1896 
789 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
AMONG THE MARKETMEN. 
WHAT I SAW AND HEARD. 
One enterprising individual, probably with a desire 
for some spending money for Christmas, sent down a 
trial shipment of a bale of moss. This, when fresh 
and green, is used, sometimes, in decorations, in 
lining baskets, etc. But this shipment was very dry 
and brown, and the receiver said that he doubted 
whether he could sell it. If one had a special place 
to put such stuff, it might pay to send it; otherwise, 
the chances are against it. It should be sent to a 
regular dealer in florists’ supplies. 
X X X 
During the past week, a car-load of Canadian 
geese arrived at this market, the first for a long time. 
Prices were so low that the geese were held outside 
the city, to be fed for a short time. In this way, they 
are likely to improve in condition, and can be put on 
the market whenever there is a demand for them. It 
is said that the yards where these geese are being 
fattened, now contain more than 6,000 geese. Many 
of these came from Indiana and Illinois. There is a 
better market for geese at Christmas. 
' XXX 
Eggs took a big drop during the early part of the 
week. Previous prices had been high. Shippers sent 
in large quantities. The previous high prices had de¬ 
creased the demand, hence there wasn’t so much of 
an outlet, and prices declined heavily. But the lower 
prices increased the outlet, and prices again advanced. 
There were precious few fresh laid eggs, but the 
large arrivals and lower prices of limed and refriger¬ 
ator eggs, caused a decline in the prices of fresh laid, 
also. The market is now in much better shape. 
t X X 
A very fine lot of White clover honey was nicely 
packed in paper cartons. Each section, weighing 
about three-quarters of a pound, is inclosed in one of 
these, and about 25 of them packed in a neat case to¬ 
gether. They seem to carry in better shape than do 
the common glass-covered sections, and stand handling 
better. The honey does not show off so well, but on 
the side of each carton is a fancy design formed of an 
old-fashioned straw hive with the little busy bees 
flying all about, and giving the name and address of 
the shipper. It ought to be a taking package. 
X X X 
The R. N.-Y. received word that a grower in west¬ 
ern New York had sent on a car-load of “Danish” 
cabbage, and asking that I go and take a look at them. 
I went. They were very hard, almost if not quite as 
hard as the imported ones which we get here in late 
winter and spring. They were smaller and rounder 
than our Fiat Dutch, but very heavy. They had 
arrived in fine shape, too. But a big mistake was 
made in shipping such cabbages to this market at this 
season. The market is too freely supplied with stock 
from Long Island and New Jersey, and the price is 
too low. Besides, such hard cabbages as these are 
the best to keep, and would, probably, sell toward 
spring for double the price they will bring now. 
XXX 
The past few days have been unseasonably warm, 
and have been very destructive to perishable pro¬ 
ducts. Fruits are decaying badly. Dressed poultry 
and game that have been shipped without ice have 
arrived in bad order, much of it nearly or quite 
spoiled. 1 saw several car-loads of cabbages in the 
freight yards at Jersey City that were badly decayed. 
They had, evidently, heated, and some of them looked 
as though they were fairly cooked. Much loss has 
resulted from this unexpected heat. Receivers are 
hoping for cooler weather. If this warm weather 
should continue through the Thanksgiving market, 
it would be extremely disastrous to poultry ship¬ 
ments. Probably many will not ship unless con¬ 
ditions be more favorable, but will wait for a later 
market. 
X X X 
I showed the article relative to Thanksgiving 
poultry, published in last week’s R. N.-Y., to several 
wholesale poultry dealers of long experience, and 
asked their opinions of the statements there made. 
The general verdict was that it covered the ground 
thoroughly and fairly. One man said that many of 
the directions given should be set in large type, and 
that special attention should be called to the article. 
He said that the following of the directions there 
given would be the means of saving hundreds of dol¬ 
lars to the shippers ; but his concluding remark was 
the discouraging one, “ But they won’t follow them.” 
I hope that, so far as the readers of The R. N.-Y. are 
concerned, this remark will be disproved. Many of 
the directions apply with equal force to shippers at 
all times of year. As a general thing, results are 
more uniformly satisfactory if shipments are dis¬ 
tributed along for some time than if all are rushed in 
for the market of some special holiday. f. H. Y. 
STREET FAIRS PAY THE FARMER. 
