1899 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
7o9 
Events of the Week. 
DOMESTIC.—Members of the Ruskin Colony, recently 
disbanded at Ruskin, Tenn., have moved to Duke, Ga., 
where they will begin a new community. . . Four per¬ 
sons were killed and four injured by a wreck on the St. 
Louis and San Francisco Railroad, 15 miles southeast of 
Kansas City, Mo., September 20. . . The planing mill 
of the Illinois Car and Equipment Co., at Llegewisch, 
near Chicago, Ill., was destroyed by fire September 20; 
loss $150,000. . . Pittsburg bridge builders have organized 
into a trust, with a capital of $67,000,000. . . September 
20, 45 new cases of yellow fever had appeared at Key 
West, making a total of 435 cases and 17 deaths. The 
disease was spreading at Mississippi City. . . The main 
building of St. Vincent’s Hospital, Norfolk, Va„ was de¬ 
stroyed by fire September 21, four inmates losing their 
lives. Property loss $200,000. . . A destructive fire start¬ 
ed in the Dexter Horse Pavilion, Union Stock Yards, 
Chicago, September 21, extending to the Transit House, 
the principal hotel at the yards, and several buildings 
in the vicinity; loss $300,000. During the fire, 1,500 horses 
were stampeded, and several persons were injured. . . 
The Chickasaw Legislature, in Indian Territory, has 
raised the cost of a license for the marriage of whites to 
Indians to $5,000. This is caused by the marriages of 
needy white men, who secure, through their Indian wives, 
a share in the tribal lands. . . Six lives were lost in the 
wreck of an excursion train on the Rio Grande Railroad, 
near Canon City, Col., September 23. . . Skagway, 
Alaska, suffered from a third earthquake shock Septem¬ 
ber 18, but this did no damage. The area shaken on Sep¬ 
tember 10 is estimated at 40,000 square miles. Vessels 
arriving at Seattle come in with battered bows, the re¬ 
sult of contact with icebergs set adrift by the earth¬ 
quake. . . Yellow fever has appeared at Miami, Fla. 
At Key West, 26 new cases and one death were reported 
September 25. At New Orleans, there were three new 
cases and one death. . . An epidemic of diphtheria has 
broken out at Abingdon, Ill. The public schools are 
closed. . . At Meriden, Conn., September 25, Thos. 
Kelly, aged 17, had his neck broken in a fall in a foot¬ 
ball game, and died soon after. . . Admiral Dewey and 
the Olympia reached New York September 26, three days 
before the official welcome. The city was crowded with 
strangers to an extraordinary degree. . . Another ad¬ 
vance in the price of stoves has been made by the South¬ 
ern Stove Manufacturing Association,, making the price 
30 per cent higher than last year. . . At Mississippi 
City, Miss., September 26, the State health officer reported 
30 cases of yellow fever and stated that the disease was 
beyond control. . . In a collision between freight and 
passenger trains on the New York Central Railroad, near 
Auburn, September 26, four men were killed and several 
others hurt. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—Owing to the great tomato 
crop in Delaware the price at Seaford canneries dropped 
to $1.50 a ton towards the end of September. . . A colony 
of about 75 families from the vicinity of Butterfield, 
Minn., have purchased 3,200 acres of land near Shell Lake, 
Wis. Most of the colonists are German, and they in¬ 
tend to establish a community of Christian socialists, 
holding all lands in common. They will farm on an ex¬ 
tensive scale. . . Private letter boxes set up by farm¬ 
ers in connection with rural free delivery near Loekport, 
N. Y., have been broken down and destroyed. Search is 
being made for the offenders, who will be prosecuted by 
the Post Office Department. . . The British govern¬ 
ment is making extensive purchases of mules in Indiana. 
. . September 21, cattle on the hoof went up to $6.90 per 
100 pounds, the highest rate reached since 1882. There is 
an enormous demand from abroad. . . A good-roads 
convention, representing McLean, Tazewell, Logan, De¬ 
witt, Champaign, Livingston and Woodford Counties, was 
held at Bloomington, 111., September 10. A model “dirt 
road” was constructed by the Government expert. . . 
J. W. Sale, of Cincinnati, O., president of the National 
Hay Association, has appointed the following chairmen of 
committees for the ensuing year: Transportation, D. W. 
