1904 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
io3 
Events of the Week. 
DOMESTIC.—An explosion in the Allegheny Coal Com¬ 
pany's mine at Cheswick, Pa., January 25, entombed 184 
men, of whom only two were rescued alive. . . . Car¬ 
ter H. Harrison, as Mayor of Chicago, was declared re¬ 
sponsible for tbe Iroquois Theater lire by the coroner's 
jury January 25. He was held to the Grand Jury. Fire 
Vlarshal William H. Musham, Commissioner of Build¬ 
ings George Williams and Will J. Davis, as principal and 
general manager of the ill-fated theater, were also held 
• until they shall be discharged by due courts of law.” 
A tire that started under the ball wheel ol the 
Michigan Diamond Oil Well, January 21, swept the rich 
producing section of the Spindle Top oil field, Texas. The 
flames were not subdued until after the 22 wells and 40 
derricks were burned. The loss will exceed $100,000. . . 
During the recent annual round-up of wild horses 
near Fredonia, Arizona, 80 were killed and 17 captured. 
Two parties of ranchmen engaged in the hunt and sur¬ 
rounding the herds drove them into a ravine, where the 
slaughter took place. The wild horses increase so rapidly 
that every year the ranchmen find it necessary to ex¬ 
terminate them, and for this purpose annual round-ups 
are held. . . . United States Senator Burton, Repub¬ 
lican, Kansas, was indicted January 24 by the Federal 
Grand Jury at St. Louis, Mo., charging him, on nine 
counts, with accepting five checks, of $500 each, from the 
Rialto Grain & Securities Company, between November 
22, 1902, and March 26, 1903, while he was a United States 
Senator. He is charged with accepting this money for 
his alleged services in interceding with the Postmaster 
General, Chief Postoffice Inspector and other high post- 
office officials to induce them to render a favorable deci¬ 
sion in matters affecting the permission of the Rialto 
Company to use the mails. The purpose of Senator Bur¬ 
ton’s alleged intercession was, it is declared, to prevent 
the issuance of a fraud order against the company. The 
Rialto Grain & Securities Company has been under in¬ 
vestigation by the State courts for several months, on 
account of internal troubles and the complaint of in- 
\ estors. At one time the company’s offices were closed 
by court officials on attachments secured by alleged 
creditors, but were reopened after arrangements to sat¬ 
isfy the claims had been made. . . . Eight lives were 
lost in the wreck January 23 off Quogue, L. I., of the 
four-masted schooner Augustus Hunt, bound for Boston 
from Norfolk, Va. Of the crew of 10, only two were 
saved. . . . The most disastrous cyclone that ever 
swept over that section visited Moundsville, Ala., a town 
of 300 inhabitants, 15 miles south of Tuscaloosa, January 
22, just after midnight, and as a result 37 persons were 
killed, more than 100 injured and every business house 
in the town, with the exception of a small drug store, 
was completely destroyed. The cyclone struck the town 
from the southwest. Its path was a quarter of a milo 
wide. Sleeping people were blown hundreds of feet from 
their beds in the blackness of night. Through terror a 
father, mother and three children fled from their home 
leaving a five-year-old boy in bed. Later he was pulled 
from beneath some timber and it is impossible to find 
any other member of the family. Bedding, carpets and 
wearing apparel are scattered a distance of 10 miles 
throughout what was a forest, but which is now as clear 
as if it had been cut by the woodsman’s ax. Freight 
cars were torn to splinters, the trucks under them being 
hurled hundreds of feet from the track. Bales of cotton 
stored in warehouses were blown to shreds, fragments 
lodging in trees, making it appear as if that section had 
been visited by a snowstorm. Heavy iron safes were 
carried away by the storm and the doors torn from their 
hinges. A young clerk employed by W. P. Phifer, hear¬ 
ing the roaring of the approaching cyclone, let himself 
down into a well in the center of the store. He no sooner 
had found his place of safety when the store was com¬ 
pletely demolished. He was drawn out uninjured. . . , 
One fireman was killed and damage estimated at $250,000 
was caused by tire in a big factory block in Brooklyn, 
N. Y., January 22. 
PENNSYLVANIA STATE HORTICULTURAL 
ASSOCIATION MEETS. 
The forty-fifth annual meeting of the Pennsylvania 
State Horticultural Association was held at Lancaster, 
January 19-20. The attendance throughout was good, 
and much earnestness was displayed in discussing horti¬ 
cultural problems. Practical growers, with very few 
exceptions, read the papers. Nurserymen were especial¬ 
ly numerous, and a State organization of commercial 
plant and tree growers was effected during the course 
of the meeting. Much valuable information concerning 
the serious pests of fruit production now so prevalent 
was brought out by the State Economic Zoologist, Prof. 
