1904. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
9i3 
Events of the Week. 
DOMESTIC. —Titus De Bobula, a well-known architect of 
Pittsburg, Pa., was placed on trial in the criminal court 
December 7, charged with voluntary manslaughter. He was 
accused of running down and killing Mrs. Mary Stauffer with 
his automobile. The coroner's jury exonerated him, but a 
son of the dead woman made information for murder and 
the grand jury returned a true bill. He was acquitted on 
trial December 9. The case is an unusual one, and automo- 
bilists generally are interested in its outcome. . . . Suit 
for $-449,000 was entered by the Victor Fuel Company, of 
Colorado, against the United Mine Workers of America, John 
Mitchell and II other ofticials for damages alleged to have 
been sustained through the coal strike. . . . Living for 
three days on floating icebergs in the Bering Sea without food 
or water was the experience of Wynne lieryford, a young 
variety actor who shipped as a sailor on the whaler Beluga 
last March. lieryford, with eight other novices, resented the 
mate’s cruelty. Six of them left in the Bering Sea and 
started over the ice to the land, seven miles distant. Ilery- 
ford and two others followed half an hour later. These 
three soon came to broken ice. Boarding a small floe they 
used their hands and feet as paddles, but the current carried 
them 15 miles seaward. That night a counter current car¬ 
ried them back toward the land. They drifted about three 
days, when a squaw and two Eskimo boys rescued them with 
a canoe. Their hands and legs were bleeding from contact 
with salt water. Their hunger had become so severe they 
had discussed advisability of drawing lots to decide which 
of the three should be killed for food. They met the six 
other deserters at Teller and all reached Nome safely. . . . 
With a roar that could heard 10 miles away, subterranean 
forces which announced their presence at the first develop¬ 
ment of the newly discovered oil fields at Humble, Texas, 17 
miles northeast of Houston, December Hi, burst through the 
earth's crust sending clouds of vapor and great stones thou¬ 
sands of feet into the air. The deep wells resembled minia¬ 
ture volcanoes, the phosphorescent vapors arising from their 
mouths giving to the entire district the appearance of smold¬ 
ering fire. Great fissures opened in the earth, and the erup¬ 
tions of stone and mud lava covered a wide territory. Every 
one working in the oil fields fled at the first eruption, and it 
is well they did. for no life could have withstood the rain 
of stones that poured down after the fissures opened and the 
wells began spouting. Small frame houses used as workshops, 
tool houses, and lodging houses by workmen, were crushed 
into fragments by the falling stones and the wreckage of ma¬ 
chinery. This demonstration, which It. C. Tabor, an oper¬ 
ator and large holder in the field, described as the most awe¬ 
inspiring lie had ever witnessed, continued for 50 minutes. 
He says huge rocks were hurled so high in the air they were 
lost to sight, and that mud and rock fell more than a mile 
away from the oil fields. The damage is at least $.'{0,000, 
and it is feared that the wells and perhaps the entire field 
are ruined. . . . By a decision of the Court of Appeals 
December 13, reversing the dismissal of the complaint and 
granting a new trial in the case of Salomon Landau against 
the City of New York, the city is held liable for the fireworks 
explosion in Madison Square on election night, 1902, when 
18 persons were killed and nearly 200 Injured. 
Fire at Rochester, N. Y., December 11, in a business block, 
destroyed property valued at $550,000; the losers are the 
Hayden Furniture Company, Vanbergh Silver Company and 
Rochester Savings Bank. . . .An easy-work-at-home man 
who induced a number of working girls to pay a $2 deposit 
for a working outfit that did not arrive was recently ducked 
in a pond by his victims at Oxford, N. .T., according'to news¬ 
paper report. . . . December 7 Mrs. Cassie L. Chadwick, 
of Cleveland, O., was arrested by United States Marshals in 
New York on the charge of aiding and abetting a National 
bank official in the embezzlement of the bank’s funds. This 
is tlie climax of a most sensational case, the woman, who is 
the wife of a Cleveland physician, having secured vast sums 
of money, aggregating at least a million dollars, upon no 
tangible security. The Citizens’ National Bank of Oberlin, 
O., is wrecked by these operations, its president, C. T. Beck¬ 
with, and cashier, A. B. Spear, being under arrest for em¬ 
bezzlement. Apparently the woman was able to borrow as 
much as she desired, giving in some cases notes said to be 
signed by Andrew Carnegie, who disavows any acquaintance 
with her, but the crash came when a New York milliner in¬ 
sisted upon immediate payment of a bill for about $1,000. 
