1898 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
469 
MttQNG the ^ 
ARKEMEN. 
WHAT I SEE AND HEAR. 
Cold Storage Apples. —On June 20, I saw some 
beautiful apples in boxes, as sound and fair as though 
just picked from the trees. Several car-loads of Ben 
Davis from Missouri, which had been in cold storage 
farther east, have been sold here lately for prices in 
the neighborhood of $5 per barrel ; some of the choicest 
sold for still higher prices. Unless the loss on these 
has been heavy, these prices should prove very satis¬ 
factory. Some new apples have already appeared, so 
that the new lap on to the old. 
X X X 
Crystal Springs, Miss., Tomatoes. — This place 
must be a big tomato patch On the docks, are cords 
and cords of four-till carriers filled with these toma¬ 
toes, while one sees them everywhere in the commis¬ 
sion houses. The carriers are made ot very light, nar¬ 
row, thin wood, the sides flaring slightly ; the strips 
of which the carrier is made are sufficient to keep in 
the tills or baskets, and not much more. Each tomato 
is wrapped in paper. These tomatoes are quite green 
when picked, and it is a nice matter to pick them at 
just the proper stage, so that they will ripen properly. 
Sometimes they are quite green when received here. 
X X X 
Dishonest Packages.— Who is cheated by them ? 
Seldom any one but the user. Buyers are not often 
deceived. The latter recognize the undersized frauds, 
and if they buy at all, pay accordingly. I have often 
written of this matter, and now wish to give the 
opinion of a market authority. Speaking of ship¬ 
ments of southern potatoes, the Journal of Commerce 
says : 
Some of the North Carolina shippers are sending stock in small 
barrels, and these, as with other “snide” packages, are so un¬ 
popular with buyers that they will not handle them except at 
comparatively low bargain prices compared to what full-size 
barrels realize; the difference in price is much more than the 
actual difference of stock contained in the package. 
X t t 
Apples in England. —It seems strange to read in 
the London Fruit Grower, that Colonial apples are 
selling well, and that the demand for the fruit is ex¬ 
cellent at what seem like high prices. From Tas¬ 
mania, they note as especially good, both in size and 
appearance, New York Pippins, Scarlet Nonpareil 
and Sturmer Pippins. These sold unusually well, 
prices ranging from 15 to 25s. per case. I am not cer¬ 
tain as to the exact size of these cases, but believe 
that they hold not far from one bushel each. The in¬ 
formation is given that these were much sought by 
buyers. I have seen Australian apples in this market 
at about this time of year and later, but the demand 
is not large, as they compete with our heavy supplies 
of small fruits, and southern and California fruits. 
X X X 
Scattering Shipments. —“There’s one thing you 
ought to tell your readers, and that is not to divide 
their shipments,” said a commission merchant. “I 
know of one man who has shipped his crop of straw¬ 
berries to at least a dozen different firms, right in this 
neighborhood, and I’ll warrant that he hasn’t received 
as much by at least one to two cents per quart as he 
would had they all been shipped to one firm.” I have 
spoken of this very thing many times, but here goes 
again. The one firm may not always get the prices 
the shipper thinks he should receive, but if he divides 
his consignment among a number, each one of these 
becomes a competitor of the other, so far as that par¬ 
ticular shipment is concerned If a shipper’s products 
are of extra quality, and one merchant has them all, 
he has something to brag on, and has a monopoly so 
far as they are concerned. Monopoly renders higher 
prices possible. Divide the shipment, and the mon¬ 
opoly is broken. We all want to be monopolists so 
far as getting all we can for our products is concerned. 
X X X 
Size of Grape Baskets. —“On The Wing ” mentions 
four and eight-pound grape baskets. The dealers in 
grapes here seldom have anything of the kind. What 
becomes of them ? We find in the market during the 
grape season, five-pound and nine-pound or ten-pound 
baskets, according to the dealer. Often buyers not 
familiar with these matters, think that they have 
been cheated, and lay it all to the rascally growers. 
But it seems that the growers are not the sinners in 
this case, for they don’t pretend that their baskets 
hold the quantity of grapes claimed by the dealer. 
After all, there never was a more popular package 
among buyers than these little handled baskets which 
are so handy to carry home, and then are so handy to 
have around the house afterward that they are worth 
nearly as much after the grapes are out as they often 
cost filled. f. h. v. 
FARMING IN THE LOWER HUDSON VALLEY. 
