1 889. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
629 
3nfcust’Jl Somixu. 
THE FLORISTS AT BUFFALO. 
[rural special report.] 
“ The florists of the future.," glass insur¬ 
ance; abolition of duty on foreign bulbs; 
exaggerated catalogue cuts; value of a 
new rose; officers elected; a “ national ex¬ 
perimental garden ;” killing grubs in 
greenhouses , having a ''good time." 
TlIE fifth annual meeting of the Society 
of American Florists at Buffalo, was large¬ 
ly attended, and was very interesting. 
Members were present from all parts of 
the country and from Canada. The Mayor 
of Buffalo gave an address of welcome. 
President J. N. May delivered the usual 
address, discussing many questions of in¬ 
terest to florists. The young assistants, 
who are to be the florists of the future, 
should be thoroughly and systematically 
educated both by precept and example. To 
be a successful florist a young man should 
have a fair school education, and a natural 
taste and love for flowers. This, combined 
with a good business training and a strict 
application, will produce the desired result 
in most cases. The renaming of old va¬ 
rieties of plants, and selling them for novel¬ 
ties at high prices was very mildly de¬ 
nounced as objectionable. The work of the 
Florists’ Hail Association was commended. 
June 1, last, there were over 1,200,600 feet 
of glass insured. The system seems to be 
very popular, especially in localities where 
liail-storms are of frequent occurrence. 
The reports of the secretary and t reasurer 
showed that the society is in a prosperous 
condition. Peter Henderson made a report 
as chairman of a committee, recommending 
an effort on the part of the society to secure 
the abolition of the duty of 20 per cent, on 
imported bulbs. The fact was brought out 
that tulip bulbs were being successfully 
grown in several States. A matter of con¬ 
siderable interest to all who are in the 
habit of dealing with firms who publish 
catalogues, was the recommendation of the 
committee on “ Exaggeration of Cuts in 
Catalogues ” that catalogue men be invited 
to submit their illustrations to the execu¬ 
tive committee or a sub-committee with 
actual specimens of the objects illustrated, 
and if found to be true to nature, that a 
certificate to such effect be issued to each 
for use in his catalogue. This created a 
very animated discussion, and the matter 
was referred to the executive committee 
with power to act upon it as it saw fit. 
VV. C. Barry read a very carefully prepared 
paper on “ Roses.” During the discussion 
following, the belief was expressed that the 
value of a new rose was too often decided 
by its adaptability for forcing. Roses are 
needed fully as much for planting out. 
Mr. Hill expressed himself as pleased with 
Woottou. Boston was chosen as the place 
for the next meeting of the convention, af¬ 
ter which the following oflicers were se¬ 
lected for the ensuing year: 
President, J. M. Jordan, St. Louis; vice- 
president, M. 11. Norton, Boston; secretary, 
Win. J. Stewart, Boston; treasurer, M. A. 
Hunt, Terre Haute, Iml. John Thorpe 
read a paper favoring the idea of a national 
experiment garden, ami an attempt will 
be made to get an appropriation from Con¬ 
gress for that purpose. A method 
of heating the soil for greenhouse 
benches to kill the grubs was given by 
Mr. Carmody. It can be done very rapidly 
by piling the soil on steam-pipes suitably 
arranged. The fact was stated that the 
season of blooming of many summer flow¬ 
ers could be prolonged by picking off all 
the blooms so as to prevent the plant 
from exhausting itself by perfecting seed. 
It was recommended to nip the points of 
dahlias, thus inducing free branching. A 
committee appointed for the purpose re¬ 
ported a plan for protecting the society 
from dishonest dealers. 
William McMillan, superintendent of the 
Buffalo parks, read a paper on Landscape 
Hardening, which ridiculed the craze for 
the artificial and abnormal in gardening. 
On Friday morning the society visited Ni¬ 
agara Falls, on a special train, returning 
in time for an elegant repast in Music Hall. 
After this was disposed of, the society en¬ 
tered carriages and were driven through 
the st reets and parks of Buffalo. The “Na¬ 
tional Flower Committee ” declined to com¬ 
mit itself by naming any particular flower. 
