1896 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
677 
AMONG THE MANKETMEN. 
WHAT I SAW AND HEARD. 
Receivers of live poultry say that the receipts now 
are mostly spring chickens, few hens being received. 
The reason they give for this is that the comparatively 
high prices of eggs lead producers to keep the hens 
as long as there is any probability of getting eggs 
from them. Feed is cheap ; a dozen eggs, in some 
localities, being worth nearly as much as a bushel of 
corn. The consequence of this scarcity is that the 
price of fowls is considerably higher than that of 
chickens. 
I saw a lot of very fine Niagara grapes, all large, 
choice clusters, packed loosely in the common five- 
pound grape baskets, and witnout covers. They made 
a fine appearance, and I asked the dealer about them. 
They are from nearby, and for a fancy trade. They 
were delivered here and not shipped in. Of course, 
they are in extra good shape, and are very attractive ; 
but it would be impracticable to ship grapes open 
like that. And the most of the produce that this city 
receives is shipped here by car or boat, and much of 
it must stand pretty rough handling. 
Some of the largest Duchess pears, it is said, that 
ever came to this market, were received by a commis¬ 
sion firm here last week, from M. N. Cook, Genesee 
County, N. Y. They graded 124 to the barrel, and 
were very fair and smooth. Each pear was wrapped 
in paper. Over the contents, a circular piece of paste¬ 
board was placed before the head was inserted, and 
the head and staves of the barrel were perforated 
with holes for ventilation. The receiver said that 
pears of this size thus packed, sell quickly for double 
the price of ordinary stock. And the freight on a bar¬ 
rel of these is no more than that on a barrel of trash. 
It would seem that every one ought to be able to 
eat grapes this year. Perhaps if they did, grow ers 
might get better prices. During recent weeks, I have 
seen five-pound baskets of Concord, Niagara and Dela¬ 
ware grapes selling for 10 cents at retail (though few 
of the latter sell for less than 15), and California 
grapes for 25 cents per five-pound box. From the 
push-carts, they have retailed for three cents per half 
pound. These are all good, ripe, fresh grapes, too, no 
old, poor stock. Some people are so afraid of appen¬ 
dicitis that they don’t dare to eat grapes. Nonsense. 
For every case caused by grape seeds, I’ll warrant 
that the eating of grapes has relieved hundreds of 
other complaints. f. h. v. 
NOTES FROM A CONNECTICUT FARM. 
The New Canaan Grange recently held a fair and 
exhibition of fruits and vegetables. The fair was 
held indoors, and brought out a great display of 
choice products. One excellent feature was a display 
on one table of the products grown on a single farm. 
It is remarkable to see how close the Yankee comes 
to producing all he needs in the way of food, from his 
own soil, and we think most farmers would be sur¬ 
prised if they could have, spread out before them, a 
complete collection of samples of their own crops. 
Among the novelties was a “ new breed ” of poultry, 
known as “ Dimon Creepers”. They have the color 
and shape of Plymouth Rocks, but their legs are 
scarcely three inches long. I presume that they can¬ 
not scratch with quite so much power as a long- 
legged bird ! Six stalks of B. and W. corn were shown 
at this fair that were over 18% feet long and weighed 
80 pounds—at least that weight was marked on them. 
I will testify to the length ! 
Mr. Edwin Hoyt, of Stephen Hoyt’s Sons, made a 
fine exhibit of fruits—chiefly apples and grapes. 
Readers will remember Mr. Hoyt’s articles on Apple 
Culture printed a few weeks ago. He is living up to 
his doctrine and setting out orchards of his own. One 
of the best apples in his collection is the Baker. This 
is a local variety, originating in Fairfield County, and 
has not been widely scattered. It is a large, hand¬ 
some apple with a high, spicy flavor and ought to be 
popular when once fairly introduced. The great de¬ 
mand now is for red apples, and in Mr. Hoyt’s nursery 
the Baldwin leads in numbers. He says, however, 
that in his own orchards he expects to plant a good 
many Rhode Island Greenings. He says that 15 years 
from now there will be more Greenings than Bald¬ 
wins sold in the best markets. Just now the craze is 
for a red apple, but in time people will be “ educated 
away from color ”, and will learn to look inside the 
skin. Speaking of grapes, Mr. Hoyt says that if 
Green Mountain were only black there would be a 
market for millions of tons. This is another case of 
“ color line ” that limits the sale of a desirable variety. 
Mr. Hoyt has a long trellis on which are growing, 
side by side, single vines of all the new and standard 
varieties. They have the same culture and care and 
thus give a fair test. The latest varieties to go there 
are Campbell’s Early and McPike. 
To my taste there is nothing better than the rich 
flavor of the Bose pear, and I have a notion that the 
long tapering stem end contains a concentrated ex¬ 
tract of richness. I have often wondered why there 
are not more of these pears on the market. Mr. 
Hoyt says that the Bose tree is the hardest pear to 
grow in the nursery. In spite of every care, a large 
proportion of the trees will grow crooked or weakly. 
