1899 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
597 
Events of the Week. 
DOMESTIC.—It is reported that 50 Americans have been 
massacred by Yaqui Indians, who are on the warpath 
near Ortiz, Mexico. . . Senator Beveridge, of Indiana, 
who has been in quarantine at Nagasaki, Japan, on a 
steamer from a plague port, lias been released. . . An¬ 
other Cleveland street car was wrecked by dynamite 
August 4; five passengers and crew were on it, but were 
uninjured. Several cars were stoned and shot at after 
dark. L. F. Mellen, one of the oldest and most prominent 
citizens, active in humane work, was terribly beaten for 
daring to ride on a boycotted car. He is 78 years old, and 
his condition is precarious. He was first knocked down 
and then kicked brutally by four men and a boy. . . An 
epidemic of infantile paralysis is reported in the vicinity 
of Poughkeepsie, N. Y. This is an uncommon disease, and 
physicians are puzzled by its prevalence. . . The storm 
which destroyed Carrabelle, Fla., August 3, did much 
damage along the Florida coast. Appalachicola suffered 
severely, and the property loss is large. Maryland also 
suffered from a destructive storm August 3. Six lives 
were lost, and much property destroyed. In Washington, 
Allegany, Carroll and Prince George Counties, barns 
were blown down, corn and fruit destroyed, and chickens 
killed by the hundred. Hail accompanied the storm in 
most sections. . . The yellow fever outbreak at Hamp¬ 
ton, Va., was subsiding August 3. . . Pittsburg, Pa., is 
suffering from an epidemic of smallpox. . . Later re¬ 
ports from Florida state that of Carrabelle, only nine 
houses remain, and 200 families are homeless. At Mc¬ 
Intyre, only two mill boilers mark the site of the town. 
Lanark Inn, a Summer resort, was blown into the Gulf. 
The loss of life is yet unknown; property damage esti¬ 
mated at $1,000,000. Three pilot boats, two steamers, six 
lumber lighters and 40 boats under 20 tons, were lost, and 
15 lumber vessels were driven high and dry ashore. . . 
The Delaware and Hudson Railroad is building the largest 
storage plant in the world for coal at Carbondale, Pa., at 
a cost of $500,000. . . Lester Miller, aged eight years, was 
entangled in the ropes of a balloon at Fremont, Ohio, and 
carried 500 feet in the air; he descended safely. . . At 
Oronoque, near Bridgeport, Conn., August 6, a trolley car 
jumped the track on an unguarded bridge crossing a 
pond and plunged to the flats below. There were 50 per¬ 
sons on the car, of whom 28 were killed and several others 
injured. . . At Bar Harbor, Me., August 6, a crowded 
ferry gang plank gave way, precipitating 200 excursion¬ 
ists into the water; 20 were drowned and many others in¬ 
jured. . . Cleveland, O., merchants organized August 
7, for the purpose of fighting the boycott established by 
the street-car strikers. . . August 7, 14 members of the 
Municipal Council of Greater New York were adjudged 
guilty of contempt of court, for refusing to obey a writ 
commanding them to authorize the Comptroller to issue 
stock, for the purpose of paying the contractor for the new 
Hall of Records. . . One new case of yellow fever de¬ 
veloped at Hampden, Va., August 7, but the outbreak is 
considered at an end. . . A rear-end collision between 
two trolley cars in Brooklyn, N. Y., August 7, injured 14 
persons. . . Mormon missionaries are active in many 
parts of the South, and their attempts to make con¬ 
verts have led to riots in several places. . . The Lo- 
gansport and Wabash Valley Gas Co., Wabash, Ind., 
has been experimenting in the use of acetylene gas for 
municipal lighting. August 7 the entire gasworks were 
blown to pieces by an explosion of this gas, nothing being 
left of building or apparatus. Windows in all parts of 
the city were smashed; one man injured. This is said to 
be the first experiment made on a large scale with the 
new gas. . . De Witt C. Holmes and Mrs. Henrika 
Bratz, Christian scientists, were arrested at Chicago 
August 8, charged with criminal negligence and malprac¬ 
tice in causing the death of Mrs. Annette Flanders, who 
died of blood-poisoning and peritonitis. . . During a fire 
at Omaha, Neb., August 1), four firemen were killed and 
two injured by a live wire. . . Another street-car In 
Cleveland was blown up by dynamite early in the morn¬ 
ing of August 9. Business men who have united to sup¬ 
press disorder and raise the boycott are now threatened 
by the unions. . . Seven persons were killed and others 
wounded in a railway wreck at St. Polycarpe, Canada, 
August 9. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—Dr. Chas. V. Shepard, who is 
in charge of the experimental tea-growing farm at Sum¬ 
merville, S. C., reports to the Secretary of Agriculture 
that there are now about 50 acres of land under tea culti¬ 
vation, and that 3,000 pounds were sold last year at a 
profit of 25 per cent. . . There is a ranchers’ war be¬ 
tween sheep and cattle men in northwestern Colorado, and 
150 sheep have been killed by cowboys- . . Peach, pear 
and apple trees near Smyrna, Del., were destroyed by a 
cyclone August 3, which seriously damaged all crops. . . 
