1896 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
MEAT FOOD FOR NEW YORK. 
FISH, FLESH AND FOWL IN OUR MARKETS. 
It is interesting to note the changes in the demand 
for meats as the seasons change. Supplies also 
change, and prices vary widely. Pork is essen¬ 
tially a cold-weather meat, and few butchers cut 
any during the hot weather. The trade in it is 
very light, and the demand, such as it is, requires 
light, lean hogs, very unlike the pork killed and 
packed by many hog-raisers in the country. Although, 
in many farm homes, pork furnishes the principal 
meat supply the year around, those who buy their 
meat from the butcher as they use it, prefer other 
kinds for summer use. Hams are sold to a consider¬ 
able extent, many of them being of the “ boneless” 
persuasion, and having very little fat in their make¬ 
up. Some markets, too, sell boiled ham by the 
pound, a very convenient arrangement for the house¬ 
wife, as any desired amount may be purchased all 
ready for the table. There is also considerable trade 
during the summer in Bologna sausages, but, unlike 
the savory and satisfying sausages usually made on 
the farm, these are supposed to be made of beef, 
though charity might suggest that the least said 
about their ingredients, the better. 
The roasting pig, too, the miniature porkers weigh¬ 
ing from 10 to 25 pounds each, are also rarely in evi¬ 
dence now. They have their season in the frosty 
months, and are of so little importance in the mar¬ 
kets of the warmer months, that they are seldom 
quoted. 
The veal trade is at its height as winter merges into 
spring. There is a considerable supply of calves dur¬ 
ing the winter, much larger than formerly, on account 
of the greater prevalence of winter dairying. Through 
the winter, they come mostly hog-dressed, and good 
calves bring high prices. But as the supply increases 
with the advent of spring, the price decreases, and 
from being a luxury, veal becomes an every-day 
article of diet. This, of course, greatly increases the 
consumption, and enables the larger supply to be 
taken care of comfortably so long as it arrives in 
good condition. But when hot weather arrives, espe¬ 
cially if unlooked for. as was the case with the April 
hot wave, great care is necessary, or loss is sure to 
result. More care must be taken in dressing and 
cooling, and if shipped any distance, ice must be used. 
A single large piece is sewed up inside the calf, and 
the whole shipped by express. But the safer way is 
to send alive, as marketmen prefer to go to the city 
slaughterhouses and buy freshly-killed veal, to buy¬ 
ing that about which there is any doubt as to fresh¬ 
ness. The authorities are very watchful —by spells— 
for “bob” veals, and many are seized during the 
year. More escape their vigilance, however, and are 
sold to a cheap trade. 
The trade in beef and mutton is an all-the-year- 
’round one, though lighter in summer, when fruits 
and vegetables are plentiful and cheap. The desire for 
meat-food seems to decrease in warm weather, and 
this is, perhaps, a good thing for the gardeners and 
fruit growers. 
The hothouse lamb trade flourishes from the Christ¬ 
mas market until warm spring weather. Prices are 
highest at first, declining as the supply increases. 
Like calves, these are best sent alive after the 
weather becomes warm. Unlike calves, however, they 
cannot be iced and arrive in good condition, as their 
appearance is injured. They are best sent alive, as 
dealers prefer them freshly dressed from the slaughter¬ 
houses. Only a few commissionmen, however, have 
facilities for handling them alive. 
Game cuts a small figure in the market during 
spring and summer. The game laws interfere with 
the sale of that from this State, and with few excep¬ 
tions, this trade is confined to the fall and winter 
months. Foreign game of various kinds, however, is 
sold here the year around. 
Poultry is always in season. The highest prices are 
paid at this time of year for broilers. They are in 
demand for the swell hotels, clubs and restaurants 
the year around. They don’t bring so high prices 
this year as formerly. The season of greater demand 
usually opens in April. Those weighingfrom 1 to 
134 to 134 pound apiece are in demand, although 
larger sizes up to 2 or 234 pounds are wanted. These 
come from a wide extent of territory, New Jersey and 
Long Island, perhaps, furnishing the larger part. 
They bring better prices if dry picked, that is, if the 
operation be properly done. This is a trade in itself, 
and unless one understand it, he would do better to 
scald. Certain localities always send the stock 
scalded. Capons should be dry picked, and have the 
feathers left on the wings, tail and neck. These are 
sold to a certain extent the j ear around. In fact, 
since the advent of cold storage, any kind of poultry 
will be found somewhere at any time of year. This 
process of keeping has been a good thing all around, 
for while it has reduced somewhat, the extreme high 
prices for some items at some seasons, it has done 
away with the disastrous gluts which formerly 
occurred, and equalized prices to a considerable 
extent. 
