1904. 
625 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Events of the Week. 
DOMESTIC.—Federal steamboat inspectors testified Au¬ 
gust 2 before the Federal Commission at New York that the 
steamer Grand Republic, sister boat to the General Slocum, 
had been Inspected and found to be carrying defective equip- 
ment, that the lifeboats were rotten, that her boats had no 
rowlocks, that her life belts and oars were rotten, and that 
her rafts did not meet the necessary requirements. About 
1,000 life belts were found worthless, and the steamer was 
withdrawn from service until legal requirements were com¬ 
plied with. . . . Seven of the eight persons who were 
out on Commodore Irving's yacht Oneida, August 4, near 
Digby, N. S., were drawned by the capsizing of a tender in 
which they attempted to reach shore after the yacht had 
grounded on Bear Island bar near Smith’s Cove. . . . 
JJnited States officials with warrants entered the office of the 
North American Trust Co., at 144 Tremont street, Boston, 
August 4, and placed the officers under arrest. They are 
charged with conspiracy to defraud the public and with con¬ 
ducting a business which in its operation violates the Feder¬ 
al law against lotteries. The concern had branch offices in 
Dorchester, New Bedford, Leominster, Salem, Lowell, Haver¬ 
hill, Portland, Providence and Fall River. The concern has 
been in operation about eight months. People living in every 
part of New England got circulars inviting them to purchase 
a home, a business, furniture, etc. This, it was said, could be 
done on easy terms by becoming a member of the trust. To 
become a member one was obliged to pay a fee of $5 for 
initiation and $1.25 each week. After a certain amount had 
been paid, it was advertised that the home or business or 
whatever was wanted would be bought. The scheme has 
been worked in a way similar to that of the “suit” game, 
which was operated extensively here several years ago. 
. . . Dispatches from Juneau say Captain Finch and Cap¬ 
tain Smith have located the safe in the purser's office on the 
steamship Islander, which lies in 50 fathoms of water off 
Douglass Island, Alaska. The safe contains $200,000 in 
Klondike gold, and returning Ivlondikers on the vessel had 
over $200,000 more. The divers are planning to raise the 
entire vessel, and In that event will recover the bodies of GO 
persons who went down on the ship. . . . An excursion 
train on the Black Forest Railroad, near Williamsport, I’a., 
was held up for an hour August 6 by four bears at a trestle 
crossing a mountain stream. One of the bears was caught 
between the ties and the engine was stopped. Then it was 
found that portions of the trestle had been so undermined 
by the boars as to be unsafe. Stone throwing did not frighten 
the animals, and they were finally driven off with torches 
made of long sticks and waste taken from the axle boxes of 
the cars. Then temporary repairs were made, and the train 
resumed its journey. There were 150 passengers on board, 
mostly women and children. The Black Forest Railroad is a 
narrow gauge which penetrates a dense forest region. . . . 
Fire swept through a big building at Buffalo, N. Y., August 
8, causing a loss of $400,000. . . . August 7 74 persons 
were killed in a railroad wreck near Pueblo, Col. A cloud¬ 
burst filled the channel of Steeles Hollow, an arroya which 
joins Mountain Creek near Eden, eight miles north of Pueblo. 
Steeles Hollow is spanned by a bridge 90 feet long and 15 
feet high. The hollow was full of water when the train 
approached, and the engineer, seeing that the rails and ties 
were in place, failed to check his train, which was running 
45 miles an hour. A moment later the train dropped through 
the bridge, the baggage car and smoker being crushed by the 
engine, while the chair car broke loose and floated away on 
the raging torrent, all but three of its occupants being slowly 
drowned as it careened along to a point half a mile away. 
August 9 40 persons were still missing. . . . Fire started 
in the casting room of the Albion Iron Works at Victoria, 
B. C., August 9, and spread to an adjoining residence dis¬ 
trict. Fitty-nine buildings in all were destroyed, with a loss 
of perhaps $200,000. . . . The schooner Hydrangea ar¬ 
rived at North Sydney, Nova Scotia, August 8, bringing two 
fishermen, Peter Gradley and C. Corley, who went astray in 
their dory from the Gloucester schooner Indiana. The men 
were picked up 40 miles off St. Pierre, after they had been 
11 days without food or water. They have recovered. 
