74o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
November <•7 
The Rural New=Yorker. 
, TIIE B TJSI NESS FA R HERS' PA PER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 1850. 
Elbert S. Carman. Editor-iu-Chlef. 
Herbert W. Colling wood, Managing Editor. 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
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able to THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
Corner Chambers and Pearl Streets, New York. 
SATURDAY , NOVEMBER 7, 1896. 
We hope that the women folks will not think un¬ 
kindly of us for printing “ The Biography of a Bed¬ 
bug” in their department this week. Prof. Slinger- 
land has written a vei’y interesting article about our 
bloodthirsty nocturnal friend, and as we read it, we 
will all doubtless hope to be delivered from its jaws. 
Prof. Slingerland’s article will be entirely new to 99 
per cent of our readers. Let us all rejoice with him 
that the bedbug has no wings. 
0 
If some of the men who advocate the immediate 
killing of every cow that responds to the tuberculin 
test, would make a journey to the New Jersey Ex¬ 
periment Station, they would be silent for a long 
time. They would find there strong and rugged ani¬ 
mals that responded to this test, yet are likely to 
die of old age. They are giving pure, rich and healthful 
milk, and are, on the whole, in better health than 
when first tested. Such cows are living examples of 
the folly of killing all animals that respond to this 
fine and delicate test. At the same time this experi¬ 
ment about upsets the theory that the tuberculin 
stimulates or increases the disease in an animal that 
is well cared for. 
© 
The doctors certainly fail to agree in the discussion 
of southern-grown peach trees, on page 734. T. T. 
Lyon is about the best American authority on pomo- 
logical matters, and he is, apparently, well convinced 
that the Southern season is conducive to hardiness. 
Mr. Hilborn’s testimony is also valuable. We have 
known of a number of trees brought from the South 
that acted much like the ones described by Mr. Goff. 
Many of them, planted in the spring, were dead by 
August, and no one seems to know just what was the 
matter with them. Of course, it would not be fair to 
condemn southern-grown stock from a few such cases, 
and for that reason we would like to gather all the 
real testimony we can. This is a case where a mere 
opinion might do injury. Actual facts should decide 
the matter. 
© 
A sample of green corn fodder sown very thick and 
cut about the middle of August, contained over 93 % 
per cent of water. One hundred pounds of such fodder 
contained only half a pound of muscle-makers, three 
pounds of fat-formers, and about ounce of fat. A 
large cow would need to eat 500 pounds of such fodder 
in a day to secure her necessary food. Ordinary milk 
contains twice as much dry matter as is found in such 
stalks. Of course, this was unusually poor fodder, 
yet of the best green corn, a cow would need to eat 
over 150 pounds per day to obtain the needed muscle- 
makers for her daily ration. One great value of cot¬ 
ton-seed meal is that it “ balances ” a soiling ration 
by providing these muscle-makers in a concentrated 
form, and correcting a tendency to looseness of the 
bowels caused by heavy feeding of green, unripe corn. 
G 
One of the most interesting things in the line of 
experiments in American horticulture is the “plant 
hospital” at the New Jersey Station, which was re¬ 
ferred to last week. There is nothing like it any¬ 
where, for in this case, there has been a systematic 
effort to provide a breeding place for disease. That 
gives the very best opportunity for studying the 
effects of fungicides for, if a plant can be carried in 
safety through a season when surrounded by the 
germs of disease, we can feel very sure that the treat¬ 
ment employed will prove effective almost anywhere. 
Many experiments with fungicides have not proved 
conclusive because there has not been any wide con¬ 
trast between the treated and untreated portions of 
soil. On the soil of this “plant hospital”, there can 
be no dbubt about results, for the conditions are all 
favorable to the spread of disease. No wonder that 
seedsmen and wide-awake farmers are beginning to 
take an interest in this “hospital” in the hope of find¬ 
ing something that will cure the patients growing in 
their own fields. 
As stated on page 734, we have observed that farm¬ 
ers who use large quantities of fertilizers are not 
generally as careful as they should be in preparing 
the ground before planting. There seems to be an 
impression that high-grade fertilizers are so soluble 
that all one needs to do is to harrow them into a 
plowed field. It is a mistake to let this idea interfere 
with the demand for thorough tillage. One great 
advantage in using manure, is the fact that it expands 
and opens the soil so that water, sun and air may 
readily enter it. Its very bulk is an advantage for 
this reason, even though this “ bulk ” be made up of 
substances that contain but little plant-food. In one 
sense, aeration is almost as helpful to the soil as it is 
to milk. Now when fertilizers are used without fre¬ 
quent “green ” or bulk manuring, tillage must take 
the place of the manure in opening up the soil for the 
air and sun. Instead of merely plowing and harrow¬ 
ing to prepare the seed bed, the fertilizer farmer 
should give his soil twice the working deemed 
sufficient for a manured field. 
