove and bed, a cow, some books, a small part of 
my furniture, a little money to keep me for a year, and 
they tell me that I will have half of the first $400 that the 
personal property sells for and one-third of the remainder, 
and the use only during my life-time of one third of the 
real estate. The rest of what belongs to me is forcibly 
taken away by man’s law. Should I be helpless for years, 
as I am almost now, what misery and privations must I 
undergo, being under no circumstances allowed'to use 
a dollar of the value of our farm, and having only the 
use of one-third of it. Would to God that I might die to¬ 
day ! I have worked hard and faithfully for 48 years, and 
now, because I was born a woman, I am denied the com¬ 
forts that what I have honestly earned might give in my 
last days. But I must live and see others take my things 
and my money and my land. I pray God to help me not to 
think too hardly of my fellow men; but some way He 
doesn’t seem to help me so that I can forget this terrible 
injustice.” 
Now, my old friend, who reads this, aren’t you glad this 
is not your wife ? But have you fixed it so that she will 
not be in the same condition if you should die suddenly? If 
you have not, let me beg of you not to rest until you have. 
There are doubtless hundreds of readers of The Rural 
who seethe simple justice of making “ Mary” a full part¬ 
ner; but if they should die to-night they would leave the 
law, which isn’tyet educated up to full righteousness and 
justice, to deprive their dear Mary of part of what she 
ought to have. 
I feel perfectly certain that if I could have quietly talked 
the matter over with my dear old friend here, who has 
passed away, I could have induced him to will all their 
property to his wife until she should be through with this 
world. He was an honest, just man; but he had not 
thought particularly on this point, and had drifted along 
on the common current. It is too late to help now in this 
individual case, unless perchance some of the sons or 
daughters should see this paper (if they do may God 
put it in their hearts not to touch a dollar of that property 
until mother has gone, unless she gives it to them!); but 
some way I could not go to bed to-night until I had 
made this appeal to you, dear friend, so strongly has 
this case worked on my feelings. Can a Christian 
man, a loving husband, or, if you will, a man, 
who simply is ruled by strict justice, do less than 
see to it that his partner has absolutely in case of his 
death, as her own, one-half of all the property, both real 
and personal, that they have together accumulated ? 
Theu is it any more than right that she should have at 
least the use of his half (personally, I go farther ; my part¬ 
ner must have every thing unconditionally until ^he is 
through with it), if she desires, during her life ? Some 
answer that she might marry again and wrong the chil¬ 
dren, etc. Oh 1 you superior beings No danger of your 
going astray, I suppose ? As far as her half is concerned, 
she has a right to do as she may please with it, any way; 
but does not your heart tell you that the mothers of this 
land can be trusted even farther than the fathers ? Be 
full partners while you both live. When one goes before, 
let the other, no matter which, take all, and help the chil¬ 
dren to the extent of his or her means, and of their needs. 
You can not be full partners and do less. Y r ou can not be 
full partners now, in life, if matters are so arranged that 
if the wife dies the husband has all; but if the husband 
dies the wife has but a small part. It is absurd to think 
it. You haven’t been fully converted. You haven’t got 
the old heathenish curse against women entirely out of 
your heads. You are just playing, “ Mary is my partner;” 
In reality, down in your hearts, each of you is the head of 
the firm. Away with such nonsense 1 Love your wife, as 
well as your neighbor, as yourself. Don’t forget. Make 
your will to-day, and mas* it so you can stand fearless te- 
fore a righteous Creator. 
One Finger Mittens.—The Rural New-Yorker uses 
these mittens and finds them warm and handy. The fore¬ 
finger of the hand is free, thus enabling the wearer to pick 
up a nail or even a pin, while the main part of the mitten 
is large enough to warm the whole hand. 
New* Outlet for Potatoes.— The Farming World of 
Scotland quotes the following from a correspondent of the 
Oban Telegraph : “ When we called at Bordeaux and after¬ 
wards at Lisbon, we were struck with the very large ex¬ 
port of potatoes to South America, principally to Rio, but 
also as far South as Buenos Ayres. At Rio I made inquiry 
and found that they were then selling as high as $80 per 
ton—rather higher than usual. These potatoes were packed 
as carefully as oranges, in boxes very like the ordinary 
orange ones, so there must be a good deal of careful hand¬ 
ling in the trade. But $80 a ton leaves a good margin for 
trouble in handling, and I see no reason why we in Great 
Britain should not compete. It is probably an affair of 
the potato merchant more than of the potato farmer, be¬ 
cause much would depend upon the condition of the tuber, 
its dryness, and its freedom from even the slightest in¬ 
jury.” It is not likely that any great amount of potatoes 
can be sold in South American cities; the lesson for our 
growers to learn is that quality and careful sorting and 
packing will pay well. This applies with special force to 
the Eastern farmer whose market is close at hand. He 
cannot possibly compete with the great Western potato 
fields in the cost of growing a bushel of potatoes—but he 
can beat them out of sight on quality and attractive dis¬ 
play. By using chemical fertilizers on high, well drained 
soil, and planting varieties that are known to be dry and 
“ mealy,” a special trade can be developed. It is a fact 
that a man who will pick out shapely potatoes, all of a 
size, and pack them as carefully as oranges are packed can 
find customers to pay him a profit on his labor. 
