189 ? 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
WHAT I SAW AND HEARD IN THE MARKETS. 
Not in a long time lias there been such a glut of 
mushrooms in this market. Large quantities have 
arrived, but one trouble is that with these as with 
other high-priced products, the outlet is limited. 
Few can afford to pay the high prices. As the price 
declines, consumption increases ; yet the supply is 
excessive. Peddlers have been hawking them about 
the streets at 25 cents per pound, one-half of what 
was formerly considere d a low wholesale price. Some 
of the wholesalers have hundreds of pounds which 
they say they don’t know how they are to dispose of 
without giving them away. There isn’t much 
encouragement in this condition of affairs for mush¬ 
room growers, present or prospective. 
t X X 
Hothouse products of all kinds seem to be suffer¬ 
ing from a decline. The supply of strawberries, 
tomatoes, etc., is far in excess of the demand, and 
prices must prove unsatisfactory if not unprofitable 
to the producers. Of course, at the lower prices, 
larger quantities will be used, but there can be no 
profit in growing such goods at the prices most 
people can pay. To relieve the market somewhat, 
great care must be taken in grading, assorting and 
packing, sending only the best, and thus lessen some¬ 
what the supply. Greater care should also be exer¬ 
cised to have the packages neat and clean, thus pre¬ 
senting an attractive appearance, as this helps in 
making sales at good prices. 
• 
X X X 
We frequently receive inquiries about pop corn— 
the profit in growing it, market prospects, etc. The 
burden of the answers for the past few years has been 
that the market was glutted, prices low, sales slow, 
and the conditions extremely unfavorable for any one 
to engage in its cultivation. These conditions have 
not changed materially. Good, clean, well-cured corn 
will sell now for not to exceed 1% cent per pound, 
and most of that received from those who are not 
regular growers will sell for less. I saw several bar¬ 
rels which had just arrived in a commission house. 
It had a sprinkling all through of ears partly or 
wholly red. Marks on many of the ears showed the 
work of mice. It was unattractive, not what the best 
marketj demands, and would sell only to a trade that 
buys only what it can buy at a low price. Pop corn 
that grades high in quality is grown only in certain 
localities where the conditions are exactly suited to 
its perfect growth. It requires special facilities for 
curing it properly, and must be held for a consider¬ 
able time before being marketed. 
X t X 
The first hothouse lambs always arrive for the 
Christmas market. They formerly sold for what 
seem like high prices. For the past two or three 
years, they have sold for much less. This year, the 
highest price at Christmas was 310, and many sold for 
considerably less. One of the largest dealers told me 
that he expected the market to go all to pieces as 
soon as the lambs begin to arrive in any quantity. 
This being the case, it stands shippers in hand to be 
very careful to ship only the best. This dealer told 
me that many of them are careless about dressing and 
packing, and are, also, sending them too light in 
weight. They should weigh not less than 40 pounds. 
Not only should every care be taken in killing and 
dressing properly, but the carcasses should be thor¬ 
oughly cooled, and then be nicely wrapped. It re¬ 
quires an expert to do this work, and an expert will 
well earn his money. I have seen hothouse lambs in 
market with the skins entirely removed, and the price 
was more than cut in half thereby. Good lambs of 
proper weight, correctly dressed, neatly packed, are 
imperative this year. 
X X X 
I see many dressed veals are a source of loss to the 
shippers through ignorance. The carcasses have, in 
many cases, had tne entire legs left on, and in other 
cases, the greater part of them. This is a useless 
waste of good money for express charges, as the buyer 
insists on a liberal deduction in weight for those use¬ 
less appendages. Then, too, sometimes, the skins of 
the head and the ears are left on, and these must be 
deducted. Every unnecessary pound on which ex¬ 
press charges must be paid, is so much dead loss. 
There is much loss, too, because of careless and im¬ 
proper dressing. Skill and neatness pay in this as in 
all other farm operations. 
Some inquirers have asked about what is meant by 
“platform price” of milk. This is stated under the 
market reports on the receipts and prices of milk. It 
is the price paid for the surplus. The regular dealers 
take a certain amount to supply their trade. After 
all are supplied, there is, generally, a surplus left on 
the station platform, and this is sold for what it will 
bring. The platform price varies sometimes on the 
different roads, and also, from day to day. During 
November last, it varied from 31.20 per can, to 32.25, 
the latter being an exceptional price for a single day. 
The average daily price for the month was about 
31 48. If the surplus be small and the extra demand 
heavy, then the price is likely to be high, often, ex¬ 
tremely so. This is the case when a severe storm de¬ 
lays railroad shipments, so that the available supply 
is small. f. h. v. 
