1902 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
6i7 
MARKET NOTES 
COAL FROM WALES.—A few carloads 
of Welsh anthracite have been received at 
this city. At the point of export it sells 
at about $4.50 per ton. The duty is 75 cents, 
and the freight from $2 to $3, making the 
cost at New York dock not far from $7.75. 
It is not probable that Welsh coal can 
compete seriously with the American pro¬ 
duct unless the latter advances to $10 or 
over, retail. 
POTATOES.—Plenty of large, smooth 
and in every way excellent tubers are on 
hand and selling at prices too low for pro¬ 
fitable production. There is certainly no 
sign of more favorable conditions until the 
early crop is out of the way. The disposi¬ 
tion that growers make of the late crop 
will determine later prices. Heavy hold¬ 
ing (which is rather discouraging in the 
face of a large late crop, unless cut by rot) 
would cause an immediate advance. Light 
storings would result in keeping the mar¬ 
ket buried up until Winter. 
APPLE CHOPS.—A reader asks: “What 
are apple chops; how are they made; and 
what do they bring?” 
The chops given in market quotations are 
apples of any sort, color or size, unpeeled 
and cut crosswise the core into slices one- 
fourth inch thick or a little more. The 
cutting is done either by hand or with spe¬ 
cial machines, and the fruit is dried artifi¬ 
cially, that bleached bringing the best 
price. The prices received run anywhere 
from 50 cents to $2.25 per 100 pounds. The 
bulk of them are supposed to be used in 
the making of wine. 
FRESH FRUITS.—A dozen kinds of early 
apples are now offered in this market. The 
large, showy Alexander sells for 25 to 50 
cents per barrel above other sorts, al¬ 
though it is coarse and a disappointment 
to those who try to eat it raw. Oldenburg, 
less showy but of better quality, comes 
next. There seems to be a temporary lull 
in the rush of peaches, some of which sell 
at slightly advanced prices. Grapes are 
coming to hand rapidly, many being un¬ 
ripe and sour. Growers who have vine¬ 
yards on very early land like to rush in 
part of their crop before the tide sets in 
from the great grape belts. Consumers 
who get these sour grapes, however, will 
be shy of Concords with a slightly red 
tinge in future. Plums are doing a trifle 
better, as receipts have dropped off. Wa¬ 
termelon sales show a wide range of prices 
owing to extremely irregular quality. The 
best are now coming from Maryland. 
Large quantities of muskmelons are still 
arriving from the West. Maryland and 
south Jersey are sending some very fine 
stock. 
COMMERCIAL APPLE OUTLOOK.—A 
Virginia reader asks: “What is the com¬ 
mercial outlook for apples? Is the market 
likely to be overstocked in a few years on 
account of the heavy plantings being 
made? What varieties would you plant for 
market? We can grow York Imperial and 
Ben Davis to perfection, but cannot use 
Spy, Baldwin, Greening and similar north¬ 
ern varieties. What about the export apple 
trade?” 
We see no reason to fear that apple 
growing is likely to be overdone in this 
country. There will doubtless be seasons 
when three or four of the great apple sec¬ 
tions will unite in immense crops, that will 
bring the prices for anything but extra 
fruit below cost of handling, but the 
chances for this happening often are very 
slim. Improved cold storage will tide large 
quantities of the better fruit over tempor¬ 
ary periods of surplus. Cold storage is in 
the A, B, C stage. When handlers learn 
what are the proper conditions for holding 
different varieties, so that the fruit will 
not come out scalded or with rotten core 
or other storage defects, the larger mar¬ 
kets will have thoroughly eatable apples 
every week in the year. Another reason for 
believing that the apple trade will keep up 
with larger production is the increased 
amount of advertising that apples are get¬ 
ting. Ten times as many restaurants and 
hotels have them on the bill of fare and 
displayed in the show windows as a few 
years ago. City grocers are waking up to 
the importance of the apple. Many of the 
most hustling tradesmen in this country 
are in the apple business, and constantly 
after new outlets for trade. They know 
that consumption of apples in this country 
has nowhere near reached its limit; that 
there are hundreds of families who could 
afford to use four times as many apples 
as they do if they were to be had in con¬ 
venient packages for the use of a small 
family with no cellar accommodations for 
storing. These and other similar facts 
point to reserve forces that can be drawn 
upon by apple growers and dealers to 
widen the trade as increased production 
may require. Growers in the Middle South 
do not have so large a list of popular va¬ 
rieties to pick from as those who live 
where the Baldwin, Spy, Greening and 
King flourish. York Imperial is well liked 
in markets where it is offered in fair con¬ 
dition. although it has a tendency to grow 
one-sided and sometimes scalds in storage. 
