552 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
August 15 
/IsWeGoToI^ 
“ALARMS.” 
A Frenchman is said to have invented 
a “ baby-cry” alarm. It is a sort of shell 
over the baby’s crib so arranged that, 
whenever the child cries in the night, a 
bell in the next room is rung. We don’t 
need any such alarm at our house. Our 
baby has good lungs, and when she sets 
out to cry, the neighbors all turn over 
in bed with various remarks about her 
nocturnal habits. For my part, I 
wouldn’t give five cents for a child so 
weak in the lungs that it needed an 
electrical device to let folks know it had 
the colic or a bad dream. Such a child 
never could breathe air enough into the 
lungs to enable it to grow up. 
We feel inclined to act just about the 
same way about the announcement of 
The Agent 5s’ Sfiare on this page. The 
enterprising, successful man won’t need 
an electric battery to enable him to see 
the bargains that stick right out of this 
offer. The men who will finger the 
greater part of that cash are capable of 
sounding their own alarm, and we shall 
hear from them before October 1. They 
will be at every picnic and fair, or at 
any other place where farmers are gath¬ 
ered, and they will make hay before the 
sun of other folks begins to shine. 
Now, then, time is short, and the 
weather is hot. Short stories ! Are you 
capable of sounding your own alarm, or 
must it be rung and sung again and 
again? These prizes are genuine. There’s 
one for you. Start for it now ! Keep 
at ’em, See what this Jerseyman says: 
The owner of the name I send you, was a trial 
subscriber the latter part of last year, and about 
Christmas, I worked him hard for a year’s sub¬ 
scription; but he said that he was too poor. 
When I saw him the other day, he said: “I’ve got 
to have that paper ! Tiie R. N.-Y., I mean ! I 
might as well give you a dollar right away.” He 
did not have to be asked to subscribe now. He 
realized that he was too poor to be without it. 
That’s right! Keep at ’em ! They’ll 
come in time ! 
THE RURAL’S FRUIT REPORTS. 
Some New Raspberries. —In The R. N.-Y. of 
July 11, a correspondent from Crescent, Iowa, the 
same latitude as ours, but further west, says that 
the Columbian raspberry winterkills with him. 
In the spring of 1895, we planted for trial, the fol¬ 
lowing varieties: Loudon, Gault, Columbian and 
Redfield. The summer was unusually hot and 
dry; in September, we had some rain, which 
made a late growth, but our plants came through 
the winter without harm, except the Loudon, of 
which some plants were cut back one-half. This 
variety is claimed to be ironclad in Wisconsin. I 
think the drought and late growth are mostly to 
blame, and so cannot condemn a variety with 
one year’s trial. The winter was rather open, 
and I think only twice the temperature went 
down to 15 or 16 degrees below zero. Our Colum¬ 
bians made a magnificent crop of berries, and 
the new canes are six feet high, standing up 
straight. e. m. c. 
Pella, Iowa. 
Notes prom Windham County, Vt.— Of all the 
varieties of strawberries grown at Mapledell 
Farm, the Greenville is by far, the best. Princess 
is too soft and poor in color. Van Deman is one 
of the most prolific bloomers, but a large part of 
the fruit blasts. Beder Wood is a better early 
berry than the Van Deman. Marshall, Mary, Rio 
and Brandywine have not fruited yet, but have 
made a fine growth for spring-set plants. The 
Cuthbert raspberry will have to take a back seat 
as the Loudon is a grand berry, and if as hardy 
as is claimed for it, will sui-ely take first place. 
The berries are large and firm. The Miller is an¬ 
other fine early berry. The Columbian I have not 
fruited yet. The North Star currant is worthless 
for me. It is a vigorous grower, but the fruit is 
no larger than the old Dutch. I shall dig out all 
I have of this variety, and shall try the Red 
Cross. Of grapes, the Green Mountain is the very 
finest one on our list—extra early, hardy, produc¬ 
tive, fine flavor and attractive. 
The winter of 1895-6 was a very disastrous one 
for fruit and fruit trees. All my Crosby peaches 
and all Elbertas except one, were^killed, as were 
all other varieties except the seedling which I 
have before mentioned, and the blossom buds on 
all the latter were killed; but the trees came 
through all right. Some plum, and even forest 
trees were killed. The Burbank plum seems a 
little hardier than the Abundance. I had a fine 
crop of strawberries, which sold here in our local 
market for 20 cents per box through the entire 
season, while all other natives were selling at two 
boxes for 25 cents. I use all new, clean baskets 
of the largest size, berries all assorted and guar¬ 
anteed alike from top to bottom, and baskets full. 
