1890 
883 
INTERESTING ITEMS. 
Here are a few domestic gleanings of inter¬ 
est from the weekly history of the worldj: 
In Congress debate on the Federal Elec¬ 
tion Bill has been in progress during the 
week. Senator Quay now wants to intro¬ 
duce a new one. There is a growing im¬ 
pression, especially among its opponents, 
that the vigorous protest rf the Farmers’ 
Alliance against it is likely to kill it in the 
Senate, although President Harrison is 
said to have made a personal appeal to 
Republican Senators to pass it on the 
ground that the party leaders are pledged 
to it. 
A list of the next House of Representa¬ 
tives shows a Democratic pluralty of 146 
over the Republicans. Only eight members 
are mentioned as Alliance men; but over 40 
more are counted with the Democrats. 
The House Committee on the subject has 
agreed on a bill to regulate immigration, 
mostly on the lines of the Lodge Bill lately 
described in The Rural. 
Six different bills in favor of the free coin¬ 
age of silver have been introduced in the 
House—four the first day of the session. 
Senator Plumb, of Kansas, who is fast be¬ 
coming a prominent Republican leader, has 
introduced a similar bill in the Senate. 
After nearly a week’s session the Farm¬ 
ers' Alliance convention, at Oc ala, -Ffarr 
completed its work Monday night and ad¬ 
journed. The St. Louis platform was 
unanimously adopted with amendments. 
The Sub Treasury scheme is not a part of 
the amended platform. Among other 
things it provides for the free coinage of 
silver and expansion of the currency by the 
issue of Treasury notes direct ly to the people 
without the intervention of banks, in suffi¬ 
cient volume to meet the business require¬ 
ments of the country, and as cheaply as the 
banks now get it. 
President Polk was reflected by accla¬ 
mation. Mr. Macune, on the executive 
committee, holds over. Very few changes 
were made in the officers. Mr. Willits, of 
Kansas, who is the candidate in his State 
for United States Senator in place of In- 
galis, was made Lecturer of the national 
body, which will help him in the contest 
next January. He displaces Benjamin 
Tyrrell, of Texas, by a vote of 32 to 48. 
During the past year 1,069 new charters 
were issued to sub Alliances as follows: 
West Virginia, 252: Colorado, 152; Indiana, 
132 ; Michigan, 106 ; Virginia, 95 ; Illinois, 
87; South Carolina, 83; Ohio, 61; Pennsyl¬ 
vania, 59; New Jersey, 20 ; Minnesota, 5; 
Iowa, 5; Oregon, 1 ; Oklahoma, 1 . State 
charters have been issued to the following 
States: Indiana, Illinois, Colorado, Mich¬ 
igan, West Virginia, Oklahoma and North 
Dakota. 
A National Citizens’ Alliance was formed 
Saturday for the purpose of establishing 
local citizens’ alliances in all the cities and 
large towns of the country. It organized 
with J. D. Holden, of Kansas, president; 
Ralph Beaumont, of New York, secretary, 
and S. P. Wild, of Washington, D. C., 
treasurer. These three officers also con¬ 
stitute its executive committee. It will at 
once establish national headquarters in 
Washington, D. C. 
The formation of a trust of all the scale 
makers in the country is under way. 
The Illinois farmers are loudly protesting 
against the combination of the manufac¬ 
turers of harvesting machines. They call 
it a trust under another name, and say 
that its real object is to keep up prices, 
which ought soon to sink, as a large num¬ 
ber of the patents covering the various 
implements are about to expire. Then they 
say the drop on mowers, reapers, etc., 
should be as big as that in sewing-machines, 
after the expiration of the Howe and Singer 
patents. 
During the late financial stringency Jay 
Gould got control of the Union Pacific 
Railroad, ousted his old antagonist, C. F. 
Adams, from the presidency, and installed 
therein his old adherent Sidney Dillon. 
Now he has formed a combination of all the 
railroads between the Mississippi and the 
Pacific and can tax as he pleases every pas¬ 
senger and pound of freight that passes over 
any of the roads. Should the government 
assume control of all the railroads, it will 
have to treat with Gould alone in a few 
years. 
Several small phials of Dr. Koch’s lymph 
have been received by prominent doctors 
and medical institutions in this country, 
and intense interest is manifested by the 
public in the course and results of the 
treatment. It is too early yet to tell of its 
effects in cases of consumption; but they 
are said to be marvelously rapid in cases of 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
lupus—a tuberculous excrescence, in ap¬ 
pearance somewhat like a cross between a 
ringworm and juvenile cancer. 
