THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1 97 
AMONG THE MARKETMEN. 
WHAT I SEE AND HEAB. 
An Italian push-cart vender from whom I had just 
bought a fine “hand ” of bananas for 15 cents—a cent 
apiece for large, ripe ones—said, “ Business no good 
any more. I sella him for 25 centa, now only can get 
15 centa ! No gooda any morel All bad!” So it 
seems that all branches of trade feel the depression. 
But more bananas are eaten at the lower prices, 
especially since oranges are higher in price, so that, 
perhaps, the greatest good will result to the greatest 
number. More apples should be eaten, also, and the 
retail price should be lower than it is. 
X X X 
The strawberry carriers now largely used for bring¬ 
ing strawberries from the South, are about the most 
satisfactory of anything yet devised. They are large, 
solidly-built boxes, filled with baskets of berries nearly 
to the top, and on the top of these is a shallow metal 
pan the size of the box, filled with ice. Tubes from 
this pan pass through the bottom of the box to carry 
off the water from the melting ice. This arrange¬ 
ment seems preferable to the one in which a cake of 
ice occupied the center of the crate. After the ber¬ 
ries reach here in these large refrigerator crates, they 
are usually taken out, put in smaller crates and sold. 
The berries mostly arrive in fine condition. 
X X X 
In front of a store devoted to the selling of shrubs 
and plants, I noticed a lot of rose bushes in bundles. 
Each bundle was labeled ; on one was, “ White 
Roses”; on another, “Red Roses”; on another, “ Pink 
Roses”; on another, “Yellow Roses”, and so on 
through several different shades and colors. I didn’t 
observe any blue roses, or tree roses, or roses guar¬ 
anteed to produce several different colors on the same 
bush, though I doubt not the dealer could supply 
them on demand. It struck me that, provided these 
different bundles were correctly labeled as to color, 
the average buyer would come about as near to get¬ 
ting what he wanted as by any other method. Still, 
what would we think of a man who started out to buy 
cows by color, without regard to any other character- 
stics ? 
X t t 
“Things are not what they seem”—not always, 
not even in the markets and store windows. In some 
of the milk and butter stores, a very nice-looking 
bottle of milk for the store window is made by filling 
a milk bottle about three-quarters full of flour, and 
filling the remaining space with yellow corn meal. 
Such a bottle of “ milk” can be left in the store win¬ 
dow as a sign indefinitely, and is not affected by heat 
or cold. A block of wood in exact imitation of a 
pound print of butter, nicely wrapped in parchment 
paper, serves as well as the genuine butter as an 
advertisement, and even better, for it will stand the 
hottest sun without changing color or consistency. In 
front of some of the fruit stores, wooden imitations 
of bunches of bananas are painted in such close sem¬ 
blance to the genuine as almost to deceive an Italian 
push-cart man. Wooden hams are sometimes used as 
decoys to lure people to buy the genuine, and the 
sacks in which the store hams are sometimes in¬ 
cased, are said to be stuffed with sawdust to serve as 
advertisements of their neighbors which are still 
stuffed with ham. There is a story, too, of a burglar 
who carried off a very fine-looking cheese from a store 
window only to discover afterward that it was made 
of oak. There may be cases where the counterfeit 
serves a certain purpose as well as the genuine, and 
it is certainly better to use these counterfeits in the 
ways indicated than to try to palm off counterfeit 
foods on unsuspecting victims, for the genuine 
articles. _ f. h. v. 
A singular calf story started in Texas, and has 
been going the rounds of the press. It is said that 
a man living near Galveston sold some cattle for 
$470, and received his pay in bills—one $100, one $50, 
and 16 $20 bills. This money was put in his coat so 
that it showed from his pocket. A yearling came up 
and, seeing the bills in the coat, bit at them and pro¬ 
ceeded to chew them up. The man caught the year¬ 
ling in the act of chewing his money, and succeeded 
in getting 13 of the $20 bills out of its mouth. The 
yearling was killed, and from its stomach was taken 
a wad or mass of green paper which represented $210. 
This mass was sent to Washington with a sworn state¬ 
ment of the facts, and after investigation, $210 in 
crisp new bills were sent in place of the yearling’s 
lunch. This story may be true. Uncle Sam would 
lose nothing by such an operation. The yearling was 
the only one to suffer for its mistake. Good, mer¬ 
chantable grain and hay represent crisp new bills. 
