1897 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
377 
f^MONG -THE* 
H/AARKETMEN 
WHAT I SEE AND HEAB. 
The stalks of a good deal of the asparagus in mar¬ 
ket seem to run smaller in size than usual. I asked 
a dealer about this, and he explained it by saying 
that the probability is that the beds are becoming 
older, and new ones are not being put out. The prices 
of asparagus in recent years haven’t always been 
such as to encourage the planting of new beds. 
bottom ? This is no new trick, but is continually 
seen in every line of produce, and often in a worse 
form than this ; but is it honest ? f. h. y. 
NEW YORK STATE VINEGAR LAWS. 
CAN FARMERS SELL VINEGAR? 
As most of our readers are probably aware, New 
York State has a law regulating the manufacture and 
sale of vinegar. Ostensibly it is for the purpose of 
preventing the sale of anything but the pure article, 
and to protect the makers and sellers of such, as well 
as the consumers. Here is the law : 
VINEGAR LAW OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. 
t X X 
Several times recently I have noticed a huckster 
who was selling figs. A large sign displayed on the 
wagon proclaimed to the anxious public that they 
were a choice California product; but the small 
wooden boxes in which the figs were encased, as¬ 
serted that the contents were of Turkish descent. 
They couldn’t very well be both, but this was such a 
barefaced deception, that no one need be much de¬ 
ceived. Still there are cases innumerable where 
goods are offered for what they are not, and cases in 
which the fraud isn’t so apparent. 
X X X 
Five weeks ago, I wrote about the arrival of some 
hothouse lambs alive, and mentioned the fact that 
this is the safer method to ship. The weather since 
has been unseasonably cool, and dressed lambs have 
come in pretty good condition in consequence. But 
dealers prefer city-dressed lambs, and receivers are 
insisting that shippers shall send no more dressed 
lambs, but shall send them alive. We are liable to 
have extremely hot weather at almost any time now, 
and it is unsafe to risk any more shipments of dressed 
lambs from any distance. When refrigerator cars 
are available for that purpose, it will be different. 
X X X 
A dealer speaking of the terms applied to eggs, 
said that he saw a sign in a western town which read: 
Fresh-laid Eggs, 30c. a dozen. 
Fresh Eggs, 20 c. a dozen. 
Eggs, 10c. a dozen. 
Evidently there is a difference in eggs even in the 
West as well as elsewhere. There are plenty of signs 
in various parts of this city offering 25 “fresh eggs” 
for 25 cents ; but a day or two ago, I saw a sign offer¬ 
ing 54 for 25 cents. The latter, evidently, were more 
ancient than honorable, to be sold for such a price. 
X X X 
In one commission store, 1 saw some very fancy 
string beans which came from Charleston. The whole 
store was well filled with a choice lot of vegetables. 
Besides the beans, there were cucumbers, cabbages, 
potatoes and beets from Charleston, Savannah and 
Norfolk; squashes, egg plants and tomatoes from 
Florida ; green peas and beets from Norfolk and the 
Eastern Shore ; beets, lettuce, radishes, spinach, rhu¬ 
barb and asparagus from Long Island and New Jer¬ 
sey. Supplies come from a wide range of territory, 
and nearly all seemed to be in fine condition. I don’t 
remember ever to have seen the average condition 
of vegetables in this market better. 
X X X 
A lot of fine-looking apples, in the very pink of 
condition, were enough to make one’s mouth water. 
Doubtless their very appearance would sell them. 
But the name on the cover, “ Fancy Ben Davis,” told 
a story to the initiated of fine appearance but lacking 
the quality to sustain it. J. S. Woodward tells a story 
of a friend with whom he stopped in New York. This 
friend had some Ben Davis apples on the table. Mr. 
W. asked him why he didn’t buy good apples when 
they were so plentiful and cheap. “ Well,” said the 
friend, “ When I buy a barrel of good apples, they 
last but a short time ; but when I buy a barrel of 
Ben Davis, they last all winter, and I have apples to 
give away in the spring.” This about illustrates the 
quality of Ben Davis. 
X X X 
I have been buying strawberries of a market- 
woman who isn’t addicted to the common practice of 
‘•facing” her baskets of berries, and fixing them up 
with the nicest on top. She sells them as she buys 
them, just as they are. I bought a couple of boxes 
of Sharpless, large and nice. On dumping them out 
at home, the bottoms of the baskets were filled with 
smaller berries of an entirely different variety. They 
were good, firm berries, and of good quality, so there 
was no great loss; but the grower had, evidently, 
concluded that large berries would sell better than 
small ones, else why had he put the small ones in the 
Article 3 of chapter 338 of the Laws of 1893, provides as follows: 
ARTICLE III. 
Adulterated Vinegar. 
Section 50. Definition of adulterated vinegar. 
51. Manufacture and sale of adulterated or imitation 
vinegar prohibited. 
