1902 
453 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Events of the IVeek. 
DOMESTIC.—Over a million acres of Texas school lands 
have been thrown on the market by the recent decision 
of the State Supreme Court, holding that renewal of 
school land leases was Illegal. A tremendous rush for 
these lands was made. Every variety of vehicle was 
being pressed into service to carry the home seekers to 
their destination in the great cattle pastures which will 
now be broken up. It is estimated that over 5,000 claims 
will be taken up within a month, the claims ranging from 
one to four sections each. ... A factory fire in Phila¬ 
delphia, Pa., June 13, injured 12 persons, and caused a 
loss of $170,000. . . . The county judge of Zapata Coun¬ 
ty, Texas, June 13 Issued an appeal saying that most of 
the county has had no rain for three years. He says it 
is impossible to exaggerate the situation. Thousands have 
had absolutely nothing to eat since aid from the outside 
ceased, and are starving. . . . The Jim Crow Car law 
in Virginia, under which the steam and electric roads 
come from that State into the District of Columbia, has 
again come before the public through a disagreeable in¬ 
cident. The cause of the disturbance was Miss Mary 
Custis Lee, the only daughter of Gen. Kobert E. Lee, 
and the great-granddaughter of Martha Washington. 
She committed the crime of seating herself in the col¬ 
ored section of one of the cars on the Mt. Vernon road, 
and of refusing to move when ordered to do so by the 
conductor. Miss Lee was arrested in Alexandria, but did 
not appear in court when the case was called, and her 
bail, amounting to $5, was forfeited. 
CONGRESS.—The New York members of the House of 
Representatives were before the House Committee on 
Appropriations June 13 to ask an appropriation of $600,000 
to cover the deficit of the Buffalo Exposition. It was 
urged that the shooting of President McKinley had a de¬ 
pressing effect on the Exposition towards its close, when 
there was the greatest expectation of large returns. . . 
. . The Irrigation bill passed the House June 13 by an 
overwhelming vote. The day was spent in a fierce and 
biting debate, in which the House leaders pressed the 
friends of the bill hard. Lanham, of Texas, and Under¬ 
wood, of Alabama, led the Democrats solidly in support 
of the bill. General Grosvenor, Judge Hepburn and Ray, 
of New York, combated every section stubbornly, but 
were outvoted ten to one on every proposition that came 
up. The passage of the bill was a great triumph for the 
irrigationlsts over the House leaders. The bill makes 
available for the work of surveying and constructing irri¬ 
gation works the receipts from the sale of public lands 
in the arid and semi-arid States from July 1, last year. 
Lands reclaimed by Irrigation are to be opened to settle¬ 
ment in tracts not smaller than 40 acres, nor greater than 
160 acres, by homesteaders, who must live on them and 
cultivate them five years before getting a patent. They 
must also, in 10 annual payments, refund the cost of the 
irrigation work done under the provisions of the bill. 
There are now available to set the work under headway 
$5,000,000, and it is calculated that there will be produced 
annually $3,000,000 for the purpose of building irrigation 
works. The terms of the bill provide carefully against 
any acquisition of land by corporations, monopolies or 
speculators. It is in effect a homestead bill applicable to 
the arid and semi-arid lands of the West. . . . June 13 
the President sent a special message to Congress urging 
the passage of the Cuban Reciprocity law. . . . Rep¬ 
resentative Richardson, of Tennessee, has introduced a 
bill to place all articles produced in the United States by 
a trust or trusts on the free list, and to reduce the rate 
of duty on any article or commodity manufactured in the 
United States and sold in a foreign country more cheaply 
than in the United States. 
CUBA.—C. F. W. Neely, who, March 24, was sentenced 
to 10 years’ Imprisonment and to pay a fine of $66,701, for 
complicity in the Cuban postal frauds, was released in 
Havana June 11 under the bill granting amnesty to all 
Americans convicted of crimes in Cuba during the term 
of the American occupation, and those awaiting trial. 
... An official report, published in Havana, shows that 
724,000 tons of sugar were manufactured in Cuba between 
January 1 and June 1. Two hundred and thirty-eight 
thousand tons of this sugar was shipped away from the 
island, and the remainder is being held to await the re¬ 
sult of the movement to secure reciprocity with the 
United States. 