On page 757, I endeavored to give a general outline 
of some of the leading features of a street fair, the 
object, and how conducted. The question will likely 
arise in the minds of many whether it is a benefit to 
the farmer. I know of no better way to illustrate 
than to speak from my own experience as an exhibitor, 
and of the benefits derived from placing my products 
on exhibition. The fall of 1895 found me, like nearly 
every one else, with a large stock of potatoes on 
hand, and the markets overstocked. I was trying to 
sell; the street fair was advertised. I thought a 
show of potatoes might help me out. I planned 
and put up an exhibit of potatoes that people have 
not forgotten yet. I constructed a large table with 
a slight drop at the front; partitions about two 
inches high were made to keep the varieties sepa¬ 
rate. It was then covered with light-blue muslin, 
and edges draped with the same, letting it hang to 
the floor. 
The potatoes were arranged according to color, 
shape and size to produce the best effect. The pearly 
whiteness of the Orphan, the creamy-skinned Free¬ 
man, the russet of the Rural-Carman group, the red 
and scarlet of the Rose family, the 15 varieties, all 
named, resting on a blue background, made a hand¬ 
some show. A back was then fixed to the table 2% 
feet high by six long ; this was covered with tinted 
paper such as druggists use. On this, my name, GALE, 
was made of potatoes, in colors, the first letter of red, 
the next of white, the third of blue, the E mixed. It 
had the desired effect, judging from the crowd that 
surrounded the exhibit. I was there to answer ques¬ 
tions, and the result was, when night came, that I 
had booked orders for several hundred bushels of 
potatoes, besides some small orders from distant 
States, one going to California. I had the stock to 
back my samples, and Gale’s potatoes have been in 
demand from that day to this. 
My cards were laid on the exhibit, and it took care 
of itself. Some may wish to know how the potatoes 
were made to stay in place on a perpendicular sur¬ 
face and over the top. It is done by driving wire 
nails through from the back of the board, so that the 
points project about one inch, forming the lettering ; 
the potatoes are then pressed to their places. On the 
top edge, finishing nails are used. 
An exhibit was also made of comb and extracted 
honey, with about the same result. I won a silver ice 
pitcher as a premium, and found a market for all the 
honey I had left on hand, with orders for more. I 
wish now that I had the honey back I shipped to a 
Cincinnati commission house nearly two months ago, 
and which will, probably, not be sold for some time 
yet, and when it is, it will net me two or three cents 
less per pound than I could get here. 
Moral—develop your home market first, for every¬ 
thing grown upon the farm. Have as little to do 
with commission houses as possible ; their sales rarely 
meet quotations made. The market is almost sure to 
drop about the time your shipment arrives. Two 
years ago, I was practically a stranger in the village 
of Westfield, working hard to sell my products ; now 
I am working as hard to fill my orders which come in 
unsolicited, the result of exhibiting at a street fair. 
P L. D. GALE. 
THE NEW YORK HORSE SHOW. 
POINTERS TOWARD THE FANCY POINTS. 
Fancy horses bring fancy prices. These are the 
horses purchased by men of wealth and horse fanciers. 
So long as the horse fills the bill, these men are not 
likely to haggle over the price. This show points 
the way for the breeder to learn what is required. A 
study of the different classes reveals the character¬ 
istics which go to make up the animal which pleases 
the buyer and lines the pocket of the breeder and 
trainer. I add trainer, because the training is as im¬ 
portant as the breeding, and often more so. 
Fancy carriage horses are largely in demand. They 
are driven singly, in pairs, and tandem. To fill the 
bill in any of these classes, they must have life, good 
action, be well trained to drive anywhere and every¬ 
where, and not be easily frightened. A horse that is 
continually shying at everything along the road, is 
of little use as a carriage horse in the city, where all 
sorts of sights and sounds, elevated trains, and trolley 
and cable cars are on every hand. Good saddle horses 
are also wanted, for the bicycle has not yet displaced 
the horse, and never will with many who prefer 
horseback riding. For most classes of fancy driving 
horses, good size and weight are required. The under¬ 
sized horses that some breeders have been putting on 
the market of recent years, are not wanted. Such 
horses bring very low prices. 
When it comes to fancy carriage horses, the Hack¬ 
ney again comes prominently to the front. The knee- 
action so much prized, is a conspicuous characteristic 
of this breed. Breeders say that now good hock- 
action is also required, and that breeders are seeking 
this. The infusion of Hackney blood gives good re¬ 
sults, and the characteristics of the breed crop out 
strongly in the crosses. A “ roadster” should not be 
under 15 hands high. In judging, the conformation, 
color, style of going, manners, hock and knee-actions, 
weight of shoes, style of check and bit, etc., are all 
considered. All horses were required to pass a satis¬ 
factory veterinary examination. 
