1901 
Events of the IVeek. 
domestic.—T he National Superintendent of Immi¬ 
gration has issued an order that tuberculosis of the 
lungs is to be considered a contagious disease, and per¬ 
sons suffering from it are not permitted to enter the 
United States.The steamer Assyrian, of the 
Leyland Line, from Antwerp to Montreal, crashed into 
a rocky cliff near Cape Race, Newfoundland, June 6. 
No lives were lost, the crew escaping with difficulty, 
but the vessel and cargo are likely to be a total loss, 
. . . . By the explosion of a portable farm engine, at 
Toledo, O., June 7, the building occupied by the Banty 
Supply Company, dealers in agricultural machinery, was 
wrecked, and Henry Lingerman was killed.A 
fire at Lexington, Ky., June 7, destroyed 23 houses, and 
caused a loss of $80,000.A freight-train col¬ 
lision at Vestal, N. Y., June 9, exploded a quantity of 
dynamite, which killed six men and wounded others. 
. . . . A tornado and cloudburst swept over Oklahoma 
June 7, being especially severe in Noble and Kay coun¬ 
ties; 10 persons reported killed and much property loss. 
, . . . The sale of the Kiowa and Comanche reserva¬ 
tions in Oklahoma will be stopped by an injunction of 
the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia. Lands 
worth millions of dollars were to be distributed by lot. 
, . , . A baby was killed and several persons were 
badly injured by a tornado June 11, near Lester, Iowa. 
Many buildings were destroyed.Twenty-one 
lives were lost by the explosion in the Pittsburg Coal 
Company’s mine at Port Royal, Pa., June 10. The dead 
Include members of several rescue parties who went in 
search of the miners, who were cut off by the first ex¬ 
plosion. 
ADMINISTRATION.—The dispute with the Cuban 
Constitutional Convention over the acceptance of the 
Platt amendment is said to be approaching a critical 
stage. The President is determined not to withdraw the 
army until the Convention shall have adopted the 
amendment unaltered, and it is said that propositions 
are being made to strengthen the garrisons on the Island. 
Members of the Convention are charged with bad faith 
in making public confidential correspondence entrusted 
to them by Secretary Root.The Auditor for 
the War Department has prepared a table showing the 
amount of the claim filed by each State and Territory 
for fitting out volunteer troops during the war with 
Spain, the amount allowed in each case and the balance 
claimed to be due. It appears from the table that the 
total of the claims filed aggregate $5,870,179; that $3,329,745 
has been allowed and paid, and that there is still claimed 
as due $2,540,434. The amounts claimed run from $938,852, 
in the case of New York, to $1,000 in the case of Utah. 
Texas is the only State whose claim has been allowed 
and paid in full.The United States Govern¬ 
ment has formally communicated to the foreign powers 
the Impossibility of joining in a joint guarantee for the 
payment of the Chinese indemnity. The difficulties In 
the way of such an arrangement are set forth in the 
communication, particularly those relating to the con¬ 
stitutional restrictions on the President in making a 
joint guarantee of this character. The representatives 
of most of the European Powers in Washington do not 
believe that a resort to The Hague tribunal, as proposed 
by the United States, will be acceptable to their gov¬ 
ernments.Acting Secretary of War Sanger has 
received from General Wood a copy of the new regula¬ 
tions as to taxation in Cuba, which go into effect July 
1. The interesting feature of the regulations is that 
plantations destroyed in the war are to pay tax of not 
more than 66 per cent of properties not destroyed. As 
to urban property, the tax boards are to prepare new 
lists to serve as a basis for taxation, and until they are 
completed the territorial tax will prevail, with a deduc¬ 
tion of 25 per cent for repairs and unproductive periods. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—Unusual cold was experienced 
in the Pacific Northwest June 6. The vicinity of Boise, 
Idaho, was visited by a severe frost, the like of which 
has not been known at this season for 15 years. The 
Government Weather Bureau at Boise reports a temper¬ 
ature of 30, while places throughout the valley report 
temperatures as low as 26 degrees. Fruit is damaged 
seriously. In the Grande Ronde Valley in Oregon there 
was snow. The coldest June weather for a period of 20 
years was experienced at Baker City, Ore. The mer¬ 
cury fell six degrees below the freezing point. Ice over 
an inch thick was formed in pools of water on the 
streets. All fruit was killed, and all vegetables were 
destroyed. So far as known, growing grain was not 
seriously Injured. 
Canada is making a fine exhibit of fruit at the Inter¬ 
national Exhibition at Glasgow, Scotland, the display 
of apples from cold storage being especially good. 