I have pickers enough to pick all the berries be¬ 
fore noon, and every berry is sold before night; 
this insures perfectly fresh berries. My guar¬ 
antee goes with every box. Any customer who is 
dissatisfied with a box of my berries, can have 
his money back or another box free. a. a. h. 
Southern vs. Northern Farming.— My friend 
James Mackinlay used to say that southern farm¬ 
ing differed as much from northern, as farming 
on the half cooled planet of Jupiter, might be 
supposed to differ from either. Your comments 
on the extract from the Southern Farmer, on page 
516, indicate that you do not quite grasp what it 
means “ to live at home and board in the same 
place,” as understood in the South. The mild 
climate, admits varied crops; all that we have 
with sugar, syrup, rice, sweet potatoes and 
winter gardens added, besides the great staple 
cotton; and the childlike negro laborer, who 
must, practically, be fed and clothed, makes a 
big family to provide for. If a southern farmer 
can pay most of his labor bills through his 
“ provision crops,” he finds that it is better to 
raise them than to buy; hence he seems to butt 
against political economy in his crude barter 
methods. He has a practical monopoly of the 
cotton crop, which it is estimated will bring him 
$300,000,000 this year. Now his peculiar mode of 
farming and labor enables him to convert all 
other crops into cotton, always salable for cash 
in gold. Heretofore, his cotton has brought such 
a price that he thought that it did not pay him to 
raise his pork and corn, mules, etc., so he bought 
them from the West. Now cotton is so low that 
he can’t get trusted, so he is forced to raise these 
things, and is better off in doing so. He is, in 
short, the best off farmer in the world, t. b. b. 
Newburgh, N. Y. 
Those Barren Abundance Plum Trees. —I read 
with interest, on page 513, G. S.’s complaint about 
his Abundance plum trees, and H. E. Van 
Deman’s commentary thereon. As a matter of 
fact, one can see the exact trouble, between the 
lines of G. S.’s inquiry. Six plum trees in a well- 
filled poultry yard are, certainly, well fed, and 
their growth of three to five feet at an age when 
a bushel of fruit is expected per tree, confirms 
that fact. Then G. S. goes on to say that this 
growth is cut back to two feet to make them 
“ strong.” The trouble with these trees is that 
they are too intent on development, to think of 
fruitage, and the cutting back aggravates that 
tendency. Then G. S. does not make them strong 
by cutting back; he makes the current growth 
strong, but the tree itself weak. The practice is 
good for hedges, but bad for plum trees. If G. S. 
will let the trees alone, patience will bring to him 
a perfect reward. I have an exact experience 
over the same'line. In Kentucky, we use Marianna 
stocks and want good, heavy bud sticks, well 
ripened, early in the season. Each year, I cut 
back orchard trees to furnish the wood wanted. 
Now this season, in Kentucky, has been a record 
breaker in the way of plums, and everything is 
loaded to the ground. On the 20 or more trees cut 
back, there has, however, not been a plum—fine 
growth, but no fruit—and the Japans are in line. 
The correct treatment of G. S.’s trees is evident. 
Kentucky. h. f. h. 
A Michigan Report. —Strawberries were 10 days 
earlier than usual. The fruiting season com¬ 
menced with Meeks and Michel’s Early, with 
Beder Wood close behind. The Meeks is a very 
good berry, but, like the Michel’s, lacks produc¬ 
tiveness. Among newer varieties of special men¬ 
tion, is the Clyde, with large-sized, light-colored 
nearly round berries in great abundance, very 
promising, early. Fountain is again one of the 
best, at least, all-’round good berries here; very 
handsome and productive. The fruit is large, of 
a deep, glossy red color with golden seeds; flesh 
red and solid to the center, firm and good. I shall 
grow it largely for fruit in the near future. Mid¬ 
season. Marshall is extra large and fine, of good 
quality, fairly firm and productive; medium 
early. Brandywine is late, a good cropper of 
large, firm, bright-red fruit; a good sort. Gandy 
Belle or Isabelle, Bisel, Splendid, Greenville, Mary, 
Muskingum, and Weston all made a good crop. 
Eleanor is of doubtful value; it was neither large 
nor very early this season. Sunnyside is late, of 
large size, a good looker, and productive. Wm. 