ADMINISTRATION.-—Minister Bowen has lodged a strong 
protest with President Castro against the action of the Vene¬ 
zuela Government in seizing the asphalt mines belonging to 
the New York and Bermudez Company. The receiver of the 
Government is said to be supported by two Venezuelan war¬ 
ships in his occupation of the company’s property. Through 
unofficial sources it is intimated that when in the midst of 
his last desperate struggle with the rebels Castro made prom¬ 
ises to certain persons and corporations in return for their 
support financially in his contest. These promises were said 
to involve the transfer to these people of concessions at that 
time in the possession of foreign corporations. . . . The 
American cruisers Olympia, Cleveland and Baltimore, under 
the command of Rear Admiral Jewell, sailed August 8 from 
Villefranche for Smyrna, wither they have been despatched 
in connection with the questions at issue between the United 
States and Turkey. It is apparent that the officials of the 
State Department are determined that Turkey shall be made 
to pay heed to the demands of the United States, and that 
the time for the courtesies of diplomatic exchange has passed. 
It is said that if the presence of the warships has no effect, 
this country will sever diplomatic relations with Turkey. 
PHILIPPINES.—The Philippines are threatened by inva¬ 
sions of the plague and cholera. At no time since the Amer¬ 
ican occupation have the islands been in such danger of 
quarantinable diseases from so many points as now. Plague 
is epidemic in southern Formosa and at Hongkong and Amoy. 
Hongkong is a source of great danger to the Philippines, as 
traffic between that port and Manila is heavy and the run for 
steamers is only two days. Cholera has appeared at Hong¬ 
kong in addition to tbife plague, and also at Saigon, which car¬ 
ries on a great rice trade with the Philippines. The plague 
has long had a foothold in the islands, in spite of every 
effort to stamp it out, and smallpox is prevalent. 
Apple crop pretty slim; estimated 40 per cent of usual 
crop of Summer and Fall varieties; 33 1-3 per cent Winter 
varieties, Jonathan and Ben Davis principally. What 
Grimes Golden there are show perfect fruit. The above 
estimate generally covers a territory of some 50 or more 
miles. a. z. M. 
Mountain Grove, Mo. 
THE SAN JOSE SCALE. 
What It Has Done in Connecticut. 
FIRST APPEARANCE.—I first saw it in this section six 
years ago on a few trees in an orchard of Japan plums in 
our town, a few miles from where I live. Thfl orchard was 
a fine one; had borne a splendid crop the previous year. I 
advised the owner to pull and burn the infested trees, telling 
him I feared it would prove a serious pest. He said he 
thought it could be controlled by using a Bordeaux spray. 
He did spray with Bordeaux; it apparently had no effect 
upon the scale. That season it spread all over the plum 
orchard and a peach orchard nearby, practically killing 
them. He cut down all the trees the next year, and has not 
had the courage to plant any fruit trees since. 
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.—We have two orchards, one 
containing 30 acres, that was planted with peach and apple, 
the other 50 acres, all peach. They are located five miles 
apart. The scale appeared in both at the same time about 
five years ago. We promptly pulled up and burned all the 
infested trees we could find, about 20 trees in each orchard. 
The next Spring we found still more scale; pulled and 
burned the infested trees in one orchard and sprayed those 
in the other with crude petroleum. The oil apparently killed 
the scale and did not hurt the trees, but a neighbor killed 
most of the trees in his peach orchard to which he applied 
it. The following year, 1902, the pest had Increased greatly 
in both orchards. A bright-eyed young man that Spring 
examined every tree with a magnifying glass, and tacked- a 
card on every tree on which he found them. These trees, 
about 200, were sprayed with the lime, sulphur and salt mix¬ 
ture. This seemed to be effective on the trees sprayed, but 
probably there were many trees that had a few scale on 
them that were not noticed and not sprayed. 
