1891 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
725 
Business. 
SPRAYED GRAPES AGAIN ON TOP. 
The “ Board of Health” Backs OutI 
Last week we gave a brief account of the raid made by 
the Board of Health of this city upon grapes which had 
been sprayed with the Bordeaux Mixture. Subsequent 
developments show that their action was hasty, arbitrary, 
uncalled for and a decided injury not only to growers, 
shippers and dealers, but to the consumers as well. The 
price of grapes had fallen low enough before, but large 
numbers of would-be purchasers, ignorant of the real facts 
of the case, were deterred from buying, and sales even of 
unsprayed grapes were next to impossible. Even the vigi¬ 
lant (?) inspectors were unable to tell the sprayed from the 
unsprayed grapes, and it has been proved that some of the 
grape * condemned and destroyed by them had never been 
sprayed. So much for ignorance and incompetence in 
official positions. The motives of the authorities may 
have been all right, and then again they may not have 
been. While quantities of rotten meats, vegetables and 
other foods are sold in the city markets, which any one 
with a modicum of brains knows are a menace to health, 
seldom is any action taken. But here was an opportunity 
to show their vigilance and their concern for the safety 
of the public health, too good to be allowed to pass with¬ 
out improvement. The whole transaction, though per¬ 
haps technically legal, was an outrageous injustice upon 
innocent parties. 
The first grapes were seized on Thursday last week in 
the markets. On the following morning inspectors inter¬ 
cepted shipments of grapes upon their arrival at the 
wharves and condemned and destroyed many more. Out 
of a mixed lot of 8,000 crates inspected, only three per cent 
were found to be at all affected. On Friday a telegram 
was sent to the Department of Agriculture by G. S. Palmer 
for the fruU dealers asking information in relation to the 
matter. The reply was that the Bordeaux Mixture, which 
had been used in spraying, is perfectly harmless if used 
according to directions, and that there is no danger from 
poison by using grapes upon which it has been applied. It 
was also stated that repeated chemical analyses show that 
it would take over a ton of grapes sprayed eight times to 
contain a poisonous dose for a single individual. Tae De¬ 
partment sent Prof. B. F. Galloway, Chief of the Divi¬ 
sion of Vegetable Pathology, who met with the fruit 
dealers on Saturday afternoou, and early in ihe week went 
to the grape districts from which the affected grapes were 
shipped, to investigate the methods of application. The 
professor said that Chemist Lederle, of the Board of 
Health, upon the strengtn of whose report the seizures 
were made, had let his ambition get the better of his 
judgment, and that he had shouldered a great responsi¬ 
bility when he made his decision. 
The professor analyzed some of the grapes in question, 
that had been sprayed eight times and the results justified 
the former assertions of the Department in relation to the 
amount of fruit that must be eaten before any ill effects 
would follow. He said that no possible injury could fol¬ 
low from eating the grapes which had been placed uuder 
the ban by the Board of Health. The fruit detiers are 
unanimous in denouncing in vigorous language what 
most of them consider an outrage. The Board of Health, 
when notified that an official from the Department of Ag¬ 
riculture was coming to Investigate, said that it would not 
make the slightest difference in the action of the Board; 
that the Department of Agriculture had nothing to do 
with the sanitary regulations of this city and State. Prof. 
Galloway and a committee of 10 from the fruit dealers did, 
however, hold a conference with the Board of Health, 
from which all reporters were carefully excluded. At its 
conclusion the Board of Health crawfished out of the 
untenable position it had taken by giving out the follow¬ 
ing statement for publication: 
To prevent any misapprehension or unnecessary alarm 
in respect to tne grape supply in the markets of the city, 
the Bo ard of Health states: 
First.— That a copper salt is found only upon a small part 
of the grapes offered for sale, and that; the grapes which 
are to be avoided are easily recognized by the greenish col¬ 
ored substance upon the berries aud stems. 
Second —Tnat wnenever tals substance is apparent upon 
the berries or stems, the grapes should be washed oefore 
they are used as food or in the manufacture of wine. 