Of course we know that Ben Davis looks 
fine, ships like brickbats, and has keeping 
qualities almost equal to Egyptian mum¬ 
mies; that the tree is hardy and a good 
bearer: and that the fruit sells well. But 
it does not seem possible that an apple of 
so inferior quality could long hold a high 
place in markets where better varieties 
are to be had. As a commercial apple and 
money-maker this variety must at present 
be placed near the head of the list, but 
how long it can hold its place is a ques¬ 
tion, and heavy planting of it would seem 
a doubtful experiment. It is quite likely 
that a variety with such astonishing pow¬ 
ers of resisting rot and rough usage will 
furnish apples tor remote sections beyond 
the reach of ordinary perishable fruit. As 
to export apples there is prospect of an in¬ 
creasing trade. But the business is a trade 
of itself. Apples as commonly sorted and 
packed will not do for European ship¬ 
ments. Except in time of greatest scarcity 
no inferior fruit is wanted. “Topping” the 
barrels is of no account, as the apples are 
poured out, so that the buyer sees what he 
is getting. The fruit should be packed un¬ 
der expert supervision in order to get the 
barrels full. There is a knack about this 
that must be learned. A barrel packed so 
as to stand 1,500 miles of railroad shipment 
might, under the shaking of a rough sea 
trip, go slack enough to let the fruit rat¬ 
tle around and be little better than pomace 
on arrival. No, we do not believe there is 
any danger of overdoing the commercial 
apple business if common sense methods 
of producing and marketing are used. All 
around excellence should be the aim. The 
only reason that more five-cent apples are 
not sold on the fruit stands of New York 
and other large cities is that they are not 
to be had. The five-cent apple means 
money for grower and handler, and some¬ 
thing worth eating for the man who gets 
it. _ w. w. H. 
HANDLING AND STORING APPLES. 
The following notes are from an article 
in the New York Packer: 
When the average shipper fails to secure 
top prices he concludes, naturally, that the 
other fellow is to blame. If the receiver 
reports the shipment In “off” condition, if 
the grade is reported simply “fair” in¬ 
stead of "extra choice” as branded on the 
package, the shipper feels that some one 
is trying to “do” him. There are times 
he is justified in this—and other times 
when he is not. Probably in no line is 
there such a wide variance of opinion as 
in apples. The apple shipper who brands 
a barrel as “culls” is such a rare speci¬ 
men as to excite comment. It is so much 
easier to put on the No. 2 stencil and a step 
further to put the No. 1 stencil on a barrel 
containing a real good grade of No. 2 
stock that few can withstand the tempta¬ 
tion. All of us hope others will look at the 
stock through the same glasses as we do. 
When the outside referee pronounces it a 
No. 2, we are certain his judgment was 
faulty. It is hard to concede that we were 
mistaken. Of course some never have such 
a thing happen. Then there are some who 
store a bunch of apples, say a few hun¬ 
dred barrels. When they are taken out of 
storage they don’t look exactly as fine as 
we were, sure they would look and as the 
warehouseman is nearest to hand we put 
the blame on him. We are certain they 
were good stock, well packed, and sounds 
True, we were not on hand when they were 
gathered and packed and shipped, but we 
saw a few barrels opened and they looked 
“fine as silk.” We are so sure of our 
claim that the difference must be ar¬ 
ranged. We take the position upon a be¬ 
lief and a belief only and because it’s busi¬ 
ness, push our claim. 
There are several sides to these contro¬ 
versies, and the careful man will recog¬ 
nize that his view is not always the cor¬ 
rect one. He will go deep into the sub¬ 
ject before faking a firm position. He 
will follow the apple for instance from the 
time it is taken out of storage, clear back 
to the time of picking and packing. He 
will take only the positive proof and will 
not accept the mere “I thought so.” He 
will ask for the least detail. He will know 
from good evidence before he makes his 
claim and having the facts, will be pre¬ 
pared to back it up. Those who have been 
in the orchards season after season know 
how easy it is to let slipshod methods rule. 
Some have watched a gang at work pick¬ 
ing and have seen the fruit banged around 
until it would seem that not a single apple 
had escaped bruising. And we have seen 
in that very same orchard, packers piling 
the fruit in a barrel in a way that meant 
ruin. Once the head is in and it has been 
branded it is supposed to be exactly what 
the brand calls for. Perhaps the fruit lay 
in piles for days, subject to the scorch¬ 
ing sun. Perhaps a heavy rain was fall¬ 
ing while it lay there. The packer gets it 
into a barrel and that ends it. It is No. 
