1897 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
489 
WHAT I SEE AND HEAR. 
Occasionally I see some yellow. raspberries in 
market. There is little demand for these in this mar¬ 
ket, and they sell slowly. Sometimes a few baskets 
of them are packed in a crate of red or black ones, 
thus spoiling the sale of the whole. 
X X X 
A difference in seasons makes things seem dif¬ 
ferent sometimes. On one of the hottest of our re¬ 
cent hot days, I saw on some boxes of tomatoes from 
the South, the card used in winter asking the express 
companies to keep the package from frost There is 
no doubt that the request was complied with. 
X X X 
Not many peaches are coming this year from the 
great peach orchards in the vicinity of Fort Valley, Ga. 
Dialers say that those which are coming are not of 
the best quality. The peaches escaped the early 
frosts which are usually the greatest bugbear while 
in bloom, but several weeks of warm rains did the 
business, and the crop is nearly a failure. 
X X X 
Originality in advertising is usually effective in 
reaching the public. Scattered around our city 
streets during the summer are numerous wagons 
which sell milk, buttermilk, milk shakes, etc , by the 
glass. They do quite a business, too. On one of 
these carts, I noticed this legend: '•'•This sweet and 
butter milk is pronounced pure by phisictons.” There's 
originality for you ! 
X * X 
A rather unusual occurrence in the butter trade 
was the shipment of about 2,000 packages of butter 
from this market to Australia, one of our principal 
competitors for the British butter trade. The dealers 
say that not many such shipments are likely. It is 
now the winter season in Australia, the make of but¬ 
ter is light, and the summer surplus has been largely 
shipped to England, so there was a temporary short¬ 
age. At our present low prices this shortage could 
be supplied from here cheaper than from any other 
source, so the shipment was made. We can well spare 
more. The shipment was made across the continent, 
and by way of Vancouver, B. C. 
t t X 
“ We are selling lots of produce, but we aren’t 
getting anything for it,” was the plaint of one com¬ 
mission merchant. And there are plenty more, so far 
as the prices they have been getting are concerned. 
It seems as though the general run of produce and 
fruits never averaged better than this year, yet prices 
have ruled low. One retailer said that the people 
haven’t the money to buy as much as common, hence 
the demand is small. It may be small consolation to 
the man without money to know that the goods he 
wishes are cheap, but certain it is that never before 
could so much in the way of vegetables and fruits be 
bought for so little money. City people ought to eat 
more vegetables and fruits, and many of them ought 
to drink less beer. 
X X X 
Many of our readers seem to be taken with the idea 
of buying young pullets in the market in late sum¬ 
mer, and feeding them for fall and winter layers. 
We have received numerous inquiries as to where 
such pullets can be obtained, and at what prices. Of 
course there are hundreds of dealers who handle live 
poultry in this city, but not many of them will go to 
the trouble of sorting out desirable birds, and many 
of them have not the knowledge that enables them 
to make proper selections. Mr. Charles Collins, 52 to 54 
Jay Street, has been handling live poultry, pigeons, 
etc., for 33 years, and makes a specialty of selecting 
pullets for those who wish them. He gets from one 
to two cents a pound above the ruling market price, 
according to the condition of the market. lie advises 
buying not before late August or early September, as 
prices are likely to be lower then, and the birds are 
better developed, so that one can better see what he 
is buying. He says that he seldom has any disease 
among the poultry he handles. The best stock comes 
from Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. Plymouth Rock 
blood shows the most prominently in most shipments. 
He doesn’t like southern stock. He says that poultry 
which has been shipped a long distance or been 
closely confined, is not likely to do well. Shipping 
in hot weather also has a bad effect on poultry. A 
large part of the present arrivals are cockerels, the 
shippers evidently being aware of the value of early 
pullets as layers for the coming fall and winter. 
All the large egg handlers have in their employ 
egg candlers. This is a trade by itself, and often 
descends in the same family from father to son. 
Formerly the candlers used wax candles, but now 
electric lights are displacing the candles. The can¬ 
dlers are now organizing, also, and will shortly have 
a union of their own, and become a part of organized 
labor. Their work is important, for the best trade 
requires good goods, and every egg must be perfect. 
The testing is done with great rapidity and exactness. 
Usually five grades of eggs are made, though some¬ 
times, in the summer, they are assorted into as many 
as 10 grades. Even the rotten ones have their uses, 
as they are used in the dressing of some kinds of 
leather. Some of the lower grades are used by some 
bakers, and by the cheap grocers. The candlers say 
that the color of the shell makes little difference to 
them in their work, though it is a little easier to see 
through a white shell than a dark one. One candler 
told me that he could tell whether an egg would 
hatch or not. He would b3 a prize for some incubator 
man. 
