1604. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
929 
Events of the Week. 
DOMESTIC.—By the burning of the Starin Line steamer 
Glen Island, in Long Island Sound just before midnight, De¬ 
cember 17, nine lives were lost and property roughly esti¬ 
mated at a quarter of a million dollars was destroyed. That 
more lives were not sacrificed undoubtedly was due to the 
personal courage of the officers and the crew, and the excel¬ 
lent discipline maintained when a horrible death for all 
seemed almost a certainty. When the steamer was abandoned 
she was flame-swept from stern to stem, and yet the only 
persons who lost their lives were those whose escape had 
been entirely cut off by the fire before the alarm reached 
them. . . . The total loss to the Adams Express Com¬ 
pany by the burning of express car 3G at Webster Junction, 
Mass., December 16, is now said to be .$240,000. The loss 
included $200,000 of money, notes and coupon bonds, all 
negotiable paper, in transit from New York banks to banks 
in Boston ; $4,000 worth of bank notes, consigned from New 
York to the Worcester National Bank ; $30,000 worth of mer¬ 
chandise and at least $6,000 worth of jewelry and other val¬ 
uables, the exact value of which was not known bv com¬ 
pany officials. The merchandise was insured for $10,000 
through the agency of a New York company, leaving the total 
loss $230,000. The money and coupon bonds are a total loss 
and cannot be redeemed, as no record of them is kept except 
that in Washington. The only possible way the Adams Ex¬ 
press Company can get the bills and coupons replaced at 
Washington is to produce the numbers, and this cannot be 
done, as the whole $200,000 were found to be burned to a 
crisp, no part of them being discernible. . . . Coburn 
block, the largest business structure in Skowhegan, Me., and 
two small buildings were burned December 16, entailing a 
loss of $140,000. The insurance is $60,000. . . . Fire 
December 16 destroyed the “Midway Terminal” of the Silver 
Lake mine, Silverto'n. Col., cutting off the supply of ore from 
three mines to the mill, and throwing 200 men out of employ¬ 
ment. I.oss. $100,000. ... In the Senator Smoot in¬ 
quiry case at Washington December 16 Charles II. Jackson, 
of Boise Citv. Idaho, Chairman of the Democratic State Com¬ 
mittee. testified at length concerning the growing power of 
the Mormon Church and its interference in State affairs, 
which, he said, was made paramount issue by Democrats and 
independents in the last campaign in Idaho. He said the 
apostles of the Church from Utah go into Idaho and direct 
the people how to vote. These Church officials, said Mr. 
Jackson, tell their people there have been revelations that 
(hey should vote a certain ticket. The witness said that the 
influence of the Church accomplished the passage of the 
Sugar Bounty bill. It is estimated thal the bounty in 1903 
amounted to' $JG,000 and in 1904 to $150,000. There are 
four refineries in the State, and President Joseph Smith of 
the Mormon Church is president of three of them. lie de¬ 
clared that Gov. Morrison’s administration had been satis¬ 
factory to his Republican constituents, but that he had run 
foul of the Mormon Church, and therefore was denied a 
second term. lie said the Church practically is in charge of 
the Legislature, political conventions and all gatherings at 
which the delegates are elected by the people. . . . The 
Grand Piano Company, with “main offices” at 231 Broadway, 
New York, and a “factory” somewhere in that city, has been 
excluded from the use of the United States mails. This 
firm was conducted bv W. T. Walton, who had deskroom at 
231 Broadway. New York, and whose whereabouts could not 
be ascertained bv the postal inspectors who were sent out to 
hunt him up. The inspectors found that the piano company 
was nothing more or less than a lottery. It offered pianos 
as prizes, but the only business it transacted was to receive 
money orders for small sums from the credulous. The 
“main offices” and “factory” did not exist, and consequently 
Walton and the company were placed on the postal fraud 
list . . The Carnegie Institution, at the instance of 
Federal Judge W. W. Morrow, of San Francisco, has given 
a liberal 10 year allowance to Luther Burbank, of California, 
to carry on "his work in developing new varieties of fruits, 
vegetables and grasses. Judge Morrow described in detail 
the work done bv Burbank in perfecting big prunes and 
plums without seeds, cherries without stones and grapes 
which will grow in a desert. ITis hybridizing work is better 
known in Europe than in this country. The sum which the 
Carnegie Institution trustees gave to Burbank is kept secret, 
but it will make him independent of the commercial part of 
his nursery. . . . Night attacks on Zeigler, Til., have 
been resumed with marked activity, giving the 85 soldiers on 
guard duty plenty of opportunity to use rifles. December 14 
the firing was' resumed at the pumping station, and 
was answered by the militia. For some time it had 
been exceptionally quiet, but 30 non-union miners were 
imported into the' stockade by rail. According to the con¬ 
tention of the Zeigler Coal Company, the shooting from am¬ 
bush Is mostlv for the purpose of intimidating tTie strike 
breakers. Striking miners at Camp Turner contend that at 
least 800 men imported into Zeigler have deserted. 
