1891 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
THE ONEIDA JOINT STOCK COMMUNITY. 
AN EXAMPLE OF “COOPERATION.” 
One of the most delightful and picturesque railway 
trips in the East, and one which will be new to very 
many of the Rural readers, was taken recently by a 
representative of The Rural over the New York, On¬ 
tario and Western Railway. For many years this, then 
known as the Midland Railway, was a struggling cor¬ 
poration, fighting hard for a bare existence, and hardly 
getting that. Under its present excellent manage¬ 
ment, the business has made most marvelous strides. 
The officers have not fought, like those of some trunk 
lines, for the through business, which pays the small¬ 
est returns, but have directed their energies toward 
developing their local traffic. In this they have been 
very successful. The road 
now carries a large amount of 
milk to New York daily, being 
only exceeded in this direction 
by the Erie and the Central 
and Harlem. Since the build - 
ing of the branch from 
Hancock to Scranton, in the 
coal region, they have added 
very largely to their business 
in this direction, and they have 
a constantly growing trade in 
local freight in the numerous 
small towns and hamlets along 
the line. This road opened 
up to the public the most pic¬ 
turesque parts of Sullivan and 
Delaware Counties — sections 
which are annually thronged 
with summer boarders—and 
thus added materially to its 
income. 
The moment the trains 
emerge from the tunnel which 
pierces the Shawangunks at 
Bloomingburg, the traveler 
enters a delightful rural scene. 
The valley below where lies 
Wurtsburo, with the Dela¬ 
ware and Hudson Canal wind¬ 
ing through it like a silver 
ribbon on a cloth of green, is 
as charming a sight as one could 
wish for. The Willowenmoc Valley is not less lovely, 
and from one scene to another the traveler is hurried 
in a bewilderment of artistic delight. Mountain 
streams which abound in trout and lakes where bass 
and pickerel are plentiful tempt him to stop, and the 
partridge and rabbit are often seen from the windows 
of the car. This lovely scenery extends until Norwich 
is reached, 225 miles from New York. From there the 
country is less mountainous, but more pastoral in ap¬ 
pearance. The road runs along the shore of the Oneida 
Lake, nearly 40 miles in length, and here are many 
pleasant resorts, notably Sylvan Beach, the Coney Is¬ 
land of the interior, and North Bay, where fishermen 
loiter and excursionists come and go. 
But it was not to talk of this that I began to write, 
but of a visit to Kenwood, the home of the noted Oneida 
Community, 263 miles from New York. This commun¬ 
ity was established in 1848 ; but for a number of years 
they had a hard struggle, sinking 860,000 before suc¬ 
cess came to them. They have a tract of about 600 
acres of land, most of it of excellent quality and in an 
admirable condition of fertility. Their buildings are 
large, elegant and convenient, and there is an air of 
thrift and contentment about the place, which speaks 
well for the management. 
Originally a communistic establishment, owing to 
differences of opinion among their own members, and 
doubtless influenced somewhat by outside pressure, 10 
years ago they abandoned that form and converted the 
concern into a joint stock company. The assets of the 
community were capitalized, each member receiving 
his share and being left free to retain it or dispose of 
it as should best seem to him. Other changes were 
made at this time and the once noted community, the 
theme of so many excited, disquisitions, subsided into 
an every-day business concern, with but little out of 
the common to attract the attention of the curious. 
There were then about 300 members; to-day they num¬ 
ber about half as many. A few of the most desirable 
features of the communal life are retained. They have 
their dining hall where members can board at the cost 
of running it—for men it is about §2.50 per week, and 
for women about §1.87. The table is admirable—all 
that one could desire. Some of the members live here, 
others maintain their own table. The communal laun¬ 
dry is also kept up, and is generally patronized, and in 
the main building they have a hall with piano, etc., 
where they hold their meetings, social and religious, 
have dances, and their band and orchestra rehearse, 
etc., etc. They have in this building a large library, 
containing several thousand volumes and well supplied 
with the magazines and current literature. In all, they 
are very comfortable indeed. The officers of the Com¬ 
munity are John R. Cord, president; H. G. Allen, sec¬ 
retary and J. B. Herrick, treasurer, and the title of the 
concern is the Oneida Community, Limited. 
In their earlier days, they relied mainly on agricul¬ 
ture. Later they got into manufacturing. To-day 
they have a large establishment devoted to the manu¬ 
facture of canned goods, and no better, few as good, 
are put on the market. They put up sweet corn, suc¬ 
cotash, tomatoes, peas, string and Lima beans, pump¬ 
kins, squash, asparagus, strawbei’ries, raspberries, 
plums, cherries, blackberries, pears, peaches, huckle¬ 
berries, pineapples, quinces, apple butter, apricots, jel¬ 
lies and jams, preserves, marmalades and sweet 
pickles, fruit juices, poultry, soups and mince meat. 
The canning factory department is in charge of Mr. 
