792 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
DEC 4 
THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Conducted by 
ELBERT 8. CARMAN. 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKKR, 
No. 34 Park Row New York. 
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1883. 
It is probable that the Rural New- 
Yorker will be a day or so late uext week 
on account of the holidays. 
-»- 
We have, perhaps, 50 different packets 
of seeds, and from 10 to 15 cards and let¬ 
ters from those who sent them. But the 
seed packets have no marks upon them 
whereby we can determine which cards 
or letters go with the seed packets. In 
this emergency what shall we do in the 
way of compensation or thankful recogni¬ 
tion? 
We wish that our friends, when they 
send Rural seed reports, would add a dn- 
tinet paragraph or so as to the condition 
of crops, prices, etc., etc. We are re¬ 
ceiving more seed reports than we can pos¬ 
sibly publish, though we are always glad 
to get them. Let the crop reports be sepa¬ 
rate from the others, so that we can cut the 
letters in two, as each is published under a 
different head, thus saving us the trouble 
of re-writing. 
In addition to Russia, India and Aus¬ 
tralasia, the Argentine Republic is likely 
to prove a formidable rival of ours in the 
wheat markets of tin; world according to 
the opinion of Mr. Baker, our Consul at 
Buenos Ayres. He estimates this year’s 
wheat crop at 19,500,000 bushels, over half 
of which will be surplus for export, while 
the surplus corn will be 5,000,000 bush¬ 
els. It is the possible future rather than 
the actual present output we have to fear 
however. The arable acreage has been 
more than doubled, it seems, within the 
last, six years, yet the area now under cul¬ 
tivation is less than 3,000,000 acres, out of 
800,000,000 in the 14 Provinces, most of 
the reniainderbeing used for grazing cattle 
and sheep. Experiments appear to prove 
that the pampas are, like our prairies, re¬ 
markably fertile under cultivation, and 
admirably fitted for cereal crops. The 
great fertility of these lands will make 
them hereafter the granary and garden of 
the Republic, the Consul thinks. It must 
be remembered that Northern Patagonia 
lies in a latitude corresponding m the 
Southern Hemisphere to the northern part 
of the United States in the Northern Hem¬ 
isphere ; while the Argentine Republic oc¬ 
cupies a position like that of the States south 
of the 40th parallel, or Mason and Dixon's 
line. There is not much fear of violent 
competition soon, however, as the Repub¬ 
lic has only 3,500,000 population— 
“ mostly indolent and conservative ”— 
but there is a heavy immigration of more 
energetic and enterprising nationalities. 
“PROTECTION” IN CANADA. 
obtainable wheat. The protective system 
has hitherto been an unmitigated curse to 
Canadian farmers, so that the settlers in 
Manitoba threaten to secede from the Do¬ 
minion on account of its hardships in the 
Far Northwest, and now that the duty on 
wheat is likely to prove a benefit to the 
agricultural community, it appears a piece 
of intolerable impertinence to ask them to 
forego the advantage. 
THE BARBED-WIRE FENCE MONO¬ 
POLY. 
Representatives of 3G firms manu¬ 
facturing barbed wire fencing throughout 
the country have been in session in Chica¬ 
go to determine what “royalty” they 
will pay the Washburn & Moon Company 
which practically controls the barbed wire 
patents. Hitherto they have been paying 
75 cents per hundredweight ; hut they 
claim that the Washburn & Moen Com¬ 
pany have "been granting better terms to 
certain licensees, and that on this account 
they arc all absolved from the payment of 
any royalty greater than that of the “ most 
favored ” party. It was finally determin¬ 
ed, however, to offer the Company a uni¬ 
form royalty of 30 cents per hundred¬ 
weight. The United 8tat.es Circuit Court 
of Illinois having decided in favor of the 
validity of the Washburn & Moen patents, 
and that of Missouri having taken an op¬ 
posite view of the question, royalty cau be 
charged in Illinois but not. in Missouri, un¬ 
til the United States Supreme Court shall 
have finally passed on the matter, and as 
the ease cannot be reached for at least 
three years, the payment or non-payment 
of royalty in the meantime is a subject of 
importance. Accordingly, the barbed 
wire fence makers of Illinois are reported 
to have almost decided to move into Mis¬ 
souri. The largest manufacturers are at 
Chicago, De Kalb, and Joliet, and such 
an exodus would have a depressing effect 
on the industries of at least the latter two 
places, as the factories of Joliet, alone em¬ 
ploy over 1,000 hands. There are in the 
State about 20 factories, which represent 
a large amount of capital. 
