1902 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Events of the Week. 
DOMESTIC.—Fire at Monongahela, Pa., November 20 
caused a loss of $125,009, and imperiled many lives. . . . 
The Washburn-Crosby Milling Company, of Minneapolis, 
bonded its Humboldt mill November 20 for an indefinite 
period, to grind nothing but Canadian wheat. The bond 
demanded by the customs officials is for $50,000. Accord¬ 
ing to the terms of the bond, the Humboldt mill will have 
continually within its walls Government storekeepers, 
who will see that only Canadian grain is used. The grain 
will be delivered to the mill in cars direct from Canada, 
which will be in charge of Custom House men. The en¬ 
tire product of the mill will be loaded into bonded cars 
and will be taken directly East for shipment entire to 
Liverpool. A bond of $50,000 was also given at the Custom 
House by the Great Eastern Elevator Company, of Min¬ 
neapolis, for the storage in elevator H, Minneapolis, of 
Canadian oats. This grain eventually will be ground into 
oatmeal in Minnesota in some mill yet to be designated, 
and used entirely for export business.Fire at 
the end of the Alameda Mole, San Francisco, Cal., No¬ 
vember 20, destroyed ferry slips, railway station and 
cars, causing a loss of $145,000.The first wolf 
that has been seen in Berkshire County, Mass., in two- 
score years was shot November 21 in Stephentown by 
William H. Hatch. This animal has been committing 
great depredations in the western part of the county and 
in New York State. It had been getting into sheep folds, 
and it is claimed by the farmers that it had killed prob¬ 
ably more than a hundred sheep within the last three 
months. The farmers in Hancock, Lebanon and Stephen¬ 
town have offered a reward of $100 for the capture of this 
wolf. It stood about three feet in height and weighed 150 
pounds. The wolf November 20 attacked a cow which was 
lacerated so badly that it had to be killed. It is thought 
that the wolf had a mate, which will have to be killed 
before sheep and cattle are safe.The Wiscon¬ 
sin Central Railroad ore pier at Ashland, Wis., was de¬ 
stroyed by fire November 22, the loss involved being 
about $525,000. In falling the pier carried with it a num¬ 
ber of firemen and dockmen and several lives were lost. 
Several badly injured firemen were rescued from the 
burning ruins, one of them with both legs broken. . . . 
The Grand Jury in the Federal Court at Pensacola, Fla., 
has returned an indictment against Joel E. Smith, former 
editor of the Monticello Constitution, for fraudulent use 
of the mails. He is alleged to have offered young women 
salaries ranging from $15 to $20 a month to do writing at 
home, provided they induced 25 of their friends to pay a 
year’s subscription to the paper. In this way he is said 
to have procured 50,000 subscriptions.The mem¬ 
bers of the American Cooperative Colony which A. K. 
Owen, of New York, established at Topolobampo, on the 
western coast of Mexico, several years ago, who are still 
residing there, are in a destitute and starving condition, 
owing to a series of crop failures, and appeals for aid 
have been made by them to the Mexican authorities. 
Most of the colonists were from Kansas, and the ma¬ 
jority of them returned to their former homes in that 
State when the colony went to pieces not long after its 
establishment. 
ADMINISTRATION.—Secretary Hay may resume ne¬ 
gotiations with Nicaragua and Costa Rica for a canal 
treaty, as a means for forcing Colombia to agree upon 
terms with the United States relative to the construction 
of the Panama Canal.Senator Mitchell is for 
free trade with the Philippines, and says the whole Pa¬ 
cific coast representation in Congress will insist on such 
a provision.Commissioner Jones estimates that 
the Government spent up to 1890, $1,085,275,290 in fighting, 
educating and keeping the Indians. 
LABOR.—The American Federation of Labor, in session 
at New Orleans November 20, defeated, by a vote of 4,744 
to 4,314, resolutions committing the organization to a 
Socialistic programme.Medical testimony to 
show that the occupation of coal mining is an unhealth¬ 
ful one was heard by the Coal Commission at Scranton, 
November 20. ... . The miners at the Cranberry and 
Crystal Ridge collieries of A. Pardee & Co., agreed in a 
body, November 20, to abide by the provisions of the 
agreement which they refused to sign individually, and. 
work was resumed.A movement was started by 
the parties to the proceedings before the Anthracite Coal 
Strike Commission for a settlement of the differences 
outside of the commission, the members of that body 
aiding, however, by their conciliatory offices. These ne¬ 
gotiations came to a sudden end November 25. The in¬ 
dependent operators protested against any interruption 
of the proceedings before the Coal Commission, and they 
and the presidents of the coal-carrying roads declined a 
telegraphic invitation from Washington to meet Mr. 
