1902 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
469 
Events of the l4 / eek. 
DOMESTIC.—A new set of designs for United States 
postage stamps of the series of 1902 are being prepared 
at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. A new stamp 
will be added with a value of 13 cents to facilitate the 
foreign registered letter business. In the new series the 
stamps will have an arch over the picture, with eagles 
in the two upper corners, while the words “United 
States of America” will supplant “United States post¬ 
age.” The word “postage” will appear at the bottom 
before the denominational value of the respective stamps. 
A picture of Grant will be printed upon the 4-cent stamps 
instead of that of Lincoln, which will be given the 5-cent 
stamp, upon which the likeness of Grant now appears. 
Martha Washington will appear upon the 8-cent stamps 
instead of Sherman, while the new 13-cent stamp will 
bear a likeness of Benjamin Harrison. The $1 black 
stamp will have the head of Farragut instead of Com¬ 
modore Perry as at present. The remaining denomina¬ 
tions will remain unchanged. The special delivery stamp 
will carry a representation of a messenger mounted upon 
a bicycle, and will be printed in red, Instead of a mes¬ 
senger running.Governor Heard has been noti¬ 
fied by the British Consul at New Orleans that cattle 
shipped from Louisiana will not be allowed to land in 
South Africa. It is believed that this action is in re¬ 
taliation for Governor Heard’s efforts to have the British 
mule shipping station at Chalmette, La., declared to be 
in violation of the neutrality laws.Serious riots 
occurred among silk workers at Paterson, N. J., June 18; 
two persons were dangerously shot, and a number in¬ 
jured. Harry Harris, reporter for a local paper, was 
shot by the rioters for refusing to give up his plates and 
camera after taking pictures of the mob in action. 
. . . . While employees of the Cambria Powder Com¬ 
pany were loading a wagon with kegs of powder at Se¬ 
ward, Pa., June 19, a terrific explosion occurred. Four 
men were killed and three others horribly burned. . . . 
At Williamstown, W. Va„ June 18, strikers killed five 
miners. About 25 miners were at work in the mine, 
when a crowd entered with rifles, demanding that they 
should come out. On the miners’ refusal to obey their 
commands the strikers threw a quantity of dynamite 
into the shaft, which exploded, killing five of the men. 
As soon as the survivors came out of the shaft the 
strikers fired on them, injuring several, but none was 
thought to be fatally shot.Six suits of interna¬ 
tional interest were entered at Pittsburg, Pa., June 18, 
in the United States Circuit Court by Attorney Harry 
Alvan Hall, acting at the request of the Austro-Hunga¬ 
rian consul and in behalf of the heirs of six men killed 
by an explosion at the Eliza furnace of Jones & Laugh- 
lins, Limited, last year. The suits are to recover dam¬ 
ages for loss sustained by the deaths in question, and 
involve $120,000. All mill owners and employers of for¬ 
eigners are interested in the result of these suits, as It 
is stated that they are merely test cases, and that nu¬ 
merous other suits will be brought in behalf of other 
residents in European countries who have lost relatives 
in this manner.President John Mitchell, of the 
United Mine Workers, has issued an address to the pub¬ 
lic concerning the strikers’ demands. It is partly a reply 
to the letters of the operators, and says that every pos¬ 
sible means was resorted to in the effort to prevent the 
strike, claims that the cost of living has increased to 
the point where the miner was compelled to ask for 
higher wages, denies the allegations of the operators 
that the productive capacity of the mine workers has 
fallen off, but, on the other hand, has increased, and 
quotes official figures to substantiate the contention that 
the employers can pay higher wages without increasing 
the cost of coal to the consumers.June 21 there 
was slight frost in Nebraska, South Dakota, Missouri and 
Iowa, and some damage to crops is reported. 
