1906. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
247 
EVENTS OF THE WEEK. 
DOMESTIC.—A resolution favoring the repeal of the fluty 
on hides was adopted by the executive council of the Mass-a- 
chusetts State Board of Trade, in which about 50 constitu¬ 
ent bodies are represented, at a meeting at Boston February 
27 . The resolution was reported to the council by the sub¬ 
committee on legislation, to which had been referred a com¬ 
munication from the New England Shoe and Leather Asso¬ 
ciation, requesting the State board to consider the question 
of the removal of the hides duty. The resolution as adopted 
will he sent as a petition to the Senate and House of Rep¬ 
resentatives at Washington. . . . .lohn R. Walsh, Presi¬ 
dent of the Chicago National Bank, which closed Its doors 
on December 18, 1905, was arrested March 2 on a Federal 
warrant charging him wfih violation of the National hanking 
laws in making false returns to the Controller of the Cur¬ 
rency and with conversion to his own use of hank funds 
amounting to $3,000,000. ITe was released after giving 
$50,000 bonds. . . . March 2 a tornado accompanied by 
terrific rain, struck the business portion of Meridian, Miss. 
When the tornado struck the city the lighting system was 
put out of business, and save for the' lurid glares of the 
flames that start and swirl like camp fires over the scene 
of desolation, the city was in darkness. Property loss is put 
at $1,250,000. The number of dead Is believed to be 24, 
injured 47 . . . Fire in a New York car barn, March 4, 
caused a loss of about $150,000. One man was burned to 
death. . . . Chicago gained the unsavory record of 
leading all the cities in the United States in crimes com¬ 
mitted during January and February just past. Mayor 
Dunne made public certain police statistics showing that 
murders, robberies and cases of larceny for the last two 
months named were less in the city than for the corre¬ 
sponding period last year. Those statistics, compared with 
tlie figures from other leading cities of the country, indicate 
that Chicago is still a paradise of criminals, and that the 
police control of the city is entirely inadequate and in¬ 
efficient. ... A jury at Tipper Sandusky, O., March 1, 
gave John Wren, a grain merchant of Deunquat, $2,000 
damages against tlie Toledo and Ohio Central Railway for 
discrimination. He charged that the railroad furnished him 
no cars for three months, making it impossible for him to 
ship grain. 
INSURANCE AFFAIRS.—The life insurance companies 
have decided definitely on the recommendations of the Arm¬ 
strong committee which they will oppose at the public 
hearing before the Legislature on March 9. The programme 
was determined at conferences held March 3. More than 50 
life companies—in fact, every company of importance in the 
country doing business in this State—were represented at 
the meetings. Here are the recommendations which the 
companies will oppose: 1. The restriction of investments. 
2. The limitation of the contingency reserve fund. 3. The 
proposition that there shall be no forfeiture of a policy, so 
long as the reserve upon it justifies it being carried. 
4. The prohibition of deferred dividend policies. 5. The 
standardization of policies, especially as applied to outside 
companies. (>. The restriction of expenses to tlie loadings 
on the premiums plus the mortality gain. 7. The proposi¬ 
tion to make every violation of the insurance law a mis¬ 
demeanor. 8. The' limitation of business. 9-10. Two other 
collateral recommendations relating to the curtailment of 
expenses and the restriction of business. Each of these 
subjects will be taken up at the public hearing by an in¬ 
surance expert, who will represent all of the companies. 
There will be no lobbyists and no lawyers. 
HUMANE TREATMENT OF LIVE STOCK.—William O. 
Stillman, president of the American Humane Association, 
has sent a statement, detailing that organization's position 
on the live stock transportation bill now before Congress, to 
Representative Hepburn. This position primarily is in op¬ 
position to the attempt to increase the present maximum of 
28 hours as the period in which cattle in transit by rail¬ 
road may go without renewal of food and drinking supplies. 
The time will come, Mr. Stillman believes, when the? law 
will require the slaughtering of cattle near the ranges and 
the transportation of the beef in refrigerator cars, lie 
admits the time is not ripe for this, but he argues that any 
extension of the maximum period referred to will “put off 
the day for final settlement of that question.” As to the 
Humane Association's position, Mr. Stillman says: “What 
the friends of the animals, as represented by the American 
Humane Association, believe should be done is that live 
stock trains should be given right of way over dead freight 
under all circumstances, and that the speed of the live 
stock trains should be practically doubled. We believe that 
a minimum of 18 or 20 miles per hour, during the ^entire 
28 hours, should be established by law. This would ‘result 
in covering about 500 miles, which is a reasonable demand. 
