1900 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
57 
Events of the Week. 
DOMESTIC.—January 10, an unknown vessel struck the 
Newfoundland coast at St. Mary’s Bay, near Cape Race, 
during a furious gale and snowstorm. The vessel was 
on fire, and though efforts were made to reach her, the 
nature of the rocky coast made all attempts at rescue 
hopeless. Three men were seen. Many bodies are be¬ 
ing thrown ashore. It was found later that she was the 
German oil-tank steamer Helgoland, from Philadelphia 
for Norway. Her crew numbered 30, and there are no 
survivors. . . . The South Carolina Legislature has re¬ 
pealed the Income-tax law In that State, as no effort was 
made to enforce it. . . . An explosion of liquid air, 
during a public exhibition at Ann Arbor, Mich., January 
13, caused painful injuries to the operator. . . . The 
Italian government, through its Ambassador at Wash¬ 
ington, has intimated strongly to the State Department 
that it regards the punishment of the persons who 
lynched five Italians at Talulah, La., as necessary to the 
redress asked. Heretofore Congress has paid indemnities 
to the families of Italian subjects lynched in the United 
States, without attempting to punish the lynchers. . . . 
A sudden flood on the Potlatch River, Idaho, January 13, 
destroyed houses and bridges, and drowned three persons. 
... A severe fire occurred at Dawson, Alaska, January 
10, the loss being $500,000. The water supply had given 
out, and all water is hauled from the Yukon. Great suf¬ 
fering followed the fire, as the temperature was 40 de¬ 
grees below zero. . . . Owing to the prevalence of 
burglary and highway robbery, the Chicago City Coun¬ 
cil is considering an ordinance offering a reward of $200 
for every robber shot down. As usual during most Win¬ 
ters, the number of crimes has greatly increased, and 
there is a strong impression that the criminals are pro¬ 
tected by the authorities. ... In a pistol fight in a 
hotel lobby at Frankfort, Ky., January 16, between former 
Congressman Colson and Lieut. Scott, the latter and two 
innocent bystanders were killed, another bystander was 
mortally injured and two others wounded. Colson was 
slightly hurt. . . . Nearly 14,000 settlers, with $2,000,000 
in money, left this country for Canada last year. It is 
said that most of them were from Kansas and Arkan¬ 
sas.The grand jury at Council Bluffs, Iowa, has 
indicted two Christian science healers for causing the 
death of a young woman, who died from appendicitis. 
They prayed over her without administering medicine. 
. . . F. P. Owings, a Chicago real estate operator, failed 
January 17 for over $5,000,000, with practically no assets. 
. . . The Yaqui Indians are endeavoring to establish 
civil government of their own, and proclaim the inde¬ 
pendence of the Province of Sonora, Mexico. They ask 
Americans to come to their aid. 
CONGRESS.—January 11, Senator Pettigrew bitterly as¬ 
sailed the Philippine policy of the Administration. Sen¬ 
ators Tillman and Allen clashed over the trust question. 
. . . The inquiry into the Montana Senatorial contest, 
in which it is said that flagrant bribery occurred, is con¬ 
tinued. . . . January 15, the Philippine debate contin¬ 
ued. Senator Wolcott, of Colorado, reviewed Senator Pet¬ 
tigrew’s attacks on the Administration. The Urgency 
Deficiency bill was brought before the Committee on Ap¬ 
propriations, being the first appropriation bill of the ses¬ 
sion. It carries a total of $56,137,841. ... A suggestion 
was made to cut Alaska in two, so as to form the Terri¬ 
tory of Seward. . . . January 16, Senator Cullom pre¬ 
sented a petition signed by over 3,200 colored persons, 
begging the protection of their race from lynching. . . . 
The Senate ratified the treaty with Germany, calling for 
the partition of Samoa, without a dissenting vote. . . . 
The special committee on the case of B. H. Roberts, of 
Utah, is unanimous in deciding that he is ineligible to 
hold his seat in the House, on the ground of polygamy. 
Two members hold that he should be first seated, and 
then expelled, but the majority report is likely to be 
adopted. . . . The committee has reported favorably 
on the resolution to amend the Constitution so as to elect 
Senators by popular vote. 