Belt was dug very close for plants; promising. 
Annie Lawrie, Brunette, Holland, Henry Ward 
Beecher, Lady Thompson, Gardner, Sherman, Da¬ 
kota, Snowball, Arrow, and Tennessee Prolific 
are worthy of further trial. Van Deman is of no 
value here. Staples, Roser, and Kansas Prolific 
were very productive of medium-sized fruit. Allen 
No. 1 very productive, but is deficient in plant 
growth. Michigan and Anna Kennedy were set 
in August of 1895, but I succeeded in saving only 
one or two plants of each that managed to sur¬ 
vive the winter; a large number set last spring 
have made a fine growth, as have also Glen Mary, 
Kingworthy and a number of seedlings. 
Fall setting of the strawberry is a disappoint¬ 
ment nine times in ten, unless with potted stock; 
there is nothing gained in the end, except to see 
a small show of the fruit a little sooner. The 
Gandy is still a favorite for late, always com¬ 
manding an extra price, and is fairly productive. 
I can hardly say too much for the Fountain; 
although a comparatively new sort, it has more 
points of merit than, perhaps, any other on my 
grounds so far. while the Marshall, Brandywine, 
and Mary are extra fine and desirable sorts. Hav- 
erland, Parker Earle, Bubach, Beder Wood, and 
Warfield are well-known, productive, market 
varieties,and well worthy of extensive cultivation, 
as are also the Lovett, Woolverton, Jucunda Im¬ 
proved, Iowa Beauty, and Enhance. Epping and 
Barton are fine and productive, but not very firm, 
especially the latter. 
This has been a season of abundant rains and 
electrical storms. Fruit of all kinds, except cher¬ 
ries, has been plentiful and cheap. Strawberry 
plants are making a fine growth, entirely free 
from disease and insect enemies, except an occa¬ 
sional White Grub, but potato bugs have been in 
full supply. I am growing about 25 sorts of pota¬ 
toes, including a barrel each of Carman No. 3, 
Maule’s Thoroughbred, Arizona, Great Divide, 
and others, and will report on them in the future. 
c. N. flansburgh. 
CROP AND MARKET NOTES. 
The National Apple Shippers’ Association has 
been in session in Chicago. 
The hay crop of northern New York is reported 
to be one of the lightest ever grown. 
Later sales of California fruit in London real¬ 
ized higher prices than the earlier shipments. 
Official reports announce the failure of the 
grain harvest in nearly all sections of south 
Russia. 
There is a much greater demand for bananas 
than is usual at this time of year, and prices are 
higher. Receipts are, also, somewhat lighter than 
usual. 
The Patrons of Husbandry of Essex, Morris 
and Union Counties, N. J., will hold a basket 
picnic at Tuttle’s Grove, August 13 and 14. Speak¬ 
ing each afternoon. 
The first new Texas corn arrived in the Dallas 
market July 23. It is said that the corn this year 
will average not less than 30 bushels per acre, 
and is of good quality. 
The first bale of cotton from the new Mississippi 
crop, was sold at auction on the New York Cotton 
Exchange, August 5. It was graded as good 
middling, and brought 12 cents a pound. 
The commercial agent in New South Wales 
writes that the area sown in wheat this year is 
much larger than ever before, and that the sea¬ 
son promises a crop sufficient for home consump¬ 
tion and a quantity for export. 
In its second report of the season of the crops 
in Great Britain, the Times, taking 100 per cent 
as representing the average, shows the condition 
of the wheat crop to be 106 per cent; that of bar¬ 
ley a fraction lower, and that of oats 84 per cent. 
Reports from the interior of West Virginia in¬ 
dicate an almost complete destruction of the 
wheat and oat crops on account of the incessant 
rains. In the northern portion of the State, much 
of the wheat was cut and put in the stacks sev¬ 
eral weeks ago. The rain kept the grain so damp 
that much of it has sprouted. 
The Illinois State Board of Agriculture has let 
the contract for the construction of a model 
refrigerator for the storage of dairy goods at the 
Springfield fair grounds. It is to be 10x20 feet by 
16 feet high, built of antique oak, with plate 
glass front, will hold a car-load of ice, possess all 
the latest improvements, aud will be the finest in 
use on any fair ground in the world. 