AILING ANIMALS. 
ANSWERS BY DR. F. L . KILBORNE. 
Acute Indigestion in Young Pigs. 
F. S. E., Farmer , N. Y. —I have some pigs that were very fine 
when taken from the sow at six weeks old. Now, at seven, they 
suddenly lose the use of one hind leg, and after an hour or so, 
lose the use of the other hind leg, droop and refuse to eat, and in 
two or three days, die. What is the matter, and what can be done 
for them ? 
The trouble is, probably, acute indigestion, due to 
a too sudden change of food or, possibly, to overfeed¬ 
ing. Young pigs should gradually become accus¬ 
tomed to their future ration before being weaned, so 
as to make the change gradual. Overfeeding, especially 
on grain, is to be avoided at this time, as liable to 
cause indigestion. Treatment is mainly to be sought 
in prevention. 
Hoq Cholera. 
U. T. L., Princeton, 0. —My hogs are sick, and I don’t know what 
the disease is. October pigs are the worst. They become sick all 
at once, cough some, rattle in the throat, some have the dysentery, 
some are costive, stagger, fall down, and get very lousy. Some 
linger a long time, and some die soon. 
Your description of the symptoms indicates hog 
cholera as the cause of the trouble. Reports from 
Ohio and Indiana indicate that the disease has ap¬ 
peared quite extensively through that section of the 
country the past season. Probably the most satisfac¬ 
tory known treatment is that by the following for¬ 
mula given by the United States Bureau of Animal 
Industry in the Farmers’ Bulletin No. 24 : One pound 
each of wood charcoal, sulphur, sodium sulphate and 
antimony sulphide ; and two pounds each of sodium 
chloride, sodium bicarbonate, and sodium hyposul¬ 
phite, all to be thoroughly pulverized and mixed. 
The dose is one large tablespoonful for each 200 
pounds weight of hog to be treated (or one teaspoon¬ 
ful for each 50-pound pig), to be given in the feed 
once daily, or by drench if the pigs will not eat. 
The formula and full directions were given in The 
R. N.-Y. for February 16, 1895. The remedy would, 
probably, also prove beneficial in cases of indigestion 
in hogs due to improper feeding or other irregularities 
in diet. In addition to the treatment, the pigs should 
have soft, easily digestible food. They should, also, 
be provided with comfortable, clean, dry quarters, 
without danger of crowding. The litter or bedding 
should all be removed once or twice a week ; and, 
when possible, the well and diseased animals penned 
separately. 
Inflammation of the Eyelids of a Horse ; Sick Fowls 
G. C., Hanover, Ind. —1. What shall I do for my horse, which has 
sore eyelids, especially in front and in the front angle. The eye¬ 
ball seems all right, but matter flows out; the hair for the space 
of a square inch or two has fallen out, and the soft scab or cover¬ 
ing ruffb off quite frequently. It has been so for several months, 
but seems to get no better. It seems to itch, for the horse enjoys 
having the sore place rubbed gently. 2. What shall I do for 
chickens, when they more or less suddenly seem to lose control of 
their legs, stagger about the yard, and are hardly able to take 
their feed, often falling partially over when they awkwardly 
throw down one wing to prevent a complete fall ? Frequently 
they are not able to straighten out their toes, and consequently, 
fall helpless. 
1. In all such affections of the eyes, it is usually 
best to employ a competent veterinarian to examine 
personally and treat the case. It is very difficult to 
arrive at a satisfactory diagnosis from a description. 
In this case, the trouble may be due to simple inflam¬ 
mation of the lids, to granulated lids, or to obstruction 
of the lachrymal ducts. Carefully examine the lining 
mucus membrane of the lids by drawing the lids out¬ 
ward, or turning them over the finger, to ascertain 
whether they are granulated, i. e., dotted with minute 
red granular elevations. If so, treat by dissolving 
five grains of nitrate of silver in two ounces of dis¬ 
tilled or soft water, and placing a few drops in the 
eye, twice daily, with a soft feather or dropping-tube. 
If there is simple redness of the lids without granula¬ 
tion, bathe several times daily with a solution of one 
dram of lead acetate dissolved in one quart of soft 
water. A hot bran mash can be fed daily at night to 
advantage. 2. I have had no experience with fowls 
showing these symptoms except occasional eases due 
to a broken egg in the oviduct, or some such trouble, 
in which the only treatment was to kill the birds. 
41 
ThEHUDSON RIVER VALLEY FRUIT GROWERS 
An Organization is Needed. 
I am heartily in favor of forming the organization. 
