1904 . 
865 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Events of the Week. 
DOMESTIC.—By a vote of 153 to 83 the Vermont House 
of Representatives November 16 refused to pass to a third 
reading and so defeated the bill to abolish capital punish¬ 
ment in the State. A similar bill passed the House two 
years ago and was defeated by only three votes in the 
Senate. . . .While the Illinois Central was transporting 
a car of Italian miners into Zeigler. Ill., Joseph Leiter's 
mining town. November 16, the car was fired into from 
ambush and one man was killed instantly. About 25 shots 
were fired. . . . November 18 14 miners were killed at 
the Carbonado mines, near Morrisey, B. C., as the result of 
a terrific explosion of coal gas. . . . Four persons were 
killed and a score of others were injured by a series of gas 
explosions that completely destroyed the plant of the Pyle 
Electric Headlight Company in South Chicago, III., November 
18. All the buildings near the demolished plant were badly 
damaged, windows were shattered for blocks, and persons 
walking in the streets were thrown from their feet. All of 
the dead were buried under tons of burning timber and 
hot brick and iron, making it impossible to remove their 
bodies for hours after the accident occurred. Firemen 
poured water on the portion of the building in which the 
dead were thought to be buried until the flames were sub¬ 
dued. The Pyle National Electric Headlight Company is 
largely engaged in supplying illumination for railroad 
coaches. This illumlnant is forced into small retorts, which 
when attached under the floor of a car will supply it with 
light for months. In order to make this possible the retorts 
are subjected to an extremely high pressure. It was such 
a tank that caused the first explosion. Then retort after 
retort exploded until nine were destroyed. . . . The Mis¬ 
souri State Building at the World’s Fair was destroyed by 
fire November 10, resulting from the explosion of a hot-water 
heater in the basement. Instantly the flames shot up 
through the rotunda, and the north wing and cupola were a 
solid mass of flames within 10 minutes after the explosion. 
While responding to the alarm Captain Edward O'Neill, of 
World's Fair Truck- No. 4, was seriously hurt, George Gar- 
benbach was killed, and Jeremiah Fagin of the same com¬ 
pany was probably fatally injured. It was necessary for 
the truck to pass through the mining gulch, and owing to 
the darkness the horses left the road. They separated when 
approaching a large tree, the pole striking the obstruction 
with terrific force, upsetting the truck and hurling the crew 
in every direction. The burned building cost $145,000, and 
in it were $75,000 worth of furnishings, the most valuable 
of which were portraits of all former Missouri Governors 
and Supreme Judges, which cannot be replaced. The fire 
was the most spectacular that has occurred in St. Louis in 
years. . . . November 20 12 persons lost their lives in 
a tenement fire in Williamsburg, N. Y. Of a family of seven 
persons there is only a single survivor, the father, and he 
lies at the German Hospital, Williamsburg, so horribly 
burned that the chances of nis escaping death are remote. 
Still another family of four persons was entirely wiped out 
save a boy of 13, and he, too, is in the hospital suffering 
from what the doctors fear are fatal injuries. All those who 
were killed were Italians, living huddled together in six 
tiny rooms on the top, or third floor, of the tenement. 
Fire at Eufaula, Ala., November 20, destroyed a fine 
block of buildings; loss $500,000. . . . Jones & Adams, 
a coal distributing firm of Chicago, November 21, in the 
United States Court in that city, recovered a verdict for 
$63,300 against the Luhrig Coal Company. The latter is 
one of the leading Ohio coal operating concerns, and in the 
coal famine season of 1002-3 was under contract to deliver a 
large supply of coal to the Chicagoans, at rates far below 
the ruling coal prices for that time. It failed on the con¬ 
tract. and the Chicagoans claimed to have lost $120,000 
profits in consequence. The Luhrig company, among other 
defences, pleaded the Anti-Trust law, alleging that the con¬ 
tract was intended to create a monopoly of tfieir output in 
the Northwest. This plea did not avail. . . . The Pitts- 
Imrg Automobile Club, together with hundreds of other 
autoists in Pittsburg, got a severe setback November 21. If 
was announced that several wealthy farmers of the country 
districts, annoyed by fast-flying autos, had resurrected an old 
State law of years ago, in which il is plainly stated that the 
occupants of vehicles not drawn by horses, mules or oxen 
shall, in traversing country roads, have a guard on horse¬ 
back go ahead at least 200 yards to give warning to all 
travelers, and that any vehicle not drawn by horses, mules 
or oxen shall stop dead within 300 yards of any other vehicle 
and allow it to pass. The law, long since forgotten, was 
passed years ago by farmers to guard against accidents by 
horses taking fright at steam thrashers, etc. 
