1906. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
i 
399 
Events of the Week. 
DOMESTIC.—The power house of the Venango Power and 
Traction Co., Oil City, I*a., was burned April 23; loss 
$350,000. Street car traffic will be blocked for three weeks. 
. . . An explosion in a mine belonging to the Colorado 
Iron and Fuel Co., near Trinidad, Col., April 23, caused 
the death of 22 men. . . . April 24 Maine was under 
from eight to 10 inches of snow, with the thermometer 
generally at the freezing point. There was a heavy fall all 
day, beginning about midnight. The storm was particularly 
severe in central Maine, where a foot of snow was reported. 
Telephone and telegraph, circuits were interrupted most of 
the day. There was no wire communication between Port¬ 
land and Bangor, except by way of St. John, N. B. 
TIIE CALIFORNIA. EARTHQUAKE.—.Earthquake and 
fire April 18 laid nearly half of San Francisco in ruins. 
The sweep of the earthquake was wide, deaths and large 
property losses marking its track in several cities to the 
north of San Francisco. Shocks were felt in the Far West, 
New York State and Washington, D. C., and at the same 
time San Francisco quaked a shock was felt in Austria. 
Scarcely had the earth ceased to shake when fires broke 
out simultaneously in many places. The Fire Department 
promptly responded to the first calls for aid, but it was 
found that the water mains had been rendered useless by 
the underground movement. Then dynamite was resorted 
to, and the sound of frequent explosions added to the terror 
of the people. All efforts to stay the progress of the fire, 
however, proved futile, and it extended over about two-thirds 
of the city. The financial loss is put at $300,000,000; 
insurance $175,000,000. With over 200.000 homeless people 
to care for, limited food supply, and very little water, the 
military in charge had to face a very serious situation. 
The city was at once put under military law, looters or 
disorderly persons shot by the soldiers, and private supplies 
of necessaries distributed among the people. It was in¬ 
evitable, under the circumstances, that many should fall 
sick from diseases brought on by exposure.' The troops 
sent all such to the hospitals of the Presidio. There is 
nothing to show that an epidemic of any kind is threatened. 
The cases were of pneumonia, acute rheumatism, measles 
and the like. It is a fortunate circumstance that the 
physicians’ convention was just over when the earthquake 
came, and that most of the delegates had remained in the 
city. The medical department at the Presidio, systematic¬ 
ally appropriated the stocks of drug stores as they were 
threatened by the tlames, and the medical supply department 
at the Presidio is well stocked. Congress appropriated 
$2,500,000 for relief, and private benevolence throughout 
the country quickly provided $13,000,000. The number of 
dead will remain unknown ; within the first five days 277 
bodies were buried or cremated by the military authorities. 
Coroner Walsh reports that his department has cared for 
350 bodies. These are probably independent figures; added 
together, with a little further addition for bodies privately 
buried or cremated without notification of the Board of 
Health, the list reaches nearly 700. One report is that the 
Coroner’s office places the dead at 1,000. There must be 
a great many more in the ruins. The refugees camped In 
the parks and squares, suffering great distress for many 
days, all means of getting away being greatly disturbed. 
When the criminal element becomes bolder more crime is 
bound to come. Disease, unless it takes some virulent form, 
will probably be controlled. Sanitary arrangements are 
pretty good. The .soldiers went from house to house finding 
how much room there is to spare and assigning the weaker 
and more delicate. Not even the stateliest mansion on 
Pacific Heights escapes this. The Red Cross is directing 
this work. The burned district ran back from the ferry 
about three miles, but the widest sweep was six miles. Only 
residences are left. The whole thing, past and present, is too 
great to be grasped. Even the survivors cannot realize now 
what they have been through. According to Professor E. S. 
