1901 
745 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Events of the i/Veek 
DOMJiSTIC.—Eight railroad laborers were buried under 
gravel near Tioga, Wis., October 16, and four of them 
fatally injured.At Hamilton, O., Sylva Bish¬ 
op and his wife, Leota Bishop, were indicted October 16 
for causing the death of their eight-year-old daughter. 
They are believers in faith cure, and when the child 
was shockingly burned by a gasoline explosion, they re¬ 
fused to permit any medical attendance, treating her 
with prayer alone.Prominept men in the shoe, 
harness, leather and belting trades have united to form 
the Free Hide Association, in an effort to have the pres¬ 
ent duty on hides removed at the coming session of Con- 
Ki®ss.By the fall of 60 tons of rock from the 
roof of the rapid transit tunnel in upper New York City, 
October IS, live men were killed and one seriously hurt. 
.... A fire in a New York carpet warehouse October 
19 caused, within 30 minutes, damage amounting to $250,- 
000.At Chicago, October 21, thieves mined their 
way into the temporary post office building by means of 
a tunnel, and stole stamps amounting to nearly $75,000. 
ADMINISTRATION.—Estimates of appropriations for 
the navy to be presented to Congress in December for 
the year beginning July 1, 1902, have been prepared. The 
total of these estimates is $98,910,985, which is $21,631,823 
in excess of the total appropriated for the current fiscal 
year. The increase mainly arises from recommenda¬ 
tions in connection with public works, the extension of 
yards and docks and steam engineering plants. For in¬ 
crease of the navy $24,000,000 is recommended, the sum 
appropriated last year being $25,400,000.Inter¬ 
vention by the United States in the Venezuela asphalt 
dispute may be brought about by a decision against the 
New York and Bermudez Company rendered by the 
Court of Second Instance in Cumana. Evidence to show 
that the decision was obtained by fraud has been pre¬ 
sented to the State Department. If any attempt be 
made to put the decision into effect, and to give the 
Warner-Quinlan syndicate temporary possession of the 
Felicidad concession, the Administration will probably 
consider it advisable to interfere. 
HAWAII.—There are now 909 lepers and 164 clean per¬ 
sons at the Molokai leper settlement in Hawaii, accord¬ 
ing to a report from Chief Quarantine Officer Cofer, in 
charge of the Marine Hospital Service in Hawaii. All 
these are housed, fed, clothed and governed at a cost of 
$80,000 a year. The report praises the hopeful and cheer¬ 
ful way in which the lepers resign themselves to their 
fate. The three oldest patients at the settlement ar¬ 
rived in 1874, 1875 and 1879, respectively. The number of 
commitments to the settlements each year during the 
last decade, ranging from 132 in 1891 to 86 in 1900, show 
a gradual decrease, despite the fact that the hunt for 
lepers throughout the islands never before has been so 
vigorous. 
PHILIPPINES.—Owing to the vigilance of Lieut 
Thomas M. Bains, Jr., of the Ninth United States In¬ 
fantry, another slaughter of American troops by in¬ 
surgents has been averted. It seems that Lieut. Bains 
discovered a prisoner reentering a cell at Carblga, Isl¬ 
and of Samar, where several were confined, through a 
hole that had been let in the wall. An investigation 
showed a plan to fill the jail with bolomen, and to call 
the guard, which would be necessary to get the door 
open, and then to attack the garrison. It also developed 
that the instigators were a priest and the presidente, 
both of whom have been arrested, together with several 
other prominent persons. Other attempts have been 
discovered, but fortunately frustrated, at Pambujan and 
other points in Samar. Several persons have been ar¬ 
rested in connection with these.The War De¬ 
partment is at work on plans to send more troops to 
the Philippines. Several detachments must be sent home 
soon, and, in view of the affair at Samar, it will be 
necessary to keep up the strength of the army. Several 
of the smaller garrisons in Luzon are likely to be con¬ 
solidated.October 22, Admiral Rodgers tele¬ 
graphed the Navy Department that the Island of Samar 
was in active insurrection, and that the naval forces 
were all engaged in cooperation with the army. 
GENERAL FOREIGN NEWS.—A very serious epi¬ 
demic of typhoid fever exists at Gelsenkirchen, Germany. 
.... The efforts of the missionary agents, as report¬ 
ed in a cablegram from Constantinople, to get In touch 
with the outlaws who abducted Miss Stone, have failed. 