G 
Last year, a Massachusetts farmer gave us a new 
way of figuring the cost of growing a bushel of pota¬ 
toes. He used a ton or more of high-grade fertilizer 
to the acre, and did much of the work by hand. 
After digging the potatoes, he sowed Timothy and 
cut two or three crops. He claimed to be able to sell 
the grass standing in the field for $10 per ton, which 
would average $25 per acre each year. He added the 
cost of fertilizer, labor, seed, cost of seeding with 
Timotny and rent of land for three years. From this 
he deducted $50, which was the money received, with¬ 
out expense for the grass. The balance, he said, 
represented the actual cost of the potatoes, and by 
dividing it by the number of bushels, he got at the 
actual cost per bushel. A few weeks ago, Mr. Norton 
of Kansas, told us that he sowed millet at the last 
working of the potatoes, and cut a crop of millet hay 
of such value that, deducting it from the actual ex¬ 
pense of growing the potatoes, 10 acres cost only 
$54.25. It seems to us that these methods of figuring 
are legitimate enough. The successful fertilizer 
farmers crowd three or four years’ supply of fertilizer 
upon their money crop, like potatoes, fruit or truck. 
The grass that follows the potato crop is grown, prac¬ 
tically, without further cost, and may fairly be cred¬ 
ited against the expense of preparing the potato crop. 
In Mr. Norton’s plan, the millet does not injure the 
potatoes. In fact, during a damp season, this quick¬ 
growing crop would take up the moisture and, pos¬ 
sibly, prevent rot. A dense crop of millet that could 
be cut and taken off would surely be better than the 
usual crop of weeds. Crimson clover might be used 
in place of the millet. 
© 
It seems that we are likely to have a milking ma¬ 
chine that will give, at least, fairly good results. The 
plan of pumping or sucking the milk from the cow in 
imitation of the calf’s method of milking, is likely to 
be abandoned, and a light machine that will do the 
work of the human hand will, doubtless, in time, take 
the place of many human milkers. It is fair to ask 
whether the introduction of this machine will really 
benefit the small farmer. It is easy to see that such 
a machine will be of great service to the owner of a 
large herd. Let a man put 100 cows in a long shed 
with an engine to run 20 of these machines. -He will 
save the wages of, at least, six milkers. In former 
times, when hay was the chief winter cow food, these 
extra men would have been needed to cut and handle 
and feed out the bulky fodder. Now the silo has 
changed all this, and on some large dairy farms, it is 
necessary to take up other lines of work in order to 
keep the milkers busy. The milking machine will 
save money for these extensive dairymen, and it will 
tend to increase the size of the dairies. The saving 
in the cost of labor will concentrate the business of 
milk production just as improved machinery in other 
enterprises has taken work from smaller concerns and 
given it to the larger establishments which could 
raise the capital needed to utilize the machinery. We 
think that a similar result will follow the introduc¬ 
tion of this milking machine. The fact that milk 
must now be drawn entirely by hand power, gives 
the dairyman with a small herd a fair chance to com¬ 
pete with his larger neighbor, because the latter’s 
capital is powerless to cheapen the cost of milking. 
Once provide the monied man with a machine for 
doing this work, and the poor man’s chance for com¬ 
petition is gone, for the hand that has lost in so many 
contests with machinery, cannot hope to compete 
ith metal and rubber fingers on a milking machine. 
It may be said that the introduction of the separator 
has not injured the business of the small dairyman. We 
are not so sure about that, and in any event, the com¬ 
parison of the effects of separator or milking ma¬ 
chine is not a fair one, for the latter will require far 
more power and capital than the former. 
@ 
There are many good people who were greatly 
wrought up over the troubles of the Armenians who 
have been so cruelly persecuted by the outrageous 
Turks. Thousands of dollars were sent over the 
water to aid them, and the entire Christian world sent 
prayers and sympathy to suffering Armenia. It is 
now possible to come to closer range with these 
sufferers, as we learn from this note : 
Persons needing help on the farm or in the kitchen, might do 
well to obtain the services of some of the Armenian refugees who 
have just landed at New York. As a class, they are sober, intelli¬ 
gent and industrious; and they are willing to work for small 
wages while learning the language. Almost all are men, as few 
women escaped. A number of the men are willing to take places 
to do housework, however, if such places offer. 