LAST YEAR'S INCREASE.—In the Spring of 190ft it had 
increased still more. It was practically all over the or¬ 
chards; a few trees were killed, part of the limbs on many 
others dead also. We decided to spray all the peach with 
the lime, sulphur and salt, and did so. This spraying did 
not seem to be as effective as former sprayings had been; 
this we think was owing to the frequent and heavy rain¬ 
storms which occurred during and just after the time of 
spraying. While gathering the peaches last September we 
were surprised to find the scale on so many of the branches, 
and we were still more surprised to note how i-apidly it had 
increased from September to December. It seems to prop- 
'agate faster and get in its most damaging work during the 
Autumn months. 
EXPERIENCE THIS YEAR.—The present year, 1904, 
opened with about five per cent of the peach trees, now 
seven years old, killed entirely; 20 per cent more with part 
or all the main branches dead. These latter trees are now, 
July 1, throwing out new shoots from the trunk and lower 
part of the main branches, and may make new heads. The 
orchards were all sprayed again last April with the lime 
and sulphur mixture, the salt being omitted this year. The 
sulphur was put in with the lime while it was being slaked. 
The mixture was cooked with steam, the trees sprayed both 
ways, so as to hit all the twigs and branches possible. We 
endeavored to do a good job, costly and unpleasant though 
It was. We used 20 barrels of sulphur. The 30 acre or¬ 
chard which was planted 10 years ago was a mixed orchard, 
apple and peach. The trees were set 15 feet apart, every 
ninth tree being an apple. When the trees were eight years 
old, the peach having passed their best period of usefulness, 
were taken out. That left us with a fine, thrifty apple 
orchard with the trees 45 feet apart. We can say that In 
our case planting peach and apple together worked well; the 
peach did not interfere with the apple nor the apple with 
the peach. Previous to 1903 the scale had not attacked the 
apple to any serious extent, but last season it spread prac¬ 
tically all over the orchard. Much to our surprise, we 
found while gathering the fruit, and most of the trees 
fruited, that the apples from nearly every tree were marked 
with the small red spots showing the presence of the scale. 
We could find the scale on some of the branches, but in most 
cases the fruit was the only thing to show its presence so 
far as it could be noticed with the naked eye. This orchard 
was also sprayed with lime and sulphur last April; pre¬ 
viously it had been sprayed with Bordeaux only. A few of 
the smaller trees that had been planted later to fill vacan¬ 
cies, trees three or four years old, were dead this Spring, 
killed by the scale, and a few of the larger trees have some 
dead branches. 
We had a small orchard of Japan plums that was early 
captured by the scale. We sprayed the trees on which we 
found it once with the lime, sulphur and salt, but the fol¬ 
lowing year it was so bad we thought it wise to cut and 
burn all the trees. We have another small orchard of 
Abundance plums that so far has not been seriously injured. 
Our pear orchard does not show injury from the scale yet, 
but I notice some large isolated trees that have not been 
sprayed on which all the lower branches are dead, killed by 
the scale. The pest seems to thrive equally well on the 
apple, pear, peach and plum. It will kill them all, but seems 
to be more quickly fatal to the peach and plum. 
ON SMALL PLACES.—I have no personal knowledge of 
what the scale is doing except in the town where I live. I 
noticed in one section in ihe village occupied by families 
having small places, that the fruit trees were being injured. 
Some valuable large apple trees 50 years old have died and 
been cut down; others are suffering; so are the pear and 
plum. The owners in many cases do not know the rear 
cause of the trouble, it is so inconspicuous. I had the curi¬ 
osity a few weeks ago to stop and examine the trees around 
the home of an intelligent mechanic. Some of the trees 
were dead, others partially so. I found them full of scale, 
and told him so. lie had not noticed them, but supposed 
the extreme cold of last Winter had caused the damage. 
When the scale takes up its abode in the fruit gardens and 
home lots of our village residents it is likely to have its own 
way, and go on unmolested, for in many cases they do not 
notice its presence, and if they do know they hava it, will 
not think it wise to go to the trouble and expense of fighting 
it. It looks now as if fruit growing on small places would 
be difficult and costly. 