PHILIPPINES.—Henry C. Ide, the member of the 
Philippine Commission who was assigned to the Depart¬ 
ment of Finance and Justice, has received a petition from 
the printers in the employ of the Government, asking 
that their salaries be paid in gold or in some other es¬ 
tablished and non-fluctuating currency. In reply to this 
petition Mr. Ide said he thought that the conditions of 
which the printers complained would probably be reliev¬ 
ed. They are now paid in Mexican silver. 
GENERAL FOREIGN NEWS.—The famine in Siberia 
is spreading with increasing intensity. Reports from 
Irkutsk show that an immense number of famine-stricken 
people are flocking to that city. They are camped in the 
open, without shelter of any kind, are clad in rags and 
are dependent entirely on private charity, which is quite 
inadequate to cope with the distress. . . . June 14-16 
extreme cold and violent snowstorms occurred in Cape 
Colony, South Africa. Thousands of sheep perished, rail¬ 
roads were blockaded, and telegraph wires burled in 
snow. . . . June 17 snow had continued at Perpignan, 
France, for four days. The Cantons of Mont Louis, Sall- 
lagouse and Prades have been visited by unprecedented 
frosts for this time of the year. The farmers in those 
districts are in despair. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—The Colorado State Horticul¬ 
tural Society will hold a midsummer meeting at Boulder 
July 23 and 24. Two sessions will be held in the orchard 
and berry field, and demonstration will be the keynote of 
the meeting; first a test of spray pumps, then methods of 
cultivation, irrigation, etc. Secretary, Chas. L. Parsons, 
Boulder. 
The twenty-second annual meeting of the Society for 
the Promotion of Agricultural Science will be held at 
Pittsburg, Pa., June 30. An interesting programme is 
arranged. President, W. H. Jordan, Geneva, N. Y.; sec¬ 
retary-treasurer, F. M. Webster, Urbana, Ill. 
The meeting of the East Tennessee Farmers’ Conven¬ 
tion at Knoxville May 21-23 was the most Interesting that 
has ever been held since its organization in 1872. There 
were between 700 and 800 delegates present. Among the 
leading speakers were ex-Gov. Hoard, of Wisconsin; T. 
B. Terry, Ohio; Col. J. B. Killebrew, Nashville, Tenn.; 
James P. Kerr, Biltmore, N. C., and Prof. Soule, of the 
State University. 
Commissioner Yerkes of the Internal Revenue Bureau 
has issued a regulation as follows: “If in the production 
of oleomargarine the mixtures or compounds set out in 
the law of 1886 are used, and these compounds are all 
free from artificial coloration, and no artificial colora¬ 
tion is produced by the addition of coloring matter as an 
independent and separate ingredient, a tax of one-fourth 
of one cent per pound only will be collected, although 
the finished product may look like butter of some shade 
of yellow. For example, if butter artificially colored 
is used (and the finished product looks like but¬ 
ter of any shade of yellow) as the oleomargarine is not 
free from artificial coloration, the tax of 10 cents per 
pound will be assessed and collected. But if butter ab¬ 
solutely free from artificial coloration, or cotton-seed oil 
free from artificial coloration, or any other of the mix¬ 
tures or compounds legally used in the manufacture of 
the finished product oleomargarine has naturally a shade 
of yellow in no way procured by artificial coloration, and 
through the use of one or more of these unartificially 
colored legal component parts of oleomargarine the fin¬ 
ished product should look like butter of any shade of 
yellow, this product will be subject to a tax of only one- 
l'ourth of one cent per pound, as it is absolutely free from 
artificial coloration that has caused it to look like butter 
of any shade of yellow.” 
The Missouri State Horticultural Society held a Summer 
meeting at Eldon, Mo., June 10-12. The programme was 
interesting, and there was a large attendance. 
FRUIT CROWN IN WESTERN NEW YORK. 
Great Importance of the Industry. 
Pakt I. 
A GREAT BUSINESS.—On page 66 was an interesting 
article written from western New York, in which the 
writer refers to the productiveness and general prosper¬ 
ity of the section between the Genesee and Niagara 
rivers. In speaking of the apple crop of 1300 he says: “It 
was worth, in that section, about $1,600,000.” It has been 
estimated by residents who have made a study of the 
subject that in the Fall and Winter of 1900. 12,000,000 bar¬ 
rels of apples were shipped from the counties of Niagara, 
Orleans, Wayne, Monroe and Genesee. From October 19, 
1901, to April 25 last, it was my good fortune to meet 
many of the prominent fruit growers of Niagara and 
Orleans counties, and to become somewhat familiar with 
their orchards. By observation and inquiry I have learned 
many facts and figures relating to the orchard work and 
products of that section which may be of interest to some 
of The R. N.-Y. readers. From statistics given below it 
will be seen that the barreled apples do not x-epresent 
nearly all the value of the product of the orchards. At 
many i-ailroad statioxxs I have tried to gather statistics 
regarding shipments of produce, and especially of fruit. 
