1903 
489 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Events of the Week. 
domestic.—T he George Arnold suit in the Federal 
Court at Dallas has been compromised by J. M. Fuller, 
the turfman, accepting $20,000 in settlement with the 
Texas and Pacific Railway Company. About two years 
ago the famous race horse George Arnold was killed in 
a wreck on the Texas and Pacific while being shipped 
from New Orleans to Mr. Fuller’s stock farm at Willis 
Point, Texas. Mr. Fuller sued the railroad company for 
$50,000. It is said that George Arnold, the season before 
his death, won for his owner more than $50,000. 
Fire in a wholesale liquor house at Rochester. N. Y., 
June 19, caused damage amounting to $150,000. 
Major James B. Pond, the well-known manager of a 
lecture bureau, died in Jersey City, N. J., June 21, aged 
65. The cause of his death was gangrene poisoning, re¬ 
sulting from a small ulcer on his foot, which necessitated 
amputation. He was a native of Cuba, N. Y. In early 
life he worked as a farmer’s boy and also as a printer’s 
devil. He edited the Weekly Journal of Markesan, Wls., 
in 1860 and 1861, and then went to the front in the Third 
Cavalry, Volunteers, of that State. He rose from the 
rank of second lieutenant to that of Major. He was 
among the 17 survivors of the guerrilla Quantrell’s mas¬ 
sacre of a band of 118 Federal soldiers at Baxter Springs, 
Kan., in October, 1863. Between 1865 and 1874 he went into 
the furniture business, winding up at Salt Lake City, 
where, as he afterward related, he “sold bedsteads to 
Brigham Young.’’ It was as the manager of the lecture 
tour of the nineteenth wife of Brigham Young, when she 
renounced Mormonism, that he got into that class of 
business. He came to New York in 1879. Among the 
famous men whom he has “managed” are Wendell Phil¬ 
lips, William Lloyd Garrison. Robert G. Ingersoll, Henry 
Ward Beecher, Bill Nye and Max O’Rell. He was the au¬ 
thor of “Eccentricities of Genius’’ and “A Summer in 
England with Henry Ward Beecher.” .... Lightning 
struck a hut stored with 3,000 pounds of dynamite, at the 
new mines now being opened near Senacaville, O., June 
21, during a storm, killing six men and injuring a score 
of others, besides ruining the mine shaft and breaking 
nearly all the windows at Senacaville, a mining town of 
300 people, half a mile from the mine.According 
to Circuit Attorney Folk, of St. Louis, Mo., the legislators 
of the Missouri General Assembly, during recent sessions, 
demanded $306,300 in bribes for the passage or defeat of 
certain bills. In addition to this it is shown that they 
received in cash bribes'$220,800. According to information 
received by Mr. Folk the insurance interests of Missouri 
have paid $200,000 in the last 15 years to defeat legislation 
inimical to them.Bordentown, N. J., has suf¬ 
fered a severe outbreak of smallpox. 
ADMINISTRATION.—Postmaster-Genei’al Payne made 
public, June 18, the reply of Fourth Assistant Postmaster- 
General Bristow to the charges of Seymour W. Tulloch, 
former cashier of the Washington City post office, re¬ 
garding irregularities in the administration of that office, 
and also reports of an investigation by inspectors be¬ 
tween June 30, 1899, and July 31, 1900. The inspectors say 
that the records show direct orders from superior au¬ 
thority for payment of questionable items, many illegal 
appointments, the payment of two salaries to one person 
and the disbursement of thousands of dollars for which 
practically no service was performed. The investigation 
of the rural free delivery service up to the present time 
has demonstrated that a considerable proportion of the 
routes established by the former superintendent of the free 
delivery service are to all intents and purposes practi¬ 
cally worthless from every point of view. 'The districts 
of certain members of the House of Representatives with 
whom Mr. Machen was more than ordinarily intimate 
are plastered with rural routes, until an official map of 
the district showing the intersecting routes looks like a 
spider’s web. This is especially true in the Congress dis¬ 
trict represented in the Fifty-seventh Congress by Sen¬ 
ator Lattimer, of South Carolina. Mr. Lattimer and 
Superintendent Machen were warm friends. One of the 
most complete county systems in the entire rural free 
delivery system is in operation in Mr. Lattimer’s former 
district, although a careful investigation has shown that 
on some routes 75 per cent of the patrons can neither 
read nor write, and do not receive on an average half 
a dozen letters a year. As a result of this discovery, the 
alleged “county service’’ will be abolished and only 
those routes retained which are absolutely necessary 
and which show by the quarterly receipts that they 
"pay.” June 22 the Federal Grand Jury returned indict¬ 
ments against August W. Machen, former chief of the 
free delivery service of the Post Office Department; the 
Groff Brothers and Mr. and Mrs. Lorenz, charging them 
with conspiracy to defraud the Government. This is in 
addition to the Indictment already found against Machen 
and the Groffs on the charge of bribery, but relates to 
the same transaction, namely, the purchase of patent 
letter-box fasteners for the Government. It is alleged 
that the 40 per cent excess over the price bid by the 
Groffs was sent to Lorenz and his wife and by them dis¬ 
tributed to Machen and the others interested. The one 
indictment against the five persons named embraces 12 
separate counts and contains about 11,000 words. It was 
brought under Section 5,440 of the Revised Statutes, which 
provides a penalty on conviction of a fine of $10,000 and 
imprisonment for not more than two years. The Groff 
Brothers are charged with the payment of bribes, Machen 
with receiving bribes and Mr. and Mrs. Lorenz with 
acting as go-betweens.Another Government 
scandal, as serious in its way as the recently-discovered 
postoffice frauds, is about to be exposed. There are al¬ 
leged gigantic frauds in Indian Territory land allotments 
and in the enrollment of tribesmen for individual allot¬ 
ments in preparation for the dissolution of tribal relations. 