In fact, about the only way to insure a satisfactory 
Bose tree is to top-work it on such varieties as Buff um 
or Clapp’s Favorite. This “ perversity of pear nature” 
explains why there are so few good orchards of Bose 
pears. Mr. Hoyt says that the old-fashioned “ Box” 
is coming into vogue again as a hedge plant. He had 
an order last year for 1,400 yards of the Box and 
found it difficult to secure enough to fill the order. 
There is a great demand for California Privet for 
hedges. 
In connection with their nursery the Hoyts have 
a dairy of 40 cows. Just now they are making 
butter from the milk. It is a herd of “mulleys.” 
They scoured the country to pick up hornless cows 
—natural “ mulleys ” without regard to breed. Bulls 
have been raised from the best of the cows hereto¬ 
fore, but now there is a polled Angus bull at the head 
of the herd. That doesn’t look like a very good milk 
combination ; but Mr. James Hoyt claims that the 
cows are as good as, if not better than, the average. 
The cows are kept in the basement of the barn. The 
mangers are arranged in sections and play on hinges, 
so that they can be raised for cleaning. 
The Hoyts have had their barns burned several 
times. In the present barn there is a system of elec¬ 
tric wires running to Mr. Hoyt’s bedroom, so arranged 
that it would be impossible for any one to enter the 
barn at night without sounding an alarm. If any 
doors or windows are left open the electric indicator 
will show where they are. h. w. c. 
NOTES ABOUT FRUITS. 
Rambling Horticultural Notes. 
We have found the LeConte pear most excellent for 
canning, fine-grained and beautiful, better, we think, 
than the Keiffer. It should be canned before it is 
ripe, as then it is too soft and insipid. Prunus Simoni, 
when canned, loses that disagreeable taste ; so does 
the Japan quince, Cydonia, as well as the wild fox 
grape. Jelly made from these is quite good. The 
Garber’s Hybrid is not equal to the LeConte, but is a 
rapid grower; but neither is a good table fruit with us. 
We had a moderate supply of Japan plums. Bur¬ 
bank was the largest and best, but nearly all of them 
rotted on the tree. Cabot and Matsu TIs not this 
Maru ? Eds.] bore a few nice plums, ripening after 
Burbank and Abundance, and we were pleased with 
them ; they are sweeter than the others, and later. It 
is a great satisfaction to have such beautiful, rapid 
growers, which are pretty sure to have fruit unless 
the blossoms are killed by frost, or they are allowed 
to overbear. 
Poplars are not fashionable trees, but they sup¬ 
ply a place where, often, more beautiful trees do 
not succeed. Many years ago, the Abele Silver pop¬ 
lars were extensively planted, but they sucker badly, 
and soon become a nuisance. For this reason, in part, 
there is a prejudice against the whole family. But 
there is a wide difference in the many kinds. We have 
planted a number of the Japan poplar (Siebold’s), and 
they have proved very satisfactory, distinct from any 
other we have seen. They make a rapid growth, 
have more abundant leaves, and we hope the variety 
will prove worthy of cultivation. If poplars are 
trimmed one-half of the year’s growth, their appear¬ 
ance will be greatly improved. Balm of Gilead trees, 
kept compact, will hardly be recognized, isaac hicks. 
Some New Varieties of Red Raspberries. 
My attention has been called to an article by S. E. 
H., Cherry Valley, Ill., on new raspberries. He told 
how large a new variety of red raspberry had grown 
with him. This reminds me that I have seen the well- 
known Shaffer raspberry, which I introduced many 
years ago, growing so vigorously that a team and 
lumber wagon would be entirely hidden from view if 
driven through the plantation. These bushes stood 
eight or nine feet high, and many of the branches 
were as large as a three or four-year-old apple tree. 
Surely the good old Shaffer is vigorous enough. To 
say that any new variety is more vigorous, I do not 
think would add to its value. The Shaffer has two 
faults : One is that the color is purple, almost black 
when ripe, rendering it unattractive. The second is 
that it is not hardy in many localities—not quite so 
hardy as the Cuthbert, and the Cuthbert often winter- 
kills, even about Rochester. Both these character¬ 
istics the new raspberry S. E. H. speaks of possesses 
in common with the Shaffer. 
The other new red raspberry of which S. E. H. 
speaks as winterkilling, and as being of poor quality, 
so hard and dry to handle, almost like marbles, 
surely is not the genuine Loudon. It is not surpris¬ 
ing that many people who supposed that they pur¬ 
chased the Loudon, have been deceived. We know 
of, at least, one plant seller, who, while advertising 
it, never purchased a plant, and could not have sent 
out a genuine plant. We are in a position to know 
this to be a fact. The Loudon is a berry of good 
quality, juicy, yet firm enough to endure shipment. 