The University of Nebraska regents December 14 condition¬ 
ally accepted the gift of $66,600 from John D. Rockefeller as 
part cost of a religious temple to be erected near the campus. 
The offer was made conditional upon the donation of $33,400 
by Nebraska people. There was much opposition to the 
acceptance of any money from Rockefeller, and it is possible 
that the taking of the money may be enjoined in the courts. 
The regents, in order to defeat any such action, incorporated 
in their resolution of acceptance a condition that donors 
must understand that the building will be devoted to no 
purpose prohibited by the Constitution, which provides that 
no sectarian instruction can be given in the university and 
no bequests of money received for such purpose. 
December 14 the opera house at Stamford. Conn., was de¬ 
stroyed by fire: loss $100,000. . . . Three men were 
scalded to death and four others, including Lieut. W. C. 
Cole, were terribly burned December 15 by the rush of steam 
and boiling water from a bursting boiler aboard the United 
States battleship Massachusetts at League Island. Lieut. 
Cole met his injuries in an attempt to rescue the others. 
Technically speaking, the boiler itself did not give way. but 
the rubber gasket, which makes the cleaning plates water¬ 
tight, tore itself loose. The hot water and steam rushed out 
In a flood. The door of the fire room snapped shut and the 
men could not escape. Whether the gasket was defective or 
whether it had been put in place carelessly remains for the 
official court of inquiry and the coroner’s jury to determine. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—The executive committee of the 
Interstate fi'obacco Growers’ Protective Association of Vir¬ 
ginia and North Carolina, which has 1,000 members, met at 
South Boston. Va., December 19. and called on the growers 
to reduce their acreage as much as possible and to raise 
more home supplies. It was announced that the crop would 
be curtailed 50 per cent if necessary to secure profitable 
prices. This is a continuation of the fight against the Amer¬ 
ican Tobacco Company. 
The sixteenth annual show of the New Y T ork Poultry. Pig¬ 
eon and Pet Stock Association will he held at Madison 
Square Garden, New Y’ork, January 3-7. 
The annual meeting of the Cheshire Swine Breeders’ Asso¬ 
ciation will be held at Ithaca. N. Y.. January 10, for the 
election of officers and directors; secretary, E. S. Hill, Free- 
viile, N. Y. 
The seventh annual meeting of the Maryland State Horti¬ 
cultural Society was held at College Park, Md., December 
28-29. 
The Colorado Agricultural College at Fort Collins offers a 
short course in stock judging, feeding and breeding, from 
January 16 to 27. Market types of the different classes of 
meat-producing animals will be judged on foot and, later, 
slaughtered and the carcasses cut for demonstration. Lec¬ 
tures will be given on the feeding, care and management of 
the different classes of live stock. A series of lectures and 
demonstrations will also be given on the cause and prevention 
of some of the more common diseases of live stock. Partic¬ 
ular attention will be given to discussion of poisonous weeds 
on the range, and the life history of animal parasites, such 
as scabies, lice, bots, etc., and the best means of eradicating 
them. The growing of forage crops, such as Alfalfa, 
sorghum. Kaffir corn, field peas and the grasses, as well as 
the various cereals, will be discussed by some of the leading 
experts in America in these lines. Instruction will be given 
in seed selection and grain judging. Owing to the import¬ 
ance of the potato and sugar beet crops in the agriculture of 
Colorado, special days will be set apart for their discussion. 