Violent rain throughout Nebraska August 3-4 insures the 
corn crop, which had been suffering from protracted heat. 
The acreage is estimated at 8,000,000, and the yield is ex¬ 
pected to reach 300,000,000 bushels. . . Reports from 
Sioux City, Iowa, stated August 2, that common black 
flies have multiplied so that cattle are suffering to an ex¬ 
traordinary degree. In the Missouri bottom lands, the 
animals are losing flesh rapidly from the plague. . . 
The Department of Agriculture has issued an order di¬ 
recting that, after August 10, all sheep affected with 
scab, and intended for shipment, must be dipped in a 
mixture approved by the Department. . . Prairie dogs, 
which are a serious pest in the Texas Panhandle, are be¬ 
ing eradicated by a new device, the trap being placed 
over the animal’s mound, making it a prisoner when it 
emerges. It is said that over 12,000 were captured on one 
large ranch within a week. . . Two traveling preachers, 
who are said to be disciples of Alexander Dowie, an Aus¬ 
tralian, who established a “divine-healing” mission in 
Chicago, are visiting rural communities in the Middle 
West, and ordering their converts to give up hog raising, 
on the ground that no one who uses or deals in swine 
can be sure of salvation. Some farmers have been in¬ 
duced to kill and bury all their hogs. This doctrine has 
nearly raised a riot in several communities. . . feacia- 
mento County, California, is trying to get free rural mail 
delivery. . . September 12 will be Grangers' Day at the 
California State Fair. . . A train-load of horses fiom 
Cooley City, Washington, going to South Omaha, were 
unloaded at Billings, Mont., August 9. 1 hey began dying 
by wholesale, and within a few hours 257 were dead. 
The cause is a mystery, some suspecting poison, others 
that the animals drank too much water on being un¬ 
loaded. 
PHILIPPINES.—There was a small fight with Balabac 
rebels August 5, for the possession of the lighthouse at 
Cape Melville, the chief of the Balabac Moros being cap¬ 
tured. . . The War Department announces that heavy 
re-enforcements will be sent to Manila before October 
22. . . Insurgents have been sneaking into Manila for 
some time past, and August 7, the provost marshal ar¬ 
rested 43 conspirators, including a number of officers in 
the Filipino army. They were plotting riots, and smug¬ 
gling in arms. . . Aguinaldo has appealed to the Euro¬ 
pean powers for recognition of Philippine independence; 
it is unlikely that any attention will be paid to him. . . 
Gen. McArthur moved against the insurgents at Bacolor 
August 9, with a force of 5,400 men, driving the enemy 
back to Angeles. Heavy rains interfered with the march¬ 
ing, but the insurgents’ loss was heavy; few casualties 
to our troops. . . Private advices say that all Manila 
is flooded, boats are used on a dozen streets, and soldiers 
wade about thigh-deep. The suffering in the trenches is 
severe, and the hospitals are full. 
CUBA.—Propositions are being discussed concerning the 
extension of aid to farmers, who lack animals and im¬ 
plements to make their holdings productive. . . August 
8, less than 200 American soldiers were left to guard the 
forts in Havana, all the others being in camp at Mari- 
anao, in order to avoid the spread of epidemics. . . An 
American syndicate has purchased for $1,000,000 two islets 
on the Cuban coast. They are said to be rich in iron. 