Dispatches from all parts of the Province of 
Ontario and the greater portion of the Province 
of Quebec, show the condition of the crops to be, 
on the whole, very satisfactory, except, perhaps, 
the hay crop, which, in some localities, is a total 
failure. The prospects for the apple crop in the 
Niagara district are very favorable, but the 
peach crop, it is believed, will fall somewhat 
short. 
Here is what the Produce Review says about an 
article every enterprising buttermaker should 
use: “Parchment paper lining is the cry among 
export buyers. Goods are being taken without 
it, but the lined tubs have a strong advantage. 
Lines of ladles which may be entirely satisfac- 
Piscetlancouisi gUimtising. 
I N a young gfri’a lift 
there comes a time 
when the careless 
innocence of child* 
hood changes to the 
modest, blushing 
maidenly self-con¬ 
sciousness of ap¬ 
proaching maturity. 
The eye is brighter ; 
the form is rounder; 
there is a touch of 
shy coquetry in the 
glance:—the girl has 
become a woman. 
She has entered that 
critical period so full 
of happy possibil¬ 
ities, yet so hedged 
about with the phy¬ 
sical sufferings and 
dangers peculiar to 
her sex. 
It has been said 
that to be a woman is 
to suffer. Too often 
this is true. A wo¬ 
man’s whole nature 
is so bound up in the 
special functions of 
her womanhood that any disturbance of this 
sensitive organism throws the whole system 
out of harmony. “Female weakness” 
causes nine-tenths of all the wretchedness 
which women endure. It can never be per¬ 
manently relieved by “local treatments.” 
That is generally an expensive, embarras- 
ing, useless, make-shift. What is needed is 
Dr. Pierce’s Favorite Prescription to reach 
the innermost sources of the trouble and 
restore health and strength directly to the 
internal organs. This stops the weakening 
drains which sap life’s foundation ; heals 
all ulcerated conditions, gives the ligaments 
elastic power of themselves to correct mis¬ 
placement of internal organs and imparts 
tone, vigor and vitality to the entire feminine 
organism. In a word the “Favorite Pre¬ 
scription ” makes healthy, happy women. 
Dr. Pierce Is the Chief Consulting Physician 
of the Invalids’ Hotel and Surgical Institute, 
Buffalo, N. Y. He has made a life-study of wo¬ 
men’s peculiar ailments. Over ninety pages of 
his great work, “ The People’s Common Sense 
Medical Adviser," are devoted to the considera¬ 
tion of diseases peculiar to women. Successful 
means of home-treatment are therein suggested, 
making it unnecessary to employ a physician, 
or to submit to his “ examinations n and the 
stereotyped, but generally useless, “local treat¬ 
ment’^ Twenty-one ( 21 ) oue-cent stamps, to 
cover coat of mailing only, will bring a copy 
of this useful book. Address, World’s Dis¬ 
pensary Medical Association, Buffalo, N. Y. 
The Agent’s Share! 
The season for subscription work having arrived, we herewith offer terms for 
The First Contest 
which extends from August 15 to September 30, inclusive. During this period, you 
may offer The R. N.-Y. for the remainder of the year, as last season, for 25 cents. 
WHERE YOU COME IN ! For each short-term subscription you secure, you may 
send us 15 cents, and drop a dime into your own pocket. There will, also, be a 
system of 
Weekly Premiums. 
$ 3 , $2 and $ | will be sent out every Saturday night during this contest 
to the three agents who send the largest three clubs during the week, and three 
extra premiums of $ 3 , $2 and $ | , will, also, be sent out every Saturday night 
to three agents who have not won any of the premiums during the previous weeks 
in this contest. That is, there will be three premiums the first week, and six 
premiums every week after. The first three premiums will be open to every one 
every week; but those agents who win any weekly premiums cannot compete 
afterwards for the second three premiums. The purpose is to reserve these 
second premiums as an encouragement to beginners. 
Great Big Premiums, Too! 
In addition to these weekly premiums, the following cash prizes will be given 
on October 1, to the live agents who send the largest five clubs up to the night of 
September 30 : 
Largest club, cash ------ $50 
Second largest club, cash - - - - - 30 
Third largest club, cash ----- 20 
Fourth largest, club, cash - - - - - 10 
Fifth largest club, cash ----- 5 
Four short-term, or two six-month subscriptions count the same as one yearly. 
Where Do We Come In? 
We’ll attend to that side of it, and let you know in due time. Let’s waste no 
words now, but proceed to business ! All ready ! Go ! 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, New York. 
