1899 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
4o9 
Among the Marketmen. 
WHAT I SEE AND HEAR. 
Cracked Egg'S.—An egg dealer en¬ 
gaged some men to count a large lot 
of eggs, promising to give them the 
“ cracks ” for their work. They did the 
counting all right, but the dealer said 
that there was the greatest lot of cracked 
eggs that he ever saw. He did not take 
into account the fact that, in making 
such a bargain as this, he gave the 
counters the chance of setting their own 
wages. 
X X t 
Opened tlie Wrong End. — I heard 
a story the other day about a fruit 
grower who sent a few barrels of apples 
to a commission firm. The latter opened 
one of the barrels, and from the appear¬ 
ance of the apples, thought best not to 
offer them for sale. Not hearing any¬ 
thing from the commission merchant for 
several days, the shipper came in to see 
what the trouble was. The commission 
merchant opened one of the barrels and 
made some remark not very flattering 
as to the quality of the apples. The 
shipper looked at them a minute, and 
ejaculated, “ Why, you have opened the 
wrong end ! ” Sure enough, when the 
other end of the barrel was opened, as 
fine a lot of apples was displayed as 
any one need ask for. 
X X % 
Killing tlie Market. —That’s what 
some of the southern strawberry grow¬ 
ers have, evidently, been doing their 
best to do recently. Large quantities 
have been received here recently, mostly 
from North Carolina, with fine berries 
on top, and the bottoms of the baskets 
filled with trash One receiver said that 
many of the crates didn’t contain five 
quarts of good berries each, and that 
many of his best customers were afraid 
to buy any more. I bought a couple of 
baskets one night, picked them out of a 
crate myself just as they came from the 
grower. On top were beautiful berries, 
but below they were small, rotten, dirty. 
Not all shippers are like this, I am thank¬ 
ful to say, but there are enough to in¬ 
jure the market seriously, and depreciate 
prices to an unprofitable figure. 
X X X 
Bermuda Products at Auction.— 
I have referred to this sutjjct several 
times, but the results of the auction sales 
during the past few weeks s?em to indi¬ 
cate that there is something wrong 
somewhere with this method of selling 
these products. The Fruit Trade Jour¬ 
nal publishes a table showing the re¬ 
ceipts of Bermuda onions and potatoes 
during each week of the month of April 
for 1897,1898 and 1899, together with the 
prices received for each year. The mar¬ 
ket this year has been short of domestic 
onions, so it would seem that the chance 
for good prices was never better. The 
first cargoes that came this year sold 
for good prices through the regular deal¬ 
ers ; but since then, beginning with the 
time when more of the goods were sent 
to the auction room, the price has gone 
lower than ever before. The lowest re¬ 
ported prices on onions during the past 
years were $1.60 to $1.65 per crate. That 
was when domestic onions were plenti¬ 
ful. This year, with prastically no 
larger receipts of Bermudas, the price 
has gone down as low as $1 per crate. 
At this price, it is probable that the 
grower will get nothing, the whole pro 
ceeds being used up in transportation 
and marketing. It is the worst show¬ 
ing for the auction system that New 
York has ever had. It would be in or¬ 
der now for the advocates of that sys¬ 
tem to rise and explain. 
X X X 
Tlie Middleman’.-* “ Tremendous 
Profits.” —‘‘Did you read the article 
by S. W. Fletcher, on page 322 ? ” asked 
Mr. Archdeacon, of Archdeacon & Co. 
“ He seems to be very much opposed to 
the middleman, when he speaks about a 
tremendous percent of profits going into 
his poekets. If more produces would 
patronize the middleman, and make one 
distributing point for their goods, or 
at least, would allow some good middle¬ 
man to have a monopoly of their prod¬ 
uct’, they would fare much better than 
by trying to reach consumers direct. 
Selling directly to consumers has not 
beon a success in this market, and never 
will be. It would cost the producer much 
more to reach the consumers that use his 
goods than double the 10 per cent com¬ 
mission charged him. It is a mistake to 
say that only three or four fruiterers use 
these hothouse strawberries, also that 
the patrons are all Fifth Avenue people. 