Mitchell and his associates. 
CUBA.—Serious rioting occurred in Havana November 
24, growing out of the general strike ordered in support 
of the cigarmakers. In conflicts between police and riot¬ 
ers two strikers were killed and 82 persons were wounded. 
All business was affected by the troubles. 
PHILIPPINES.—The cholera is spreading among the 
Moro towns, on the west coast of Mindanao, and there 
is much destitution among the people. Quarantine in¬ 
creases the suffering by stopping work and the move¬ 
ment of supplies. General Davis has telegraphed to Gen¬ 
eral Sumner directing the distribution of food supplies 
to the sufferers in the infected and quarantined towns. 
. . . . The Government has increased the constabulary 
force in the Island of Leyte, and has ordered a careful 
investigation of the condition and general situation there. 
The law making highway robbery a capital crime has 
been translated into the various dialects of the islands, 
and the constabulary is circulating copies of the law 
throughout the districts infested by ladronism. The 
Government is desirous of warning the bandits before 
carrying out the new law. . . . •. The business distress 
that prevails in the Philippines in consequence of the 
rapid depreciation of Mexican silver coins, which have 
large circulation in the islands, is likely to be made the 
subject of action by Congress at the coming session. Rep¬ 
resentative Cooper, of Wisconsin, who is Chairman of the 
Insular Committee, believes that had the Senate agreed 
to the House provisions of the bill that was passed last 
Winter the present financial trouble might have been 
averted. The House bill provided for making gold the 
basis of the monetary system, but the Senate insisted 
upon making it silver, and that prevailed. 
GENERAL FOREIGN NEWS.—Refugees who have ar¬ 
rived at New Orleans from western Guatemala report a 
terrible state of affairs as a result of the eruption of 
Santa Maria volcano. The country for a radius of over 
30 miles has been made a desolate waste, and every 
vestige of life destroyed. The loss of life is estimated at 
over 7,000, the great majority of the victims being In¬ 
dians. Ten Indian villages, each with a population of 
from 50 to 5,000 inhabitants, were wiped out, the rude huts 
being buried beneath tons of volcanic debris. * All of the 
coffee plantations in the volcanic zone are ruined, and 
their owners left penniless. The greatest distress pre^ 
vails throughout the central and western portions of the 
republic, and even on the eastern coast the effects are 
felt in the scarcity of money and the rise in exchange. 
A famine prevails in Quezaltenango, and 10,000 people 
are starving. Even in Guatemala City, the capital, the 
inhabitants are suffering for food. The government is 
utterly unable to relieve the misery and suffering, and 
the people are on the verge of revolution. The only 
thing needed to start a formidable uprising is the appear¬ 
ance of a leader.Strikes in Argentina are 
threatening a general paralysis of business and are affect¬ 
ing the handling of the crops. The government is thor¬ 
oughly alive to the situation and has secured the passage 
of an expulsion law that will enable it to deal with for¬ 
eign agitators, who are blamed for the labor troubles. 
A state of siege has been declared, and it is believed that 
the new law, in conjunction with a military government, 
will soon remedy the situation.Bread riots are 
reported from the Ural districts of Russia, where thou¬ 
sands of persons are idle because of the closing of the 
iron works. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—Among the speakers announced 
for the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Dairy Union 
at Harrisburg December 10-11 are Prof. E. B. Voorhees 
of New Jersey, Prof. H. Hayward of New Hampshire 
and Dr. Leonard Pearson and Rev. J. D. Detrich of Penn¬ 
sylvania. 
The twenty-fourth annual meeting of the Ontario Agri¬ 
cultural and Experimental Union will be held at the On¬ 
tario Agricultural College, Guelph. Canada, December 8-9. 