It is with regret we learn that the par¬ 
ties who fought the oppressive barbed wire 
fence monopoly so persistently at Des 
Moines, Iowa, and who finally secured a 
verdict against the monopolists in the 
United States Circuit Court for that State, 
are thinking of abandoning the contest 
now that the ease has been carried up to 
the United States Supreme Court. The 
expenses of the suit must be heavy, and 
while the monopolists who make a couple 
of million dollars a year can readily meet 
them, their opponents are less able to do 
so. The State Grange which supported 
the parties in their former fight, seems to 
think it has done as much as should be 
required of it in a contest in which all 
the users of barbed wire fence in the coun¬ 
try are interested. 
Farmers' clubs, granges, farmers’ alli¬ 
ances, and users of large quantities of wire 
fencing everywhere should promptly see 
to it that ample funds are contributed to 
carry on the battle. The first decision on 
the matter by the United States Supreme 
Court will decide every case throughout 
the length and breadth of the land. 
When the protective system was inau¬ 
gurated in Canada in 1879, a sop was given 
to farmers in the shape of a duty of 15 
cents per bushel on wheat., just as our own 
protective Government flatters the farmers 
of this country with a duty of 20 cents 
per bushel on the same cereal. As there 
has always been a surplus of wheat in the 
Dominion since the above date this duty has 
hitherto been inopeialive, just as the duty 
always will he in this country owing to a 
like cause. On account of the poor crops 
across the border this year, however, there 
is a considerable deficiency of wheat for 
home requirements, and the Dominion 
Millers’ Association has just sent a depu¬ 
tation of its best men to Ottawa to urge 
upon the Government a reduction of the 
duty on wheat from 15c. to ?Xc. per 
bushel. Manitoba wheat, instead of going 
to Lower Canada, now goes to Minneapo¬ 
lis, as our Government allows the Minne¬ 
sota millers to “grind in bond,” so that 
the Canadian millers are left out, and they 
say that if the duty is not reduced, wheat 
will be ground in this country and im¬ 
ported as flour; whereas if the duty is 
reduced the Canadian millers will have a 
chance to live while the farmers will get 
the benefit of the lower duty, If the duty 
is kept up they say the millers must quit, 
the business until next season, and the 
farmers’ wheat must go to Europe and 
take its chances with all competitors be- 
cause it cannot be ground at home! Some 
of the mills may shut down, however, but 
enough are sure to keep open to grind all 
AN UNSCRUPULOUS MONOPOLY. 
Thirteen years ago the Standard Oil 
Company began business with a capital of 
$1,000,000. Since then it has heaped up 
profits amounting to $79,000,000 and has, 
moreover, raised its stock to upward of 
$70,000,000. By pitilessly crushing out 
hundreds of legitimate business enter¬ 
prises, it has gained absolute control of 
the vast petroleum trade of the United 
States and consequently a dominant influ¬ 
ence in the trade in American petroleum 
and its products in all parts of the world. 
Strong in its money power, which it is 
ever ready to use unscrupulously to in¬ 
crease its own influence or overwhelm its 
rivals, this gigantic monopoly 1ms become 
scandalously reckless in the means it 
adopts to secure its ends. It lias defied 
the investigating committees of legisla¬ 
tures, and the decrees of courts; it has 
corrupted law-makers and law-dispensers; 
it has bribed juries and bought witnesses; 
it has crushed by its power those whom 
it could not influence by its wealth ; it 
has sent its subservient tools to the leg¬ 
islatures of three States, and is as unscru¬ 
pulous in pushing its political fortunes as 
in establishing its commercial supremacy. 
Enormously wealthy as it. is, it seeks by 
every means, however dishonorable and 
dishonest, to shirk its legitimate share of 
the public burdens. Two years and a 
half ago the State of Pennsylvania brought 
suit to recover from the arrogant monop¬ 
oly unpaid taxes for nine years, amount¬ 
ing, it was estimated, to $3,145,541. 
The Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin 
County, however, decided that the taxes 
due the State amounted only to $31,801, 
and, on appeal, this sum was reduced to 
$18,289 by the Supreme Court, Loud 
complaints were made that these verdicts 
had been obtained by the unscrupulous 
means for the employment of which the 
company had become notorious. 