AMONG THE HILLS OF WESTCHESTER. 
[EDITORIAL correspondence.] 
A Good County. —The Bedford Farmers’ Club is 
well known as an agricultural organization in West¬ 
chester County, N. Y. The members meet regularly 
at the homes of the various members, or at some cen¬ 
tral hall, discuss some topic of interest to farmers, 
and have a social time together. The meeting for 
June 10 was held at “ The Maples,” the home of Mr. 
Thomas Crane, near Purdy’s Station. Probably some 
of our western readers will care to know something 
of what farmers are thinking and doing in this good 
old-fashioned land. Westchester County men are 
mighty proud of their homes. They will tell you that 
there is a streak about 20 miles wide back from the 
Hudson where the grass is sweeter and stronger than 
even the famous Blue grass of Kentucky. It is a 
country of hills and valleys, well watered by springs 
and streams, and dotted with towns and villages. It 
is historic ground, too, for Washington and his men 
dodged in and out among these hills, and made life a 
burden for the Redcoats. In sunny June, with the 
shadows on the hills, and the grass shaking in the 
wind, life is pleasant among the Westchester hills—a 
pleasant memory for one who has wandered away to 
the great billowy prairies of the West. 
Old Elephant Days. —Dairying is now the chief 
industry among these hills, but there was a time 
when elephants were very profitable stock. Mr. Crane 
tells me that the first elephant ever brought to this 
country was housed in what is now his barn. Not 
many miles away is Danbury, Conn., where Barnum 
lived. In front of the Elephant Hotel, is the figure 
Scarecrows are a familiar sight in many fields of sprouting 
corn. At a distance, they bear more or less of a resemblance to 
a man, but there’s really nothing to them but a few discarded 
clothes. What the crows think of them, we have never been told 
officially. Spain has a scarecrow. After the brave Hobson’s 
capture, the cowardly curs reported that he and his comrades 
were confined in Morro Castle, which the American fleet pur¬ 
posed to shell. It now is pretty well settled that they were four 
miles away. The above from the New York Herald, expresses 
Spain’s attitude in the matter. 
of an elephant mounted high in the air. In the old 
days, this was a famous old show town, and the ele¬ 
phants brought many good dollars into the neighbor¬ 
hood. Mr. Crane’s father was an old showman. The 
elephant was traveled from place to place by night, 
and exhibited in barns or sheds during the daytime. 
The elder Mr. Crane “ walked ” an elephant through 
the South in this way. He would drive him from one 
plantation to another during the night, and make a 
bargain with the owner to let all the slaves have a 
look at him. Yes ! yes ! Elephants did much for this 
part of Westchester County. If you trace up the 
pedigree of some of these solid Yankee farming com¬ 
munities, you will be surprised at the ingenious 
devices by means of which old-time money was made. 
Long-Lived Folks. —They live long lives in West¬ 
chester County. In the old graveyard, there is a stone 
which makes sacred the memory of a man who lived 
in three centuries. John Hempsted died in 1801, at 
the age of 107 years. Thus he lived in three centuries. 
One hale and hearty old man told me that, when a 
young man, he had 156 first cousins ! That gives a 
fair idea of the great families that blessed this region 
50 years ago. The writer has but 23 first cousins, 
and this is above the average. Families are smaller, 
and the fun and pleasure of the farm have suffered in 
consequence. 
Dairying and Hay. —Dairying is still the chief 
business on these farms, for the soil is natural grass 
land. On the way from the station, we passed a herd 
of fresh cows, just taken off the cars. In front of 
them, was a wagon in which a number of the calves 
were carried. These cows were from Pennsylvania. 
They were large, heavy-looking stock, mostly Holstein 
grades. Cows are very high now, which seems like 
a strange thing when milk is down below two cents a 
quart. It looks as though the price of the machine 
ought to be regulated by what the machine can earn. 
Ensilage vs. Hay.—T here are a number of siloes in 
this section, and a much discussed question is the com¬ 
parative profit in hay at an average price of $12 a ton, 
and ensilage-made milk at two cents or less per quart. 
