1004. 
657 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
EVENTS OF THE WEEK. 
DOMESTIC.—A tornado swept over North St. Louis, Mo., 
August 19, killing one person, injuring r>0 others, and caus¬ 
ing a property loss of $100,000. Two persons were killed 
and 10 injured by the same tornado at Venice, III. 
Papers were filed in the I'nited States Circuit Court at 
Trenton, N. J., August 19, by Charles E. Hendrickson. Jr., 
of Jersey City, couvsel for (leorge Itiee, who is bringing suit 
against the Standard Oil Company for damages which he 
estimates at $3,000,000. Rice eharges that his business at 
Marietta, Ohio, was swept away by the trust. He had 4,000 
customers all over the United States, and his plant repre- 
ented an investment of $750,000. and annual profits of 
$50,000. lie says that the Standard Oil Company compelled 
the railroads to charge him and his customers prohibitive 
freight rates on all the goods they shipped. "When Kice 
wanted to buy tank cars in which to ship oil he found that 
the cars had all been bought up by the Standard Oil Com 
pany. He says his customers were boycotted and that oppo 
sit ion stores were established at which oil, groceries ana 
other wares were sold below cost, and that his sales agents 
were bribed and induced to betray him. Pending in the 
Court of Chancery is another suit brought by Kice against 
the Standard Oil Company. He claims that the company's 
charter in the State is illegal, and asks to have the company 
dissolved and its officers and directors enjoined from doing 
business. . . .The thermometer registered from 32 to 40 
throughout the Adirondacks August 18. Tomatoes, potatoes 
and apples were nipped by the frost and considerable dam¬ 
age is reported. . . . The State Line Traction Company 
has acquired enough property in Passaic, Sussex and Warren 
counties, N J., to complete a trolley line from Paterson, 
N. J., to Suffern, N. Y. The line is to be used almost exclu¬ 
sively for the transportation of milk from places in these 
counties and in Orange and Uockland counties, N. Y., to Pat¬ 
erson and thence by the Hudson Itiver Trolley Company to 
New York. This is following out an idea that has been suc¬ 
cessfully tried in some Western States by the men who have 
formed the State Line Traction Company. Eventually, it is 
said, the line will be run to Easton, Pa. . . . Fifteen 
persons were killed and many injured by a tornado at St. 
Paul, Minn.. August 21. The property loss is estimated at 
more than $1,000,000. The destruction of 000 feet of the 
high steel bridge over the Mississippi Itiver will entail a loss 
to the city of more Ilian $100,000. This bridge is the larg¬ 
est structure of its kind in the I nited States, considering its 
length from bank to bank, and was 205 feet above the water. 
Havoc was wrought in the downtown wholesale district, 
where much of the heavy financial loss falls. One hundred 
and twenty-five business houses suffered losses from $150,000 
down to $1,000. Minneapolis suffered damage estimated at 
$250,000. . . . The town of Willow Lakes, S. D., was 
almost destroyed by a tornado August 20: three persons were 
killed. The loss is said to be nearly $(100,000. ... A 
chemical laboratory for the examination of imported food 
products will be opened in the appraisers’ stores building of 
the Treasury Department in New iork by the Department of 
Agriculture September 5. Five expert chemists will be in¬ 
stalled. having been selected througn special examinations by 
the Civil Service Commission. Tins is the first of a number 
of port laboratories to be established to prevent impure food, 
the product of foreign countries, entering the United States. 
Congress will be asked for appropriations for such labora¬ 
tories at Boston. I’hilauelphia. New Orleans, San Francisco 
and Chicago. Eighty per cent of the food importations ar¬ 
rive at New York. Samples from each cargo hereafter will 
be taken direct from the appraiser to the laboratory. The 
Secretary of Agriculture is awaiting an interpretation of a 
portion of the law which, it. is believed, will exclude entirely 
the importation of sausages from Germany. The law ex¬ 
cludes articles from entry into the United States from for¬ 
eign countries which prohibit the importation of such arti¬ 
cles. Germany prohibits tne importation of sausage, and 
should the Attorney-General construe the law as it is be¬ 
lieved he will in this respect, it will be enforced against 
German sausage. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—The Yorktown (N. Y.) Grange 
held its annual picnic August 18 at the farm of T. F. Tomp¬ 
kins, Yorktown Heights. The gathering was addressed by 
Prof. J. E. Kice, of Cornell University. 
