1901 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
279 
Events of the H^eek 
domestic.—T he gunboat Scorpion was ordered to La 
Guayra, Venezuela, March 28, to Investigate the case of 
the United States consular agent Baiz, who was recently 
arrested for the second time by the Venezuelan govern- 
,nent.Ten survivors of the wrecked Italian bark 
Maria Madre B. were landed at New York March 28. 
They were four days in an open boat without food or 
water.A trolley car on the Slate Belt road 
jumped the track, near Bangor, Pa., April 1, and the 
inotorman and conductor and everyone of the 70 passen¬ 
gers were injured by the car rolling down an embank¬ 
ment.The large irrigation canal in Arizona was 
opened April 1, and the waters of the Colorado River 
turned in at the head gates, below Yuma. The canal is 
60 miles long and navigable to small boats. 
April. 1 there was a heavy snowfall in Kansas, which 
caused great suffering among range cattle.Mu¬ 
nicipal elections were held April 2 in Illinois, Wisconsin, 
Kansas, Nebraska and other Western States. In Chicago, 
Carter H. Harrison was reelected Mayor by about 28,000 
plurality. A majority of the Nebraska towns voted for 
liquor licenses.The public health report of the 
marine hospital service shows that there have been 10 
cases of bubonic plague in San Francisco since January 
1, all being fatal.The Rev. John Jasper, the 
aged negro Baptist preacher, who held the theory which 
he expressed as “The sun do move,” died in Richmond, 
Va., March 31, aged 80. 
ADMINISTRATION.—The Spanish War Claims Com¬ 
mission, of which ex-Senator William E. Chandler, of 
New Hampshire, is president, has received from the State 
Department a full list of the claims against Spain grow¬ 
ing out of the insurrection in Cuba which were Hied in 
(he Department up to March 15. These claims are all 
those of American citizens, for under the treaty of Paris 
the governments of the United States and Spain under¬ 
took to adjust the claims of their own citizens. The 
grand total of these claims is about $30,000,000, and in¬ 
cluded in the list are live claims in excess of $1,000,000. 
Mrs. Ruiz, widow of the dentist who was killed in a 
Havana prison, is a claimant for $75,000. The largest 
single claim is that of John W. Brock, on account of 
property losses, estimated at $2,162,514. 
PHILIPPINES.—Aguinaldo, the Filipino rebel leader, 
was captured by General Funston in his hiding place in 
Isabella Province, Luzon, March 23. He arrived at Manila 
on the gunboat Vicksburg, March 28. In January, from 
his hiding place, Aguinaldo wrote letters anathemlzlng 
the sub-chiefs who had taken the oath of allegiance to the 
United States. Later, Aguinaldo ordered certain insur¬ 
gent forces in southern Luzon to join him at a rendezvous 
in Isabella Province. The rebel officer entrusted with 
these orders secretly negotiated with the Americans. On 
securing necessary information General Funston planned 
Aguinaldo’s capture. It was arranged that Agulnaldo’s 
emissary, with the native scouts, should pass themselves 
off as insurgent troops, who, having captured General 
Funston and others, were taking them as prisoners to 
Aguinaldo. At the right time, when brought before Aguin¬ 
aldo, General Funston was to give a signal, when the 
tables were to be turned and Aguinaldo was to be seized. 
Six days’ march into the interior was contemplated. 
Treachery was considered possible, but every precaution 
was taken. The troops in New Vizcaya and Ecija and the 
gunboats Vicksburg and Albany were to codperate with 
General Funston’s forces.April 2, the Filipino 
leader swore allegiance to the United States.A 
number of rebel leaders have surrendered, with their 
commands, since the capture of Aguinaldo.A 
Manila despatch says extensive frauds have been dis¬ 
covered in the Commissary Department there. A number 
cf arrests have been made, including a captain of one of 
the volunteer infantry regiments, a prominent contractor, 
a number of commissary sergeants and civilian employees 
and several storekeepers.Admiral Remey cabled 
from Manila April 1 news of the death of Lieutenant- 
Commander Jesse M. Ruper, as a result of an heroic effort 
to save the men on the gunboat Petrel, of which he was 
commander, a fire having occurred in the sail room. 
