i 7 o 
FEB. 28 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
ing a tall bush very much branched. It 
bears enormous crops every year, produc¬ 
ing several times as much as any cotton I 
have seen in the States. It is never culti¬ 
vated. The Southern and tropical 
grasses do splendidly here, therefore 
the natives 1 refer cattle raising to 
agriculture. They do not like to work and 
do not know any agricultural instrument 
but the machete, a long knife which they 
use for clearing the land and for cultivating 
the crop. As the heat never gets as intense as 
in the United States, in summer, all ttffe 
Northern vegetables do very well even on 
the sea-coast. On the high plains of the in¬ 
terior all the land is cleared and cultivated 
or pastured. People did not think of leav¬ 
ing any forests, so firewood is exceedingly 
dear at San Jose. These lands are partly 
worn out already; I think they are deficient 
in phosphorus. Here the main crop is coffee. 
Near Cartago they raise principally corn 
(flint) and Irish potatoes, of which they 
have only one variety, a large one, very pro¬ 
ductive, of a peculiar color, violet and yel¬ 
low, and very irregular in shape. Besides 
the potato some very fine roots are cultiva¬ 
ted here: the manioca, the yams, the coco or 
carco and the chayote. The two first are too 
well known to need description. The coco 
is a large species of allocasia which makes 
several large roots of very fine quality. 
The chayote is a sicyos, a vegetable pear, 
which makes several enormous roots of de¬ 
licious quality; besides this, it produces an 
immense amount of fruits which are fine 
vegetables, better than unripe squashes or 
kolrabi, and they are used in the same way; 
it produces fruits all the year long. As the 
vine is perennial, the roots a re dug out care¬ 
fully, without injury to the plant. The 
yams, the coco and the chayote do very 
well in the Southern United States and it 
is very regrettable that they are not more 
widely planted there, being so productive 
and of such fine quality, especially the two 
latter: the young leaves and the ends of the 
runners of the chayote are also used as 
“quelite” boiled and eaten like spinach; 
but the young leaves and the ends of the 
squash and pumpkin, also the flowers are 
used here in the same way; folks make a 
very fine soup of pumpkin and squash flow¬ 
ers. 
Vegetables.— People eat great quanti¬ 
ties of summer squashes, all of one variety, 
the “ Zapayo;” of pumpkins they get two 
varieties: the “Ayote” which has the 
shape of the common field pumpkin and is 
used unripe like a summer squash, and also 
ripe, boiled with sugar; the other variety, 
the “Chiverre” has the shape of au ob¬ 
long water-melon, not ribbed, of a very 
beautiful bright light green color, mottled 
with white; it is delicious when boiled with 
sugar—the best pumpkin I have yet eaten. 
The tomato does exceedingly well here, 
and never suffers from rot or crackiDg. The 
egg plant is always very small, probably 
from want of cultivation and lack of phos¬ 
phoric fertilizer. But on the Pacific side I 
have seen a very large, white, pear shaped 
variety which is as fine as any violet one; 
there it grows to the size of a large, fine 
fruit. The cabbage does very much better 
here than in the Southern United States; 
makes a very large and solid head, even 
under such primitive cultivation and with¬ 
out any fertilizer in a half worn out soil. 
This family suffers very little from insects 
here, while the musk-melon is greatly 
troubled by worms and borers. The water¬ 
melon does not do well in the interior, but 
very well on the Pacific side. All other 
vegetables do about as well here as in the 
North, but the people have mostly the 
poorest varieties and raise the seeds them¬ 
selves from poor plants. Of beans they 
have some very interesting varieties; one 
has a bright carmine husk. Of the Lima 
bean they have a brownish yellow va¬ 
riety and one of a bright carmine color, 
speckled with black ; this variety is a large, 
fat one ; the yellow one is of the size and 
shape of Dreer’s Improved Lima. On the 
Pacific side they have a tree bean, which 
makes a tall shrub or small tree, and bears 
every year a large crop ; it is a shell bean 
only. They have also a “pear tree,” but I 
haven’t yet seen it. 
Fruits. —Of fruit trees the tropical kinds 
and many of our Southern sorts do well, 
but many of them have not yet been intro¬ 
duced. Of bananas there are no good var¬ 
ieties ; the fig tree suffers from the borer; 
the South American large fruited fig 
(Ficus macrocarpa) has not yet been intro¬ 
duced ; neither has the Ficus sycomora. 