Tnlrd.—The B jard urges all dealers and consignees in 
this city to advise shippers and consignors of grapes to 
send no more grapes to this market upon which this sub¬ 
stance is apparent. 
TneBiard further states th it it does not obj act to the 
use at Lhe proper time of tne Bordeaux Mixture, as recom¬ 
mended by competent authority, but such mixture or any 
mixture containing poisonous suostauces snouid not be 
sprayed or otnerwise placed upon the grapes immediately 
before or alter tney have matured, and should not appear 
upon the m when sent to m arset or off ersd for s de. 
Tne Board of Healtn considers grapes more or less coated 
with a substance containing copper salt as un wholesome 
aud unfit for use as human food, aud that action should be 
taxen under Section 42 of tne Sanitary Code to prevent 
their sale aud use. To positively prove that sickness nas 
been caused by tne use of such fruit will be as difficult as 
to show that slcxness is directly caused by tne use of 
watered or impure milk or other articles of food to which 
foreign substances have been added. Nevertheless, It is in 
tne interest of the public health, nd in accordance with 
the neaion laws of tne Slate and the sanitary ordinances 
of the city, that the food supply should be aosoluteiy iree 
from all impurities or additions which can render it in any 
respect unwholesome or unfit for use. 
Tnis ends the matter, probably, so far as the Board of 
Health is concerned. E »rly in the present week they went 
through the form of making inspections, and took some 
grapes ostensibly for the purpose of making examinations. 
But it has not ended so far as sellers and buyers are con¬ 
cerned. The former have suffered much unnecessary and 
oppressive loss. The consumers nave been needlessly de¬ 
prived of the use of a cheap and wholesome article of diet 
at a time when the quality is better than for years. As 
the quantity of grapes necessary to produce ill effects is so 
large, and as the objectionable substance is found almost 
entirely on the stems, which people are not generally sup¬ 
posed to eat, it follows that the danger is mors imaginary 
than real. It has been suggested that the California fruit 
dealers were at the bottom of the scare; but there is less 
foundation for this belief than for the original scare. It is 
a pity that some one can not be made to pay for the loss 
sustained. On many of the retail stands such signs as this: 
“ These Grapes Are Guaranteed Free from Poison,” are 
displayed. People are gradually regaining confidence and 
soon all, except those who are always expecting to be 
poisoned, will be taking their usual rations of grapes. 
In other places the scare has depressed the markets and 
hindered trade. In Boston people have been much “ wor¬ 
ried” over the “ green powder” noticed on the stems of 
the grapes they had eaten. The health authorities are on 
the lookout. In Providence and other New England cities 
some fruit has been seized and trade interfered with. It 
is unwise to ship any grapes that show any trices of 
green, as buyers will fight shy of them for this season at 
least. 
TREATMENT OF CIDER. 
During the old school-teaching days, one of the most im¬ 
portant jobs given the teacher who “ boarded around ” 
was that of sampling the cider. The writer was always 
called upon to sample the home product and then state 
how it compared with the contents of the neighbor’s bar¬ 
rels. This was a serious task because the cider differed 
about as much as did the cooking, and, like the tea taster, 
the cider sampler’s life promised to be a short if a pleasant 
one. We wondered then and have wondered since why 
cider was not cider and why there could not be something 
exact about it. The cider makers all seemed to have about 
the same process for manufacturing. •* I put it in the 
barrel and racked it off a couple of times 1” Still it was 
not an even product. We now find that no less a person¬ 
age than M. Pasteur has bsen studying thi3 matter, 
though we can hardly expect that his facilities for study 
were equal to those found in an American school district. 
Here is his plan for making good cider: “Tae cider is 
taken fresh from the press or after fermentation in tanks, 
as may be desired. The scum is removed as long as it con¬ 
tinues to rise to the surface or until fermentation has pro¬ 
ceeded sufficiently far. It is then run through paper 
filters and is conducted to a coll of block tin, which is 
surrounded by hot water or steam, kept at a temperature 
of between 140 and 160 degrees F. Thermometers which 
have been placed in the coil indicate the proper degree. 
