THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
743 
flowering little bulb, which may still be planted with 
good results. Plant six or more of the odd: bullet¬ 
shaped bulbs in a well-drained, six-inch pot of good, 
light soil; cover an inch deep; w'ater and stand in a 
cool place until up; then place in the window and 
give a fair chance in competition with the old favor¬ 
ites. The chances are that the triteleia will give 
greater returns for the small outlay, and little care, 
than any other plant you grow. It is so hardy that 
it well endures the cold draughts, the dry heat, the 
dust and gases of our living rooms, and goes right on 
producing its abundant, graceful, grass-like foliage 
and star-shaped white blooms, tipped with porcelain 
blue, in constant succession for several months. The 
only objectionable feature of the plant, is a very 
perceptible garlicky smell when the leaves or flowers 
are handled. When undisturbed, a grateful, prim¬ 
rose-like odor is apparent in the blooms. Fairfax. 
HOW TO SELL CELERY. 
The quantity of celery consumed in this country, is 
something enormous, and the demand is still in ad¬ 
vance of the supply. To make a profit on this crop, 
one must not only know how to raise it well, but also 
how to prepare it neatly, and put it on the market in 
attractive shape. Celery is eaten raio, and consumers 
with good taste will take, willingly, only 
clean and neat samples. The 11. N.-Y. has 
often shown its readers how and why some 
shipments of celery to market have been 
rendered almost unsalable by the careless¬ 
ness of packers. It was dirty, poorly trimmed, 
and carelessly packed in unclean boxes, so 
that, while originally of good quality, it had 
been spoiled by careless handling. What in 
the best package for shipping and displaying 
celery ? We have seen a number of neat 
crates, but the one shown at Fig. 197 seems 
to us ahead of the lot. 
This crate was devised by Mr. Joel 1 lea- 
cock, of Marlboro, O., who has made a great 
success of celery growing. The photograph 
shows the general appearance of the crate, 
and Mr. Ileacock thus describes the making 
of it: 
“The box is 12 by 14 inches in the clear, 
and four inches deep. The standards are 
12 inches above the box, with pieces on three 
sides at the top as shown. The box is made 
of thin, soft-wood boards, and dipped in hot 
coal tar. 
“ To fill it, set it in an X, and place a piece 
of heavy brown paper from a roll, such as 
butchers use, inside the crate, as shown in 
the cut. Take the stock of celery by the 
roots, in one hand, and with the other re¬ 
move the unbleached stalks. With one hand 
holding the roots, and the other the tops, it 
is placed in the crate without being soiled 
by handling. With each row of six, a little 
soil is thrown against the roots, and pressed 
firmly against them. This box will hold 
from six to seven rows, according to size. 
“ The only objection to shipping in these 
crates is the additional weight of roots and 
soil. For home marketing, they save ex¬ 
pense in packing, and by keeping the soil 
wet, the celery may be kept fresh any 
reasonable length of time. The dealer cuts 
out a stock at a time, as his customers may 
require, leaving the roots in the crate to be returned.” 
Mr. II. also describes how his celery is grown. Our 
older readers know what he means by the “new pro¬ 
cess.” Briefly described for new friends, it means 
that the plants are set in the ground (the soil being 
made very fine and rich) about seven inches apart 
each way. The weeds are killed out as well as possi¬ 
ble, until the celery gets so high that it shades the 
entire ground and, of course, blanches itself—as ex¬ 
plained below by Mr. II.: 
“ This celery was raised by the new process, except 
that the soil is thrown up in beds five feet wide, with 
alleys two feet wide between them. Each bed con¬ 
tains eight rows, with the plants seven inches apart 
in the row. When blanched so as to begin to show 
the white above the tops, straw is taken from a hand¬ 
cart made wide enough to straddle the bed, and 
placed against the outside rows, with a slight cover¬ 
ing over the tops of the celery. A wire is then 
stretched on the two sides of the bed, and these are 
connected by cross wires at intervals of 12 or 14 feet. 
On these wires, and at the top of the straw, a board 
is placed one-half inch thick, made by splitting com¬ 
mon pine fencing boards on a circular saw. These 
boards are put above the straw, and held in position 
by the use of the half length of common plastering 
laths run down between the wire and the straw, 
with the top end against the board. Irrigation is 
effected by allowing the water to flow into the alleys.” 
THE EXORBITANT MIDDLEMAN. 
Reading the editorial about Miss Columbia and Sena¬ 
tor Monopoly in The R. N.-Y. of November 3. re¬ 
minded me of an interview I had with a merchant 
lately. It is always exasperating to find that a dealer 
who makes great pretensions of friendship for the 
farmer, is at the same time charging him exorbitant 
prices for what he sells him. If such men accommo¬ 
date us by bringing merchandise from all over the 
country to their stores for our inspection, we are will¬ 
ing to allow them a fair profit; but when one acci¬ 
dentally finds that they will make more by one small 
deal than we can make by a week’s hard work, it is 
exasperating, to say the least. 
This fall,- a neighbor talked of getting a feed cutter, 
and with the idea of helping him, I wrote to the gen¬ 
eral agent of whom I got my machine, for prices, lie 
referred me to the agent in this town. The agent 
here, an implement dealer, agreed to order the ma¬ 
chine, if wanted, and sell it for 25 per cent discount 
from list price. I suggested that he might make a 
lower price than that, and told him that I had ob¬ 
tained 50 per cent discount from the general agent 
when in Illinois, lie admitted, then, that he got the 
same discount, but said that freight and other ex¬ 
penses would take off 10 per cent of his profit, leaving 
him only 15 per cent net profit, and he could not do 
business on a narrower margin than that. There are 
several misstatements in that reply which it is well to 
look into. 