GENERAL FOREIGN NEWS.—The explosion Of a lyd¬ 
dite shell in Woolwich Arsenal, near London, England, 
June 18, killed 15 people, and Injured 17 others. 
Great Britain, Holland, France and Turkey have with¬ 
drawn their ministers from Servia, and decline to recog¬ 
nize King Peter unless the assassins of the late king and 
queen are punished. The German minister will not at¬ 
tend the ceremonies in connection with the entrance of 
the new king into Belgrade. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—The North Louisiana- Cotton 
Planters’ Association, which includes most of the plant¬ 
ers on Red River and in the southern part of the State, 
has decided that no member of the Association shall sell 
any of the cotton seed raised or controlled by him. All 
the seed must be turned over to the executive committee, 
which will supervise and arrange the sale. In this way 
it is expected to prevent a cutting of prices and to main¬ 
tain a standard price for cotton seed. The Association 
is endeavoring to organize similar bodies in other parts 
of Louisiana and neighboring States. 
At the recent meeting of the American Nurserymen’s 
Association the following officers were elected for the 
ensuing year: President, N. W. Hale, Knoxville, Tenn.; 
vice-president, F. A. Weber, St. Louis, Mo.; secretary, 
C. A. Seager. treasurer, C. L. Yates, both of Rochester, 
N. Y., reelected. Executive committee, Peter Youngers, 
Nebraska; William Pitkin, New York, and John Kerr, 
Texas. Atlanta, Ga.. was chosen as the next place of 
meeting. 
Silas Wilson, of Atlantic, la., has been appointed su¬ 
perintendent of horticulture for Iowa’s world’s fair com¬ 
mission. 
The second annual convention of the National Nut 
Growers’ Association will assemble in New Orleans, La., 
Wednesday, October 28. The secretary and treasurer is 
J. F. Wilson. Poulan, Ga. 
A special day at the Chautauqua County Fair at Dun¬ 
kirk, N. Y., September 1-4, has been planned to be known 
as “Grape and Grange Day.” Delegates from the lead¬ 
ing Granges and farmers’ and fruit growers’ organiza¬ 
tions have met with the Fair Association and agreed on 
a plan of united work. The plans provide for a big pro¬ 
gramme on which will be found the names of such men 
as State Master Norris. State Entomologist Dr. E. P. 
Felt, of Albany; Prof. John Craig, of the Extension De¬ 
partment of Cornell; Prof. Slingerland, of the same col¬ 
lege; F. E. Dawley, of the Farmers’ Institute Depart¬ 
ment; “Uncle” John W. Spencer, of Cornell, and others 
who are actively interested in the commercial side of 
the grape question. A large exhibit of insects and all 
other forms of grape and fruit diseases and enemies, will 
be made under the direction of State Entomologist Felt, 
and a special effort to have exhibits and demonstration 
of spraying machinery and preparations, special grape 
cultivation, machinery, etc., will be made. 