An important part of the meat supply of New York 
is found in the fish which are here in great variety 
the year around. Sea food—as this class of meats is 
called—comes from everywhere. The shad is a special 
spring product, the first coming from North Carolina 
and, perhaps, still farther south, then further up the 
coast, until now the North River—as the Hudson is 
called here—furnishes a tremendous supply. Mag¬ 
nificent specimens of roe shad are sold for as low as 
25 cents each. Each of these different meats, is worthy 
an article by itself, as there is much in their hand¬ 
ling and sale that is not only interesting, but instruc¬ 
tive as well to the farmer. 
POTTED APPLE TREES. 
I have just come from my greenhouse, where I 
watered a lot of one-year apple trees planted in large 
flower pots. It occurred to me that some of the read¬ 
ers of The R. N.-Y. might like to know what object 
I could possibly havb in such a procedure. As re¬ 
gards future health and thrifty gi'owth, one-year-old 
trees have always given me the best satisfaction. 
Many defer placing their orders until spring. At that 
time, however, nurserymen are very busy, and, hav¬ 
ing the money in their pockets, they let the purchaser 
wait for weeks, and when the trees at length arrive, 
they are likely to be in an advanced stage of growth, 
admitting of no delay in planting, regardless of the 
weather or condition of the soil. For this reason, I 
prefer to order in the fall. 
When the trees arrive, they are unpacked, laid on 
the floor of a cellar, and are completely covered with 
damp potting earth. The days are then short, and 
the nights long. The trees, being dormant, when 
thus treated, are safe for quite a time, and may be 
potted at leisure, when the day’s work is over, or on 
a raiDy day. By keeping the pots in the cellar during 
the early months of winter, they will require little 
attention while, at the same time, root formation will 
progress far more rapidly thaa if they had been 
planted in the open field subject to freezing and thaw¬ 
ing, not to mention injury from other sources. 
Another important consideration is that everybody 
wishes his young trees to make haste in attaining 
size. An extra growth of six to twelve inches on 
each branch, is no small item. This may be gained 
before dame Nature rouses her sleeping vegetation 
without, by bringing the potted trees out of the cellar 
and placing them in the greenhouse. The middle of 
February is plenty early to do this. I now occasion¬ 
ally moisten the stems with tepid water, and the 
warmth and light of the greenhouse soon cause the 
buds to swell, unfold, and then growth rapidly pro¬ 
gresses. 1 don’t have to worry myself about getting 
them out at the “ proper ” time. The ground may be 
plowed and fitted as though no trees were ever to 
shade it, or pelt its face with fruit during a storm. 
Should occasion require, a crop that matures by mid¬ 
summer, may even be first removed. Some dwarf 
apple trees (Yellow Transparent, Red Astrachan and 
Oldenburg) that I set out about the first of August, 
last year, if aifected at all, were affected for the bet¬ 
ter by the change. About the middle of April, this 
year, they dropped their bloom, and to-day (April 27) 
clusters of small, green apples give promise of a fair 
taste of their first fruits. 
By planting at once, where trees are to remain per¬ 
manently, one not only loses the foregoing advantages, 
but runs the risk of having a certain percentage of 
dead trees scattered here and there. By my potting 
method, such risk is reduced to a minimum ; it is no 
greater than with trees that have been planted several 
years. You can pretty safely rely on having your 
annual plantings of uniform age, with little likelihood 
of having to “ fill in ” or else have a vacant space. 
Ore Banks, Va. j. c. s. 
ALL SORTS. 
True Winesap Apples. —Mr. W. M. E., Amherst, 
Va., is very much mistaken if he thinks that I am not 
familiar with the Winesap of that county. I claim 
that there is but one true Winesap in the United 
States, and it is very easily distinguished from any 
other variety in fruit, and also in tree, with the one 
exception of Paragon or Mammoth Black Twig. I 
have been growing the Winesap here for 45 years, and 
have, in that time, grown 200.COO to 300,000 of the 
trees which have been shipped to several different 
States, and in large numbers to the three counties he 
mentions. I have furnished 2,000 or more trees of 
that one variety for single orchards in those counties. 
To be perfect, the Winesap requires a deep, rich soil. 
1 have known them in this section, when grown in 
such soil, to average as large as the largest Baldwins, 
341 
and to bring in the Washington, D. C., market $6 per 
barrel when Baldwins brought only $5 per barrel. 
But as usually grown, they are below medium in size, 
and wherever I have seen them growing beside the 
Johnson’s Fine Winter, the latter apple has always 
been the larger. And I have known the two varie¬ 
ties to be put into the cellar at the same time, treated 
just alike, and in March, the Winesap would have to 
be used first because they were not keeping as well 
as the Johnson’s Fine Winter. I have never seen any 
of the hybrid Winesaps, of which he speaks, with 
white flesh, red skin with dark spots, and one-sided 
in shape, and believe those to be of another variety. 