Hinds. In conversation with him, I learned that 
they cultivate about 60 acres of land, the products of 
which are consumed in the canning factory, but they 
also buy very largely of the neighboring farmers. This 
season they grew 16 acres of peas, both the small early 
and the wrinkled sorts, 7 acres of string beans, the 
Valentines preferred, 8 acres of asparagus, 7 of Red 
Kidney and 1 of White Kidney Beans, a little less 
Skye Terrier. A “Vermin Dog.” Fig. 334. 
than an acre of Limas, 5 acres of tomatoes, 3% of pota¬ 
toes, 3 of “raspberries, 234 of currants, half an acre of 
Hubbard Squash and about 5 acres of apples. 
“ What variety of asparagus do you prefer?” in¬ 
quired I of Mr. Hinds. 
“ We are much pleased with Moore’s Cross-bred. We 
plant the rows about 334 feet apart and the plants 
about 18 inches apart in the rows.” 
What tomatoes do you prefer for your business?” 
“ Dwarf Champion, Livingston’s Beauty and Canada 
Victor seem very desirable for us. In addition to other 
good qualities, we must pay attention to the color of 
the fruit.” 
“ What potatoes do you grow?” 
9oi 
“ This year we planted Burbank and Champion of 
England, and we like them very well.” 
“ What raspberries do you prefer ? ” 
“ Cuthbert and Shaffer. The color of the Shaffer is 
not attractive, but it makes an admirable canned arti¬ 
cle. In currants, we like the Fay, Versaillaise and 
others.” 
“ Have you tried any of the bush Lima beans ? ” 
“Yes; we tried Henderson’s. It is very productive 
with us and of good quality, but there is one serious 
objection to it—it is difficult to shell. Labor is expen¬ 
sive. Our peas are shelled by machinery, and it does 
the work cheaply and well.” 
Mr. Hinds said that he had sowed millet on the 
ground occupied by peas and plowed it under later in 
the season. . He thinks this will, when supplemented 
with commercial fertilizers, keep the soil in good 
condition by supplying vegetable humus, the factor 
which the fertilizer will not add. Loads of apples 
were continually arriving at the factory and the 
scene was a busy one. Several teams were engaged 
in hauling the goods to the railway station for ship¬ 
ment to New York over the Ontario and Western R.R. 
Mr. Barron is in charge of 
the horticultural department, 
and is an enthusiastic worker 
in his line. He is profoundly 
impressed with the value of 
the spraying process with the 
Bordeaux Mixture, etc., and 
has no doubt that by their 
aid he saved some of his best 
grapes which would otherwise 
have utterly failed. He says 
the Snyder Blackberry is per¬ 
fectly hardy on their place and 
very productive. Ancient 
Briton also does well. He 
values the Worden Grape 
highly, especially for home 
use. 
Mr. Kellogg - has the over¬ 
sight of the farm proper. He 
has about 100 acres in meadow, 
and the land is plowed often 
enough to keep it in good grass. 
He has about 40 cows—Hol- 
steins and grades—sells a part 
of the milk and makes some 
butter, the remainder of the 
milk being consumed on the 
place. The barns are large 
and commodious, the stalls 
well arranged and silos are 
used for storing corn ensilage. 
This is simply the stover of 
the sweet corn, after the desirable ears have been 
pulled for the canning factory. 
The Community also carry on a silk factory. This, 
with the canning factory and the labor required on the 
farm, necessitates the employment of a very large 
force outside the members of the Community. Some 
of the hired hands live in cottages belonging to the 
company ; others, outside. All alike speak favorably 
of their employers and a general air of contentment 
pi - evails. e. G f. 
Business Bits. 
That Grass Twine Binder. —Last week we gave a 
picture of a trial of a Walter A. Wood binder with 
grass twine attachment. At Figs. 330 and 332 we 
show a bundle of wheat bound with the grass twine, 
and two spools of the twine. The Farm Implement 
News gave quite a little space to an account of a trial 
of this new device, which took place in Illinois last 
summer. We learn that the trial was successful, and 
while the device may not yet be considered absolutely 
perfect, it is a big step forward and is about the high- 
water mark of binder progress. The “twine,” as we 
understand it, is really a coarse braid of grass or hay 
about as large as a clothes line. It is coiled on a large 
spool—like those shown here—back under the driver’s 
seat, and in the trials mentioned, unwound readily 
and held the bundles. We have great hopes that this 
grass twine will still further cheapen the cost of har¬ 
vesting wheat. 
Prime American Tobacco.— One of the handsomest 
and most unique circulars ever issued is the special 
tobacco circular sent out by the Mapes Formula and 
Peruvian Guano Company, of this city. It shows 
three tobacco leaves photographed and printed in 
natural colors so that each vein and tint is faithfully 
reproduced. The difference in appearance between 
tobacco grown with the Mapes manures and farm 
manures and cotton-seed meal is thus seen at a glance. 
It is an original and striking device. Mr. Mapes is 
confident that American tobacco, equal in all respects 
to the imported article, can be grown on American 
soil. “Mapes and McKinley” seem a popular com¬ 
bination in the Connecticut Valley. 