Since the National Live Stock Association secured the 
passage of a law during the last Congress, providing for 
ii'ederal inspection of interstate shipments of live stock 
and abolishing the levying of fees by State live stock 
sanitary boards on such stock when provided with a 
clean bill of health issued by Federal inspectors, there 
has been a great deal of discussion among live stock 
sanitary boards as to the policy they shall pursue in 
reference to this law. Some boards have gone so 
far,as to declare they will demand a re-inspection and 
collect the customary fee regardless of what action 
Congress has taken upon this subject. In view of these 
facts, the officers of the National Live Stock Association 
make the following suggestions to shippers: See that 
your stock is free from contagious disease. If there is 
doubt as to the cleanliness of the cars furnished you 
(.and the laws of most States provide that the transpor¬ 
tation companies shall thoroughly disinfect such caisj, 
you should demand the enforcement of the law before 
leading. Always secure a bill of health from an inspector 
of the Bureau of Animal industry at the initial point of 
shipment. You then have the authority to go through 
or into any other State or 'i'erritory without molestation 
from the officers of State live stock sanitary boards; 
and, above all, you are not required to pay any inspector 
or official any fee or charge whatsoever. However, in 
the event a duly appointed official of a State live stock 
sanitary board should request to be allowed to inspect 
your stock, you should submit, but as before stated, pay 
him no fees or charges for the same. 
FEtimiZING FOR SECOND GRASS CROP. 
'The grass crop is short on most Eastern farms, and 
farmers hope for a large rowen or second crop. 
Will it pay to use nitrate of soda or a complete fertilizer 
to stimulate this second crop’? If so. when should it 
be used? . wi — u 
By all means broadcast some fertilizer immediately 
after the hay crop has been removed, say 2(X) pounds of 
the following mixture per acre: 50 pounds nitrate of soda, 
30 pounds muriate of potash and 20 pounds acid phos¬ 
phate or dissolved bone. If gypsum can be easily pro¬ 
cured add 100 pounds to this 100 pounds of mixed fertilizer 
and then sow 300 pounds per acre. The latter dressing 
would be preferable to the former. 
Cornell University. [Prof.] i. p. Roberts. 
I have not had much experience with fertilizers on 
grass applied at this time of year, but can see no reason, 
with a reasonable amount of moisture, why quick-acting 
fertilizers would not give good results sown immediately 
after the first crop was gathered. Of a complete fertil¬ 
izer, 1 would use 200 pounds per acre. We are now apply¬ 
ing on the grass early in Spring about 100 pounds per 
acre of fertilizer and find it pays in first and second 
cutting. I. J. BBACKWELR. 
New Jersey. , . J 
I have never aimed to cut large rowen crops, as I keep 
very little stock, and such hay will not sell in market 
for as much as it is worth for feeding, so 1 have never 
top-dressed in Summer after cutting first crop. If it is 
desired to produce hay for home use I have but little 
doubt that it will pay to top-dress with nitrate of -soda 
100 to 200 pounds per acre, or some mixed fertilizer very 
rich in soluble nitrogen. I should depend almost wholly 
on the soluble nitrogen for producing the crop. It should 
be borne in mind that grass will not grow without roots, 
and unless the land is in condition to grow I 14 ton at 
the least per acre, in a favorable season, I would not 
advise top-dressing for a rowen crop. If we have suf¬ 
ficient rain nitrate of soda will surely make its mark, 
but there is always the uncertainty of rain. One thing 
is certain; it will not pay to put fertilizer of any kind 
in Summer on grass land in poor condition. Better plow 
and use the fertilizer to grow some kind of fodder crop. 
Massachusetts. m. morse. 
For the last three years I have each year experimented 
along this line. Nitrate of soda has been applied in 
amounts varying from 100 up to 250 pounds per acre after 
the first cutting in mowings of various types. With 
scarce an exception it has been found that the applica¬ 
tion of nitrate of soda in amounts up to at least 200 
pounds per acre as soon as possible after the first cut¬ 
ting has increased the rowen crop considerably more 
than enough to pay the cost. 'The amount of the increase 
is dependent upon the character of the sod and the nature 
of the season. 'The best results are to be looked for 
where the turf is good and where the varieties of grass 
are such as start quickly after cutting. On a Blue-grass 
sod, or at least a sod where Blue grass was the prevail¬ 
ing species, the increase has been enough to pay the 
cost, but not as great as on a Timothy sod. The Increase 
is likely to be more satisfactory in proportion as the 
first cut is made early, and of course the effect of the 
nitrate depends upon the coming within reasonable time 
after application of rains sufficient to dissolve it and 
carry it into the ground. I am inclined especially to 
recommend under the existing conditions the use of ni¬ 
trate of soda for the second crop in amounts varying 
from 100 to 200 pounds per acre; using more in propor¬ 
tion as the character of the mowing is such as to en¬ 
courage the hope for a quick start and good growth. If 
the mowing is much run out and occupied only by in¬ 
ferior species, or consists largely of clovers, I should 
hesitate to use much nitrate. wm. p. brooks. 
Massachusetts Agricultural College. 
CROP PROSPECTS. 
In this section of northern Pennsylvania the fruit pros¬ 
pects are very poor; no peaches, no plums, no cherries, 
no pears, and but few apples. Strawberries are a short 
crop; wild blackberries are the only full crop. Hay and 
farm products will be short, although the late rains have 
helped some. 'There will be quite an acreage of buck¬ 
wheat sown. B. M. s. 
