852 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
December 26 
The Rural New=Yorker. 
THE BUSINESS FARMERS' PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established. 1850. 
Elbert S. Carman. Editor-In-Chief. 
Herbert W. Colling wood, Managing Editor. 
John J. Dillon, Business Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTIONS. 
PRICE, ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04, equal to 
8s. 6d., or 8*4 marks, or 10^4 francs. 
ADVERTISING RATES. 
Thirty cents per agate line (14 lines to the inch). Yearly orders 
of 10 or more lines, and 1,000-line orders, 25 cents per line. 
Reading Notices, ending with “ Adv.," 75 cents per 
count line. Absolutely One Price Only. 
Ad vertisements inserted only for responsible and honorable houses 
We must have copy one week before the date of issue. 
Be sure that the name and address of sender, with ntme of 
Post-office and State, and what the remittance is for, appear in 
every letter. Money orders and bank drafts on New York are the 
safest means of transmitting money. 
Address all business communications and make all orders pay¬ 
able to THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
Corner Chambers and Pearl Streets, New York. 
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 26, 1896. 
M. M. says truly, on page 851, that there is but one 
“ King ” apple worthy the name. But, like many 
other good things, it suffers from counterfeits. In a 
New Jersey grocery, not long since, the writer saw 
some Ben Davis apples, placarded Kings, at a good 
round price per basket. The public need educating. 
They need to be so well informed that such imposi¬ 
tions will be impossible. 
0 
Mr. Hoover of Colorado tells us on page 851, how 
to keep Jack Frost away from the late strawberries 
by placing light, portable frames over the best plants. 
This is as legitimate as placing frames over a few 
rows of asparagus in the spring to force this vege¬ 
table for the early market. Gardeners are constantly 
thinking out such plans. They are obliged to in 
order to keep up with the times. 
O 
Even an innocent-looking plant may be engaged in 
the liquor business ; the East Indian Pitcher plant 
(Nepenthes) is an example. Each leaf terminates in 
a pendent, lidded pitcher, containing a sweetish fluid, 
very attractive to insects. After drinking, the fly 
becomes intoxicated, and falls into the liquid, to be 
absorbed by its host. As the Nepenthes grows on 
limestone rocks, the insects are, probably, entrapped 
to form a balanced ration. The “ muscle-makers ” in 
a fly surely ought to make rapid growth. Saloon 
plants are like human rumsellers. Theyboth live by 
absorbing the substance of their victims. 
O 
The United States House of Representatives has 
passed a bill authorizing citizens to print private 
mailing cards of the same size, quality and weight as 
the present postal card. These cards are to be car¬ 
ried as lawful mails whenever they bear a one-cent 
stamp. The object of this, evidently, is to enable 
business men to print an attractive advertisement on 
these cards and have Uncle Sam do the distributing 
for them. Thus it is that, year after year, improve¬ 
ments are made in the mail service for the benefit of 
those who do business in town and city. Why not 
give the country people better service ? Extend the 
free delivery system to the country wherever it is 
practical. Next week we expect to show how it has 
been started in Michigan. 
O 
When a florist wishes to force a hardy June rose, 
he ripens the wood by withholding water, prunes 
severely, and allows the plant to feel the frost. On 
being taken into the greenhouse, the deluded rose 
imagines that winter is over, and immediately starts 
up in business. About the middle of November, we 
took up some Parker Earle strawberry plants with 
the transplanter, set them in rich soil, and put them 
in a dark cellar. They were kept without water until 
the leaves died down ; then they were brought into 
the light and well watered. They are now growing 
just as plants do in spring after the mulch is removed. 
Next spring, as an experiment, we shall mow off a 
number of plants when they come into bloom, shade 
them and keep off the water until late in July, and 
then irrigate and use a soluble fertilizer. We are after 
a good second crop. 
0 
Mr. Van Wagenen has recently given us an inter¬ 
esting account of the simple chemistry of milk. We 
are now to follow this with some studies of the cow’s 
udder by Prof. C. S. Plumb of the Indiana Experi¬ 
ment Station. Prof. Plumb has recorded one feature 
of his work in a very valuable bulletin, and, beginning 
with next week, The R. N.-Y. will present a synopsis 
of his conclusions. The stomach of a cow may be 
compared to the engine in a factory, while the udder 
is like the intricate machine which, with the engine 
to give it power, turns crude material into a finely 
finished product. Skilled inventors turn much of 
their energy to the improvement of the machine, and 
we think that Prof. Plumb’s conclusions will show 
that we must take the cow’s udder into consideration 
in breeding for improved stock. 
© 
The scientific men have proved beyond all reason¬ 
able doubt that it is possible to feed pigs so that the 
pork will contain a large proportion of lean meat. 