The olive grows well, but in the interior it 
does not seem to bear. The government 
wishes to introduce the grape-vine, but as 
yet it has not borne here. The V. rotundi- 
folia should be tried. I have seen V. vini- 
fera doing well on the Pacific coast—better 
than most American varieties. 
Colony Schemes. —An English coloniza¬ 
tion company has bought up the largest 
part of the free lands in the country. They 
have sent out several survey parties and it 
is claimed they are going to colonize on a 
large scale. If this is not a maroeuver to 
try to sell the stock at high prices, if they 
will really undertake colonizing, the fol¬ 
lowing points have to be conside red: People 
of large means will probably not come 
in the first four years. If the company 
merely sells the land to the immigrants 
without taking care of them, they must 
have the means to live at least one year 
from their pockets, and food is dear here. 
If the company takes care of the immi¬ 
grants and takes on itself the guarantee of 
success, it will have to keep them up for a 
year; then it will have to teach them what 
and how to cultivate to get returns as soon 
as possible. Then there are but few parts 
of the country where roads for communi¬ 
cation are easily made, and most rivers 
cannot be crossed as soon as it rains in the 
mountains ; bridges cannot be made there 
without enormous cost. Many parts are 
subject to overflow where one would think 
an overflow impossible. Some other tracts, 
however, unite all the desirable features, 
considering climate, soil, topographic for¬ 
mation (slightly rolling land, free from 
overflow is best here) and facility of com¬ 
munication with a sea-port or railroad sta¬ 
tion, or at least facility for making a “ com¬ 
munication” road. 
There are many kinds of very fine tim¬ 
ber here; but in the more populated parts 
of the country the natives seem to (ry to 
destroy all of it as fast as they can. 
San Joe A Costa Rica. c. werckle. 
Killings Farm Experiments. 
Those who are acquainted with the ex¬ 
tent of the Billings farm at Woodstock, 
Vt., and the scientific yet practical way in 
which it is conducted, will feel interested 
to read the announcement in another 
column headed “Something New About 
Potatoes,’’describingMr. Aitken’s methods 
of cutting the seed and planting. That a 
yield of 938 bushels of potatoes should be 
raised on \% acre of old pasture land in 
Southern Vermont is creditable alike to 
Mr. Aitkt n’s management and the efficacy 
of the Stockbridge Special Manure. 
LATEST WHOLESALE PRICES 
-OF- 
COUNTRY PRODUCE. 
New York, Monday, February 23 , i8qi 
Beans are unchanged, with the exception ol Red 
Kidneys, which have declined. The movement Is 
moderate. 
Marrows—New, (1 85®$2 75; New Mediums choice, 
$2 25; Pea, $2 25 ; Red Kidney, $2 75@$2 85; White 
Kidney, choice, $2 40®$2 50 ; Foreign Mediums, $1 90® 
$2 15; do Marrow, $2 65® $2 75; Green Peas, $1 C0®$1 05. 
California Lima, $2 95®$3. 
Butter has made another advance of 1% to 2 cents 
per pound on all grades. The demand Is quite moder 
ate, but as there are no accumulations and the recipts 
are extremely light, the sales of all good stock are 
quick. Dealers do not buy In large quantities, how¬ 
ever, taking only enough to keep their assortments 
good. 
Creamery.— Elgin, best, 29%@30c; State and Penn¬ 
sylvania, 193 89c; Western, best, 27<6 29c; do prime, 
26®28o; do good, 25®26c; do poor, 20 322c; West¬ 
ern Imitation Creamery, prime, 22«24c; do fine, 
18e20o; do pocr, 13®15c. Dairy.— State, best, 26®v7c; 
do prime, 23@25c; do good, 19<a22c ; do poor, 14@18c ; 
Western, prime, 192; 21c ; do fair, 15@17c; do poor, 11 
@13c; do factory, best, 222-c; do prime, 19@21c; do 
good, 15317c. 
Cheese.— There has been little change in prices 
during the last week, but the market is much more 
active, exporters doing more business in fancy lots. 
There Is also a good demand for the home trade. It 
is estimated that the home trade alone would use up 
all the stocks in hand, and, if this Is the case, prices 
are bound to go still higher. 
Fancy, lO^aitfyc; tine, 10>4®10%c; good, 9%@9%; 
fair, 92934c; light skims, 5®9c; skims, 2®2%o.; Ohio 
Flat, 7%®10%c. 
Eggs are a trifle lower than one week ago, though 
they have been still lower during the week. The 
receipts as well as the demands are liberal. Some 
holders are keeping their stock off the market In the 
expectation of higher prices. On Monday of last week 
receipts were over 6,000 barrels. 
