1899 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
665 
Among: the Marketmen. 
WHAT I SEE AND HEAR. 
CAPE COD CRANBERRY CROP.— 
Reports from cranberry dealers are to 
the effect that the crop on Cape Cod will 
be the largest for many years. It is es¬ 
timated that it will not fall short of 
150,000 barrels. The quality, also, is 
said to be exceptionally good, arrivals 
so far being fully colored and very 
sound. Like some of the western grain 
men, however, the cranberry growers re¬ 
port that there is considerable difficulty 
in securing help to gather the crop. In 
New England, the mills are largely at 
work now, and these absorb the help 
that has usually been secured for pick¬ 
ing. The price paid for picking this 
year is larger than common, and the 
pickers are likely to make a good thing 
out of it whether tne growers do or not. 
SHORTAGE OF NUTS—According to 
the general reports in this market, there 
is likely to be a shortage in some varie¬ 
ties of nuts for the coming holiday trade. 
Many buyers are already hustling 
around to secure their supplies for the 
Thanksgiving market. The crop of fil¬ 
berts seems to be short, and those hold¬ 
ing them are very firm in their views, 
and refuse to make any concessions. 
The California walnut crop is reported 
to be short, and prices are likely to rule 
high. Peanuts seem to be very good 
property, and the best grades are rather 
scarce. Pecans are going up in price, 
and the indications are that the supply 
is not large. Cocoanuts are about the 
only nuts that are not in active demand, 
and these are dull. 
APPLES FOR EXPORT—Apple ex¬ 
porters say that exports this year will 
be very large, and they fear that prices 
will take a consideraole tumble. The 
season opened under very favorable con¬ 
ditions, the choice fruit that was sent 
abroad bringing extremely satisfactory 
prices. Canada is considered by the 
dealers here to be the chief competitor 
of this country. They say that the Can¬ 
adian orchardist can produce his fruit 
at one-third less cost than tne orchard¬ 
ist on this side of the line. Then the 
Canadian shippers usually get better 
freight rates to Great Britain than those 
from this country, so that they can put 
their apples in the English market at 
lower prices than can the Americans. 
Another advantage that the Canadian 
nas over the American is that he has 
studied the English market more care¬ 
fully, and has profited by this study. 
Canadian apples are packed in larger 
carrels, and put up in better shape, so 
that they meet the demands on that 
side much more closely than do many 
of the American shippers. These things 
all count in the long run. 
THE SEASON IN WATERMELONS. 
—A good many watermelons are still 
seen in market, although the recent cold 
weather has been very much against 
their sale. It takes broiling hot 
weather to stimulate the watermelon 
trade, and a cold spell 'is always unfav¬ 
orable for sales. It takes hot weather 
to make people want to eat watermelon. 
The dealers say that the season taken 
together has been an unprofitable one; 
the market has been frequently glutted, 
and the prices have shown too much 
variation, with too much of a downward 
tendency to be profitable. In round 
numbers, about 5,000,000 melons had 
been disposed of in the City up to the 
end of August. The fruit now comes 
mostly from New Jersey and New York, 
and is in excellent shape. The heaviest 
receipts were when the Georgia melons 
were coming in. That State was said to 
have produced 3,200 car-loads, about 
half of which were marketed here. Wa¬ 
termelons are something that cannot be 
kept any great length of time in good 
condition; hence, in the height of the 
season, it is easy to overload the mar¬ 
ket. The largest receipts of water¬ 
melons in any one day were 300 car¬ 
loads, although there were days in June 
and July when 150 to 200 car-loads were 
received. f. h. v. 
THE BEST FARMER IN CONNECTICUT 
Making Over a Rocky Pasture. 
Why the Best.— The Connecticut Pomo- 
logical Society is one of the liveliest or¬ 
ganizations of the sort in the country. 
These Yankees are not satisfied to come to¬ 
gether once a year during the dull season, 
but they organize a number of field meet¬ 
ings during the growing time, and nmet on 
various farms throughout the State, where 
they may discuss living crops and actual 
methods. On August 7, the society met at 
the home of N. H. Sherwood, of Southport, 
and several hundred persons were present. 