PORTO RICO.—The Provincial Court has passed the 
death sentence upon Henry James, an American, who 
fired into a crowd, killing a boy. The native papers pro¬ 
test against the execution of the sentence, feeling in 
Porto Rico being strongly against capital punishment. . . 
A hurricane passed over the Island August 8. The wind 
gained a velocity of 100 miles an hour, wrecking the cav¬ 
alry barracks, signal station, and 150 houses at San Juan, 
driving ships ashore at Ponce, and causing damage 
throughout the Island. . . American cattle are to entei 
Porto Rico free of duty. 
THE SAN JOSE SCALE AT HOME. 
A HAD CASK IN BERGEN COUNTY, N. J. 
Sound Advice by Prof. J. B. Smith. 
A few weeks ago, on page 434, Mr. Carman mentioned 
the fact that the dreaded San Jos6 scale had been found 
on his home grounds, and on farms in the neighborhood. 
On August 7, Prof. J. B. Smith, the State Entomologist 
of New Jersey, visited the place and made a careful ex¬ 
amination. His report, which follows, will interest many 
who stand in fear of this dreaded insect. 
There is nothing at the present time to cause any 
serious apprehension. There is enough, however, to 
make it necessary to take very active measures, in 
one case at least. On Mr. Carman’s place, the indi¬ 
cations are that the scale is confined to a very few 
fruit trees. Of these, one plum is, without question, 
the present source of infestation and, under the cir¬ 
cumstances, this tree should be removed. There 
are, also, two small pear trees, a Seneca and Lin¬ 
coln Coreless, good for nothing in the condition 
in which they are at present, even aside from the 
fact that they are somewhat scaly, and these, also, 
are better out. On the large pear tree, isolated scales 
have affected a lodgment here and there; but there 
is not enough to make it advisable to suggest treat¬ 
ment, and possibly not enough to continue to propa¬ 
gate. Indications of the former presence of scale 
were found on a larger plum tree; but the same re¬ 
marks will apply to this that were made concern¬ 
ing the pear. 
A BAD CASE.—On the large orchard, the scale has, 
undoubtedly, secured a good foothold, and some of 
the apples and plums are seriously infested, yet none 
of them so badly but they can be cleaned by thorough 
applications. It would be well, though it is not essen¬ 
tial, to have a Summer treatment of these trees, and 
this should be with a 15-per-cent mixture of kerosene 
and water, put on with an emulsion sprayer, prefer¬ 
ably the Gould Kero-water, a little after the middle of 
September. At that time, the scales will be breeding 
most actively, and will be in the best possible con¬ 
dition to be destroyed by a spray, while the trees 
themselves will be in a condition approaching ma¬ 
turity, and unlikely to be injured by any kerosene 
mixture such as that recommended. All the trees, 
without any exception, whether Summer treated or 
not, should have an application of crude oil during 
the ensuing Winter. By crude oil, I mean crude 
petroleum, and it should be put on undiluted. The 
smaller trees should be painted with the mixture in 
order to get them thoroughly covered. 
PRUNE AND CLEAN.—It would be well to prune 
the trees first, in order to reduce the surface to be 
covered. The larger trees should all be thoroughly 
pruned, and then should be thoroughly painted or 
sprayed. Probably with these larger trees, spraying 
will be the best and, in the long run, the cheapest 
method, and the work should be very thoroughly 
done. Using the crude petroleum has the advantage 
that it discolors the bark so that it is possible to see 
for weeks just where the application was properly 
made. After the spraying has been done and an in¬ 
terval of two weeks has elapsed, the whole orchard 
should be thoroughly examined, and any indications 
of missed spots should be attended to by being re¬ 
sprayed. 
It is important that in this orchard this matter 
should be attended to at once, because of the amount 
of small fruit, particularly currants, grown on the 
same land. If the currants once become infested, 
there will remain nothing but to remove them com¬ 
pletely, for currants cannot be satisfactorily treated. 
If the application be made I have suggested, there 
is no reason why practical exemption should not be 
secured, and none of the trees is so badly infested 
that a single such application properly put on will 
not clean it completely. There is no reason why any 
radical measures, such as digging out trees, should 
be resorted to, and no reason at present to dread the 
general distribution of the insect; but treatment 
must be made this year. joiin b. smith. 
