1902 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
533 
Events of the Week. 
DOMESTIC.—Two powder magazines on the 1,200-foot 
level of the Daly-West silver mine at Park City, Utah, 
exploded July 16. killing a number of miners In that mine 
and in the Ontario, adjoining. The number of dead is 
believed to be 36. . . . July 17 a large sailboat was cap¬ 
sized off Appledore, Isle of Shoals, N. H., and 15 persons 
were drowned. . . . July 19 electrical storms of un¬ 
usual violence swept over a large area in Iowa, and 
cattle were killed by lightning in several localities. . . 
. . July 20 a tornado and electrical storm passed over 
Baltimore, Md.; nine persons were drowned in the har¬ 
bor, and two killed by falling wreckage. The property 
loss was large. . . . The Mississippi Valley was suf¬ 
fering from extensive floods July 19-22, from Keokuk, 
Iowa, to Quincy, Ill. The greatest loss is on the Missouri 
side of the river. Hundreds of acres of corn are under 
water, and July 21 the damage was estimated at $6,000,- 
000. The height of the flood was reached July 22. The 
river fell an inch and a half at Keokuk, but the rise of 
a foot more in Canton, Quincy, Lagrange and Hannibal 
carried the water over thousands of acres previously 
uninjured. The highest water was between Lagrange 
and Gregory. The rise covered more wheat in the shock. 
Extension of the flooded district increased the total dam¬ 
age, though not a very great percentage on the enor¬ 
mous total of millions hitherto accomplished by the Hood. 
Farmers report a much greater loss than before, but esti¬ 
mates approximating $6,000,000 damage over 75 miles of 
river frontage will not be changed. ... A terrific 
storm passed over New York State July 20, and heavy 
damage is reported from Chautauqua and Tioga coun¬ 
ties. It is believed that the damage to crops, bridges 
and roads will reach $1,000,000. . . . After 40 days of 
continual pursuit of bandit Tracy, the escaped Oregon 
convict, by men and bloodhounds throughout eight coun¬ 
ties, and at a cost of $10,000 and six lives, it has been de¬ 
cided to give up all organized effort to capture him. He 
broke out of prison on June 9. The authorities offered 
rewards for the return, either dead or alive, of the des¬ 
perado and a companion, Merrill, who had escaped with 
him. The refusal of the State of Oregon to pay Mrs. 
Waggoner, of Chehalis, the reward for the body of Mer¬ 
rill, which she found, has done much to discourage pur¬ 
suit. 
ADMINISTRATION.—The President, in an order is¬ 
sued July 16, terminated in summary manner the career 
of Gen. Jacob H. Smith in the army. “I hereby direct 
that he be retired from the active list” is the character¬ 
istic way in which this executive act is performed, fol¬ 
lowing a brief review of the conduct of General Smith, 
which led to his court-martial, and a pungent admonition 
as recommended by the court. The court found General 
Smith guilty of violating the rules of war in issuing the 
celebrated ‘‘kill and burn” order, in directing operations 
in Samar, which caused such popular resentment in this 
country, and which was used in the Senate as the text 
for speeches that extended over many days. The sen¬ 
tence of the court was that General Smith should be 
reprimanded by the President. After approving the find¬ 
ing of the court and carrying out its recommendation, 
the President went further, and manifested his disap¬ 
proval of the conduct of General Smith by directing his 
retirement from active service, under the law which au¬ 
thorizes the President to retire an officer who has reached 
the age of 62. . . . Certain modifications that the State 
Department desires in the protocol governing the con¬ 
struction of the proposed Panama Canal before it as¬ 
sumes the shape of a treaty have been transmitted by 
Secretary Hay to Mr. Concha, the Colombian Minister. 
These relate generally to questions of control and of 
sovereignty over the strip of land through wnich the 
canal, if the Panama route be finally determined upon, 
will be constructed. They are designed to bring the pro¬ 
tocol more in harmony with the provisions of the Spooner 
amendment and to facilitate ratification by the Senate. 
The Colombian Legation officials do not feel that the in¬ 
structions they now have are broad enough to authorize 
them to accept the modifications proposed by Secretary 
Hay without further consultation with the home govern¬ 
ment. 
PHILIPPINES.—A hundred Ladrones, armed with rifles 
and bolos, attacked and defeated eight of the constabu¬ 
lary, near San Mateo, Manila Province, July 15. The con¬ 
stabulary lost one man wounded and five men missing. 