It is now asserted that the woman, who has been married 
three times, is an ex-convict released from the Ohio Peni¬ 
tentiary on parole, having been convicted of forgery, and 
being Implicated in numerous attempts to obtain money under 
false pretenses. Two indictments of two counts each were 
returned by the Cuyahoga County Grand Jury December 12 
against Mrs. Chadwick, charging that she forged the name 
of Andrew Carnegie. One indictment is on a $500,000 note, 
the other on a $250,000 note. One count in each indictment 
charges forgery and the other charges uttering forged paper. 
There seems to be an impression among the Government 
authorities that Mrs. Chadwick was not alone responsible for 
her transactions, that she had some powerful allies, and 
these are tHe persons the Government is after. The savings 
deposit bank of Elyria is now free, pending further litigation, 
to foreclose its mortgage on the contents of the Chadwick 
home at 1824 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland. The restraining 
order against the bank preventing il from moving or interfer¬ 
ing with the property was allowed to lapse hy Referee Rem¬ 
ington, by whom it had been issued. The contents of the 
house are estimated to be worth $50,000. . . . December 
14 fire started in the photograph supply house of (). II. Peck 
& Co., Minneapolis, Minn., and spread to an adjoining furni¬ 
ture supply house. With a high wind and zero weather the 
fire spread, and was controlled with difficulty; early reports 
put the loss at $3,000,000. 
ADMINISTRATION. — Representative Bassett, of New 
Y’ork, introduced December 5 a bill which provides for better 
protection against fire on steam vessels carrying passengers. 
It is provided that the stanchions supporting the upper decks 
shall be constructed of metal, or if of wood that they be cov¬ 
ered with some incombustible material, and that every vessel 
permitted to carry 200 passengers and upward, the building 
of which shall be completed by January 1. 1900, shall have 
such parts of her upper works as the Board of Supervising 
Inspectors shall prescribe constructed of fireproof material. 
Provision is made that all movable benches, chairs or stools 
in such vessels shall be so constructed that they will have 
sufficient buoyancy as life preservers. . . . The Depart¬ 
ment of Justice has decided to make an investigation of the 
methods and operations of the so-called Tobacco Trust, com¬ 
posed of the American and Continental companies, of this 
country, and the British Imperial Company, of England, 
which buys practically the entire leaf tobacco output of Ken¬ 
tucky and Tennessee. Felix G. Ewing, president of the Ten¬ 
nessee and Kentucky Tobacco Growers’ Association, received 
assurances that the' Attorney General would appoint A. E. 
Garner, of Springfield, Tenn.’. as a special attorney to assist 
District Attorney Tillman in making the investigation and 
prosecuting the trust, should the facts developed warrant 
such action. . . . Robert J. Wynne, Postmaster General, 
made his annual report December 12, showing that the deficit 
for the present year is $8,779,492, nearly $5,000,000 of which 
is due to tlie extension of the rural free delivery service. 
. . . The Secretary of Commerce and Labor has recom¬ 
mended Federal control of insurance. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—The North Carolina State Board 
of Agriculture met at Raleigh, December 8. In his annual 
report to the State Board and to the Legislature, Commis¬ 
sioner of Agriculture S. L. Patterson strongly recommended 
the establishment of two additional test farms, one for the 
strawberry and truck growing sections of the east and an¬ 
other for" the fruit section of western Carolina. The State 
Board adopted resolutions to the effect that whereas the Gov¬ 
ernment report on the present cotton crop lias caused a slump 
in price that, would entail a loss of $40,000,000 unless the 
farmers rescue themselves, they deem it wise for the farmers 
to market the remainder of tlie crop slowly and only at re¬ 
munerative prices. Curtailment of acreage is urged for the 
next crop, so that there will not be more than 11,000,000 
bales, including that carried over from this year. 