I have been thinking for a long time that the fruit 
growers of the Hudson River Valley should form a 
horticultural society ; in fact, I believe that the rea¬ 
son why it has not been formed is because no one has 
suggested such a thing. Now that this difficulty has 
been overcome by Mr. Van Buren, and that The R. 
N -Y. has taken hold of the matter, I firmly believe 
that we can form a society second to none in the 
United States, in numbers and intelligence. It will 
not be denied by any well-informed horticulturist 
that the best fruit the world produces is grown on the 
banks of the Hudson River. I know from personal 
observation that many of the fruit growers in this 
section are up-to-date men in every sense of the word. 
These facts are not stated in a boasting manner, but 
only to show that we have the right timber to form 
this organization. There are hundreds of good rea¬ 
sons why such a society should be formed ; the prin¬ 
cipal one, however, is that we will all be benefited by 
an exchange of ideas. T. J. dwykr. 
Eastern New York Horticultural Society. 
For the past nine years, I have advocated and 
worked for the organization of farmers in farmers’ 
clubs and other ways to bring men together to con¬ 
sider the needs of agriculture and horticulture. I 
have seen the necessity of learning new ways and 
methods in order to meet the changed conditions that 
confront us in our business. In furtherance of this 
idea, I became a member of the Western New York 
Horticultural Society, and have attended its annual 
meetings with great pleasure and profit. I consider 
it a great privilege to know and mingle with such a 
body of men, many of whom, by study and scientific 
research, stand at the very head in their profession. 
I have received inspiration and encouragement to 
press forward in the work in which I am engaged, 
and I believe that, if the agriculturists (for I want to 
include them) and horticulturists of the eastern part 
of New York State would unite and form an organi¬ 
zation similar to the Western New York Horticultural 
Society, it would be of great value to them. There¬ 
fore, I am in favor of an organization to be known as 
the “ Eastern New York Horticultural Society,” and 
am willing to aid in starting it and helping it along. 
I believe that there are enough enterprising fruit 
growers in the Hudson River Valley to make such an 
organization a success, and I suggest that a prelim¬ 
inary meeting be held early in February at Pough¬ 
keepsie, it being a central location and easy of access 
from all directions. 
In the meantime, I would like to hear from the 
horticulturists of the Hudson River Valley in regard 
to the matter, that we may be somewhat prepared for 
the work when the meeting takes place. As I hope 
and trust that The R. N.-Y. is taken by most fruit 
growers, I address this communication to you that it 
may be read and discussed by them. I am confident 
that, were they as fully aware of the value of such 
an organization as I am, they would gladly improve 
this opportunity to aid in its formation. 
WALTER F. TABER. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
If you are going to buy a harrow this season, drop a card to 
G. H. Pounder, No. 22, Fort Atkinson, Wis., for description of his 
harrow. It has some points of excellence that just tit into some 
conditions. 
Smalley Mfg. Co., Manitowoc, Wis., want to know whether you 
saw wood. They ask because they have every conceivable kind 
of a saw for doing it with the least amount of labor. They will 
tell you just what they have, and will send you just what you 
order. 
Where the conditions are just right, there is certainly no other 
way to raise water so nicely as with the hydraulic ram. All that 
is required is a little fall of water from the spring or brook. If you 
write C. Hodgkins & Sons, Marlboro, N. H., they will tell you all 
about them. 
If you have hens, you Bhould study how to feed them. Green 
bone is one of the elements that enter into a properly balanced 
ration. Webster <fc Hannum, Cazenovia, N. Y., make green bone 
cutters for hand and power. They will be glad to tell you all 
about them, if you write them. 
Among the handsome calendars received this year, is one from 
The DeLaval Separator Co., 74 Cortlandt Street, New York. Of 
course, it is intended to advertise their separators, but the pic¬ 
ture of a dairymaid turning the Baby, with its rustic background, 
all printed in colors, is very effective. We believe that it will be 
sent free on application. 
The good points of the Pineland incubators and brooders are 
well set forth in their advertisement on another page. This com¬ 
pany aims more at excellence of materials and perfection of con¬ 
struction of their machines than at large sales. They will send 
catalogue telling all about their goods. Address Pineland Incu¬ 
bator and Brooder Co., Jamesburg, N. J. 
We have received from the Bowker Co., Boston, manufacturers 
of animal meal and other poultry supplies, a handsome calender 
for 1897. The picture represents a group of tine birds in the barn¬ 
yard industriously gathering material with which to make eggs. 
It is reproduced in all the colors of the original painting, and 
every one who loves tine poultry will want a copy. It is evidently 
too expensive for general free distribution, but we understand 
that the company will send one so long as they last on receipt of 
five or six two-cent stamps to pay postage, etc. 