ADMINISTRATION.-—The naval estimates for the fiscal 
year ending June 30, 1006, aggregate $114,530,638, an in¬ 
crease of $17,372,448 over the last appropriation. The esti¬ 
mate for the Navy Department proper is $768,610. Under 
public works, an estimate of $200,000 is made for equipping 
navy yards for the construction of vessels. The total esti¬ 
mates under the head of ‘-Increase of the Navy" are: Con¬ 
struction and machinery, $30,410,833; armor and armament, 
$14,000,000; equipment, $845,000. These involve an increase 
of $13,428,973 over the last appropriation. For the improve¬ 
ment of the water front at the New York Navy Yard the 
estimate (new) is $750,000. . . . Postmaster General 
Wynne and Baron Moncheur, the Belgian Minister, November 
19, signed a parcels post convention between the United 
States and Belgium, which was later signed by the President. 
The treaty will go into effect next February 1. It is the 
third parcels post treaty negotiated between the United 
States and European countries, and the twenty-sixth nego¬ 
tiated with any Government, most of the existing treaties 
being with South and Central America. The parcels under 
the Belgian treaty, as under the German and Norwegian 
treaties, are restricted to four pounds and six ounces each 
and $50 in value. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—The Society for Horticultural Sci¬ 
ence will meet in Philadelphia. December 27-28; for further 
particulars address the secretary. Prof. S. A. Beach, Geneva, 
N. Y. 
The forty-fourth annual meeting of the Indiana Horticul¬ 
tural Society will be held in the State House, Indianapolis, 
December 7-8; secretary, W. B. Flick, Lawrence, Ind. 
The twenty-sixth annual meeting of the Ontario Agricul¬ 
tural and Experimental Union will be held at the Ontario 
Agricultural College, Guelph, December 5-6. 
The 10-weeks’ Winter course in agriculture at the Univer¬ 
sity of Tennessee, Knoxville, begins January 5, 190.i, ter¬ 
minating March 15. 
N. Y. FARMERS AND “GOOD ROADS.” 
What is Thought of Road Legislation . 
I am in favor of good roads, and my way, and that of 
most farmers in this section, is to dig out the center of 
the road, fill it in with stone, cover with dirt, then gravel. 
St. Lawrence Co., N. Y. freeling stevens. 
It seems to be opinion of the people that the State roads 
are all right; but too expensive, and that the towns can 
build them at less cost, but I don’t think they will be as 
well built or as durable. geo. s. record. 
Madison Co., N. Y. 
The farmers in this section are not different from other 
sections in regard to the road question. Some want it just 
as it is now, while others want a change, and I think the 
most progressive and best farmers we have are in favor of 
paying their tax in money, having the roads built by some 
one who knows how to build them right. I do not under¬ 
stand the art of road building well enough to give an 
opinion as to how they should be built. h. e. fisher. 
St. Lawrence Co., N. Y. 
I think most of the farmers consider the State roads a 
tine thing, but they also think they cost too much. My own 
opinion is that if each town owned a stone crusher, and 
changed to the money system, we would have much better 
roads. If good overseers could be elected, and the money 
carefully expended, in a few years the roads could be put 
in such a condition, it seems to me, we would have no use 
for the expensive State road. geo. middlemiss. 
Delaware Co., N. Y. 
\Ve do not have the interest here that perhaps we ought 
to have, as our roads are comparatively good here, con¬ 
sidering their condition in some localities. A neighboring 
town has several miles of macadam road built at town 
expense, which perhaps is the best road that can be built 
for tlie money where stone is plentiful and can be had 
without hauling very far. Our present system of making 
roads by each taxable inhabitant working out his tax is 
a farce. Last year some of the people in our district 
worked their tax out, while others would not work, the 
warrant being returned, as the law requires, with the tax 
unworked, but the returned tax was not spread on the 
tax list to be collected in money at the rate of $1.50 per 
day, as the law requires, owing perhaps to the fact that 
some of the town officials were afraid that they could 
not be re-elected if the law was complied with and the 
money collected. The same thing lias happened here year 
aftr year. A few do what work is done, while the others 
neither work nor pay, which is an injustice to all con 
cerned. j. e. p. 
Steuben Co., N. Y. 