At the annual convention of the Society of American 
Florists J. C'. Vaughan, Cnicago, was elected president: J. R, 
Freeman, Washington, D. C., vice-president; II. B. Beatty, 
Oil City, Pa., treasurer, re-elected; W. J. Stewart, Boston, 
Mass., secretary, re-elected. The next meeting will be held 
at Washington, D. C. 
Prof. W. B. Alwood has resigned his position at the Vir¬ 
ginia Experiment Station. Blacksburg, and his present ad¬ 
dress is Charlottesville, Va. lie has been active in exper¬ 
iment station work for 22 years. 
The State Fair meeting of the Ohio Horticultural Society 
was held at Columbus, September 1. 
THE MENACE OF THE GYPSY MOTH. 
Too Much for One State. 
Secretary Ellsworth, of the Massachusetts State Board^ ot 
Agriculture, is doing what he can to enlist all the New 
England States for joint action for the destruction of the 
Gypsy moth. Not only is the infested district spreading rap¬ 
idly in Massachusetts as a consequence of the refusal of the 
Legislature to take action at the last session, but New Hamp¬ 
shire and Maine are threatened, and Rhode Island has a dan 
gerous colony which has been in existence for several years. 
The State Entomologist of New York, E. P. Felt, has recently 
visited the infested district north of Boston, and he says, 
speaking of the danger to New York State, that “the experi¬ 
ence of Massachusetts shows us that the time for extraor¬ 
dinary measures is at the first discovery of the pest, and 
almost any amount of time and money then expended is of 
inestimable value.” C. G. Atwood, the chief nurseryman ot 
the Stale Department of Agriculture for New York, who was 
with Mr. Felt, spent much time with Secretary Ellsworth and 
told him that he believed that the New York agricultural 
authorities would assist in every possible way to secure an 
appropriation from Congress for the destruction of the moth. 
It is becoming recognized that the moth is now a National 
danger, and all of the New England States but Connecticut 
have been heard from in reply to Secretary Ellsworth’s com¬ 
munications. A. W. Gilman, Secretary of the Maine State 
Board of Agriculture, writes: “I visited Massachusetts last 
year and the year before, and know just how dangerous 
these pests are, and I assure you that I shall co-operate with 
you in every way possible.” lie promises to see the Senators 
and Representatives of Maine in Congress, and he believes 
that they will do everything they can for the country. He 
savs that Maine is watching the case with great anxiety. 
Gov. N. J. Bacbelder, of New Hampshire, writes: “Replying 
to your fa\or in regard to co-operation in securing National 
legislation for the suppression of the Gypsy moth, I am in 
full accord with the suggestion, and will do what I can to 
secure favorable action by Congressmen from the State. I 
will bring the matter to their attention by a personal inter¬ 
view at the earliest opportunity.” 
John G. Clarke, Secretary of the Board of Agriculture of 
Rhode Island, says to Secretary Ellsworth that he will do 
all he can to secure a national appropriation. The Governor 
of Vermont is familiar with the situation and will give his 
support. The government at Washington has shown its 
appreciation of the situation by sending Dr. Charles L. 
Marlatt to make a personal inspection of the infested dis 
trlct. The other day a new colony was found in the town 
of Scltuate, on the South Shore, on the other side of Boston 
from the infested district. The beginning was doubtless due 
to a moth or caterpillar which was carried theie unwittingly. 
They are carried on electric cars, steam car's, carriages, farm 
wagons bringing produce to the city, and on the clothing of 
travelers. Trains for the White Mountain and Maine Sum¬ 
mer resorts pass through the worst infested districts, and this 
year the station door at Oak Grove, in the city of Malden, 
was nearly covered with caterpillars. So much for the 
danger of infestation of distant places. 