Henry Lee Borden, eldest son of the 'late Gail Borden, 
the inventor and first manufacturer of condensed milk, 
died November 21 at Los Angeles, Cal. Mr. Borden was 
born in Texas in 1C32, the home of his parents, at that 
time occupying all of the site of the present city of Gal¬ 
veston. His early life was spent in Texas. In the Civil 
War he served in the Confederate Army, and afterward 
re-engaged in trade in cotton and sugar. He invented and 
introduced many machines considered invaluable at the 
time, in the manufacture of both products. Later he be¬ 
came associated with his father in the manufacture of 
meat biscuit and condensed milk, and still later developed 
many processes of preserving beef, as well as beef ex¬ 
tracts. Finally he disposed of all other interests and de¬ 
voted his entire energy to the Borden Condensed Milk 
Company, serving as president for many years, and re¬ 
taining a large interest until his death. He was a resi¬ 
dent of Chicago, but passed considerable time at his large 
stock farm in Tonti, Ill., wffiere he was prominently known 
as a breeder of Red Polled cattle. 
COST OF PACIFIC COAST FRUIT BOXES. 
The Cost in Oregon. 
The cost of boxes in the shook in carload lots is 8 % 
cents apiece, nails and nailing up three-fourths of a cent. 
It costs to put up apples in boxes between 20 and 25 cents 
per box, according to the way they are packed and the 
kind of paper used and other labor. You will see that 
they have to bring more than barrel goods to make It 
profitable. More than that, we cannot obtain barrels 
here. I cannot state at this writing what the freight on 
boxes would be from here east. We have immense quan¬ 
tities of timber in this country suitable for the purpose. 
Medford, Ore. w. h. s. 
Cheap Packages in Washington. 
Our apple boxes cost here this season 10 cents in the 
knock-down; when made up about 12 % cents; pear boxes 
nine cents. Formerly we could get the boxes two cents 
less, but the mills seem now to be in a trust. Spruce 
and cottonwood, the refuse of the mills run through a re¬ 
saw, is the lumber used. We don't think the box is the 
ideal package; costs too much. The edges of the slats 
cut the fruit at the openings. It takes at least twice as 
long to pack the fruit as it has to be faced on the four 
sides, and practically the whole Sox. I am inclined to 
think that the veneer barrel and half-barrel would be 
the best form of package for the apple and pear. 
Washington. j. f. cass. 
A Monopoly in California. 
I have telephoned to our two box agencies in San Jos 6 
and find that apple boxes made of pine lumber are about 
one cent higher in price now than formerly, viz., 9% cents 
each, and no reduction when large quantities are ordered. 
Two or three sizes of boxes are made, but the regular 
50-pound box is 9% inches deep by 11 inches wide inside, 
and 20% inches long outside measurement. The tops, bot¬ 
toms and sides are made of %-inch lumber and the ends 
of %-inch lumber. They weigh about 4% pounds each. 
These boxes a:re made, or rather the lumber is sawed, in 
the Sierra Nevada Mountains at Shasta, Truckee, Verdi, 
etc., and are shipped to distributing points in the fruit 
districts in shook by the Pine Box Manufacturers, a cor¬ 
poration which controls the whole output of pine boxes, 
cherry, pear, apple, plum, peach, orange, lemon and also 
boxes for packing dried fruits. To the price of the boxes 
82 1 
in shook must be added the cost of nails and making, 
which for apple boxes will be about one cent each. We 
also have a redwood box factory in San Jos 6 . The red¬ 
wood boxes are sawed out here from bolts from the saw¬ 
mills in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The 50-pound red¬ 
wood apple box measures 10 inches deep, 11 inches wide, 
inside and 22 inches outside. The tops, bottoms and sides 
are one-third inch thick and the ends seven-eighths inch 
thick. They weigh about eight pounds each more or less 
according to dryness of lumber. The price is 6 % cents in 
small quantities, 1,000 boxes or more at six cents. The 
pine boxes are smoother and better looking than the red- * 
wood boxes, but for our local fruit trade there is no 
preference made for either box. I have occasion to use 
a few boxes each year for shipping apples, quinces, etc., 
to San Francisco, and use the redwood boxes, as they are 
cheaper. I expect to ship some quinces next week that we 
are picking now, and will use 50-pound apple boxes. 
Santa Clara Co., Cal. h. g. keesling. 