H. S. Surface, and others. There was an exhibit of sev¬ 
eral hundred plates of apples, most of the specimens 
being richly colored and well finished. York Imperial 
predominated, but many of the standard Winter varie¬ 
ties were represented. Of particular interest were fine 
samples of Stayman, Oliver (Senator) and Stewart's 
Golden, grown by Dr. J. H. Funk, Boyertown, Pa. Dr. 
Funk says Stayman yields more marketable apples than 
any other variety in his orchards. The specimens shown 
were of good size and high color. Oliver is large, deep 
red and very attractive. Stewart is bright yellow with 
a red cheek, more attractive than Grimes Golden at this 
season, and of excellent quality. As most northern Win¬ 
ter apples are poor keepers when grown in Pennsylvania, 
Dr. Funk got the idea some years ago that late varie¬ 
ties of southern origin might prove more successful in 
his locality, and planted trees of the most promising 
kinds. From this exhibit it appears York Imperial and 
Smith's Cider may yet meet formidable rivals. A fine 
shellbark hickorynut, the Wiker, a hardy, soft-shelled 
Persian walnut, and pecan nuts grown in Lancaster 
County were exhibited by Dr. John G. Rush, West Wil¬ 
low, Pa. The hickory and walnut are very attractive 
and fine in quality, the first bearing two bushels on a 
10 -year tree, but the pecan is small and poor, of interest 
chiefly as one of the most northerly fruiting trees. The 
seed was planted by a runaway slave nearly 100 years 
ago. The Paragon Nut & Fruit Company showed some 
very interesting views of their large nut groves. They 
are conducting probably the most extensive experiment 
in chestnut culture in this country, having 43 varieties 
under trial. Their orchards now cover over 800 acres, 
most of this large tract being natural chestnut forest 
grafted over to selected kinds. 
In the reports of the fruit and other committees it 
developed that the year 1903 was particularly unsatis¬ 
factory to the fruit grower. Climatic conditions were 
seldom favorable during the growing season, but the 
severe frosts of May and the high winds of September 
were particularly disastrous. Strawberries, grapes and 
apples have partial crops in many localities, and there 
were a few profitable yields of peaches, but the returns 
were in the great majority of instances very scanty. 
The San Jos 6 scale is spreading at quite an alarming 
rate, now being found in 35 counties in the State. Large 
and valuable orchards have already been sacrificed, 
having become dangerously infested before the pest was 
discovered, but hope has revived from the general suc¬ 
cess of the lime-sulphur wash, and a determined effort 
will doubtless be made to control its ravages. The So¬ 
ciety passed a resolution favoring a legislative appro¬ 
priation of $ 10,000 or more for a thorough inspection of 
scale-infested premises and demonstrations of the best 
methods of preparing and applying the proper insecti¬ 
cides in every infected locality. According to the pres¬ 
ent nursery inspectors, San Jos 6 scale has recently been 
found on many species of trees and shrubs not hereto¬ 
fore supposed subject to its attacks. The announcement 
of its presence on California privet, Ligustrum ovalifo- 
lium, caused much interest, as there are many miles of 
privet hedges in the State. Live scales had been found 
on young privet plants in the nursery row. but it is not 
thought this Pernicious scale is likely to maintain itself 
long on the privet, or become a source of further in¬ 
fection if accidentally present thereon. The young or 
larval scales become widely disseminated during their 
brief period of activity by means of birds, large insects, 
animals, the clothing of orchard and nursery workmen, 
the wind and other natural causes, and may even fix 
themselves on soft herbaceous plants like the straw¬ 
berry, but apparently can only multiply on a limited 
number of smooth-barked, hard-wooded species. San 
Jos 6 scale was declared the greatest menace to fruit 
culture in the State, and growers are now roused to 
its importance, if never before. 
A number of valuable papers on diverse horticultural 
topics were read and discussed during the sessions. A 
promising method of fighting Peach borers was brought 
out, consisting of the use of a solution of one pound com¬ 
mercial concentrated lye and a quart of salt to 20 gal¬ 
lons of boiling water. The earth and loose gum about 
the tree is removed sufficiently to form a slight basin, 
and one quart of the hot solution poured on the trunk 
about a foot above its base. In the reported trials all 
borers were killed, even in the depths of their burrows, 
while the trees were not injured in the least. The sub¬ 
stitution of nitrate of soda for the salt was recommended 
in order to increase the fertilizing effect. While this 
application may be effective for the Peach borer it 
would be useless for borers in the pear, apple, and 
quince. The species affecting these trees work so deep¬ 
ly that the knife and wire remain the most practical 
remedies. 
