162 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
March 7 
THE 
The Rural New=Yorker. 
THE BUSINESS FABNERS' PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes 
Established 1850. 
Elbert S. Carman, Editor-in-Chief. 
Herbert W. Collingwood, Managing Editor. 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
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Address all business communications and make all orders pay 
able THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
Corner Chambers and Pearl Streets, New York. 
SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 1896. 
Here are four good books : 
Cloth. Price. 
First Lessons in Agriculture. “ $1.00 
American Grape Training. “ .75 
The New Potato Culture. “ .75 
The Business Hen. “ .75 
They are all the best of their kind. Why do we name 
them here ? Because we are ready to send any one of 
them as a reward for a new subscription (not your 
own). Book your neighbor’s name at once, and thus 
secure the book. Start now ! 
© 
That is an interesting statement on page 156, as to 
the dressed weight of a hog, and the per cent of this 
weight found in the different parts. This Berkshire 
hog gave a heavy weight in hams and shoulders, as 
might have been expected from the reputation justly 
earned by this breed. Now we shall be pleased to 
have specimens of some of the other breeds cut up 
and weighed in like manner. Let’s hear from the 
Cheshires! 
© 
Under “Live Stock” this week, a reader tells us 
what one good cow has done for him during the past 
year. Too much of the live stock in this country is 
dead stock so far as yielding any profit is concerned. 
The cow owned by this workman is of more practical 
value than many of the “ blue bloods” which are 
forced to make a great record. Do you know the 
chief reason why this cow was so profitable ? She 
was well cared for —treated like a member of the 
family. How it does pay to be careful with stock ! 
© 
Last week, a fine-looking farmer was seen at work 
with a hoe in his barnyard. The water from the eaves 
had soaked through the manure, and now stood in a 
pool of brown-colored liquid. The man was making 
a channel so that this liquid could run away. He 
didn’t “ want the cows to stand knee deep in soft 
manure,” so the brown fluid went trickling along 
under the fence to the next farm. The neighbor of 
this man was once asked what fertilizer he liked best. 
His answer was, “ The O. P. brand.” “ What brand 
is that ? ” “ Other peoples’ ! ” No wonder, when he 
got it for nothing with delivery thrown in. 
© 
Mr. Birge, a Connecticut dairyman, brings up an 
interesting question in the following letter. We 
would like to obtain statistics and figures from other 
milkmen if possible : 
Between September 1, 1894, and September 1, 1895, we sold 
practically what milk we made, milking from 14 to 18 cows. That 
is, although sometimes we needed to buy a little, this was offset 
by a small surplus at other times; so that, taking the year 
through, the sales were as close as could be to production. The 
production was as small as could be to furnish the trade. Our 
books tell the number of pounds produced in that time, and the 
number of quarts sold. The estimated amount of milk used in 
the house was added to quarts sold, and we found that it was 
necessary to produce 2.56 pounds of milk for each quart sold. 
What is the experience of others in the shrinkage of milk between 
the stable and the consumer? There was a minimum of waste, 
as the whole process, from milking to delivering, was under the 
eyes of the owners. 
The standard quart of milk weighs 2.15 pounds. In 
producing by weight and selling by measure, there 
was a loss of two-fifths of a pound in each quart. Our 
impression is that this is under rather than over the 
average shrinkage. We would like to have other 
figures if they are to be obtained. Some butter dairy¬ 
men test their milk with the Babcock tester, and then 
estimate the amount of butter that should be made 
from it. We would like to have some comparisons of 
estimates and actual sales from such dairies. 
The old cider-barrel philosophy warns us against 
bung-hole extravagance in connection with spigot 
economy. An extensive peach grower whom we 
know, saved much at the beginning in removing a 
debilitated peach orchard by sawing off the trees 
close to the ground. Subsequent cultivation among 
the stumps, however, taught him the unwisdom of his 
method. Hereafter he will grub up condemned trees. 
