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.— April 1 is usually a critical 
time in the money market, because of the 
large demands for money for spring settle¬ 
ments, but Bradstreet’s says that this year 
it has passed without any sign of the 
usual disturbance in the loan market. In 
fact, the existing demands for money for 
either commercial or speculative account 
seem to be unusually light. During the 
week rates for bankers’ balances on call 
have ranged from 1 to 4 per cent, but the 
general averages of loans were at 2)4 t° ^ 
per cent, the latter being the rate made by 
banks and institutions. Time money is 
very inactive, and the nominal rates are 
4 )4 to 5 per cent, according to time or the 
quality of collateral. 
Spring Trading.— Reports of another 
snow blockade west of Kansas City, pro¬ 
longed cold and rainy weather West and 
Northwest, and high water in the lower 
Mississippi Valley are given as reasons why 
spring trade continues slow and disappoint¬ 
ing. Cattle and hogs have been in rela¬ 
tively small receipt at Western markets, 
and prices are firm with an upward ten¬ 
dency. Hides are dull and heavy East and 
West, but lumter is in better request with 
lighter prices. Cotton is dull and un¬ 
changed in face of an unprecedented crop 
movement and good weather for planting 
preparations. All imported sugar below 
No. 16 became free of duty this week, re¬ 
sulting in a decline, at wholesale, of 1% 
cents for refined and 2% cents for raw. 
The demand for refined has been very 
large, and the cheapening is expected to 
result in increased consumption. 
Wheat Movement.— Exports of wheat 
both coasts (and flour as wheat) equaled 
2,164,188 bushels this week compared with 
1,820,977 bushels last week and 1,521,896 
bushels in the opening week of April, 1890. 
The total exports (excluding Montreal) 
July 1 to date are 71,982.489 bushels, against 
82,160,000 bushels in a like portion of 1889- 
90, 68,042,943 in 1888-89, and 101,560,657 
bushels in a like portion of 1887-83. Avail¬ 
able stocks of wheat throughout the United 
States and Canada equaled 47,636,145 bush¬ 
els on April 1, or 2,217,000 bushels more 
than one year ago, and 5,831 000 bushels 
more than two years ago. For the past 
quarter available stocks have decreased 
only 6,985,000 bushels, about one-half of 
the decrease in the like quarter in each of 
the three preceding years. In Ontario fall 
wheat promises well. 
Doings in Wool.— The demand for all 
grades of wool has been weak. Manufac¬ 
turers have bought heavily since the first 
of the year and are now well supplied. The 
activity in Australian wools is not so 
marked. Domestics are reported to be very 
quiet, and the sales are small. The arriv¬ 
als of foreign wools have been heavy, and 
it will take lower prices to dispose of the 
inferior grades. The reports received from 
the coming clip all point to a large supply. 
There is sufficient wool in the markets to 
supply manufacturers until it arrives. 
Values of first-class wools have not changed 
during the week, though an easier feeling 
is noted in some grades. Ohio fleeces and 
pulled wools are dull. Dealers are now 
offering concessions in Ohio X and XX. 
Territories and Texas wools are quieter. 
The stocks of these wools are so light that 
holders feel no necessity to press sales at 
present. There is a continued fair inquiry 
for unwashed and unmerchantable wools. 
The quotations in carpet wools are being 
held very firm by dealers. The demand is 
not strong and the distribution is light. 
The Future or Beef.— The Live Stock 
Report, Cnicago, says that granting that 
we may fairly anticipate favorable markets 
for the next six months, the real nut to 
crack is the query, whether we may look 
forward to a permanent higher range of 
values for some years to come. The beef 
markets of the world for the last half dozen 
years have been over-supplied. After years 
of disappointment we are not inclined to be 
too sanguine, but we confidently look for¬ 
ward to better times. The long era of dark¬ 
ness must be followed by some light. The 
progress of the cattle business is slow. 
Former experience shows that while in 
beef it comes slowly, still the change is sure 
and generally lasts for some considerable 
period. To our mind we have reached the 
point where the demand is more than meet¬ 
ing the supply. The producer at the same 
time must not be carried away by present 
appearances. 
The Convenience of Solid Trains. 
The Erie is the only railway running 
solid trains over its own tracks between 
New York and Chicago. No change of 
cars for any class of passengers. Rates 
lower than via any other first-class line.— 
Adv. _ 
AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 
New Castle County, Del., makes tramps 
break stone for the roads. 
A prominent farmer near Whitby, Can., 
was gored to death by a Jersey bull. 
A chicken thief near Rosedale, Kan., was 
killed by the discharge of a spring gun. 
A flock of sheep near Jeffersonville, Ind., 
was attacked by hydrophobia and had to 
be killed. 
The State of Washington expects to have 
a good showing of beet sugar at the Chi¬ 
cago Fair. 
New South Wales exported last year to 
the United Kingdom dried and green fruit 
to the value of 130,000,000. 