“I call Mr. Sherwood the best farmer in 
Connecticut,” said President J. H. Hale, 
when he called the meeting together late 
in the afternoon. The company was a 
good-natured one. They had finished up 
an immense picnic dinner, and irrigated 
from several barrels of lemonade, after 
walking about the farm and inhaling a 
strong breath from a big onion crop. They 
sat on the lawn in front of Mr. Sherwood’s 
house. 
“Yes,” said Mr. Hale, “he is one of the 
best farmers in Connecticut. He has shown 
Connecticut boys that there are plenty of 
opportunities left east of the Hudson River. 
He took this old farm when it was a rocky 
pasture, producing nothing but briers and 
weeds, and he has made it worth $25,0;>3 
for the production of farm crops. That’s 
what I call good farming—making some¬ 
thing out of nothing.” 
Edwin Hoyt, of New Canaan, said 
“Amen” to Mr. Hale’s remarks. He said 
he knew the farm before Mr. Sherwood 
was born, and from his knowledge of the 
place and its unpromising appearance, he 
felt that it certainly required pluck for a 
young man to assume a big mortgage on 
it, and go to work manfully to pay it off. 
Mr. Hoyt said that there were two things 
that contributed to Mr. Sherwood’s suc¬ 
cess: In the first place, he looked around 
and found a good Yankee girl for a help¬ 
meet. That, he thought, was one of the 
first things that a man ought to do. He 
remarked, incidentally, that the man who 
let the farm go to weeds, and finally gave 
it up, was a bachelor. The next advantage 
that Mr. Sherwood had, was a pair of in¬ 
dustrious, high-charactered parents. They 
taught him to work, gave him habits of in¬ 
dustry, also strong character, and faith in 
the possibilities of New England. This, 
Mr. Hoyt said, was a good enough back¬ 
ing for any young man with health and 
ambition. 
An Onion Crop.—A walk over Mr. Sher¬ 
wood’s farm would provide years of think¬ 
ing for many western farmers. The chief 
crop is onions, and they grew everywhere. 
Mi\ Sherwood’s father on the next farm 
grows onions and strawberries together. 
It was quite an eye-opener for a Jersey- 
man to see the onions lying so thick on the 
ground that there was barely room for the 
big strawberry plants to grow up through 
them; yet, after yielding 500 or 000 bushels of 
onions to the acre, that land will turn in 
next year, and produce a big crop of straw¬ 
berries. The fruit won’t have the onion 
flavor either. 
Another common practice in this country 
is to grow carrots between the rows of 
onions, thus securing a double crop from 
every acre of ground. Mr. Sherwood is a 
chemical fertilizer crank, and uses only 
the stable manure made by his own stock, 
ife says he formerly kept 10 cows, but he 
found they did not pay, as he was farm¬ 
ing. He had to take some of the onion 
money to buy feed for the cows, and there 
was not manure enough left at the end of 
the year to pay for the onions, so he let the 
cows go, and now uses fertilizer. 
“What is the best onion fertilizer to use?” 
“Anything with potash in it,” spoke up 
the elder Mr. Sherwood. What he meant 
was that potash seems to be, on their soil, 
the keynote in onion production. They must 
have the other elements, too, but potash 
must be supplied in lai-ge quantities. These 
onion fields were remarkably clean. There 
was hardly a weed to be seen anywhere. 
“I suppose that is an argument in favor 
of chemical fertilizers,” I said, “as they 
certainly do not carry weed seeds into the 
soil.” 
Mr. Sherwood said that, undoubtedly, 
stable manure does seed the ground with 
grass and weeds; yet it could not be said 
that fertilizers used exclusively would 
keep all the weeds out. After more than 
a dozen years’ experience with the use of 
fertilizers, the weeds still put up a hard 
fight, and required constant use of weeder 
and hoe, cultivator and fingers. They 
have some peculiar tools on these onion 
farms, which one is not likely to meet else¬ 
where. The object is to fine the soil perfectly 
in the first place; then to plant the onions 
reasonably close together, and work them 
with tools that will come close to perform¬ 
ing hand work. 