The agricultural students of the University of Ten¬ 
nessee recently visited Mr. George Vanderbilt’s Biltmore 
Farms near Asheville, N. C. Through the courtesy of 
Mr. Vanderbilt a series of silver cups and prizes in gold 
to the value of $110 were offered to the students show¬ 
ing the greatest proficiency in judging Jersey cattle, 
Berkshire hogs and Southdown sheep respectively. The 
first two men showing the greatest proficiency in judg¬ 
ing all classes of stock were each awarded a sweepstake 
prize, and to the one writing the best essay on the Bilt¬ 
more Farms and the lessons to be learned therefrom an 
additional prize was given. The winners were: Jerseys, 
first, George W. Machlan, Gowdy, Ind.; second, Gordon 
E. Kidder, Harriman, Tenn. Swine, first, W. A. War¬ 
ren, Jr., Mulberry, Tenn.; second, J. W. Young, Clinton, 
Tenn. Sheep, first, Wm. Fyfe, Covington, Tenn.; sec¬ 
ond, Horace McRath, Flenniken, Tenn. Sweepstake, 
first, Horace German, Franklin, Tenn.; second, R. R. 
Ayres, Harriman, Tenn. Essay, Horace McRath. 
E. P. Felt, New York State Entomologist, is trying to 
secure data concerning the ravages of Hessian fly in 
that State. Entomologists have been recommending the 
late sowing of Winter wheat as one of the best methods 
of keeping the pest in check, the idea being to sow It 
late enough so that it will escape the greater portion of 
the flies and if no volunteer wheat is allowed to grow, 
very few eggs can be laid where they will thrive, and 
as a consequence the Spring brood will be much reduced. 
Wheat sown in the latitude of Genesee County after 
September 21 should as a rule be free from the pest. The 
HE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
date may be pushed forward approximately one day for 
each 100 feet elevation, as the date given is calculated for 
sea level. This is matter of great practical importance, 
and Mr. Felt will be glad to have detailed information 
regarding many infested or non-infested fields in sec¬ 
tions troubled by this pest. He would like farmers 
throughout the State to answer the following questions, 
giving name and post office: Approximate elevation of 
field; date of sowing; degree of infestation and size of 
field; proximity of other wheat fields and if nearby, the 
date when they were sown; amount of volunteer or wild 
wheat nearby in which the pest could winter. Address 
such information to E. P. Felt, State Entomologist, Al¬ 
bany, N. Y. _ 
CROP PROSPECTS. 
JUNE 5.—The orchards in this section along the lake 
shore were very badly eaten by worms two years ago, 
with the result that we had very little fruit last year; 
some orchards not any. The orchards back one or two 
miles did not suffer so much from worms, hence a fairly 
good crop last year. The orchards that bore full last 
year did not blossom much this Spring, but those that 
did not are very full, except Baldwin and Spy. Snow, 
King and R. I. Greenings are very full. Pear trees blos¬ 
somed quite fully, but very few plum trees blossomed. 
Strawberries bid fair to be a good crop if the weather 
is favorable. As there are very few worms this season 
I see no reason why we should not have a good apple 
crop. The apple buyers took advantage of the farmers 
last year, made them believe there was a very large 
crop, and bought them for $1.26 per barrel and charged 
25 cents each for barrels. b. c. p. 
Willsborough, N. Y. 
JUNE 6.—The Greening apples were very heavily load¬ 
ed with blossoms, but I think the heavy rains at blossom¬ 
ing time injured the crop very much. 1 should judge 
more than one-quarter of the blossoms will not produce 
fruit. However, the quality should be much better, as 
trees could never have matured all the blossoms. Bald¬ 
wins did not bloom at all. Strawberries, raspberries and 
peaches promise a fine crop. Currants are affected with 
a leaf blight, and stems are very short. Grapes were in¬ 
jured by the severe dry weather of last year and many 
vines did not start. Asparagus cutting rather light but 
bringing good prices. p. p. t. 
Cedarcliff, N. Y. 
JUNE 7.—Peaches, plums and cherries set full crops; 
pears about half crop. Apples will be a light crop in this 
vicinity. Baldwins blossomed the least of any. Weather 
cool and wet; grass looking good. w. a. w. 
Falconer, N. Y. 
JUNE 7.—Only a very small amount of apples and 
pears has actually set, and I have no doubt that it Is 
due to the frequent rains at time of bloom, washing pol¬ 
len away before it had time to fertilize. From a rather 
superficial examination I would estimate that apples and 
pears will be not more than a fifth, or even less, of last 
year’s amount. j. Q. 