PHILIPPINES.—The cavalry squadron is conducting 
successful operations in Cavite, destroying a rebel arsenal 
and making a number of prisoners. 
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.—Jan. 16, a report of the plague 
situation was received from Major Taylor, surgeon in 
charge of the military hospital at Honolulu. He takes a 
serious view of the conditions, and says that the Chinese 
quarter will have to be burned down and rebuilt to pre¬ 
vent the extension of the plague among the troops. 
CUBA.—The result of the Cuban census shows a popu¬ 
lation of 1,200,000, being 400,000 less than given in the 
Spanish census of 1887. The cost to the Government of 
taking the census is between $300,000 and $400,000. . . . 
The Cuban Secretary of Agriculture urges the appoint¬ 
ment of a board of inspectors to preserve the forests. 
The area of public forests is estimated at 1,250,000 acres. 
GENERAL FOREIGN NEWS.—The British govern¬ 
ment concedes that the seizures of American flour on the 
African coast were illegal, and assures the payment of 
damages. It is admitted that foodstuffs are not con¬ 
traband of war unless it can be shown that they are in¬ 
tended for the enemy’s military force. . . . Strained 
relations exist between Japan and Russia, and early out¬ 
break of war is feared. . . . The coast of Japan was 
swept by a typhoon December 24, 1899, the loss of life re¬ 
sulting being estimated at over 400. . . . January 15, 
the Boers assaulted a hill at Rensberg, but were driven 
back with a bayonet charge. . . . Fever is spreading 
in the camp at Ladysmith. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—The Ohio State Board of Agri¬ 
culture held its annual session at Columbus, January 11. 
In the annual report of the Ohio State Dairy and Food 
Commissioner, the recommendation is made that the 
Dairy and Food Department be given power to confiscate 
oleo and similar goods not properly stamped, an author¬ 
ity now possessed by the commissioner of internal rev¬ 
enue. 
The twenty-fourth annual convention of the American 
Poultry Association was held in connection with the ex¬ 
hibition of the Western Fanciers’ show, opened at Cedar 
Rapids, Iowa, January 15. The officers of the Association 
are: President, Allan Bogue, London, Canada; secretary, 
and treasurer, Theodore Sternberg, Ellsworth, Kans.; 
advisory board, I. K. Felch, Natick, Mass.; Sid Conger, 
Flat Rock, Ind.; D. A. Nichols, Monroe, Conn.; G. O. 
Brown, Baltimore, Md., and James Forsythe, Owego, N. 
Y. Finance committee, H. Y. Crawford, Montclair, N. 
J.; George G. McCormick, London, Ont., and Philander 
Williams, Taunton, Mass. 
At the meeting of the Ohio Wool Growers’ and Sheep 
Breeders’ Association, January 10, resolutions were adopt¬ 
ed protesting against a reciprocity treaty with Argentina, 
and urging the transfer of the powers of the State Live 
Stock Commission to the State Board of Agriculture. 
The officers elected for the ensuing year are: President, 
J. H. Brigham, Delta; vice-president, J. W. Cale, Lore 
City; secretary, W. N. Cowden, Quaker City; treasurer, 
A. H. Kling, Marion; executive committee, H. P. Miller, 
Sunbury, J. L. Lewis, Harpster, and G. W. Glover, Cadiz. 
The Indiana Horticultural Society has elected the fol¬ 
lowing officers: President, C. M. Hobbs, Bridgeport; sec¬ 
retary, Prof. J. Troop, Lafayette, Ind.; treasurer, Syl¬ 
vester Johnson, Irvington. 
If the sugar-bounty law of 1897 turns out to be constitu¬ 
tional Michigan will have to pay an aggregate bounty 
of $226,750 on sugar manufactured this season previous to 
January 1. The nine factories now in operation have 
produced 22,675,004 pounds of sugar and have received 
175,840 tons of beets. 
The seventh annual convention of the Northwest Fruit¬ 
growers’ Association met at Tacoma, Wash., January 16- 
19. A poultry show was held in Tacoma on the same 
dates. 
The annual report of Commissioner Wieting, of the 
New York State Department of Agriculture, says that 
New York City last year absorbed 13,000,000 40-quart cans 
of milk, which was an increase of 1,000,000 cans over the 
previous year. He says that the increase has been grad¬ 
ual the last 11 years, rising from 6,000,000 cans to 13,000,000. 