Saddle horses are judged by quality, manners, paces, 
conformation and ability to carry the weight specified 
in the different classes. Some classes required the 
carrying of weight up to 200 pounds, others up to 
160 pounds. The gaits required to be shown are the 
walk, trot and canter. The judges had the privilege 
of riding any of the horses shown, and they often did 
this before giving the final decision. One class con¬ 
tained 32 animals, all or nearly all, of good quality 
and style, and to pick the winners from these is no 
easy task. The ring was not large enough to show 
off all at once, so a part were put through their paces 
at a time. Those which showed inferiority of quality 
or style were shown out of the ring. Then another 
section was sifted, and so on until only the best of the 
different lots were left; then these were again put 
through all the different maneuvers, until the final 
decision was made. 
Four-in-hand driving is a great fad among the 
horsey set, and it always holds a conspicuous place at 
the horse shows. The horses must be good ones, but 
here training counts largely. The most of the prizes 
here are captured by a dealer simply because of the 
superior training of his horses, and his unequaled 
handling of the reins. 
Tandem driving is also another fad, and here train¬ 
ing also counts. More attention is paid to the quality 
of the horses than with the four-in-hands. Some very 
high steppers were shown in these classes. 
Other classes that interest society greatly are the 
hunters and jumpers. Farmers generally fail to 
admire a horse that is a jumper, but here the horse 
that jumps the highest fence wins the most praise, 
and takes the blue ribbon. In the high jump, the 
bars are placed first at a height of five feet, then 
gradually raised until the maximum of six feet six 
inches is reached. 
The smallest, but in the estimation of the little 
folks, the greatest of all were the ponies, and the 
Shetlands were the prime favorites. Many of these 
were shown which were 40 inches or less in height. 
But they were active little fellows, and though not 
stepping so high or carrying their heads so jauntily 
as some of their larger cousins, attracted just as 
much attention. 
It must not be forgotten that this show is held in 
one of the best horse markets in the country ; that 
it demands good horses, and that above all, they 
must l 3 e thoroughly trained. Still, at the auction 
sales held after the show, many horses sold for low 
prices. There are as great extremes in horse prices 
as there are in quality of the horses. f. h. y. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
It is usually to the advantage of all concerned that readers 
who write advertisers mention the paper in which they And the 
advertisement. We are always glad to have Tub Rural New. 
Yorker mentioned in this connection. 
The Reliable Incubator and Brooder Co., Quincy, Ill., send us 
their catalogue containing, in addition to a description of their 
goods, a great deal of useful information pertaining to the poul¬ 
try business, and artificial incubation. It will be sent free on 
application. 
The Foos Mfg. Co., of Springfield, O., offer their customers 
something entirely new in a feed mill, this season. This is a 
double-action, triple-geared mill, in which both plates revolve in 
opposite directions. With this machine, they claim to do more 
work with given power than can be done with any other mill in 
any given time. This mill can be operated with either two or four 
horses, and has power attachment so that a corn sheller, feed 
cutter, wood saw, or any machine of that nature can be operated 
at the same time that grinding is being done, or the machine may 
be used as a power alone if so desired. They will send full de¬ 
scription and catalogue on application. 
We are sometimes asked what papers or books we would recom¬ 
mend for the children. We cannot always give a full list of the 
books, because there are many good ones, and there is more than 
one paper that we would gladly see in every farm home; but the 
one above all others that we would see there first is the Youth’s 
Companion. Some of our readers may be surprised to learn that 
the first thing we look to in a paper for the home is the advertis¬ 
ing columns. These columns usually reflect the character of the 
whole paper. If we find advertisements that we know are not 
fit to read over the breakfast table, or that are frauds on the 
face, we look no further. If we find the advertising columns 
clean, we usually find merit in the other departments of the 
paper. The Youth’s Companion is particularly careful about its 
advertising, and the reading matter is the very best that can be 
secured at the present time. No other Christmas present could 
be procured for double the money, that would do the growing-up 
boy or girl so much good during the year to come, as a year’s 
subscription to this paper. We can send it with The R. N.-Y r . for 
$2.25 to those who are not now subscribers to the Youth’s Com¬ 
panion, or $2.75 to theirold subscribers. New subscribers get four 
holiday numbers, and their handsome 1897 calendar. 