Russia has promised to assist Ambassador Tower in the 
search. Rev. Dr. Talmage, who will be one of the fifty 
to make up the remaining $50,000 of the ransom fund, 
believes it should be raised quickly in order to save the 
life of the kidnapped woman.The plague Is 
causing fearful ravages at Foochow, China. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—A swindler who represented 
himself as a member of a reputable commission house 
recently secured thousands of dollars’ worth of fruit and 
produce from Michigan farmers. He carried stencils of 
the firm he professed to belong to, shipped the produce 
to Chicago, sold it all for cash, and then disappeared. 
The annual meeting of the Maine State Pomological 
Society will be held at Dexter, November 6-7, The ex¬ 
ercises will consist of one of the largest and best exhi¬ 
bitions of fruits and flowers ever shown in Maine, and a 
profusion of papers, addresses and discussions upon prac¬ 
tical fruit and flower topics. Fruit experts will be pres¬ 
ent from Maine and elsewhere to assist. Maine fruit 
was never better than this year, and there is a quick 
market at good prices. The president of the Society is 
Z. A. Gilbert, North Greene; secretary, D. H. Knowlton, 
Farmington, Me. 
The total consumption of sugar In the United States 
during 1900 was 2,219,847 tons. The average annual In¬ 
crease during the past 19 years is 6.34 per cent, which 
would bring the consumption during the present year 
up to 2,360,586 tons. Of this Louisiana produces 350,000 
tons; 150,000 tons are produced from the beet, Hawaii 
(free) produces 350,000, and Porto Rico (free) produces 
150,000 tons. The excess over domestic production Is 
subject to a duty averaging $36 a ton, amounting In all 
to $84,981.60. 
The twelfth annual convention of the Missouri State 
Dairy Association will be held at Palmyra, Mo., No¬ 
vember 7-9. A strong programme of papers and addresses 
has been prepared. Secretary, Levi Chubbuck, Chemical 
Building, St. Louis, Mo. 
The annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Live Stock 
Breeders’ Association will be held at the Monongahela 
House, Pittsburg, December 18-19. An excellent pro¬ 
gramme is being prepared, including addresses by leading 
breeders and scientists. Secretary, E. S. Bayard, East 
End, Pittsburg, Pa. 
Prof. F. S. Earle, until lately at the Alabama State 
College and Agricultural Experiment Station, has joined 
the staff of the New York Botanical Garden as mycolo¬ 
gist, and will devote particular attention to the question 
of plant diseases. 
The annual meeting of the Missouri State Hoi’ticultural 
Society will be held at St. Joseph, Mo., December 3-5. 
The Wisconsin Cheesemakers’ Association will hold its 
tenth annual convention at Milwaukee, January 8-10, 1902. 
The Iowa Dairymen’s Association will meet at Du¬ 
buque, November 12-14. 
The evening of November 13 has been set aside for a 
big rally in favor of the Grout bill. Hon. W. W. Grout, 
of Vermont, father of the bill, Hon. James A. Tawney, 
of Minnesota, one of its most aggressive advocates in 
the House, and Hon. Jas. H. Davidson, who was the 
first to introduce a lu-cent tax measure in Congress, 
have signified their intention of being present, and in 
aUuition Congressmen Hangen, of Iowa, and Dahle, of 
Wisconsin, members of the committee who so valiantly 
fought for the measure when it needed friends most, 
will also probably be present. In addition, the dairy 
leaders from all over the West, including Governor Hoard 
and other officers of the National Dairy Union, will be 
on hand to take part. The object of tnis meeting is to 
give the dairymen, creamerymen and buttermakers an 
opportunity to hear from the Members of Congress them¬ 
selves something of the necessities of the Grout bill 
campaign,, as well as to have made clear to them con¬ 
ditions and prospects in the coming Congress. 
The officers of the New York State Breeders’ Associa¬ 
tion met at Buffalo, October 9, and selected December 
17, 18 and 19 as the dates of the annual meeting, De¬ 
cember 17 to be devoted entirely to meetings of the vari¬ 
ous National and State breeders’ associations, and the 
other two days to a combination meeting of all the asso¬ 
ciations and breeders of live stock in this State. The 
sheep, cattle, poultry and dairy interests will be dis¬ 
cussed by specialists at each session, and the “question 
box’’ will be one of the features. The Western New York 
Jersey Cattle Club, the Western New York Shropshire 
and the Standard American Merino Sheep Breeders’ As¬ 
sociations will meet at the New Osborn House, Roches¬ 
ter, December 17, in connection with the State Breeders’ 
meeting. 