He also says there are 1,025 cheese factories in the State, 
which manufactured 84,332,155 pounds of cheese during the 
year 1898. Much damage is being done to the cheese in¬ 
dustry by the counterfeit use of brands by dealers in 
other States. The reputation of the cheese dealers of this 
State is fast being destroyed by such custom. The Com¬ 
missioner also says that oleo is not sold in the State ex¬ 
cept clandestinely, but that more of this is now being 
done than heretofore. The method of operating now is to 
sell the goods to New York dealers as “process” butter. 
The Department is in favor of a National law providing 
that when oleo is brought into a State it shall immedi¬ 
ately become subject to the State laws without regard to 
the packages in which it is packed. After such a law 
has been enacted the Commissioner favors a tax on col¬ 
ored oleo, large enough to make imitation of the pure 
products unprofitable business. 
FIVE TONS OF HAY PER ACRE. 
Clark’s Grass Culture Boiled Down. 
We have often described the system of grass culture 
followed by Mr. George M. Clark, of Connecticut. So 
many questions have been asked about this by new read¬ 
ers that Mr. Clark has written the following condensed 
version. The three cardinal principals are thorough 
preparation, heavy and careful seeding and good feed¬ 
ing: 
FIT THE SOIL.—We need more sunshine and air 
in the soil than can be obtained with the drag plow 
and spike harrow. Suppose we commence with a 
well-worn grass field, after the hay crop has been re¬ 
moved, or July 1. I use only four machines: the 24- 
inch right lap plow, a six-foot Cutaway harrow, an 
eight-foot smoothing harrow with leveling board, and 
a field roller, all two-horse machines. I use the disk 
plow first. With this I cut the sod into fine pieces. I 
shall go over the field about three times before lift¬ 
ing the entire surface sod. The sharp blades of this 
plow thus used cut the sod into fine pieces, and then 
mix it with the soil. A week later I take the harrow 
and go over the field in half lap. I do this every 
week for the remainder of the season, and in addition 
to that I plow the field with the right lap disk plow 
once a month. The plow will be weighted, so that 
when the field is finished in the Fall the surface will 
be lifted and loosened to the depth of eight inches. 
About the third time over the field with the disk plow 
I commence the work of leveling the field with the 
smoothing harrow, using the leveling board. With 
this machine a perfect grade can be made, as a yard 
of earth can be changed to any position in the field. 
The grade must be so made that no water will stand 
upon any part of the field. We commence to use 
this machine when the sod is annihilated, and use it 
thereafter any time we use the plow. By this means 
the field is reduced and maintained in a more perfect 
plane, and the cultivation at a more uniform depth. 
OATS; THEN GRASS.—The following Spring I 
again plow the field with the right lap. I put on 200 
pounds of oat dresser, with three to 3*4 bushels of 
seed. The oats I cut for fodder about July 1. Then 
I plow again with the right lap, and every 10 days 
thereafter until September 1, using the smoothing 
harrow, with leveling board to maintain a true grade. 
Twice a week during that time I go over the field with 
the Cutaway harrow in half laps. This continuous 
stirring of the soil kills vegetation. It fully aerates 
and lets new life and sunlight into the soil; in fact, it 
is a new creation, and prepares the soil for far better 
results. It also gives the grass plants the first chance. 
September 1, with the field as smooth and as soft as 
an ash-bed, I seed it to Red-top and Timothy, using 
one-'half bushel of Timothy seed and one-half bushel 
of re-cleaned Red-top seed to each acre. I sow this 
seed between lines drawn 8*4 feet apart across the 
field, one-half of each kind of seed in one direction, 
and the other half in the opposite direction. On ac¬ 
count of the difference in weight of the two seeds each 
kind is sown by itself. Knots are made in the lines 
four rods apart, and each kind of seed is measured or 
weighed so that an exact amount of seed can be sown 
on each four-rod section. When the seed is sown the 
smoothing harrow, with the leveling board removed, 
is drawn across the field in four different directions. 