52. Packages containing cider vinegar to be branded. 
53. Penalties. 
§ 50. Definition of adulterated vinegar. —All vinegar which 
contains any proportion of lead, copper, sulphuric acid, or other 
ingredients injurious to health, or any artificial coloring matter 
or which has not an acidity equivalent to the presence of at least 
4‘A per centum, by weight, of absolute acetic acid or cider vinegar 
which has less than such an amount of acidity, or less than two 
per centum of cider vinegar solids on full evaporation over boiling 
water, shall be deemed adulterated. The term, cider vinegar, 
when used in this article means vinegar made exclusively from 
pure apple juice. 
§ 51. Manufacture and sale of adulterated or imitation 
vinegar prohibited. —No person shall manufacture for sale 
keep for sale or offer for sale: 
1. Any adulterated vinegar. 
2. Any vinegar or product in imitation or semblance of cider 
vinegar, which is not cider vinegar. 
3. As or for cider vinegar, any vinegar or product which is not 
cider vinegar. 
§ 52. Packages containing cider vinegar to be branded .— 
Every manufacturer or producer of cider vinegar shall plainly 
brand on the head of each cask, barrel, keg or other package con¬ 
taining such vinegar, his name and place of business and the 
words “ cider vinegar ”. And no person shall mark or brand as 
or for cider vinegar any package containing that which is not 
cider vinegar. 
§ 53. Penalties.— Every person violating the provisions of this 
article shall forfeit and pay to the people of the State the sum of 
$100 for each violation. 
We have received many inquiries from farmers who 
have a small quantity of cider vinegar to sell, as to 
whether this law will interfere with their selling it. 
We know of cases in which retailers who had cider 
vinegar, which they had purchased of farmers, have 
been threatened by agents of vinegar manufacturers 
with prosecution if they offered this vinegar for sale. 
Here is a sample of the letters received : 
o I have three or four barrels of genuine cider vinegar, and have 
customers that want from two quarts to two gallons at a time, 
and would rather get it where they know what they are getting. 
As to the Raines law, I am afraid to sell, for I think I would lay 
myself liable to a fine. If I cannot sell, I will throw away what 
I have, but it looks wasteful, for it is very strong, and more 
wasteful that a poor farmer cannot sell what he produces; but if 
things keep on we will have to take out a license to sell anything 
or we will be arrested and fined, and the farmer will have to 
knuckle down to everybody. c. v. p. 
The sale of vinegar comes not under the provisions 
of the Raines law, but under the vinegar law. The 
Commissioner of Agriculture is charged with the en¬ 
forcement of this and other laws relating to agricul¬ 
tural products. Wishing to know his views in the 
matter, we sent him the following letter of inquiry : 
New York, May 19, 1897. 
Mr. Chas. A. Wieting , Com. of Agriculture, Albany, N. Y. 
Dear Sir —We have inquiries from farmers who 
have vinegar of their own manufacture, which is pure 
cider vinegar and, of course, is entirely unadulterated 
in any way. Here is a typical case: “ A man has 
three or four barrels and has customers for it, who 
wish it in small quantities of a few gallons each ; 
they know that this vinegar is just what they wish, 
and prefer to buy it of the producer, but as we 
understand it, the strict construction of the existing 
vinegar law would prevent his selling it in this way.” 
Would you kindly tell us how this law is construed, 
and if these people would be molested if they sell 
just what they produce themselves, of a pure, un¬ 
adulterated article in small quantities ? It certainly 
seems a hardship if a farmer is not allowed to sell in 
this way. This law primarily was supposed to be for 
the protection of the manufacturer of honest goods, 
which the farmer almost uniformly is, although it is 
generally the accepted opinion that the law was 
framed by the manufacturers of vinegar for the ex¬ 
press purpose of shutting out the sale of other goods 
than their own. the rural new-yorker. 
To this Commissioner Wieting replied as follows : 
There is nothing in your letter to show that the 
vinegar mentioned is not up to the standard, or that 
its sale would be a violation of the law. There is no 
reason why pure cider vinegar should be below the 
standard fixed by the statute, unless it has been tam¬ 
pered with, and then it would not be pure cider vine¬ 
gar. Of course, if a person undertakes to sell hard 
cider, or what is commonly known as “cider-vinegar 
stock”, for vinegar, he is selling a material that is 
not vinegar. The one thing necessary for the pro¬ 
ducer of the goods you mention is that he shall be 
able to determine when his goods have ceased to be 
“vinegar stock,” and have become vinegar. Their 
sale will then be no violation of the statute. We in¬ 
close you a copy of the statute, a perusal of which 
will show you that there is nothing in the law pro¬ 
hibiting a farmer from selling- his vinegar in any 
shape or form, or in any quantity that he may desire, 
so long as it is not an adulteration or below the 
standard. 