They have asked for reenforcements of 100 men to pursue 
the Ladrones. ... A Manila despatch says that 
cholera is still spreading in the provinces. The totals 
are 14,567 cases and 10,937 deaths. Manila averages 40 
cases daily. . . . The court-martial which tried Major 
Edwin F. Glenn, Fifth Infantry, on charges of adminis¬ 
tering the “water cure” to natives of the Philippines, or 
permitting it to be done, found him guilty and sentenced 
him to one month’s suspension from duty and fined him 
$50. The findings were approved by Secretary Root. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—Representatives of the Mis¬ 
sissippi Valley Apple Growers’ Association have held a 
conference in St. Louis, Mo., and taken preliminary steps 
towards holding an Apple Growers’ Convention. 
Prof. F. A. Waugh, of Vermont, has been appointed 
professor of horticulture at the Massachusetts College of 
Agriculture to succeed Prof. S. T. Maynard. 
The Orleans County (N. Y.) Fruit Growers’ Association 
will join with the New York State Fruit Growers’ Asso¬ 
ciation in a field day or picnic at Oak Orchard-on-the- 
Lake August 14. This place is on Lake Ontario, near 
Carlton Station, and may be reached by train from 
Rochester or Niagara Falls. 
The eighth annual meeting of the National Apple Ship¬ 
pers’ Association will be held at the Powers House, 
Rochester, N. Y., August 6-7. In addition to the election 
of officers and other business a number of prominent 
speakers will be heard. 
JULY 18.—In my opinion there will not be, in this 
locality, more than 30 per cent of a crop of apples, and 
this will consist mostly of Baldwins. b. b. 
Pearl Creek. N. Y. 
CROP PROSPECTS. 
Our Rhode Island apple orchard of 100 trees is heavily 
laden. It is a big year with us. My uncle’s apple or¬ 
chard in Mercer Co., N. J., has a first-class crop, not big, 
but very good; Rhode Island pear crop poor. w. b. w. 
The prospects for apples in this vicinity are fine where 
care has been given as to spraying, cultivation, etc., and 
quality is extra fine. Peaches will be light. Pears only 
fair crop; Seckels very light. e. c. b. 
Athens, N. Y. 
We have been imposed upon sometimes in previous 
years by apple buyers who come here and misrepresent 
things both as to the quantity of apples in other parts of 
the country, and the price at which they are being 
bought. The crop is almost a total failure in this region, 
but I have a heavy crop in one orchard, several thousand 
barrels, fine apples prospectively, largely York Imperial. 
Gerrardstown, W. Va. s. h. m’k. 
JULY 18.—The apple crop as a rule is quite irregular, 
with very few in some orchards, and nearly one-half the 
average crop in others, not enough much more than to 
supply the home demand. Pears are loaded and promise 
a good crop; strawberries have been a fair to a good 
crop; red raspberries are loaded with fruit, and black- 
bessies very promising, with good prices for all small 
fruits. c. o. h. 
Elmira, N. Y. 
Wheat in this locality is all in the shock; a fair aver¬ 
age crop. Oats, large acreage, outlook not good, too wet; 
probably 50 or 75 per cent of full crop. Corn outlook is 
not good; too much rain in June. Thousands of acres 
are under water on the prairie and river bottoms. Mea¬ 
dows are not heavy, too dry in April for the Timothy. 
Potatoes promise a good crop. General farm stock is in 
good condition. w. c. r. 
Battle Ground, Ind. 
The almost continuous rains throughout June and thus 
far in July have caused incalculable damage to crops. 
Wheat Is not all cut yet, and ground is so soft that it 
will not hold up horses and binder. But few fields of 
corn have been cultivated, and potatoes have nearly all 
rotted as soon as planted. Many fields of late potatoes 
could not be planted at all. Haying, except in few in¬ 
stances, is not yet begun. Timothy is fully ripe, and 
clover is now worth but little. a. k. p . 
Chagrin Falls, Ohio. 
JULY 21.—The hay crop is very good, better than was 
expected two or three weeks ago. Some farmers have but 
just begun haying, while others are well along. The 
weather has been rather catching, and it rains hard to¬ 
day. The fruit crop is light. Apples will not be more 
than one-fourth of an average crop. They did not set 
in proportion to the blossoms, and those that did set are 
dropping quite badly. Corn is at least two weeks later 
than usual, and it will require a very late warm Fall to 
mature it satisfactorily. Grain is looking well, and bids 
fair to be a good crop. Potatoes are late and small, with 
prospect of a light crop. t. d. s. 
Madison, Me. 