HOW DOES IT INJURE THE TREE?—Of course we 
know It sucks the sap from the tree, and does it through all 
the warm season and perhaps through the entire year, and 
thus exhausts it, but in my opinion the simple removal of 
the sap, as we take it from the maple when we tap it for 
making sugar, does not account for all the damage done by 
the scale. It seems to disturb and derange the functions of 
the tree. Perhaps its secretions act as poisons. The red¬ 
dish color and rough, uneven appearance of the bark and 
wood under where it has worked and the unnatural appear¬ 
ance of the wood on which the scale has been killed, when 
the tree makes a new growth, all indicate a serious disturb¬ 
ance in the life and growth of the tree. 
WHAT WILL IT DO IN THE FUTURE?—If it goes on 
increasing as it has done here during the past six years, 
there Is cause for great apprehension. The scale will have 
to he one of the great factors to be considered in fruit grow¬ 
ing. Apparently it has come to stay. It feeds on so many 
species of trees and shrubs that are growing everywhere in 
orchards, pastures, meadows and forests, that man can 
hardly hope to exterminate it. lie may hope and expect to 
control it in orchards that are large enough to pay for 
spraying, but the fruit gardens and isolated trees are likely 
to have a hard time. It looks now as if the small grower 
would be put out of business, and that only large growers 
will be able to contend successfully. 
THE BRIGHT SIDE.—From 50 to 75 per cent of the 
scale are dead. Many die every Winter, but more than 
usual succumbed last Winter. In California, the first State 
in the Union to be afflicted with it, we are informed that it 
has largely passed away, so that fruit growers there do not 
now fear it. Natural causes, the Australian ladybug and 
other parasites, have been too much for it. We hope all the 
other States will soon be as fortunate in this respect as 
California has been. Insect pests often have their day, like 
empires they rise and fall. The canker-worm is an example 
of this; very destructive for a few years, then passing away. 
Let us hope the San Josd scale will soon depart, never to 
return. Incidentally, the lime and sulphur spray is likely 
to prove valuable in other ways beside killing the scale. As 
a fungicide it seems to prevent the Peach leaf-curl and di¬ 
minish the scab and brown rot of the fruit. What it will 
do for the fungus troubles of the apple and pear we have 
not yet learned, but hope for good results. Difficulties over¬ 
come and victories won help to develop strong, noble char¬ 
acter. The fruit growers of to-day have a chance to become 
great in this respect. geo. f. platt. 
New Haven Co., Conn. 
INDIANA FRUIT.—-Cold, wet weather during the bloom¬ 
ing season prevented pollination and fostered blight and 
scab. The most favorable reports come from the northern 
part of the State, where the blooming season came later, and 
the weather was more favorable. The blight is the most 
malignant and prevalent for many years—-affecting apple, 
pear and quince. Many trees have died, and all are affected 
more or less. It seems that no variety of pear or apple 
is exempt from its ravages. It began its work surprisingly 
early and will continue until the wood hardens. There is no 
remedy except to cut off and burn the affected part. 
Peaches are good on the knobs along the Ohio River and on 
elevated positions elsewhere. Plums are abundant. The 
Japanese the most favorable, the native next, and the Euro¬ 
peans last. Grapes are very promising, the clusters being 
numerous, large and compact. Some not reported. The 
averages for the three sections of the State are : Apples— 
In southern Indiana, early, 38 per cent, late 31 per cent; 
in central Indiana, early 40 per cent, late 35 per cent; in 
northern Indiana, early 52 per cent, late 38 per cent. About 
one-half of these will be marketable. Pears—In southern 
Indiana, 40 per cent; in central Indiana, 35 per cent; in 
northern Indiana, 43 per cent. Peaches—Southern Indiana, 
35 per cent; central Indiana, 7 per cent; northern Indiana, 
1G per cent. Plums—Southern Indiana, Japanese, GO per 
cent; native, 75 per cent; European, 50 per cent. Central 
Indiana, Japanese, 70 per cent; native, 75 per cent; Euro¬ 
pean, 72 per cent. Northern Indiana, Japanese, 80 per cent; 
native, G5 per cent; European, 50 per cent. Grapes—South¬ 
ern Indiana. 75 per cent; central Indiana, 85 per cent; 
northern Indiana, 65 per cent. 