The feature of this law which has been criticised is 
the standard, the claim being made, of course, that 
the average farmer could not tell when the vinegar 
had ceased to be “ vinegar stock”, or had the required 
amount of acidity. There were several unsuccessful 
attempts made last winter so to modify this law as to 
relieve the situation, but those interested could not 
apparently agree upon which was the best way, 
so that the statute was not amended. It was gen¬ 
erally agreed, however, as I understand it, that it 
would not be a wise or wholesome thing to do away 
entirely with the standard for vinegar, on the ground 
that it would make the State of New York the dump¬ 
ing ground for all poor vinegar of other States, par¬ 
ticularly imitation vinegar. 
Very respectfully yours, 
Commissioner of Agriculture. c. A. wieting. 
Not considering this answer satisfactory, we wrote 
again as follows, to the Commissioner of Agriculture : 
Your letter only partially answers the questions we 
asked. As we remember the law, not having it on 
hand, it provides for the branding of packages con¬ 
taining vinegar. Is this provision imperative with 
the farmer who sells only a small quantity of vinegar, 
and that, perhaps, dealt out in jugs and pails brought 
by his customers ? Another point, you say there is 
no reason why a farmer should not sell his vinegar, 
providing he is able to determine that it is vinegar, 
and actually comes up to the standard. Now, how is 
the small farmer to determine this ? In the city as we 
understand it, it is necessary that a chemical analysis 
be made of a sample, and this will not cost the 
farmer or storekeeper much, if any less than $10. 
Probably there are many farmers who have a small 
amount of vinegar, the whole of which would not 
amount to enough to pay for the chemical analysis. 
If this is true, it is simply shutting out the small 
farmer from the market absolutely. If we are right 
in this conclusion, the law is a hardship to the small 
producer, and the very one whom the law is supposed 
to help and protect. 
Will you tell us then briefly, for the benefit of many 
readers who are anxious to be informed accurately 
on this matter so that they may know what they are 
about, what will be exacted of them in the way of 
branding ; and second, what they must do in the mat¬ 
ter, to show what the standard of their vinegar is ? 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
The reply to this still fails to notice at all the 
point of branding the packages, so we are still in the 
dark as to the construction to be placed upon it. We 
do not believe, however, that a farmer who dealt out 
the vinegar to his customers in a retail way, would 
be interfered with. 
You ask, “ How is a small farmer to determine this 
question ? ” As the question reads in connection with 
the letter, it means how is he to determine the ques¬ 
tion as to whether vinegar comes up to the standard 
or not. The standard requires 4>£ per cent acetic 
acid and two per cent cider vinegar solids. There are 
implements on the market costing not to exceed $3 or 
$3.50 that can be used to determine both of these 
questions without a chemical analysis. We use simi¬ 
lar instruments in determining whether we shall take 
the sample for analysis. We do make analyses, but 
it is only of samples that have been taken by our in¬ 
spectors, if they have been tested in the way above 
indicated, and the analysis is made as a matter of 
evidence in court, as a chemical analysis, and, of 
course, is absolute. If any small farmer in this State 
is in doubt about his vinegar, if he will send us a 
sample, we will test it without expense and give him 
a statement of how it stood. 
Very respectfully yours, 
Assistant Commissioner. g. l. flanders. 
The last clause shows that the farmer may get his 
vinegar tested free of expense. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
Any bicycle rider will tell you that ball-bearings reduce the 
friction to a minimum. That’s what makes all ball-bearing 
machines run so easily. The Peoria washing machine is made 
on the ball-bearing principle. The other points in its favor are 
that it is a thorough cleanser, and cannot injure the finest gar¬ 
ment. Booklet which tells all about it for the asking. Address 
Clark, Queen & Morse, 315 W Street, Peoria, Ill. 
If we were making butter and needed to color it to maintain a 
uniform color and grade, we would use Thatcher’s orange butter 
color. The committee at the World’s Columbian Exposition that 
awarded it the medal, only confirmed our own previous estimate 
of its worth. It is made by the Thatcher Mfg. Co., Potsdam, N. Y. 
This company also makes the Common-Sense milk bottle that 
every milkman who bottles milk ought to know about. 
In machinery, the simpler the construction the less friction 
there is to overcome, and necessarily less power is required to 
operate it, and the liability to breakage proportionately reduced. 
The Johnson Harvester Co., Batavia, N. Y., have eliminated one 
little complication after another in their Globe mower until it is 
now about as simple in construction as it is possible to make it. 
Their free catalogue gives detailed information and illustrations 
of this mower, their reapers and hayrakes. 
We do not want The R. N.-Y. readers to get mixed up on milk 
coolers emanating from Cortland, N. Y. The Champion Milk 
Cooler Company have been there for several years, and are 
thoroughly responsible. Mr. L. R. Lewis is also a responsible 
manufacturer of milk coolers at the same place. This word of 
distinction is due these houses, as we have before referred to the 
irresponsibility of another maker there, who is able to do some 
advertising in some other papers by paying the papers in advance 
for the advertising. We do not propose to introduce any house 
to R. N.-Y. readers in a business way, unless we are able to trust 
them and give them credit ourselves. Don’t overlook the point 
that the Champion Company and Mr. L. R. Lewis are both 
responsible. 