CONGRESS.—It is likely that the number of pensions 
paid will soon reach 1,000,000. Instead of diminishing the 
number of pensioners is steadily increasing, and the mil¬ 
lion mark may be passed in a short time. A special 
statement that was made up recently at the request of 
the commissioner showed the total of 998,303 pensioners 
on the rolls April 30. Should Congress adopt some legis¬ 
lation favorable to pensions next year, or soon there¬ 
after, there would be no way of telling how many pen¬ 
sioners Uncle Sam would have on his roll. It may sur¬ 
prise some to know that there are now pending in the 
pension office 355,259 claims for pension, of which 33,611 
are due to the war with Spain.June 18 the 
President signed the Irrigation bill.The Sen¬ 
ate, June 19, by a majority of eight votes, adopted the 
Spooner substitute for the Hepburn Nicaragua Canal 
bill, the vote on the substitute being 42 to 34. After two 
amendments to the measure had been adopted, one pro¬ 
viding for a commission to supervise the construction 
of the canal and the other providing for the issuance of 
$130,000,000 of two per cent gold bonds to raise money with 
which to construct the waterway, it was passed by a vote 
of 67 to 6.Secretary Root, June 19, made answer 
to the Senate resolution of April 17, calling for informa¬ 
tion as to the cost of the war in the Philippines. It is 
shown that $50,000 was advanced for the expenses of the 
Philippine Commission originally from the United States 
Treasury, but this amount afterwards was reimbursed 
out of the Philippine Treasury. For railroad transpor¬ 
tation of troops and supplies to and from the Philippines 
since the peace treaty was ratified the cost has been 
$4,803,448. Reports from the various Bureau officers are 
submitted to show the cost of the Philippine War, in¬ 
cluding outstanding obligations, showing that the total 
up to date is $170,326,586.Republican Senators 
admit there will be no treaty to extend commercial con¬ 
cessions to Cuba presented to the Senate at this session 
of Congress. 
PHILIPPINES.—Brigadier-General Jacob H. Smith, 
tried for his conduct in connection with his command in 
Samar, will be immediately ordered home, and will be 
placed in command of the Military Department of Texas. 
This determination of the War Department dispels any 
doubt that may have existed as to the action of the 
court which tried General Smith. He has been acquitted 
of blame, and, so far as the court is concerned, there will 
be no further proceedings against him. It now remains 
for the President to review the case. Whatever his 
views may be, it will be impracticable for him to impose 
any punishment. He may disapprove the findings of the 
Court and strongly condemn General Smith's work in 
Samar, but that is all he can do.A Manila dis¬ 
patch says that 90 American soldiers have died of cholera 
since the disease broke out. The totals from the epi¬ 
demic are as follows: Manila, 1,530 casetf and 1,236 deaths; 
provinces, 7,369 cases and 5,440 deaths. 
GENERAL FOREIGN NEWS.—King Albert of Saxony 
died June 19 after prolonged illness. He is succeeded by 
his brother, Prince George.The unprecedented 
and persistent cold weather in Austro-Hungary is caus¬ 
ing great apprehension among those interested in agri¬ 
culture throughout the country. In addition to the heavy 
losses already sustained by hotels and shopkeepers the 
fruit crop has been irremediably damaged, while the 
prospects for cereals are dubious. Wheat and rye have 
sustained the greatest injury, while grains, oats and bar¬ 
ley have been only slightly injured. The outlook for 
maize, which is the principal crop for Hungary, is very 
poor. The wheat plains of Hungary have been badly 
injured by torrential rains. There is considerable anxiety 
regarding the state of the crops, and the vineyards, in 
consequence of the uninterrupted cold and rainy weather 
in France during the last two months. M. Flammarion, 
the astronomer, says there has been no such disastrous 
springtime since 1852. Germany is also suffering from 
unseasonable weather.The Chinese cruiser Kai 
Chih was wrecked June 22 by an explosion while in the 
Yang Tse River. She sank in thirty seconds, and 150 of¬ 
ficers and men on board perished, only two men on the 
vessel escaping death.June 24 King Edward 
VII. \yas operated upon for an intestinal abscess, and 
his coronation was postponed indefinitely. This is a pro¬ 
found disaster to many merchants of all classes in Eng¬ 
land, although many British tradesmen carry heavy in¬ 
surance against such emergencies. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—The territorial sheep sanitary 
board of New Mexico is considering means of stamping 
out scab in sheep, which is causing severe losses in the 
Territory. It Is said that the lambs this year, taking 
the territory as a whole, will probably not exceed 50 per 
cent of last year’s number. 
The following circular (No. 58) was issued by the Treas¬ 
ury Department June 4, 1902, to collectors and other 
chief officers of the customs: “At the instance of the 
Secretary of Agriculture it is hereby directed that, com¬ 
mencing July 1, 1902, and continuing for six months, two- 
ounce samples of all importations of 100 pounds or more 
of grass, clover and forage plant seeds be prepared at 
the earliest practicable date after entry, and forwarded 
to the Seed Laboratory, Department of Agriculture, 
Washington, D. C., labeled with names and addresses of 
consignors and consignees, name of seed as given in the 
invoice, and quantity of the consignment.” 