Holden’s catalogue of California earthquakes, covering the 
years between 1769 and 1896, there have been ten quakes 
during the nineteenth century which could fairly be called 
serious. As for lighter quakes, there were during the 
thirty-six years between 1S50 and 1886 254 separate dis¬ 
turbances in San Francisco alone and 514 in the whole 
State of California. The Pacific Const has been so fre¬ 
quently visited by earthquakes that it was deemed unwise, 
until a few years ago, to erect tali buildings in San Fran- 
cisco. It was only with the advent of modern steel con¬ 
struction, which was believed to render tall buildings safe 
from the earth’s tremors, that skyscrapers made their 
appearance on the Pacific Coast. Many smaller towns 
suffered, as follows: Palo Alto—Leland Stanford. .Tr., Uni¬ 
versity is practically destroyed. Several lost. San Jos£— 
Many buildings wrecked; sixty-five killed. Agnews Insane 
Asylum wrecked and subsequently burned: 275 Inmates 
killed; others roaming around country. Salinas—Spreckels 
sugar factory destroyed. Loss. $1,500,000; high school 
building, Elks’ Hall. Masonic Temple, armory. City Hall, 
K. of P. building. Odd Fellows building, gone. Napa—Many 
buildings shattered: property loss, $300,000. Hollister— 
Grangers union warehouse destroyed. Vallejo—Some damage 
to property. Sacramento—Buildings were rocked like cradles; 
post office and brick buildings damaged. Redwood—Court 
House and other buildings collapsed. Suisun—Mile and a 
half of railroad track sunk three to six feet; loaded pas¬ 
senger train nearly engulfed. Santa Rosa—-Court House 
demolished and 100 persons killed; city in ruins. Loss, 
$1,000,000. Watsonville—Moreland Academy destroyed by 
tire; several buildings collapsed. Monterey—-Chimney fell 
through roof of Delmonte Hotel, killing a bride and bride¬ 
groom and hotel employee. Eight lives lost. Stockton— 
Sante Fe bridge over the San Joaquin River settled several 
inches. Santa Cruz—Twelve buildings destroyed; conflicting 
reports as to loss of life. Gilroy—Heavy! damage. Berkeley 
—Five lives lost. 
ADMINISTRATION.—John A. Drake, of New York, an 
officer of the Panama Railroad Company, testified before the 
Senate Committee on Inter-oceanic Canals April 24 that the 
year before the railroad was sold to the United States divi¬ 
dends were paid by it aggregating $100,000 more than the 
total receipts of the company for the year. Senator Mor¬ 
gan, commenting upon this testimony, declared it was rather 
startling, and asked Mr. Drake to bring the books of the 
Panama Railroad Company before the committee for investi¬ 
gation. . . If Congress puts into the form of law a rec¬ 
ommendation made to it April 24 by Postmaster-General 
Cortelyou a new postal note will be created in denominations 
running from one cent to $2.50. This plan is an amplifica¬ 
tion of the money order system, and the proposed postal 
note is suggested as a convenient means of transmitting 
small sums of money through the mails. It is proposed 
that special postal notes of the denominations of one. two. 
three, four, five, six, seven, eight and nine cents lie sold at 
their face value without a fee. The regular postal notes 
would be 10, 20, 25. 30, 40. 50, 60, 70. 75, 80 and 90 cents. 
$1, $1.50 $2 and $2.50. A fee of one cent would be charged 
for notes from 10 to 40 cents, and two cents for notes from 
50 cents to $2.50. To the notes of larger denominations 
would be attached a receipt form to be retained by the 
purchaser. An appropriation of $150,000 is asked for the 
purpose of carrying the act into effect in the fiscal year 
ending June 30. 1907._ 
DADE COUNTY FAIR. 
The Dade Co., Fla., fair has been closed and was one of 
the most successful ever held. This fair is unique. It 
is the only one in the United States that can produce such 
an exhibit during the Winter months. Every tender vege¬ 
table that can be grown in the North during July and August 
is produced here during the Winter months, and exhibited 
in profusion at the annual fair. The exhibit of potatoes 
was especially fine, mostly of red Bliss Triumph, although 
many other varieties were shown, all large and fine, and were 
selling in the local market at $6 per barrel. One novel fea¬ 
ture was a dish of cooked notatoes, with the skins burst 
open, showing their mealy, floury quality. The exhibit of 
tomatoes, ripe, partly ripe and green, wrapped for shipment, 
was large and fine. Peppers, crated for shipment, were in 
abundance. Green peas, beans, sweet potatoes and egg plants 
were especially fine, and the whole cabbage familv. including 
cauliflower, was exhibited. The poultry and ladies’ depart¬ 
ments may be passed over, as they were like similar depart¬ 
ments at northern fairs. But the exhibit of semi-tropical 
fruits would be hard to equal. Grape fruit, oranges, tanger¬ 
ines lemons, limes, citron, kumquats. strawberries, pine¬ 
apples, loquats, guavas, cocoanuts, bananas and Surinam 
cherries were all displayed. The strictly tropical fruits, such 
as custard apples, sour sops, star apples, rose apples, sapodil- 
los, cerimans and maumee apples were also shown. Mangoes, 
avocadoes and many others which ripen in Summer were 
shown only in jars. The most extensive and magnificent ex¬ 
hibit was of grape fruit or pomelos, which are destined to 
become the great commercial staple of this section. Here 
it is never injured by cold, it is more vigorous and produc¬ 
tive than the orange and brings more money and costs less 
to gather and pack. It is being planted here in blocks of 
from five to 100 acres each. It is now going forward in 
carload lots, but in a few years it will move in trainloads. 
