1897 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
25 
Although there have been immense quantities of 
southern beans and other green stuff recently, and 
much has been sold at low prices, there has been no 
glut of strictly choice, and the prices of such have 
been good. Some of this stuff was, evidently, much 
inferior when shipped ; other was damaged in transit 
—some by the cold. It is poor policy to send inferior 
products, especially when shipped so far and trans¬ 
portation charges are high. Not only do they not 
produce any profit, but they help to demoralize the 
market for other and better products. 
X X X 
A very popular and neat package for green beans, 
peas, etc., is the half-barrel basket. It is an exag¬ 
gerated edition of the peach basket, though much 
higher in proportion to its size. It has a wooden 
cover. I saw a new style of this package the other 
day, made square instead of round. But whether 
the shape made them weak, or whether they were 
imperfectly constructed, they were badly broken, 
and handlers said that they were not at all satisfac¬ 
tory. A package must be strong to stand the hand¬ 
ling to which it is subjected. 
X X X 
At many of the stands around Washington Market, 
and in other localities, poultry that appears to be all 
right may frequently be purchased at retail for 
lower prices than it is selling for at wholesale. But 
the fact is that it is not always what it seems. It has 
often been bought for a low price because too far 
gone for a legitimate trade, and doctored up to make 
it look all right. Often, too, a bird from a pile out 
of sight, and in much worse condition than those 
hung up for show, is substituted for the one the 
customer thinks he has purchased. He is, probably, 
puzzled to know when he reaches home, how a bird 
could deteriorate so rapidly. Then, too, the lower 
price is possible because short weight is given, so 
that a customer loses more in weight than he thinks 
he is making in price. Many of these small stand 
keepers are tricksters, while others are as honest 
and reliable as the day is long. 
X X X 
In a certain commission house, I saw two fine 
turkeys which had been very nicely dressed, and 
were intended for some one’s Christmas dinner. 
Each had been sent by express, but because of imper¬ 
fect marking or otherwise, the parties addressed 
could not be found. So two disappointed families 
missed a choice turkey each for dinner, and the ex¬ 
press companies turned them over to the commission 
man to sell. This is frequently done by the trans¬ 
portation companies. Oftentimes, because of imper¬ 
fect directions, goods cannot be delivered. If perish¬ 
able, they are disposed of at once in this way ; but if 
imperishable goods that can be held, they are kept 
for a certain time, and then disposed of at auction. 
Sometimes, goods are shipped to some of the fraud 
commission dealers who, because of their peculiar 
business methods, have been forced to move before 
the goods arrive, so that they cannot be found. In 
such case, the goods are turned over to a reputable 
dealer, the goods are sold, transportation and com¬ 
mission charges deducted, and the balance remitted 
to the shipper by the transportation company, f. h. y. 
XXX 
The Christmas Flower Trade. 
Christmas trade in New York calls chiefly for potted 
plants and loose flowers. There is very little de¬ 
mand for baskets of flowers, and none for fancy de¬ 
signs. Potted plants are very often grouped in a 
handsome basket. Although palms and ferns sell 
steadily, the extra Christmas demand favors flowering 
or fruiting plants. Several varieties of heath, cov¬ 
ered with their little bells of flesh or pink, are great 
favorites when shapely and well flowered. Cyclamens 
are sold in great quantities ; they are indispensable 
for the holiday trade. Chinese primroses are in good 
demand, and azaleas sell as well as at Easter. The 
Poinsettia, with its brilliant red bracts, takes very 
well, though stocky pot plants are not very largely 
produced. The cut bracts are much used in store 
decoration. 
The red-berried Ardisia and the Otaheite orange 
are the leaders among fruiting plants, though we 
note an occasional specimen of the Jerusalem cherry, 
a Solanum with a showy orange-red fruit. Neat, 
well-berried plants of the Ardisia, in four-inch or 
six-inch pots, with the fruit distributed to the ends 
of the branches, rather than crowded in a compact 
mass under the foliage, are the favorites. The Ota¬ 
heite oranges must show ripe fruit, to be salable. A 
picturesque basket of braid and willow, containing 
an orange plant massed around with small ferns, the 
handle of the basket tied with a sash of orange rib¬ 
bon, was an attractive gift. Heath, surrounded by 
pink and white Chinese primroses, tilled another bas¬ 
ket. In flowers, American Beauty roses, orchids, and 
selected carnations filled many of the choice orders. 