State Entomologist. 
CAMPING OUT AT THE INDIANA STATE FAIR 
A Good Suggestion for Others. 
Peeling that many farmers and their families 
would attend the fair if they could feel assured that 
they could secure comfortable quarters at a reason¬ 
able rate, the managers of the Indiana State Fair 
have decided to have a number of tents furnished 
with the requisite number of cots for rent for one 
day and night, or the entire week. These tents will 
be pitched in a beautiful shady nook, and arranged 
in avenues or streets with police headquarters and 
a police matron in charge nearby. This will make 
it perfectly safe and proper for women to take tents, 
even though there are no men in the party. All that 
is required is to write the secretary at any time be¬ 
fore the fair, asking him to reserve a tent of the 
desired size, containing the number of cots needed. 
These cots are comfortable, but renters are to take 
with them such bedding as they wish to use. 
This is no scheme of the management to get money 
from visitors, as there is not a cent of profit in it 
to the fair treasury. The managers have simply se¬ 
cured these tents and cots at the very lowest rate 
possible for the week, and visitors will get the full 
benefit of these rates. They have got tents and cots 
at the rate of $2.50 for a 10x12 foot tent with one, 
two, three or four cots, for the entire week. By this 
arrangement, four persons can spend six days at the 
fair for 62)4 cents each for lodging. Extra cots, 
more than the number mentioned, can be put in for 
50 cents each. Fair to extra meals will be served at 
from 15 to 50 cents per meal. This seems to be quite 
an innovation, and one that every Indiana farmer 
should allow his family to enjoy. It will surely com¬ 
mend itself to the women of the farm, as a number 
of them can go and feel perfectly easy about lodging, 
take in the sights at their leisure, be on the grounds 
for the night entertainment, and retire to their tents 
as they see fit, feeling secure and can rest well, arise 
in the morning at their own sweet will, and snap 
their fingers in the face of the surly conductors on 
crowded trains. mbs. w. w. stevens. 
GRAIN TO FOLLOW POTATOES. 
Why is this Good. Practice ? 
I find the following note in a recent agricultural 
paper. It is a sample of the stuff that is printed in 
some farm papers, and causes “book farming” to be 
spoken of with so little respect: 
Rye Should Not Follow Potatoes.—As a rule, small 
grains do not grow well on a field which produced pota¬ 
toes the previous season. Experiments have demonstrat¬ 
ed that this is due, not so much to the mechanical con¬ 
dition of the soil, as to the fact that the potatoes have 
used large amounts of available nitrogen. Applications of 
nitrate of soda greatly benefit rye crops grown after 
potatoes. 
We never raised 40 bushels of wheat to the acre on 
a whole field but once, and that was 500 bushels from 
12 acres that had been in potatoes the year before, 
and on which neither for potatoes nor wheat had any 
nitrogen been applied. Every farmer knows that his 
wheat is always best upon that part of the field upon 
which potatoes had been the preceding crop, provid¬ 
ing it doesn’t lodge. For years, I supposed this was 
entirely due to the fact that the potatoes were usu¬ 
ally more heavily fertilized; but experience has shown 
me that when I have put the same amount and quality 
of fertilizer upon both corn and potatoes, the wheat 
and succeeding crops were best upon the potato part. 
Why is this? I believe there can be but one answer, 
and that is the better tillage the potatoes get, and the 
double plowing in the Fall, for we plow (or the same 
thing, use a digger) them out, and then replow the 
ground. To my mind, this is a good object lesson 
regarding the value of better tulage. t. av. Mt n. 
Strafford, Pa. 
R. N.-Y.—All through Long Island and New Jersey, 
grain and grass follow the potato crop, without extra 
fertilizing. The fertilizer farmers use the bulk of their 
fertilizers on the potato crop, the wheat and grass 
making fine yields on what the potatoes leave. Wheat 
and rye both do better after early potatoes than any 
other crop in the rotation. Our friend is right about 
the advantage of extra tillage. The good results from 
a perfect fitting of the ground will sometimes be no¬ 
ticed all through a five years’ rotation, and potatoes 
usually receive more attention than any other crop. 