By the judicious use of foods containing muscle¬ 
making material, the lard can be made muscular, so 
to speak. Certain breeds of hogs are, doubtless, more 
likely to give this lean pork than others, but the im¬ 
proved feeding is chiefly responsible for it. This 
feeding will usually cost more, for, as a rule, the 
muscle-making foods are more expensive. A prac¬ 
tical farmer may well ask, “ Will it pay me to try to 
produce the leaner pork ? Who will pay me more 
for it ?” For home use, the lean pork will surely be 
appreciated, but what buyer will pay an increased 
price for it ? Probably private customers might be 
obtained who would willingly pay more, but how 
about the man who sells live hogs on the regular 
market ? Will lean pork pay ? That is a question 
we would like to have answered by practical men. 
O 
The fruit-growing interests of the Hudson River 
Valley are of immense importance. We have, at the 
eastern side of the State of New York, large areas 
almost ideal so far as soil and location are concerned, 
for the growing of grapes, peaches, apples and small 
fruits. The Hudson River affords rapid and cheap 
communication with the greatest market on the con¬ 
tinent. Surely this section affords an admirable field 
for an organization among horticulturists. We would 
like to have Hudson River fruit growers consider the 
following letter carefully : 
Why could not the fruit growers along the Hudson River form 
an organization on the plan of the Western New York Horticul¬ 
tural Society, and meet annually for the discussion of horticul¬ 
tural subjects ? I think that many fruit growers would be glad 
to see such an organization, and willing to help organize it. I 
would like to see this matter placed before our prominent fruit 
growers, and see what they think of the idea. An organization 
for such a purpose could, undoubtedly, get speakers from our 
experiment stations, and, undoubtedly, every true horticulturist 
will see the need of such an association and help its organization 
as much as possible. u. d. van buren. 
Columbia County, N. Y. 
Our friend has not begun to state the advantages 
that may be expected from such an organization. 
The R. N.-Y. heartily indorses the suggestion, and 
will do all in its power to help in the matter. Let us 
hear from fruit growers at once, and endeavor to hold 
the first meeting this winter. 
0 
The R. N.-Y. believes in printer’s ink. It is the 
nitrogen of trade, because it stimulates desire on the 
part of the consumer, and shows him where to go 
and satisfy that desire. Farmers should not leave 
this valuable business aid to the townspeople. An 
advertisement in the local paper, a neat circular or 
card will always help trade. There is another use 
for printer’s ink that is important. It is well brought 
out in the following letter : 
WHAT IS YOUR NAME ? 
Why should not every farmer have his name and address 
plainly printed on letterheads and envelopes ? It would not cost 
more than $2 or $3 a year, and would be a great convenience to 
his correspondents, and an indication of good business methods 
on his part. The need of it is apparent to any one who has even 
a small correspondence. It is surprising the number of people 
there are in the world who can write everything moderately plain 
except their own names and that of the town in which they live. 
I have had more than the usual amount of trouble from this 
cause in the past few months, and many letters have not been 
answered simply because I either could not make out the writer’s 
name, and so did not know whom to address, or else I could not 
determine where to send the letter. As an example, I have on 
my desk while writing this letter, two letters from different men, 
both of whose signatures are absolutely illegible. I have sub¬ 
mitted these signatures to a number of good business men, and 
no one has been able to decipher them. How can one answer 
such letters ? It is a common thing for writers to leave off their 
State, but the post mark usually solves this difficulty. Sometimes 
not. A letter was recently received from Bridgeville, no State, 
and no post mark on the envelope. The postal guide gives nine 
towns of this name in the United States. Where would you send 
an answer ? Printed letterheads cost very little more than plain 
paper. When they are used, there can be no question about the 
name and address, and besides this, their use gives the impres¬ 
sion that the farmer using them is more enterprising than his 
neighbors—a good impression to make. h. m. cottrell. 
Ellerslie Farm. 
That is an excellent reform to start with the new 
year. We often have such letters and, sometimes, it 
is impossible to answer them until the correspondent 
writes a second time complaining that he has not 
been well treated. Some of our readers use the 
cheap rubber stamps for printing name and address 
on the letter and, in this way, avoid these troubles. 
We are sure that it will prove a good investment for 
any farmer to have his name and address printed on 
his letter paper. Get a good name for your farm and 
print that also. This is a business reform that ought 
to be pushed. 
© 
A friend in Connecticut sends us this letter, which 
is a fair sample of a number that are received during 
the year : 
The manager of a “ labor bureau”, in New York City, adver¬ 
tised that he would furnish farm help. I saw the advertisement 
in a number of papers, and, I think, The R. N.-Y. among them. 
