1896 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
72 5 
AMONG THE MARKETMEN. 
WHAT I SAW AND HEARD. 
Fruit handlers here seem to like to handle the 
Keiffer pear because it keeps so well; they say that 
it will keep all winter if it has half a chance, which 
gives it a great advantage over some other varieties. 
One expert told me that no other variety is so good 
for canning, not even the Bartlett. But he says that 
there is a big difference in Keiffers ; they must be 
well grown and well matured to be good, even for 
canning. Keiffers are selling with the low priced 
varieties. 
X X X 
An English fruit dealer told me that he would be 
able to handle a great many more American apples 
if he could depend on getting what his customers 
wanted. They are particular about varieties, want¬ 
ing mostly the fine, red kinds. Then, too, there is 
such a variation in the methods of sorting and pack¬ 
ing ! The man who does this* work uniformly and 
well, and puts up the varieties that the English mar¬ 
ket demands, will have a good outlet for his fruit 
every year, glut or no glut. 
X X X 
Still receivers complain that a great deal of insuf¬ 
ficiently fattened poultry is sent in. It is poor busi¬ 
ness policy. Corn is too cheap to give any one an ex¬ 
cuse for doing it. Skin and bones always sell for low 
prices. Soup meat is mostly bones, and those who 
buy it do so because it is cheap. Don’t send bones to 
market! Put some of that cheap corn on them first! 
It’ll pay you to do it! 
t X X 
As cold weather comes on, shippers of vegetables 
and fruits should use more care in protecting their 
goods from frost. Every year, in the late fall and 
early winter, I see hundreds of barrels of onions, 
potatoes, apples and other stuff, which have been 
practically ruined by freezing. Loss and disappoint¬ 
ment are sure to result if proper precautions be not 
taken. 
X X X 
That this has been a good season for cauliflower, 
the fine stock in market abundantly proves. The 
heads are of large size, very even, solid and white. 
The price is reasonable, too, for such a choice 
vegetable. The Snowball seems to be the leading 
variety. A large part of the receipts come from 
Long Island. 
X X X 
I saw some very fine-looking eggs in a commission 
house, and inquired the price. It was named—some¬ 
thing below the quoted price for fresh laid. “But 
you ought to get more,” I said. “Oh, no ; these are 
not strictly fresh laid ! They are good eggs, and 
might pass for fresh, but they are not, and we don’t 
sell them for such.” Such frankness is as refreshing 
as it is rare. 
X X X 
Before the fresh vegetables from the North are out 
of the market, one sees those from the South ready, 
not only to take their places, but to crowd them out. 
Already green peas and string beans are coming from 
Charleston and Norfolk, cucumbers and egg plant 
from Florida, and other vegetables from various 
places. Florida will soon begin sending strawberries, 
and many other fruits and vegetables will soon be 
here. Ours is a perpetual market. F. h. v. 
A STRIKING EXHIBIT Oh APPLES. 
MADE BY THE GENEVA EXPERIMENT STATION. 
By far the most attractive part of the American In¬ 
stitute Fair at Madison Square Garden, was the show 
of fruits and flowers which, with weekly changes, 
lasted during nearly the entire month of October. 
But the most notable of this part, was the display of 
fruits, especially apples, made by the Geneva Experi¬ 
ment Station; that of apples has, probably, never 
been excelled, if, indeed, it has ever been equaled. 
It was the best educational exhibit of its kind that 
I have ever seen. The superintendent of the fruit de¬ 
partment, Mr. E. G. Fowler, said that it was the 
grandest show that he had ever seen. 
The collection comprised 225 varieties. They were 
not such overgrown specimens as we sometimes see 
at fairs, but were selected as being typical of the 
different varieties in shape, size, color and general 
characteristics. It was intended as an educational 
exhibit. Among the whole number, it was almost 
impossible to find a single imperfect specimen. Many 
of the varieties were of little known kinds, like the 
Honk, which are being tested. Some of these are 
proving valuable, others are not. Among older kinds, 
many were so fair and perfect, as hardly to be recog¬ 
nized as old acquaintances. I haven’t seen such 
Esopus Spitzenburgs in a long time—large, fair and 
highly colored, just such specimens as were grown 
years ago when the apple grower didn’t have to wage 
a continual warfare against insects and fungi. The 
Northern Spys would hardly be recognised as such, 
by the growers of many of those we see in market, so 
fair, smooth and well colored were they. The Green 
Newtown Pippin was a model, and if the growers 
could only export such specimens as these, the old- 
time prestige of this variety would be regained. Mr. 
