I 8!W 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
449 
THE PROSPECT. 
Of the 44 States in the Union 38 were represented 
by upwards of 100 delegates at the Anti-Trust Conven¬ 
tion held in Chicago the other day. Minnesota, the 
originator of the movement, alone sent a full relega¬ 
tion of 10 members, while some of the other States 
were represented by only one ; but what was lacking 
in numbers was made up in enthusiasm. It was not a 
harmonious meeting, however, as a radical faction of 
30 delegates, representing 13 States, vociferously and 
bitterly tried to force the convention to adopt a series 
of violent resolutions, not merely against trusts, the 
evils under consideration, but also often indirectly 
against the present organization of society, and. hav¬ 
ing failed in their efforts, they finally “ bolted” and 
held a httle anarchistic side-show of their own. The 
resolutions adopted by the preponderating majority 
were moderate in tone, and embraced only points often 
discussed in the columns of The Rural New-Yorker. 
X X X 
It was recommended that the State and Federal 
legislatures, after careful investigation, should enact 
new and stringent laws and amend old ones so as to 
provide for the complete extinction of unlawful com¬ 
binations destroying competition in produce and ex¬ 
change ; that the legislatures of the various States 
should enact legislation forfeiting the charters of all 
organizations joining a trust or similar combination, 
and denying to foreign or non-resident corporations 
the comity of commerce or the right to tran act busi¬ 
ness between the various States. The faithful and 
efficient execution of the laws was demanded at the 
hands of the executive officers of the States and Nation, 
and the severest penalties were urged against delin¬ 
quents. A vigorous enforcement of the State and Fed¬ 
eral laws now on the statute books was vehemently 
demanded. It was also resolved to create an indig¬ 
nant public sentiment against the evils entailed by 
trusts on the public welfare ; for it was acknowledged 
that, as a rule, the enforcement of a law kept pace with 
the public spirit and conscience in its favor in any 
community. A permanent organization to be known 
as the Anti-Trust Association of the United States is 
to be established, as well as two standing committees, 
one to look after the enactment of appropriate legis¬ 
lation, and the other after the enforcement of every 
State and Federal anti-Trust law. It is evident that 
the anti-Trust sentiment in the Nation at large is con¬ 
siderably less bitter than that in Minnesota, and that 
extreme legislation against such combinations does 
not meet with general approval—at least just now. 
1 X X 
The American Fruit Pzeservers’ Association is merely 
the legalized representative of the illegal Fruit Pre¬ 
servers* Trust, which controls a {.-•reat majority of the 
fruit canning interests in New York, Boston, Phila¬ 
delphia, Baltimore, Washington, Chicago, Detroit, 
Davenport and St. Louis, and is trying to induce or 
coerce similar interests in other parts of the country 
to combine with it. Lately it has brought suit at Chi¬ 
cago against a member who refused to comply with 
the terms of his contract on the ground that the asso¬ 
ciation is an illegal organization, and therefore that 
the courts cannot enforce the contracts made with or 
by it. In overruling the association’s demurrer to this 
plea, Judge McConnell said: “No court of record 
should lend its legal operations to further the inter¬ 
ests or carry out the purposes of a trust. To my mind 
this association is merely the agent of a trust, and as 
such the same illegality attaches to it as to the princi¬ 
pal concern ” Wouldn’t legislation, State and National, 
in this line prove a death blow to such illegal and per¬ 
nicious combinations ? 
X X t 
It may be well to explain once more what basic slag is 
since considerable is being said about it lately. Basic 
slag, otherwise known as “ odorless phosphate,” “iron 
phosphate,” etc., is a product of steel making. All iron 
ores contain more or less phosphorus. It tends to 
make iron or steel brittle, and is therefore objection¬ 
able, and one great problem of the iron maker is to re¬ 
move it. The Bessemer process of steel making is 
used chiefly on ores low in phosphorus, but about 15 
years ago a new process was invented that upset all 
former methods. A quantity of lime is dropped into 
the molten iron. This instantly unites with the phos¬ 
phorus and is held in the form of phosphate of lime 
while the liquid iron runs off. The lime and phos¬ 
phorus with the sand and other impurities in the ore, 
form the basic slag. It cools in the form of huge 
clumps, and must be ground to a fine powder before 
it is used as a fertilizer. 
t X X 
Our German and French friends tell us elsewhere in 
this issue something about the comparative value of 
the slag as a source of phosphoric acid. In this coun¬ 
try opinions vary greatly as to its real value. Some 
parties insist that it is inferior to finely ground South 
Carolina rock, while others consider it but little in¬ 
ferior to a reverted phosphate. It has not yet come 
into a very extended use in America. The price is 
high as compared with othei sources of phosphoric 
acid, and our experiment stations have not given it the 
careful tests that it deserves. 
