18&8 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
5oi 
M9NG the ^ 
ARKETttEN. 
* ^ 
WHAT I 8KE AND HEAR. 
{^Polishing Onions. —A good many of the white 
onions one sees in market now are dirty and unattrac¬ 
tive in appearance. A clean, bright white onion is 
attractive looking. I saw one dealer with an old 
whisk broom, brushing and polishing a basket of these 
dirty onions, and it was surprising to see what a 
difference it made in their appearance. This simple 
operation, probably, doubled their selling price. 
Why shouldn't the shipper have done this, and thus 
received the extra price ? 
X X X 
GailO Apples. —On July 7, I saw some beautiful 
Gano apples in boxes. They were California grown, 
and had been kept in cold storage. They were highly 
colored and magnificent specimens. The boxes held 
about one bushel each, and sold for $3. There isn’t a 
very large demand for apples now, especially at that 
price; but such fine fruit as this will sell in a small 
way at any time of year. The same is true of many 
other fancy products ; a limited supply brings a high 
price, but the number of people who can pay such 
fancy prices is limited. It is, also, true that the 
number of people who produce and ship these fancy 
products is limited. 
XXX 
Muskmelons in Variety. —There are large quan¬ 
tities of muskmelons in market now, and a reference 
to our quotations will show a wide range in prices. 
Why ? Because there is a wide range in quality. It 
isn't the biggest melons that always bring the biggest 
prices. Experience has taught buyers that the best 
quality is usually found in the smallest melons, hence 
these bring better prices. This isn’t necessarily 
always the case, but it’s the rule. Many shippers 
make a mistake in not sorting and grading their ship¬ 
ments. This should be done, and the large and small 
sizes be packed separately. Some buyers may want 
all small melons, others all large ones, and neither 
want mixed sizes. The commission merchant hasn’t 
time to do the sorting. 
X X X 
Wild. Ko.se Cherries. —Ever hear of them ? I 
never did before, but I just saw several basketfuls in 
a commission house. I couldn’t find any marketmen 
who had ever heard of any such variety, and none of 
the horticultural authorities at hand mentions it. It, 
probably, originated in the mind of the man who 
packed the cherries, who thought a fancy name would 
aid in selling them. This is not a new trick, by any 
means, for we frequently see products of various 
kinds labeled with some name new to marketmen. It 
isn’t a rare occurrence, either, to see products of ques¬ 
tionable variety branded with the name of some well- 
known and highly-esteemed variety, which they more 
or less closely resemble, and not half the marketmen 
know the difference. This practice is a deliberate 
attempt to deceive the buyers. 
X X X 
Farm Products by Mail. —In England, these are 
transmitted by parcels post at a low rate of postage. 
It is said that the quantity of soft fruit thus sent is on 
the increase, and the postal authorities have issued 
instructions that these parcels shall be so packed that 
the juice of the fruit cannot ooze through the cover¬ 
ing. The regulations say: 
One of the best ways to pack soft fruit is to use a box of wood 
or tin, with a very tightly-fitting lid, and a covering sufficiently 
thick to absorb any leakage from the fruit in transit. 
It would be a great thing for the farmers of this coun¬ 
try if such articles were allowed in the mails here. 
Many a city family, too, would be pleased to be able 
to get fresh fruits, butter, and other products direct 
from the farms. But these things must come in time. 
Express rates are too high to permit of any extended 
business by that means. 
XXX 
Poor Market Methods.— It’s evident that they’re 
not all found in this market. The London Fruit 
Grower and Market Gardener makes some very pointed 
remarks on methods of shippers there. The islands 
of Jersey and Guernsey ship large quantities of pota¬ 
toes, as well as other products, yet this paper asserts 
that the growers of the former are 50 years behind the 
latter, in cultural methods, packages, methods of 
packing, etc. So far as soil, climate, location and 
other natural facilities are concerned, these growers 
are on an equality ; yet one class has been progres¬ 
sive, and kept up with the times, and the other has 
not. The same paper also attacks the methods of 
grape shippers, and says that the sale of many good 
grapes, from old growers, too, is spoiled because of 
lack of proper packing. American shippers, it seems, 
are not the only ones who need instruction, and 
American papers not the only ones who have need to 
criticise methods of marketing. F. H. v. 