At present it seems to us, according to the best informa¬ 
tion which we can get, that live stock trains are not making 
on an average more than 250 miles in the 28 hours, much 
of the time being spent on side tracks. By this plan stock 
will reach market with only one loading as surely as under 
an extension of 30 or 40 hours, without the attendant 
starvation, exhaustion, suffering and deaths which would be 
caused by this increase of time. As is well known, scores 
of thousands of cattle are already sacrificed, maimed or 
killed, under present conditions, and we believe that the 
number would be vastly increased by adding eight or twelve 
hours to the existing time limit. As it is, some shippers 
state that their cattle lose 200 pounds in getting to market.” 
In addition to doubled speed the association demands a 
radical reform in stockyard conditions, so that they may l>e 
made comfortable and sanitary. There should be a Federal 
inspector in these yards, to see that the general provisions 
of the law are complied with, and that present cruelties 
are stopped. It is aiso suggested that where shippers and 
lransportation companies do uot observe the 28 hour limit, 
“really improved stock cars, of designs approved by the 
secretary of agriculture, shall be used.” 
NOTES FROM DADE CO., FLA.—Tomatoes $0 per crate; 
beans $8 per basket ; grape fruit $5 per box; other vegetables 
in proportion. These are the prices that Dade Co., farmers 
are now (February 20) enjoying, and it is needless to say 
they are very satisfactory. It does not take a very large 
crop at these prices to amount to $1,000 per acre. When 
i( is considered that land to produce these crops costs from 
$20 to $40 per acre, the profits of Dade County farming can 
be realized. What is- the cause of these enormous prices? 
It is the absence of competition. There are 2,800 coun¬ 
ties in the United States, and an equal territory north 
of us in Canada. All of this enormous extent of 
country has to be supplied with tender Winter vegetables 
from the southern half of this one county. On a map of 
the United States this section can be covered by the end 
of the little finger. This amounts to a tremendous mon¬ 
opoly, and must, always result in very large profits. There 
are doubtless many readers of The It. N.-Y. who for many 
years have been burdened with farm mortgages. Here farm 
mortgages are rare indeed. When each crop returns to the 
owner from 5 to 10 times ttie value of Ids farm, mortgages 
cannot flourish. There is one other crop to which I wish 
to call attention, the profits on which seem almost incredible. 
This is the Avocado pear. These pears the past December 
brought $(> per dozen f. o. b. at the station here. These 
pears are as healthy, vigorous, and nearly as productive as 
the Kleffer. They bear very early. A small tree the past 
season tw<> years from the hud less than six feet high set 
30 pears all of which were removed except nine, these it 
matured. Crape fruit at the present time is yielding over 
$1,000 per acre, but even this figure would seem trifling 
beside the yield of an acre of December Avocado pears. 
Another blessing of this country is that the San Jos£ scale 
is unknown The comparative merits of crude oil and lime, 
salt and sulphur are not discussed at all. 
chari.es parry. 
R. N.-Y.—The Avocado or Alligator pear, Persea gratis- 
sima. belongs to the Laurel family, and must not he con¬ 
founded with the true pear (Pyrus) of the temperate zone. 
This Persea is a native of the American tropics, and is 
now widely disseminated. The pear-shaped fruits have a 
green or deep purple skin, enclosing a firm yellowish pulp 
with a single large seed in the center. The pulp, in texture 
like a firm custard, is usually eaten as a salad, with pepper, 
salt and vinegar or other dressing. Without such condi¬ 
ments a first taste of Avocado pear is something of a dis¬ 
appointment. The fruit is highly esteemed by all classes in 
the West Indies, but at present the consumptive demand 
here is not large. Fancy fruit dealers in New York usually 
handle the fruit, but we have not noted their sale at price 
given. Soap and illuminating oil may he made from the 
fruit, which contains a good deal of vegetable fat, and an 
indelible ink, used for marking linen, is yielded by the seed. 
Two Hoise Elevator Digger. 
Patented and Patent Applied For. 
Potato Growers ^Z^ CoUD,,s,in,mibm ^ tor 
Let us tell you how you can have it. Read what farmers think of it: 
Cedar Falls, Iowa, January 31, 1906. 
I bought a half interest in your O. IC. Digger last fall of Mr. Crance who 
had been trying for 3 years to find a digger that suited us. L. M. YALE. 
West Webster, N. Y., February 8. 
I have already taken forty orders as the result of our sweeping victory on 
Mr. Eldrige’s farm last fall; shows merit; don’t it? G. S. BREWER. 
Guaranteed as good as the best. 
We have a rich field for agents. 
D. Y. HALLOCK & SONS , Box sos Y0RK PA 
<5 
SYRACUSE 
Reversible Sulky Plow. 
For both hillside and'level land plowing. Perfect work, 
avoidng ridges and dead furrows. Steel moldboards 
and strips, chilled or steel shares. With automatic, 
adjustable pole, operator regulates width of furrow, 
plows around curves and avoids side strain on horses. 