Pennsylvania. 
I must say the outlook is bad. I rode to Oneonta re¬ 
cently on the electric road, and did not see a decent 
growing bit of vegetation, except a field or two of oats. 
Our neighborhood farmers are plowing considerably, and 
will rely on the corn crop they have or intend to put in. 
'The weather conditions greatly favor the grass crop, cold 
and wet, but 1 fear that only one-fourth the regular pro¬ 
duction will be got in. It looks like $30 hay next Spring. 
Some are sowing oats and peas to be cut green. We 
hope, however, that we shall reap a fair harvest, f. b. 
Richfield Springs, N. Y. 
'The drought in this section was very severe, and grain 
that was sown during and just before it, came up very 
spotted. Some that was sown never started, and some 
that was being dragged to be resown just before the 
rains commenced, has come up thick. 'The places in 
fields that did not start have come up nicely, so that it 
will ripen very unevenly. 'There have been very few 
days since the rain commenced that have been fair. Pas¬ 
tures are doing nicely, and there will be a fairly good 
crop of hay. Planting was delayed, but if frost holds off 
as well as some years there will be a fair harvest. 
■ Westport, N. Y. c. e. s. 
The soil is perfectly saturated with water, but nothing 
less could bring it back to normal conditions after such 
a dry spell of weather. It looks now as if everything 
would be fairly good. Corn has had the blackest eye of 
anything; much did not sprout, and much is not planted 
yet; many fields begin to look like meadows, but I have 
seen the like before, and much good corn raised after all. 
Potatoes, oats and grass are just booming, and it looks 
now as if there would be a good crop of apples; they 
are much larger than usual for this time of year, and 
begin to show color. 'The past two weeks have changed 
the whole complexion of things. w. h. i. 
Greenville. N. Y. 
For the past week (June 20) we have been having some 
fine showers and the drought is broken. Oats are show¬ 
ing wonderful growth. Meadows, particularly Timothy, 
will thicken up and cut at least two-thirds the usual crop 
of very superior hay. 'The weather keeps remarkably 
cool and corn looks pale, but a good hot July will make 
that all right. Apples are remarkably uneven, some or¬ 
chards have a fair show, none full, and some have very 
few. I have just reported to Fruit Growers’ Association 
as follows: Compared with 1902, early apples 25 per cent; 
late apj'les 75 per cent, peaches 75 per cent, pears oo per 
cent, plums 100, quinces 100, grapes 100. But apple or¬ 
chards look fine, except that many have a large showing 
of aphis. J. s. w. 
Lockport, N. Y. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
Ababastine Company of Grand Rapids, Mich., and 
105 Water St., New York City, offer the free services of 
their artists in selecting colors in using their wall coat¬ 
ing. Alabastine is sanitary and durable. Write the com¬ 
pany for further information. 
Kendall’s Spavin Cure always gives satisfaction. 'The 
following is a letter written to the Dr. B. J. Kendall Co., 
Enosburg Falls, Vt., by a user: “Enclosed please find a 
two-cent stamp, for which please send me a copy of 
your book entitled ‘A 'Treatise on the Horse and His Dis¬ 
eases.’ Have used your Kendall Spavin Cure with 
splendid results.” 
'The offer made by the 1900 Washer Company "of Bing¬ 
hamton, N. Y., is so very liberal that anyone in doubt, 
about either the practicability of washing machines ia 
general or the merits of the 1900 Washer in particular, 
should take advantage of it. An absolutely free trial of 
30 days is assured, and no strings to it. For particulars 
write to the 1900 Washer Co., 143 N. State St., Bingham¬ 
ton, N. Y, 
Of the many plans in use for raising water nothing 
takes precedence of the power of the natural stream, 
when pi'oper machinery is installed to apply it. 'The 
Rife hydraulic engine is most excellently adapted to 
this purpose. Its varying sizes meet the requirements 
of a large or limited service, and the power required is 
small in proportion to the duty it performs. Write to 
the Power Specialty Co., 126 Liberty St., New York, for 
their catalogue and get further information. 
The 1904 almanac to be Issued by the American Seed¬ 
ing Machine Co., Springfield, Ohio, will be a valuable 
reference book, containing an almanac, weather fore¬ 
casts, recipes for the housewife, reliable veterinary 
recipes, reports of experimental station, butter, egg. 
grain and produce account blanks, etc. 'The almanac 
will be ready for distribution early In the Winter, and 
will be mailed free to any address. Requests should be 
sent at once to Department 104, American Seeding Ma¬ 
chine Co., Springfield, Ohio. 