X X X 
A reader, living up the Hudson River, says that 
nearly all the pears that have been shipped from that 
locality for years have been packed in barrels with 
15%-inch heads, what are known to the trade as pony 
barrels He wishes to know whether there is likely 
to be any trouble if they continue using that size 
barrel. He ought to have added that the Hudson 
River Valley apple growers, also, have been using the 
same size barrel. If he had been a long-time reader 
of The R. N.-Y., he would have learned long ago 
that there is always a likelihood of trouble and loss 
from the use of this barrel. The pony barrel is a 
fraud. Its makers and users call it a barrel, and try 
to sell it for a barrel, but it isn’t, because it doesn’t 
hold what is recognized as a barrel. When apples or 
other products are scarce, buyers do not make so 
much difference ; but when they are plentiful, the 
buyers will not buy the small barrels unless at a 
price lower in proportion than the difference in size. 
The small barrel must cost about as much to make as 
the large one ; the railroads make no distinction in 
freight charges; the cartman charges just as much 
for handling a small barrel, and where the commis- 
sionman estimates his commission by the barrel, his 
charges are the same. But the selling price must be 
lower, and often, the small size loses a sale. Still 
more loss is there when these barrels are used for the 
export trade, because only full-sized barrels are 
wanted on the other side. It’s a losing game all 
around, but many of the shippers have been too blind 
to see it. I showed this letter to some extensive, 
apple dealers and exporters, and the unanimous com¬ 
ment was that it is high time that these people are 
waking up ; that they should never use a barrel with 
a head smaller than 16^ or 17 inches. The small bar¬ 
rel is intended to deceive the buyer ; it does not, but 
the only one deceived is the man who thinks that he 
can deceive by the use of such barrels. f. h. y. 
HORTICULTURE FOR THE CHILDREN. 
POTTING STRAWBERRY PLANTS. 
□ Something that almost any boy or girl can do, is to 
set out and cultivate a little bed of strawberries. I 
know it would be a delight to gather the fruit next 
spring and divide it with those who have none. The 
usual and, perhaps, the best time of year to put out 
the plants is in the early spring ; but it is not too 
late to plant a few this year, Indeed, if it be done 
properly, a big crop of berries can be raised on 
plants set in midsummer. Each of The R. N.-Y. 
children ought to have a little corner that may be 
called his own, and start a strawberry patch as soon 
as possible. No matter if there are plenty on the 
farm besides. What you may raise in this way will 
be your own. Ju3t now is the right time in most 
parts of our country to get the plants ready for set¬ 
ting ; I mean, to put the runners into pots or some¬ 
thing like them, that there may be well-rooted plants 
ready for transplanting a little later. 
There must be some old strawberry plants to start 
from, either at home or at some kind neighbor’s place. 
Perhaps some of the smaller boys and girls do not 
know that young strawberry plants are formed by 
the rooting of little runners that come out from the 
base of the old plants. If you will watch the plants 
about the time the fruit has done ripening, these little 
runners will be seen starting to grow. They will 
have joints with little leaves above, and tiny rootlets 
below, starting to grow into the earth. The botanists 
call these joints nodes or stolons. The way to get 
plants in the best condition to move to a new patch, 
is to pot the runners. Old bearing plants are not good 
for transplanting. Earthen pots, such as florists use, 
are the best, and those four inches deep ; but where 
these cannot be easily obtained, old pint or quart tin 
cans will do very well. Melt all the soldering, and 
use only the one large piece without top or bottom. 
I have also used old berry boxes when nothing better 
could be found. Anything that will contain the 
roots, bear moving, and let the ball of earth and 
roots come out easily, will do. Fill the pots, or what¬ 
ever is used, with rich, mellow soil, and bury in the 
earth to the top, where the little runner can easily 
reach it. Put the rooting stolon on the center of it, 
and place a little clod or stone on top, so it will hold 
it down. I have found something new and very nice 
to hold the runner in place, and also to mark the spot 
very plainly ; it is small clam or oyster shells. They 
are just heavy enough, and can easily be seen when 
it is desired to take up the buried pots. It is often 
hard to find all the rooted plants when there is noth¬ 
ing of the kind to show where they are. Hotels and 
restaurants often have oyster and clam shells that 
they are glad to give away. 
