1901 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
95 
Events of the Week. 
Ore in Montreal, Canada, January 23, 
destroyed the Board of Trade Building and many places 
of business. The losses are variously estimated at from 
$4,500,000 to $6,000,000.O. B. Wilson was talking 
over a telephone in Alabama during a thunderstorm, and 
was struck by lightning and killed. Suit was brought for 
damages and settled by the payment of $1,800 by the 
telephone company.The Creek outlaws are 
terrorizing several white settlements in Indian Territory, 
and military protection is called for.Fire at 
Matawan, N. J., January 27, caused $100,000 damage. 
January 26, safe breakers robbed the vault in 
the headquarters of the Internal Revenue Department 
at Bcoria, 111., and secured all the documentary stamps 
in the vault. The extent of the loss is unknown, but 
may be anywhere from $50,000 to $1,000,000.A 
lire in a large crockery establishment in Chicago, Janu¬ 
ary 26, caused a loss of $350,000.Fire at Des 
.Moines, Iowa, January 29, caused a loss of $500,000. 
.... Alaska has been experiencing the coldest weather 
recordeil since white men have inhabited the country. 
.\t Dawson, January 16, the temperature was 68 degrees 
below zero; at Forty Mile, 78 below. The average for 
the seven days ending January 16 was 58 degrees below 
zero, and all the time a dense fog hung over the entire 
valley.Three persons were killed on a farm 
near Vancouver, B. C., January 22, by an explosion of 13 
sticks of giant powder, which had been placed in the 
oven of a cook stove to dry. 
CONGRI^SS.—Representative II. C. Smith, of Michigan, 
January 25, introduced a bill for a National freight com¬ 
mission, and to iix. adjust and regulate freight rates. 
Strong efforts are making to induce Speaker Henderson 
to fix an early date for consideration of the Brosius 
Pure Food bill. The Consular and Diplomatic Appropria¬ 
tion bill, carrying something over $1,700,000, was reported 
.lanuary 25 by the Mouse Committee on Foreign Affairs. 
It iirovides $20 .ihk) for purchasing land at Pekin for the 
I’nitcd States Degation.The Senate, January 26, 
discussed for three hours the subject of National irri¬ 
gation, the text being an amendment to the Indian Ap- 
l)ropriation bill providing for surveys looking to the con¬ 
struction of an irrigation dam and ditch for the water¬ 
ing of the reservation of the Pima and Maricopa Indians, 
on the Gila River, Arizona.January 20, the 
President sent a message to Congress recommending the 
appropriation of $100,000 for the payment of the claim of 
Spain for Sibutu and Cagayan Islands, in the Philippine 
Archipelago, in accordance with the terms of the treaty 
recently ratified by the Senate. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—The fifth annual meeting of 
the Eastern New York Horticultural Society will be held 
in the Berkeley Dyceum Building, 19-21 West 44th Street, 
New York, February 13-14. The programme includes, in 
addition to regular leports, papers by Prof. G. Harold 
Powell, of Delaware; Dr. W. H. Jordan, Geneva (N. Y.) 
Experiment Station; W. H. Blodget, Massachusetts; Prof, 
.lohn Craig, Cornell University; W. H. Hart, New Y^ork; 
Prof. A. G. Gulley, Connecticut Agricultural College; 
Prof. F. W. Card, R. I. Experiment Station. The officers 
of the Society are: President, James Wood, Mt. Kisco; 
vice-])re.sident. 1\'. F. Taber, Poughkeepsie; secretary- 
treasurer, Chas. H. Royce, Rhinecliff, N. Y. 
The twenty-ninth annual convention of the Wisconsin 
nairymeii's -\asociation will be held at Mondovi, Wis., 
February 13-15. 
’I'ho highest price ever paid for a Hereford cow was 
realized at a sale at Kansas City, .Mo., January 24, when 
$3,700 was paid for Carnation, from the Dale herd of Clem 
Graves, Bunker Hill. Ind. The purchaser was .Tes.ses C. 
Adams, of Mowequa, 111. 