THE GOVERNMENTS OFFICIAL SEED TESTS. 
SOME OBJECTIONS TO THE PROPOSED DAW. 
Northrup, King & Co., of Minneapolis, Minn., sent 
us the following letter regarding the proposed Govern¬ 
ment tests of seeds. As our readers already know, the 
seed-testing commission of the Department of Agri¬ 
culture purposes to obtain fair samples of the seeds 
from all American seedsmen. These will be tested 
YOU’RE NEXT, CAMARA ! Fig. 228. 
Here is the naval situation as pictured by The New York 
Herald: Uncle Sam has pounded Moutojo, and sent his Manila 
fleet to the bottom. Cervera has ended his course, and now 
Uncle Sam has his eye on Camara’s fleet which is dodging about 
the Suez Canal. 
both for vitality, and to determine the amount of 
waste and weed seeds present. The Secretary of Agri¬ 
culture will be given the option to publish the names 
of the seedsmen and the results of such a test, in case 
he considers it advisable to do so. The following let¬ 
ter commenting on these things, seems to us interest¬ 
ing, and very well worthy of consideration : 
A Dangerous Power. —“ There is no doubt that 
some steps should be taken by the Government and 
State authorities to protect the purchaser who wishes 
to secure a good quality of seed, and is willing to pay 
a fair price therefor, and we shall be among those who 
will welcome a just law which will protect all parties 
concerned. It strikes us, however, that the plan pro¬ 
posed is a bad one, in so far as it gives to those who 
have immediate supervision of this work the option of 
publishing these tests. If this power, as time goes 
on, should be held by unscrupulous men, it could be 
used to advance the interests of certain houses and to 
ruin others. It seems to us that, if any reports are 
published, all should be published, so that no house 
would run the liability of being condemned if a sam- 
DRIVING A STRANGE TEAM. Fig. 227. 
The New York Herald prints a series of pictures showing how 
horses are disembarked at Santiago. They were carried on the 
lower decks of the transports; when ready, halters with long 
leading ropes were put on them, and the horses pushed down a 
plank directly into the water. Men stood in the stern of a boat 
holding the leading ropes, and after some struggling, the horses 
turned and swam to the shore. Our picture shows one novel ex¬ 
periment where the horses headed to shore, pulled the boat 
around, and hauled it stern foremost to the land. 
pie be poor, or elevated to a high pinnacle if it be 
good. The extraordinary license that could be exer¬ 
cised under the proposed act would be a dangerous 
lever in the hands of unprincipled men. 
“ It, too, would be possible for a house deliberately 
to purchase, either directly or indirectly, from a com¬ 
peting house, a low grade of seeds, send the sample to 
the Department of Agriculture, give the name of 
party from whom purchased, and without stating the 
facts that the quality of seed was known, to use the 
report that might be made thereon to the detriment 
of the competitor. 
The Public Want Cheap Seeds.— “ We believe 
that any seedsman who deliberately sells an inferior 
article representing it to be of first-class quality, 
and thus misleads an innocent purchaser, should be 
punished for his deception ; but we also believe that 
any one who deliberately purchases an inferior article 
of seed because it can be obtained at lower price, should 
stand the consequences of his misguided economy. 
“ Grass and clover seeds are usually offered by the 
various seed houses by grade, and they usually apply 
the terms of ‘ Fancy ’, ‘ Choice Re-Cleaned,’ ‘ Choice,’ 
‘Prime’, ‘Good’, ‘Fair’, etc. These terms have be¬ 
come so much abused by some dealers who apply them 
indiscriminately to any grade of seed, that, for this 
reason, we, two years ago, established a grade of our 
own called Sterling. For this grade, we select the 
very best lots that can be obtained, intending that it 
shall, at all times, represent the best quality to be 
had as respects fine sample, freedom from weed seeds, 
and high germination. Less than 10 per cent of the 
Timothy and clover seed handled by our house the 
past season was such as could be used for this grade, 
and this about met the demand we had from those 
who wanted the best quality. In other words, about 
90 per cent of our customers deliberately ordered the 
poorer qualities, because they could be bought for less 
money, and this in face of the fact that we never cease 
to urge, as opportunity offers, that our customers buy 
the best grades. 