These people do not use one-tenth of 
what Mr Ise raises. 
t X X 
Divided Profit. —“ Another example 
of the evil effect of dividing up ship¬ 
ments was seen in the market for hot¬ 
house cucumbers this past Winter. We 
were selling cucumbers at $1 50 per 
dozen, and in order to effect sales, several 
others who have not made these a spe¬ 
cialty, reduced the price to $1 25 to $1 38 
per dozen. When we sold at 80 to 90 
cents per dozen, in order to effect sales 
they sold at 50 cents Had we had all of 
the shipments, we could have maintained 
prices. How many times the regular 
commission have the shippers lost on the 
one day’s sales, and how many others 
have they injured besides themselves? 
They are so anxious to save the pennies 
that they do not see the dollars behind 
them. The article on page 332 was well 
written, but the author has had no prac¬ 
tical experience with legitimate, honest 
middlemen, or in the sales of gocds.” 
Mr. Ise is, practically, the only man 
who raises hothouse strawberries for the 
New York market to any extent, and 
Archdeacon &Co. sell his entire product. 
•They charge him for selling, 10 per cent 
of the selling price, certainly not a 
tremendous profit. I asked how much 
profit the retailers get on these berries, 
and was inf, rmed that, usually, they 
sell for 25 cents advance per cup ; some¬ 
times when the market is short, they get 
50 cents advance. This is not an exces¬ 
sive profit when we take into account 
the perishable character of this crop 
f. h v. 
LOSS OF THE CLOVER CROP. 
VHAT IS THE SUBSTITUTE ? 
Cohn and Millet.— The past Winter was a very 
hard one all through the Central West. It has 
been reported from many places that the clover 
was almost entirely killed out. The loss of the 
clover crop is a very serious thing to western 
farmers, and we have been investigating the 
matter to learn what is usually done when this 
crop is lost. Reports from Iowa indicate that 
most of the old clover was killed out, although 
in some s ctions little damage is reported. One 
man reports that farmers are pasturing the 
poorest spo s, and will cut the best fields for bay. 
He says that, where clover and wheat were killed 
out, oats have been generally sown. It Is the 
custom in the West to sow Timothy with clover, 
and this has helped the clover to some extent. 
The Timothy has not generally been killed out, 
and in some cases the meadows have been har¬ 
rowed, and clover sown again this Spring. Most 
Iowa farmers do not seem to take kindly to sub¬ 
stitutes for clover. Oats and peas are seldom 
sown in the Spring. When clover and grass are 
killed, the ground is plowed and planted to corn, 
or sown to millet. In many cases, the corn is 
seldom cut and shocked. The ears are pulled 
off in the field, and the stalks left standing. In 
case of a failure of the hay crop, some of the 
corn Is cut green and used for fodder. Reports 
from Wisconsin seem to show that the clover has 
wintered in fair condition. In the dairy sec¬ 
tions, oats and peas are largely grown, and they 
will be quite heavily used where the clover has 
been injured. 
Conditions Vary.— Indiana reports mostly in¬ 
dicate a loss of from FO t 90 per cent of the 
clover. Winter wheat has suffered nearly as 
much. In many cases, more clover was sown 
last year than ever before. Where clover is killed I 
out, farmers usually plant corn. In case extra I 
hay is needed, they sow either millet or oats to 
be cut green, and in many cases, clover and 
Timothy are sown together, so that where the 
clover is killed out, the Timothy still gives a par¬ 
tial crop of hay. Oats and peas are seldom used, 
apparently. | 
Reports from Illinois vary considerably. One J 
writer in southern Illiuois says that he never be- j 
fore saw clover look finer than it does now. An¬ 
other correspondent at Alton says the same thing. 
On the other hand, correspondents from Rock¬ 
ford, Elmwood and other places say that nine- j 
tenths of the clover bas been thrown out. In 
many eases, clover has been seeded with oats 1 
this Spring. In other cases, the killed clover has 
been plowed and planted to corn, and oats have 
been sown to cut for hay. One correspondent 
says that, where Timothy was not sown with the 
clover, the whole thing has been killed out. The 
Timothy meadows are in a fair condition at pres¬ 
ent, and ought to make a fair crop. Farmers 
who run short of hay will either cut corn fodder 
or sow millet. It seems strange to us that, when 
the clover kills out in this way, so few farmers 
attempt a crop like oats and peas, which will 
come nearer to supplying what is lost in the 
clover hay than the millet or corn. 