I could easily obtain estimates and partial records, but 
in only one instance have I succeeded in getting the com¬ 
plete and accurate records desired. 
A SINGLE STATION.—The present prospects for this 
year’s crop of apples in this section are very good, not¬ 
withstanding the severe weather since May 8, but will 
fall far short of the crop of 1900. The report given below 
is from Barker, Niagara Co., and is a record of the ship¬ 
ments from that station for the year ending April 1, 1901: 
Cars. Value. 
611 Apples, 97,759 barrels.$127,086.70 
40 Bulk apples, 1,216,775 pounds. 2,433.30 
6 Evapoi'aled apples, 153,400 pounds. 33,903.00 
8 Evaporator waste, 226,000 pounds. 1,695.00 
10 Cider, 646 casks. 1,027.00 
575 Total product of apple orchards.$166,146.00 
76 Peaches . 
27 Plums . 
12 Pears, 340,636 pounds... 
8 Currants, 11,507 baskets 
7 Quinces, 1,119 barrels .. 
7 Cherries, 6,166 baskets . 
3 Berries, 786 crates . 
2 Gi'apes, 20,000 pounds ... 
$14,706.40 
5,678.79 
6.110.36 
2,286.15 
1,398.75 
2,043.12 
1.416.36 
200.00 
717 Total of fruit 
$198,984.92 
69 Cabbage . 
43 Live stock . 
16 Wheat . 
13 Potatoes' . 
11 Beans . 
10 Hay . 
6 Sugar beets . 
3 Eggs, 1,900 crates .... 
1 Butter, 22,000 pounds 
1 Barley . 
$10,825.00 
28,816.20 
8,776.00 
2,668.00 
11,384.16 
1,248.00 
372.00 
7,400.00 
3,080.00 
676.88 
889 Total product 
$274,231.16 
Remember the above report is a record of the ship¬ 
ments from only one station. The distance across Or¬ 
leans and Niagara counties from east to west is about 65 
miles, which distance is traversed by two railroads at an 
average distance apart of seven to 10 miles. On one road 
there are 15 stations in the two counties, and on the 
other there are 12. I am not familiar with the southern 
part of the counties, but I think the same general con¬ 
ditions prevail. Lyndonville (Orleans Co.) shipped nearly 
as many apples as Barker, and Hilton (Monroe Co.) more. 
From Morton and several other stations, many more 
peaches were shipped than from Barker, and last Fall 
many times the amount of cabbage was loaded more 
than the year previous. I have asked the opinion of 
many fruit growers and buyei-s regarding the average 
shipments from these 27 stations. What seems to be a 
conservative estimate places the average at two-thirds 
the amount loaded at Barker. If this estimate is correct, 
and I am fully convinced that it may be, you can easily 
understand the importance and value of the fruit indus¬ 
try in western New York. 
WELL INFORMED FARMERS.—The thorough care 
given to the orchards is very noticeable; also the fact 
that the owners are thoroughly alive to their interests 
in this, their most important branch of agriculture, and 
are constantly studying and experimenting, seeking to 
learn still better methods of culture. They continually 
keep in touch with the expei'iment stations, and Lx'y to 
profit by the results of study and experiments as re¬ 
ported in the bulletins which treat of the lines of work 
in which they are interested. I wish more of our farmers 
realized the value of the bulletins, and received the 
benefit from them that is there if they will take it. There 
are very many homes and orchards in this section that 
have often been visited by Profs. Beach, Bailey, Slinger- 
land and others by request of the owners, when they 
need expert counsel regarding some peculiarity or trouble 
with the trees. It would be hard to find another section 
where so many farm homes have the modern conven¬ 
iences and luxuries of the city home, as are found in 
western New York. There are the best publications, 
good libraries, steam and furnace heat, hot and cold 
water service, and acetylene gas in very many instances 
in these homes. But the most attractive features of the 
pleasant homes are the intelligent, progressive and cor¬ 
dial owners who occupy them. **• L - w - 
CROP PROSPECTS. 
The strawberry crop through this section of Illinois has 
been harvested. Most of the berries were small, but the 
price held up to 12 V 2 to 15 cents per quart to the last. 