From here the cider flews through the remaining portion 
of the coil, which is surrounded by cold water aud is so 
arranged that all the heat is taken from the cider before 
it is conducted into the barrels in which it is to be stored. 
After a barrel has been filled, it is necessary to exercise 
the greatest caution in excluding the air. The bung is 
driven tight and a coat of thick varnish is applied to the 
entire barrel.” It will be seen that this is about the same 
principle as that employed in sterilizing milk. It ought 
to leave a uniform and agreeable product—far less deadly 
than the usual drink. 
IMPLEMENT NOTES. 
Bone Cutters —Poultry keepers have known for more 
than a century that the substances found in bones were 
good for poultry to eat. The great trouble was that these 
substances were locked up in such forms that the hens 
could not touch them. Various schemes were tried to 
unlock this food. The bones were baked in the oven or 
roasted in the fire and the resulting bone ash was mixed 
with the grain. With a sledge and big stone the boys 
frequently smashed up the smaller bones. But it soon be¬ 
came apparent that in burning, the best part of the bones 
was driven away, while there were too many broken fingers 
as a result of the other process. The bone mill finally 
came and brought relief, but that handles only dried bones. 
It soon became apparent that fresh or green bones with 
meat and gristle must lose much of their nutriment before 
they were dry enough to grind. The result was that a bone 
cutter was perfected to reduce bone, meat and gristle to a 
form suitable for hens to utilize. This machine promises 
to revolutionize poultry feeding. It will provide a cheap 
and excellent food—making doubly valuable what was 
formerly considered a waste product. In almost every 
neighborhood one can find a cheap supply of green bones. 
They are cheap only because poultrymen do not know how 
to utilize them. The first man to secure a bone cu .ter will 
make a double profit. An excellent bone cutter is made by 
F. W. Mann, Milford, Mass. The R. N.-Y advises its 
readers to send for the circulars and read about this 
machine. 
The Perkins Wind Mill— The makers of this mill, the 
Perkins Wind Mill and Ax Company, of Mishawaka, In¬ 
diana, call special attention to the anti-friction box which 
is placed on all parts where friction is likely to occur. 
This is what they claim: “1. That while it is necessary to 
oil all mills running in babbit boxes, once a week, this 
will run as much as 15 to 20 times as long without oil. 
The metal used is much harder and more than three times 
as expensive as babbit metal, and it will not cut out so 
easily when not oiled. 2. All these boxes are adj datable 
and should one fail for any cause, a new one can be sub¬ 
stituted at a merely nominal cost without removing the 
mill from the tower, thus making it possible for any one 
to put the substitute in at little or no expense” 
About Corn Cutters —Farming pays, but it will pay 
better when farmers use the Osborne corn cutter. This 
implement could not be bought this year, and people used 
sled cutters as a general thing ; but they will not work in 
small, down or weedy corn. At least that has been my ex¬ 
perience. I was too lazy to use the old corn knives, so I 
rigged up a cutter. I used an old harvester and took off 
the binder and reel. I knelt on the platform and caught 
the corn from one shock to the other. It takes four to 
work the device well—two catch the corn while the others 
are shocking. We averaged 60 shocks 16 by 20 rows wide 
a day. The fellow who made the kicking • utter should 
have his head punched. If he would try it once, he would 
either ham-string himself or be taken up by the authorities 
as a lunatic. A 17 YEAR OLD BOY. 
Kansas. 