Gabriel Hiester, Harrisburg, Pa., in forecasting the 
coming difficulties of fruit growers, was inclined to place 
the labor problem as next in importance to control of 
the scale. The flow of intelligent and competent labor¬ 
ers from the country to the cities put the farmer to 
great disalvantage. Occasionally a city-bred young man 
attempts farming or fruit growing, but seldom amounts 
to much. He is usually discontented and unsatisfactory 
as an orchard assistant. Certain foreigners are indus 
trious and manageable, but they will only go where they 
may have society of their own. He asked if It were not 
possible for the fruit growers of remote districts to as¬ 
sociate and build central homes or boarding houses for 
immigrants of desirable nationalities, the various grow¬ 
ers to employ the laborers in turn as needed, thus secur¬ 
ing reliable help when most wanted. Other important 
features were uniform fruit packages and cold storage 
warehouses under control of the growers rather than 
dealers. The present officers of the Association were in 
most cases elected for the succeeding year, and the place 
of meeting in 1905 fixed at Harrisburg. w. v. f. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
Shippers of dressed lambs and calves should corre¬ 
spond with Archdeacon & Co., 100 Murray St., New York. 
The Racine Hatcher Co., Racine, Wis., Issue a very 
concise and neat catalogue which will solve many prob¬ 
lems for those interested in artificial incubation. It is 
written by the man who makes the incubators, and all 
he says is endorsed by hundreds of users. Just write 
for it to-day—a postal will do. 
Fleming Bros, manufacture a line of veterinary reme¬ 
dies, spavin cures, fistula and poll evil cure, lump jaw 
cure, etc., guaranteeing every preparation to do the work 
it is intended to do. A 64-page illustrated booklet en¬ 
titled ‘‘Stock Ailments That You Can Cure,” will be 
mailed free to those who will write Fleming Bros., 
Chemists, Union Stock Yards, Chicago, Ill., mentioning 
The R. N.-Y. 
The Walter A. Wood mowers are favorably known 
perhaps in every farm section in the United States. The 
Walter A. Wood Mowing and Reaping Mch. Co. also 
claim to be the pioneer manufacturers of binders. The 
New Century grain binder is offered to American farm¬ 
ers for the first time this year, with full assurance that 
its work in the field will bear out every claim made for 
it. Write for illustrated catalogue showing full line of 
harvest machinery. 
"IS ■ k i POT A TO DIGGER 
4 Plow and Pulverizer 
There is money in growing potatoes. The 
more hand labor you can dispense with the more 
money there is in it. It’s the harvesting that 
worries a man. More men would grow potatoes 
if it were not for the harvesting. Better get a 
harvester and participate in the profit of potato 
growing. This “Ideal” Potato Digger will 
get them and get them all. See the plow 
point, share and land side; then note the agitator 
fork mold board. You see it’s the turn plow 
principle all over. It goes under the row and 
turns it bottom side up. The fork 
moldboard turns the earth over 
just like the ordinary plow. Still 
better its agitator shakes apart the 
earth and lays it over onto the 
row agitator where separation is completed. 
Tops, grass, weeds, etc., are effectually sepa¬ 
rated. All the potatoes are left on top. This 
turn over principle is the only correct one for 
a potato digger. 
Just stop and reason a moment and you will see 
the truth and force of this statement. It’s the turn 
over principle which makes the “Ideal” work 
perfectly in all kinds of soil and under all conditions. Since it’s a plow in every sense, it will work anywhere where a plow will work. That’3 why 
We guarantee our Two Great Agitating Forks to Run Clear in any Soil, and that they will Place all the Potatoes on Top. 
But this is not all. By simply taking otf the row agitator the “Ideal” becomes the most effective plow you ever saw. Turns any soil as well as 
any plow and has the great added advantage of the agitator fork mold board. That means that all the earth is shaken apart and made fine, ad¬ 
mitting the air, light, warmth, moisture etc. Leaves the top fine and smooth and ready to receive the seed. Just as good as though you plowed, 
harrowed and rolled. The “Ideal” is indeed a fit companion to our great Hallock’s Flat Tooth Weeder. 
We want a good active, responsible, energetic Agent in every section of the country to handle the “IDEAL”. 
We wijll sell the first machine in each locality at a greatly reduced price. We protect our agents. The 
wise man will surely act quickly for he must see that territory on this machine will be eagerly sought for. 
^ QPA| A g The Keystone Farm Machine Co., of York, Pa., have the exclusive right to manufacture our Hallock Flat Tooth Weeder for the Eastern and 
Southern territory. The Janesville Machine Co., of Janesville, Wis., have the same rights for the Western territory. Our friends will there¬ 
fore have no difficulty in securing this well known and valuable machine. The patents have been fully sustained by five different Circuit Courts. 
Write for circulars and testimonials from those who have used the Digger. D. Y. HALLOCK & SONS, Box 800, YORK, PA. 
If you will give us your name and address we will send you an elegant 32-page catalogue—a treatise on Potato and Corn Culture. 
Patent 
Allowed and 
Others 
Appliedfor. 