Clifton, St. Louis, Mo.; legislation, F. D. Voris, Neoga, 
ill.; arbitration and investigation, John L. Dexter, De¬ 
troit, Mich.; grades, W. R. Munford, Chicago; member¬ 
ship, J. W. Ellis, Cincinnati, O. . . Plans are being 
made for the establishment of a sugar-beet factory, to 
cost $350,000, near Meadville, Pa. . . George Jarrett, of 
Chap, W. Va., placed poison in watermelons in his patch, 
for suspected thieves. September 10, he and another man 
ate one of the poisoned melons by mistake, and both may 
die. . . In Philadelphia, the United States Circuit Court 
of Appeals has affirmed the legality of the oleo regula¬ 
tions made by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 
thus sustaining the recent convictions of violators of the 
oleo law. . . At the Grange picnic at Beliefonte, Pa., 
September 21, Mrs. Helen Johnson, State Ceres, Deputy 
Secretary of Agriculture Martin, and W. F. Hill, Mas¬ 
ter of the State Grange, delivered addresses. . . Sep¬ 
tember 21, 30,000 people visited the Corn Carnival at Atchi¬ 
son, Kas. The crowd surged up and down the streets, 
throwing corn, while overhead in temporary stands were 
band concerts, minstrel shows, sparring matches, ath¬ 
letic exhibitions, vaudeville shows and orchestra concerts, 
all free. Hundreds of bushels of corn were trampled 
under foot until the pavement was slippery and the wind 
blew the powdered maize into the faces of the revelers. 
In places the corn was ankle deep. The parade during 
the day was 19 blocks long. . . Secretary Coburn, of the 
Kansas State Board of Agriculture, urges the farmers of 
that State to hold their surplus corn. He says that, if 
grain speculators can make a profit on borrowed capital 
by holding it, the farmers certainly should do this. . . 
The Peoria, Ill., Corn Exposition will open October 6, 
continuing six days. One of the features will be a corn- 
liusking contest between Mavor Harrison, of Chicago, 
and Mayor Zeigenheimer, of St. Louis. . . The Na¬ 
tional Irrigation Convention was held at Missoula, 
Mont., September 25-27. . . At a special meeting of the 
Northwestern Plow and Implement Association, held in 
Chicago September 26, it was decided, in view of the ad¬ 
vance in steel, to increase prices 25 per cent. . . A 
furious storm visited St. Joseph, Mich., and vicinity, 
September 25, stripping apple and peach trees. It is esti¬ 
mated that 100,000 bushels of apples will be a total loss. . . 
The Oneida Indians opened a fair on their reservation at 
Green Bay, Wis., September 25. . . S. G. Elliott, a cat¬ 
tleman of Wright County, Mo., was convicted September 
22 of selling mortgaged cattle. He had been working this 
scheme extensively. . . A recent decision of the United 
States Court, at Minneapolis, Minn., holds that the law 
prohibiting the sale of oleo colored to imitate butter is 
unconstitutional. . . Southwestern cattlemen will hold 
a convention at Dodge City, Kas., October 11-13, with the 
intention of forming a permanent organization. 
PHILIPPINES.—A typhoon prevailed at Manila Sep¬ 
tember 10-20, 28 inches of rain falling in 24 hours. . . A 
train carrying supplies to American troops at the front 
was attacked and derailed by insurgents near Angeles 
September 22. Two Americans were killed and five 
wounded, before the rebels were driven back. It is said 
that the rebels are being provided with arms by Japanese 
filibusters. . . The monitor Monterey, the cruiser 
Charleston, and the gunboats, Concord and Zafiro, bom¬ 
barded Olongapo for six hours September 23. The town 
caught fire from the shells, and was consumed. One 
American was wounded. . . The rebels captured and 
destroyed the gunboat Urdaneta, making prisoners of 
the officer in charge and the crew of nine. The Urdaneta 
had bombarded the town of Orani September 24, and 
when the crew landed to take possession, they were am¬ 
bushed by the natives. . . Two Englishmen, wiio have 
been held prisoners in Luzon, reached the American lines 
September 25. They say that the insurgents will soon 
release their American prisoners. They sLate that five 
Japanese army officers are aiding the insurgents in 
Luzon, that the crops are good and the army enthusiastic, 
but poorly organized. . . September 22-23, Gen. Snyder 
captured a strong position at Cebu. Seven forts and 14 
fortified positions were taken. Enemy's loss 4t); Ameri¬ 
can loss one killed and four wounded. 