Near by, fresu, 11 %®U^c; Canadian,—@—c; South¬ 
ern, 16%317 %b; Western, best, I7%3l7%e. 
Fruits.— Apples are in larger supply and continue 
dull. Fruit must be fine and in full-sized barrels to 
bring ouiside quotations. Grapes are scarce and 
prime ones sell quickly. Catawbas are the only 
domestic ones of any account. Florida oranges are 
Arm and the demand good for best brands; others are 
dull. Cranberries are dull and slow of sale. Both 
evaporated and sun-dried apples are Arm and the 
stocks are small. Cores .and skins dull and weak. 
Others unchanged. 
Apples—N. Spy, $3®$5 00; Baldwin, $2 50@$5 00; 
Green. $3 503$6 50; Ben Davis, $4 00®$5 50; common 
to good, $100384 00; Lemons, per box, $3 00@$100; 
Cranberries, Cape Cod. $9 00@$12 00 per bbl.; $3 00® 
$3 25 p8i crate; do Jersey $2 ?5@$3 00 per crate; Grapes, 
Catawba, 19@25c per basket. Grape Fruit, per bbl., 
$i®$6. Florida Oranges, fancy bright fruit, 176 to 
200, $4 00; fancy brlghts, mixed counts, $3, common to 
fair grade, $2 50@$2 75; coarse fruit, $150®$2 25; 
russets, $2®$2 37; tangerines, $3@$5 50; mandarins,$2 
@$8 and dull. 
Domestic. — Apples — Evaporated, good to fancy 
13%@15%c; poor, 11® 12c; coarse cut, 3%®9c; sliced, 
8®llc!; do old, 3%®39£c; Chopped, 4®4%c; Cores and 
skins, 3J£@4c. Cherries, new, 29@31c; do, old, 8®10c. 
Raspberries, 27@29c; Blackberries, 8®9c: Huckle 
berries, new, 18@19c -, Flums, new, 10@12c: Peaches, 
California peeled, 30®S2c; do unpeeled. 13® 18c. South¬ 
ern unpeeled, 6%@7c Apricots, California, ;5®2Cc; 
Plums, Cal., 15@16c. 
Gam£— Wild ducks are lower. Other game un¬ 
changed. Some stall-fed wild pigeons from the West 
sold at $2.75 per dozen. 
Wild Ducks. Western, Canvas, per pair, $3 50@$5 00 ; 
do, do, Redhead, per pair, $1 50®$3 CO; do, do, Mallard, 
per pair, 60@75c; do, do, Teal Blue wing, per pair, 35® 
50c; do, do, common, per pair, ?0®25c. Snipe, per 
doz., $1 50@$2 25; Plover, do., $1 50@$2. 
Hay continues dull, with free offerings and moder¬ 
ate demands. Prices unchanged. 
Choice, 70@75c, Timothy, No. 1, 50@60c; do No. 
2, 50®—c; shipping, 40®15c; Clover Mixed, 40®50c. 
Straw—No. 1 rye, 85®90c.; short rye, 50®60c; oat and 
wheat, 40®50c. 
Honey.— New Comb quoted nominally at I6@18c for 
white clover and !l@14c. for buckwheat. California 
extracted, 7@?%c. 
Hops continue dull. Trade Is light. No change In 
prices except a slight decline in one or two best 
grades. 
State, ’90 crop, 34®35c; do, prime and choice, ’89,24 
®26c; do good, 22323c do common, 16®20c; do 1888, 
good and prime, 15®17c; do do, common, I2@14c; 
Pacific Coast, 1883 crops, 18®26c; do, 1890 crop, 29@33c. 
Nuts. —Peanuts are dull. Fancy, hand-picked, 
quoted at 4@4}<fc, and farmers’ grades at 2%@3%c; 
Pecans, ll®12c ; Chestnuts, $2 00@$5 50 per bushel; 
Hickory Nuts, $1 75®$2 10 per bushel. 
Poultry.— Live poultry Is higher, with the excep¬ 
tion of turkeys. Receipts have been light. Dressed 
poultry shows little change, although the market Is 
dull and sales slow for everything excepting fine tur¬ 
keys. Capons are worth from 13 to 20 cents per 
pound, the latter price being for large ones. 
Poultry—Live.— Chickens—Spring, per lb, 11®—c. 