Now. in regard to the destructiveness of the caterpillars 
They will eat almost everything green. They have a special 
fondness for fruit trees, such as the apple, pear, peach and 
so on, and for the oak and willow among wild trees, though 
they take everything, even grass on the ground, when pressed. 
A list of 536 kinds of vegetation they will eat has been made. 
Deciduous trees will endure their attacks for two or three 
years, but evergreens are usually killed by one stripping. 
In the infested district are to be seen many formerly beau, 
tiful White pine trees, 50 feet tall or more, dead to the 
last twig, stripped of every needle by these voracious 
caterpillars. At Oak Grove station is a large grove of White 
oaks as lealless as in January, all dead in consequence of the 
stripping. Close by is an arbor vitae hedge eaten nearly 
clean by the caterpillars. In many places are large expanses 
of oak forest looking as if swept by a devouring fire. Some 
of these places are high on hills, against the sky, and give 
the impression of a terrible devastation by the pest. One 
tract which was visited the other day by a party of officials 
and was nearly stripped was said to contain 2,000 acres. 
This was but one instance. Smaller areas were seen on 
every hand in Malden, Melrose, Medford and other suburbs 
The infested district extends some 20 miles from east to 
west, but a less distance from north to south. 
One of the disagreeable features of the scourge, aside from 
the defoliation of trees in Summer and the large pecuniary 
loss, is the presence of the caterpillars in houses. When 
they are thickest they crawl all over the sides of houses. 
This year several houses were abandoned by the tenants, 
who were driven out by tne caterpillars. The worms crawled 
into pantries, bedrooms, closets and everywhere, so that the 
people gave up the contest in disgust and shut up their 
houses. This annoyance is at an end for this season, for the 
caterpillar stage is about ended. The eating is done and the 
creatures are entering the pupa stage. From this the moths 
will emerge in due time. The female will my her eggs and 
die and there will be no more danger until the caterpillars 
hatch out next Spring just as the tender leaves are suffi¬ 
ciently grown to serve as food. Now, as to the experience 
of Massachusetts. The State has spent some $1,155,000 to 
exterminate the pest. To-day the situation is worse than 
ever.. This year it is far worse than last year. Next year, 
unless the eggs are destroyed before they hatch, or the cater¬ 
pillars are killed, it will be Immensely worse than this year. 
The trouble began in 1868 by the accidental liberation in 
Medford of moths, which were being experimented upon for 
silk. For about 20 years they did not attract attention. 
By that time they got their foothold. Municipalities took 
hold with the property owners and for a few years did some¬ 
thing. But not enough. The pest increased. Then the 
State had to step in. A policy of extermination was decided 
upon. This was expensive. Large appropriations were 
needed. The work was under charge of the State Board of 
Agriculture. It was well done, in the main. It was a 
demonstrated success. The pest was absolutely destroyed in 
some localities, and in the worst infested district the danger 
was greatly reduced. Experience showed how to Improve 
the means employed, and if this policy had been continued 
there is not any doubt in the minds of those who know most 
about the case that the extermination would have been com¬ 
plete. But the work was so well done that it operated for 
its own defeat. The caterpillars were held in check, and the 
people did not realize the true situation. Politics got into 
the management. Under requests from politicians high in 
the State, the managers of the work felt compelled, at their 
solicitation, to give employment to their henchmen. These 
sometimes, proved lazy and inefficient, so that they had to 
be discharged as totally Incompetent. This angered them 
and made the politicians opposed to the work. The dis¬ 
charged employees perhaps scattered the moths maliciously ; 
at: any rate, it is believed that they did. Residents of the 
locality, who saw these lazy fellows “sogerlng” instead ot 
working, gave currency to gossip that the Gypsy moth work 
was a scandal. There is a particular influence which was 
rightfully discredited during the early days of the exper¬ 
iment, powerful among the agriculturists, which was exerted 
to the utmost to bring blame upon the management. All 
these influences, with the sense of security caused by the 
efficiency of the work done, led to such severe criticism that 
the State abandoned the undertaking five years ago as a 
waste of over $1,000,000. But the survivors of the moth 
have improved their respite. They have multiplied till the 
fault-finding residents are now loudly Imploring the State to 
come to their aid. But the moth now covers more territory 
than ever. It is being carried to new places. If is liable 
to break out in other States, as it has broken out in Rhode 
Island. It will cost far more now to restrain the scourge 
than has been spent on it. Hence the demand that the 
National Government step in and help. Unless this is done 
the property loss will be incalculable. The scientific men 
here say that the talk of parasites is childish. Destruction 
by more vigorous measures alone will suffice. Unless speedy 
action is taken the damage will soon amount to millions 
yearly, and there will be no end to the spread of the moth. 