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.—The President has issued a 
proclamation declaring that the local Hawaiian omcials 
are without power to transfer titles to public lands, pend¬ 
ing legislation by Congress. . . Geo. D. Gear, an at¬ 
torney of Honolulu, has gone to Washington to protest 
against the administration of the conti'act labor law in 
the islands. Under the Hawaiian law, which is siill in 
force, coniract laborers who refuse to comply with the 
agreement under which they were imported, are punished 
with penal servitude, which, Mr. Gear thinks, is in diiect 
violation of the Fifteenth Amendment. 
CUBA.—Labor troubles continue, and cause much 
trouble in all classes of business. Bakers and butchers 
are now threatening to go ouL on strike. . . Serious 
friction exists between Spanish and Cubans, and bioils 
are frequent. Further violence is threatened on both 
sides. . . September 26, owing to the attitude of the 
strikers in Havana, Gen. Ludlow arrested the leaders, and 
assumed charge, in place of the civil authorities. He is 
determined to preserve order. 
GENERAL FOREIGN NEWS.—A disastrous earth¬ 
quake occurred at Aidin, 81 miles from Smyrna, Asia 
Minor, September 20. It is said that more than 200 lives 
were lost. . . Serious riots are again occurring in Spain. 
The damage from the recent hurricane in Guadaloupe 
is estimated at not less than $5,000,000. Loss of life is 40, 
and 200 persons were wounded. . . Earthquakes, floods, 
and terrible landslides occurred near Darjeeling, in the 
lower Himalayas, September 24. Great damage was done 
and 100 natives perished. There was a rainfall of 28 
inches in 38 hours. About 1,000 acres of tea were de¬ 
stroyed, and railways, electric light and power plants 
have been ruined. At Phool 200 natives perished in the 
wreck of a bazar._ 
AMERICAN POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 
Report of the Philadelphia Meeting. 
Pakt III. 
In a paper by Pomologist G. B. Brackett, of the 
Department of Agriculture, at Washington, he told 
what would be done for American fruits at the Paris 
Exposition next year. A-strong effort will be made 
to show the commercial side of our fruit growing, pre¬ 
serving, drying, etc. Fresh fruits will be shown so 
far as is possible to do so in a creditable manner. A 
large quantity of the best Winter apples of this sea¬ 
son’s crop will be secured and put in cold storage, 
ready to be put upon the tables at the opening of the 
Exposition, and to continue the display by renewal 
so long as they can be kept in good condition. The 
people of all Europe will be shown our best apples, 
that they may know how they look, and so far as is 
possible, give those especially interested an oppor¬ 
tunity to taste them. The trade in our apples, which 
is now quite extensive, is expected to be greatly in¬ 
creased by these means. Our pears and peaches will 
be shown to some extent from the coming season’s 
crop. 
Our raisins and dried prunes, peaches, apples, pears, 
berries and all other kinds of dried and evaporated 
fruits will be displayed in the most tasteful manner. 
The trade in this line of our fruit products with 
Europe is already quite extensive, and may be greatly 
increased, despite the fact that we have long been 
heavy importers of European raisins and prunes in 
particular. But the tide is turning, and we wish to 
make it set back still more strongly. It may not be 
known that France is already a good market for our 
dried apple cores, peelings and the cheaper grades of 
our refuse apples, which are steeped and pressed to 
make “wine” to send back to our all-too-confident 
wine merchants. Some of the cheaper grades of the 
grapes of California are also dried and sent to Europe 
for the same purpose. 
Mr. G. L. Tabor, of Florida, gave some very clear 
and practical statements of the experiences of the 
fruit growers of that State. He showed how the 
calamities resulting from the severe frosts that had 
visited the orange-growing sections had taught the 
people how to diversify their crops. Many had for¬ 
merly depended wholly on the orange crop, and were 
ill-prepared to meet the loss by the cold. Now they 
are putting out the South Chinese type of peaches, 
the Japan plums and other semi-hardy fruits. Pine¬ 
apples are being grown very successfully under lath 
sheds in some sections, and this industry is steadily 
increasing. Lessons of tact, patience and resourceful¬ 
ness are being learned. 