Fowler called especial attention to Dowoing’s Winter 
Maiden’s Blush, a most beautiful apple, and one 
whose looks do not belie its quality. Rome Beauty is 
another variety, which he says is well worthy of more 
extended cultivation. 
And all this perfection is an illustration of what 
may be gained by good, intelligent culture and thor¬ 
ough spraying. The ground in the orchards was 
stirred frequently with the harrow, and Crimson 
clover has been sown on, at least, a portion of it. The 
trees on which these apples grew were sprayed five 
times, and the results ought to convince any one that 
spraying pays. Some contend that it has not shown 
so mush benefit the past season ; but this has been an 
exceptional season in many ways, and there may not 
have been so great a need for it this year. Still, the 
orchardist who persists in spraying every year is 
bound to win in the long run. 
Of grapes, the showing was only of the newer types, 
no attempt being made to display the older, well- 
known varieties. It included about 40 different kinds, 
and the appearance and quality betokened the same 
careful culture that marked the display of apples. 
A curious-looking fruit was the Japan Russet pear. 
Its shape and general appearance were much that of 
a Russet apple, except that the stem was longer and 
more slender. It is not of good quality for eating, 
but is used for crossing to obtain new seedlings. 
Madame Von Siebold and Daimyo were other pears in 
this class that are being tested. 
A number of new quinces which are being tried, 
varied greatly in appearance. The D’Alger and Sweet 
Winter were the most striking, the latter said to be 
a very promising variety. 
One could but wish that a catalogue of these dif¬ 
ferent fruits might have been provided, giving their 
characteristics, and enabling one to learn more of 
them than could be done by simply looking at them. 
The quality, season, etc., were all left to be discovered 
as best one might, when, really, these are the most 
important considerations. Perhaps these will be em¬ 
bodied in a bulletin giving the details of culture and 
treatment, so that all may be enabled to profit by 
these painstaking efforts. f. h y. 
A TALK ABOUT COLD STORAGE. 
I have recently had a talk with the manager of a 
cold storage house at Olney, Ill. Here are some of 
the facts learned from him : 
No system of cold storage in which ice is used, or 
where an attempt is made to keep the rooms at an 
even temperature by ventilation or other methods of 
this kind, is successful. The only successful method 
of refrigeration is by steam power and ammonia, the 
same method as that employed in the manufacture of 
ice, and the same as that used in all large cities in 
breweries. Mr. Olney has constructed his building 
about 150x100 feet, at an expense of $12,000 for the 
building alone. The engines and other machinery 
cost $38,000 ; but this plant is larger and more expen¬ 
sive than ordinary, since it is used for the manufact¬ 
ure of ice in addition to the cold storage. The cold 
storage house is, in fact, an afterthought, and an at¬ 
tachment to the ice-making department. 
A cold storage house of a capacity of 10,000 barrels 
of apples, would require a 15-horse power engine, and 
the total cost for building and fully equipping, would 
be $25,000. It will be seen that it will not be profita¬ 
ble for any fruit grower to build cold storage houses 
for his own fruit alone, unless he is a very large 
grower ; but a company could organize that might be 
made profitable, where several fruit growers could 
join together, and put up a building of this kind. 
Mr. Olney’s building is constructed with a solid 
brick wall, 18 inches thick. On the inside of this 
wall, he attaches 2x4 studding, leaving a four-inch 
space, which is filled with mineral-wool (mineral wool 
is simply the waste of blast furnaces, on which a 
fierce flow of steam is applied when in a molten 
state, which transforms the waste into something 
like wool). This is a cheap production, and he tells 
me that he would place it between the studdings of a 
dwelling were he constructing one, for the purpose 
of keeping out cold, rats and other vermin. This 
studding is first covered with matched maple boards, 
over which is tacked building paper ; over this paper, 
is another course of maple boards. On to this, more 
2x4 scantlings are nailed, but this time, flatwise, 
leaving a two-inch space, which is also filled with 
mineral wool. Over this middle board, boards are 
again nailed, and over these boards two coatings of 
waterproof building paper, then another sheathing 
of maple boards. Mr. Olney states that the paper 
and wood of such a building should have no odor. 
Pine lumber would scent butter or apples stored in 
such a building. 
The temperature for storing apples is kept at 33 
degrees without any variation night or day, month in 
and month out. Into this building, he can put a soft, 
ripe apple in October, and take it out a year from that 
date without its having changed its condition a par¬ 
ticle. He stored his apples six feet deep, solid, over 
the entire room, without any barrels or other pack¬ 
ages. It is necessary that the building should be 
erected on a thoroughly scientific plan, and nothing 
must be cheated or slighted, for a slight defect will 
render success impossible. 