I wrote to the man asking whether he could send me two German 
farm laborers. I wanted green help, but used to farming in Ger¬ 
many. He replied to send him the railroad fare, $5.10, and $2, his 
fee, and he would send two farm laborers at once, Germans. I 
sent the money, and after 10 days wrote and inclosed a stamped 
envelope for reply, but got none. I wrote again—no reply. I 
went to a lawyer who wrote and got no reply, but in two days, a 
German came along, who said that the man had sent him; but I 
was not to deduct the railroad fare, and the man was a profes¬ 
sional painter, knew nothing about farming, except that he said 
he had once milked a cow. This man went back to New York, as 
he was of no use to me. The “manager” says that he sent an¬ 
other man, but he has not come. I think that such frauds on 
farmers ought to be exposed. 
Certainly they ought to be exposed. There are lots 
of them. The trouble is that this particular fraud 
never advertised in The R. N.-Y. at all. Our friend 
saw the advertisement in some other paper, and, in 
studying over the matter, as people do who answer 
such cards, got things a little mixed. Sometimes a 
rogue obtains a little false credit in just this way. 
People have come to realize that The R. N.-Y. edits 
its advertising columns as well as its reading matter. 
Many a rogue would pay considerable money to have 
his advertisement appear just once in this paper. It 
would give him credit with readers and publishers 
everywhere to have it known that The R. N.-Y. en¬ 
abled him to talk to its readers. Don’t trust to mem¬ 
ory in such matters, and thus let the rogues clip off a 
piece of The R. N.-Y.’s reputation. 
0 
BREVITIES. 
We will close up our year with a talk about bread , 
The great staff of life, as has truly been said. 
Chop off the first letter and, surely, our bread 
Is just like The Rural— it’s kneaded and read! 
You see by the statement upon the next page, 
The “ New Journalism ” is now all the rage. 
The up-to-date farmer drops r and is led 
To work—as the Englishman says—with ’is 'ead! 
But now drop the e and, of course, you are glad 
To see that the bread is reduced to an ad. 
That means advertisement—so let people know 
The Rural’s alive, and then add—help it grow. 
And now let us stop, for the d all alone 
Might represent words of a dubious tone ! 
But, no ! Who’s afraid ? Let us say without fear, 
Here’s h-a-n-rf for the incoming year ! 
Laziness needs no nurse. 
Push hope along—it’s a good thing. 
Get an interest in fundamental principles. 
Prof. Begin gets more votes than Gen. Finish. 
Think of half-cent pork in Louisiana—page 859. 
Too heavy a lift is the bacterium of a terrible back. 
Go—bury your prejudices. Turn them into fertilizer ! 
A fine course. That is what the best agricultural colleges are 
giving. 
A mill due— the miller’s toll. Cure it by grinding your grain 
at home. 
It may be that “ you take the dust ” because your wheels are 
thick with rust. 
L. A. Clinton replies to the critics of his late article on early 
lambs—page 851. 
A car-load of New York State Jersey cows and heifers recently 
sold in Iowa at an average of $35 each. 
The world came near losing the famous “ King” apple—see 
page 851. A single graft saved it for posterity. 
Does Nature water from above ? Well, most of the water falls 
to the earth, but rises to the plants when they drink it. 
The R. N.-Y. is having a dose of sub irrigation. That is, the 
subscriptions are flowing in upon us like water. Keep it up ! 
Fred Grundy, page 847, should go on and tell the farmers where 
to get the cash for their trading. How can you cut loose from 
credit ? 
Some farmers are in prison. When the roads are good, they are 
too busy to get away from home. When they have leisure, the 
roads are too bad for travel. 
At the bicycle race in this city, one wheelman covered 1,900 
miles in six days. What helped him most ? A level, hard track 
No speed without a good road. 
Consumptive patients often wrap in warm furs and sit out in 
the frosty air. Pure air is healing. Don’t treat a consumptive 
cow that way. Her own fur is not warm enough for zero weather. 
Are you fond of vanilla ? Be grateful to the moth that ferti¬ 
lizes the vanilla orchid. Without its work Central America could 
supply no vanilla. Thank the moth that flavors your cake and 
pudding. 
Here’s a rule of buttermaking that is good for any day—it will 
suit in any time or clime or land. From the time the cream is 
started till it’s worked and packed away. You should never 
touch the butter with your hand. 
A milk man grows a patch of fine celery. Every now and then 
he cleans up a nice bunch of it and leaves it by the side of his 
customer’s milk can as a present or premium ! That is business. 
It doesn’t hurt him, but it makes trade. 
Senator Morgan has proposed an amendment to the immigra¬ 
tion laws of the United States to the effect that no person shall be 
admitted to citizenship who “cannot read correctly the Ten Com¬ 
mandments and the Constitution of the United States printed in 
the English language.” We would like to further amend this by 
adding the words “ and obey them.” 