CROP PROSPECTS. 
Ours is the northeast county of the southern Illinois 
fruit belt, and our apples are very fine, bringing the high¬ 
est price of any in the State. There will be from 1,000 to 
2,000 acres of apple orchards planted in our county by next 
Spring. E. E. L. 
Robinson, Ill. 
We have had two good crops this Summer, our oats and 
hay. With two or three exceptions the corn crop was a 
failure even to stalks on most pieces; potatoes not half 
a crop. One man harvested 150 bushels from seven acres. 
My potato ground was mud from the last of June uii il 
August 15. F. e. E. 
Harpursville, N. Y. 
As you see, I have changed my State, but I read The 
R. N.-Y. just the same. We had a good rain November 10, 
and farmers are putting in small grain; it astonishes a 
Michigan tenderfoot to see them do it. Nearly everything 
is done differently and on a lairger scale. This doesn't 
seem to be the place for the small farmer. J. H. v. 
Covina, Cal._ 
THE DEMAND FOR APPLE BOXES. 
We have the following letter from a reader in Penn¬ 
sylvania: 
“I would like your advice on bushel crates. Do you 
think there will be a demand for them next year? I 
made some two years ago for my own use, and this year 
I could not supply the demand. Do you think it would 
be safe to get out timber this Winter and put in extra 
machinery for their manufacture?” 
It is hard to give exact advice about this. More and 
more of the best apples are to be sold in boxes—there is 
no doubt about that. This package is sure to become 
popular, but we question whether the empties will be 
made and shipped in large quantities. At present the in¬ 
dications are that growers will make their own boxes. 
They are easy to make—much easier than barrels or 
baskets. Lumber can be sawed out this Winter and nailed 
together on stormy days as required. We judge that this 
is the plan to be followed by many apple growers—to 
whom we sent sample boxes. There will probably be a 
local demand for all the boxes this Pennsylvania reader 
can make, but we would not advise him to make any large 
quantity expecting to sell them to distant parties. For 
some years at least we believe the boxes will be made 
at home. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
The Great American Tea Co., Box 289, New York, is 
making an especially attractive offer to The R. N.-Y. 
readers this month, it is an easy matter to get that, china 
tea set. 
A good ladder is a necessity on every farm. In case of 
fire it is indispensable, and loss of life or serious injury 
is often the result of using a poorly constructed one. 
Just look up the “Allright" extension ladder offered by 
L. B. Baker Mfg. Co., Box 151, Racine, Wis. 
Sprout, Waldron & Co., of Muncy, Pa., manufacture 
a long line of mills for various purposes. Anyone need¬ 
ing a feed mill should not fail to send to the company 
for their free catalogue before buying. We are confident 
it will make it apparent that there is nothing superior to 
their line. Look up the advertisement. 
The practice of dishorning cattle is growing in public 
favor every year. About the only question that now 
arises is what is the best knife for doing the job. We 
are glad to call the attention of our readers to the dis- 
horners made by George Webster, Christiana, Pa. Mr. 
Webster has long been known as the manufacturer of the 
Convex dishorner. This year he has brought out in addi¬ 
tion a brand new “V-Knife” which he calls the “Bully 
V.” Write for his complete catalogue. 
It is a clear case of merit that has caused the wonder¬ 
ful growth in the sales of “Ball-Band” wool boots, arc¬ 
tics, rubber boots, etc., manufactured by the Mishawaka 
Woolen Manufacturing Co., of Mishawaka, Ind. From 
a concern occupying a building little larger than a barn, 
10 years ago, this company now turns out an average of 
13,000 pairs of wool and rubber boots and shoes every 
working day in the year. This is a natural effect of a 
cause which is known to wearers of “Ball-Band” goods 
the world over—their reliability. 
Dr. Earl S. Sloan, Boston, Mass: We have used your 
remedies for the past eight years, and they have given 
the best satisfaction. We handle over 2,000 horses a year; 
and you can always find a good supply of your remedies 
in our stables. We cannot afford to be without them. 
When we sell a green western horse, we nearly always 
give some of your Pink-Eye and Distemper Cure to the 
purchaser of some Liniment, and they always come 
back and want to know where they can buy more. 
Union Stock Yards, Chicago, Ill. Dennis & sweet. 