“ We, therefore, think that, before publication is 
made of any of the facts in the case, the parties whose 
names are to be connected in the publication, should 
be given an opportunity of presenting all information 
in connection with it, and that the facts be published.” 
STAY AWAY FROM ALASKA. 
The United States Department of Labor has investi¬ 
gated the opportunities for labor that are offered in 
the Alaska gold fields. The report should make a 
man of average common sense get away from the 
idea of going to the Klondike, about as fast as his 
thoughts can travel. It seems that some parents with 
wayward sons have sent them to the Yukon, hoping 
that the pure air and outdoor life will wean them 
from evil associations. Such young men are far safer 
under the restraints of civilization. The greatest curse 
in Alaska is the illicit trade in liquors. This is a vast 
source of wealth to a “ ring” said to have its head¬ 
quarters in Portland, Ore. Wherever Indians or 
whites are gathered, agents are sent to sell the vilest 
of whisky. In Sitka, there is said to be a permit to 
sell during 12 months 2,000 gallons of whisky for 
“ medicinal, mechanical or scientific purposes.” This 
would represent an average of 12 gallons per capita 
in a district so healthy that a doctor would starve for 
lack of practice. The enormous profit from this 
accursed trade is shown by the fact that the saloon 
keepers charge 50 cents for a drink, and succeed in 
getting 70 drinks out of a gallon. These human hell 
hounds follow the miner and the Indian, and take 
from him all they can dissolve of the fruits of his 
hard labor. The mail service, too, is so irregular that 
it is almost impossible to hear from home. The report 
in question gives these facts : 
One man, who was closely observed at the last distribution of 
mail, turned sadly away as the last name was called, and with 
sobs in his voice, said to an acquaintance standing by, •* I have 
been here 18 months, and have not had a single word from home.’. 
By reason of the wear from constant handling, most of the letters 
brought in by parties are stripped of their envelopes by the time 
they reach their destination. At Dawson, previous to October 1 
last, there were three places in the town where mail was dis¬ 
tributed—at the stores of the two commercial companies, and at 
Carey’s saloon. In each of these places, the boxes were filled 
with letters without envelopes, therefore in many cases, with 
nothing to identify the persons to whom they were written. One 
letter, which will serve as a sample, was written in an eastern 
city in June, 1894, opening with, “ My darling boy,” and closing 
with, “ Your anxious but ever loving mother.” The inquisitive 
reader who wonders how even so much of the contents of a private 
letter could become known to a conscientious third person, should 
bear in mind that all such letters as that described are read, at 
least casually, by hundreds of men in the hope of finding letters 
that they know must have been written to them. 
Alaska seems, for most people, to be a good place to 
think about and to stay away from. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
All those people who are going to give you profitable employ¬ 
ment at home, but require a small remittance from you first for 
supplies, etc., are good people to let alone. 
The Empire Mfg.Co., which was formerly located in Rock Falls, 
Ill., has moved across the river into a new factory. Their post 
office address in the future will be Sterling, Ill.. 
When any one offers you a preparation that he claims will 
make two pounds of butter where, otherwise, you get only one, 
tell him that you know how to make curd of skim-milk yourself, 
and mix it with butter, if you were as big a rogue as he is—but 
the roguery would not pay you as well as it does him. 
Tub Holdfast corn binder, which ties itself and which lasts for 
years, is one of those small farm articles, the sale of which has 
wonderfully increased in recent years. The farmers who sell the 
Holdfast binder, the manufacturers say. are given exclusive ter¬ 
ritory, and the ease with which it is sold makes an agency very 
desirable. The binder is made by the Tie Co., Unadilla, N. Y. 
The farmer well knows the old rule that the better his clover 
crop the greater waste he experiences in harvesting it. He also 
knows that the finest and ripest part of the seed is that which is 
lost. Under old methods of gathering, the clover was tossed about 
so much that nearly all the good was rattled out of it. The Ameri¬ 
can Buncher Mfg. Co., of Indianapolis, Ind., has a neat little 
machine known as the New Improved ’98 Boyer clover buncher 
and seed saver, which is intended to attach to a mower, and is 
worked by a lock lever connected with foot treadle. The buncher 
can be attached to any mower. Full description of it will be 
gladly furnished by the manufacturers. It is said to be a great 
seed saver, and being low priced, is being largely used by seed 
growers. 