Forests and farms will alike be eaten up and the country 
will be denuded. Natural enemies have proved utterly unable 
to hold the pest is check. 
Can the moth be exterminated? This question was asked 
the other day of the practical and scientific men in the party 
which was visiting the devastated district. “Yes,” was an¬ 
swered by Dr. Marlatt. the scientific expert from Washing¬ 
ton ; by Prof. Charles II. Fernald, of the Massachusetts Agri¬ 
cultural College, who has made a special study of the work 
and was familiar with the previous experiment; by Prof. 
A. II. Kirk land, who had much to do with the former work 
and is a fine entomologist; by Gen. Samuel C. Lawrence, of 
Medford, who has spent large sums personally in exterminat 
ing the pest on his fine estate, and by the secretary and mem¬ 
bers of the State Board of Agriculture who have watched the 
operations from the beginning. They were all sure that ex¬ 
termination to the last individual was practical, that it 
woulTl be more economical than slow treatment and that it 
ought to he done at once. But they agreed that it would 
take a great amount of money—more than has been spent 
yet by Massachusett s, r. l. b. 
FRUIT PROSPECTS. 
The prospect for grapes is not as good as earlier in the 
season. Quite a little rot is reported, and in my own vine¬ 
yard the Concords are quite bad : Worden aud Moore’s Early 
less so. I do not look for any better crop than last year, 
but I am not very well informed in regard to prospects 
across the river. Fruit crops have been very light with me 
this year. w. F. T. 
Poughkeepsie, N. Y. 
I think the apple crop in this locality will be very nearly 
as large as that of 1903; the quality, judging from present 
apperances will be good. Bartlett pears are a very light 
crop, Keiffers quite plentiful ; only a few plums. In refer 
ence to barrels, they are being offered at from 37 to 40 cents. 
One of our large buyers has secured a large amount of stock, 
and is making a large number of barrels and selling at 37 
cents. Farmers are buying quite freely in order to avoid 
the trouble experienced last season. f. e. v. e. 
Stanley, N. Y. 
The crop of peaches, plums, quinces and prunes is light. 
The apple crop, I think, is aoout three-fourths as much as 
last year. So much rain in the Spring developed fungus, 
and shows badly on the fruit in unsprayed orchards, and in 
others that were not thoroughly sprayed. The rains hin¬ 
dered many from spraying who have sprayed other years. A 
good many fruit growers are buying barrels ar from 35 to 40 
cents eacli. and will not have the trouble of last year for 
barrels. One company is using a barrel machine and making 
1,000 a day, and can turn ouf 3,000 if necessary. One man 
has sold his crop of Duchess apples for $1.75 per barrel, 
the only sale I have heard of. Buyers are making inquiries 
about the Winter crop, but are not making any offers yet. 
Hilton, N. Y. B. w. b. 
The Connecticut Pomological Society has made a rather 
complete census of the fruit growers, and we find that dam¬ 
age to trees and plants from the severe Winter of 1903-04 
is widespread. Almost every grower reports more or less 
injury, peach trees suffering the most. In many orchards 
as many as 75 per cent of the trees were killed and about 
every orchard in the State shows some damage. Among 
small fruit the blackberry was hit hardest and the crop was 
an unusually short one. Other berries were an average crop. 