Its color is a bright red, much more attractive than 
Cuthbert. Loudon is much hardier than Cuthbert. I 
think that it stands in hardiness very close to Turner, 
which .is the hardiest of all red raspberries, so far as 
I am informed. It is not such a rank grower as Cuth¬ 
bert. I am inclined to think that rank-growing varie¬ 
ties are more liable to winterkill than those which 
grow more moderately, and ripen up their wood 
earlier in the fall. I shall be glad to hear of whom 
S. E. H. purchased his supposed Loudon plants. 
You will notice that I do not mention the name of 
the variety in which S. E H. seems to be interested, 
since I have no reason to attack that variety in The 
R- N.-Y. It seems to me that, since S. E. H. speaks 
of the seven berries that the Loudon has produced in 
the last two seasons, he seems to be a little bitter 
towards the variety. chas. a. green. 
Two bushels of wheat per acre are spoken 'of as a 
light seeding, by C. E. Chapman, on page 670. This 
is, probably, nearer the common amount sown than 
any other quantity. But it is not light seeding. On 
the contrary, on rich soils where the plants will 
tiller freely, it is heavy seeding, and many sow less. 
Any amount sown more than is necessary, is so much 
thrown away, and we don’t believe that many farm¬ 
ers can afford to throw away wheat these times. 
What amount gives the best returns with you, and 
what is the character of your soil ? 
© 
Some years ago, The R. N.-Y. told its readers about 
Canaigre, a plant containing a large amount of tannic 
acid. Canaigre (Rumex Hymenosepalus) belongs to 
the same family as the common dock, and is found 
growing in the dry, arid regions of Texas, Arizona 
and New Mexico. Year-old roots contain about 30 
per cent of tannic acid, which seems to be just as use¬ 
ful for tanning hides as the acid found in bark. Up 
to within a few years ago, few attempts were made 
to cultivate Canaigre, and commerce in it was limited 
to the handling of a few wild roots dug and shipped 
by wandering Mexicans. The experiment station of 
Arizona started a series of experiments to see whether 
Canaigre could be successfully cultivated, and these 
experiments were so successful that a large com¬ 
pany was formed for the purpose of growing the roots 
and preparing them for shipment. Prof. Harrington, 
of the Texas station, has now issued a bulletin show¬ 
ing that the culture of Canaigre is successful in that 
State. The roots are planted much like potatoes, by 
hand or with a potato planter. They grow in much 
the same form as sweet potatoes, and are harvested 
by hand or machine. Cultivation improves the quality 
of the root, and an average yield is 10 tons The price 
in England for the sliced and dried root, is about $40 
per ton. The value of this Canaigre culture is that it 
provides a profitable crop for a section where almost 
nothing else of value will grow. The supply of bark is 
rapidly decreasing, and new supplies of tannic acid are 
needed. Canaigre appears to offer the best substi¬ 
tute yet discovered. One singular fact in this con¬ 
nection is that Texas exports, each year, millions of 
raw hides, and buys thousands of them back in the 
form of leather. This plan of sending the hides away 
for tanning, is a clear loss to the State. Now that 
Canaigre gives a home supply of tannic acid, it is pro¬ 
posed to build tanneries near the markets where 
hides are produced, and export, not hides, but leather. 
Texas made a mistake when she began to export raw 
cotton and import the same cotton as cloth. There 
is no reason why both hides and Canaigre should 
be sent out of the State. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
E. W. Reid, Bridgeport, O. Pocketbook price list of Reid’s 
nurseries—everything for the fruit grower. 
Arthur J. Collins, Moorestown, N. J. Illustrated catalogue of 
peach, pear, apple, plum and nut trees and small fruits. 
Alfred Bridgeman, 37 East 19th Street, New York. Fall cata¬ 
logue of bulbs of all kinds, small fruits, shrubs and vines. 
Do you want pigs ? Do you prefer Cheshires ? This is the time 
to get them cheap. W. E. Mandeville, Brookton, N. Y., has some 
for sale. 
Have you beans to pick ? Do you pick them by hand ? If so, 
just write Miller Bros., Rochester, Mich., for descriptive cir 
culars of their bean pickers. 
J. M. Thorburn & Co., 15 John Street, New York. A catalogue 
of French Hybrid gladioli, lilies and other hardy bulbs; flower 
seeds of special merit, vegetable seeds, fertilizers, etc. 
John R. & Wm. Parry, Parry, N. J. A fall catalogue of Parry’s 
nurseries; nut-bearing and ornamental trees; apple, cherry, 
peach and pear trees, small fruits of all kinds; rhubarb and 
asparagus. 
Henry A. Dreer, 714 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa. Autumn 
catalogue of all sorts of hardy bulbs for planting now; vegetable 
seeds for forcing and fall sowing. A flue collection of palms and 
ferns at popular prices. 
There can be little question that a food cooked can be used to 
great advantage on the farm. The “ Economy” cooker is made 
by Economy Mfg. Co., Homer, Mich. They mark prices plainly in 
their advertisement, but it will be well to get their full description, 
which they send on application. 