'file farmei's around Solomon City. Kan., have united 
to tight the grain dealers by forming a stock company to 
imrehase an elevator. Ninety per cent of the farmeis 
ef this locality have taken stock in the company. It is 
claimed that the elevators of Solomon, all controlled by 
a grain dealers’ combination, fix the price of grain far 
under the market price. 
The Michigan Legislature has given a favorable report 
on a bill prohibiting the manufacture and sale of imita¬ 
tion butter, this bill, however, not applying to oleomar¬ 
garine sold in such manner as to apprise the purchaser 
of its nature. There was also introduced a bill providing 
that cakes of oleomargarine and the wrappers contain¬ 
ing them be distinctly labeled, and that the sale of oleo¬ 
margarine in bulk be prohibited. 
Dairymen in mass meeting at Elgin, Ill., January 25 
decided to raise a fund to be used in lobbying in behalf 
of a law regarding inspection of cattle suspected to be 
infected with tuberculosis. They wish the present law 
changed to appraisement of cattle at full value at the 
time of examination, the owner to be given full pay if, 
on post-mortem examination, tuberculosis is not found, 
and 75 per cent if the disease is present; that no animal 
shall be condemned without the owner’s consent in writ¬ 
ing unless it shall be found diseased on examination; 
that no animal shall be slaughtered without the owner’s 
consent in writing after the State appropriation for com¬ 
pensation is exhausted. The agitation will probably be 
carried to the present Legislature. The meeting was 
largely attended. Joseph Newman, president of the 
State Dairymen’s Association, occupied the chair. Ad- 
flresses were made by E. J. Fellows, H. B. l'''armer, G. 
\ annorman, C. D. Bartlett, Judge D. B. Sherwood, J. A. 
Bussell and others. A committee was appointed from 
each town in the district to solicit funds. 
-Vgents of the New York State Department of Agri¬ 
culture recently discovered that oleomargarine was com¬ 
ing into the State in violation of the law. They traced 
.shipments to 'I'upper I^ake, where the Cornell School of 
l''orestry is maintained, and they assert that they have 
ascertained that Superintendent Collins, of the School of 
Forestry, had ordered the butter and had passed upon 
the bills for its payment and sent them along to Cornell, 
where they were audited and sent to the State Comptrol¬ 
ler for final payment. This was done, they say, in spite 
of the fact that in 1893 a bill was passed to prevent the 
use of oleomargarine or butterlne in any State institution. 
Slate Senator Ambler says that if the allegations are 
Hue he will introduce into the Legislature a bill to put 
the State School of Forestry under the jurisdiction of 
the State Department of Agriculture. 
The Yakima (Wash.) Woolgrowers’ Association has 
elected officers for the ensuing year as follows: John 
Cleman, president; S. J. Cameron, secretary and treas¬ 
urer. They are instructed to draft a bill to present to 
the Legislature providing for the payment of the bounty 
of $1 each on coyote scalps. The Association has ap¬ 
pointed a committee to meet with the Cattlemen’s Asso¬ 
ciation to arrange for the proper allotment of grazing 
lauds on the Rainier forest reserve in case the Secretary 
of the Interior permits grazing there this season. The 
range was opened last year, .July 1, to 250,000 sheep and 
11,000 head of cattle. 
At the annual meeting of the Rhode Island Horticul¬ 
tural Society the following officers were elected: Presi¬ 
dent, J. E. C. Farnham; vice-presidents, R. H. I. God¬ 
dard, Royal C. Taft, Joseph D. Fitts; secretary and 
treasurer, Charles W. Smith; librarian, Christopher R. 
Drowne; botanist. Prof. W. Whitman Bailey. 
The Canadian government has passed an order in coun¬ 
cil that exemptions from the San Jos6 scale act are au¬ 
thorized for nursery stock to be entered only at St. John. 