Suppose you feed it to scrubs. They swallow it and 
never say, Thank you ! At the end of the year, you 
figure up and find that your money has gone as surely 
as though the cattle had pulled it out of your pocket 
and chewed it up. But neither Uncle Sam nor any 
one else will pay it back to you. The pleasure of the 
scrub’s society. That is all you will get out of it 1 
© 
Just before the close of the last administration, 
the retiring Postmaster General submitted to Con¬ 
gress a report on the results of recent experiments in 
the free delivery of mail matter in rural districts. It 
was too much to expect that an enthusiastic report 
would be the outcome of these experiments. The 
past administration has never manifested any anxiety 
for the success of free rural mail delivery, and the 
experiments, so far as would appear, were not in¬ 
tended to show favorable results. Still the reports 
were forced to show that the results of the system 
were uniformly favorable, although the cost is esti¬ 
mated at a figure that would tend to discourage im¬ 
mediate action. The estimate is that it would cost 
from $45,000,000 to $50,000,000 per year to extend the 
system to all parts of the United States. Of course, 
by limiting free delivery to districts of a certain size 
or density of population, this estimate could be 
materially reduced. The number of carriers employed 
in the recent experiments was 81, at an average an¬ 
nual cost each, of $283. The experiments were con¬ 
ducted during the months of December and January, 
when the cost would, probably, be higher than dur¬ 
ing some other parts of the year. The total number 
of pieces handled was 206,854, at an average cost per 
piece of 1.54 cent. The maximum cost was in Bartholo¬ 
mew County, Ind., where the cost was 6.44 cents per 
piece. One great obstacle to the economical distri¬ 
bution of the mail in country districts, is the bad 
roads. The roads are being improved ! Good roads 
are coming ! Trolley roads are being extended ! Free 
rural mail delivery is demanded and must come I A 
fair, honest trial will demonstrate its practicability ! 
BUSINESS BITS. 
Order the Sir Walter Raleigh potato at once. It will cost but a 
two-cent stamp for postage. This potato promises to be the best 
of Mr. Carman’s seedlings. A tuber sent free to all subscribers 
who apply. 
If you wish to aqmse the children, ask any druggist for the 
kindergarten novelty, “ The House that Jack Built.” It does not 
cost anything, as it is got up for advertising purposes, but it is 
sure to interest the children. 
A subscriber writes us that he sent a check for an order of 
palm seed to the Schwake Seed Co., 404 East 34th Street, New 
York, in January; the check had been paid at the bank, but he 
can not get the seed, or any reply to his letters from the seed 
company. We have succeeded no better in his behalf. This 
would seem to be a good firm not to send checks to. 
Mr. J. M. Stahl, the editor of Farmer’s Call, writes Dr. S. A. 
Tuttle, Boston, Mass., that he has used a bottle of Tuttle’s Elixir 
in his family, finds it one of the best applications ever used for 
swollen joints, bruises and diphtheria, and sends a remittance 
for another bottle. Dr. Tuttle sends sample for three two-cent 
stamps to pay postage. It is an excellent liniment. 
Tins is a good time to paint wagons, fences, buildings and farm 
implements generally. There is no excuse for not doing it, either; 
you can get paint all ready mixed in colors to suit you, of O. W. 
Ingersoll, 246 Plymouth Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. If you write him, 
he will sent sample of colors and prices. He makes the paint 
and sells you direct, so there is no middleman’s profits. 
American farmers just now are interested in the efforts that 
are being made to produce sugar from American beets. Why 
should the people of this country pay $100,000,000 for foreign sugar 
while big farms are idle through lack of a market for crops 1 
Anything on the subject of beet-sugar growing will be read with 
interest. The Jarecki Chemical Co., of Sandusky, O., issue a 
little pamphlet which will interest you. 
There are some features of the King corn planter that recom¬ 
mend it strongly. The operator can see both the fertilizer and 
seed as dropped, and feel sure that no hills have been missed. 
Another good point is that it does not drop the seed directly on 
the fertilizer, but provides for a thin layer of earth between 
them. This implement also plants beans between the rows of 
corn at the same time the corn is being planted, and pumpkin 
seeds may, also, be planted at the same time. A larger machine 
is made on the same principle, for planting two rows at a time. 
The Whitman Agricultural Works, Auburn, Me., are the makers, 
and will be glad to send you full particulars about it. 
P otash 
is a necessary and important 
ingredient of complete fer¬ 
tilizers. Crops of all kinds 
require a properly balanced 
manure. The best 
Fertilizers 
contain a high percentage 
of Potash. 
All about Potash—the results of its use by actual ex¬ 
periment on the best farms in the United States—is 
told in a little book which we publish and will gladly 
mail free to any farmer in America who will write for it. 
GERMAN KALI WORKS, 
93 Nassau St., New York. 
A Natural 
Fertilizer 
for all kinds of 
Field and Garde 
...j. Crop. Supplied in ce 
iVOfli) ^ oac * l° ts > direct from C 
nadian storehouses, 
k\ bulk, bags or barrels, u 
>) der personal supervisic 
Guaranteed quality ai 
,S\ weight. Write for free par 
phlet and price-list. 
^ F. R. LA LOR, 
Dunnville, (Box 16) Ontarl 
Legal Successor to MUNROE, LALOR & CO, 
Farmers, 
Gardeners and 
Fruit Growers 
To economize should freely use the time 
tested reliable brands of FERTILIZERS 
we manufacture. The goods increase 
quantity and improve quality of Grain, 
Grass, Vegetables and Fruit, and make 
healthy Trees, Vines and Shrubs. 
Brands for all soils and all crops. 
Some prefer making their own “ home 
mixings.” for such we always keep in stock the 
Chemicals and crude materials required. 