Weedsport, N. Y. 
JUNE 7.—The blossoms were very good on most apples 
except Baldwins, which bore so heavily last year, but 
in talks with the farmers this morning in different sec¬ 
tions all are of one opinion, that the apples are drop¬ 
ping badly. They vary in opinions of the coming crop 
from one-sixteenth to one-fourth of a crop, compared 
with last year. It is quite early to get at this very ac¬ 
curately. Small fruits, cherries, pears and peaches are 
suffering on account of the heavy rains. Wheat within 
the last month shows very badly from the Hessian fly, 
and some farmers where it looked fine one month ago, 
now say that if they were sure of their seed back they 
would consider themselves lucky. This remarjc was 
made by one of our best farmers who has 40 acres upon 
the ground. j. b. 
Albion, N. Y. 
JUNE 7.—The fruit in this part of the country is 
blighting or falling off badly, particularly the apples, 
prunes and plums. Cherries have set better and now 
bid fair for a full crop, many trees being heavily loaded 
with fruit. Of course, it is a little early to predict with 
certainty yet. My best judgment is that there will not 
be over from one-third to one-half crop of apples and 
plums. I have been through three towns in Wayne 
County and find the same condition of things there as 
here. Peaches in that county are falling badly and the 
trees are so badly affected by the curl-leaf that they 
will lose a large part of the foliage. Corn about half 
planted. The fly is working in wheat very badly; one- 
half of the crop will hardly be worth harvesting. Grass, 
oats and barley are doing well. m, m. 
Port Byron, N. Y. 
JUNE 8.—The prospect is for a light apple crop, es* 
pecially Baldwins. Plums and cherries have only moder¬ 
ate crop set. Peaches on old orchards are a failure. 
Young orchards are very good where the curl-leaf has 
not dropped them. Sprayed orchards are free from curl. 
Kendaia, N. Y. j. h. h. 
JUNE 9.—Greening and almost all early apples blos¬ 
somed full (hardly any Baldwin or Spy). The opinion 
of the growers In this section is that from one-half to 
two-thirds of the blooms have set fruit, as the result of 
wet and cold. Pears, plums and cherries promise a good 
crop, also berries. Strawberries will not be ripe before 
June 20. Potatoes are being planted now; will not all 
be finished this week. Grass and oats look well. 
Ionia, N. Y. a. l. b. 
JUNE 10.—The green louse has not appeared on peas 
in the gardens, but there are quite a good many on 
wheat. All crops are looking fine. Wheat should aver¬ 
age between 25 and 30 bushels to acre. Corn is Iboking 
well, only backward. I have one field of potatoes with 
rows shut and white with blossom. s. H. d. 
Warwick, Md. 
JUNE 10.—The general opinion In this locality Is that 
the apple crop will be light. Although we have had 
but little heavy rain, we had during the time of blos¬ 
soming a continuous spell of wet weather, and some 
damage has been done. My own orchard has set fruit 
fairly well wherever there were blossoms. The wheat 
crop, which looked very fine a few weeks ago, is likely 
to be very near a failure, owing to the work of the Hes- 
44i 
slan fly; some fields are being plowed up for beans or 
other late crops, and more would be only for the seed¬ 
ing, which looks well. Oats are looking very well at 
present. Barley on high land is also good, but on low 
land is turning yellow from too much water. Corn is 
not nearly all planted yet; some that was planted early 
is coming up but looks yellow (too wet and cold); some 
does not come up. A good many sugar beets have been 
sown, and they seem to stand the cold and wet very 
well. Strawberries and small fruits are looking well, but 
very backward. We are hoping for more favorable 
weather and better prospects. f. e. v. e. 
Stanley, N. Y. 
JUNE 10.—The reports of favorable crop indications 
need revision. Lot of hay if we can get It cured; much 
ground yet unplowed. It will be too late for corn unless 
the September frosts hold off. Too wet for potatoes, etc. 
Cold rain caught the pear blossoms, and washed our 
pollen; crop will be below average. Rain spoiled half the 
crop of sweet cherries. Peaches and plums hold on well 
and need thinning freely. Ravages of worms worse than 
last year. J. T. p. 
Columbia, N. Y. 
JUNE 10.—Cold rain has injured the prospects for a 
good fruit year in this section very much. Pears, plums 
and cherries have set very poorly. Peaches are consid¬ 
erably affected with curl-leaf. Baldwin apple ti'ees as 
a general thing did not bloom. Other varieties had a 
moderate bloom. The cold rains have not affected the 
set of apples as far as I can discover. My Baldwin 
trees blossomed fairly well, and are well set for a mod¬ 
erate crop. A. B. B. 