The National Chrysanthemum Society was 
organized. The $100 prize offered by Peter 
Henderson for the best herbarium of native 
plants was awarded to (J. W. Oliver, Wash¬ 
ington, 1). C. J. H. Butterfoos, Lambert- 
ville, N. J., had the second best, and it was 
so good that it was awarded a second prize 
of $50 by Mr. Henderson. There was a large 
display of cut flowers, heaters of various 
kinds, and other paraphernalia of the trade. 
F. 11. v. 
NEW ENGLAND FAIR. 
(RURAL special report.) 
The 26th annual fair of the New England 
Agricultural Society was held at Worces¬ 
ter, Mass., on the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th of 
September. The weather was exceptionally 
fine, the attendance unprecedented and the 
exhibition all that could be desired. The 
cattle sheds were filled to overflowing. 
Nearly all the leading breeds were repre¬ 
sented. A fine, herd of the Dutch belted 
cattle was greatly admired. The Swiss also 
received a good deal of attention. The 
dairy contests were exciting and interesting. 
In the building devoted to dairy products, 
a “laiby” De Laval separator was shown 
and its method of operation explained. 
It is just the thing for a small herd, say of 
eight or 10 cows. The tent devoted to the 
Patrons of Husbandry was visited by mem¬ 
bers of the order and a number of excellent 
speeches were made in it and attentively 
listened to. Domestic articles and fruits 
were exhibited in the Main building, but 
the aisles were too narrow to accommodate 
the crowd and a critical examination of the 
exhibit was impossible. Messrs. Stephen 
Hoyt’s Sons showed some fine specimens of 
the Green Mountain Grape and of their 
new strawberry, the Yale. The vegeta¬ 
ble tent was well filled. The show of pota¬ 
toes and corn was unquestionably the finest 
ever made in New England. The imple¬ 
ment buildings were next in order. They 
were under the charge of Mr. Curtis, the ef¬ 
ficient manager of the Richardson Manu¬ 
facturing Co. The exhibit was a good one. 
Such old and reliable firms as the Ames 
Plow Company; the Belcher & Taylor Com¬ 
pany; the Vermont Farm Machine Com¬ 
pany; Richardson Manufacturing Company; 
and the Higganum Manufacturing Com¬ 
pany showed a fidl line of their well known 
implements. Among the novelties were 
Hill's milk aerator, a machine for forcing 
air through milk and removing all noxious 
odors. The Ruggles cultivator is a hand 
cultivator arranged on the principle of the 
disk-harrows. It is unquestionably a valu¬ 
able implement. 
The general management was good, but 
the presence of the fakirs who occupied a 
large portion of the available space and who 
attracted far more attention than the legit¬ 
imate port ion of the exhibit, was a deplor¬ 
able feature. The facilities for getting vis¬ 
itors to and from the depot were miserably 
inadequate and horse and chariot racing at¬ 
tracted far too much attention. On the 
whole, however, it was a good fair and 
worthy of the enormous patronage it re¬ 
ceived. j. H. G. 
FRAUDS UPON FARMERS IX THE COUNTRY. 
At no time within the Eye-Opener’s re¬ 
membrance have swindlers preyed so heavi¬ 
ly on farmers as they have been doing of 
late, judging by the exposures of their var¬ 
ious misdoings in the public press in differ¬ 
ent parts of the country. Their modes of 
swindling are substantially the same that 
have proved successful for years, and which 
have been exposed over and over again in 
this department. The best way to keep our 
old readers in mind of the tricks of the tribe 
and put our new readers in mind of t hem, 
is to give them an occasional specimen of 
the numerous instances in which each kind 
of swindle has been successfully practiced. 
The swindle the success of which depends 
on the pretended desire of the operators to 
purchase a farm has been outrageously suc¬ 
cessful of late. The papers that come to the 
Eye-Opener’s notice contain numerous ac¬ 
counts of such frauds, and he sees only 
comparatively few of all published, and a 
large number of cases never find their 
way to the papers. Hundreds of such 
swindles must therefore be perpetrated 
every year in the country at large, and the 
sums lost are generally quite heavy. Asa 
rule with few exceptions, old men are the 
victims ! There are three principal reasons 
for this: First, it is not until men gullible 
enough to be swindled in this way have 
grown old that they have laid by enough 
to make it an object to the rascals to go to 
the trouble of cheating them out of their 
hoards; second, old men are often more 
credulous, self-sufficient, and greedy than 
younger men, and, third, they are less able 
to take prompt and vigorous measures for 
recovering the property when lost, and 
punishing the swindlers, and hence are all 
the more likely to be selected as victims. 
