Profitable Farming de¬ 
pends as much on sell- 
ing~as 'on producing. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER’S 
A crop which is well 
grown is only half 
way to market. 
MARKET, CROP AND NEWS SPECIAL. 
TRADE WINDS. 
Financial.— Reports from all the great 
money centers abroad denote dull trade in¬ 
cident to the holiday season, but increasing 
firmness. Confidence is gradually return¬ 
ing and it is hoped that business will re¬ 
sume its wonted activity with the begin¬ 
ning of the New Year. This is good news, 
for it means an increased demand for our 
export goods, and a consequent improve¬ 
ment in business on this side. The stock 
market in this city is dull, as is usual dur¬ 
ing holiday week ; but money is easier and 
the supply seems more plentiful. The 
bank statements of Saturday showed a 
gain of over $3,500,000 in cash, a good show¬ 
ing, Confidence is returning slowly, and 
with seasonable weather business is likely 
to improve. Other cities report prospects 
improving,and increased business probable. 
The week’s business in general mer¬ 
chandise was light. The Journal of Com¬ 
merce says that the near approach to the 
close of the year accounted in part for the 
restricted movements. The leading specu¬ 
lative articles have been declining most of 
the week on account of the dullness. 
Breadstuffs ranged to a decidedly easier 
basis. The movements of wheat and corn 
from farmers’ hands enlarged, and all 
Western markets have had more cash prop¬ 
erty on offer. The provision packers found 
low prices on hogs, and were willing to 
market the products at a decline. The 
grocery trade had more business in coffee, 
but found slow sales otherwise. The deal¬ 
ings in metals have been very light, while 
prices for most articles have been depressed. 
Philadelphia operators say there are sev¬ 
eral features that must soon become active 
factors in aiding those who are banking on 
higher prices for their specialties, among 
which may be mentioned the prospective 
ease of money in the near future, the 
Western railroad agreement, the low rates 
of sterling exchange, the return to the 
banks of money that has been hoarded, 
and the hope that Congress will in the end 
do something advantageous in the way of 
financial legislation. Some people are too 
prone to look to Congress for a remedy for 
every financial ill and for relief from diffi¬ 
culties brought on themselves by their own 
mismanagement. What the next Congress 
will do towards improving the financial 
condition of the country is a problem. No 
extreme partisan legislation can be enacted 
because the two Houses of Congress being 
politically opposed will act as a check upon 
each other. The farmers’ candidates 
elected do not hold the balance of power; 
but they will undoubtedly influence legis¬ 
lation in the farmers’ favor. After the 
recent manifestation of the strength of the 
agricultural classes at the polls, neither of 
the old parties will dare disregard any 
reasonable demands made in favor of those 
classes. The great danger lies in their 
asking favors they are unwilling to grant 
other classes. This can secure only a 
temporary advantage at best. Class legis¬ 
lation has no place in this country. On 
the whole, the year opens favorably for the 
country at large. There are al ways some 
localities where hardships caused by fail¬ 
ures of crops and other local conditions, 
are endured, but upon the whole as a 
nation the outlook is encouraging. 
The president of the Illinois State As¬ 
sembly of F. M. B. A. is endeavoring to 
break up what is declared to be a boycott 
by the packers and other buyers of the 
Chicago stockyards, against an agent of 
the Stock Shippers’ Association of the West 
and Southwest. This association some 
years ago purchased a membership that 
enabled it to place an agent of its own 
at the stockyards. Members of the associ¬ 
ation then proceeded to ship stock to this 
agent, who charged them the same com¬ 
mission on sales that other commission 
men charged, but he gave rebates of 65 per 
cent, so that he virtually cut rates. To 
break up this rate-cutting the packers re¬ 
fused to buy stock of the offender, and, it 
is charged, entered into a conspiracy against 
him to root him out. 
AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 
Fourteen cotton-laden cars were de¬ 
stroyed by fire near New Orleans. 
A grain-drill trust, or combination of 
manufacturers as you prefer, is the latest. 
During a recent outbreak of pleuro-pneu- 
monia in Scotland, 425 cattle were slaugh¬ 
tered. 
Many of the Oklahoma settlers are said 
to have nothing but turnips upon which to 
subsist. 
The experiment of bringing molasses 
from Cuba in tank steamers the same as 
oil is now carried, is to be tried. 
A fatal horse disease similar to colic is 
prevailing in Vernon County, Mo.; and no 
remedy has been found to check it. 
There are said to be 81 boats frozen fast 
in the Erie Canal between Little Falls and 
Utica, about half of which are loaded with 
grain. 
A sugar factory and refinery with a 
capacity of 500 tons of beets and 50 tons of 
sugar daily, is to be built in San Ber¬ 
nardino County, Cal. 
Arrangements have been perfected in 
London whereby Peru's guano deposits 
have been made to pay her public debt 
amounting to £50,000,000. 
The officials of Cologne have seized a 
quantity of American bacon valued at 
60,000 marks, and have arrested a Dutch 
merchant who imported it. 