So clamorous and persistent were these 
charges that the Pennsylvania Legislature 
appointed a committee to investigate the 
matter, and this has been at work for 
some weeks. E. G. Patterson had been 
employed by the Attorney-General of 
Pennsylvania to collect evidence, to be 
used in the suit, and among other accusa¬ 
tions it was charged that the company 
had bought him, and was thus enabled to 
defeat the State by suppressing the evi¬ 
dence he had gathered at the expense of the 
State. Last Saturday, John D. A rehhold, a 
member of the Company’s Executive Com¬ 
mittee, unblushingly testified that he did 
buy Patterson by paying him $15,000, 
and securing for him a sinecure situation 
worth $5,000 a year. 
“ What arc you going to do about it ?” 
defiantly asked that, arch-corruptionist, 
Tweed, when public indignation was 
aroused by the commencement of the ex¬ 
posure of the rascality of himself and his 
clique; and this man Archbold seems to 
ask the same question of an indignant 
public. Tweed’s power was quickly 
crushed; his confederates at home or 
abroad suffered for their crimes, and the 
rascal himself died miserably in a convict’s 
cell. May the fate of this unscrupulous 
monopoly also yet be such as to point a 
moral. 
- » « ♦- 
WASHINGTON MARKET CHIT-CHAT. 
HoriNG to gather some interesting facts 
for our readers, we took a stroll through 
Washington Market, as is our wont from 
time to time, and engaged in conversation 
with sundry commission merchants re¬ 
garding fruits and vegetables, eliciting 
such information of a valuable nature as 
we could, which we herewith present for 
what it is worth. 
The apple market is getting full to over¬ 
flowing, and dealers are beginning to 
realize that they are going to lose money. 
Early in the season complaints began to 
be made of the scarcity in the apple crop, 
and that prices would be high. As a re¬ 
sult, apples have been pouring in here, 
until the dock is full of them. One deal¬ 
er informed us that he knew of persons 
who had gone to Missouri to buy apples. 
They paid 40 cents apiece for empty bar¬ 
rels, $2 a barrel for the apples, and 70 
cents a barrel to ship them to Attica, 
N. Y., to store. Now they find apples 
are going down, and with extra expenses 
to ship to this city, they will find them¬ 
selves poorer in the end than they were 
when tney began. 
Much complaint is made of the manner 
in which farmers pack their apples. One 
man said, “I don’t believe one farmer in 
ten knows how to pack apples,” and an¬ 
other said, “Farmers are getting to be 
bigger cheats than eveu the dealers. 
They stuff all sorts of fruit in a barrel and 
then put on one or two nice layers on top. 
It is getting to be so had that we hardly 
dare to buy of them, and a good many 
merchants have to go out and buy and 
pack their own, You see that lot there? 
Those apples are so horribly packed that. 
I can’t sell them at a decent price.” An¬ 
other said, “If farmers would only sort, 
their apples into No. 1 and No. 2 grades, 
they would make more by it. By making 
up barrels of first-class apples they would 
bring from $1.50 to $2 more per barrel.” 
As might be expected, the majority of 
apples handled here arc Baldwins and 
Greenings; the former, because they are 
such good shippers and keepers, and the 
latter, because they fire first-class for pies. 
Some Ben Davises are sold. One large 
dealer remarked that he thought ten years 
from now the Ben Davis would be but lit¬ 
tle thought of. as its thick skin and dry 
flesh are rather objectionable. Another 
extensive shipper concurred in this opin¬ 
ion. The Spitzenberg brings the highest 
price of any in the market when in good 
condition; Twenty Ounce Pippin and King 
of Tompkins County also fetch good prices. 
It would be wise in holders of stock not 
to ship much just at present, but rather 
wait until the stock on hunt! wears off. 
California finite are handled only by 
few dealers here, although good fruit 
from that State always has a ready mar¬ 
ket, and just, now it is the leading sort. 
The pears mostly handled now from there 
are Winter Nelis and Easter BeurrA 
The former brings the highest price, 
ranging from $5 to $6 per two-thinds 
bushel box. Specimens which we tested 
were of the fine flavor which characterizes 
this pear—melting and juiev. This fruit, 
and likewise peaches, plums, apricots, 
etc., are packed in paper, each one being 
I separately packed up. Of course, in com- 
[ ing such a distance, there is always more 
j or less waste. Beurrf; Clairgeaus shipped 
i from California to this market are not of 
j a very desirable quality to handle, as they 
keep only a short time. 