The demand for better roads is constantly increasing in 
this as well as other localities. There has been a decided 
improvement in them since the money tax system was 
adopted, especially in towns where competent highway com¬ 
missioners have been elected, but it would appear that 
only a few towns are favored, as, while in some towns the 
roads are rapidly improving, the majority of the country 
roads one sees only receive their annual "top-dressing" of 
mud scraped up out of the gutters. On the whole, it would 
seem that the best method would be to have all country 
roads under the State engineer, who could let each town out 
by contract to competent, men under bonds to perform the 
work in a proper manner from specifications and under 
the direction of an inspector from the engineer's depart¬ 
ment. This locality is well supplied with stone suitable for 
road building, and it is an undisputed fact that they make 
the best material for country roads yet devised. Much 
interest is centered on the Utica-Paris road, completed last 
year by the State. It is a fine drive, but will it stand long 
enough to warrant the expense, is the question asked by 
most farmers. This road is well located to test its merits 
and bring out the defects. One thing already proved is that 
it is a bonanza for city people who can afford fine rigs, 
and especially automobiles, while the farmer pays a very 
large part of the expense of building, and the farmer living 
a little off gets as much benefit as the one on the road, and 
has it free. l. .t. wilev. 
Oneida Co., N. Y. 
All farmers in this section are in favor of a good 
smooth road, free from stone, with ditches each side for 
the water; with good outlets, so no water can soak back 
into the road after it is once out; good sluices and bridges 
that water can pass quickly through; a roadbed wide 
enough for teams to pass without trouble; the more traffic 
the wider the road; this style of road is being well main¬ 
tained in some of the towns of Chenango County; among 
the more prominent this season is Afton, also Bainbridge; 
with an efficient highway commission under the money 
system, giving entire satisfaction; roads were never in as 
good order, and at so small cost. This is by far the 
cheaper, and much the better way, than the old way of 
working, each man doing a little. As for State aid, it 
no doubt is a good thing for some. In this section we 
can maintain our roads without State aid, and much pre¬ 
fer to do so than to have to have the State aid and then 
be driven off by autos when we think our business is as 
important to us as the auto man's business is to him in his 
big car that stays in the road and rushes along apparently 
indifferent to the man with a frightened team of horses. 
I think one traveler ought to have as good a right to the 
use of the highway as another, without fear or intimida¬ 
tion. As for the cost of macadam roads, farmers in 
this section, and, in fact, any 1 have talked with, object 
to there being as much invested in the highways as the 
land adjoining them is worth. H. n. smith. 
Chenango Co.,, N. Y. 
POSSIBILITIES OF EASTERN FARMS. 
A correspondent sends us the following clipping from 
The Intelligencer, Bucks Co., Pa. It is in line with what 
we have said about the possibilities of eastern farm lands: 
"I recently read that a Bucks County farm was offered 
for sale at the low price of $20 per acre. I have long 
been acquainted with many sections of Bucks County, and 
did not suppose there was an acre of improved land in all 
the county that could be bought for this ridiculously low 
price. If you go into any of the Northwestern States and 
ask the price of improved land, they will tell you it sells at 
from $30 to $75 per acre; and what they call improved 
land is land which has been twice plowed, a frame shack on 
it that cost about $400 and two strands of barb wire around 
the outside of it. The comfort and conveniences of living 
on one of these farms would be nothing in comparison to 
what they would be on the worst Bucks County farm I 
ever saw. I do not know who owns the farm I speak of, 
nor what township it is in. but I will ask the question, will 
this low price long continue? Isn't there a chance for 
some enterprising young man, with a fair knowledge of 
agriculture, to buy this farm and in a few years become 
monarch of all he surveys? The soil of Bucks County is 
generally excellent. It has long been noted for its grand 
old homesteads. Steam lines and trolley lines are stretching 
over its territory in all directions, and the telephone and 
macadam road are already in sight. 
“The interest on the purchase money the young man would 
invest in this farm would be little more than he would pay 
rent in a country village. A very small sum of money 
would pay his taxes on account of the low valuation. This 
young man need not soil his clothes spraying fruit trees, 
nor cramp his fingers milking cows, nor get the backache 
hoeing truck, nor fool his money away buying fertilizer. 
Let ■ him plow down green crops and convert his rough 
lands, if he has any, into permanent pastures. Let his crops 
be hay and grain only, and raise all the poultry, hogs and 
cattle that he can keep well and no more. He will not 
have to hunt a market: that is right at hand. If you stick 
a stake in the ground within a few miles of New Bruns¬ 
wick, and describe a circle around it large enough to take 
in the cities of Philadelphia and Greater New York, you 
have within this circle between seven and eight millions of 
people, which is more than can be found upon a like area 
in any other part of the world. The people are increasing 
by thousands every year. They all have to be fed, clothed 
and furnished with the necessary things that make up 
a modern civilization. As this farm lies within the circle 
I have described my young farmer will find no trouble in 
securing a ready market for all he can produce at a fair 
cash price, and although the farmer is the longest lived 
of all the professions, he will not live long enough to see 
the market overstocked with good articles that I have 
named." 