It would not be safe to put the peach yield at over one-third 
of a full crop, that is, for the whole State. In a few sec¬ 
tions the orchards show a nice crop, especially those located 
on the highest lands or locations especially favored as to 
shelter, and there will probably be peaches enough to supply 
local markets, but few. if any, to ship outside. This is cer¬ 
tainly an “off year” for the Connecticut peach grower. A 
half crop of excellent quality expresses the situation as to 
apples. The eastern and northern portions of the State will 
harvest a good many apples, but along the coast fruit is 
scarce. To sum up. conditions are variable, but for the 
entire State it is certainly a season of light fruit crops. 
Milford, Conn. h. c. c. m. 
This year in this part of the State, Napa County, decid¬ 
uous fruit seems to be from a half to a tenth crop ; prices 
high. Peaches for canning sell for two to three cents in 
quantities of 50 to 100 pounds and more. All fruit is sold 
here by the pound, the usual container being the 50-pound 
box, which holds about a bushel. Strange to say, in this 
land of fruit and flowers, 1 picked 70 pounds of wormy 
peaches from two old Alexander trees this year, on June 28, 
and sold them at 4 cents per pound to a dealer who retailed 
them for eight cents a pound the same day. Grapes are the 
heaviest crop in several years, and a fair price is expected. 
An agent for an English firm recently canvassed this country 
for a poultry feed composed of Alfalfa, capsicum, sulphur, 
charcoal and other things, price 15 cents per pound straight 
Mixture probably costs him two cents; certainly a money 
maker for him. What about the farmers’ side? Will such 
feed tend to keep hens healthy or merely overstimulate them 
for awhile? m. j. m. 
St. Helena, Cal. 
THE APPLE CROP. 
The prospect for apples in this vicinity is fully as good 
as if not better than last year. Fruit growers are ordering 
barrels earlier than last year, which may prevent a scarcity 
later. They are selling at 36 and 38 cents apiece. 
Holley, N. Y. F. H. G. 
Apples not as large crop as last year, and many orchards 
unsprayed on account of rush of work last Spring will 
have no No 1 free from scab. Not one orchard in five has 
No. 1. Wo have 3,000 or 4,000 barrels free from scab. . 1 
am not looking for a big price ; think $1.50 No. 1 and No. 2 
packed together will be top. c. a. 
Medina, N. Y. 
This is an “off year” in this locality as far as Wintei 
apples are concerned, there being very few indeed, but there 
is a very fair crop of Summer and Fall fruit of good quality. 
There is no fruit shipped from this section in barrels, all of 
it being delivered in market from wagons. c. J. w. 
Sewickley, Fa. 
I size up the prospect of The apple crop in this locality 
as compared with last year: Kings, 1 *4 ; Greenings, three 
times, and Baldwins one-half as many as lust year. Other 
varieties too light to make an estimate. The average grade 
now promises to be that of last year. There is, however, 
more fungus, and some apples are wormy. I think that the 
total will not exceed three-fourths of the crop of last year 
in this county. Barrels are plentiful, selling from 35 to 36 
cents, and most of the large growers have purchased their 
barrels. Fear crop is very light, but more peaches in the 
counties of Niagara, Orleans, Monroe and Wayne than there 
ever was, and the quality promises to be good. s. c. b. 
Medina, N. Y. 
I estimate a full crop of apples here this year; possibly 
larger than last year, but I doubt the quality will be as 
good, as spot is reported in some localities aud this may 
affect the final results. We have had an unprecedented 
drought in this part of Nova Scotia this season, but have 
now geneious rains. There has been much complaint ot 
apples dropping, but I always find that there are plenty 
left; nature evens up her work. As to barrels, I do not 
anticipate any shortage this year, as the manufacturers are 
fully aware what will be required. Last year our shortage 
in barrels was caused by an underestimate of the crop and 
sufficient stock, especially hoops, was not provided, and as 
we use split hoops made from the young growth they cannot 
he made in the Summer season while the bark peels. We 
are paying the usual price, say 20 cents at factory, or 22 
delivered; this I believe is much less than yon pay for 
them. Fears are a light crop, and plums medium ; other 
small fruits were a very light crop, and all farm crops are 
light in this, the western part of Nova .Scotia. 