The Dairymen’s Association of Southern California 
has decided to hold quarterly meetings during the year 
in different sections of the territory they include. 
PROSPECTS FOR N. Y. GRAPE GROWERS. 
It is reported in some of the papers that in conse¬ 
quence of the great competition from the West many 
grape growers in the grape districts of New York are 
rooting out their vineyards and planting apple and 
peach orchards. Will you tell us how much truth there 
Is in this statement, as it refers to your section? 
The number of vineyards that have been discontinued, 
or have been rooted out and planted to other fruit. Is 
very small in this section. I do not think it would 
amount to eight per cent of the whole. o. l. s. 
Erie, Pa. 
The reported rooting out of vineyards Is a fake as far 
as this section is concerned; in fact, the acreage has 
increased this last year. This district takes In 12,000 
acres or more. c. c. p. 
Pulteney, N. Y. 
As to the vineyards being rooted out and planted to 
apple and pear orchards, I do not think It Is the case In 
this section. There are some vineyards on the west side 
of Seneca Lake being taken out on account of the rot; 
but otherwise vineyardists think that their vineyards 
pay as well as other kinds of fruit. h. m. s. 
Watkins, N. Y. 
The report Is not true in reference to this gn'ape sec¬ 
tion. There is an occasional vineyard uprooted which 
has not paid the owner, either because of a wrong loca¬ 
tion or through gross neglect, but there are two acres 
planted out to every one destroyed. While there is not 
the big profit In grapes there was 16 or more years ago, 
there is no reason for discouragement. The crop is short 
this year, about 60 per cent of a full crop, but the de¬ 
mand is strong and the price good. There are a good 
many vineyards here that will give gross returns of $100 
per acre, but, of course, that is far above the average. 
There is an occasional peach orchard planted, but almost 
no apples. e. c. q. 
Penn Yan, N. Y. 
There is no truth In the report that grape growers are 
pulling up their grapes and setting fruit trees in this part 
of the grape belt. I went to Westfield and asked a 
grower there. He says that a few grapes have been 
pulled up and others planted In the same place, and a 
few fruit trees have been set out. He has lived at West- 
field working in the vineyards for the last 12 years. I 
know that between Westfield and Mayvllle, a distance of 
some six miles, there have been more grapes set than 
have been pulled out, and I know of more apple trees 
being pulled out than there have been grapevines. 
There is some alarm about the leaf hopper, a small fly 
that is sucking the Juice out of the leaves and making 
them look rusty, but what they will amount to I don’t 
know. c. D. c. 
Mayvllle, N. Y. 
I have noticed such reports. There is no truth in them 
as regards the Chautauqua—Erie belt. The lowest prices 
reached were in 1896. Bulk shipment began that year, 
and has Increased to immense proportions. Price has 
Improved until this year growers get more net returns 
than the land would produce in any use it might be put, 
unless it may be some special crops. A few acres have 
been torn out, but there was reason for it; either they 
were unprofitable varieties or on land not suitable. I 
am sure It Is safe to say that the new plantings have 
kept the acreage fully up to what it was five years ago. 
Present prices paid to growers, f. o. b. loading stations, 
are nine to 10 cents per eight-pound basket, and $15 to 
$17 per ton bulk, buyer furnishing or paying for bulk 
packages. Offerings of bulk much below demand. Above 
for Concord, Niagara 60 per cent higher. The reason 
for the grape growers’ prosperity is not very encourag¬ 
ing to the cause of temperance. If it were not for the 
thousands of tons of bulk used for wine, grapes could 
not be sold for half the cost of production. a. i. l. 
North East, Pa. _ 
THE MARKET OUTLOOK FOR SQUABS. 
Dealers Give Encouraging Reports. 
White squabs are selling at $2.50 to $2.76 per dozen; 
dark, $1.25 to $1.50. The trouble is that the farmers do 
not raise squabs good enough for the trade; that is, they 
place them on the market before they are fat enough. 
They are too much in a hurry to get them on sale. 
New York. Johnson a reed. 
We notice yearly an increased demand and outlet for 
squabs, particularly in the past year, owing to the 
scarcity of game birds in the various markets. Fancy 
white squabs are selling on this market at $3; second 
quality, $2 to $2.25 per dozen. We should think the breed¬ 
ing of squabs would certainly prove profitable, particu¬ 
larly as owing to the enforcement of the game laws 
throughout the country they will be wanted to replace 
quail, snipe and other small birds in the markets. 