The subjects discussed on these days will include seed selec¬ 
tion, methods of planting and cultivating, fertilizers and 
harvesting. _ 
NEW YORK STATE DAIRYMEN MEET. 
The twenty-eighth annual meeting of the State Dairymen’s 
Association was held at Herkimer, December 13-15. ’ Pres¬ 
ident Smith said that the Association was organized in 
Herkimer County, and that there the first commercial cheese 
making in the State was started 100 years ago. He referred 
to the great development of the industry, and emphasized 
the need of keeping the product up to the highest standard 
to encourage increased consumption. II. E. Cook spoke of 
the importance of the dairy industry, the need of increasing 
the interest of the younger element, and the benefits derived 
from these meetings of farmers and dairy specialists. Prof. 
It. A. Pearson, of Cornell, spoke on sanitary milk, and the 
need of the utmost care to prevent contamination. He rec¬ 
ommended the use of a small top milk pail, with a visor 
pointing inward, to lessen the amount of surface for match¬ 
ing dirt, and showed a sample pail, which looked as though 
it might work well when the milker got accustomed to the 
small opening. He referred to the plans for the new dairy 
building at Cornell. Half of it will be devoted to strictly 
practical work, and the rest for theory and scientific work. 
The arrangements in the practical department will be as 
simple as possible, the idea being to give conditions that 
can be duplicated on the average farm without undue expense. 
TV. C. Patrick, of Jamestown, N. Y., gave the results of 
an interesting cow census taken among the patrons of one 
western New York creamery fairly representative of others in 
the vicinity. There were nine patrons, keeping in all 118 
cows. The records of feed cost, while not claimed to be 
exact, were considered approximately correct. The milk 
was credited at the creamery on the per cent of butter fat, 
and the dividend checks, after deducting charge for making 
butter, were made out on this basis. The patrons in order 
of profit or loss ran as follows: 
The first man kept 10 cows, which netted $13.67 each 
profit for the year; the second 15 cows, net gain $10.58; 
third, 13, $7.61; fourth, 15, $4.60; fifth, nine, $1.71 ; 
sixth, eight, loss per cow, 79 cents: seventh, 19, loss $4.37 ; 
eighth, nine, loss $5.44; ninth. 20, loss $14.82 per cow. 
No account was made of the skim-milk or labor; the profit 
or loss being difference between cost of feed and butter 
check. Number nine certainly paid a high price for society 
of those 20 cows. Nearly all the cows in this test were 
grade Durham. 
Dr. J. L. Hills, of Vermont, gave a unique address on 
“Dairy Insurance Policies,” showing how loss in the dairy 
may be avoided by the use of the cultivator, soiling crops, 
looking after the health of the cows, weeding out robber 
cows, etc. 
Ex-Governor Hoard, of Wisconsin, spoke on “The Man 
Behind the Cow.” His address was a plea for higher agri¬ 
cultural education, intelligently applied. He said we have 
been wearing the worn-out mental clothes of a past gener¬ 
ation. Manly pride in the farm has been lacking. Good 
honest pride is a safe leader, but mere greed for gain will 
soon lead a man to cheat himself. The farmer ought to be 
posted on the chemical analysis of the feeds he buys. The 
vital question in buying feed is to get the most protein for 
the money. Hence as a rule high-grade feeds are cheapest. 
Many dairymen are poor judges of cows. A great majority 
breed without study or wise Judgment. The average farmer 
is great on cross-breeding, so his herds are a mixture of all 
sorts and colors, with weaknesses exaggerated. The com¬ 
ing farmers must know the truths of agricultural science in 
an elementary way, the same as they know the elements of 
arithmetic. Agricultural teaching in common and high 
schools will help bring this about. The boy must be taught 
that “rising in the world” does not necessarily mean get¬ 
ting away from the farm. The problems of the farm are 
higher, deeper and broader than those of any other vocation. 
We must bbcome hotter fanners before we are entitled to 
respect as better citizens. 