Corn for most part is looking well; wheat crop is light, 
last Winter killed it badly. Oats promised well, but some 
fields which have not been cut are lodged worse than I 
ever saw ; they do not look as if any machine could get them 
all. The potato crop until the blight struck about two 
weeks ago promised to be very large, but now where they 
have not been treated with Bordeaux they are all dead, and 
the prospect is that tney will rot badly; are rotting more or 
less now. A few have been sold at 50 cents, but since the rot 
commenced the buyers have shut down, and probably will 
not buy any more until they stop rotting. It has been the 
worst season for blight for many years, and we shall have 
a good chance to see what spraying will do.. Many have 
sprayed and many have not, some leaving a few without as 
an experiment, and now the sprayed ones are green and the 
tubers growing while the others are dead and rotting. They 
had made a fine growth before the blight, some even then 
yielding over 200 bushels per acre. This is getting ot be 
quite a potato region, some having from 25 up to as high as 
55 acres, so if the crop is lost it will make a great difference 
with our farmers. b. c. f. 
Suffolk Co., N. Y. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
The Olds Gasoline Engine Works, Lansing, Mich., write us 
as follows: “We received from your subscriber, Victor 
Perry, Daws, N. Y„ suggestion for a name for our new type 
engine advertised in May in The It. N.-Y., which entitles 
him to the reward of second prize, and we are enclosing him 
to-day our draft for $50. We thought you would be inter¬ 
ested in knowing this fact.” There is brains enough in The 
It. N.-Y. family to meet any emergency. 
The Gieat Western endless apron manure spreader ought 
to be considered one of the most necessary and most im¬ 
portant machines on the farm. While called a manure 
spreader, it is equally adapted to the right distribution of 
every character of farm fertilizer. The Great Western cat¬ 
alogue, a comprehensive book, may be had simply by address¬ 
ing the manufacturers, the Smith Manure Spreader Co., 18 
S. Clinton street, Chicago. It lays before the reader in a 
most convincing way the advantages of spreading manure by 
machinery,- and shows the comparative merits of the Great 
Western 
John Joynt, of Lucknow, Canada, the hard-wood ashes 
man, is on a trip through the States. He tells us that he has 
100 teams gathering ashes over a territory 300 miles from 
east to west by 200 miles north to south. This is a wooded 
country, and practically all the machinery is run by wood 
power, so that a large amount of ashes is produced in the 
factories and mills as well as in the homes. This Mr. Joynt 
gathers and ships to his farm customers for fertilizer pur¬ 
poses. He issues an invitation to customers to inspect his 
method of gathering these ashes and guarantees their purity. 
If you buy fertilizers of any kind it will be worth your while 
to write him for his information on ashes. 
P. & B. Cider and Vinegar paint Is widely used by cider 
and vinegar makers for coating and preserving presses, bar¬ 
rels, racks, tanks, etc., to prevent decay and corrosion, and 
to ensure the retention of the flavor of the liquids. The 
paint is and has been for 18 years manufactured solely by 
the Standard Paint Company, 100 William Street, New York, 
and has attained great prestige among high class cider and 
vinegar makers. The following unsolicited letter was re¬ 
ceived last month from Lawrence Hardy, Groveland, Mass.; 
“Please send me prices of your P. & B. paint for coating bar¬ 
rels, racks, etc. I have used it and have been pleased with 
the quality, and heartily endorse it for cider and vinegar 
makers’ use.” One of the strong features of P. & B. paint 
is its tasteless and odorless nature and the fact that it will 
not blister or peel. It has a hard smooth surface, not unlike 
enamel, and can be easily kept clean with ordinary soap 
and water. 