The New York State Department of Agriculture, under 
the provisions of the law which requires transportation 
companies doing business in the State to notify the Com¬ 
missioner of the receipt of nursery stock from points 
outside of the State to points within the State, has re¬ 
ceived over 800 notices this year, between January 1 and 
June 20, covering the Spring season. The inspectors of 
the department have examined and reported on 788 ship¬ 
ments, embracing 53 carloads, 1,232 boxes and 295 bales, 
containing 480,050 fruit trees, 54,137 ornamental trees, 517,- 
441 shrubs, 8,543 currants, 21,767 gooseberries, 63,106 ber¬ 
ries, 71,037 grapevines, 4,275,850 fruit seedlings and 145,850 
ornamental seedlings. The inspectors of the Department 
are engaged in the inspection of orchards in various 
sections of the State. The inspection of nurseries com J 
menced in July. Notices will soon be served on those 
nurserymen of the State who will be required to fumi¬ 
gate their stock before shipment, as required by the law 
as amended. All stock from outside the State under the 
present law must be fumigated before dissemination 
after July 1, 1902. The only stock exempt by its nature 
will be conifers and Citrus plants. 
An exodus of cattlemen from western Oklahoma and 
western Kansas to western Canada has set in, and within 
a month $1,000,000 in capital will leave the country. The 
cattlemen are leaving because farmers are settling on 
public lands, and under the herd laws it is impossible 
for them to maintain ranges. Another inducement is that 
the banks of western Canada pay three per cent interest 
on all deposits, time or otherwise. Experienced cattle¬ 
men say that a fat steer can be raised in western Canada 
from $4 to $12 cheaper than in the United States, every¬ 
thing considered. Among others leaving for Canada is 
Abner T. Wilson, president of the Oklahoma & Kansas 
Cattlemen’s Association. 
A THRASHERMEN’S ASSOCIATION. 
There is an association of thrashing-machine operators, 
called the Thrashermen’s National Protective Associa¬ 
tion. We understand that the object of this association 
is to obtain fair and living prices for thrashing. We 
know that in some localities thrashing has been done at 
such a price that the operators of the machinery cannot 
pay for their machinery, because they cannot earn 
enough money to do it, and very few thrashing-machine 
operators have sufficient means on hand with which to 
pay for this machinery in cash. Those who do will not 
buy thrashing machinery for the simple reason that the 
price of thrashing is so low that they can’t get the origi¬ 
nal cost together with a little profit returned to them dur¬ 
ing the life of the machinery. We also understand that the 
object of the Association is not to treat the farmer un¬ 
justly, but to work in harmony with him. This Associa¬ 
tion is not an association got up by manufacturers of 
thrashing machinery, or in which manufacturers of 
thrashing machinery have taken any part. In fact, we 
do not know of any manufacturers of thrashing ma¬ 
chinery who have any interest whatever in this Associa¬ 
tion, except the general one of bettering trade conditions. 
Richmond, Ind. robinson & co. 
The thrashermen in our county have organized a 
Thrashermen's National Protective Association, with 
headquarters at Chicago. From all we can learn and all 
we know of the organization, it is a fair business propo¬ 
sition organizing the thrashermen Into a body for their 
own mutual protection; insuring their rigs; working for 
good roads and bridge laws, as well as lien laws giving 
them first lien on the crop until the thrashing bills are 
paid, but we do not understand that the organization 
has any intention or desire to increase the present price 
for thrashing. In fact, we are informed that in some 
cases the price has been reduced, while it may be pos¬ 
sible that in some cases where the price was low it has 
been increased, but in our county the price remains the 
same on all kinds of grain. The Association will fight 
the price cutter, and should anyone outside of the or¬ 
ganization endeavor to cut the price, he will be dealt 
with in such a way that he cannot make any money, 
and the Association will assist his competitor so that he 
will lose no money even though he cuts the price down 
to nothing in order to prevent the confirmed price-cutter 
from making anything. As for ourselves, we are heartily 
in accord with the organization under the present con¬ 
ditions. However, should the thrashermen endeavor te* 
form a combination against the farmer and force him to 
pay exorbitant prices for their work, we would certainly 
be the first to condemn the organization. 
New Castle, Ind. safety shredder co. 
FRUIT CROWN IN WESTERN NEW YORK. 
Great Importance of the Industry. 
Part II. 