The Connecticut Pomological Society will hold its four¬ 
teenth annual meeting February 1-2 at Unity Hall, Hartford; 
secretary, II. C. C. Miles, Milford. 
Willet M. ITavs, Professor of Agriculture at the Minnesota 
Experiment Station, has been appointed Assistant Secretary 
of Agriculture. 
A series of bee keepers"'meetings has been arranged for In 
New York as follows: Canandaigua, January 9-10; Romulus, 
January 11; Auburn, January 12; Cortland, January 13; 
Syracuse, January 14 ; Fulton, January 10 ; Watertown, Jan¬ 
uary 17-18; Amsterdam, January 19. N. E. France, the gen¬ 
eral manager of the National Bee Keepers’ Association, has 
been engaged to address the meetings. The convention at 
Watertown January 18 will be the meeting of the State 
Association, at which many of the progressive bee keepers 
of this and adjoining States are expected to be present and 
take part in the discussions. W. F. Marks, Clifton Springs, 
president; C. B. Howard, Romulus, N. Y., secretary. 
The thirtieth annual meeting of the New Jersey State Hor¬ 
ticultural Society will be Held at the State House, Trenton, 
January 5-6. 
CROP NOTES. 
The apple crop was very light, not over 15 per cent, and 
poor quality. Considerable were stored, but not enough 
to cut any figure. Those who sold got about $1.50 per barrel 
f. O. 1). GEO. T. TIPPIN. 
Missouri. 
Very dry here in central Illinois, only about one-half inch 
rain since the last of September. Then, however, we had 
about It) inches in a week. Corn husking is well along: 
quite good yield and quality, but very hard work this year, 
as it was blown down in September from every direction. 
Illinois. u. w. 
Tlie soil of my town is good for farming purposes. Apples 
seem naturally adapted to our conditions. Potatoes are of 
exceptionally good quality. Indian corn and other crops do 
well here, and we have a good butter factory at the village, 
but for all that there are very few men who get their living 
by farming exclusively ; most of them work in tlie lumber 
woods Winters and also work out Summers more or ’ess. 
There are only one or two silos in town. Potatoes and 
cream are principle crops raised for sale. Most of the farmers 
have comrortable and commodious houses, also a wood lot. 
and keep one or two horses. The farm furnishes them with 
their fruit, vegetables and meat, and some products to sell, 
but most of them depend on working out to get their needeo 
cash. The majority of the town is reached by the rural mail 
delivery. I think 10 cows are the most kept by any one man, 
and 10 or a dozen acres of potatoes are the most raised by 
one man, and only one or two men raise that many ; one, two 
or three acres is more common. Most farmers have a mower, 
but there is only one reaper and binder in town. 
Lee, Me. _ p. e. l. 
CHANGES 
IN NEW YORK INSTITUTES. 
The following changes have been 
institutes for this State: 
made 
In the list of 
December. 
23-24... West Eaton... Madison (In 
place 
of Copenhagen) 
January. 
4-5. 
.. Webster . 
. ..... 
. Monroe 
it. 
..Williamson . 
... 
. Wayne 
10-11.Geneva.Ontario 
(State 
Fruit Growers’) 
19-20. 
..Madrid . 
. St. Lawrence 
20-21 .. Richvilie 
..St. Lawrence (In 
place 
of Gbuverneur) 
23-24. 
..West Henrietta . 
. Monroe 
25. 
26-27. 
. . Mendon . 
28. 
. < tntario 
27-28. 
.. Frewsburg . 
...... 
. Chautauqua 
30. 
..Rushville . 
. Yates 
February. 
1. 
. (Intarlo 
Following is a 
to be held tills 
list of the Special 
Winter : 
Bee-Keepers’ Institutes 
January. 
9-10. 
..Canandaigua .... 
. Ontario 
11... 
12. 
..Auburn . 
.Cayuga 
13. 
..Cortland . 
.Cortland 
14. 