When the frost is coming out, or after a rainy period 
when the ground is soft, a good yoke of oxen will 
easily puU up a peach tree. Hitch the oxen to a cart, 
fasten one end of a chain to the axle, and the other 
end to the body of the tree near the ground. The 
oxen will pull well hitched to the cart, and can be 
easily geed or hawed for a side pull. 
o 
The use of a wash consisting of two pounds of 
ordinary whale-oil soap dissolved in one gallon of 
water to destroy the San Jos£ scale on fruit trees, has 
not proved an effectual remedy the past season in 
Delaware and Maryland. Very much depends upon 
the quality of the soap used. That which has been 
refined and freed from all its impurities, proves less 
effectual than that made from the unrefined whale 
oil. In treating infested pear trees in Chestertown, 
Md., various proportions of the soap were used, two 
pounds, 2% and 3 pounds to one gallon of hot water 
and the hot mixture was applied to the trees. Either 
strength of the mixture destroyed the scales; but 
that containing 2)4 pounds of the impure whale-oil 
soap to one gallon of water, is recommended as an 
effectual remedy, if thoroughly applied while it is hot. 
O 
At the great Poultry and Pigeon Exhibition at 
Madison Square Garden, February 4 to 8, were up¬ 
wards of 6,000 birds. There were nearly 100 different 
breeds of fowls, not to mention the turkeys, ducks, 
geese and pigeons ; but those which may be classed 
as business hens for the average poultryman or 
farmer, might be counted upon the fingers of the 
hands, if not upon those of one hand. Thousands of 
breeders are raising poultry of dozens of different 
breeds because of the variety thus secured in exhibi¬ 
tions, and because some purchasers are seeking the odd 
and unusual, and that which is new and rare. Some 
new breeds (?) are brought out every year, and of 
course, great claims are always made for every new¬ 
comer. We must not decry these new breeds without 
trial, for our most useful breeds of to-day were once 
new ; neither must we be carried away by the extrava¬ 
gant claims in their favor. The question for the man 
who keeps poultry for profit, to decide, is as to which 
will best meet his needs under the circumstances sur¬ 
rounding him. This done, his chances of success are 
better than they would have been had he chosen at 
random. 
© 
On page 155, our friend makes a good plea for a 
partnership between the hen and the farm daughter. 
We agree with him that the hen is a better companion 
than, at least, 50 per cent of the average husbands 
that are “hunted.” That suggested house needs a 
word or two of suggestion. Maybe it is built for the 
special convenience of young women. That is not 
quite right, for in a case of this sort, the hen’s com¬ 
fort should be considered above that of her mistress. 
We think that there is too much glass in that house— 
four windows instead of eight would be better. On 
some of these clear and cold w inter days, the hens 
will roast in the forenoon and chill in the evening. 
The glass will give too wide a range in temperature. 
We also think it a mistake to have the roosts placed 
one above the other. We would prefer to have them 
all on the same level, with the platform underneath 
hinged, so as to let it drop down when cleaning is 
desired. Less glass and a hinged platform are two 
things that modern poultry keeping seems to have 
decided necessary for the hen’s comfort. Anything 
that comforts the hen is worth the attention of the 
hen man—or woman. 
0 
The veterinarian of the Vermont Experiment Sta¬ 
tion reports a singular case in a diseased cow. Early 
in 1894, the station herd was slaughtered because of 
tuberculosis, and a new herd was purchased subject 
to the tuberculin test. Among the animals thus 
tested, was one which took cold on the journey, and 
became quite sick. Not long after, one of the cows 
began to cough. Her breathing was unnatural, and 
she failed in flesh. She was tested with tuberculin, 
but failed to react. On pasture, she improved, but 
when taken into the barn she gradually failed so 
markedly that visitors were prompt to point her out 
as a consumptive cow. Now, here was a cow that came 
from a herd where consumption was known to exist. 
She gave all the outward signs of consumption, yet 
she failed to react when tested with tuberculin. Here 
was a case where the ordinary observer would say 
that the tuberculin test had failed, and the cow was 
slaughtered in order to test the theory. It was found 
that a part of one lung was a solid mass—the result, 
not of consumption, but of catarrhal bronchitis re¬ 
sulting from a slight pneumonia. Nine out of ten 
persons, on aphysical examination of thatcow, would 
have called her a consumptive ; yet she had no trace 
of that disease. Dr. Rich, the station veterinarian, 
says that, during the past two years, many such ani¬ 
mals have been destroyed. Those that were tested 
gave no reaction, but were killed because the owners 
requested it. He concludes that bovine consumption 
has really existed in Vermont but a few years, and 
that the cases reported from old times were not con¬ 
sumptive at all, but were afflicted with other lung 
troubles that are not contagious. 