Chicago. LEPMAN a heqoie. 
The outlook on squabs Is very favorable. The demand 
Is considerably better for them than it has been, and 
while the supply has been up to the average, they have 
found a much readier sale, and prices are considerably 
better also than what they were this time a year ago. 
The reason for this improvement In the demand and also 
in the prices, in our opinion, may be attributed to the 
stringent game laws that we are now having, and in 
consequence of which more squabs are being used than 
heretofore. Under the circumstances, we think that It 
would be safe to encourage farmers to breed more of 
them, and also to continue Improving the breed, as we 
think is being done, by the number of extra large squabs 
that we notice that are finding their way to the market. 
New York. hoehn a mater. 
There is a steady demand during the entire year for 
squabs. They are used more particularly during the 
closed season on other game, viz., quail, partridge, grouse 
and woodcock, being a good substitute. The price is 
governed by the supply, which is generally the heaviest 
during the Summer months, at which time the dealers 
buy the surplus stock and freeze them for later use; 
this keeps the market value at a fair minimum figure. 
There are two species which seem to be unavoidable In 
breeding, “white” and “dark,”’ the first and better 
species being the large “white” and the second or in¬ 
ferior large “dark,” besides which a poor grade of white 
and dark squabs, either too young and small, or too old 
and thin in flesh. Having been out of the nest and old 
enough to fly around In search of food for themselves 
they become thin in flesh, and pass the point of their 
best marketable value. The extreme range in our whole¬ 
sale markets is as follows: May to September, large 
white, $2.75 per dozen; large dark, $1.25 to $1.75; mixed 
and small, $1 to $1.25. September to May, large white, 
$3 to $4 per dozen; large dark, $2 to $3; mixed and small, 
$1.50 to $2. It Is considered unprofitable to farmers to 
have pigeons on their premises if allowed the same free¬ 
dom as poultry, for the reason that they are particularly 
destructive, but If confined to a certain area, properly 
caged and regularly fed, the business of raising squabs 
for market Is considered a profitable one. 
New York. __ hancb bros. 
THE SEASON AT THE SOUTH. 
The past season has not been as satisfactory as It 
looked at the time I wrote you last. This section was 
visited by a very severe dry spell which commenced on 
April 19, and continued until May 19. This cut the yield 
of the cabbage crop 60 per cent, and the potato crop 60 
per cent. Of course, the quality of both was poor and 
not up to the standard, and while yield was good the 
stock could have been of much better quality. The 
acreage this season will be about the same as last Farm¬ 
ers are planting cabbage seed at present. Some cabbage 
is up and growing nicely. Farmers have made good 
corn and hay crops. They have all the corn and hay 
they need; in fact, there will be some grain and hay for 
sale. The corn and hay is raised on the land that the 
Spring crop of cabbage and potatoes is grown on. Corn 
will average about 25 bushels per acre; hay about two 
tons per acre. We use the native Crab grass for hay, 
some farmers sowing about one-half bushel of cow peas 
per acre in the land left out for hay. This mixture 
makes very fine forage, and our hay from Crab grass is 
also fine. Horses and mules prefer it to eastern or west¬ 
ern hay. The cabbage crop will be set out in December, 
the potatoes will be planted in February. Around the 
vicinity of Charleston there is a fine large crop of straw¬ 
berries set out; they look fine. We have had very dry 
weather for the past 30 days; consequently the Pall snap 
bean crop, which is shipped east in the latter part of 
November, is partly ruined. The Fall potato crop, which 
is grown by the farmers for seed for Spring, is very 
badly injured by the extreme dry weather; therefore, 
our farmers will be in the market for a large lot of 
Virginia second crop and eastern seed potatoes, to 
plant the Spring potatoes in February. reader. 
Charleston, S. C. 
Potatoes here are in most cases a fair to very good 
crop. They have sold 1,000 bushels at 60 cents, and have 
400 bushels more, on my father’s place, from about eight 
acres. Cabbage Is small and blighted in many cases: 
worth $7 per ton at the car. There will not be a barrel 
of apples sent out of here this season, and many have 
none for their own use; $1 a bushel for wormy ones. 
The price of potatoes Is higher, which is strange—in the 
middle of the harvest. Considerable rot is found. 
Tompkins Co., N. Y. c. e. chapman. 