Falls Church, Va. d. o. m. 
Rifle Practice for Women. —I want to give the 
poor, tired woman, who wants fruit, and is sick of 
fighting for her own (page 278), a remedy sure to cure. 
Let her get a target, arrange it in such a way that it 
covers that path, and with a rifle commence practice ; 
keep it up at all hours and at unexpected times, in 
fact, make it a fad. She will be called a crank, but 
no tramp will venture to cross. Sneak men will let 
strawberries alone, and boys have more respect for 
rights not theirs ; in fact, the “ path ” will be uncom¬ 
fortable, and no longer used. cora m. 
Royal ton, Vt. 
Further Thoughts on Roads. —In Tiie R. N.-Y., 
page 307, T. D. J., has enlarged on my remarks on 
the same subject. I trust that the matter will con¬ 
tinue to be agitated until the best possible ideas are 
drawn out and then put into practice at once. No 
doubt, with the best plans that can be devised, there 
will be sufficient retrogressive spirit to keep in check 
the best progressive for a time ; but this should not 
discourage progress, since the most important ad¬ 
vances in all ages, met with the strongest opposition, 
but public sentiment finally concurred as it will in 
this case. It must be admitted that, if all public 
roads should be well built 18 feet wide with stone, 
the first cost seems too great, to attempt such an 
enterprise. But it will also be admitted that, in 
densely populated districts, where wealth is not lack¬ 
ing, it would not prove burdensome to improve the 
most important roads first, and continue as public 
sentiment advances. There is no better education 
than positive demonstration. The most intelligent, 
if they have the means, will almost invariably settle 
down where they can secure the easiest access to 
towns and cities, and there is nothing that will tend 
more to distribute the population as it should be 
throughout the rural sections, than good roads. In 
my former article, my estimate of first cost may have 
been too low ; but I know also from experience that, 
in many districts, it will not cost much above $3,000 
per mile for 18 feet wide of stone. What is most 
emphatically claimed, is that half stone and half 
earth will cost little over half the full stone road, and 
little over half the expenses for repairs. Keep the 
ball moving. h. m. kngle. 
Pennsylvania. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
Those who want good, reliable berry or grape baskets or boxes 
will get on the right track by addressing Wells-Higman & Co., St. 
Joseph, Mich., for catalogue. 
In The R. N.-Y. of May 2, the price of peach trees in the ad of 
Rogers, of Dansville, N. Y., was glveu as $4 per 1,000. It should 
have been $14. We regret the error, and so does Mr. Rogers; but 
he is convinced that people read his ads, from the number of re¬ 
sponses he is receiving. 
A Pennsylvania farmer writes that he used Ingersoll’s mixed 
paints 19 years ago on a building, and that it looks well yet. 
There are some good points about paint in Mr. Ingersoll’s little 
book, “ Every Man His Own Painter.” It is sent fx-ee by O. W. 
Ingersoll, 246 Plymouth Street, Brooklyn, N. Y 
Ir you are going to use a mowing machine this season, it will 
pay you to address a postal card to Ross Bros., Worcester, Mass., 
and ask for particulars about their Perfection mower knife 
grinder. One of these grinders will save the cost in horse feed 
the first season, if you use it when the knives become dull. 
Tub Louden Machine Co., Fairfield, la., have done much to 
lighten the burdens of harvesting hay, grain and sorghum. Their 
arrangement for stacking appears to be extremely simple and 
effective. Their fully illustrated and descriptive catalogue will 
be sent free to any one having any of the above products to 
handle. 
No one will dispute that 18 to 25 cents per rod is cheap for a 
farm fence. The manufacturers claim that the Standard Wire 
Fence can be built for this price. It is a good fence, too. Send for 
pamphlet giving full information on fence building and fence 
machines. Address Standard Wire Fence Co., 6 Main Street, 
Cauandaigua, N. Y. 
Crimson clover is still in the ring. Don’t be afraid of a few bad 
reports. The good ones are now rolling in. The seed crop prom¬ 
ises to be short this year, for even in Delaware, the stand was 
poor inconsequence of the dry season. Get good seed. H. W. 
Doughten, of Moorestown, N. J., will sell the seed this year. You 
need have no doubt that Doughten will serve you well. 
A newspaper and magazine directory just published by Wm. F. 
Simpson, 32 Park Row, New York, will be found very useful by 
advertisers generally. It contains a complete list of the leading 
magazines, monthly publications, literary, comic and religious 
weeklies, German papers, agricultural publications, New York 
newspapers, with their advertising rates, besides many useful 
hints on advertising. 