'I’wenty-two other officers and men were prostrated. The 
damage to the vessel was immaterial. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—March 28, the New York State 
Senate passed Assemblyman Fancher’s bill transferring 
from the Slate Board of Health to the State Agricultural 
Department the work of suppressing contagious and in¬ 
fectious diseases, especially tuberculosis in cattle. The 
Agricultural Commissioner is empowered to enforce rules 
regulating the sanitation of buildings used for the stabling 
of cattle. He is to appoint three inspectors of condemned 
cattle and other animals, who are to receive $5 a day for 
each day actually employed. No animal ordered slaught¬ 
ered shall be appraised at more than $60 a head if pure¬ 
bred, or $40 if of common stock. Post-mortem examina¬ 
tions arc to be made of all slaughtered cattle suspected 
of being tuberculous, and if it is found that they have the 
disease or any other infectious disease that would war¬ 
rant their destruction no appraisal is to be made. The 
Buffalo stock yards men gained a victory in having the 
bili amended in the Senate so as to eliminate the pro¬ 
vision that in order to secure an appraisal for cattle de¬ 
stroyed on account of being tuberculous or suspected of 
being such they must be owned in the State one year. 
The American Flour Manufacturing Company, of Vine- 
land, N. J., has just been incorporated with an authorized 
capital of $1,000,0(X), for the making of flour from sweet 
potatoes. The Vineland mill, which started uj) the last 
week in March, is said to be the first of its kind in the 
country. The company was organized by H. S. Morris, 
a member of whose family invented and patented the 
process. The flour is bright golden yellow and has a 
sweet taste that is very pleasant. The farmers of South 
Jersey are jubilant over the organization of the company, 
which proposes to erect mills throughout the sweet-potato¬ 
growing belt. 
On account of the reported existence of rinderpest in the 
Philippine Islands, Secretary Wilson some time ago 
recommended to the Secretary of War that such action 
be taken as might be necessary to prevent the introduc¬ 
tion of the contagion into the Hawaiian Islands and the 
United States by animals brought on government trans¬ 
ports. He also requested the Secretary of the Treasury 
to direct that special preautions be taken on the Pacific 
coast to prevent the landing of susceptible animals with¬ 
out their being turned over to the Department of Agricul¬ 
ture for quarantine under the supervision of the Bureaxi 
of Animal Industry. Rinderpest is the great cattle plague 
of Oriental countries which has frequently swept over 
Europe, destroying nearly all bovine animals, and has 
attracted special attention during the past two or three 
years by its ravages in Africa, where in many sections it 
destroyed from 90 to 95 per cent of all the cattle. 
The oleo people, having been beaten in the Pennsylvania 
Legislature, have introduced a bill providing the follow¬ 
ing: “The substance known as butter shall be held to be 
and understood to mean the food product now known as 
butter which is made exclusively from the unadulterated 
milk from the cow or cream from the same, either with 
or without salt and with no other article admixture sub¬ 
stance or compound added thereto. It shall be unlawful 
for any person, firm or corporation to add any material 
article or substance whereby the natural color or butter 
as such butter is herein defined shall be changed.” 
The Oregon hop vines are coming out of the Winter in 
excellent condition, and growers are looking for a good 
yield. There is some business being done In new crop 
contracting, but growers are in so much better condition 
financially than they have been for a long time that 
dealers are having more difficulty than usual in making 
contracts. 
Sheep owners in the Willamette Valley. Oregon, are 
suffei'ing considerable loss from fluke, which seems un¬ 
usually prevalent. One man in Linn County is said to 
have lost 1,000 animals from this cause. 
CONDITION OF GRAIN CROPS. 
Wheat and rye are both looking well, as the snow has 
been gone but a few days, and if the weather is favor¬ 
able a little longer there will be a good yield of grain, 
’fhe newly-seeded grass fields have come through the 
Winter in fine condition. The practice here is to sow 
clover and Timothy seed with wheat in rotation. 
Bergen, N. Y. J. s. w. 
The early and protracted drought has caused a partial 
and, in many fields, a complete failure of grass seeding, 
and will reduce the product of old pastures and meadows 
for the coming season. The Winter has been favorable 
for both grass and wheat. Wheat and rye are looking 
well. H. p. T. 
East Onondaga, N. Y. 
Wheat has a very brown appearance, and was hurt 
somewhat by the fly, and by the long drought of last 
Fall. Rye looks much better. The continued freezing and 
thawing many injure the crop to a large extent yet. There 
is great complaint among farmers that their seeding was 
all burned out by the drought of last Fall, except on 
very rich or newly cleared land, and in most cases that 
sown on Fall grain was best. w. h. r. 