N. Y. STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 
The twenty-eighth annual convention of the New York 
State Dairymen's Association will be held at Herkimer, 
December 13-15, 1904. Among the speakers will be Ex- 
Gov. \V. D. Hoard, Wisconsin; Hon. George M. Whitaker, 
Inspector U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, 
I). ('. ; Dr. Joseph L. Hills, of Vermont Agricultural Ex¬ 
periment Station ; Prof. V. A. Moore, Cornell University; 
Dr. W. II. Jordan, Director New York State Experi¬ 
ment Station, Geneva; George L. Flanders, Ass't. Com'r. 
of Agriculture, Albany; Prof. R. A. Pearson, Cornell Uni¬ 
versity; J. D. Frederiksen, Little Falls, and W. C. Patrick, 
Jamestown. Mr. Whitaker and Dr. Jordan will speak on 
Tuesday evening. Thursday morning Dr. Moore will speak 
on tuberculosis in dairy cattle, and answer questions. 
Another subject of great importance at this time 
is oleomargarine, and an attempt will be made to 
repeal the 10-cent tax. This will be discussed Thurs¬ 
day afternoon by a man well versed in law bearing 
on this subject. In addition to the programme, there will 
be an educational feature, which will add much to the 
interest of the convention—a contest of dairy products. 
No prizes are offered, but experts will be present, who will 
judge the butter and cheese, and the defects, as well as 
the superior quality, will be shown from the buyer's point 
of view. Bad flavors and such other faults as are com¬ 
monly found, will be shown in the class of goods which 
will be furnished for that purpose. Practical butter and 
cheese makers will lead in a discussion of the various con¬ 
ditions which will be found in the goods present, and the 
causes which lead up to such defects. The secretary is 
Robert McAdam. No. 44 Arcade, Utica, N. Y. 
CORN AND CATTLE.—In regard to feeding old corn to 
hogs and cattle, I have fed soaked corn to hogs, and found 
it was a benefit. I never feed, it to cattle. I have soaked 
it over night; I do not think it would be good to let it sour 
to feed to hogs or cattle. There are not as many cattle on 
feed in this part of the country as usual; the corn crop is 
good, but not as large a yield as I have seen. Corn is sell¬ 
ing for 35 to 40 cents to the feeders. If corn continues to 
advance and cattle do not follow the prospect does not look 
very encouraging. e. d. 
Iowa. _ 
VVe produce only such feed as made in milling Spring 
wheat flour, i. e., bran, the several grades of middlings and 
Red Dog flour. In view of the probable decreased production 
of flour for the coming several months, in comparison with 
last year, it would seem as if these grades of flour would 
be scarce, consequently higher, but we do not think that 
that scarcity would have any effect on the prices of linseed 
meal, cotton-seed meal or gluten feeds; neither can corn- 
meal take the place of bran, middlings, etc. 
Duluth, Minn. _ l. r. iiurd. 
BUSINESS BITS . 
“Dr. B. J. Kendall Co.. Enosburg Falls, Vt.:—Please 
send me your ‘Treatise on the Horse and i I is Diseases.’ I 
have been using your Kendall's Spavin Cure on my horses. 
I had a horse with a callus on her shoulder, which every¬ 
body said would have to be cut out. 1 commenced using 
your Spavin Cure on it, and in two weeks it was removed. 
I think it cannot be beaten for the ailments of horses.”— 
J. C. Short, Dawson, O. 
A great advantage of the latest Ditto’s feed grinder is 
that both of the grinding rings revolve (in opposite direc¬ 
tions). giving the mill double cut and greatly increasing its 
capacity. It is also self-cleaning; husks and cob go through 
with the grain and do not accumulate as in other mills. 
Mr. Ditto can be depended on to live up to every agreement 
he makes, and we trnst that our readers who need a grinder 
will take advantage of his liberal 10-days' free trial offer. It 
is a grinder that ought to find a place on every farm. At 
any rate, send to him (G. M. Ditto, Box 56, Joliet, Ill.) 
for his grinder booklet. You’ll be interested. 
Angle lamps furnish thousands of pretty homes the 
“Light that never fails.” Perhaps not all of our readers 
can have elegant rooms, and many would not if they 
could: but all ran have Angle lamps, and none would be 
without them after giving them a trial. You can buy them 
on trial, too, if you like. They burn kerosene on a new 
principle, giving a fine soft, white light, with no smell or 
smoke. More and better light with less oil than ordinary 
lamps—and no trouble to care for them. Write to the 
Angle Mfg. Co.. 78-80 Murray St., New York, and get their 
catalogue, telling all about them. 