Falmouth, N. S. c. m’l. 
BEAN HARVESTING. 
Recent rains have caused considerable damage to the grow¬ 
ing beau crop, especially on low wet fields, but these same 
rains have benefited the crops located on sandy or gravel 
soil, especially where the soil is rich enough to supply the 
nourishment necessary to keep the crop growing. 
LeRoy, N. Y. n. b. ic. 
I like the old method of harvesting by hand the best, but 
help is hard to get, and so we have to use a cutter. One 
large handful stood on its head is better than a bunch. A 
good bean thrashing machine will thrash dry beans clean 
at one job. Many are using a bean harvester and a side de¬ 
livery rake. There is one make of side delivery rake that 
is much better than any others. Beans are a short crop 
here. c. a 
Medina, N. Y. 
We used to pull all our beans by hand and stand them on 
their heads until they were dry enough to draw into the 
barn. Now we pull either by hand or machines. The ma¬ 
chines pull two rows at a time, and we follow the machines 
with a fork and shake them out of the dirt and put them in 
small bunches. We only stack in very wet seasons, when we 
cannot get them dry without doing it. In this section we 
have thrashing machines made on purpose to thrash beans, 
and they are able to thrash them all out the first time if the 
beans are dry. w. r. n. 
Wayne Co., N. Y. 
NEW ENGLAND BALDWINS WANTED. 
I have read your paper for several years, and must say 
that I now consider it the best farm paper I keep. I have 
traveled all through the New England States and New York, 
twice buying apples to ship West. Your crop reports and 
comments on the apple crop have been of more value to me 
than any other information I was able to obtain. Now I 
often wonder why some of the larger apple growers in the 
New England States do not do a little advertising to attract 
buyers. I am looking for 3,000 to 5.000 barrels of New Eng¬ 
land Baldwins, and would prefer to get them all in one or 
two young orchards 15 to 25 years old. So far I have not 
been able to locate any good-sized orchards outside of west¬ 
ern New York. I prefer New England Baldwins to New 
York fruit, but one cannot get an even lot or apples if one 
has to pick them up in small orchards. c. v. 
La Crescent, Minn._ 
BUSINESS BITS. 
A good range is a much appreciated convenience in the 
home, and no investment will give better returns. The Born 
Steel Range Co., of Cleveland, O., make a full line of ranges 
for all puiposes. They are made scientifically, of first-class 
materials, and will give many years of satisfactory service. 
Write to this company for free catalogue. 
Tiie “Mend-A-Rip” is proving to be a wonderful success 
in the hands of enterprising people who are selling it, be¬ 
cause it "makes good.” It pleases the buyer and helps sell 
others. Any reader who will write the maker, J. C. Foote 
Foundry Co., at Fredericktown, O., will receive full partic¬ 
ulars and a special agent’s price by return mail. 
One of the unique exhibits at the Louisiana Purchase Ex¬ 
position is that of the Banner Rubber Company, of St. Louis. 
Their booth is in Block 22-A, in the southeastern section ot 
the Palace of Manufactures. Here, with a force detailed 
from the St. Louis factory, the actual work of making rub¬ 
ber boots and shoes is carried on. Visitors may witness each 
successive step in tl\b making of rubber wear. The Banner 
Rubber Company lays special stress upon the point of their 
goods being made entirely of pure, new rubber with no addi¬ 
tions of other ingredients which cheapen the cost of manu¬ 
facture, but lessen wearing qualities. It is well known that 
additions to rubber are made for the purpose of cheapening. 
The loss in wear is 20 per cent for every 10 per cent sub¬ 
stitution of any filling ingredient. Herein is the explanation 
of so many rubber boots and shoes quickly “going to pieces.’ 
A familiar sign in this company’s advertising, the two-inch 
strip cut from the sole of a boot and sustaining a weight 
of 110 pounds, is shown at the booth. The strip has 
stretched to more than twice its original length. Nothing 
but purest rubber could stand such a strain or show such 
elasticity. For those who have yet to attend the Fair this 
is a most interesting booth to visit. 