One Iowa correspondent says that the people 
in his section raise cattle, hogs and horses, and 
the great object on the farm is to get an abund¬ 
ance of feed. Every farmer has a Timothy ] 
meadow, and clover is sown in it. This meadow j 
runs as long as there is a profit in it. The grass ! 
is cut late, so there is no second crop. In this 
way, the last crop of clover res'eds the land. The 
growing clover was all killed last Winter, but in 
many cases, the last year’s crop of seed is now 
coming up to renew the clover in the Timothy. 
As there is enough Timothy jeft to make a fair 
crop, verv few of these meadows will be plowed 
up except in cases where the grass has really 
run out. 
THE TORCH TO POWDER. 
Touch a lighted torch to the 
contents of a powder mill and 
up it goes! But 
it isn’t the torch 
that blows up the 
mill; it’s the pow¬ 
der. The stuff is 
all ready to ex¬ 
plode. It only 
needs one touch 
of fire to start it. 
When a man’s 
blood is all ripe 
and ready for dis¬ 
ease it only needs 
a little touch to 
start him going. 
Maybe he gets a 
slight cold, gets 
feet or sits in a draft; 
then off he goes into a gal¬ 
loping consumption. 
But it isn’t the draft that 
does it; that only starts him. His blood 
was all ready for it in the first place. It was 
thick with 'bilious poisons ; clogged with 
germs of disease all ready to be roused into 
fatal activity at the least touch. 
“ My wife had a severe attack of pleurisy and 
lung trouble,” says Abram Freer, Ksq., of Rock¬ 
bridge, Greene Co., Ill., in a thankful letter to 
Dr. R. V. Pierce, of Buffalo, N. Y. “The doctors 
gave her up to die. She commenced taking Dr. 
Pierce’s Golden Medical Discovery and she be¬ 
gan to improve from the first dose. By the time 
she had taken eight or ten bottles she was cured, 
and it was the cause of a large amount being 
sold here. I think the * Golden Medical Discov¬ 
ery ’ is the best medicine in the world for lung 
trouble.” 
Not only for lung trouble is it the most 
wonderful medicine in the world, but for 
every form of weakness and debility. It 
redeems the very sources of life from these 
subtle poisonous taints which lay the sys¬ 
tem open to dangerous disease. It gives 
digestive power; helps the liver to do its 
work; enriches the blood; builds up solid 
strength and vital force. 
When you find yourself losing flesh and 
appetite ; growing listless by day and 
sleepless by night there is an enemy 
lurking ready to apply the torch. Write 
to Dr. Pierce. Your letter will be con¬ 
sidered strictly confidential and he 
makes no charge for advice. His great 
thousand-page book, The People’s Com¬ 
mon Sense Medical Adviser, will be sent 
free paper-bound for the bare cost of mail¬ 
ing, 21 one-cent stamps, or cloth-bound 
for 31 stamps. Address Dr. R. V. Pierce, 
Buffalo, N. Y. 
WIRE FENCE A FAILURE 
(When the Peats Give Out.) 
Brick houses are not built on wooden blocks. No 
matter what style of wire fence you build. 
Use Durable Posts. 
We can give you valuable information on the use of 
Steel for this purpose. 
BOND STEEL POST CO., Adrian, Mich. 
From hard work 
or outdoor exercise 
LM | 
St. Jacobs Oil 
wih CURE it after a few 
Soreness and Stiffness 
applications, and make 
the muscles limber and 
sets in. 
strong. 
LIVE-STOCK FEEDERS 
should see that a guaranteed analyaia 
accompanies every bag of 
Cotton-Seed Meal. 
It is the only safe way to avoid adulterated 
Meal. Every bag shipped by the American Cotton 
Oil Company contains a red tag guaranteeing 
not less than the following analysis: 
Ammonia.. 8.50 per cent. 
Nitrogen. 7.00 “ 
Protein.43.00 “ 
Crude Fat and Oil. 9.00 “ 
See that the name of The American Cotton-Oil 
Compant Is on the red tag attached to bag. 