Several farm barns have been burned in 
Salem County, N. J., within a few weeks, 
evidently by incendiaries, and it is thought 
to be the work of horse thieves. 
B. H. Warren, M. D., Ornithologist of 
the Pennsylvania State Board of Agricul¬ 
ture, has issued a second and revised edi¬ 
tion of the Birds of Pennsylvania. 
A pork buyer at Chatham, Ont., Can., 
obtained bills of lading for 10 car-loads of 
pork, cashed them at the bank for $18,000 
and decamped. No pork was delivered. 
The County Cork Agricultural Society 
has been discussing the discrepancy be¬ 
tween the prices the farmers receive for 
pigs, and those the consumers pay for 
bacon. 
The government of Uruguay has intro¬ 
duced a bill in the Chamber of Deputies 
raising the duties on spirits, sugar, per¬ 
fumery, silks, tinned provisions and to¬ 
bacco. 
A $500,000 stockyard is to be built at 
Dubuque, Iowa. The company has just 
been formed. It will be followed by a 
large packing house, which will be opened 
by Chicagoans. 
The Supreme Court of Iowa has rendered 
a decision that real estate mortgages are 
not taxable. It holds that they are not 
property but simply securities and there¬ 
fore exempt from taxation. 
Local agents of the Champion mowers 
and reapers have been requested to resign, 
the reason assigned being that the Amer¬ 
ican Harvester Company will hereafter 
transact the business of the former manu¬ 
facturers. 
The Wool Growers’ Association of Texas 
will make an effort to have the next leg¬ 
islature offer a bounty for wolf scalps. 
Sheepmen in the southwestern part of the 
State have suffered severely from the dep¬ 
redations of these animals. 
The yearlings and horses in training be¬ 
longing to the late August Belmont were 
sold at Babylon, L. I., on Saturday. 
Twenty-eight animals brought $123,600, 
among which were Potomac, $25,000, and 
La Tosca, $13,000. The prices realized are 
considered moderate. 
The Government grant of £400 has been 
renewed to the class of Scotch school¬ 
masters who are taught agriculture in the 
University of Edinburgh. Each one attend¬ 
ing the last class received the price of his 
return railway ticket and £3 towards the 
expenses of his month’s residence in Edin¬ 
burgh. 
A Vermont turkey, not having the fear 
of the Tariff law before her eyes, went 
across the border into Canada, laid her 
eggs, hatched her young and after rearing 
them smuggled them into the States in 
utter disregard of the duty of three cents 
per pound which had been imposed during 
her absence. 
The Minister of Finance has issued a de¬ 
cree declaring that Spain must follow the 
protective movement of America and 
Europe, repeal portions of the existing 
tariff, and largely increase the duties on 
horses, mules, cattle, preserved and ,'salted 
meats, flour rice and cereals from the be¬ 
ginning of the new year. 
Interest in the cultivation of flax is on 
the increase in the West, more so in Kansas 
and the Southwest than in the Northwest. 
Flax mills in Minneapolis are under roof 
and the manufacture of flax fiber will be 
begun in a few months. It is said that no 
climate is better suited for flax growing 
than that of the Dakotas and Minnesota. 
The Northern California Citrus Fair will 
open at Marysville, January 12. The State 
appropriation of $2,500 will be given away 
as premiums to growers of citrus fruits, 
raisins and olives outside of the Sixth Con¬ 
gressional district. A premium of $100 
will be given for the best essay on orange 
culture. The competition is open to any 
one, the essay to be limited to 2,000 words. 
The English Parliament has passed and 
the Queea has approved a bill for the 
supply of seed potatoes to occupiers and 
cultivators of land in Ireland. The seed is 
not free, however, but is to be sold, after 
considerable red tape has been unwound, 
in limited quantities, to cultivators whose 
land is properly prepared. There are 
numerous conditions and restrictions to be 
complied with before seed can be obtained. 
Notwithstanding the evident opposition 
of the people at large to the scheme for 
irrigating the arid lands of the West art 
public expense, the House Committee on 
the Irrigation of Arid Lands during the 
past week agreed on the provisions of a 
bill to authorize the survey of the arid 
lands into irrigation districts, to be ceded 
to the States and Territories in which they 
are situated for the purpose of reclamation 
and settlement. 
The decree of the Spanish Minister of 
Finance in relation to increasing the duties 
on imports is causing much discussion in 
Madrid. The following are two examples 
of the severity of the new tariff; The duty 
on brood mares has been increased from 
25 shillings a head to 5 pounds 10 shillings, 
while the duty on wheat flour has been in¬ 
creased from 18 shillings to 5 pounds 6 
shillings. 
Judge Reed of Pennsylvania has decided 
that oleomargarine imported from other 
States can be sold in Pennsylvania in the 
original packages although a State law 
prohibits the manufacture or sale of the 
concoction in that State. The law still 
prohibits the home manufacture of the 
product and the sale of home made “ oleo ” 
and of “ imported ” oleo except in the 
“ original packages.” j 
Maine has 3,318 abandoned farms, about 
five per cent of the farms in the State. 