At the close of the war, early in 1865, the anxiety 
previously existing with regard to the growth and 
ultimate payment of the National debt was allayed, 
but few anticipated that within the lifetime of a 
large proportion of the generation which conducted 
the struggle, the debt would be so reduced as to cause 
no anxiety, and that the holders of most of the out¬ 
standing bonds 28 years afterwards would be unwilling 
to surrender them for liquidation, though drawing 
less than one-third lower interest than they drew at 
that date. In 1865 the aggregate national debt 
amounted to about $3,000,000,000. In 1870 it had de¬ 
clined to about $2,000,000,000; and in 1882 to $1,500,- 
000,000 ; and to $1,000,000,000 in 1885. At that time 
the extinguishment was at a rate sufficiently rapid to 
have provided for its total liquidation in 1890. This 
would have been done, too, were it not that relief 
from anxiety about it opened wide the doors of (_ on- 
gress for extravagant appropriations. 
X t X 
In 1890, however, the interest-bearing debt still 
amounted to $725,000,000 on July 1, and on July 1, 
1892, it still remained at $585,000,000, since which 
time there has been no reduction, owing to the out¬ 
rageous appropriations during the last three sessions 
of Congress, though the reduction during the pre¬ 
vious 12 ye rs averaged $100,000,000 a year. Of the 
$585,000,000 outstanding at the beginning of the pres¬ 
ent month, $512,000,000 were represented by regis¬ 
tered, and $75,000,000 by coupon bonds; $559 300,000 
were 4% per cent bonds, and $25,300,000 4% per cents 
reduced to two per cent. Foreign countries held 
$4,491,750 of the registered kind, and a total of about 
$18,500,000. Of the total amount at home, $172,400,000 
were held by the National banks as security for cir¬ 
culation and $15,200,000 as security for deposits on 
May 4 last; while $133,300,000 were owned by savings 
banks, $18,000,000 by loan and trust companies, $1,700- 
000 by private banks and $900,000 by State banks. 
Thus probably two-thirds of the enlire outstanding 
National debt are held by banks and other corpora¬ 
tions, and most of the remaining bonds by trustees and 
other fiduciary hands not likely to dispose of them 
until compelled to do so. 
X X t 
After two out of the three judges in the United 
States District Court at Chicago had decided agarnst 
the Sunday opening of the World’s Fair, Chief Justice 
Fuller of the United States Supreme Court, granted a 
temporary stay against the enforcement of the decis¬ 
ion, pending an appeal to the United States Court of 
Appeals lately created to lessen the labors of the 
Supreme Court. The case was at once carried up, and 
the two appellate judges, as well as the Chief Justice, 
constituting the Court, unanimously decided against 
the opinion of the Circuit Court, ch efly on the ground 
that the $2,500,000 appropriated by Congress for the 
fair was given to aid the constructive corporation to 
finish the work, and did not give the United States 
the supreme administrative power and authority 
claimed, especially in view of the fact that the corpor¬ 
ation had expended $16,000,000 of its own funds, while 
nearly the same amount had been spent by the various 
States and foreign countries in erecting buildings for 
their exhibits and preparing the latter. The decision 
is likely to be final in the matter, for even if an appeal 
be made to the United States Supreme Court, as this 
does not meet until October, a decision could not be 
reached before the close of the Exposition. The 
opponents of Sunday opening, however, are bitterly 
dissatisfied, and no inconsiderable proportion of them 
are likely to boycott the institution. The Government 
is also likely to claim the $2,500,000 in half dollar 
souvenir coins granted by Congress on condition that 
the Fair should not be opened on the Sabbath. The 
people at large—even many of those opposed to Sun¬ 
day opening—are likely to regard the decision as a 
“ blessing in disguise,” for it is the opinion of the best 
legal taleDt that had the Government been granted 
the supreme control demanded, it could be held 
responsible for all the debts of the Fair management 
at the close of the Exposition,and the “croakers” say 
that at a moderate estimate these will amount to at 
least $10,000,000. 
The Chief of the Bureau of Statistics in his report 
on wool and woolens, says that probably the limit to 
wool production has been reached in Australia, Argen¬ 
tina and other wool-producing countries. It is only 
on cheap lands that the production of cheap wool is 
possible. Grazing, the most primitive form of agricul¬ 
ture, readily yields to advancing tillage. He holds that 
it is more profitable to grow corn, oats, wheat, to¬ 
bacco, cotton or barley than sheep for either wool or 
flesh. Can the wool growers of the country find any 
comfort in the prospect held out that overproduction 
of the staple in other countries is likely soon to cease, 
and that prices here will be steadied and advanced by 
a closer approach of demand to supply? In spite of 
all fears of “ tinkering with the tariff ” on wool, the 
number of sheep in this country has increased from 
44 938,365 in 1892, to 47,273,552 in 1893, and their value 
has advanced from $116,121,290 to $125,999,264. This is 
an increase of 5.50 per cent in the number and 8.43 per 
cent in the value during a single year. What have the 
croakers who lately predicted the speedy conversion 
into mutton of the bulk of our sheep to say to that 
statement of the Department of Agriculture? 
USE OF THE BABCOCK TESTER. 
We have often referred to the use of the Babcock 
tester for milk and the changes it is effecting in the 
management of herds as well as butter factories. 