The correspondence between Secretary 
Blaine and Minister Mizner over the Bar- 
rundia affair, shows that Mizner was 
severely reprimanded for having exceeded 
his powers before his recall from his post 
in Guatemala. 
In the New York Legislature there will 
be 19 Republicans and 13 Democrats in the 
Senate, and 60 Republicans and 68 Demo¬ 
crats in the Assemblv, so that on joint 
ballot the Democrats will have a majority 
of two—quite enodgh to give them a Demo¬ 
cratic United States Senator to succeed 
Evarts. Will Hill consent to be the man 
or wait for an untrammeled chance for a 
Presidential nomination in ’92? 
For several weeks there’s been a big 
craze among the Indians all over the 
western country; but especially those in 
the Northwest. They have been expecting 
the appearance of an Indian Messiah who 
would utterly destroy the white race by all 
sorts of catastrophes and make the red men 
the sole occupiers and sovereigns of the 
land. At the various agencies throughout 
the Northwest, but especially those in the 
Dakotas and just to the west, most of the 
young bucks are reported to have left the 
_ reservations and eng aged in ghost dances, 
a semi religious form of war dances, which 
have been kept up so long that many of 
the participants have died from sheer 
exhaustion. Messengers between the vari¬ 
ous tribes and agencies have been bitter¬ 
ly inflaming the hopes, fears and pas¬ 
sions of the savages, who appear ready 
for revolt and outrage on slight pro¬ 
vocation. United States troops have been 
assembled around the disturbed section 
from all quarters of the country; settlers 
have fled in terror for their lives, abandon¬ 
ing their property, and a general Indian 
uprising with all its horrors has been daily 
apprehended. A good deal of the property 
of the fleeing settlers has been appropriated 
or destroyed by wandering bands of Ind¬ 
ians, and a large number of cattle belong¬ 
ing to the government and to cattle barons 
have been, report says, slaughtered for 
food; but in spite of several rumors of bat¬ 
tles, only some skirmishes between large 
bodies of Indians and the troops have oc¬ 
curred, and also a few encounters between 
settlers and small detached bands, and 
there have been some conflicts between the 
“ friendlies,” including Indian scouts, 
etc., and the “hostiles,” but no startling 
amount of bloodshed or outrage has oc¬ 
curred. There are very reliable reports 
that most of the trouble is due to the fact 
that the Indians are starving, the govern¬ 
ment having lately been greatly curtailing 
their rations on the ground that they 
should try to become self-supporting. 
Bad harvests, however, have seriously 
hampered their efforts in this direction. 
The government owes them many millions 
of dollars, but is paternally starving them 
for their own good; but, very perversely, 
they think that having got a large share 
of their reservations by recent treaties, 
the *‘ Great Father ” cares nothing for 
them now. The government has just be¬ 
gun to issue liberal rations and the trouble 
is settling down, though Gen. Miles and 
some other military authorities on Indian 
affairs still fear a widespread outbreak. 
Just as we go to press two different ac¬ 
counts reach us from South Dakota; one 
says matters are settling down, Indians are 
returning to the reservations and the out¬ 
look is full of hope for peace; the other, 
dated from the Cheyenne River, opposite 
the Bad Lands, where the great bulk of 
the malcontents have concentrated, says 
that the ranchers have organized ; that the 
troops are closing in around the hostiles 
and that a battle is daily or rather hourly 
expected. 
“MARCHING TO ATLANTA.” 
Meeting of the National Grange. 
MRS. W. C. GIFFORD. 
The morning was dark and rainy, the 
air filled with chilliness, and the roads 
trodden into deep mud as we left our home 
on the morning of November 8 , and 
boarded the 4.30 train for Cincinnati, en 
route for Atlanta, Ga., to attend the ses¬ 
sion of the National Grange, which was to 
convene in that city on November 12 . The 
weather was a fair sample of that of many 
days which had preceded it through this 
most disagreeable of all autumns in West¬ 
ern N. Y. As we flew west to the border 
of Ohio, and then southward, the rain kept 
up its steady patter during the day, but 
the many large manufacturing towns 
through which we passed, where the blaze 
of furnaces showed the development of the 
iron industry, or the signs on immense 
buildings indicated the manufacture of 
agricultural machinery, etc., together with 
the broad expanse of fertile fields on which 
our eyes rested, served to beguile the 
monotony of the dark day and the pouring 
rain. In northern Ohio, marks of the 
severe drought of the previous summer 
were plainly visible in the short and stunted 
corn, much of which was still standing in 
the fields, and the less luxuriant green of 
the pastures as compared with that in our 
own Chautauqua. Farther on, corn shocks 
were large and fine, and the broad, level 
country dotted with large, comfortable, 
and manytime 8 elegant‘farm buildings, 
was green with growing wheat, much of it 
sown on the corn fields between shocks of 
corn which were still on the field. Never 
before in one day, had our eyes beheld 
so many thousands of acres of fine 
wheat as we saw on those bread, fertile 
Ohio farms, and we realized with seemingly 
a new emphasis, that “the farmer feeds 
them all.” The next morning, as we 
passed out of Cincinnati, over the broad 
Ohio into Kentucky, the rain was still 
falling, but in a short time it ceased, the 
sun dispelled the clouds, the air became 
warmer, and everything reminded us that 
we were on the borders of the “Sunny 
South.”—No morn r a iny -d-aj^ and no m o r e 
mud did we see until our return. The 
construction of the Queen and Crescent 
Railroad, over which we ran through Ken¬ 
tucky and Tennessee to Chattanooga, must 
have required a vast amount of engineer¬ 
ing skill, as well as outlay of capital. 