Fowls near-by, per lb, 12®—c, do Western, per lb, 
ll®12c; roosters, per lb, 6® 7c; Turkeys, per lb, 12® 
13c; Ducks, Western, per pair, 70®90c; Geese, West¬ 
ern, per pair, $127®$1 62, 
Poultry.—Dressed—T urkeys, mixed, per lb. 10® 
16c; Fowls, western, choice, 10® 12%c; do common to 
good, 5@8c; Ducks, spring, good, 10®17; SquaD; 
white, per dozen, $4 00@$4 50; do dark, do, $2 75); 
Chickens, spring, Philadelphia, ll@16c.; Western, 9 
®12o; Fowls, near by, 12®12%c. 
Vegetables.— Potatoes are quiet. Domestic have 
been in rather light receipt. Larger receipts of 
foreign are looked for soon. Many of the latter have 
been in poor order and have sold at irregular prices. 
Sweet potatoes steady under moderate arrl vals.Onions 
are in larger supply and a little dull. Turnips are a 
drug on the market. Squashes hi her. Southern 
produce doing well. 
Potatoes—Bermuda, per bbl. $6lX>®$7 00; Jersey, 
per do., $2 50@$3 25; State, do., $3®$3 25 ; Maine, do., 
$3 00®$3 50; Magnums, per 163 lb. sack, $2 75® 
$3 20; Sweets, do., $1 50®$3 50. Onions—Western New 
York, $3 75@$4 00; Connecticut Red, $3 75®$4 00, do 
White, $5 00®$6 00; do yellow, $3 75@$4 00. Western, 
$3 50@$4 00; Jersey, $3 75®$4 ;'Cabbage, L. I., per 100, 
$4®$7; Squash, per bbl., $1®$1 50; Turnips, per bbl. 
60®75c, Egg Plant, Soithern, per bbl., $83412; Cauli- 
fiower, per bbl., —®—, Celery, per doz.. 7fc3$150; 
String Beans, per crate, $1 50®$3 50; Cucumbers, Fla., 
per crate, $1 00®$1 50. Tomatoes, per oox, EOSSOe. 
Kale, Norfolk, per bbl, 25®75c; Spinach, Norfolk, per 
bbl, $1 00a$l 50. Peas, per crate, $2 <t $4. Beets, Fla., 
per crate, $i@$l 50. 
GRAIN MARKETS. 
WHEAT.—Sales—Ungraded Winter Red, at 1 07® 
1 09; No. 2 Red, $1 12%®$1 12% afloat; do. in store 
quoted, $1 10% No. 1 Hard spring, Nominal, $1 19® 
$1 19% afloat; No. 1 Northern, $116®$ 116% afloat; No. 
2 February, $1 10%; do March, $1 10%; do May, 
$1 06 M6$l 06 11 - 16 ; do June, $103%; do July, $108® 
$10013-16 do August, 9t%396%c; do September, 96c. 
RYE.—Quiet, but held firmly. Western, In boatloads, 
quoted at 80®84c: Canada, 72 374c to arrive; State, 
81®85c latter fancy. BARLEY.—Steady, but quiet. 
No. 2 Milwaukee, quoted at S2@88c; Ungraded West¬ 
ern, 78®92c; No. 2 Canada, 87c; extra No. 2 do, 90c; 
No. 1 Canada, 93395c; two-rowed State, 80@81c. 
Sales—Ungraded Mixed and White, 63%@66c; steamer 
mixed, 64@64%c store and elevator, 65%c afloat; No. 
2 Mixed, 64@61%c; store and elevator, 64,365%c; afloat, 
65%®65%; special early March; No. 2 white 6l%®65c; 
elevator, 65?i§»66!4c afloat; yellow, 64%@64%c eleva¬ 
tor; steamer yellow, 61c elevator: No. 2 February, 64c; 
do March, 63%c; do May, 61%@61%c; do June, 60%c; do 
July. 60®60%c. OATS—Hardened In sympathy with 
com; but there was no special animation to the trad¬ 
ing. Spot lots closed %®%c better, with light offer¬ 
ings. Clearances were u» important. Sales—No. 3 
mixed. 52c elevator; No. 3 white, 52@52%c elevator; 
No. 2 mixed, 53®53%c elevator; E4%c delivered; No. 2 
white, 53%®53%c elevator; No. 1 White, 56e elevator; 
No. 2 Chicago, 54%c; Ungraded mixed Western , 51® 
54%c. 
LIVE STOCK MARKETS. 
BEEVES.—Six car loads of still fed steers from Chi¬ 
cago sold at $5 55; ordinary to prime corn fed native do 
$4 25®$5 35; and a two-car lot of Colorado do at $4 80. 