N. B.; St. Johns, Quebec; Niagara Falls, Windsor and 
Winnipeg, between March 15 and May 15, and October 7 
to December 7, and at Vancouver from October 13 to 
March 15. All shipments made except in accordance with 
the above will be entirely at the risk of owners or ship¬ 
pers. and the packages must be so addressed as to enter 
at one of the ports mentioned above. The route by 
which they will be shipped must also be clearly stated 
on each package. As it is well known that well-matured 
and thoroughly dormant nursery stock may be safely 
treated, but that there is danger of serious injury to the 
trees if fumigated in the Autumn before the buds are 
thoroughly dormant, or in the Spring after the buds 
have begun to unfold, all stock which when received is 
immature or too far advanced for safe treatment will be 
refused entry and held at the shipper’s risk. 
WESTERN N. Y. HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
Part II. 
SPRAYING TREES IN BLOOM.—Prof. Beach’s ex¬ 
planations seemed to settle a heretofore much discussed 
question in favor of the beekeeper. By a special law, the 
experiment stations have been allowed to make experi¬ 
ments in this line in four different localities. The ob¬ 
served results are about as follows: In every case where 
a blossom is fairly hit by the Bordeaux spray, it is killed, 
unless fruit has already set. As the blossoms are in 
different stages of advancement, some already set, some 
just opening, etc., the yield of fruit is not diminished by 
spraying a full-blooming tree in any one day. In sea¬ 
sons of scant bloom the practice would be dangerous, as 
it might kill a large percentage of the blossoms, and 
thus reduce the yield largely. A very diluted Bordeaux 
Mixture prohibits the germination of the pollen grains 
which it hits. It is true beyond doubt that insects are 
killed, or many carry the poison home to kill the brood 
in the hives, by feeding on the sprayed blossoms. Some 
points are yet to be covei’ed by investigation. Among the 
hundreds of fruit-gi’owers present, only one or two seemed 
still to insist on the advisability of spraying trees in 
bloom. The fool-killer, in short, has the best of the bee- 
killer. 
APPLES IN COOKERY.—Miss Anna Barrows, at the 
close of her excellent paper, hit the nail fairly and 
squarely on the head when she expressed her regrets at 
the groat loss of apples last Fall, as they might have 
been transformed into useful and salable articles, such 
as marmalades, jellies, apple butter, etc., right in the 
orchards. This, in her estimation, would be much more 
jirofitable than either to let the fruit go to waste or at¬ 
tempt to send it to distant factories. 
ON PEACH GROWING.-J. H. Hale’s addre.ss, as 
usual, was full of good points. He says we do not any 
more believe in peach “belts,” having found that peaches 
can be grown almost anywhere in the United States, a 
few extreme northern sections excepted. Success depends 
mostly on the man or woman, and on closest attention 
to the business. The land should be on an elevation, the 
ideal soil being a light, medium sandy loam. Plow one 
or two crops of clover into the soil, and prepare it as 
you would for any garden crop. Then plant and give 
high cultivation. For a cover crop he recommends a 
mixture of cow peas and clover. The frost kills the cow 
peas, and gives the clover room and strength. He gives 
the trees free rations of potash and phosphoric acid, and 
just as little nitrogen as will produce good healthy foli¬ 
age. He prefers large trees for planting, and trims them 
rather close, but not as close as Mr. Stringfellow does. 
The new growth is cut back severely every season, the 
first season perhaps not as much as afterwards. In 
strong-growing trees, his practice is to cut the strongest 
shoots out entirely, and to leave the weaker ones for 
fruiting. This point he considers the most valuable in 
his address. Thinning the fruit to about six inches apart 
is most important. Borers are to be dug out in October, 
and again in May. Banking the trees up with soil in 
Spring will keep the borer out at that time. The earth 
banking is removed in July. As to the size of package, 
the largest one that he can get into the private door un¬ 
broken is the one he wants. Girls are employed to do 
the sorting and packing, as most fitted to pack honestly. 
iMr. Hale is nothing if not original. He believes that 
“music has charms,” and claims that by hiring a band 
to play for his crew in the afternoons, he has been able 
to get 30 per cent more work out of them. Mr. Hale was 
fairly pelted with questions, and replied with his usual 
quickness and wit. Thus he told how he frequently cuts 
the whole top out of an old tree to make a new head. 
