1894 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
333 
THE PROSPECT. 
A BUTTEB merchant at Caen, France, was recently 
found guilty of selling a mixture of butter and oleo¬ 
margarine. His punishment was four months in 
prison, and a fine of $600 and costs. He was also 
obliged to pay all expenses of posting the court’s de- 
cison over the door of his shop, at the town hall and 
butter market, and also advertising his crime in 30 
papers! Let us suppose that in this country those 
who sell bogus butter illegally were forced to wear a 
badge of a hog’s head with a gilt covering ! Would it 
make the traffic more honest ? 
* 
Governor Flower has signed a bill creating a com¬ 
mission to investigate tuberculosis in cattle. It is to 
consist of one doctor and one veterinarian, both of 
good standing, and three practical breeders—members 
of the New York State Dairymen’s Association—each 
breeding a separate and distinct breed of dairy cattle. 
This commission is to have all the powers now granted 
the State Board of Health respecting tuberculosis in 
cattle, and it is to examine into the disease, make ex¬ 
periments, secure all possible facts about it, and re¬ 
port in January , 1895, its suggestion as to the best 
means of stamping out the disease in New York State. 
The Governor is to appoint the commission, and $9,000 
are appropriated for its expenses. This legislation 
simply holds the matter open for aiother year before 
deciding what to do about the disease. 
* 
The need of cold storage rooms at fruit shipping 
centers becomes more and more apparent with each 
season. It is well enough to have cold houses in the 
cities where unsold fruit can be held by speculators, 
but such storage helps the farmer only as it relieves' 
the present market. The future profit all goes to the 
speculator, who can watch prices and take his fruit 
from cold storage the moment an advance sufficient 
to give him a profit is reached. Why should not. 
farmers secure that profit ? If they could control 
cold houses at shipping points they could hold fruit 
away from the markets until prices would warrant 
shipment. Many of the Hudson River peach and 
grape growers practice this plan very successfully. 
Let farmers remember that by doing this they simply 
save for themselves a profit that would otherwise go 
to the speculator. ^ 
A RECENT decision by a California court is of con¬ 
siderable importance to fruit growers in that State. 
It refers to a popular method of killing the scale in¬ 
sects which greatly damage orange trees. A tent of 
oiled or painted canvas is thrown over the tree—prefer¬ 
ably in the night. Inside the tent, a vessel con¬ 
taining three ounces of cyanide of potassium, six 
ounces of water and three ounces of sulphuric acid is 
placed and all openings are closed for 15 minutes. 
The result is that hydrocyanic acid gas is formed and 
held inside the tent so that all insects are killed. A 
patent was claimed for this process and it was pro¬ 
posed to collect royalties from all who used it. The 
court declares that the patent is void for want of 
novelty and invention, and all who wish may use the 
process free of cost. This will prove a boon to Cali¬ 
fornia fruit growers. Would that other so-called 
patents might be made free to all. 
* 
If you want to know one reason why Western farm¬ 
ers are dissatisfied with the present conditions of 
agriculture, read Mr. Carpenter’s letter on page 329. 
Three years ago (page 243, R. N.-Y., 1891) Mr. C. 
showed how he made $4,715.30 on an invested 
capital of $14,750. His wheat (8,400 bushels) then 
netted him 80 cents per bushel. This season, with a 
lighter crop, he nets only 42 cents, while his expenses 
are even greater than three years ago. “ Grow some¬ 
thing else I ” you say ? Well, what else ? Those great 
plains of Dakota were naturally designed for three 
purposes—pasturage or the production of wheat or 
beet sugar. Far away from the great market and 
manufacturing centers, farmers on these plains are at 
the mercy of middlemen and speculators. Notice the 
proportion of that wheat money that went into the 
middleman’s pocket! Out of a total selling value of 
$720 45, Mr. Carpenter received but $491.02. In other 
worJs, the middlemen demanded over 32 per cent for 
handling and selling that wheat, leaving the entire 
risk and expense to the grower. The worst feature 
is that there is no help for the growers. Through lack 
of competition, the handlers, if left to themselves, 
may dictate their own terms, and rob the farmers at 
will. It is true that a portion of this wheat might be 
fed to stock, but even then the same or even a greater 
proportion of the selling price would be gobbled up 
by the middleman. It is a black outlook at best. It is 
easy to see why Western farmers are eager for an in¬ 
creased use of silver as money, since they are con¬ 
vinced that such an increase would take away much of 
the advantage now held by those who profit by a 
single gold standard. 
A NUMBER of prominent butchers in various parts of 
the country have been asked their opinion as to the 
reasons for the low prices for meats. Replies, printed 
in the Texas Stockman, show that there has been a 
great falling cfl in sales this year as compared with 
last. As to the reason for it, “ the replies were unani¬ 
mously to the effect that a large percentage of the 
people were unemployed and did not possess the 
necessary money with which to buy meat, and were, 
therefore, compelled to subsist on some cheaper food.” 