Carnations are much more called for than formerly. 
Violets, packed in fancy boxes tied with violet rib¬ 
bon, are always in demand at the holiday season. 
The high-class florists handle very little of the Christ¬ 
mas greens, except imported holly and mistletoe ; 
they do not think that it pays them for the trouble 
involved. 
KEEPING ACCOUNT OF FRUIT SALES. 
SALES, BILL AND RECEIPT BOOK. 
Some years ago, we were engaged in supplying the 
Oswego grocers, fruit dealers, etc., with a line of 
small fruits, melons, and more or less vegetables. 
At the same time, we were supplying peddlers from 
the farm. Owing to the hurry and bustle which is 
unavoidable in delivering this class of goods, for the 
reason that each customer wishes his supply as 
quickly as possible, there was no time to stop for 
cash collections, particularly when the dealer was 
waiting on a good patron, whom he could not neglect. 
If the seller waited at each place until paid, he would 
be very late at the last places, when much dissatis¬ 
faction would ensue. Also in selling to peddlers at 
the farm, settlements were made weekly, so that, in 
all cases, accounts had to be kept, and no matter how 
carefully managed, there was more or less trouble in 
these settlements, some parties declaring that they 
had not received the goods, prices were wrong, etc. 
After standing a number of losses of various amounts, 
it was decided to devise some means by which losses 
and misunderstanding might be obviated. To this 
end, the duplicate receipt and bill book, of which a 
sample leaf follows, was designed : 
MEMORANDUM. 
JVo. B.98. OSWEGO . 189.... 
of F. G. TICE, the following articles, for which 
I am responsible until receipted for : 
CrateNo. 
Trays. 
Baskets. 
KINDS. 
Price. 
Dollars. 
Cents. 
Signature of Receiver: 
Settlements Monthly. 
It has been thoroughly tested during the past 10 
years with the best results. Neither losses nor mis¬ 
understanding have occurred, and much time has 
been saved, both in delivery and settlement. 
Regarding the method of using these books; for 
convenience, the books contain 100 sheets each, are 
lettered A, B, C, D, etc., and the sheets of the books 
are also numbered consecutively, as Al, A2, A3, etc. 
Carbon paper, which may be bought at any bookstore 
for a few cents, is used. This is cut to the size of 
one-half of the sheet. The sheets are printed in 
duplicate on opposite sides of the paper, so that, 
when folded, the printed matter of both exactly 
match. By placing the carbon paper between the 
folded parts of the sheet, face down, anything written 
in the blank spaces of the outer part will be trans¬ 
ferred by the carbon paper to the under part of the 
folded sheet, thus making an exact duplicate. The 
receiver of the goods, be he proprietor or clerk, signs 
the receipt, which is torn off at the perforated line, 
and retained by him as a bill of the goods, while the 
duplicate remains with the salesman as a receipt of 
delivery. If cash be paid, the goods are signed for 
as before, then marked “Paid,” thus making a re¬ 
ceipt and record of cash sales, useful when employ¬ 
ing others to deliver. 
In settling, our custom is to make out a statement 
showing the date, letter and number of bill, and 
total amount of each bill, thus avoiding all itemizing 
as in the example below: 
JOUN SMITH. 
June 10.—To A27.$5.60 
June 12.—To A32. 6.05 
June 13.—To A60. 1.05 
To settle, all the dealer has to do is to compare the 
amounts of the bills held by him with the amounts 
on the statement. Should he have lost any bills, 
reference can be readily made to the duplicate in 
possession of the salesman. Items, prices or accept¬ 
ance of goods cannot be disputed, as the signature 
proves these facts. 
In the past, these books have saved many times 
their cost in collecting accounts when receivers 
neglected to credit us for goods delivered. A single 
incident to the point. One party paid over $15 for 
fruit not credited on his books, because he could not 
dispute his own signature. The same party expressed 
his satisfaction with the method, for he said that he 
never would have been entirely convinced that he 
had received the goods, had he not been shown his 
own signature. Thus by this doubt, a good customer 
might have been lost. I feel sure that any one 
intelligently using this method of recording his 
sales, will save much time and avoid losses and much 
of the controversy to which we are all exposed. 
F. G. TICE. 
NEW YORK POULTRY SHOW. 
The eighth annual exhibition of the New York 
Poultry and Pigeon Association began on December 
29, and lasted until Saturday night, January 2. It is 
a month or more earlier than usual, as it is generally 
held late in January or early in February. It is a 
magnificent collection of birds of the choicest breeds. 