ALICE STONE BLACKWELL. 
Col. Holland, of the Salvation Army in this city, has 
charge of these refugees, and wishes to find homes 
for them. They have come to America as our fore¬ 
fathers did, seeking liberty and the right to worship 
God as conscience dictates. It is comparatively easy 
to sympathize with people who are thousands of miles 
away. Now, “The Greeks are at your door !” Let us 
make these Armenians into true Americans. 
G 
BREVITIES. 
MRS. HEN TALKS. 
Come hither, Mr. Shiftless Man, and list to me, I beg ! 
Cut! Cut! Ker! Bar! Cut! Translate that! It means, “I’ve 
laid an egg !” 
And furthermore, that sentence gives—as you will quickly see, 
In choicest Leghorn rhetoric, my egg’s true pedigree. 
Cut! That means C, clean house and nest—with whitewash daz¬ 
zling bright, 
Another Cut ! That stands for corn fed sparingly at night. 
Ker! There’s a K for kerosene for lice and mites that sit 
Beneath the roosts and in the night turn comfort into “nit”, 
And Bar ! That stands for double dose of muscle-makers strong. 
So balance up my ration if you’d hear my laying song. 
And Cut ! again for capable, not shiftless, management. 
Bring on a man of any age and I will pay his rent, 
And buy an organ for his wife and for his boy a wheel, 
And keep the ship of home afloat upon an even keel. 
Cut! Cut! Ker! Bar! Cut! Mr. Man—get these words down by 
heart. 
Just put them into practice, sir, and I will do my part. 
Boil ’em down. 
Use the door mat. 
Make hay while the wind blows. 
Read how Mr. Norton saves steps, page 741. 
Manure from muck—read the article on page 737. 
Give us more discussion about your favorite breed. 
Kicking is a bad cow disease to bring into your herd. 
Let the reform of the dog question begin with chloroform. 
Dr. Kilborne explains the new Horseshoer’s law, page 736. 
Don’t love a dollar so well that the love of it (its like a collar. 
Too many looks inside the pot will spoil the broth as like as not. 
You’ll find “Among the Marketmen ” on page 745. Don’t miss 
reading it ! 
When bones can be steamed and ground fine, it is not necessary 
to use acid on them. 
“My pigs are hogs from the time they are farrowed,” says the 
Berkshire man on page 746. 
Wanted (The worst kind)! The life history and true habits 
of the insects that infest poultry ! 
It is a steep climb from a scrub to a high grade. It takes a 
pure male to make the difference. 
A man doesn’t blacken his character every time he polishes his 
shoes. It is no disgrace to be neat. 
A scrub is a double taxer. You are taxed for keeping her, and 
she taxes your pocketbook to keep her in food. 
Think of that 19-year-old Jersey cow still doing profitable work 
in the dairy—page 746. There’s an honorable record for you. 
One of the prize winners at the New York State Fair says that 
he did not know what “ starter ” meant until asked if he used one. 
The surplus rooster gives a scare crow. That is, its crow ought 
to scare you at the thought of the useless food going down its 
throat. 
Up to October 15, this country sent 368,643 barrels of apples 
abroad as compared with 29,042 barrels in the same season last 
year. That accounts for some of the gold that has lately been 
coming back to us. 
When a 200-pound man in perfect health can’t earn money 
enough to pay his board, and a 90-pound woman earns enough to 
support an entire family, is there something lacking in the man 
or something extra in the woman ? 
□ You try to eat with a sore tooth in your mouth, for a month, and 
see what your family have to say about your temper, at the end 
of the time. That horse may have a sore tooth. Perhaps it’s a 
bad tooth that makes the cow “ fall off.” Look it up ! 
In the article on strawberry growing, page 669, we made an 
error in saying that the Marshall strawberry yielded only 1,000 
quarts per acre. This should have read 10,000. The statement 
was an injustice to a fine variety. Mr. Tice says that he would 
discard any variety that would not yield 5.000 quarts. 
A Connecticut friend sends us the following advice as to the 
best way to prevent hard times: 
Always pay spot cash, 
And never get trusted ; 
It prevents any crash, 
And you can’t be busted. 
Our readers will now want to know how to get “spot cash” with¬ 
out any spots on it. 