Cultivation is done mostly by a modern extension harrow. 
He names Carman as one of the most promising peaches 
in America, but not rot-proof as claimed. It is of de¬ 
licious quality, and the tree a fine grower. Elberta is 
good at the South, but of poor quality. Triumph, if well 
grown, well thinned and thoroughly ripe, is almost a 
freestone, and a good early peach for home use, but not 
for market, as it is quite subject to rot. 
ON ORCHARD COVER CROPS.—Prof. John Craig fa¬ 
vors a mixture of equal parts of Mammoth clover and 
Alfalfa for covering apple orchards. Alfalfa, sown 
•August 1, has made a root 28 inches deep by the follow¬ 
ing Spring. The plant grows up without stoollng. The 
Mammoth clover spreads and covers the ground. But 
no good stand of clover can be expected unless by thor¬ 
ough preparation of the seed bed. The roller should be 
used after seeding. Hairy vetch also makes an excellent 
cover crop. It requires about a bushel and a peck of 
seed per acre. Oats make no good cover crop, as it 
draws too much moisture out of the soil. So do all other 
cereals, and they are not nitrogen collectors. Mr. Hale 
recomm’ends a thick sowing of turnip seed for poor soil. 
It makes a good and quick cover crop. Hairy vetch is 
hardy, and can be sown up to to September 1. Seeflsmen 
will furnish the seed as soon as there is a demand for it. 
SHORT AND SUGGESTIVE.—As the best method to 
fight the Shot-hole borer it is recommended to prune off 
the ends of the twigs where the eggs are deposited, and 
burn the trimmings. The Elberta peach was named as 
the best variety for October. Basic slag or “odorless 
phosphate” finds little favor with Dr. Jordan. Where 
soluble phosphoric acid is wanted, he would not use it at 
any price. Chickweed seemed to find as many friends 
as foes among the fruit growers present. It may be 
useful as a cover plant in rich and dense orchards. It is 
a shade-loving plant, and is bound to grow in rich or¬ 
chards, where it will do little damage, and serve to 
keep the soil loose. Mr. Hale recommends white lead as 
the best possible cover for tree wounds. 
SOFT DRINKS.—In his paper on Food Adulteration, 
Dr. Jordan warns against the so-called harmless or soft 
Summer drinks. The syrups taken with soda water are 
often colored with aniline dyes. There is enough of such 
coloring matter in one glass of soda to color a piece of 
woolen cloth six inches square a bright hue. It ma.v 
well be doubted that these soft drinks are absolutely 
harmless. 
•ARSENIC COMPOUNDS.-Dr. L. L. Van Slyke men¬ 
tions some of the adulterations of Paris-green and other 
arsenical compounds. He criticises the present Paris- 
green law of the State, as it does not forbid the adultera¬ 
tion of Paris-green with white arsenic, w’hich is soluble, 
and liable to injure the foliage. The arsenoids are more 
bulky, and more easily kept in suspension than Paris- 
green. The insecticide known as Black Death consists 
largely of sulphate of lime with a little arsenic. Peroxide 
of silicate is 90 per cent sulphate of lime and per 
cent of arsenious oxide. Bug Death consists of the oxides 
of zinc, lead and iron, and has no fertilizing qualities as 
claimed. 
FRUIT AT PAN-AMERICAN EXPOSITION.—Mr. S. 
D. Willard states that the Society as such will not make 
an exhibit of fruits. The space will be limited, and 
there will be no money prizes. But the State of New 
York has now in cold storage 300 barrels of choice fruits, 
and will make a finer exhibit than any other State. 
Wm. Scott, the well-known florist of Buffalo, and super¬ 
intendent of the grounds, says that the horticultural 
building on the Pan-American grounds, erected at a cost 
of nearly $200,000. is far ahead in architectural beautv 
of that in Chicago in 1893, and a wonder of color displav. 