When the plants are well rooted, take them up and 
set out in rows not closer than two feet apart and 
about the same distance or a little closer in the row. 
First make the soil very rich with old rotten manure 
dug in deep and thoroughly mixed. Keep the top of 
the ground as loose as an ash heap. Cut off every 
runner as fast as it shows itself. This is the hill sys¬ 
tem of growing strawberries, and is one of the best 
for grown people as well as children to practice in 
most climates and with many varieties. 
H. E. VAN DEMAN. 
A COW THAT DRANK BORDEAUX MIXTURE. 
On page 494, is an account of a cow that drank about 
1(5 quarts of clear Bordeaux Mixture. Mr. Morse, 
who owns the cow, now writes that she did not die 
after all. His second letter is printed below, and will 
prove interesting to those who are liable to have 
similar accidents : 
“I am glad to be able to say that the cow never 
seemed to suffer any inconvenience from the draught. 
The salts worked pretty thoroughly during the night. 
That you may fully understand the case, I will restate 
it carefully. The cow drank the liquid about 5 o’clock 
p. m., and I did not learn the fact until about 6:30. 
She was given 1% pound of Epsom salts about 7 
o’clock or a little later. The mixture was after the 
formula of 50 gallons of water and six pounds of sul¬ 
phate of copper. The mixture had stood and settled, 
so the liquid she drank was clear, but of a bluish 
green color. From the marks of liquid in the barrel, 
she must have taken fully four gallons. As soon as I 
learned what was done, I looked in a list of poisons 
and antidotes to decide on the treatment. I found 
the treatment Dr. Kilborne suggested recommended 
for sulphate of copper poisoning. I did not think the 
milk, eggs and starch could be considered an antidote 
proper, but only a kind of lubricant to prevent the 
corrosive effect of the poison until it could be re¬ 
moved or some antidote used. I reasoned that the 
lime (I always use an excess of lime), must have de¬ 
stroyed the corrosive power of the mixture, and its 
effect would be that of a slow poison if taken into the 
circulation ; so I decided to remove it as soon as possi¬ 
ble. As I look back to the occurrence, the question 
arises in my mind, ‘ How much of the copper remains 
in solution after thorough treatment with lime ? ’ 
The lime certainly destroys all acidity and corrosive 
power in the mixture. Does it also remove a part of 
the copper ? When I learned what the cow had done, 
I said that I did not consider her worth $5. The 
results have changed my opinion ; but I shall, cer¬ 
tainly, not water my cattle with Bordeaux Mixture 
purposely.” 
BUSINESS BITS. 
It is reported to us on good authority that Dr. O. W. McKee, 
Benson, Minn., is not worthy of credit- or confidence. He adver 
tises a spavin cure. 
Whbat is going up ! Europe wants every surplus bushel. Now 
is the time to push the wheat crop. Get as many bushels as 
possible from each acre. Use fertilizers. Now is the time for 
them. Western readers want to remember that The Cleveland 
Dryer Co., of Cleveland, O , make excellent wheat fertilizers, and 
sell them at a fair price. 
A man’s reputation at home is usually the best index to his 
worth. This also holds true of farm machinery. Nearly 50 
Hendricks baling presses are owned and operated in Ulster 
County, N. Y., where they are made. These presses are made of 
carefully selected material. D. B. Hendricks, Kingston, N. Y„ will 
send illustrated catalogue showing the different styles and sizes. 
The article on the mysterious origin of barn fires published in 
The R. N.-Y. of July 3, has created considerable interest. The 
common lantern is one source of danger. The Steam Gauge and 
Lantern Co., Syracuse, N. Y., however, make a safety lantern 
that renders light in the barn perfectly safe. We doubt whether 
they cost much more than the ordinary lantern, but if they do 
cost a trifle more, it will pay in the end to have a good one. It 
would take a great many lanterns to pay for a barn. 
Users of wire fencing know that one of the greatest objections 
to wire fence has been its tendency to sag and draw out of shape. 
This objectionable feature is overcome in the Adam’s fence, 
owing to the large number of parallel wires employed in its con¬ 
struction, around which the cross or mesh wires are woven. The 
manufacturer guarantees this quality in his fence. It is made in 
many different widths, size of mesh, and weight, and will be 
found to fit every fence requirement. In addition to woven wire 
fencing, Mr. Adam manufactures a large line of iron fencing of 
various designs specially adapted to inclosing parks, public 
grounds, cemeteries, school grounds, lawns, burial lots, etc. 
For particulars, write W. J. Adam, Joliet, Ill. 