Plants set out this Spring show up finely. There will be 
only a moderate crop of apples at present prospects. 
Cherries were almost a complete failure. Plums and 
pears are still showing up well. There will be a fair crop 
of raspberries. So far the 17-year locusts have not en¬ 
tered this section of the country. E. m. m. 
Irving, Ill. 
People are divided in their estimates of fruit. Peaches 
appear to be bearing a full crop, though one orchard of 
1,100 trees has little fruit, the owner says; apples and 
pears, a light yield; cheri-ies abundant; strawberries, not 
enough for the demand. Plums promise well. Trees of 
all kinds look very healthy; the foliage of the large elms 
appears to be doubly thick and of that rich dark green, 
which so attracts the eyes of modern landscape archi¬ 
tects. w - A ‘ 
Spi’ingfield, Mass. 
We had a cold and dry April and a dry May; farmex-s 
never had so favoi’able a season here in central Iowa for 
putting in their crops. Hot and showery June weather 
has followed, and the season is about two weeks earlier 
than usual. Corn and potatoes promise a large yield. 
Hay will be light. Pastures are fine; were never better. 
We shall have an average crop of tree fruits, but the long 
di'ought of last Summer played havoc with the small fruit 
plantations. The blackcap raspberries and grapes promise 
well. J - w - w - 
Polk Co., Iowa. 
JUNE 14.—It has been raining so much for the past 30 
days that it has greatly retarded corn planting. Plowed 
ground is a mush; many have not planted corn. Corn 
that has been planted has not been cultivated. Oats are 
making a very rank growth; they are looking fine except 
where they have been damaged by water and wet ground. 
The meadows look the best they have for a number ol 
years. We should commence cutting clover hay here in 
about two weeks. This will bring haying, harvest, corn 
plowing and road working all at the same time, hence 
some of the farm work will be neglected, as help is 
scarce. The pasture is the best it has been for years, for 
the young ducks as well as the cattle. The wheat crop 
promises an abundant harvest if it stops raining soon. 1 
pi’edlct a goodly amount of smut in the wheat at harvest 
time. The apple crop will be a failure here, as is usually 
the case. Peaches will be a short crop. The pear crop 
promises at piesent to be enough for the local demand. 
Strawberries are a good crop; wet weather and scarcily 
of pickers have not made them a very profitable crop to 
extensive growers this season. Cheri’ies will be good. 
Stock of all kinds is looking well. We are not as far 
along with our farm work as usual at this time of year. 
Three Oaks, Mich. R - p - H- 
More Cash and Fewer Middlemen. 
Under the able management of the present master of 
the Kentucky State Grange, a plan has been agreed upon 
for selling the leading crop of the State—that of tobacco. 
The members of the Grange are to set the lowest price 
that each will take for his tobacco, according to quality. 
The agreement is such that each must not take less than 
the price agreed upon, but this is not to intexfexe with 
each one’s receiving a higher price when it is offered. 
The main object is to hold the price up to the proper 
level and never let it go below what is deemed a fair 
one. Those who are not able to hold their crop until the 
best prices can be obtained, are to be assisted by the 
other members of the combine to do so. It is expected 
that by thus organizing and making the members of the 
Grange business partners instead of competitors, as it 
has heretofore been the case, decided benefits will result 
from the plan adopted, which is the outgrowth of a fixed 
determination of the members of the Grange to effect 
a business organization that will enable them to secure 
better financial results than they have heretofox-e been 
able to obtain by dealing with a surplus of middlemen. 
Campbell Co., Ky. husbandman. 
INSECTS AFFECTING GRAPES.—Grape men in the 
Chautauqua district are much worried over the work of 
the leaf hopper and Grape root-worm, both of which 
pests are unusually plentiful. Experts from the Cornell 
Experiment Station are on hand, and experiments are 
being made to determine the best methods of treatment. 
As the leaf hopper is a sucking insect ordinary poison 
sprays do not prove effective. Large numbers of them 
may be caught by the use of shingles or palm-leaf fans 
covered with coal tar or insect lime. On being scared 
from the vines many of the Insects jump on the sticky 
fans. Larger frames covered with sticky substances have 
also been used successfully. A spray of 10-per-cent kero¬ 
sene emulsion is destructive to the beetles that are hit. 
Efforts are being made to handle the beetle which lays 
the eggs of the Grape root-worm with a spray of arsenaie 
of lead. - - 