Cohocton, N. Y. 
Our wheat and grass are both coming out this Spring 
looking very well. Some of our wheatfielcls, however, 
showed the effects of the fly last Fall, and what the out¬ 
come will be is hard to tell. Wo sow Timothy here in the 
Fall on our wheatflelds, and clover in the Spring, and 
almost always get a good catch; but the dry weather we 
have had for the last two Summers has ruined our new 
seeding, especially clover. a. a. s. 
Byron, N. Y. 
Fall-sown grain and newly-seeded grass fields have 
stood the Winter well, and are now in good condition. 
Our farmers usually sow Timothy in the Fall with wheat, 
and clover in early Spring. Fruit farmers who do not 
raise grain sometimes sow grass seed alone In the Fall, 
adding clover in the Spring, and obtain excellent results 
I think a better meadow can be obtained In this way, and 
a crop of hay will be obtained the first year, instead of 
the second as with grain. w. t. m. 
Barker, N. Y. 
We should judge that wheat and rye have wintered well 
here. New seeding went into Winter in a rather weak 
condition, owing to the drought of last Summer, but ap¬ 
pears to come out this Spring about as well as last Fall, 
.fudging from present appearances I should say that there 
is a fair chance of a good crop of wheat and rye. In 
regard to seeding, the plan that seems to succeed best 
here is to sow as soon as the ground gets dry enough In 
the Spring to work without packing; harrow in lightly 
with spike-tooth drag, and roll. If the seeding is with 
wheat the harrowing is a benefit to the wheat. 
Locke, N. Y. d. a. b. 
At the present time wheat and rye look promising, but 
the ground has been covered with snow most of the time, 
which has protected it from hard freezing. The snow is 
gone now, and it is the warm days and cold nights that 
cause most damage. New seeding is generally poor, as 
the result of last year’s drought. Wheat and beans are 
our main crops, and grass seeding is generally done in 
the Spring with wheat, clover and Timothy mixed, but 
some prefer to sow Timothy in the Fall, frequently to 
the detriment of the clover catch. The frost is nearly or 
quite out of the ground, and the Indications are for an 
early Spring. E. o. m. 
Perry, N. Y. 
I have not, in a long time, known the conditions for 
Fall-sown grain to be more satisfactory than during the 
past Winter. It has been protected from November to 
March 20 by a good cover of snow. 'I’his prevented the 
wheat from freezing out, and as no crust formed on the 
snow at any time, the wheat did not become smothered, 
as is frequently the case. Indeed, along fences, where 
the snow has lain during months three or four feet deep, 
the grain is injured but very little. Of couise, there may 
be hurtful freezes in April, but at present, the prospect 
for a good crop is encouraging. The conditions stated 
above have had a like effect on grasses and young clover, 
and any crop which went into Winter in good condition, 
is looking well now. I have five acres of Crimson clover. 
which is looking very tlirifly. It is customary in this 
locality to seed the wheat ground lightly in the Fall with 
Timothy, and early in the Spring to sow heavily with 
Medium clover, but owing to the deep snow on the fields, 
and their muddy condition since the snow melted, there 
was very little clover seed sown up to April 1. j. c. j. 
Genesee Co., N. Y. 
Wheat, notwithstanding constant exposure during 
Winter, bids fair to bo an average crop. Rye is looking 
fine; very little alternate freezing and thawing during 
March. New seeding is coming out much better than 
anticipated in the Fall. The clover catch was a failure 
in many cases, but Timothy took well where P^all-sown 
The grass-seeding methods of our forefathers are si ill in 
vogue here, namely. Fall sowing of Timothy on wheat 
and rye, clover in the Spring. The Clark method of .seed¬ 
ing is being talked of, but not tried as yet to my knowl¬ 
edge. w. A. B. 
Seneca Co.. N. Y. 
The Fall-sown grain has simply been revivified in I ho 
last two weeks. We had a day or so of nice warm 
weather and a day’s rain, that put a grcenne.ss over the 
wheat and rye fields that was marvelous. The prospect 
now is that we shall have good crops of both on an acre¬ 
age of probably 90 per cent of the usual crop. The freezes 
last Winter have been so dry that the wheat was not 
heaved out a particle, so that when it at last got wann 
and then moist it “got a hump on itself!” I like to seed 
with Spring barley if I sow it or prefer to sow my clover 
on the wheatflelds in February if I can catch the ground 
w. E. c. 