$20 PHOSPHATE FOR POTATOES AND CORN 
Sold to farmers direct. We have no agents. Send 
for Circular. Low prices for car-load lots. 
YORK CHEMICAL WORKS, York, Pa. 
Seed Potatoes. 
Yield and quality back of our seed potatoes. No 
scrubs. Best new and old kinds. List tells; it's free. 
E. MANCHESTER & SONS, West Winsted, Conn. 
THE GREAT DIVIDE POTATO. 
An Immense yieMer of the finest quality, 50c. a bush. 
Address CUUIEK SPANGLER, Marietta, Pa. 
Seed Potatoes. 
World’s Fair, Maggie Murphy and Great Divide, 
$l.ti0 per barrel; Carman No. 1, $1.50; Carman No. 3. 
Mills Prize and Sir William, $2; Wise’s Seedling, Early 
Fortune and Early Acme. $3. 
J. M. FLUKE, Nankin, Ohio. 
THE CLFVFI AND nRYFR PH Th 6 EdHy BOV66 PofdtOi 
me ULLKLflnU Uflicn UU., * The best vielder that I have. Unsurnassed in oi 
No. 130 Summit Street, Cleveland, Ohio. 
Canada Unleached ^ r* 
Hardwood #V X—m ^ I 
For prices address THOS. POTTS, Brantford, Ont. 
WHEAT 
Will probably bring good prices 
next Fall—now for a big crop. 
NITRATE OF SODA 
Applied in the Spring, 50 to 100 
pounds per acre—will greatly in¬ 
crease the yield. It can be ob¬ 
tained of any enterprising fer¬ 
tilizer dealer. 
Please ask for pamphlet with full instruc¬ 
tions for using NITRATE on Wheat and 
other crops and instructions for MIXING 
FERTILIZERS at home. Address 
S. M. HARRIS, Moreton Farm(P.0.)N,Y. 
The best ylelder that I have. Unsurpassed in qual¬ 
ity and most all marketable In size. I purchased my 
seed from the originator. It Is pure. Price, 35c. lb.; 
55c. two lbs.; $1 four lbs.; $1.25 peck; $2.25 half bu.; 
$4bu.; $10 bbl. Israel Denlinger, Taylorsburg. Ohio. 
POTATO 
WE'LL BUY OR SELLi 
Grass,Clover orTimothy ’ 
We clean them by special!._ _ _ _ 
methods a machinery, and take out every kind of weed 
seed. Ordinary seeds contain weeds—over-run the farm 
—exhaust it—a reduce quantity a quality of crop. Our 
seeds are dean. Write today for free booklet, SkidSxss* 
The WHITNEY-NOYES SEED COJHBMBK.* 
COVER AND HILLER. 
Improved for 1897. Write for cuts 
and prices. OAKFIELD AGRI¬ 
CULTURAL WORKS. Oakfield, N. Y. 
PfltjtflPC -1 Carman No. 3, bbl., $1.50; peck. 30c.; three 
i UldlUvo pounds, by mall. 50c.; small, $1. R. N.-Y. 
No. 2, $1.25 bbl. J. V. Woodruff. South Haven, Mich. 
Carman No. 3. 
Clean, choice seed, $1.65 per barrel, to close out 
stock. Order at once. 
FRED. E. YOUNG, Rochester, N. Y. 
Western NewYork Seed Potatoes. C 
Carman No. 1, Rural New-Yorker No. 2, Rural 
Blush, Maggie Murphy, Rose of Erin, Everltt Rose, 
Reeve’s Rose. Rutland Rose, Victor Rose, Monroe 
County Prize, Wilson’s First Choice, Woodbull Seed¬ 
ling, Hebron, Chas. Downing, at $1 per barrel, f. o. b., 
to close out. A. F. LANE, Victor, N. Y. 
come from the best trees. 
The best trees are grow n 
in the far North. The 
very best trees come 
from our great Minne¬ 
sota N urseries — abso¬ 
lutely the best and hard¬ 
iest that money will buy. 
We sell millions of 
trees and plants every 
year. This season we 
want to sell more than 
ever. Nobody at any price can sell you 
as good trees as we can at a low price. 
The thing to remember is that our trees 
and plants grow. And they bear fruit. 
All we ask is your name and address, 
so we can send you a great deal of valu¬ 
able information free. Tell us where you 
live, and we will tell you about our trees. 
THE JEWELL NURSERY CO., 
Box 15. LAKE CITY, MINN. 
olumbia Raspberries.—500 Plants for 8ale. $1.50 per 
doz., $8 per 100. Dan'l Perry, Box 1266, Oswego, N.Y. 
Primcnn PllWPf Thomas McElroy. European Seed 
VilllloUll vluVtl corn. Merchant, Mercantile Ex¬ 
change Bldg., Harrison St., N. Y., continues the largest 
importer of high grade reliable stock of Crimson Clover 
seed in this country. Prices to dealers on application. 
Water Hyacinths. 
The most beautiful and easiest grown of aquat ic 
plants. 10 cents each; three for 25 cents; 75 cents 
per dozen, by mail, postpaid. 
O. H. STEARNS, Eustis, Florida. 