Dr. V. A. Moore, of Cornell University, gave an excellent 
talk on tuberculosis, which was listened to with great 
interest, the subject being of vital importance to dairy 
farmers. The cause is a certain bacillus found in humans 
and many animals. The period of incubation may vary from 
a few days to several months, as the symptoms are not pro¬ 
duced until the organisms get a firm hold. If in a vital 
organ, the effects is soon seen, but if not it may become 
far advanced before showing visible effects. The course of 
the disease may be long, depending upon where located. If 
not in a vital place and the resisting power of the animal is 
sufficient the lesion may be encased so as to prevent further 
spread. Unless there are outward evidences of the disease, 
such as cough or swellings on glands of the neck, the only 
form of diagnosis is the tuberculin test. He had never seen 
a post mortem of an animal that reacted to the test where 
the disease was not found, though sometimes in very small 
amount. The test must be handled intelligently, and cer¬ 
tain conditions known to every veterinarian met, in order 
that it may be safe and accurate. To make it after an ani¬ 
mal had been drinking cold water would be wrong, as a 
healthy animal would in almost every instance react under 
those circumstances. No bad results have ever been proven 
to come from the test when properly handled. The disease 
is spread by feeding calves tuberculous milk and by dis¬ 
eased animals licking others or occupying the same stalls. 
The best treatment is to isolate all diseased animals and 
slaughter those badly affected. Others with only slight 
infection, not in vital parts, may be kept by themselves as 
breeders, as it is practically safe to raise their calves 
if not allowed to'suckle the dams at all. It has never been 
shown that calves were actually born with this disease, but 
they acquire it from the milk in almost every case. This dis¬ 
ease cannot be treated with anti-toxins, as in diphtheria. 
There the trouble is caused by a poison generated by the 
germ, so the poison may be neutralized. In tuberculosis it 
is multiplication of the germs themselves, until tliev take 
possession of the organ, that causes death, so the oni.v way 
is to fight the germs. In the discussion of Dr. Moore's 
paper a number of interesting facts were brought out, one 
of which was the danger of feeding calves separator milk 
taken back to the farm from the bulk lot at the creamery. 
One prominent dairyman said that this year he had his 
first case of tuberculosis, which was in a calf fed on fac¬ 
tory milk. This seemed a strong argument in favor of home 
separation, so that one could be sure he was not feeding 
his stock with the diseased milk from his neighbor’s herd. 
,T. D. Fredricksen, of Little Falls, read a paper on the 
history of the dairy industry in Herkimer County. This is 
a feature that might well be worked up in eve'ry locality 
specially noted for the manufacture of any product. 
TTon. George I.. Flanders," of Albany, gave a compre¬ 
hensive review of the oleomargarine situation, and the pos¬ 
sible action of the oleo people to have the present law 
repealed or modified. They are raising a large fund, at¬ 
tempting to influence public sentiment and impress Congress¬ 
men with the justice of their claims. There must be no 
apathy on the part of farmers. Every argument must be 
met and the fight renewed with even greater vigor at Wash¬ 
ington when the necessity arises. 
Resolutions were carried in appreciation of the services of 
Secretary Robert McAdam. representing the younger element 
of the Association, and of Hon. Chas. A. Wieting, who as State 
Commissioner of Agriculture for the past nine years has 
greatly aided the dairy interests of the State. ' Also the 
following: 
The present milk law having been found deficient in some 
particulars In protecting the public from adulterated con¬ 
densed milk, resolved, that the milk law should be so amended 
as to require a specific standard of milk solids in condensed 
milk and the registration of all brands of condensed milk of¬ 
fered for sale within the State, with the Department of 
Agriculture at Albany, such registration showing the amount 
of milk solids contained. 
Resolved, that energetic measures be taken to so amend 
the agricultural _ law as to insure clean, healthful milk, 
free from excessive numbers of living organisms. 
Resolved, that skim-milk shall be sold and delivered to 
consumers only from cans or containers painted exter¬ 
nally some bright color, thus distinguishing them from 
unpainted cans containing normal whole milk. 