The total area is 254,513 acres] and “they 
are valued at about $5 per acre. Numerous 
reasons are given for their abandonment, 
the chief ones being that the owners]have 
died and non-residents are now the pro¬ 
prietors ; that the land is naturally poor 
and not worth reclaiming, and the rapid 
settlement of the West and low,]railroad 
freights #ausing ruinous competition. 
A call signed by Farmers’ Alliance repre¬ 
sentatives of 17 States, is out for a general 
convention or national conference «to meet 
at Cincinnati, Ohio, on February 23,1891, to 
unite for political action]on a national basis 
the following organizations : The Inde¬ 
pendent party, the People’s party by its 
representatives; the Union Labor’party, by 
its representatives; the Late Federal and 
Confederate Soldiers, by their representa¬ 
tives; the Farmers’ Alliance, the Farmers’ 
Mutual Benefit Association, the ^Citizens’ 
Alliance, the Knights of Labor, the Colored 
Farmers’ Alliance and all other industrial 
organizations that support the principles 
of the St. Louis agreement of December, 
1889. 
Condensed Correspondence. 
Maysville, Ark. —Wheat is the princi¬ 
pal money crop here, bringing from 60 to 
90 cents per bushel iu the fall. Wheat, 
corn and oats are the principal crops here ; 
very little grass or clover; no new tools. 
Hogs rank first, young mules next, mules 
bringing from $40 to $60 at weaning. Hogs, 
though, are low in price at present, only 
$3.25 per 100 pounds gross, but generally $3 
to $4 Not many sheep kept in the country. 
Horses are dying very fast here with what 
is called blind staggers, and there seems to 
be no remedy for it: it is supposed to be 
caused by feeding the corn this year, as it 
is very light and badly damaged by late 
rains. Cattle in poor condition for the 
winter and not much feed and no sale for 
them at all. p. d. 
Macomb County, Micii —Macomb Coun¬ 
ty is in the eastern part of the State bor¬ 
dering on Lake St. Clair, and lying 10 to 40 
njiles north of Detroit. Farmers fairly 
prosperous. Most crops light this year but 
fair quality. We have had a very peculiar 
season, being wet until July, then very dry 
until August, since which we have had the 
wettest weather on record until November 
15. Lately we have had beautiful winter 
weather, being pleasant and dry. o.W.D. 
Juneau County, Wis.—I sold one car¬ 
load of Early Ohio Potatoes here at 75 cents 
per bushel; I have another car load for 
which I want $1, but do not know whether 
I will get it. b. A. s. 
Franklin County, Kan.— We make but¬ 
ter, have it engaged to customers at a 
stated price the year round, and this brings 
in a steady amount of cash each month, 
and with hogs to feed the skimmed milk 
to it is, I believe, as profitable as anything, 
especially this season, with a short crop of 
corn and hay. Corn is worth 40 to 45 
cents. One year ago it was worth 15 cents. 
Farming has changed and improved. There 
is a greater variety of crops raised. Tame 
grass is taking the place of prairie grass 
especially for meadows. More wheat is 
sown in this neighborhood than ever be¬ 
fore. Much interest is shown in the im¬ 
provement of stock. There are few sheep 
here. The best improved tools are gradu¬ 
ally coming into use; especially is much 
interest taken in Improved cultivators and 
tools for pulverizing the soil. I find that 
cows and hogs are the most profitable. 
Prospects for the live stock industry are 
improving. ,l. f. h. 
CROP AND MARKET NOTES. 
Mushrooms bring 90 cents per pound if 
fresh. 
Hothouse tomatoes sell for 75 cents per 
pound. 
Tomatoes from Florida retail for 75 cents 
per quart. 
Bsrmuda potatoes retail for 75 cen ts per 
half peck. 
New Orleans sends nice lettuces at 10 
cents per head. 
A half peck of choice eating apples may 
be purchased for 40 cents. 
It is said that sugar beets can be raised 
in Washington at a cost of $3 25 per ton. 
Cranberries are successfully grown in 
Washington. They are worth $8 to $10 per 
barrel there. 
Rabbits are selling at retail for 20 to 25 
cents per pair, dressed. The skins bring 
one cent each. 
Wool has been les3 disturbed in price 
during the recent financial panic than any 
other domestic product. 
A cargo of 2,300 ton3 of Washington 
wheat has been shipped from Seattle for 
London by way of Cape Horn. It is ex¬ 
pected to arrive in March. 
Tne scheme for the transportation of 
Florida oranges to this market by a regu¬ 
larly chartered fleet of steamers, has fallen 
through because the growers failed to ship 
by them. The first steamer secured but 
half a cargo. As the arrangement would 
have made an immediate saving of 10 cents 
per box besides securing future advantages, 
it is difficult to understand why they 
should fail to cooperate with the exchange. 
