1899 
THE: RURAI 
NEW-YORKER. 
76i 
Market Briefs. 
We are here in this great market. You ship goods 
here. You can ship to better advantage if you know 
how and when to do it. We will try to tell you. 
We must know what you want. Ask questions We 
will try to answer them. 
PICKED UP HERE AND THERE. 
DRIED MUSHROOMS.—These are im¬ 
ported from Italy, packed in boxes hold¬ 
ing about a bushel. They retail at $1 per 
pound, and are said to be nearly as good 
as fresh mushrooms. At this price they 
are considerably cheaper. 
CABBAGE.—A reader wishes to know 
how the cabbage crop for this vicinity 
compares with that of last year. Dealers 
say they think this year’s crop is a little 
larger. Long Island cabbages bring the 
highest price in this market, which is at 
present $2 to $3 per 100. 
COTTON.—There has been a decided 
jump in cotton. Reports from the South 
indicate a smaller crop than usual. Some 
good estimates place the shortage at 
about 1,000,000 bales. Prices have ad¬ 
vanced to 7% cents for middling upland, 
about two cents higher than last year. 
The market is unsettled, and a further rise 
is possible. Some Texas planters are hold¬ 
ing for eight or nine cents. Of course, 
cotton-seed oil has also advanced, 31 to 32 
cents per gallon being now quoted for 
prime yellow. This product is used large¬ 
ly in the place of lard for cooking, also 
in soap-making, for lubricating, and as a 
substitute for olive oil. 
HOLDING APPLES.—A reader in New 
Jersey says that he has CO barrels of ap¬ 
ples (Smith's Cider) for which he is offered 
$1.25 per barrel on the farm. He wishes 
to know whether it would be better to sell 
them, or hold for higher prices. This 
would largely depend on the quality of 
the fruit and the facilities he has for 
storing it. Probably, prime apples will 
bring a good price during the Winter, and, 
as he is so near this city, it might pay 
him to hold them, provided he has a store¬ 
house where they can be kept without 
much waste. If the fruit is not prime, 
and he does not have these conveniences, 
it is doubtful whether he will get suf¬ 
ficient increase, by holding, to pay for the 
waste and cost of handling. 
GRAPES.—It now looks as though the 
frost damaged the grape crop in central 
and western New York more than was at 
first anticipated. Reports from Lake 
Keuka, Pleasant Valley and neighboring 
regions, where the crop was very large, 
state that 75 per cent, of the grapes were 
still on the vines, and probably 75 per cent 
of these were so damaged that they can 
be used only for wine. These wine grapes 
come to this market packed in open wood¬ 
en trays. Receivers complain of the care¬ 
less way in which these grapes have been 
thrown into the trays. Though damaged 
by frost, it would pay to take a little care 
in packing them, even for wine graphs. 
Fruit that has the best appearance always 
receives first attention in a crowded mar¬ 
ket. The poor-looking stuff is left to the 
last, and necessarily brings a lower price. 
POULTRY.—The markets show a big 
surplus of both live and dressed poultry. 
The warm weather has been especially 
bad for dressed poultry. Some that had 
been delayed on the way came in without 
ice, and showed up very slippery when 
unpacked. Stock of this sort has to be 
sold at once to cheap buyers, and no rea¬ 
sonable offer is refused. This means a loss 
of one-third or more to some shippers. 
The Board of Health seized 50 or 60 bar¬ 
rels during the last week. The best ad¬ 
vice of receivers here will sometimes be 
misleading, as changes in the weather or 
unexpected shipments may materially 
alter conditions. The best that can be 
done is to have definite arrangements here 
with reliable sellers. Then by carefully 
watching the weather and the market re¬ 
ports the chances of loss will be lessened. 
HAY AND STRAW.—Hay has dropped 
five cents, but all grades are now 20 to 30 
cents per 100 pounds higher than last year. 
This is partly owing to the scarcity of 
cars for shipping. There seems to be a 
fair supply in the country, and there is no 
prospect of any immediate rise. Just now 
there is a strong demand for clover-mixed 
hay, which is rather scarce. A dealer 
said that he could use 10 carloads at once, 
if he could get them. The price is 65 to 
75 cents per 100 pounds. This clover-mixed 
hay is used chiefly to feed cattle in the 
stockyards. Rye straw sells for nearly 
twice as much as last year. On account 
of the previous low prices, many farmers 
did not bind their straw this year. Those 
who did will be well paid. An official re¬ 
port from our consul at Birmingham, Eng¬ 
land, states that the hay crop for England 
and Scotland is much smaller than at first 
computed. The latest figures place it at 
7,550,000 tons, which is 550,000 tons less 
than the average yield for the last 10 
years. w. w. H. 
THE MILK SITUATION. 
Is the Promised Relief in Sight? 
The annual meeting of the Five States 
Milk Producers’ Association was held at 
Binghamton, N. Y., Tuesday, October 17. 
This meeting was composed of delegates 
chosen by the route branches. The im¬ 
portant feature of the meeting was the 
announcement by the executive commit¬ 
tee that they had succeeded in closing a 
contract with New York men for the milk 
pledged the committee by the producers 
under the power of attorney, at an aver¬ 
age of 2 y 2 cents per quart for a term of 
five years. This contract is entered into 
by Mr. Thomas J. Gleason, on behalf of 
the New York men, with the power to 
assign the same to a company to be known 
as the Pure Milk Company. This company 
has already secured its charter, and is or¬ 
ganized with a capital stock of $30,000,000, 
composed of $10,000,000 non-assessable pre¬ 
ferred 7 per cent, and $20,000,000 common 
stock. The committee states that it has 
the assurances of a strong banking firm 
of New York that $2,500,000 will be placed 
in the treasury of the New York company 
before a quart of milk is delivered, and 
that the stock will all be subscribed to, 
and paid for, as the development of the 
business requires. In other words, this 
firm of responsible bankers guarantees 
the floating of the stock of the company. 
The price is to be three cents for No¬ 
vember, December and January, 2\'i cents 
for September, 2% cents for April and Au¬ 
gust, two cents for May and July, and 1% 
cents for June. 
Under the terms of the contract, 14 
cent a quart is to be paid in non-asses¬ 
sable preferred stock, and the balance in 
cash monthly, payment for each month’s 
supply to be made on or before the tenth 
day of the succeeding month, but the 
amount of stock allotted for this is not 
to exceed $2,500,000. The producer is to de¬ 
liver the milk to his regular station. The 
company takes charge of it there, cools it 
for shipment, pays freight .and returns the 
cans washed. The company is also to fur¬ 
nish the cans. The first shipment of 
milk under this agreement is to be made 
November 15. The committee say that the 
details of the organization have progressed 
further than it seems wise to make 
known at this time. It is intimated, how¬ 
ever, that a manager for the work has 
been discussed, if not actually selected, 
and that other favorable conditions have 
been arranged to hasten the work, as soon 
as the company is fairly ready to start up. 
The committee has been at work on this 
plan all Summer. They have employed 
able legal counsel, and have developed the 
present contract as a result of the most 
deliberate thought and study of the situ¬ 
ation. The committee has certainly done 
an immense amount of hard work, and 
has secured the consent of a large number 
of producers to the agreement. It only 
remains now for the New York promoters 
and capitalists to complete the organiza¬ 
tion of the company, and put men and 
money into it so that it will deserve the 
confidence of the producers. It is to bo 
hoped that these sanguine hopes may be 
realized, for the milk producefs are in 
sore need of help. 
If you are a farmer or want to be one, 
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