There will be plenty of fruit on exhibit from the day the 
Exposition opens. Mr. Van Deman will have a w'onderful 
display of tropical fruits. There will be millions and 
millions of flowers, and specimens of almost everything 
in trees and shrubs; 15 acres are to be devoted to the 
floricultural display outdoors. 
Prof. Stuart suggests the removal and burning of af¬ 
fected raspberry canes, by pinching rather than cutting, 
after the fruiting season. 
NOTES _ ON VARIETIES.—The following strawbei-i-y 
I';?*" given: Bubach. Glen Mary, Brandywine. Sample, 
Marshall and Clyde. Mr. Hale would exclude Marshall, 
also Bubach, and perhaps Brandywine, the latter on ac¬ 
count of its inclination to rust. His choice would be. 
Sample, Glen Mary, Haverland, Clyde. Pride of Cumber¬ 
land, Nick Ohmer or Morgan’s Favorite. The following 
apples were named among newer varieties of especial 
promise, viz.: Rome Beauty, McClellan (for family): 
Sutton Beauty, Ontario, the last named a cross betweeji 
Northern Spy and Wagener. and very good. The Wag- 
ener apple can be grown to perfection by spraying. If 
well grown, growers can get an extra price for theni. 
In peache.s, Mr. Hale names Triumph as the earliest yel¬ 
low peach, sure to overbear and needing thorough thin¬ 
ning. It rots so terribly as to be a curse to the market. 
Nurser.vmen should not sell a tree. Waddell is of the 
North China type; a very early, white-fleshed fruit, the 
best first early. Carman is white-fleshed, very large 
aellciouS’ hardy in fruit bud. but rots badlv; otherwise 
the finest peach in America. Iron Mountain, or Ford’s 
Late, is a large and most delicious very late peach. 
^*P®bs in Connecticut about October 10. Among most 
reliable and profitable crops the apple was generally 
conceded to stand in the front rank. t. g. 
Corn the Business Crop. 
Shredded corn fodder or corn hay is not known in this 
market as an article of commerce, although we believe 
that there are a larger number of corn shredders in the 
hands of farmers than formerly, the machines, however, 
being simply used to prepare the fodder for home con- 
sumption. I believe, owing to the fact that corn can be 
raised successfully in almost all parts of this and neigh- 
boring States, that the farmer should devote a large part 
of his attention to its cultivation. The fact must not 
be overlooked, however, that the very reasons which 
make it desirable for homo consumption are the ones 
which make it least desirable as an article for sale in 
the general market. The only possible chance of success 
that general farmers of the East have is to take advant¬ 
age of their nearness to the market and produce milk, 
and to do this successfully they should keep on their 
farms a larger amount of stock than the farm Itself 
would be naturally supposed to support, and. of course, 
this would mean that they would have to buy a certain 
amount of food products from outside. Now, if they work 
on this theory, it is plain that the products which they 
buy should be those that are most concentrated, as in 
that case they pay relatively the least amount of freight, 
and have the least amount of expense in handling, and 
if they do this it also follows naturally that they should 
produce on the farm such products as furnish relatively 
the most bulk, and there is nothing that will answer 
this purpose better than corn, especially if used as silage, 
but for this very reason if the farmer attempted to sell 
his corn fodder, he would be working under a very de¬ 
cided handicap. The writer has for a number of years 
past raised corn on every acre of ground which he culti¬ 
vates, and notwithstanding the ground has produced corn 
each year the crops have steadily increased. Our plan, 
however, is to raise a green crop in between each year, 
as for instance on a large part of the ground we have 
Crimson clover planted early In July, and on other pieces 
we start the last of March with oats and peas, followed 
by sweet corn for Summer feeding, and on others we 
have sweet corn ending with barley and peas, and on 
others we have rye and wheat planted in the Fall and 
cut green in the Spring, and then followed again with 
corn. In other words, we aim to raise all the roughage 
that the farm will produce, and have stock enough to 
consume it, and buy the necessary concentrated foods 
outside. PAt’r. t. xorton. 
New Jersey. 