The quality of the exhibits at this show has been 
steadily improving every year. Formerly, some poor 
birds were shown ; but it costs $2 to enter a fowl 
here, the competition is very strong, and a poor bird 
stands less chance of taking a premium than he does 
of getting struck by lightning. Thus it was unprofit¬ 
able to bring poor fowls, and the poor fowls were left 
at home. It is doubtful, too, whether there is a 
better show anywhere for selling purebred stock at 
high prices, hence breeders bring their best. There 
were single birds here valued at $100, $125, and $150 
and $200 each, and two little Bantams that one might 
hide in his hat, were priced at $1,000 each, a prohibitive 
price, of course. It is a rule of the show that if the price 
given in the catalogue be offered, it must be accepted, 
hence those having birds which they do not wish to 
sell, yet which they wish to price, are likely to put 
it high. 
A popular way of showing fowls is in breeding 
pens, and there were a large number of these. The 
number of buff fowls shown was large. This seems 
a popular color. Some breeds seem to be advancing 
rapidly in popular favor, like the White Wyandottes, 
which are more than twice as numerous as last year. 
There was a large showing of Black Langshans, as 
well as of Cochins and Brahmas. The popular favor¬ 
ites, Leghorns and P. Rocks were out in force. There 
was a goodly show of turkeys and water fowl,and no 
end of pigeons. Incubators and brooders were in 
operation, and were one of the chief attractions. 
Next week, we shall give some notes more in detail, 
respecting what we consider the most important of 
the different breeds. f. h. v. 
BUSINESS BITS 
It does not make much difference what kind of a pump you 
want, you will find it in the catalogue of the Pittsburgh Pump Co., 
322 Liberty Street, Pittsburgh, Pa. When looking for pumps, 
send a card for their catalogue. 
The Planet Jr. farm and garden tools have been on the market 
so long that every gardener, and almost every farmer knows about 
them. While the name is the same, however, improvements have 
been made from year to year, and new implements added to the 
list for special kinds of work, so that work that was formerly 
done by hand, is now done entirely by these implements. Send a 
postal card for a Planet Jr. book, to S. L. Allen, 1107 Market 
Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 
Most of the farm papers have, recently, run an advertisement of 
a new churn said to make butter in two minutes. In many cases, 
the advertisement is disguised as an editorial article, as though 
it were gratuitous information furnished by the paper. Some of 
our subscribers, not seeing the advertisement in The R. N.-Y., 
have written to ask our opinion of the churn. We refused several 
times to run the advertisement in any form. For our part, we 
would rather take a little more time, and produce butter. Grease 
is pretty expensive when made from good, pure cream, even 
when the operation requires only two minutes’ time of a person 
who knows no better than to buy one of these churns. 
Messrs. Geo. Ertel & Co., Quincy, Ill., write us as follows about 
their incubators: “We have not added anything to our machines 
in the way of improvements this year, for we find that the Vic¬ 
tors are giving general satisfaction wherever we send them. We 
have not had a single request to refund money, and we have 
been sending our bona fide guarantee for over a year, binding us 
to do so if the machines are not just as we represent them. We 
are selling machines to parties continually who have purchased 
from us before, and to others who have had the machine recom¬ 
mended to them by parties who are using them, all of which goes 
to further prove that our machines are giving entire satisfaction, 
and that we furnish just what we offer to furnish.” If you want 
their catalogue, address them as above. 
The one thing about farming that seems hardest to learn, is the 
advantage of thorough cultivation. Plants get a part of the mater¬ 
ial for growth from the ground, and this nourishment is gathered 
by the tender rootlets that spread in every direction. Any one 
can see at once that the finer the soil is the better able these 
tender fibres will be to perform their work. But all the food taken 
up by the roots must be in liquid form. That is, the plant food 
elements must be dissolved in water. Thorough tillage conserves 
moisture by preventing the evaporation of water from the 
ground, and forcing it to escape only through the plants. Manu¬ 
facturers seem to have found this out before many farmers, and 
have made farm implements well adapted to the work. One of 
the first among these is the Acme pulverizing harrow, made by 
Duane H. Nash, Wellington, N. J. It is a great clod crusher and 
land leveler. It is sent on trial, to be returned at the manufactur¬ 
er’s expense if not satisfactory. 