. Onondaga 
16. 
..Fulton . 
. Oswego 
17-18. 
.. Watertown . 
. Jefferson 
19. 
. .Amsterdam . 
THR ADULTERATION OF STOCK FEEDS . 
You will permit me to take exception to the editorial 
on page 880, intimating that retail feed dealers mix plas¬ 
ter, oat hulls and sawdust in bran. We doubt very much 
if in the past 10 years such adulteration has ever been 
made in any Eastern State, and at the present time, with 
tiie feed laws and feed inspection in all these States, it is 
well-nigh impossible. We find that none of the State in¬ 
spection reports ever show tlie finding of bran adulterated 
with foreign material other than corncobs, and possibly 
one or two cases of peanut hulls in tlie State of New 
Jersey. Oat hull feeds are in a class by themselves, and 
have some value; what this is, the farmer alone can deter¬ 
mine by test. No doubt it is much below the prices at 
which these feeds currently sell. The only adulterated 
brans found in the Eastern States at tlie present time 
are adulterated with corncobs and sold as wheat mixed 
feeds. In most cases, the analysis plainly shows on the 
bags, 12 per cent protein, which is enough to notify any 
farmer that it is not a pure wheat feed. These feeds are 
on sale legally and tlie farmer has no excuse for buying 
them if he reads his State experiment station reports or 
knows anything about analyses. At the present time the 
chief method of palming off ground cornstalks, corncobs, 
etc., is to put up molasses feeds. The farmer hates to buy 
so-called high-priced feeds, ranging from 25 per cent to 
40 per cent protein, so he buys instead a slightly cheaper 
feed, made up of about one-half of these strong feeds and 
the other one-half rubbish and disguised with molasses. 
Buffalo, N. Y. ii, b. 
R.-N.-Y.—Our object was to give an illustration, easily 
understood, that would show the difference between good 
and poor feed or fence. As our correspondent points out, 
a farmer must read the experiment station reports in order 
to he sure of his feed. That is exactly the protection we 
want for him regarding wire. 
LIM0ID FOR SPRAYING PURPOSES . 
Why Superior to Lime. 
We have just read an article by Prof. C. P. Close, of Del¬ 
aware, on page 874. Prof. Close only informed us a few 
du.vs ago of some of the later results of his experiments in 
the preparation of this mixture, to which we have not yet 
had the opportunity of replying, and inasmuch as several of 
these points have now been brought out in -this article, we 
believe some further comments from a company which has 
been manufacturing and selling lime for over 30 years would 
not be out of place. We have little doubt that a prepara¬ 
tion of lime could be made by carefully following the method 
laid down by Prof. Close, but our long experience leads us 
to suggest that the following troubles will be found a great 
annoyance and loss of time in accomplishing the successful 
dry slaking of lime. 
First, if the general run of agriculture lime be used as a 
raw material, it will be found to contain at least eight or 
10 per cent of unburned lime, coal cinder, etc. Second, the 
proper proportioning of the comparatively small amount of 
water required to effect successful dry slaking is quite diffi¬ 
cult. If too little water is added considerable waste is 
shown in good lime thrown away with refuse. If too much 
water is added the lime balls up and thoroughly clogs all the 
pores in the fine screen which should be used. In either 
case the screening of tlie hydrated material will be attended 
with clouds of fine lime dust, that is very hard on laborers 
not accustomed to it, nor equipped with proper nose nozzles. 
Third, at the best a rather gritty product will lie obtained, 
the action of which in the spraying pumps would sooner or 
later cause trouble. We believe that one or two trials to 
produce this powdered hydrated lime will satisfy the majority 
of customers that it is not worth the trouble, considering the 
small sum that is saved on the whole job. 
In our own manufacture of limoid we were so troubled with 
screens for the first two years that we finally resorted to a 
new and improved system of air separation. The general 
run of material from this air separation is the class of 
limoid sold for general chemical and building purposes, and 
as Prof. Close states, commands about $10 per ton when 
purchased in carload lots and put up in common burlap bags. 