I Beam, landside, wheel and pole always in line, no side 
draft. With Power Lift, making it easy for the boy to 
handle. Ifyour dealer hasn’t it, write us. Catalogue free. 
Syracuse Chilled Plow Co., Syracuse, N. Y. 
_ 
98.90 up. 9&.00 up. $2.40 up. $14>W> up- 
Save One-Quarter to One-Half 
Everything in standard farm tools,and nothing but the best, sold 
on binding guarantee of satisfaction. Special goods for the gar¬ 
dener, dairyman, poultryman and stockman, and all kinds of 
household articles. Wholesale factory prices. Send for our 
388-page catalogue, Free. 
Cash Supply it Mfg Co., 023 L*wrenae 8q. f Kwloaaaoo, Mick. 
gallon up* #4*70 vp* 
SAVE 20 CENTS PER SHEEP I 
■ Stewart’s Improved 
on every sheep 
you shear with 
PRICE 
Sheep Shearing Machine 
The day of the old fashioned hand shears is past. No owner of V B - 1, jj 
10 sheep or more can afford to shear by hand, even though the ■ ■ ■ * vr 
work be done for nothing. Don’t butcher your sheep, Shear 
with machine and get one pound oftcoolextra per head. It will 
more than cover the cost of shearing. Send today for valuable 
, book, * ‘H ints on Shearing.” It is free and will save you money 
CUIOAUO FLEXIBLE SHAFT OO., 14» Lu Halle Ave., Cklcag*. 
DO IT YOURSELF 
An attractive feature about Amatite 
Ready Roofing is that it is really ready 
to lay when it reaches you. 
In many so-called Ready Roofings the 
purchaser must get nails, cement and 
other little articles before he can really 
begin to lay his “ready roofing.” But 
with Amatite these little extras are sup¬ 
plied free. 
Each roll contains nails and every other 
necessity for putting Amatite properly 
on the roof. The roofing is absolutely 
ready to lay. Prepare your roof, then 
lay Amatite—you will not need to send 
to the painter or carpenter or blacksmith 
or hardware store for this, that or the 
other thing. 
Anyone can put Amatite on the roof. 
Just follow the simple directions and 
you’ll have a water-tight, weather-proof 
roof, that rain,wind, snow or hail cannot 
harm. You can then cut the “repair 
item ” out of your yearly expenses, for 
Amatite will require no repai s or paint¬ 
ing for years after it has been nailed on. 
The protective mineral surface is the 
feature which makes painting and coating 
unnecessary, and gives to Amatite a 
longer life than that of any other ready 
roofing. 
Send for a sample. Test it—read up 
about it in our booklet. You may not 
need a new roof now, but get acquainted 
with the subject, and when the time 
comes that new roofs are required, you 
can order Amatite without 
Address the 
Barrett Manufacturing 
New York, Chicago, Cleveland, 
Jioston, Allegheny, 1st. Louis, Minneapolis, 
Philadelphia, New Orleans, Kansas City. 
Buy only the genuine 
FARQUHAR Keystone 
Corn Planter 
Ov ___ 
iCS 
DON’T BUY ANY OTHER 
Until You Investigate the Merits of a Machine 
Thut lias Stood the Test of Time. 
Plants corn, beans, peas, etc., without cracking a grain or 
missing a liill. Drops seed in drills, or in hills at any dis¬ 
tance. Distributes any kind of fertilizer in any quantity de¬ 
sired, with absolute safety from injury to seed. Send for 
handsome new catalogue of Corn Planters, Grain Drills, 
Cultivators,Spring Tooth Harrows and other farm tools; 
also Engines, Boilers, Saw Mills and Threshing Machinery. 
We manufacture the largest and most complete line of farm 
machinery and implements on the market. It will lie to y< 
advantage to write to us before buying anything in this lii 
Farquhar machinery awarded more Uoul Medals at 
Louis than any other. 
A. B. FARQUHAR CO., Ltd., York, Pa. 
our 
ne. 
st. 
When your dealer shows you a low-down farm wagon ask him the question: “is It 
made iu Saginaw?” If it is—buy it, you can’t make a mistake—you can’t buy a bet¬ 
ter one—there’s no other that is really as well made and serviceable as the 
FARMERS HANDY WAGON 
matte In Saginaw. All good thing’s are imitated and that’s why we lay so much 
Stress on the point tbat yon make sure it’s made in Saginaw. We have made them 
forJ3 years and made them so good we can't improve them now. We guarantee 
them for 5 years and they practically last a life time; in that time think of the saviqg 
in high iftmg, draft, repairs, etc. Made with wood or steel wheels. Catalog free. ■ 
FARMERS HANDY WAGON CO., SAGINAW, MICH. 
Branches. Kansas City and lies Moines. 
Also makers of Farmer’s Hay and Stock Hacks and All-Steel Frame Silos. Catalog free. 
■ bi ii t ■ I I ii ——> 