Among the dozen or more cases noticed 
by the Eye-Opener within the last month, 
the latest successful one is that of Joel S. 
Ordway, who lives at Loudon, near Con¬ 
cord, N. H. Joel is a well-to-do farmer, 80 
years old, and for some time he has wanted 
to sell his farm. Last Monday, September 
9, a nice-looking man called on him osten¬ 
sibly to bargain for its purchase. After 
considerable talk, the glib-tongued stranger 
left, promising to call again. Early next 
forenoon he drove into Mr. Ordway’s yard 
and prevailed on him to go to Concord 
where the old man was induced to draw 
$0,500 from the bank to prove to the pro¬ 
spective customer that he was a responsible 
man and able to support his title to the 
farm. The pair then started to drive back 
to the farm, but when about a mile from 
the place, they met the indispensable con¬ 
federate—a young man who got into con¬ 
versation with Mr. Ordway’s companion. 
The inevitable game of cards was suggested, 
and the team was stopped, and Ordway’s 
companion and the stranger began to play. 
The former soon lost $10,000 apparently, 
and asked Ordway to loan him the $0,500 to 
win the money back. Had he done so the 
brace of rascals would have straightway 
driven merrily off. He refused, how¬ 
ever, whereupon one of the men held 
a revolver to his head while the other 
took the money. They then drove rapid¬ 
ly away, leaving the despoiled and dis¬ 
consolate farmer alone on the highway. He 
walked to the village of Loudon, from 
which he was taken to Concord, where he 
told the police of his loss. By this time 
the swindlers and highwaymen had a good 
start. One is described as smooth-faced 
and about 30 years old, while the other had 
a light mustache and was not over 20. Of 
course, they’ll attempt the same game 
again, though probably not for some time, 
if ever, in that neighborhood. In all such 
cases, plans are carefully laid beforehand. 
In this instance, the character of old man 
Ordway, the fact that he had a large cash 
deposit in the bank and the best place for 
the meeting of the confederates an d the de¬ 
spoiling of their victim had all been ascer- 
tained and discussed in advance. Of course 
it’s an old, old swindle, but, alas ! old, old 
swindles always find fresh, new dupes. 
A variation of the game was played, the 
other day, on \V. AY. Johnson, a wealthy 
farmer living two miles south of Hillsdale, 
Michigan. He was approached by a line- 
looking man who wanted to buy his farm, 
with which he expressed himself highly 
pleased. The two men took a walk to view 
the property. On their way back to the 
house, they met an apparent stranger to 
both, who appeared to lx* intoxicated. He 
showed a large sum of money and engaged 
the would-be land buyer in a game of three- 
card monte, losing apparently $10,(HH> to 
him. It was then suggested that Mr. John¬ 
son should take a hand, and seeing his 
“friend” so successful, he couldn’t resist 
the temptation to do so. He went to Hills¬ 
dale, drew $2,<XK) from the bank and re¬ 
turned home. The game then proceeded, 
and in a short time Johnson’s money was 
all in the common pile with that of the 
others. In the. division, he took a package 
which he supposed contained money for 
the full amount of his stake and 
winnings, and the others departed. 
Too late, foolish Mr. Johnson found that 
the package contained sawdust. In apileof 
clippings relating to similar frauds of re¬ 
cent (late, the modus operanifi. North and 
South, East and West is always substan¬ 
tially t he same. How should such frauds be 
avoided? Well, in the sale of real es¬ 
tate it is always safest to deal through a 
responsible lawyer. If one is unwilling to 
do this, he should always consult his wife 
before taking any important step in the 
matter. Wherever the machinations of such 
rascals have been defeated, in three cases 
out of four, their discomfiture has been 
due to the wife’s summary interposition. 
FACTS FROM FARMERS. 