Very naturally there are many things about its use 
that can be learned only by experiment. The follow¬ 
ing letter and its answer may be useful to dairymen 
who are anxious to have the matter right: 
What Alls the Tester ? 
We come to The R. N.-Y. for information as to the 
working of the Babccek tester by the use of bi-chromate 
of potash, as recommended in The Rural. We have 
used the above noted process for two or three weeks 
with, as we supposed, satisfactory success, but yester¬ 
day we made a failure After putting in hot water a 
leathery mass formed which would not allow the but¬ 
ter fat to come into the neck of the test bottle. The 
methods of making the tests have been alike, except 
that yesterday we varied the amount of acid fr.m just 
reaching the marks C C, and then above the marking 
17-;>, about a quarter of an inch. The less amount 
brought the best results, which I think shows the 
acid of sufficient strength, but at all of the tests there 
was more or less of a black substance with the butter 
fat in the neck of the bottle when the readings are 
made. 1. What are the proper methods of taking 
samples and keeping the same so that tests may be 
made once a week, using potassia-bi-chromate ? 2. 
What causes the black substance rising and mingling 
with the butter fat in the neck of the test bottle ? 3. 
What probably caused the leathery substance to form, 
preventing the rise of butter fat in the neck of the 
test bottle ? 4. Does any cheese or butter factory use 
the composite test to calculate dividends ? We are 
trying this composite test at our cheese factory and 
the maker says the yield of cheese from milk is much 
better than last year. At this time last year he had 
8,400 pounds of milk; this year 7,400 pounds with 
nearly the same yield of cheese now as then. o. f. r. 
Rushford, N. Y. 
Probably Too Much Acid. 
The difficulty undoubtedly lies in the use of too much 
acid. In answer to these questions I would say as 
follows: 1. Milk can be sampled directly from the 
weighing can, immediately after the milk has been 
poured in. A definite amount may be taken and 
poured into a fruit jar. If the amount of a patron’s 
milk does not vary greatly from day to day, the same 
amount of milk may be taken and added to that al¬ 
ready in the fruit jar. At the end of one week a 
sample may be taken from this for analysis. There 
should be placed in the jar, when the first milk is put 
in, some powdered bi-chromate of potash, about as 
much in amount as one could easily pile on a silver 
dime. When the milk is added each day, the contents 
of the can should be mixed, giving it a rotary motion, 
thus washing down and mixing in any cream adhering 
to the sides of the jar, but shaking violently up and 
down should be avoided as this would tend to churn 
the milk and render the taking of a good sample diffi¬ 
cult. 2. The black substance which frequently rises 
with the fat in the neck of the bottle is, so far as my 
experience goes, invariably caused by the me of too 
strong or too much acid. It is charcoal formed 
by the action of the sulphuric acid upon the milk 
sugar. If the acid is too strong one can use a smaller 
amount, to be determined by experiment. 3. The 
leathery substance spoken of is probably a mixture of 
the charcoal and casein, caused by the use of too strong 
an acid and at the same t’me of insufficient agitation 
to dissolve the casein. 4. No less than one or two 
dozen factories in our State use the fat test of the 
milk as a basis for making dividends. In Wisconsin 
a very large proportion of the factories use it, and in 
Canada its use is being rapidly carried into practice. 
One or two years more will doubtless see the method 
introduced into all of the best factories in our State. 
I shall prepare a bulletin, probably in the fall, which 
will contain information on all points connected with 
the use of the Babcock tester, and its use in,factories 
as a basis for paying for milk, because we are con¬ 
stantly receiving from factory men all over the State 
questions like that above. L. L. van slyke. 
Chemist, New York Experiment Station. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
If you ara Interested In Berkshlres, It will be well to send to Mr. 
Wills A. Seward, Budd’s Lake, N. J., for his list of pedigree stock. 
He has an unusually large herd of exceptionally line animals. 
Mit. Willis Whinepy, of Winona, Ohio, writes us that he will show 
a :arge number of his Chester-White swine at the World's Fair ut 
Chicago, from September 25 to October 14. He Is making special In¬ 
ducements now, he writes us, to buyers who order with'n 30 days. 
One of the largest and best lines of well machine! y In the country is 
manufactured by the American Well Works, Aurora, 111. It would be 
hard to conceive of any demand In the line f well sinking that this 
llrm Is not prepared and ready to sapply. It will furnish an expert 
with or without machinery, sink wells by the day or job, or fill your 
order for machinery alone. It takes contracts to sink wells to any 
reasonable depth In any country of the world. 
The summer and autumn list of seasonable nursery plants from the 
Orange County Nurseries Is just received It and the Illustrations of 
strawberries and celery plants are very complete. Mr. Dwyer, the 
proprietor of the nurseries, Is a practical, working nurseryman, and 
we know that he takes great pains to see that the goods he sends out 
are true to name, and strong thrifty stock. This Illustrated list of 
seasonable plants will be mailed free on application to T. .1. Dwyer, 
Cornwall, N. Y. 
V 