The question now is. Will these consumers buy as 
much meat as before when the times improve ? Hav¬ 
ing been forced to the discovery of “some cheaper 
food,” will they not stick to it ? See how the use of 
oatmeal and other cereals has decreased the demand 
for flour. In fact, we hear many people claiming 
that high prices of the past have been caused largely 
by waste on the pirt of consumers. These people say 
that the close times have really taught needed lessons 
of economy to thousands of families. ^ 
if 
We find many farmers who are using transplanting 
machines for setting strawberries, tomatoes, cabbage, 
etc. There are plenty more who know nothing about 
these machines, as the manufacturers have carefully 
kept their light under a bushel. As one fruit grower 
writes us : 
We have JUBt finished aettiDK three acres of strawberries. We have 
sore knees, lame backs and general weariness of body and mind In 
consequence thereof, with general thankfulness that the job Is done 
with for one year at least. 
As with everything else, there are two sides to this 
question. The “ other side ” in this case comes from 
a friend in Michigan as follows : 
One team, one driver, two droppers to run a transplanting machine 
and set out 18,000 to 20,000 plants per day. Three men here In Michi¬ 
gan will set out the 18,000 plants Inside of a day of 10 hours-celery 
plants 1 am talking about—and the team can stand In the barn The 
transplanter must do belter work than this or the “ hand job ” Is here 
to stay a while. 
There you have it. It seems to be a question as to 
whether the horse or the man shall have a soft jab ! 
e 
The first of the windmill irrigation articles appears 
this week. This is a very conservative statement of 
the facts about artificial watering of garden crops. In 
a private letter, Mr. Woodhams says that irrigation 
would be of more benefit to him if the droughts in his 
part of the country occurred in hot weather. As a 
rule during the late spring and fall droughts the 
weather is so cold that water is often a drawback 
rather than a benefit. As a matter of fact, he says 
that he has found nitrate of soda the best antidote for 
these cold spring droughts. The nitrate forces the 
plants along to a stronger growth. In any event, the 
use of the water in the large greenhouse is more than 
enough to pay interest on the plant. You will notice 
that a hill or knoll is needed to make pump irrigation 
a success. There must be some place for water storage, 
and the cheapest and strongest reservoir is a hole 
scooped out of the top of a hill and lined with stone 
or concrete. We shall have more to say about this 
irrigation later on. It is an important matter and 
promises much for the future. 
What is your opinion of the man who would send 
to market for sale as food for human beings, a calf 
weighing but 18 pounds ? So far as the manhood 
of such a creature is concerned, isn’t he about as small 
a specimen as the calf ? Yet such a calf came to this 
market the other day—shipped from the country, tco, 
although we hope not by a farmer. It didn’t get much 
farther than the market, for it was seized by the 
Board of Health and consigned to the dump. This is 
the smallest calf of which we remember having heard; 
although quantities of them are received weighing not 
■over 25 or 30 pounds. A commission merchant informs 
us that he knows of a number which have been taken 
from the wagons of the transportation companies 
within the past few days. Another commission mer¬ 
chant informs us that he knows of a firm that is 
smuggling quantities of these bob calves into the back 
part of their store to be sold on the sly as customers 
can be secured. Numbers of calves are to be seen 
hanging openly in the market exposed for sale, which 
are altogether too small to be fit for consumption. 
What must those be, then, which it is necessary to 
smuggle in ? This is an infamous business because it 
endangers the health and li^es of hundreds and thous¬ 
ands of innocent victims. ^ 
The tendency of prices everywhere is downward. 
Few things besides “novelties,” or those of extra fine 
quality, hold their price. What is to be the outcome? 
•Cheaper production or abandonment ? Manufacturers 
and dealers believe in the former. A man who grows 
millions of roses for sale, said the other day : “ We 
used to get 10 cents per rose bush and could not then see 
how we could possibly sell for less. Now we can sell 
for three cents and make as much as we could at 10.” 
The idea is that competition has forced these men to 
invent and utilize every possible contrivance for 
cheapening their work. As a result, the decrease in 
cost has kept ahead of the decrease in price. Is there 
any lesson for farmers in this ? Certainly. Who can 
honestly say he knows he has reached the lowest pos¬ 
sible figure in the cost of a pound or bushel of his 
crop ? It is true that the farmer is at a disadvantage 
in the fact that he pays too large a tax to the middle¬ 
man on many things he buys. Cooperation might eat 
up some of this tax for him, or direct buying might 
save him a dollar now and then. But the main point 
is that for the present, at least, there is more hope in 
reduction of cost than in increase of price. 