Feeding Boxes and Sued. —The feed-boxes shown In 
the picture of a cow on page 701, are very convenient 
They are made to fit in a hay rack as well as to be used 
loose In a feeding lot. My feeding shed has a hay rack on 
each side, to which the cattle are tied. This rack is made, 
as shown at Fig 251 The front is made of slats, and the 
rack is 30 inches high and 20 wide at the top, sloping to six 
inches wide at the bottom. It is easily seen that the feed 
box fits into It, and can be put in or taken out in a mo¬ 
ment. It Is easily carried about by the hand holes in the 
sides, when it is used for feeding in the field or lots. It 
needs no fastening in the rack. My shed is made of chest¬ 
nut posts set two feet in the ground in three rows 10 feet 
apart. Cross beams 3 by 10 inches are spiked to the 
posts, and rest on shoulders cut in the top. A 6 by 8 inch 
plate is spiked on the posts, and tLe roof is three quarter 
pitch, giving a good deal of room for hay. The pobts are 
12 feet above ground, and the upper floor beams are eight 
feet above the lower floor. The hay is put down to the 
stock at each side over the feed rack. The whole cost was 
$1 per running foot. It is 60 feet long by 20 wide, and thus 
cost $60. bl s. 
Macon Co., N. C._ 
BUSINESS BITS. 
Rapid Potato Handling. —For handling potatoes I use 
boxes or crates, as some call them, picking up into them 
after the digger. My rack for drawing the boxes is made 
of two elm planks 16 feet long, sawed 2X Inches at one edge 
and IX inch ai> the other with an inch board between 
them, with a strip four inches wide in the center to keep 
the boxes from slipping sideways. A man can load 50 
bushels in a few moments and the potatoes are not bruised 
as they are when drawn in bulk and shoveled out of the 
wagon. To day I dug in seven hours with the Pruyn dig¬ 
ger 539 bushels of Late Hebron Potatoes from about three 
acres and nearly 100 bushels of rotten tubers were left on 
the ground. K. D. P. 
Hermitage, N. Y. 
Both Boxes and Bags. —For handling the potato crop I 
prefer to use boxes in connection with bags. I have 50 
boxes and about as many bags, for three hands. As we 
drive along we distribute both. As the sacks are filled they 
are emptied into the boxes. One wagon can take half the 
number of boxes each trip. Bags can be handled more 
easily than boxes, and the potatoes can be picked up more 
quickly. y. d. s. 
Lewiston, Pa. 
The Aeration of Milk —The aeration and cooling of 
milk have attracted a good deal of attention recently. The 
original idea of the beer cooler has been enlarged upon and 
adapted to cooling milk, the large London firms insisting 
upon their shippers using such an arrangement. The 
mtlk dealers of our own country would derive a great deal 
of benefit by insisting upon their shippers also using such 
a device, and they would have no trouble in supplying 
their trade with pure milk that would keep many hours 
longer than mtlk treated in the ordinary way. Milk that 
will keep well is certainly much healthier for the con¬ 
sumers, to say nothing of the greater satisfaction the dealer 
will have in handling thoroughly satisfactory goods. 
The Substitution Evil. —For many years The R. N.- 
Y. has pointed out the evil of what is known as “ the sub¬ 
stitution clause” in many nurseryman’s catalogues. Under 
this clause the nurseryman considers himself at liberty to 
subatitute plants or trees that are not ordered for those 
ordered but not in stock. Some nurserymen honestly try 
to give plants tq aal in value to those ordered, while others 
consider this ‘ substitution” a chance to dump on the 
customer any old or unsalable stock they miyhave on 
hand. In such cases the purchaser is defrauded and the 
seller cannot be excused The papers are now making 
warfare against another form of this substitution evil, 
viz , the selling of bogus proprietary medicines and drugs. 
Go to a drug store and ask for a certain article wnich you 
know to be just what you want, and you are told: “ We 
are all out of that, but we have a preparation of our own 
that is better and a good deal cheaper ! ” In many cases 
customers believe this and buy the cheaper goods—only to 
find that they have been imposed upon and have paid for 
something they did not want. The standard articles that 
are protected by well known trade marks are uniform in 
character. You know what you get when you buy them. 
If they were not uniform the trade mark would be an in¬ 
jury to their sale because it would single them out from 
others as inferior or varying in quality. If a man is sat¬ 
isfied that a trade mark represents uniform quality, he is 
foolish to let a dealer sell him something he does not want. 