Resolved, that in order to protect the public and honest 
producers we respectfully petition our Legislature to so 
amend the Agricultural law that it will provide the 
same penalty for selling milk or cream under false guaran- 
lee as to fat standard, as is provided for selling milk below 
the State standard. 
Resolved, that to prevent the unlawful practice of par¬ 
tially skimming market milk, we believe the State Agri¬ 
cultural law should be amended to provide that the ship¬ 
ment of milk by train from any point shall be construed 
as an offer or exposure for sale within the meaning of 
those terms in the Agricultural law. 
Whereas, the contagious disease known as tuberculosis 
exists among cows in this State from which milk is drawn 
for sale or consumption or manufacture within this State, 
and it is believed by many that there is danger toi the con¬ 
suming public through the milk from such cattle as a 
medium of transmission and, whereas an attempt to eradi¬ 
cate such disease will necessarily involve more or less finan¬ 
cial loss, resolved, that the New York State Dairymen's 
Association respectfully requests that the Legislature amend 
the Agricultural law to the end that tuberculosis and con¬ 
tagious and infectious diseases of domestic animals may 
be suppressed, if possible, and that the burden resulting 
from the enforcement of such law may be equitably divided 
among and borne by the beneficiaries of the enforcement. 
The following were elected officers for the coming year: 
President, V. C. Beebe. Arcade,; first vice-president, M. 
T. Morgan, West Winfield; second vice-president, W. If. 
Ilallock, Washingtonville : secretary. Robert McAdam, Rome; 
assistant secretary and treasurer, Jared Van Wagenen, Jr., 
Lawyersville. Directors: Dr. W. H. Jordan, Geneva; IT. 
A. Rees, Louisville; W. S. Griffith, Madrid: E. F. Rowley. 
Kennedy ; J. D. Fredericksen, Little Falls, and J. P. Clark, 
Falconer. w. w. tx. 
THE GRANITE STATE DAIRY MEETING. 
I imagine that one’s first thought of New England is of 
rocky hillsides, not easily cultivated, accompanied perhaps 
by a sad thought of abandoned farms. While this is all 
true, such a picture is not the real New England of to-day. 
A mighty change is being wrought, and from some purely 
agricultural regions there are being developed along her 
streams and valleys great manufactures, and about these 
growing, bustling towns, full of prosperous, well-paid men 
and women, who must not only be fed with the great food 
staples, but who demand the choicer products of the field, 
orchard and dairy. In passing up this valley of the Merri- 
mac I was struck by the evident prosperity of the farmers, 
as evidenced by the character of the farm buildings. And 
though this soil is said to be rather light, yet the advantages 
of nearby markets in these growing towns, as well as Bos¬ 
ton with her 500.000 hungry mouths, easily reached by rail¬ 
roads and trolleys, is evidently more than making up to 
these people what nature has denied. 
The State Board of Agriculture and Dairy meeting was 
held at Laconia, just at the foothills of the White Moun¬ 
tains. Increasing demands are being made on New Hamp¬ 
shire’s dairies to supply the call for milk from these towns 
and cities. Within the past 10 years her dairies have rap¬ 
idly increased in number. The many fine herds of cattle, of 
all the best breeds, also testify to the fact that they are 
increasing in productiveness. The Jersey herd of Chas. T. 
Rossiter, and the Dutch Belted one of Frank Sanders, both 
represented at the meeting, were notalfie illustrations. Still 
New Hampshire is yet a butter-making State. One-half the 
total product of her cows is being manufactured into butter. 
There is one small condensery, and four or five small cheese 
factories in the northern part of the State. An average of 
258,400 pounds of milk daily is made into butter on the 
farms, and 371,000 pounds in the creameries. The meetings 
and man were alike honored by the presence of New Hamp¬ 
shire’s famous Governor, N. .T. Bachelder, who took an 
active part and interest in all the programme. It is a happy 
augury for the future of New Hampshire and her sister 
State, Vermont, that they can point to two such men in the 
highest seats of authority, as the above and Gov. Bell. 