* 
Various States are moving in the direction of at¬ 
tempting legislation to control the attacks of injurious 
insects. Last year, the Massachusetts legislature 
passed the following law : 
Chap. 78. SKcriox 1.—Cities and towns shall raise annually by taxa¬ 
tion and appropriate such a sura of money as they may deem neces¬ 
sary, to be expended under the direction of the mayor and aldermen 
In elites and the selectmen In towns. In extermlnatloK insect pests 
within the limits of tte hlKhways In their respective cities and towns, 
and In the removal from said highways of all trees and shrubs upon 
which such pests naturally breed: Provided, however. That where the 
owner or lessee of real estate abuitlnK on the hljihway shall annually 
exterminate all Insect pests from the trees and shrubs alonK the hlKh- 
way where said real estate abuts thereon, such trees and shrubs shall 
be exempt from the provisions of this act. 
Section 2.-This act shall take ellect In any city when accepted by 
the city council, and In any town when accepted at a leKal town meet¬ 
ing called for that purpose. 
It will be noticed that this goes only so far as to enable 
a town to accept the measure and carry out its pro¬ 
visions when a majority of the voters agree to it. It 
will probably not prove very popular as farmers are 
I ot used to cooperation even for things that will 
benefit them. The trouble about enforcing such laws 
is that few people care to act as informers on their in¬ 
sect-breeding neighbors. In New Jersey efforts are 
being made to pass a law for the suppression of in¬ 
jurious insects that would be enforced by the State 
and county boards of agriculture. 
« 
Two weeks ago, The R. N.-Y gave a free advertise¬ 
ment of the methods of one fraudulent commission 
merchant. Now we pay our respects to another, al¬ 
though this one has not proved so brazen as the other, 
and has mysteriously disappeared after selling his 
desk, which was about his only visible asset. Some 
time since, we received complaints of non-payment for 
goods shipped to D. S. J. Bixby, 24 Little 12 bh Sbreet. 
The same shipper also inquired about the standing of 
H. G. Bixby, 836 & 838 Washington Street, luvesti- 
gat'on revealed a man claiming to be 1). S. Bixby 
doing business on the sidewalk, having simply a desk 
with a litt.e coop to shelter it, on Washington Street, 
just around the corner from Little 12th. Reputable 
commission men in the neighborhood informed our 
representative that these different initials all belonged 
to the same man, and that he was “no good.” He 
agreed to look the matter up, and finally promised to 
settle it on or before a certain day. But just before 
that day arrived, he evidently thought discretion the 
better part of valor, and took to his heels. The com¬ 
mission merchant who informed the writer of the time 
and manner of his disappearance, was asked where he 
supposed he would go. “ On, he’ll open up somewhere 
else and lay for more victims.” Our readers are hereby 
warned. This man gave no references, we never saw 
his advertisement in a reputable paper. Why will 
people ship to such parties? We hope none of our 
readers will ship anything to any one not thoroughly 
recommended. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
Thebe is business In tbosa premium offers on another page. Keep 
a watch on them every week. 
Celkhv and strawberry plants by mall are offered by Mount Po¬ 
mona b'rult Farm, Swanton, Md. If these plants have as muen vigor 
and vitality as the owners of the farm, tney will do well on any soil. 
TuEBB Is an opportunity for farmers who want to get Into a good 
stock of sheep. In the offers made by D. F. Wilber, Oneonta, N. Y. Ho 
was also the breeder of the World's Fair champion Holslelns. The 
Scotch Cheviot sheep are his favorite breed. 
Eveky man who owns a mowing machine should have one of the 
I.X L. grinders. They will save their cost in time every season, to say 
nothing of the saving In horse fiesh on account of being able to keep 
the knives sharp all the lime, and the cleaner work always done by 
the use of sharp knives. Ross Bros., Worcester, Mass , will send par¬ 
ticulars. 
Have you a lamp at the entrance gate to the driveway, or at the 
wagon-house door ? No? Then, of course, you want one if it doesn't 
cost too much. Well, It doesn’t cost much; and If you write the 
Steam Gauge and Lantern Co , Syracuse, N. Y., and find how cheap 
you can get one, and how cheap you can run It after you get It, you 
won’t tumble around In the dark any longer. 
Hunuueds of things on the farm need good, substantial, yet cheap 
covers. Cloth is not durable enough and leather is too dear. But a 
firm comes In and fills the want by furnishing an article called Panta- 
sote. It looks, feels and wears like leather. It is just the thing to 
cover wagon cushions, chairs, old sofas and such like. Send to the 
Panlasote Leather Co., 8‘J Leonard Street, New York for sample. 
The U. N.-Y. Is no friend of beer, but this does not apply to Illres*^ 
root beer. This has attained great popularity as a temperance bever¬ 
age because it Is just wnat the manufacturers claim—an honest ex¬ 
tract of Nature’s most healthtui roots, which slakes thirst. Improves 
health and pleases every member oi the family. The manufacturers, 
the Charles E. Hires’Co.. Philadelphia, claim that the annual sales 
have reached 2,88(1,278 packages, or enough for more than a gallon of 
beer for every family in the country, and the demand for It this year 
Is greater than ever before. 