When the value of a prepared lime for this spraying mixture 
was first brought to our attention by Prof. Close we did not 
then realize what its possibilities were, but in conjunction 
with (lie Delaware Agricultural Department, we made a 
careful investigation of its working conditions to determine 
exactly what this new use for limoid would require in the 
preparation of the material and the style of the package, etc. 
We finally concluded that, this new trade would require the 
very finest preparation of limoid, and an extra class ot 
package, and to meet this demand we prepared to manufac¬ 
ture a ”limoid-superfine,” which is obtained by collecting the 
very fine dust floating in the air and which naturally pro¬ 
duces an impalpable powder, finer than the finest grinding 
or screening could possibly obtain. A comparison of our 
ordinary limoid and limoia-superHne quickly shows the big 
difference between these two materials. We naturally as¬ 
sumed that the consumers of this special product would re¬ 
quire an extra quality of package, and, therefore, obtained 
the best coopered barrels possible and used a special paper 
lining. All of this was done with the special object of 
placing the very highest grade of material on tlie market. 
On the merits of magnesia we can say little. Limoid con* 
tains a lit t lo over 30 per cent of magnesia, and as this ele¬ 
ment lias been shown to have considerable value on certain 
soils where magnesia lime is preferred for agricultural pur¬ 
poses. it seemed reasonable to suppose that the magnesia 
has some special value in spraying mixtures. The different 
values of the magnesia and calcium elements in lime can only 
be determined by thorough tests, such as Prof, Close has 
been and Is so earnestly pursuing. Irrespective of whether 
limoid or any lime be used, we believe that the fruit growers 
owe Prof. Close a debt of gratitude for the idea that sug¬ 
gested itself to him over a year ago, and its subsequent dem¬ 
onstration. CIIAHt.ES WABNER COMPANY. 
Delaware. 
Prof. Close on the K L. Mixture. 
It is true that there are impurities in most limes, and 
that the ordinary farmer will not dry-slake it properly 
and sift it carefully enough so as to avoid clogging the 
nozzle. I did not mention before that in sifting the dry- 
slaked lime which I have prepared I used a sieve made of 
the ordinary wire window screen, and was very careful to 
avoid allowing small particles to pass through the sieve. 
I think it will be best for those who are beginning to use 
K.-L. to make it with limoid. and shall so advise unless 
some one whom I know is particularly careful wishes to 
dry-slake the lime for this purpose. I have not boiled the 
K.-L. mixture. Boiling is exactly what I wished to avoid 
in preparing the new remedies. Even if boiling would im¬ 
prove the K.-L. mixture it would be unwise, I think, to 
advise boiling except where a man has a steam outfit. If 
the K.-L. is boiled over a flame, and any of it runs over 
the top of the vessel and comes in contact with the flame, 
there will be at least a display of fireworks and perhaps 
an explosion. Serious accidents’ have happened in careless 
making of kerosene emulsion, because people did not read 
the directions straight, and I wish to avoid anything of 
that kind wifli the K.-L. mixtures. I should think there 
would be a loss of kerosene by boiling. c. p. oi.ose. 
FOREIGN APPLE MARKET.—Cable advices from apple 
markets in Great Britain state the market is not so active 
in Liverpool and prices somewhat lower, but London and 
Glasgow, which nave not such large arrivals as Liverpool, 
are more active and prices a little better than in Liverpool. 
Baldwins have sold to give net here in Boston from $1.25 to 
$1.75 per barrel. Spys have sold to give nets of $1.75 to 
$2.25 per barrel; It. Russets and Greenings $1.25 to $1.50 
per barrel. Kings have sold to give nets all the way from 
$2.25 to $3 per barrel. With advices of reduced shipments 
from'America and Canada it is thought they will give more 
active markets next week. geo. a. cochrane. 
Boston, Mass. 