8end your address for free Information about 
cotton-seed meal. 
THE AMERICAN COTTON OIL COMPANY, 
27 Beaver Street, New York City. 
Fan 
Acre of corn 
and its possibilities uuder the Silage 
! system—being the theme of 
"A BOOK ON SILAGE” 
| By Prof. F. W. WOLL, 
■ of the University of Wisconsin, neatly hound into a volume 
I of 195 pages and now being sent out by the Silver Mfg. Co, 
5 S alum O. is unquestionably the best book yet introduced on 
I the subject, It includes: 
1— Silage Crops. II— Silos. 
IH—Silage. IV—Feeding of Silage. 
V— Comparison of Silage and other Feeds, 
i VI—The Silo In Modern Agriculture, 
| and many valuable tables and compounded rations 
for feeding stock. They are going rapidly. 
To avoid disinterested inquirers the 
Price is 10c. coin or stamps. 
SILVER MFC. CO. 
Salem, Ohio. 
FumaGarbon Bisulphide 
Now Is thetlmefor UfflftllAmiftlfP to sleep 
farmers to put WUUUUllUUlVw with 
“ FTTMA.” 
KDWAKI) K. TAYLOR. Cleveland, Ohio. 
RULL-STROHG 
IsiiillllH 
Seven styles. Any height de¬ 
sired. Made of Coiled Spring 
Steel Wire, galvanized. The coil 
makes it self-regulating. It’s 
CHICKEN-TIGHT 
Our Prices will surprise 
you. We sen direct to the 
fanner at lowest wholesale 
Anti-Trust Prices 
as we belong to no Combina¬ 
tion Or Trust. Catalogue and 
prices free for the asking. 
COILED SPRING FENCE CO., 
Box 24 Winchester, Indiana. 
THE WHITE MAN’S BURDEH 
of responsibility to the Fence question is dis¬ 
charged to tlie extent that the l’age is introduced. 
Have you taken It upf 
PAGE WOVEN M IKE FENCE CO., ADRIAN, MICH. 
It Adjusts Itself 
The handsomest, handiest and best 
woven wire fence for parks, lawns, 
cemetenesorfieldsisthe Knndall Wov 
en Loop Wire Fence. Easiest to put 
np—may betaken down and put up any 
number of times ican’t sag nor get out 
of shape, never kinks. Write for 
illustrated catalog and sample. 
RANDALL FENCE CO. 
Le Roy, N. Y. 
EXPENSE OF REPAIRS. 
The repairs of an inferior 
article soon make it cost 
more than the first price of a 
article. When you buy 
PITTSBURG 
WOVEN WIRE FENCE 
you stop all repair. It doesn’t 
need repairs. It is strong, 
durable and lusts indefin¬ 
itely. Wewant an agentin 
locality. First order 
township agency. 
Terms and circulars free. 
Ittsburg Woven Wire Fence Co- 
Penn. Av., Pittsburg, Pa. 
POULTRY NETTING 
AT THE 
LOWEST 
PRICES EVER MADE. 
12 inches wide.. 
.$0 57 
30 Inches wide. 
..$1.72 
18 inches wide.. 
.80 
48 inches wide. 
24 inches w ide.. 
. 1.14 
00 inches wide. 
.. 2.85 
50 inches wide.. 
. 1.43 
72 Indies wide. 
.. 3.42 
Bach roll contains 150 lineal feet of first quality 
No. 19 wire galvauized after weaving, making it strong 
and durab'e. WE PAY FREIGHT on orders ot five 
or more rol s to nearly all points east of the Rocky 
Mountains. Can ship from Chicago, Ill., or Colches¬ 
ter, Conn. You and your neighbors can save money 
on Poultry 8 uppi.es. For samples, price-lists and 
terras address CASE & CO.,Colchester, Conn. 
1,000 SAMPLES FREE 
of our new Success Fence Ratchet 
which tightens any wire fence. Grips 
automatically as wire is wound on. 
No holes to bore In posts; attaches 
midway of the fence. We will mall you a sample 
free if you will send us 10 cents to cover postage 
only. Circulars free. 
W. H. MASON A CO., Box 87, LEESBURG, OHIO. 