SOME PROFITABLE CROPS.—Last season the apple 
crop was very light generally. Many orchards, however, 
that are located within a narrow belt along the lake 
shore, and another on the ridge about seven miles dis¬ 
tant, and parallel with the lake, yielded very good re¬ 
turns. One grower told me last Fall that he could count 
up 20,000 barrels along the lake shore within a distance of 
V/z miles. One man was so fortunate as to have an or¬ 
chard in each of the favored sections, one of which pro¬ 
duced 928 barrels, which were sold at $3.50 per barrel, and 
the other yielded S05 barrels, which brought $3.85 per bar¬ 
rel. Perhaps special mention of a few other individual 
orchards may be of interest. An orchard of 300 Duchess 
apples, set seven years ago last Spring, yielded last sea¬ 
son 100 barrels of fruit, which was packed in peach bas¬ 
kets and sold in Buffalo, netting the owner $500. In an¬ 
other instance the crop from 250 Baldwin trees set 18 
years ago, sold in Fall of 1900 for $1,360. From this or¬ 
chard the owner filled one barrel with 187 apples, and an¬ 
other with 194. Another filled a barrel with 99 specimens 
of Twenty Ounce. After the barrel had been filled the 
bottom of the barrel could be seen by looking down 
through the spaces between the apples. The pear or¬ 
chards are also yielding very profitable returns in sea¬ 
sons when not damaged by the psylla. One grower here 
sold his crop last Fall for $2,600. Many others received 
from $600 to $1,800 for their pears. One orchard covering 
about three acres produced last season 200 barrels Kieffer, 
which sold for $500, and 100 barrels Bartlett, sold for $350; 
$850 is not a bad income from three acres. 
PROSPERITY IN SIGHT.—Many acres of Kieffers have 
been planted here recently, and so far as I have been able 
to ascertain, the owners have been well satisfied with the 
returns of those in bearing. One grower, who has 150 
acres of orchards, told me that when his oldest Kieffer 
orchard (of 200 trees) had been set five years the fruit 
had paid for the land it occupied, and that it had paid 
for the land every year since. I believe this orchard was 
set in 1S93. I have in mind a little peach orchard con¬ 
taining 240 Early Crawford trees, set in Spring of 1896. 
In Fall of 1900 the crop was sold for $350, and tha Dur- 
chaser furnished baskets. Last Fall the owner received 
for the crop $500. As the trees are set only a rod apart 
they occupy about V /2 acre. Near Morton, Orleans Co., 
is an interesting little peach belt about 2y> miles long and 
half a mile wide. This is about three-fourths of a mile 
from the lake, with an elevation of about 165 feet. In 
one block are 13,000 trees, with orchards near containing 
18,000 more. Just a little distance out of this favored 
locality in any direction, peaches cannot be successfully 
grown, but right here they grow to perfection, one 
grower receiving for his crop from 3,000 trees In Fall of 
1900 nearly $10,000. A few specimens from this orchard 
measured 12 inches in circumference. One small orchard 
here is 28 years old, and has never failed but two years 
to bear a crop since old enough. Some of the limbs of 
these trees are 20 feet long. This orchard is on a place 
that was sold some years ago at $250 per acre. In several 
instances I have been informed of farms, quite recently 
purchased, that have been paid for by the proceeds of 
the apple orchards, some of them in three years. I re¬ 
cently talked with a man who, when he was supervisor 
a few years ago, was one of a committee appointed to 
readjust the assessments of farm property. He said it 
was a fact that at that time they considered a farm less 
valuable, and assessed it lower, if it had on it an apple 
orchard, than if it had none. This state of things has 
been changed, and what has been done In western New 
York can be done in many other sections where the or¬ 
chards at present are not giving satisfactory results, and 
where the owners say “Fruit growing don’t pay.” To 
such I would say: Spray your orchards thoroughly and 
give them good, intelligent care and cultivation, and you 
will open up mines of wealth that you have not before 
realized were at your doors. In many localities young 
orchards will soon be planted to take the places of the 
old trees that were in their prime 50 yars ago, and for 
years past have "been rapidly disappearing; and they can 
be planted none too soon. l. l. w. 
Government Crop Report. 
The week has been unusually cool in all northerly sec¬ 
tions east of the Rocky Mountains. Frosts are reported 
in the Dakotas, Minnesota and parts of Iowa and New 
York. Drought conditions continue very severe in Texas, 
with high temperature. Corn growth in the North has 
been checked by the cold nights, and cultivation hindered 
by rains in the Lake regions and upper Ohio and Mis¬ 
souri Valleys. The low temperature has checked the 
ripening of Winter wheat, which is said to be filling well. 
Spring wheat has made good progress, although too 
rank growth, with rust, is reported in Iowa. The out¬ 
look for oats is favorable in the central valleys and 
States of the Northwest, and harvesting has begun as 
far north as Virginia and southern Kansas. The abund¬ 
ance of rain in the Middle Atlantic States and Ohio Val¬ 
ley has greatly helped the grass crop. 
* 