The teeth of this harrow are so placed that, when 
drawn in one direction, they make lines across the 
field but 1*4 inch apart, so that in drawing the ma¬ 
chine in four different directions, the soil is most 
thoroughly worked to a depth of 1*4 inch. This 
process not only works the seed in with tue surface, 
but to a large extent equalizes the seed upon the sur¬ 
face. Then the field roller is used, thus lightly pack¬ 
ing the surface soil. 
FEEDING THE CROP.—This work being com¬ 
pleted, I then use 600 to 1,000 pounds of grass dresser 
to the acre, according to the condition of the soil. In 
the Spring, when the grass has grown an inch or two, 
I put on 600 pounds of oat dresser to the acre, and if 
I wish a large crop of rowen I use 200 pounds more as 
soon as the fii’st crop is removed. Moist laud is best 
for grass, c*nd if the land or season is inclined to dry, 
I would not try to produce a crop of rowen, but cut 
whatever might grow. Just before the first frost I 
run a mowing machine over the field, cutting every¬ 
thing that is an inch high above the surface, and rake 
all loose material off the field and leave it for Winter. 
The following Spring 1 use 600 pounds more of oat 
dresser, and for rowen 200 pounds and a like amount 
oi oat dresser each succeeding year. All fertilizers 
are sown between lines, and are weighed or measured 
for even distribution. After the grass seed is sown 
I use no coarse manures, for the reason that a per¬ 
fect stand cannot be maintained with their use. The 
idea that anything is good enough for grass will not 
do. The work must be done with care. Five daya 
with a pair of horses will do the work the first sea¬ 
son. Somewhat less will be required to the acre the 
second season. The oat dresser in Spring and grass 
dresser in Fall, second season, completely redeem the 
worn field, after which with the above described treat¬ 
ment it should produce four tons of hay, first crop, and 
one ton second crop, each year thereafter. With this 
treatment I have always had more than five tons per 
annum. This year gave me more than six tons, with 
only 600 pounds of dresser; less than $2.50 per ton 
for fertilizer. 
THE BALL-BEARING POTATOES. 
We have had much experience in raising potato- 
balls, and the following facts that we have repeatedly 
observed may be of interest. Some varieties seem 
never to bear balls. In raising many acres of Reed’s 
Early Pinkeye, Early Snowball and Bliss’s Triumph, 
we have never, so far as I know, raised but one ball 
on them with matured seed in it. That one grew on 
the Pinkeye, but the seed from it did not germinate. 
The R. N.-Y. No. 2, Carman No. 1 and No. 3, and Sir 
Walter Raleigh seldom produce balls, while other 
varieties, such as Wall’s Orange, seldom fail to pro¬ 
duce balls with mature seed. Out of several hundred 
blossoms of the Pinkeye and R. N.-Y. No. 2 examined, 
I failed to find one with a stigma covered with any of 
the sticky substance usually found on the stigma of a 
productive flower, and scarcely one per cent of the 
pistils of these flowers were perfect in shape, while ot 
these several hundred blossoms, few had any pollen 
in their stamens. On the other hand, every flower of 
the Wall’s Orange and No. 99 examined had perfectly- 
formed pistils and, if examined in proper season, the 
stigma seemed ready to receive the pollen. Many 
of the flowers of these latter varieties, however, did 
not contain pollen. The anthers of one or more of 
the stamens failed to develop. 
Potato beetles may destroy the seed-producing or¬ 
gans of the potato blossom, in some cases, but the 
year that we raised the greatest number of potato- 
balls, the beetles were very numerous, and the year 
that the same varieties of potatoes produced few balls 
for us happened to be a year when beetles were very 
scarce. 
We venture the following suggestion that, in gen¬ 
eral, varieties that bear many balls bear only a mod¬ 
erate crop of potatoes. (We know of but one ex¬ 
ception to this rule.) What vitality goes to balls does 
not go to tubers. The great efforts of the present age 
in the line of new varieties of potatoes are to propa¬ 
gate varieties of large yield, or varieties that grow 
very quickly. The result is that we have thrown aside 
the ball-bearing varieties, and saved and propagated 
only those varieties that produce an abnormal amount 
of tubers, or ripen their tubers very quickly after 
planting. In other words, have we not, in that way, 
bred away from the tendency to produce balls; 
thrown all of the energy of the plant to tuber produc¬ 
tion? What say the scientific men?B. m. vaughan. 
Wisconsin. 