JULY 22.—The corn crop is very backward and outlook 
is bad. The farmers in this section are having lots of 
milk and making plenty of butter. The butter market 
is fine here in this section at 23 cents per pound for 
creamery. Grain in this section is good. Potatoes are 
extra heavy and bid fair to be wonderfully good. Hay 
crop is an average in this locality. The farmers are feed¬ 
ing very little grain at present. I am a butter-maker, 
and have been in the business for 13 years, and from my 
knowledge in regard to dairying should strongly advise 
the farmers to buy separators and make their butter, 
instead of selling their milk off their farms. i>. m. 
Lebanon, N. H. 
JULY 21.—The late frosts and cold, wet weather have 
done a great deal of damage in this section. Hay is a 
heavy crop, but so wet that it is hard to cure; about 
one-third cut. Wheat is a fair crop, the late sowing be¬ 
ing the best. Oats promise a full crop. Cherries were 
one-half crop; apples will not be over one-half crop, as 
they are dropping badly. Pears promise a good crop; 
plums and peaches three-fourths crop. Strawberries were 
good, though the first blossoms were frosted. Corn is 
not very promising, as the continued wet weather makes 
it hard to get it cultivated, and I do not think that more 
than half has been worked at all. Potatoes are promis¬ 
ing, but earlies are not yielding well. Blackberries are a 
large crop. f. e. a. 
Youngstown, O. 
JULY 20.—The month of June was very wet, and so far 
July has been the same. We had about a week of nice 
weather the first part of the month, but most of the time 
it has been too wet to cultivate our hoed crops. Yester¬ 
day and to-day we have been favored by a small deluge, 
so it is hard telling when we can do any more soil 
stirring, especially on low ground. There has been a 
great deal of hay cut to get soaked. Hay is a good crop, 
but we fear much of it will be injured by the rain. Corn 
is very small and poor, and only in a few instances does 
it promise making anything like a crop of grain, at least. 
Wheat and rye are a fair crop, while oats are heavy, 
excepting where they have been on land where the water 
has stood to injure them. Cabbage very uneven; some 
pieces looking very well, while others have rotted about 
the roots, and are wilting. Potatoes are backward, and 
lots of bugs. Pears light crop; plums better than aver¬ 
age. Apples in some orchards plentiful, in others scarce; 
mostly Greening and early fruit with some Baldwin and 
Spy. Taken altogether the farmers feel pretty blue in 
this vicinity. I went to buy some feed yesterday; bran, 
$1.20; middlings, $1.35; cornmeal, $1.60 per 100, and unless 
the weather is very favorable from now on very little 
corn will be fed unless it is imported. g. w. e. 
Penfleld, N. Y. 
PRICES FOR GRAPES.—The Grape Belt reports an 
Interview with Clyde Dean, a well-known grape grower. 
Mr. Dean thinks the root worm has done great damage 
in the Ohio district, so that shipments from there will 
surely fall off. Michigan is likely to ship more grapes 
than last season, but summing it all up, Mr. Dean thinks 
prices must be good. He has been offered $25 per ton 
for his crop, but will not sell at that price. 
WET IN WESTERN NEW YORK.—Rain, rain, rain! 
And still it rains. Of all the rainy seasons this beats the 
record. I was recently down in eastern Niagara and 
western Ontario counties, where the flood of two weeks 
ago was worst. I saw cornfields through which the 
water had opened channels from two to four rods wide, 
from which not only the corn was taken but all the soil 
down to hardpan. On level land, where no water was 
ever seen before, I saw where grass and weeds had 
lodged on the fourth wire of the fence above the ground. 
On much land the fences were gone. Crops gone and 
much stock was washed away and drowned. One man 
lost 45 sheep and another over 80. So much rain is causing 
apple trees to look bad. Many are shedding leaves like 
November, and, of course, where the leaves go so ex¬ 
tensively the fruit is dropping badly. While we are hav¬ 
ing far too much rain we escaped that flood, but still 
much damage is being done. 'Much hay is still to be cut; 
hundreds of acres of beans are practically ruined, and so 
much lain has caused a good deal of wheat to rot, from 
a few kernels to half a head will be black and rotted 
in some fields. This will occasion a serious loss in yield, 
and I fear injure the quality of grain. What is unex¬ 
plainable is what appears to be a fact that those or¬ 
chards that have been sprayed the most thoroughly have 
by far the worst attack of leaf and fruit dropping, and 
also most fungus on fruit. Mr. Mann, who is one of the 
most persistent and thorough sprayers we have, told me 
that 75 per cent of his apples would be more or less 
scabby. Mr. Bradley said he had sprayed four times and 
eighty per cent of his apples would be marked with scab 
spots. Verily, this season is upsetting all our notions. 