Mr. Crane believes that the hay will pay best, all 
things considered, and he is working his farm into 
hay, following, as nearly as possible, the methods of 
culture advocated by Mr. Geo. M. Clark. Mr. Crane 
keeps about a dozen cows, and has a fine Guernsey 
bull from ex-Gov. Morton’s herd. He thinks it will 
pay better to feed hay to good grade Guernsey heifers, 
and then sell the heifers to some one else who will 
milk them. Mr. Crane believes that the time must 
come when milk will be sold both wholesale and retail 
for the butter fat there is in it. When that is done, 
high-grade dairy cows will bring good prices—higher 
even than now, and the man who can turn off a dozen 
two-year-old heifers every year, will have a great 
home market for his grass. The Guernsey breed is, 
evidently, gaining ground in this section. 
New and Old Plans. —Some farmers are trying a 
few new crops this year. Mr. Crane has a good piece 
of cow peas. Considerable poultry is kept in this 
section, and a number of farmers are growing two 
acres or so of potatoes. The soil, however, is naturally 
adapted to grass, and the great problem is to find the 
most profitable outlet for the pasture and hay. There 
was some little inquiry about fertilizers. Wood ashes 
are a popular dressing on grass land, and several 
farmers told me that they had come to believe that 
lime is needed in many places where the soil showed 
indications of being sour. Most of the farmers were 
elderly men and, apparently, in good circumstances. 
Farm lands are reported very cheap, and few farms 
change hands, for the land does not yield a great 
profit, even with the hardest and most patient toil. 
The old gentleman who said that he had 156 first 
cousins, explained in a joking way, that people kept 
fat by eating what they had at home, and then going 
visiting ! 
Farmers and Their Savings. — Among others 
present was an old Westchester county man who has 
been west 40 years in a very successful business. He 
told me that the condition of western farmers (Minne¬ 
sota and Dakota) had been improved of late. Many 
have paid off their debts, and are even looking about 
for a chance to buy more land. This would be a mis¬ 
take, for it would put them in debt again. This idea 
of buying land may come to the Western farmer, be¬ 
cause there is no other ready investment that he has 
confidence in. He has lost money in stocks and bonds, 
and likes a land investment, because he can always 
see just where his money is. Postal savings banks 
and small Government bonds ought to prove popular 
with such investors. One thing seems to be true of 
farmers everywhere. They have good and bad seasons. 
In a course of 10 years, the profits, if any, will be 
mostly made in four years, with six years coming out 
about even or with a little loss. It is what is done 
with the profits of the four years that tells the story. 
H. W. C. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
There is big value in any and all premiums now offered in The 
R. N.-Y. Every subscriber is invited to take advantage of them, 
if in need of any of them. 
If you are within easy shipping distance of Petersburg, Va., 
you will find the Southside Mfg. Co., of that place, good people to 
get fruit carriers from. They are, however, situated so that they 
can ship to advantage to distant points. 
It is astonishing to note the new improvements that are con¬ 
tinually coming out in farm machinery. They all tend to save 
labor. First we had old thrashing machines that broke and 
twisted the straw, leaving it in great loose piles. Every thrasher 
knows what a job it was to bind it, or store it away loose. Then 
came the machine that took out the grain and left the straw 
straight. Now we have a machine that goes one better, aud not 
only takes out the grain, but actually binds the straw. This last 
is made by Geo. D. Harder, Cobleskill, N. Y., who will be glad to 
give full particulars in reference to it. 
Culoro-Naptholeum is a substance sold by the West Disinfect¬ 
ing Company, 206 East 57th Street, New York. It is very useful 
as a disinfectant and germicide, and is an excellent sheep dip. 
It not only cures skin diseases and destroys vermin, but will heal 
galls, sores, and wounds. Sheep may be dipped in it, and foot- 
rot, worms in the throat, and maggots will all give way to treat¬ 
ment with Chloro-Naptholeum. It is useful on horses, cattle, 
dogs and poultry, and is also used with success for destroying 
ants, cockroaches and other vermin around the house or on cul¬ 
tivated plants. It is non-poisonous, and comes close to being a 
cure-all for all diseases on live stock. 
Tons of fruit go to waste on the farms of the country every 
year, which ought to be saved, and which could be saved if only 
a little care were taken to dry it. This is not only true of apples 
and pears, but also applies to small fruits, and even vegetables, 
such as Lima beans, aud pumpkins. Evaporators are now made 
so cheaply for family use, and they do the work so nicely and 
quickly, that there is no good reason why all this fruit now going 
to waste should not be dried and kept for future use. The 
Granger evaporator is particularly useful for this family work. 
It is made by the Eastern Mfg. Co., 257 South Fifth Street, Phila¬ 
delphia, Pa. Send for their little pamphlet, and see what others 
are doing with this waste fruit. 