O 
Mr. Riley, on page 155, gives us a glimpse at some 
of the farm practices employed by Iowa farmers. It 
may seem strange to some of our readers to think of 
snapping off the ears of corn and leaving the stalks to 
serve as pasture during the winter, and to be broken 
down with a railroad iron in spring ; but that is whole¬ 
sale farming, or, rather, primitive farming. It is 
like the old-time cotton mill turned by the water 
wheel which utilized but one-third of the power of the 
falling water. The developments in electrical science 
have given the manufacturer control of 90 per cent 
of that water, and, in like manner, the day is coming 
when the immense feeding value in those stalks will 
be saved and applied to the production of meat and 
dairy products. When the whole stalk is saved, those 
Iowa farmers will be conducting a wholesale busi¬ 
ness in the truest sense of the word. The perfection 
of corn-harvesting machines, and of devices for 
husking and shredding the stalks by machinery, will 
operate like the developments of electrical force to 
make useful what was formerly wasted. This saving 
of the wastes in wholesale farming will be likely to 
make itself felt in lowering food prices all over the 
country. 
© 
BREVITIES. 
MODERN LEGISLATION. 
The Senate votes for silver, and the House declares for gold ; 
The House lets out a tariff, and the Senate votes to hold. 
The Senate makes up faces, while the Congressmen but scoff ; 
One side puts out a measure, and the other saws it off. 
The people sit and suffer, with no cash to pay their debts, 
■While Grover in the White House for another bond sale frets. 
That’s Yankee legislation, in a presidential year ; 
One party lacks the courage, and the other’s filled with fear. 
There’s nothing but economy to which your steps should turn, 
We need economy of you, adjourn ! Adjourn ! Adjourn ! 
Filled cheese must be killed. 
He that smatteretli surely scattereth. 
Aim to be thorough from harvest to furrow. 
Where does the cow keep her milk ? Page 163. 
Where lias the bottom of the egg market dropped to? 
Bring the financial discussion to a dollars-and-sense basis. 
Don’t you wish you had 100 eggs to sell every time you go to 
town ? 
Is there any work on your farm that could be done by use of a 
railroad iron ? 
Wiiat do you think of the conclusion of those Connecticut 
farmers—page 155 ? 
“ The best all ’round berry” at your jilace may be the burial of 
half a dozen scrubs. 
The man who mortgaged his home to buy drink was a victim of 
“ home consumption.” 
A hen or a hunted husband! Which is the better companion 
for your daughter—page 155 ? 
Prof. W. H. Jordan, now of Maine, will probably be the next 
director of the Geneva Station. 
Think of a hog trying to root artichokes out of a clay soil—page 
157. Grass is the best crop for clays. 
The man who signs a bogus contract twice may be said to have 
resigned. He would better be resigned to his fate. 
Will those who have fed raw potatoes to cows, please tell us 
how they affect the color and quality of the butter ? 
One way to increase the wealth of this land is to pass a law 
compelling people to take you at your own estimate of your value 
to society ! 
Mr. Derby says that the Maryland Experiment Station people 
will sit up nights with a sick peach tree. That is heroic devotion 
to the cause of horticulture. 
“ Mr. & Mrs. Hen ” ’ That is a suitable sign for the business 
of the surplus rooster and family. It gives the “man of the 
house ” more credit than he deserves. 
The R. N.-Y. has a letter from “the department of ancient and 
modern languages ” of an agricultural college. That must mean 
the cultivation of agricultural chestnuts. 
The recent picture of a swill barrel has stirred up a dozen men 
who claim to have something better. Do you realize what an en¬ 
couraging sign it is when men are ready to put frills on a swill 
barrel ? 
F. S. Phoenix, of Illinois, gives The R. N.-Y. this little pat on 
the back : “I wish you abundaut success; you deserve it. You 
give more essence to the square inch than any three papers of 
the class.” We hope that S. sense stands for sound sense! 
The National Hay Association claims that in the past 17 
months, $2,571,298 worth of foreign-grown hay has been shipped 
into this country against an average of $708,455 a year under the 
former tariff rate. The tariff is now $2 a ton instead of $4. It 
might be well to ask if tbe lower tariff on hay makes the higher 
price ? Hay prices haven’t averaged so high in years. 