Potato growers in Southern California 
are marketing the new crop, and some with 
their old crop still on hand are complaining 
that but little money is to be realized from 
the latter. 
* The report of a great cattle combination 
is denied by Armour & Co. Large pur¬ 
chases had been made in anticipation of a 
shortage during the summer, but not on 
speculation. 
Some of the Virginia and North Carolina 
peanut growers were needlessly alarmed 
over the effect upon their business of a war 
with Italy. Two-thirds of the crop are 
handled by Italians. 
The new road law in Indiana forbids 
hauling more than a ton on narro w-tired 
wagons or more than 2,£00 pounds on broad- 
tired ones, while the roads are soft, under 
a penalty of from $5 to $50. 
The Canadian cattle export trade is dull, 
and little steamer space has been taken, 
though last year at this time it was nearly 
all engaged. The exporters say they would 
lose money at present prices. 
The greenhouses on W. K. Vanderbilt’s 
“Idle Hour Farm” on Long Island, were 
burned recently. The loss is estimated at 
$100,000. Many valuable plants were 
destroyed, including ferns said to be 200 
years old, and some of the finest specimens 
of roses in this country. 
What is said to be the largest cattle deal 
ever consummated has just been completed 
by Western stockmen and Chicago packers, 
80,000 head of cattle having been purchased 
in Texas at an outlay of about $2,000,000. 
The freight on these will cost an additional 
$500,000. It will require 5,000 cars to trans¬ 
port them. 
The meat imported into Great Britain in 
1875 represented a ratio of only one pound 
to every family of five persons. The recent 
returns of the Board of Trade show that 
the annual imports, chiefly from America 
and Australia, now amount to 40 pounds of 
“ dead meat ” for every such average family 
of five persons. 
Pomona Grange of Sussex County, Del., 
has sent a remonstrance to the Legisla¬ 
ture against the passage of the bill allow¬ 
ing the sale of the State’s interest in the 
Delaware, Maryland and Virginia Railroad. 
This is a competing line with the Penn¬ 
sylvania, and the latter road is seeking 
to acquire it so that it may have a mo¬ 
nopoly of the carrying trade. 
The President of the California Fruit 
Union says that California oranges are 
now taking possession of the markets of 
the United States to a greater extent than 
it was deemed possible earlier in the sea¬ 
son. Large shipments are made daily to 
all parts of the Union, even as far east as 
New York and Boston. The Florida crop 
being virtually out of the market has left 
the field open for California. About a 
week ago 10 trains, comprising 60 cars, 
started eastward from the southern part 
of the State. 
The Minnesota Senate passed a bill pro¬ 
viding that every article for publication in 
any kind of public print, circular or hand¬ 
bill, which shall therein purport to relate, 
state, describe, or give an account of or give 
intelligence of any political, official, per¬ 
sonal or social act, writing or speech of any 
human being, living or dead, reflecting in 
any way upon such person’s character, 
shall be subscribed by the full name of the 
author or authors, under penalty of $20 to 
$100 fine or Imprisonment for one to three 
months. The House killed it. 
The Department of Agriculture has re¬ 
ceived at different times information from 
the consular agents in the New Zealand 
Islands and Peru of the existence there of 
a new variety of cotton called vegetable 
wool, but no one here has obtained the 
seed, as the plantations on which it is cul¬ 
tivated are owned exclusively by an Eng¬ 
lish syndicate, which sends the seed and 
cotton to England and prevents the repro¬ 
duction of this plant in ether countries 
The climate of the Southern States is said 
to be especially adapted to this plant. 
A Harvard graduate is showing the na¬ 
tives around Orange Park, Florida, the pos¬ 
sibilities of their soil when scientific and 
practical knowledge combined with horse 
sense are brought to bear upon it. His farm 
of eight acres includes all the common veg¬ 
etables, including peas, beans, cauliflowers, 
potatoes, egg-plants, asparagus, celery, etc. 
He has 400 peach trees, 600 grape vines, 
pears, persimmons, bananas, as we'l as 
musk melons and water-melons. He also 
puts the native razor-backs to shame 
with his pair of Berkshires with their 
progeny. __ 
Only a Dime 
Well invested, often brings large returns. 
Buy a “ Horse Book,” and it will save you 
many a dollar. Tells you about the Horse, 
what ails him and how to cure him. About 
the Pioneer Buggy, and where to get it. 
Sent for a dime. Pioneer Buggy Company, 
Columbus, Ohio.— Adv. 
CROP AND MARKET NOTES. 
[If you don’t find what you want to know on these 
pages, ask for it.] 
California dried fruits are dull. 
Early potatoes are likely to pay this year. 
Bermuda potatoes have reached the top 
notch in price. 
Ail the season and every season coarse 
oranges sell low. Planters should take a 
hint from this. 
At Chicago the highest prices have been 
obtained for high-grade or purebred 
beeves, and not for scrubs—a hint for 
breeders. 