Oxen sold at $4® to $4 60; bulls at $2 55®$3 75 dry cows, 
at$l 50?$3 80. Private cable advices to date quote 
refrigerated beef steady at 4%d and American steers 
lower at 5%d<5 6d, dressed weight, sinking the offal. 
Dressed beef slow at 6%®8c for common to prime 
native sides; and choice and extra sold in a small way 
at 8%@8%c. 
CALVES.—Veals in light supply and* steady, with 
sales at 5@8c per pound; but Western calves were dull 
and easier, gelling at 2%®3%c, and 40 head were car¬ 
ried over. 
SHEEP AND LAMBS.—Trade was a little slow, with 
sheep steady and lambs a shade lower (say 10@l5c per 
100 pounds). Good to choice sheep sold at $5 50@ 
$6 12% per 100 pounds; unshorn lambs at $6 25®6 87%, 
and two carloads of fall clipped do at 85 75. Spring 
lambs dull at $3@$7 50 per bead. Dressed mutton had 
a moderate Inquiry at <®9e, and dressed lambs sold 
at9® 10c. Dressed spring lambs steady at $3®$7 10 per 
carcass. 
HOGS.—Nominally steady at $3 75®$4. 
One cent will mail this paper to 
your friend in any part of the United 
States, Canada or Mexico, after 
you have read it and written your 
name on the corner. 
^tisrcUattCouis: gutmtitfittfl. 
In writing to advertisers please always 
mention The Rural. 
RFAF)FR ,f V«» love RARE FLOWERS, 
choicest only , address ELLIS BROS. 
Keene. N. H. It will astonish and please. FREE. 
THE KANSAS 
is rust PROOF. 
The strongest 
and most vigor¬ 
ous plant. The 
largest early and most productive Best Bliick Raspberry 
for sale. A. II. G III ESA, Drawer St8, Lawrence, Ivans. 
EARLY SEED POTATOES. 
M INISTER. New Queen and Beauty of Hebron. 
All from seed direct from G. W. P. Jerrard, 
Maine, last year. Reasonable prices. 
L. M. RUSSELL, 100 E. Preston Street. 
Baltimore, Md. 
The New Tomato! 
From Canada ought to be extra early, and as such it 
is sent out. The reports of the experimental stations 
speak highly of it, and numbers testify to its earll- 
ness. productiveness, large size, roundness, rich color 
and freedom from rot. Per package, 15 cts.; five for 
60 cents. You will find it only in my seed catalogue, 
which will be sent FREE to anybody. 
J. J. H. GREGORY & SON, Marblehead, Mass 
SEED5v 
Greenhov/se- 
and hardy plants 
3f^FSSES,Bi/iBS 
Vd- f P° H T e R S ES , 
C.EALLEN Bra?tueboro°,vt 
Window Gardening. 
A Lot of Delightful and Prac¬ 
tical Articles and Pleasing Il¬ 
lustrations — All on Window 
Gardening —make up this pretty 
little work. Written by expert 
flower and plant growers. Covers 
every phase of plant culture in the 
house. Price, lO cents. 
THE RURAL PUBLISHING CO., 
Times Building, New Yoik. 
Farmer ^Strawberry 
This"is the title of a little book written by eur L. J 
Farmer, who has spent his life among Strawberries. It 
will be an accurate guide for beginners In all the detaPs ; 
giving directions in choice of soil, location, varieties, 
setting-out, after culture, manuring, winter protection, 
spring care, picking, marketing, etc. A record of actual 
experience; much better to the novice than a lot of 
theories. Price 25 cents post-paid. 
Jerry Heagi riy, *• The strawberry King of Oswego Co.” 
says: ” I know of no man better versed in the theory 
and practice of strawberry culture than Mr. Farmer of 
Pulaski.” 
•Si q i fend our beautiful new catalogue and six 
fAr Plants Michels Early Strawberry for 10 cents. 
‘21c Those who order the book will get plants and 
catalogue free, provided they name this paper.v-«a 
IST" The first person In each State who sends 25 cents 
for the above, will get 12 Westbrook Strawberry (price 
$1) free as a premium for promptness Speak quPk. Say 
when to send plants. Catalogue alone free. Address;, 
L. J. FARMER, Pulaski, Oswego Co., N. Y. 
The Spangler Corn Planter 
Eo planting corn in hills or drills, and sowing corn for 
ensilage. 
The Spangler Single Row Fertilizer Distributor 
for Truckers, CottOD aDd Tobacco Growers; also the Spang¬ 
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THE SPANGLER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, YORK, PA. 