2, or No. 1, and the owner sells it on the 
brand. When some of this same fruit has 
been put away in storage and Is taken out 
in bad condition the owner feels he has 
been imposed upon. But has he? Is it not 
too much to expect fruit to stand more 
than even iron could endure? Isn’t it a 
wonder that there is anything but one 
mass of mush? Because a few barrels do 
go through and come out in a passable 
condition is no excuse for the owner as¬ 
suming that all went into storage in prime 
shape. 
The development of the commercial or¬ 
chard and the professional, trained packer 
is fortunately wiping out the man who 
ships apples which have been treated to a 
rock-crushing process. After a while he will 
be a rare specimen, but at present he is 
in evidence in every apple section, in every 
apple State. He thrived last season during 
the rush for fruit, because buyers bit at 
everything, good, bad and indifferent. He 
excelled all past records in careless pick¬ 
ing, handling and packing. Because apples 
were like gold dollars, he got his price. 
Fortunately this season there will be 
plenty and to spare. Fortunately the com¬ 
mercial grower, the man who makes apple 
growing a business, will have enough to 
supply the market with his own name be¬ 
hind every barrel. And when the careless 
grower is forced to take what the cider 
mill or the evaporator will pay, perhaps 
he will wake up to the fact that care does 
mean money and that care pays in the long 
run. There are scores of claims now on 
file regarding conditions of fruit stored 
last season, the owners claiming that the 
stock went in in good condition, but when 
taken out showed up badly. Some of these 
cases, traced back to the orchard, showed 
carelessness and abuse at some point. The 
careless handler got in his work effect¬ 
ively. __________ 
HOG PRICES. 
We do not think prices of hogs will be 
any lower this Fall and Winter. The best 
breed that we have here is the Poland- 
China. We think they are better than the 
Berkshire or Chester White because they 
fatten faster and take less feed. 
Altona, Ill. ANDREWS BROS. 
The corn crop is good for miles around 
this point. Farmers are holding their hogs 
at stiff prices, and especially stock hogs, 
in fact there are no stock hogs for sale in 
this locality. While the outlook is for 
lower prices, they do not expect “low- 
priced pork.” There is no particular choice 
of breed. e. r. green. 
Overton, Neb. 
Hogs have been marketed freely for the 
last nine months at very satisfactory 
prices, especially during May, June and 
July. Prices have lowered about $1 per 100 
pounds in the last 30 days. What they will 
do in the near future is merely guess work 
on my part, but my opinion is that hogs 
will get considerable lower by November 
1. Poland-China and Duroc breeds pre¬ 
dominate. Many prefer the latter, being 
more prolific. h. a. davis. 
Columbus Junction, Iowa. 
The outlook for prices on hogs this Fall 
seems to be good in this part of the coun¬ 
try. I do not think there are much more 
than one-half as many now as there were 
a year ago. Most of the old sows have 
been shipped. Corn looks well now, and 
if frost holds off the prospects are fair for 
a good crop. As to cattle, • feeders are 
scarce and high, running from $5.50 to $6.50. 
As to the breed of hogs there Is a mixture 
I think the black hogs take the lead, al¬ 
though there are some Chester White and 
DurOC. CHAS. BOOKNAU. 
Grinnell, Iowa. 
Commerce In Game.— The United States 
Department of Agriculture has issued a 
circular defining the laws regarding the 
shipment of game. The following notes 
are taken from it: 
Robins, swallows, cedar birds, meadow¬ 
larks, flickers, night hawks or bull bats, 
and a few other insectivorous species, as 
well as such birds as longspurs, snow bunt¬ 
ings, and shore larks, which are useful in 
destroying seeds of weeds, are occasionally 
killed as game. They are, however, gener¬ 
ally protected, and under no circumstances 
should they be sent to market or shipped 
out of the State. Statutes even more 
stringent than those protecting game birds 
have recently been enacted by many States 
for the preservation of birds which are 
not included in the game list. Under these 
statutes birds which are In demand for 
millinery purposes are protected through¬ 
out the year, and sale and possession, as 
well as killing, are prohibited. It should be 
remembered that the principal centers for 
millinery supplies are nearly all located 
in States which have such laws, and the 
purchase of native song birds, as well as 
of herons, pelicans, gulls, terns or sea 
swallows, grebes, or other plume birds, 
should be avoided. The shipment of these 
birds or any part of their plumage is pro¬ 
hibited by the provisions of the Federal 
law. Ostrich feathers are not subject to 
these restrictions and their use should be 
encouraged. 
Mirth is an almost in¬ 
fallible sign of good 
health. A sick woman 
may force a smile or at 
times be moved to laugh¬ 
ter. But when a woman 
is bubbling over with 
mirth and merriment she 
is surely a well woman. 
Dr. Pierce’s Favorite Prescription has 
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«I take great pleasure in recommending Dr. 
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Dr. Pierce’s Common Sense Medical 
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