A Peach Crop. —Another remarkable 
thing on this farm was the seven-year-old 
peach orchard, which is still producing a 
good crop of fruit—well loaded this year. 
“That is what you get by clean, constant 
culture,” said Mr. Hale, as he pointed 
through the orchard. It was certainly a 
remarkable sight. There was hardly a 
weed or blade of grass to be seen, for the 
ground had been harrowed and brushed 
and worked again and again, all through 
the season. A few days before the meet¬ 
ing, oats had been sown all through the 
orchard. This served a double purpose. 
The oats made a fair growth before the 
fruit was ripe, and made a soft, bed for the 
pickers and for the falling peaches. This 
crop also held the ground, and prevented 
washing on the hillsides, and also provided 
vegetable matter or humus to be worked 
under the following Spring. I understand 
that this custom of sowing oats after the 
Summer’s cultivation is getting to be quite 
common in some parts of Connecticut. 
Onions and peaches take a vacation dur¬ 
ing the Winter, but Mr. Sherwood does not 
seem to believe in a vacation. He has a 
large glass house in which he raises flowers 
for his Winter trade, and thus keeps up a 
constant succession of labor right through 
the year. When we think how this great 
business has been developed out of a rocky, 
old New England pasture, we may well 
agree with Mr. Hale that there is an op¬ 
portunity left for the best of the New Eng¬ 
land boys on the old hillsides of their native 
State. 
I asked Mr. Sherwood how he felt after 
having gone through the struggle, and re¬ 
deemed the old farm, and put it on a bet*er 
basis. “Well,” he said, “it makes a fellow 
feel good to think that he has accomplished 
something, but I would not like to start in 
at my age, and undertake to do it again.” 
He is not an old man, either. h. w. c. 
NEW YORK BREEDERS AND DAIRYMEN 
During the State Fair at Syracuse, the 
executive committee of the State Dairy¬ 
men’s Association held a meeting. The 
president was authorized to act in connec¬ 
tion with the National Department of Agri¬ 
culture to secure an exhibit of New York 
dairy products for the Paris Exposition. 
It is expected that the Department of Agri¬ 
culture will pay the expenses. The com¬ 
mittee has received invitations from sev¬ 
eral towns for the annual meeting. It was 
decided that the town securing this meet¬ 
ing should furnish the necessary halls for 
the meeting and exhibition, and $300 extra. 
There was some sentiment in favor of 
Cortland as a place for the annual meeting, 
which will be held on December 12 to 14 in¬ 
clusive. 
The New York State Breeders’ Associa¬ 
tion held a short meeting during the State 
Fair with reference to the coming annual 
meeting to be held on December 4. It was 
decided to make special efforts with regard 
to this gathering, and it seems likely that 
it will be a great success. Several mem¬ 
bers discussed the tuberculosis question, 
and it was evident that this matter is go¬ 
ing to be of vital importance to stock 
breeders and stockkeepers in New York 
State. The scientific gentlemen who think 
that the farmers of the State know noth¬ 
ing of this disease, would have their eyes 
opened, if they could hear these breeders 
discuss the subject. Mr. F. E. Dawley 
made a good point in speaking of the neces¬ 
sity of organization. The breeders and 
cattle keepers of the State must get to¬ 
gether on this question, if they expect to 
have any standing before the Legislature 
or its committee. The Breeders’ Associa¬ 
tion affords a good opportunity for such 
organization, and it is to be hoped that 
every stockman who can possibly afford to 
do so will join the association, and con¬ 
tribute his mite of influence and money, to 
back up its officers in the strong fight thev 
are making. 
niQHTY HARD WORK. 
Some men have 
to do their work 
under all sorts of 
unusual and ad¬ 
verse c i r c u in - 
stances that are just 
as trying upon their 
health and physical condi¬ 
tion as if they were soldiers 
fighting and marching day 
and night in a hard cam¬ 
paign. When the condi¬ 
tions under which a man 
works are abnormal 
and unhealthy he 
needs to take 
special precau¬ 
tions to build 
himself up to 
withstand the 
extra strain. 