Freight is always made a big bugbear, but I have 
never found it very high ; at least on machinery. On 
my feed cutter, the freight and all other expenses, 
which was only the postage on the correspondence, 
were only four per cent of the list price. We are a 
little further from Chicago now, and freight might be 
a little higher, but probably it would not be over five 
per cent, leaving the dealer 20 per cent net px-ofit. 
This20 percent of list price, it must be noticed, is 40 
per cent of the money invested in the machine, and 
tl jS dealer has the presumption to state that he can’t 
do business on a narrower margin, even though his 
sale is assured, and his money would not be in use 
more than a week ! To illustrate that. If the list 
price is $00 it would cost him $30, the freight would be 
$3, he would make a profit of $12 and sell the machine 
for $45. The farm'er is supposed to be happy because 
he got the machine at a big discount, 25 per cent from 
the price marked down in the catalogue. 
The dealer can’t do business for less than 40 per 
cent profit when no risk is to be taken and his money 
will be in use but a week. But how is it with the 
farmer who buys a bunch of steers to fatten ? His 
money is in use six months or more ; he runs a great 
deal of risk ; he soils his clothes and hands, bixt still 
is satisfied with 10 or 15 per cent profit. We must do 
without the services of middlemen whenever possible. 
Iowa, e. B. WATSON. 
OIL MEAL ON THE FARM. 
A few years ago, I concluded to try an experiment 
with oil meal. Inquiry proved the fact that no one 
kept it for sale except in very small quantities, and at 
prohibitive prices. It seemed to be regarded as a 
tonic by my neighbors and the druggist. After con¬ 
siderable writing, I obtained an offer of a car-load at 
wholesale rates. I spent a day among the neighbors, 
sold most of it at a low price, and still made a profit. 
It was fed to all kinds of stock, and gave general 
satisfaction. I had sale for four cai*-loads that winter. 
One horse owned by a liveryman died, it was .said, 
fi'om feeding the meal, but neaidy every one believed 
that a .severe kicking by the owner had more to do 
with it. The feed stores were .soon sxipplied with it, 
and sold it at a I’easonable price. It cut into their 
sales, and they soon saw their way to keep it. 
Much had been used in this section until other feed 
got so low and the trust i-aised the price of the meal 
so high, that few thought it px'ofitable to xxse it. This 
season one may again use it to advantage in connec¬ 
tion with other foods. It should be a dry, fine, sweet 
smelling and tasting meal, free from hard, gritty 
lumps, to be in the best condition for feeding. I fed 
it to hor.ses mixed with coarse wheat bran ; to cows 
with cotton-seed meal, bi*an, buckwheat middlings 
aixd oats; to hens mixed with coarse wheat bran ; to 
hogs in the milk. I do not agree with The 
R. N.-Y. that it is loosening in its effects. 
The old fashioned linseed meal was a moist, 
brown substance, and contained so much oil 
that it was equal to a dose of physic. The 
modeim meal contains but very little oil, and 
is a cooked, dried article. It can be used as 
a food instead of as a medicine. A few ani¬ 
mals with weak stomachs, cannot stand a 
heavy ration of oil meal. Some cannot stand 
grain of any kind. A small portion should 
be mixed with other grains until the animals 
become accustomed to it. Then increase 
gi'adually until a full ration is reached. My 
work team weigh 1,100 pounds each. They 
are in the harness every day, and work hard. 
For 18 months, the only grain they received 
was 10 quarts, by measure, pef day of a 
mixture made of one part oil meal and two 
parts coarse wheat bran. They kept in good 
condition, had sleek coats, and seemed strong 
and healthy, with plenty of life. A horse 
will not be troubled with worms that eats a 
little of it each day. Our horses will get 
nothing else this winter, as oats are high, 
and the meal lower. Several men who are 
keeping lai-ge liveries tell me that they can¬ 
not afford oats, and have used oil meal several 
winters. 
Fed to cows, it affects the butter, making 
it softer. Cotton seed tends to make it harder. 
With the two combined, there is no percepti¬ 
ble difference. An animal will fatten much 
faster if fed oil meal and roots with its corn 
meal. A pail one-third full of boiling water, 
will cook a quart of the meal, which will be¬ 
come a thick jelly. To this, add coarse wheat 
bran until dry and cnimbly. This is the 
morning feed the year ’round. The meal 
takes largely the place of meat and milk. We 
have a large number of hogs and pigs and 
but little milk to feed them. Oil meal forms 
a part of their daily ration. Little pigs two 
months old, soon show its effect in their sleek 
condition and shiny hair. One cannot prove it, but I 
think that the sows give richer, and I know more 
milk, when fed upon it. According to the chemist, it 
is worth more than two-thirds of its cost as a fertilizer 
after passing through the animals. Other things 
being equal, the farmer should try to feed those foods 
which have a high manurial value. In any neighbor¬ 
hood where it is not kept by the dealers in feed, some 
farmer can benefit his neighbors and make consider¬ 
able cash, this winter, by taking orders and buying by 
the car-load. c. E. chapman. 
SOME THINGS LEARNED THIS SEASON. 
1. That potatoes planted the first week in August 
can yield a good crop the last week in October. 
Variety, White Star. 
2. That the Albino branching tuberose is inferior to 
the Excelsior Pearl in size and fragrance, and that it 
does not branch. 
3. That potatoes grown in the shade of trees and 
grape vines are almost wholly exempt from scab; 
varieties tested as to this matter, at least a dozen. 
4. That the Carman No. I potato does not set its 
tubers close enough to the stem for convenience 
and safety ; some being found as far as 15 inches 
distant. 
5. That the healthiest peach trees are those most 
AoNEW CRATE FORISIIIPPING CELERY. Fig. 197. 