_ J. S. WOODWARD. 
APPLE DISEASE IN WESTERN NEW YORK. 
We have had considerable to say about the disease 
which has seriously threatened apples in parts of New 
York State. Profs. S. A. Beach and F. G. Stewart, of the 
Geneva Experiment Station, have studied the disease. A 
portion of their report is given below: 
“After a careful examination of many orchards in On¬ 
tario, Wayne, Monroe and Orleans counties we have 
reached the conclusion that the trouble is due primarily 
to weather conditions and is aggravated by spraying. 
The protracted cold, wet weather in June made the fo¬ 
liage tender and susceptible to injury from the spraying 
liquids. Some unsprayed orchards show a little of the 
trouble, but sprayed orchards are almost invariably the 
most affected. However, some sprayed orchards are but 
slightly affected. In general, cultivated and well-cared- 
for orchards are less affected than uncultivated and 
neglected ones, but there are some exceptions to this 
rule. While spraying under the existing weather condi¬ 
tions is the principal cause, it appears that several other 
factors enter into the problem and modify the results. 
Injury has resulted from Paris-green with Bordeaux, 
“Green Arsenoid” with Bordeaux, “Disparene,” or ar¬ 
senate of lead, with Bordeaux, arsenite of lime with Bor¬ 
deaux, and an arsenical insecticide without Bordeaux. 
It is clear, therefore, that each of the common insecti¬ 
cides has produced injury. Whether Bordeaux alone is 
capable of doing it has not been determined. In the ter¬ 
ritory examined by us serious injury is not likely to re¬ 
sult except, perhaps, in a few of the worst affected or¬ 
chards. In the majority of cases the slight injury done 
by spraying is likely to be overbalanced by the good 
done. Notwithstanding the loss of foliage in sprayed or¬ 
chards it is likely that where thorough and seasonable 
spraying has been done the fruit will be superior to un¬ 
sprayed fruit; whereas, in unsprayed orchards the dam¬ 
age to fruit and foliage from scab and Codling moth may 
be expected to increase. It would be unwise to forget 
the great benefits of spraying in the past and to de¬ 
nounce or abandon it because of the unfavorable experi¬ 
ences of this season.” 
THE ILLINOIS FARM HANDS’ UNION.—To my 
knowledge there is no such organization in this vicinity. 
For several years past farm hands from the little towns 
wished to commence work at 7 A. M. and quit at 6 P. M. 
This trouble has been partly averted by the farmer 
making contracts with his employees. Probably the 
thrashing men’s trust is the one that you have read of. 
The owners of machines want a set price of four cents 
per bushel, and if any anti-trust man does the work for 
any less, they threaten to surround him and thrash for 
two cents per bushel. There is considerable indignation 
felt among the farmers at this new union formed by 
men who are themselves farmers. How it is going to 
affect agricultural matters is a topic of considerable in¬ 
terest to all of us. E. A. 
Kinderhook, Ill. 
EFFECTS OF THE OLEO LAW.—The Chicago Dairy 
Produce gives, among others, the following observed re¬ 
sults in the oleo trade since the new law went into effect: 
“In Chicago we have yet to hear of a single retailer who 
reports a satisfactory trade in uncolored oleomargarine 
except for cooking and baking purposes. Dozens have 
reported the trade therein a perfect failure; several have 
thrown up its sale in disgust because of the large pro¬ 
portion of the goods which have been returned in muti¬ 
lated form by the consumers, and the return of the 
money demanded. In spite of this, however, there are 
hundreds in the city taking out the license to sell the 
white goods. The amount—$6—is small for the license, 
and there is not much risk incurred. But it is noticed 
that the old-time enthusiastic friends of oleomargarine 
are no longer the walking advertisements for this article. 
It makes a difference what sort of a profit the business 
paid. Once it was worth a good 100 per cent. To-day it 
is down to a basis of lard, cottolene or other cooking 
compounds. The Chicago factories have, since their 
original orders were filled the first week in the month, 
turned out an average of about 76,000 pounds per business 
day. Their average for last year was about 333,000 pounds 
per business day. In the month of August, 1901, when 
butter was one and two cents cheaper than it has been 
thus far this month, the daily production of oleomargar¬ 
ine amounted to 164,560 pounds per business day.” 