Farm figuring.—I f 1 were to state what 
I had found the most profitable during the 
past season’s work, I should say that a few 
sums in mental arithmetic, worked out 
while in the field, had yielded the highest 
rate of interest, considering the capital in¬ 
vested. Every year I am led to realize more 
fully the importance of making estimates 
on the cost of producing and the probable 
income from different crops, not forgetting 
to make liberal allowances for loss by poor 
seasons, insects, etc., one or more of which 
are pretty sure to come. The contractor 
and builder first figures out carefully the 
cost of material .and labor, then adds a cer¬ 
tain per cent, for possible error or changes 
in price of material before accepting the 
contract for a building, or making a bid. 
With the small margin on farm products the 
farmer must figure carefully the cost from 
the light of past experience, and then raise 
the crops that promise the surest results 
and largest profits. I could point out many 
cases in my own experience during the past 
season, where a little calculation was the 
source of profit, where otherwise there 
would have been a loss, and what farmer 
cannot ? I have found that I could save $25 
by changing the crop I had planned to raise 
on a certain piece of ground, and it took 
but a few minutes to do the figuring. For 
that large, fine-looking cow that every one 
admired when looking at my herd, and of 
whose yield, when fresh, I used to boast, I 
have recently made an appointment at the 
slaughter-pen. I found her column on my 
milk record for the year, blank for too 
many months and her average correspond¬ 
ingly low. She did not pay for her keep. 
But I hear some one say it’s a “heap of 
work” to weigh every cow’s milk twice 
a day. Not so very much I say, 
but it’s a “heap of work” to make 
a comfortable living nowadays if we do not 
do it, and many more small things that de¬ 
cide where the money comes from. But 
there are many who think such care causes 
too much trouble. Lay out your plans for 
the season’s work only after careful calcu¬ 
lation, but when changes of seiison war¬ 
rant, do not hesitate to change your tactics 
to take advantage of an excessively dry or 
wet season. We ought to lie able to state 
the exact amount of each product we raise 
in pounds or bushels, and the cost of pro¬ 
ducing it, till the money is in our hands. 
When this is done, there will be a new era 
in farming, compared to which the intro¬ 
duction of the silo is a small matter. Some 
of these little examples will show you re¬ 
sults simply astounding, and I can see you 
carefully working them over again with 
pencil and paper, thinking surely you have 
made a mistake somewhere. I have worked 
some of the examples more than twice be¬ 
fore I could be convinced, in my own mind, 
that I had made no mistake. Finding the 
result was correct often made me feel cheap¬ 
er than to have found a mistake in adding 
or multiplying. e. A. BISHOP. 
Talladega County, Ala. 
Ax Idaho Nectarine.—I send by this 
day's mail a registered package from Boise 
County, Idaho. Iteontainsasmooth-skinned 
peach for inspection. The tree resembles a 
peach in every respect. It is a seedling. The 
seed was from a peach tree in a neighbor's 
orchard. This neighbor’s tree has never 
had any other than the rough-skinned 
peach of a fine rich color, and good flavor. 
There are no nectarine trees in the orchard 
or nearer than 25 miles. The peach or nec¬ 
tarine that 1 send is of only an average size, 
as there are others that are larger and some 
that are smaller. The skin is smooth and 
of a bright rich color and shines as though 
it had been polished. When ripe it is of a 
delicate green, splashed with peach red. the 
red often predominating. The flavor is 
rich and sweet and exceedingly inviting. 
The tree is six years old with foliage of a 
rich green color and very healthy. The 
tree spreads out and covers the ground 
like the Baldwin Apple tree. From all ap¬ 
pearances it has a third more foliage than 
the peach trees near by. It is exceedingly 
hardy, having passed through our severe 
winter of 1887-8 when the mercury in the 
t hermometer went down to 35 degrees below 
zero, Fahr. Other peach trees were killed 
while this one was not injured in any way, 
unless the fruit buds were injured, as this 
year is its first in fruit. The fruit on the 
tree will not be eatable before the middle 
of August. The one I send weighs 2L 
ounces. A. L. RINEARSON. 
R. N.-Y.—This is a nectarine, in color 
and quality as above described. The nec¬ 
tarine is simply a peach with a glossy skin 
varying in hardiness and habit of tree, jus all 
seedlings vary. 
Two Potatoes. —I sent. Davenport’s 
Early Thoroughbred and White Early Ohio 