Prof. L. II. Bailey, Dean of Agriculture at Cornell, made an 
address on “Agriculture in Public Schools,” which from the 
comments heard on every hand evidently touched a re¬ 
sponsive chord and awakened a pardonable pride in a New 
Yorker that our great agricultural school was under the 
direction of so broad a man, whose vision is able to extend 
far beyond the limits and possibilities of the present. I was 
also impressed with the vigor, ability and earnestness of the 
young men in charge of the New Hampshire Agricultural 
College, in the persons of President W. I). Gibbs, who spoke 
on “Industrial Education,” and Prof. Wm. C. Weld, also 
secretary of the Dairy Association. No wonder that from 
such instructors come young men who (as was the case here) 
capture the majority of the prizes in the dairy exhibit. 
These qualities are equally apparent in the courteous pres¬ 
ident of the Dairy Association. W. II. Caldwell, a young 
man who does things, as his work as secretary of the Guern¬ 
sey Cattle Club so well testifies. 
It was a pleasure and an inspiration again to meet. Prof. 
.T._ W. Sanborn, of Pittsfield, N. H., a man who, when past 
middle life, had the faith and courage to leave a position 
in an agricultural college, where he commanded a good (and 
what would seem to most farmers large) salary and return 
to his boyhood’s home on the rough hillsides of-New Hamp¬ 
shire, and although encumbered by debt, take up practical 
farming. And what a grand success he has made of it, 
demonstrating that farming pays when conducted upon the 
basic principles of agriculture, accompanied by business 
ability. It was a pleasing thing to see the way he was re¬ 
garded by his own neighbors, and how by these hard-handed, 
conservative farmers he was considered an authority and 
a pattern. Space forbids a detailed account of the meeting 
and addresses, all of them excellent. The above are some 
of the impressions made in my own mind. Tn conclusion, I 
would not forget to speak of the very fine exhibit of butter, 
with a score (at the hands of an expert) unusually high 
for this season of the year. Yet this did not surprise one 
who was familiar with the high scoring butter exhibited bv 
New Hampshire at the Pan-American Exposition. 
EDWARD VAN ALSTYNE. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
Gor.n Coin Stove Co., of Troy, N. Y., are offering stoves 
and ranges to our people. Inis is an old and reliable firm, 
but has never before offered its goods direct to the con¬ 
sumer at wholesale prices. An illustrated catalogue show¬ 
ing the full line of stoves will be sent to any reader asking 
for it. 
Alt, the fur-bearing animals of North America—what 
they look like; their habits: how to trap them and how 
to handle and sell their skins—-is told about in full de¬ 
tail in Andersch Bros.’ Hunters' and Trappers’ Guide, the 
most valuable work of its kind extant. Andersch Bros., 
Dept. 128. Minneapolis, Minn., are the publishers. This is 
the firm that pays the highest price for cattle and horse 
hides and all skins and furs, and the one that remits with¬ 
out tedious delays. 
An invention which is rapidly winning its way to public 
favor is the Howell adjustable steel horse collar, manufac¬ 
tured by the Howell & Spaulding Co., of Caro, Mich. The 
first impression with many is that a steel collar is too un¬ 
yielding to be comfortable on a horse, while the reverse is 
true, for the same reason that army saddles with their wood 
trees never gall the back of a horse. Users of steel collars 
never complain of galled necks; the collars are lighter; hav¬ 
ing no hames or straps they are more convenient, and while 
the cost is a trifle more at the outset, they are the cheapest 
in the end, as once bought they last forever, and being ad¬ 
justable can be made to fit any horse. 
A line of farm machinery long and favorably known for 
its efficiency and economy is that made bv the Smalley 
Manufacturing Co., of Manitowoc, Wis. The Smalley in¬ 
dustry was started in a modest way nearly 50 years ago! 
'1 heir business has steadily increased and to-day they own 
one of the largest plants in the country devoted exclusively 
to farm machinery. Practical ideas, well-built machines, 
low prices and broad guarantees have made the name of 
Smalley the standard of farm machinery excellence and 
reliability. The Smalley line includes ensilage and feed 
cutters, silo fillers, corn snappers, grinding mills, root cut¬ 
ters and wood saw machines. An interesting catalogue de¬ 
scribing these machines will be mailed free to all our read¬ 
ers who write direct, to makers at Manitowoc, Wis. 