Cook. O. 
Winter grain in this section is looking had. Unless the 
S|)ring is very favorable we shall not secure more lhan 
75 per cent of an average yield. I think the cause is due 
mostly to the lack of moisture while preparing the seed 
bed, and lack of rain after seed was sown. This has been 
a very trying month, both for grain and newly-seeded 
grass fields. The freezing and thawing has heaved the 
roots badly. Our .soil in this section is of a heavy nature. 
Some practice seeding when Fall grain is sown, with both 
clover and Timothy. Others seed in Spring on last snow. 
I have had best success seeding after snow is gone, but 
sow the seed while ground is frozen, so the seed will drop 
down into the honeycombed soil, and is covered when 
land settles. a h r 
Canastota, N. Y. 
All Fall-grown grains went through the Winter in good 
condition. Snow has covered the ground at nearly every 
freeze. My Crimson clover will do for pasture early in 
April if ground is dry enough. T never saw it look fuller. 
Our clay land is very hard on Winter-sown grains unless 
well covered. Last season the damage done by Hessian 
fly to Winter wheat was great; that, with hard Winter, 
made the wheat crop shorter than for many years. I,ast 
Fall was quite favorable for the fly, but Prof. Webster, 
at the Ohio Experiment Station 25 miles south of here! 
reports that when bringing wheat plants into the insect¬ 
ary and hatching out the fly a large number of parasites 
is developed. If this means that the fly will be destroyed, 
with the good Winter a fair crop of wheat may be har¬ 
vested. The almost universal practice for seeding is by 
sowing the grass seed (Timothy and clover) in Winter 
wheat; in fact, the farmers in this locality seem to know 
no other way. I wish to try the Clark plan another Fall 
if po.ssible. E. c G 
Medina, O. 
Wheat, rye and meadows have <ome through the past 
Winter in excellent shape. I never saw wheat roach the 
latter end of March with less loss by freezing and a finer, 
richer green color. Snow protection during most of the 
severest freezing weather is how I account for it. Hay 
and straw have been very scarce the past year, but pres¬ 
ent prospects Indicate a year of plenty in this line. I do 
not grow much wheat myself, but when T do I like to sow 
clover early in the Spring; latter part of March, and, if 
possible, choose a morning to sow when the ground is 
slightly frozen; thus allowing the seed to fall Into the 
little crevices of frost, and when it thaws the seed will be 
nicely covered in most cases. I have frequently had good 
success with clover sowing it in with oats in the Spring. 
I want the soil in the very best shape. It is very wasteful 
to sow grass seeds on rough ground, much of it getting 
covered so deeply that it can never grow. I also try to 
avoid sowing oats so thick that they will lodge, and 
thereby smother the clover; this is the worst thing to 
contend with in sowing clover with oats. e. m. b. 
Greenville, O. 
The Winter has been favorable for the Fall-sown wheat 
and grass, they having been covered with snow most of 
the time. Many deferred sowing wheat from two to four 
weeks later than usual, to avoid Injury from the Hessian 
fly, and consequently there was not as large a growth 
in the Fall as though It had been sown earlier. Consider¬ 
ing the present conditions everything seems favorable for 
a fair crop. Seeding for Timothy meado\% is usually done 
with the wheat in the Fall, as being the surest way to 
prevent winterkilling, both being sown at the same time 
with the drill. 'The wheat acts as a sort of protector for 
the newly-seeded grass, in case of cold winds with freez¬ 
ing weather and the absence of snow. Except as a matter 
of protection from the cold in the Winter, I cannot say 
that it is an advantage to have any kitid of grain grow¬ 
ing with newly-seeded Timothy meadow. I noticed that 
where the wheat had been almost entirely destroyed by 
the Hessian fly last season the 'I'iniothy seeding was 
much the best where there was no wheat at the time for 
harvesting. If the only object is to get the largest yield 
of wheat to the acre I would not advise sowing any kind 
of gra.ss seed with it; but let it have all the nourishment 
that there is while it is growing. h. b. s. 
Goldwood, O. 
The plan of spraying Bordeaux Mixture and crude 
lietroleum together in order to do away with insect, 
scale and blight at one shot, has not been a success thus 
far. The petroleum gathers in spots, and there are 
I)arls of the plant where nothing remains. The "cure- 
all” for plants has not yet been invented. 