“Iu 1894 . / 7 vas 
working at night and 
I broke out in lumps all over and when these left 
the skin peeled off,” says Mr. John A. Calloway, 
of 218 26th St., Columbus, Georgia, in a recent 
letter to Dr. R. V. Pierce, of Buffalo, N. Y. “ I 
had catarrh for four years and also liver and kid¬ 
ney trouble; when it would commence troubling 
me I would have a slight aching a little below 
the chest. I used many kinds of medicine but 
received no benefit. My eyes were sunken and 
my face was pale; I had pimples on my face and 
there was brown spots on my face. Now these 
are all gone. I took six bottles of Dr. Pierce's 
Golden Medical Discovery and two of Dr. Pierce's 
Pellets. They are the best medicines I ever used 
in my life, and I do believe that I am entirely 
well. I have a good appetite but before I com¬ 
menced treatment I had no appetite at all. Now 
I am like a child—ready to eat at any time of 
day or night. Last year I weighed one hundred 
and thirty-four pounds and now I weigh one 
hundred and forty - five. Please accept my 
thanks. I am so glad I found the right kind 
of medicine.” 
“Golden Medical Discovery” is free 
from alcohol; it is pure medicine and noth¬ 
ing else. Unlike the so-called “tonics” 
and “extracts” which tend to create an 
appetite for stimulants, the “Discovery” 
creates only a healthy natural temperance 
appetite for good food which nourishes and 
strengthens. The medicine dealer who 
says he has something “just as good” 
knows that he falsifies. If he urges an in¬ 
ferior substitute it is to gain a few pennies 
greater profit. No matter how discour¬ 
aged you may be, write to Dr. Pierce for 
advice which he will send you free and 
which if followed, is bound to do you good. 
Free for a Club of Four. 
Here are 44 first-class tools for repair¬ 
ing shoes, rubber, harness and tinware. 
We are going to give no arguments why 
you should have them. The reasons and 
uses are apparent to every one. 'I * 1 here 
is nothing like mending a hole, putting 
in a stitch, or driving a nail in time. It 
SOLDER 
iOLDER IRON 
WRENCH 
HEELPLATES; 
BRISTLES 
HEELPLATES 1 
RIVETS 
NEEDIES’ 
CEMENlI 
| 1 
HOME 
REPAIRING OUTFIT N? l 
Boor, Shoe,Harness andTinwareRepairing 
always saves time and money. It often 
saves lives. The price is $2 alone, but 
it need cost you only $1. Send us one 
new subscription with $1. and $1 extra— 
($2 in all) and we will send you the out¬ 
fit complete, or we will send it to you 
free for a club of four yearly subscrip¬ 
tions at $1 each. 
Carpet Sweeper. 
This carpet sweeper is one of woman’s 
great labor-saving implements. Run over 
the carpet it picks up everything that 
the broom gathers, without raising any 
dust. It saves labor, saves carpet, and 
saves furniture. This has the new “cyco” 
bearings, and is the best made. Price, 
$2.50. Given for one new subscription 
at $1 and $1.50 extra; or free for a club 
of six subscriptions at $1 each. 
A Carving Set. 
Every family needs a carving set three 
times a day. This set consists of a Shef¬ 
field eaiver with eight-inch handmade 
steel blade, buckhorn handle, fork and 
steel. Price, $1.90; or we will send it for 
a club of two new subscriptions at $1 
each and $1.25 extra money, or free for a 
club of six at $1 each. 
A Darning Machine. 
This is the only successful darning 
machine we ever saw. We have tried 
others that were absolutely of no value. 
This one is little short of perfect. It 
enables you to mend underwear, stock¬ 
ings. curtains, table linens, clothing, and 
does an endless variety of art and fancy 
weaving better, easier and quicker than 
by any other way. Full directions ac¬ 
company each machine. When a lady 
has once used this little machine, she 
would not do without it for any con¬ 
sideration. We will send it postpaid for 
$1, or for two new yearly subscriptions 
at $1 each. All money returned if not 
satisfied. 