The wheat acreage in eastern Washing- 
ton is away ahead of former years, in some 
cases having increased 100 percent. The 
acreage of barley is also large. 
The California Fruit Grower says that 
out of the thousands of varieties of pears 
that have been introduced the Bartlett 
stands head and shoulders above them all. 
The directors of the New York Milk Ex¬ 
change have fixed the wholesale prtbe of 
milk for the month of April at $1.37 a can 
of 40 quarts, or 2)4 cents a quart net to the 
farmer. 
Do you notice the range in strawberry 
prices this week—15 to 45 cents ? Do you 
know what makes the difference ? Quality. 
There’s money in that hint if properly 
followed out. 
A gentleman who has traveled extensive¬ 
ly throughout Ontario, Canada, is author¬ 
ity for the statement that both fall wheat 
and clover have wintered safely, and the 
outlook is most hopeful for good crops. 
The monthly crop report of the Kansas 
Board of Agriculture gives the condition 
of wheat as 98)4 per cent as compared 
with perfect condition. The condition of 
rye, compared with the average, is 100 per 
cent. Live stock is reported to be in excel¬ 
lent condition. The season is two weeks 
later than a year ago, and plowing has 
been retarded. There is some fear that the 
Hessian flv, which appealed in disastrous 
numbers in 48 counties last fall, may 
Injure the wheat crop. Some correspond¬ 
ents, however, believe the wet and cold 
weather of this spring has killed the eggs. 
Many poultry papers tell their readers 
to raise capons. Will it pay you ? Early 
hatched cockerels, if fat and nice, will sell 
in this market for 14 to 18 cents per pound 
in July and August. There is a loss in 
caponlzlng, even by experts. The highest 
price at which capons, the very best ones, 
have been quoted this season is 23 cents, 
and from this down to 14. It may be profit¬ 
able, but there is a chance for argument. 
A Fulton Market vegetable dealer, who 
has just returned from a trip to the South, 
reports that he found the truckers along 
the coast from Charleston to Jacksonvllle 
in better shape than ever before. New- 
Yorkers need not regret the departure of 
Lent, for the supply of vegetables now 
already at hand in the South is abundant 
and we will get the fulness thereof within 
10 days or two weeks. Thousands of bar¬ 
rels of splendid celery are bound north 
from South Carolina and green peas of 
excellent quality from Florida and Savan¬ 
nah can be had in this market at from 40 
to 90 cents a peck. 
WHAT SHALL I GROW ? 
The Rural advises a diversity of crops 
on the farm. Would it be profitable for a 
common farmer, with good land for the 
purpose, to raise half an acre or so of 
cucumbers for pickles ? Three-inch plain 
pickles in half barrels, purchased in Bos¬ 
ton, retail here at 15 cents per quart. If 
there Is a cent in the business, would it be 
well to grow an early and a late variety 
and thus lengthen the season for picking ? 
What are two popular varieties ? If this 
branching out is unwise, how would raising 
pop-corn or winter squashes do? What 
outside crop can be ventured upon with a 
reasonable hope of a profitable return ? 
Addison Co., Vt. L. w. P. 
Three Essentials. 
This note furnishes a text sufficiently 
comprehensive for a long article. The 
R. N.-Y. has advised a diversity of crops, 
and it has encouraged farmers to branch 
out into new and untried fields when the 
circumstances surrounding them have 
seemed to warrant it. There are in differ¬ 
ent parts of this country thousands of men 
growing special crops and realizing hand¬ 
some profits by so doing, but it does not 
follow that any farmer without regard to 
his abilities and surroundings can do the 
same. There are three things which must 
be taken Into account in the growing of any 
special crop : The adaptability of soil and 
climate; the fitness of the grower, and the 
facilities for disposing of the crop when 
grown. If any one of these three be lack¬ 
ing the enterprise is likely to be more or 
less a failure. Some crops which may be 
held and shipped long distances may be 
profitably grown where there are no local 
markets, if other conditions are favorable, 
like onions, pop-corn and the like. Others 
must have a market that takes them 
promptly when ready, like sweet corn, cu¬ 
cumbers, green peas and the most of gar¬ 
den truck. Certain special crops have come 
to be important industries in different 
parts of the country. The eastern end of 
Long Island has become noted for the ex¬ 
cellence of its cauliflowers and large quan¬ 
tities are grown. The vicinity of Oyster 
Bay was the starting point of asparagus 
culture. Wayne County, N. Y., formerly 
produced most of the peppermint oil used 
in the country. Kalamazoo and, later. 
Tecumseh, Michigan, have become famous 
for celery. Certain parts of the country are 
found to produce superior sweet corn ; fac¬ 
tories for canning it have been established 
and large quantities are grown. In all these 
localities experience has taught the best 
methods, and facilities for securing and 
handling the crop have been perfected as 
needed. 
Cucumbers as a Crop. 
Take the first item mentioned by our 
correspondent. In certain parts of Long 
Island, in some localities in Michigan and 