Brighton, N. Y. 
JUNE 11.—Plenty of corn and potatoes yet to put in, 
and some soil hardly fit to work this week if we had no 
more rain, but the rain continues to-day. Yesterday 
was the first pleasant Monday we have had in three 
weeks. A small piece of rye was cut to cure for feed 
three weeks ago, and yesterday it was, by constant 
moving, dry enough to draw in. Some are trying to 
work the corn. Potatoes that were in early look well 
for the cold wet weather. Oats and barley have a good 
stand on dry soil; much drowned out, and quite a little 
put in very late. Wheat is suffering badly from the ef¬ 
fects of the fly. Many pieces that looked as if they 
might yield from 25 to 40 bushels per acre will hardly 
be worth the harvesting from the present outlook. Grass 
has grown quite finely but is now almost a standstill. 
Hay will not be more than a half crop; old meadows 
thin and in many places very light. Where a good stand 
of new seeding was secured it looks fine. On the whole 
the outlook for the farmer is not so bright as one year 
ago, for many who depend upon the corn crop for fodder, 
unless uncommon weather follows soon, must be short. 
Small fruits are promising; apples about one-fourth 
crop. Early apples setting full, but late varieties light; 
no Baldwin of any account. Gardens where planted 
early are looking quite well; many to plant yet. 
Cayuga Co., N. Y. a. d. b. 
Western Cropo Notes. 
The stock of old hops on the Pacific coast is nearly 
cleaned out. The indications are that the yield for Ore¬ 
gon this year will be 90,000 bales, and that the crop for 
the three coast States will aggregate 170,000 bales. 
The vineyards in parts of northern California have 
been damaged by frosts, and in some sections there wili 
be only half of an ordinary crop. 
'I'he apricot yield of southern California is large, and 
it has escaped frost and hail damage. The canning fac¬ 
tories will be in full blast by the latter part of June. 
The live-stock trade of Washington is said to be the 
most active for a long time, 'i'he demand for beef for 
the Klondike and the increasing business with Asia are 
the causes. 
The official reports from Kansas state that the con¬ 
dition of wheat has declined 17.8 per cent since April 5. 
This is owing to drought and insect pests. The acreage 
is not far from that of 1893 (5,110,873 acres), which was 
the largest on record. The corn acreage is half a million 
less than that of last year, or 6,400,000 acres, and its 
present condition is decidedly Inferior to that of a year 
ago. 
Government Crop Report. 
As a rule conditions have been highly favorable during 
the past week in all sections east of the Rocky Moun¬ 
tains. The Spring wheat region has had abundant rains, 
which have also been quite general over the central val¬ 
leys. Corn is coming on slowly, and needs warmer 
weather. Some frost damage to corn is reported In the 
extreme north. The Hessian tty is active in the Winter 
wheat. Harvest has begun in North Carolina, Tennessee 
and Kansas; and the Maryland and Virginia fields will 
soon be fit to cut. In the North Central States the oat 
outlook is promising, but the rains came too late to help 
this crop in Missouri and Arkansas. Cotton is back¬ 
ward and making slow growth. Some fields in North 
Carolina have such a poor stand that they are being 
plowed up for other crops. Winter apples are dropping 
badly, except in New England, which at present prom¬ 
ises a fair crop. Farmers in the Atlantic States are 
hurrying along their work as rapidly as possible in an 
effort to make up for the time lost during the rains. 
Hailstorms in central New Jersey have damaged fruit 
and vegetables and caused grain to lodge badly. Sugar 
cane and rice in the Gulf States are doing well. 
Mark Lane Express says that the English hay crop 
will be below the average, owing to dry weather. Also 
drought and rust are making havoc with the wheat crop 
in Austria. Indications from the wheat districts of 
France are most favorable. 
The five days preceding May 23 were very cold and 
cloudy and some rain fell. May 23 and 24 were mostly 
clear and seasonably warm. On the evening of May 24 
we had a thunder shower followed by five days of cold 
rainy weather. May 29 was the only day that a great 
amount of water fell. A local paper says that more 
water fell during six hours of May 29 than fell during 
the six months from May I to November 1, 1900. An¬ 
other shower June 1, and still another June 2. The earth 
is well soaked, but I believe it needed it all. We have 
had an abundance of rain since the middle of Mardh. 
Vail, N. J. o. a. o. 