The question was asked, “Are your 
customers, as a rule, posted on the names 
given to the various kinds of fruit?” 
“Yes," was the reply, “it is surprising 
how well persons are acquainted with the 
different varieties, especially the dealers 
who sell at retail here m this city, and 
their customers up town.” 
Quinces are about done for, and no 
pears are handled to any great extent, 
with the exception of those sold by Cali¬ 
fornia dealers. 
Cranberries are handled both in crates 
and barrels. The barrels are expected to 
hold 100 wet quarts, or, on an average, 
three bushels, and they sell now at from 
$10 to $12 per barrel. The crates, w T hich 
hold somewhat less than a bushel, sell at 
from $3 to $4. Most of the berries sold 
in this market come from New Jersey, hut 
they are inferior to the Cape Cod berries. 
The market is at present well stocked 
with celery, the best of which is only 
worth $1 per dozen bunches. Although 
there are several well-known varieties of 
celery, the old-fashioned Jersey holds its 
own over all others, although, as one man 
remarked, “that which sells the best, and 
brings the best price, is that which has 
been best cultivated, prepared and put on 
the market.” 
Celeriae, a plant similar to celery, the 
roots of which are used for salad, is much 
used among the German population here. 
It is done up in bunches of three or four 
roots to the bunch, and sells from $4 to 
$5 per hundred hunches. 
Among squashes, the Boston Marrow 
takes the lead in sales, 20 of them Deing 
sold to one Hubbard. The Marrow is 
generally preferred by cooks, as it is 
softer, can be more easily cleaned, and 
may be used either for pie or the table. 
The onion crop is large, the quality 
good, and they will be cheap in the mar¬ 
ket. The Yellow Globe has the perfer- 
enee over other sorts. 
In one. commission house we were shown 
a vegetable but little known among farm¬ 
ers as well as among other classes. It was 
a German Turnip, called Telton Repia; a 
vegetable about the diameter of an aver¬ 
age hickory nut, and in appearance re¬ 
sembling a youthful Rutabaga. It is 
used almost entirely by Europeans, espec¬ 
ially Germans and French, and sells at 
about $2 a bushel. This singular vegeta¬ 
ble can be found in but very few stores 
in New York. 
— *»«»--- 
BREVITIES. 
“The fact that the new postal notes must be 
signed by the party to whom they are sent be¬ 
fore they are cashed, and, too, the fact that if 
any other person signs the name, be thereby 
ftecomes a forger, ought to satisfy any person 
that they are a safe way to forward funds." 
We find the above in the Fruit Recorder. 
Postal notes are payable to bearer—any one 
can sign them and collect them at the office 
where they are drawn or made pavuble. It 
is cheaper to boy ono of these for three cents 
than to register a letter at 10 cents—therein is 
their value. 
“Dairy Notes nrom England,” in this 
issue, is the first of a series from the pen of 
Prof. J. P. Sheldon. the eminent author of 
“ Dairy Fanning,” the largest, finest nnd best 
work hitherto publisbed’on that subject. We 
commend the series to the attention and study 
of our readers. 
The Fat Stock Show at Chicago appears to 
have turned out a splendid success, as anticip¬ 
ated. The entries numbered 70*1 against 4ol 
last year, nnd only 100 in 1878, the first year 
of its establishment. The increase includes 
nearly all classes. We have provided for full 
reports from several notable authorities on 
livestock, hut the first of them has just arrived 
too late for insertion in this issue. 
The new system of time standards for this 
country receives attention In another depart¬ 
ment of this issue of the Rural. In connec¬ 
tion with this system, it is proposed to abol- 
lish A. M. and P. M , and extend the figures 
on the dial to 24. It seems odd to announce 
trains arriving or departing at 21:15 o’clock, 
and evening church service at 19:30 o’clock. 
But subtract 12 and you have the familar 
figures. 
The death at Jefferson, Cook County. Ill., 
of Mr John Dymond, one of the pioneer stock- 
men of the West, deserves more than a pass¬ 
ing notice. Emigrating from Bridford, Eng¬ 
land, to Chicago in 1848, he immediately 
engaged in the five stock business, buying us 
far south as Central Illinois, when the State 
was yet without railway transportation. 
Known throughout his whole life as un accu¬ 
rate judge of stock, and as a man of unswerv¬ 
ing probity, he died at the ripe age of 89 
years, widely regretted by two generations. 