Steaming Value Into Hay.— We have several times 
discussed the economy of steaming stock food, and have 
always concluded that the chief value of the steaming 
Part of an Ear of Rural Thoroughbred Flint Corn, 
Showing the Cob. A detached Kernel to 
the left. See page 853. 
came from the fact that it enabled the feeder to make use 
of coarse or rough food which could not be made palatable 
in any other way. We have frequently asked this question: 
“ If we should cut dry corn fodder into an air-tight silo 
and then thoroughly steam it, in what respect would it be 
inferior to good ensilage ?” Nobody seems able to answer 
because nobody has tried it. The nearest answer is the 
following from the English Mark Lane Express: “ A 
gentleman farming some of the cold land in the north of 
Bedfordshire had a large amount of very poor, coarse 
hay mixed with a great deal of rough stuff. He got a six- 
knife chaff cutter and cut up the whole of the rubbish, 
which took six days’ hard work. As the chaff was cut 
it was conveyed to a barn,and trampled in as firmly as pos¬ 
sible by two horses, which were kept constantly on the 
move. When the whole was cut the eight-horse engine 
was connected with some tubes which had been laid under 
the barn, and for two days steam was forced into the mass 
at a pressure of 60 pounds. Of course the consumption of 
coal was fairly heavy, being somewhat greater than while 
driving the chaff-cutter. A strong fermentation was set 
up, and for a time the barn,which, a little unwisely for an 
experiment, was a wooden one, appeared to be in danger, 
for the heat was very great, and the pressure from the 
treading made the boards bulge; but nothing further hap¬ 
pened, and this mass of chaffed hay, considerably more 
than 100 tons, is now from top to bottom of a uniform 
cherry-red, and smells as sweet as new mown hay—in fact 
sweeter. There is not a particle of mold anywhere, the 
sweet chaff coming right to the surface, which seems rather 
astonishing after experiences with ensilage, which almost 
invariably settles with a layer of mold near the surface. 
The practical result is that these 100 tons of stuff which 
was totally unsalable are converted into a very valuable 
food, for which the owner has refused $17 per ton, which 
price may be looked upon as a very satisfactory and profit¬ 
able return for the pluck and skill expended on it. The 
country contains thousands of tons of poor stuff which 
might be made equally valuable. But those who do it 
should do it In brick barns to save all risks.” 
TWO NEW PATENTS. 
Cattle Shed and Rack. —An Iowa man has secured a 
patent on the building shown at Fig. 416, It consists of an 
ordinary shed or light barn, with a drive-way through the 
center and a bay on each side. Along the sides are open 
racks with hinged wooden shutters reaching half way 
down to the ground. The racks are hinged at the bottom 
so that they may be let down, the shutters forming a cover 
Combined Cattle Shed and Rack. Fig. 416. 
or roof, as shown in the illustration. Hay can then be 
thrown into this rack from the mow and the stock are at 
liberty to eat it. This might answer well for some locali¬ 
ties ; but we fail to see why a patent should be granted for 
it. Any good carpenter can make it. Why should the 
public be forced to pay for the picayune amount of inge¬ 
nuity displayed in its “ invention,” or for the effrontery of 
the man who patented it ? 
A Kettle Lifter. —Some Western genius has devised 
the attachment shown at Figure 417, for the benefit of 
weak-backed housewives, and our protecting government 
has granted him a patent on it. The thing is simple 
enough. Three stout iron rods are fastened to the stove 
and connected above, as shown. A stout rod with a 
wooden handle and a hook is fastened to the front rod and 
Kettle Lifter. Figure 417. 
in the back rod there’s a catch in which it may rest. To 
move a kettle from one hole to another, the cook takes 
hold of the wooden handle, catches the hook in the bail of 
the kettle or pot and swings it around to the front or the 
back of the fire. 
IMPLEMENT NOTES. 
Homemade Water-works. —Hoard’s Dairyman de¬ 
scribes the following original method of watering cows in 
the stable. “Mr. A. D. Faville invented the system of 
watering his cows in the stanchions, which was adopted 
very largely by all the dairy farmers of his immediate 
neighborhood. In building a new cow barn he dug a well 
at one end and placed a windmill on top of the barn. He 
then placed two large water tanks at the end of each row 
of cows, 60 in all. The feeding trough in front of the cows 
was made of grout, and in the bottom of the same was a 
small channel for the passage of water, each channel hav¬ 
ing a slight decline to insure a flow, and emptying into a 
dry well at the lower end. When ready to water the cows, 
a man would pass along in front of them and sweep out 
the chaff and refuse. He would then raise a stop-cock at 
the tank and the water would flow along in front of each 
cow and each would drink all she wanted without fear of her 
neighbor or the boss cow. When the water was thorough¬ 
ly warmed in their bodies the cows were turned out if the 
weather was fair. After adopting this improvement, Mr. 
Faville discovered a marked saving in the consumption of 
hay and an increase in the production of milk. He also 
found that it greatly promoted the health and vigor of his 
cows, and so he made money by the use of thought and 
dairy skilL” 
Small Thrasher Wanted. —On page 761 is presented a 
cut of a foot power thrasher. As such a machine would 
be very convenient in experimental work, we desire to 
look into the matter. What is the address of parties who 
advertise it f j. f. d. 
Clemson Agricultural College, South Carolina. 
R. N.-Y.—The machine is made in Scotland for use 
among the smaller Scotch farmers. It is not yet made in 
this country, so far as we know. It is doubtful if a suffi¬ 
cient trade could be established in it to warrant any 
manufacturer in making a large quantity. It could 
doubtless be made to order by any good mechanic. 
The Indiana Farmers’ Alliance has adopted resolutions 
opposing the liquor traffic, demanding a bimetallic system 
of coinage, opposing private pension legislation, demand¬ 
ing government control of transportation, and that gam¬ 
bling in food products be made a criminal offence. 
The organization also changed its constitution, making 
negroes eligible to membership. 