Mr. Olney recommends that apple growers place 
a portion, at least, of their first-class apples in cold 
storage until next April or June. If there is no large 
city with cold storage near by, one can arrange with 
commission houses at almost any large city to store 
apples in cold storage. The cost at Rochester is 45 
cents per barrel for cold storage until June 1, 40 cents 
until April. 
Mr. Olney thinks that southern markets will be 
better than European markets this year for apples ; 
for this reason, it might be well to store at Pittsburgh, 
Baltimore or Richmond, or some of the southern 
points, in cold storage. 
Apples can be kept in cold storage in barrels or in 
bulk equally well. When barrels of apples are kept 
in cold storage several months, they will shrink, 
which necessitates, when necessary to ship, the re¬ 
moval of one head, and the addition of a few apples 
to supply the shortage occasioned by shrinkage. 
This a commission house will look after, if one so 
arrange. Apples kept in cold storage will not keep 
very long after being removed, especially if removed 
after warm weather; therefore, they should be 
shipped at once to the market on removing. The 
European market, at present, is depressed, owing to 
the large shipments. 
A season, like this, of large crops, and scarcity of 
money, necessitates a thorough investigation of the 
producer as to what is necessary to do. The conclu¬ 
sion is that, in such a season, it is unwise to attempt 
to force fruit upon the market as soon as it is picked. 
At this season, everybody is attempting to make a 
sale, and the result is that the market is demoralized ; 
cold storage would seem to be the remedy. There is 
no doubt that Bartlett, Duchess and other varieties 
of pears should be placed in cold storage, where they 
can be kept at least a year in perfect condition. Buy¬ 
ers of fruit pursue this course, and this is the method 
by which they secure their largest profits. 
Mr. Olney would not ship to Europe in any event 
before December or January, since he considers the 
weather previous to that date too warm for such a 
long shipment. Further than this, the European local 
supply is enough early in the season, without the 
large amounts sent in by distant producers, who are 
not well informed. Charles a. green. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
Do you want work at $10 a week and expenses paid ? If you 
do, and are willing to work, send your address to Tub Rural 
New-Yorker. 
Ridleys’ big department store offer to send their Fashion Maga¬ 
zine to R. N.-Y. readers, free, in their advertisement on last page. 
They promptly till all mail orders so that country people have an 
opportunity to “shop” in New York City, and get latest styles 
and fashions. The address is Edward Ridley & Sons, 321 Grand 
Street, New York. 
Tue Farmer’s Handy Wagon Company, Saginaw, Mich., have 
set aside a number of gift wagons, and so arranged that No. 367 S 
will be entitled to one free. In their advertisement in Tue R. 
N.-Y. of October 17, we misplaced the figures and made it read 
376 S. As the error was ours, we hope No. 376 S will not hold the 
company responsible, as No. 367 S is the one entitled to it. 
Tue Smalley Mfg. Co., Manitowoc, Wis., have issued a series of 
pamphlets describing and illustrating the farm machinery made 
by the company. There are feed and ensilage cutters, drag and 
circular saws, horse powers, corn shredders, etc. They also have 
one pamphlet on the “ Model Round Silo and How to Build It.” 
These booklets will be mailed free, postpaid, to any farmer apply 
ing for them. 
Messrs. Heebner & Sons, of Lansdale, Pa., have perfected a 
machine that will crush and cut corn fodder. This is a different 
machine from the shredders so commonly sold. The stalks are 
cut into short pieces and then run through a cylinder which 
smashes and crushes them into a soft, easily-handled mass. It 
is easy to see that such treatment will increase the feeding value 
of stalks, because it will avoid wastes, since the stock can eat 
more. One great value of ensilage is that it is eaten up clean— 
there are no hard stalks left in the mangers. Crushed fodder is 
almost as readily eaten as ensilage. Heebner & Sons also make 
tread-powers, thrashers and ensilage cutters. 
It has been well said-that it is cheaper to keep heat in animal 
bodies with boards or paper than with hay or grain. This 
demonstrated truth put in this homely way, set many people 
thinking, and barns, stables, piggeries, and henhouses through 
which the winter winds formerly whistled, are now tightly 
boarded and lined with felt or building paper. The P & B Ruber- 
oid rooting is used largely for this purpose, as well as for rooting. 
The basis of this roofing is a strong wool felt, and it is said to be 
absolutely acid, alkali and waterproof. One great advantage of 
this roofing is that it requires no skilled labor either to put it on 
or repair it after being damaged by an accident of any kind. It 
is made by the Standard Paint Co., 2 Liberty Street, New York. 