There are no less than 27 tunnels on the 
route, many of them of considerable length, 
and the necessity of keeping the car venti¬ 
lators closed and the lamps lighted for so 
long a distance, detracts materially from 
the comfort of the trip. The road runs 
through the mountains of East Tennessee, 
and is almost a succession of cuts, em¬ 
bankments and trestles. Through Ken¬ 
tucky, the country most of the way, is very 
rough and uneven, but we saw many fine 
herds of cattle and sheep, and magnificent 
horses. In several fields large droves of 
swine were feeding, mostly Berkshires. 
One frequently sees small ponds of water 
stored in artificial reservoirs, or in natural 
hollows for the convenience of stock, as 
streams are exceedingly rare. Very few 
good farm houses are visible, but small 
cabins, with chimneys on the outside and 
groups of abandoned negro quarters which 
served for the homes of plantation slaves 
before the war, are not uncommon. As we 
descend the mountains on the southern 
side the much-boomed “city” of Harriman 
is reached. At this place there is sufficient 
opening between the mountains to allow 
of a railroad eastward to Knoxville. Har¬ 
riman is situated on a small plateau, and 
bears evidence of Northern enterprise and 
thrift, for there are soma really good 
houses and business blocks, which in their 
isolation seem inviting companionship. 
There may be mineral wealth to encourage 
the growth of this embryo city, but of agri¬ 
cultural resources there are none. Several 
other “cities,” as indicated by a few 
straggling houses and the stakes of the 
surveyor, are further down the mountain. 
Chattanooga nestled on the banks of the 
“rippling” Tennessee, with its historic 
associations, is our resting place the second 
night. The smoke from the coke furnaces, 
of which there are several score, settled 
down on the city the next morning like a 
pall, but in company with the Masters of 
several State Granges and their wives, 
with whom we have fallen into company,' 
we take the electric car for the foot of 
Lookout Mountain. Some one points to 
the window—our eyes follow, and before 
us is the sheer face of the mountain, 1,700 
feet above the river. Taking the cable 
railway we speed directly up its face, at an 
angle of nearly 45 degrees, and arrive at a 
summer hotel near its summit, erected 
directly over the spot where Hooker’s 
brave battalions scaled the steep to attack 
the Confederates on that memorable morn¬ 
ing of the “ battle above the clouds.” From 
there a track for a railroad has been 
blasted from the rock on the precipitous 
side of the mountain for a distance of two 
or three miles,.leading to various points of 
interest. The view from Sunset Rock is 
said to be the finest in America. At our 
feet is the .famous “Moccasin Bend,” in 
the Tennessee, inclosing the beautiful 
tongue of land on which part of Hooker’s 
forces lay encamped, while beyond stretches 
a vast amphitheater of mountains, with 
their varied autumnal hues. 
(To be continued.) 
Good Rural Books. 
The following books are selected from 
our extended list as the most desirable on 
the subjects of which they treat. Sent by 
mail post paid on receipt of price. A com¬ 
plete list of books on rural subjects sent on 
request. 
Fruits, Etc. 
American Fruit Cultnrist. Thomas 
(593 p. ; illustrated). $2.00 
A. B. C. of Strawberry Culture. 
Terry (140 p.; ill.) Paper.40 
Apple Culture, Field Notes on. 
Bailey (90 p. ; ill.). 75 
Fruits and Fruit, Trees of America. 