NEW YORK STATE ROADS.—The Legislature at its com¬ 
ing session will be asked to make an appropriation of $4,000,- 
000 for the immediate improvement of highways in this State 
under tlie Higbie-Armstrong act, and again to enact the bill 
which will authorize a $50,000,000 bond issue for tlie carry¬ 
ing out. of an extensive plan of highway construction devised 
by State Engineer and Surveyor Bond one year ago. This 
programme was outlined by the executive committee of the 
annual Good Roads Convention of delegates representing the 
various boards of supervisors of the State to be held at 
Albany, January 24 and 25. This executive committee rep¬ 
resents 350 delegates from 57 counties of the State, which 
are interested in road improvement, and it is the duty of 
the committee to prepare recommendations for legislative 
enactment. 
A TENNESSEE TAX BILL.-—The amount of tax we pay 
in Smith County, Tenn., is $1.07 on the hundred, made up 
of State, .35: county, .30; road, .12: school, .30. and also 
a poll tax of $2 on all men under 50 years. This county 
is out of debt, and while Tennessee is very heavily in¬ 
debted, the State tax has been sufficient to reduce it, by, I 
think, $2,000,000 in the last four years. The lowest tax 
rate in any county in Tennessee is 97 cents and the high¬ 
est about $1.75. This last in one of the thinly settled 
mountain counties. r. j. 
Elmwood, Tenn. _ 
PRODUCTS. PRICES AND TRADE. Milk condensers in 
Fox River Valley, Illinois, are filling large orders for ship¬ 
ment to China. . . . The wheat crop of the Canadian 
Northwest is said to be 64,000,000 bushels. The value of 
all crops, including dairy products, will reach $80,000,000. 
The Steel Trust has bought of independent furnaces, 
for delivery during the first quarter of tlie coming year, 
40.000 tons of Bessemer pig iron, amounting to about $050,- 
000. . . . Lake commerce through the canals, for No¬ 
vember, was very heavy, 2,104,200 net tons. . . . The 
southern tobacco market is good, particularly on low grades. 
Sales on Richmond, Va., market for three months ending 
November 30 were 1.432,780 pounds, and for Lynchburg, 
1,342,000. . . . The Illinois corn acreage was 7,825,000, 
and average yield 36 bushels. . . . Fertilizer trade for 
(he Southern States is large. During the season Georgia 
lias used nearly 700,000 tons. . . . Drought in New 
England is becoming severe. In some sections wells and 
springs have failed, and mills dependent on water power 
have shut down. . . A car of Arizona oranges sold here 
at an average of $5.20 per box. The fruit was well colored 
and sweet. The bulk of Floridas that are arriving are 
poor. . . . Lemon trade is very dull, as is often the 
case in Winter. The top price for fancy is $2.65 per box. 
BUSINESS BITS . 
The N. P. Bowsher Co., South Bend, Ind., announce that 
they have received the Gold Medal at the St. Louis Exposi¬ 
tion on their display of feed mills. 
I.\ almost any farming community a good sawmill outfit 
will pay for itself in one season In doing work for neighbors. 
The De Loach Mill Mfg. Co., Atlanta, Ga., make a first-class 
line of mills from four horse power up. They agree to pay 
freight so the purchaser knows exactly what the cost will be 
delivered. Catalogue with full information will be sent for 
the asking. 
Tiie Christmas shopper, especially those from out of town, 
finds in the Proctor theatres it haven of rest from the fatigues 
of a trip through tlie crowded stores. At this time especially 
a tour of the shops is most trying and a visit to the Proctor 
houses not only restores quiet of mind, but at the service ot 
the patrons is a matron and every convenience of the toilet. 
The admission fees are so small that even the most econom¬ 
ical shopper finds it possible to enjoy a visit and profit by 
the many conveniences courteously extended. 
“Object Lessons” is the title of an interesting little book 
just from the printers. It is sent out bv the Omega Sepa¬ 
rator Company, of course to call attention to the Omega 
Separator, but it contains some clever catch questions that 
will interest every member of the household. The book will 
be sent to any person interested in cream separators. Here 
is the first question: “If a separator cost $50 and a half 
a separator, how much would a separator and a half cost?" 
You can get the address of the company from their advertise¬ 
ment in this issue. The Omega has been on the market 12 
years, and is a favorite wherever used, because of the ease 
with which it can be cleaned, as well as because it is light 
running and a clean skimmer. 