Mr. C. G. Patten, of Iowa, told of the Breeding of 
Fruits for the Prairies. He stated in very plain terms 
and from many years of experience and extensive ob¬ 
servation, of the great disappointments from having 
depended on the Russian fruits. The apples from that 
country had been found to be mostly Summer and 
Fall varieties in America, and many of them of very 
poor quality. But a race of seedlings were being pro¬ 
duced by crossing these and other hardy kinds upon 
our better varieties, with excellent results. It is con¬ 
fidently expected that there will be a race of apples, 
pears and some other fruits that will endure the 
sweeping blizzardsof the great prairies of the West, 
and bear fruits of desirable quality. h. e. v. d. 
THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE FRUIT EXHIBIT 
The sixty-eighth fair of the American Institute 
was held in the Berkeley Lyceum Building, September 
26 to 29. The exhibit of plants, flowers, fruits and 
vegetables was, on the whole, of higher quality than 
for several preceding years, but the number of exhib¬ 
itors was less than when held in the larger space of 
the Academy of Design. Dahlias were shown in 
great quantity, and of the highest merit. An encour¬ 
aging feature was the number of amateur exhibitors. 
This old favorite is undergoing a great revival in 
popular favor. The newer varieties of the cactus 
type are particularly fine. A collection of nearly 100 
varieties of Gladioli from J. L. Childs, Floral Park, 
L. I., were surprisingly good for the season. The col¬ 
oring of Gladioli is usually fine at this season, but 
the spikes are likely to be small. 
A feature of great educational interest was a fine 
display of native wild flowers from the Bronx Park 
Botanic Garden. Among the decorative plants from 
private greenhouses was a new hybrid orchid, bloom¬ 
ing for the first time. An expert in this line fixed the 
value of the plant at $300. An average country child 
might pluck it for its oddity, if found growing by the 
wayside, but would not grow enthusiastic over its 
beauty. 
Cultivated nuts in great variety were exhibited by 
Wm. Parry, of Parry, N. J. The chestnuts ranged 
all the way from the big Japan, three or four inches 
around, to the tiny native Chinquapin, which is the 
best quality of them all. It is strange that this hand¬ 
some and desirable shrub has been so long neglected, 
as it lends itself well to cultivation. It is likely that 
Mr. Parry’s exhibits of the Chinquapin here and at 
the National Pomological Convention will tend to 
excite an interest in its use as a garden shrub. It is 
evident that we are on the eve of a great flood of 
new chestnut varieties, and it is to be hoped that 
high quality will be the predominating feature among 
the newcomers. Some varieties now grown leave 
little to be desired in the way of size and productive¬ 
ness. 
Ellwanger & Barry, of Rochester, N. Y., made ex¬ 
tensive displays of pears and grapes. It is evident 
that this is not an “off year” for fruit in that local¬ 
ity. The Mills grape, introduced by them a few years 
ago, was highest in quality of any tasted, and the 
bunches shown might truly be called perfect. The 
Charlton grape, a cross between Mills and Brighton, is 
of the best quality and most promising in all its 
characteristics. It was the only new fruit of special 
promise shown. 
The finest peaches at this late date were Willet’s 
Seedling, from three exhibitors at Orange, N. J. A 
note recalled the fact that this variety was first ex¬ 
hibited at the Institute in 1874. Apples were in great 
variety and perfection. A good many were, evidently, 
misnamed, and not a few showed marks of San Jos6 
scale. A little beauty in shape and color was named 
“Ladies’ Eardrop.” It was in the shape of a pendant, 
with the stem long drawn out, and brilliant in scarlet 
and yellow. It is, probably, valuable only as a de¬ 
sert novelty. 
The prizes were of course, captured mainly by 
specialists who grow solely for exhibition, but their 
work is useful to the practical cultivator as showing 
what can be accomplished by good conditions. In 
this line, an exhibit of glass-grown apples, pears, 
peaches and plums was of considerable interest. 
This is a comparatively new wrinkle in American 
horticulture, as foreign grapes have hitherto monopo¬ 
lized the attention of greenhouse owners. As 
might be expected, they were very fine, both in size 
and color. The Bismarck apple was the best of them 
all, and was a revelation in the possibilities of such 
culture. 'On account of the distractions of Admiral 
Dewey’s reception, the attendance was very limited, 
which is to be regretted, as the manager, Dr. F. M. 
Hexamer, gave the arrangements unremitting atten¬ 
tion. w. v. F. 