Downing (1.500 p.; ill.). 5 .00 
Fruit Garden. Barry (500 p.; ill.)_ 2.00 
Grape Culturist. Fuller (283 p. ; ill.). 1.50 
Peach Culture. Rutter. Paper, 50 cts.; 
cloth. 1.00 
Pear Culture for Profit. Quinn 
(136 p.)... 1.00 
Propagation of Plants Fuller 
(350 p.; ill.). 1.50 
Propagation, Art of, Jenkins, (pap-r; 
30 p.; ill.). .30 
Small Fruits, Success with. Roe. 
(380 p.). 1.50 
Small Fruit Culturist. Fuller (325 
p-; m-). 1.50 
Vegetables, Etc, 
Celery Manual. $0.25 
Cabbages. Gregory (25 p.).30 
Carrot 3 and Mangold-Wurtzels. .30 
Gardening for Profit. Henderson 
(350 p. ; ill.). 2.00 
Gardening for Young and Old. Harris 
(190 p. ; ill.). 1.25 
Garden and Farm Topics. Henderson. 1.50 
Gardening, Success in Market. Raw- 
son (p. 210 .; ill.). 1.00 
Garden—How to make it Pay. 
Greiner (260 p.; ill.). 2.00 
How Crops Feed. Johnson (400 p.: ill.) 2.00 
How Crops Grow. Johnson (375 p ).. 2.00 
Mushroom Culture for Amateurs. 
May (Eng.; 50 p.; ill.) paper.50 
Money in the Garden. Quinn (150 p.).. 1.50 
Truck Farming at the South. Oemler 
(265 p. ; ill.). 1.50 
Floriculture. 
Azalea Culture. Halliday (110 p.; ill.) 
Special price. $ 0.75 
Bulbs. Rand (350 p. ; ill.). 2 50 
Every Woman Her Own Flower Gard¬ 
ener. Daisy Eyebright (130 p.)... 1.00 
Gardening for Pleasure. Henderson 
tt (-iwp-; m -). 2.00 
Hand-Book of Plants. Henderson 
(520 p.; ill.). 4.00 
Home Florist, The. Long. 1.50 
Practical Floriculture. Henderson 
(320 p.; ill.). 1.50 
Rose, The. Ellwanger (290 p.). 1.25 
General Agriculture. 
Agriculture. Storer (2 vols.). $5.00 
Ensilage and Silos. Colcord. 1 00 
The Silo. A. J. Cook. ^25 
Grasses and Forage Plants. Flint. 2.00 
How the Farm Pays. Henderson and 
Crozier. 2.50 
Irrigation for Farm, Garden and Or¬ 
chard. Stewart. 1.50 
Manures, Book on. Harris (350 p.)... 1.75 
Culture of Farm Crops. Stewart_ 1.50 
Live Stock, Poultry, Etc. 
Cattle Feeding, Manual of. Armsby 
(500 p.).. .$1.75 
Feeding Animals. Stewart. 2.00 
Milch Cows and Dairy Farming. Flint 
^ (450 p.). 2.00 
Dairyman’s Manual. Stewart. 2 00 
Practical Poultry Keeper. Wright 
(336 m ; ill.)..... 2.00 
Poultry Culture. I. K. Felch. 1.50 
Harris on the Pig. Joseph Harris...-. 1.50 
Veterinary Adviser. James Law_ 3.00 
Miscellaneous. 
Annals of Horticulture. Bailey. 
Paper, 60 cts.; cloth. $1 00 
Botany, Lessons in. Gray (226 p.; ill.). 1.50 
Botany, Manual of. Gray (S00 p. ; 
plates.). 2 50 
Botanist and Florist. Wood (431 p.”; 
ill.).’ 2.00 
California Views (in color). Nutting.. 50 
Forestry, Practical. Fuller (280 p.; ill.) 1 50 
Home Acre. Roe (252 p.). 1 50 
Horticulturists’Rule Book. Bailey., l'oo 
How Plants Grow. Gray (216 p.; ill.), l 00 
Insects Injurious to Plants. Saunders 
(425 p. ; ill.) . . 2.00 
Insects, Injurious. Treat (270 p.; ill). 2 00 
Nature’s Serial Story. Roe. 2.50 
Ornamental Gardening. Long... 2.00 
Rural Essays. Downing." 3’oo 
Suburban Homes. Scott. . 2 50 
Talks Afield. Bailey. f'oo 
The Garden’s Story. Ellwanger..' l.*25 
Woods of the United States. Sargent. 1.00 
Any $1.00 book published in the United 
States sent prepaid, together with a year’s 
subscription to either The Rural New- 
Yorker or The American Garden, for 
§2.50. Any $1.50 book, ditto, for §2.75. 
Any $2.00 book, ditto, for §3.00. 
THE RURAL PUBLISHING CO., 
Times Building, New York. 