The Advance loquat was shown this year for the first time. 
It is four times the size of the ordinary seedling, and of 
better quality. It ships well and must eventually be a prime 
favorite in the northern markets, which are bare of fresh 
fruit during March. Most fruits bloom in the Spring and 
ripen in the Fall, but the loquat reverses this order and 
blooms in the Fall and ripens in the Spring. The Monstera 
or ceriman is another delicious fruit which has a bloom like 
a calia lily, and its fruit resembles an ear of corn. It is 
too tender'for shipment and must be eaten where produced. 
Another very interesting section of this fair was the exten¬ 
sive exhibit* of jellies, marmalades and preserves of the 
tropical and semi-tropical fruits. One exhibitor showed 
117 varieties of these products. The canning of pineapples 
ripened in the field is an extensive business here; and the 
product is much superior to the pines that are picked green, 
shipped north and canned there. This difference was strik¬ 
ingly shown at the fair by open cans of fruit, some from a 
northern cannery and some from a local one; all were in¬ 
vited to try each kind, and the difference was very marked. 
When it is considered that nine years ago the section where 
this fair is held was a tropical jungle and wilderness the 
result will be considered remarkable. chart.es parky. 
R. N.-Y.—The Monstera above referred to (M. deliciosa, 
properly Philodendron pertusuml is a tropical member of 
the Arum family, to which the calla belongs. It is climbing 
or sprawly in its habit, and is not uncommon in large con¬ 
servatories. It has huge, leathery, perforated leaves, and 
the stems emit long, aerial roots, giving, a most grotesque 
appearance. A famous old specimen of this plant is in Hor¬ 
ticultural Hall, Fairmount Pijrk, Philadelphia. The fruit, 
which is six to eight inches long, looks rather like a green 
pine cone, the rind being composed of hexagonal plates. It 
has juicy flesh, somewhat like pineapple in flavor, but when 
overripe a chemical change occurs which makes it taste like 
pins and needles—hence it would not be desirable for ship¬ 
ment, as it deteriorates rapidly. 
CONDITIONS IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. 
The letter recently published in The R. N.-Y. in regard 
to Illinois mud and parcels post is liable to make an east¬ 
ern man think the State of Illinois a mud swamp. I do 
not wish to intimate that, this man did not write the truth 
in regard to his section, but some might suppose it to apply 
to the entire State. Here in “Egypt,” as the south part of 
the State is called, we have a high rolling or hilly country, 
a deep red clay soil, the ideal fruit soil, and a natural 
clover and Blue-grass country. It Is the garden spot of 
the State, and second to no section east of the Rocky moun¬ 
tains as a producer of fruit, vegetables, and farm crops. 
Our Winters are comparatively mild, the evergreen Mag¬ 
nolia and other trees of southern origin being hardy here. 
It is true that our roads get muddy at times, as they will 
in any country where dirt roads are used, and it rains or 
freezes. The only exception to this is where the soil is too 
sandy to make mud, as is some parts of Florida, where 
the roads are firmer during a heavy rain than at any other 
time. Our present mail carrier will soon finish his third 
year, and I cannot recall a single trip missed, and he does 
hot have to walk either. The opposition to Hie parcels post 
does not come from the farmers, but from the express com¬ 
panies and the country merchants. The latter are strongly 
opposed to it, as they also are to the large mail order 
houses. Any farmer who makes a business of ordering his 
supplies from the large mail order houses of Chicago is 
liable to lose his popularity with the home merchants. 
Fmit prospects in this locality are good so far as buds 
and flowers are concerned. Budded peaches only a partial 
crop, but seedling or natural trees are full. I never saw 
apples, pears, plums or cherries so loaded with buds : straw¬ 
berries and other small fruits also promise well. We have 
no scale in this section as yet, but I expect it before long. 
The fruit growers and farmers persist in ordering trees from 
nurseries in infected districts in the East. To be sure 
these nurseries furnish certificates of inspection, but I place 
little dependence on them, as I know' that the nurseries are 
directly responsible for the spread of the scale. The truck¬ 
ing industry has reached enormous proportions in this coun¬ 
ty (Union) end thousands of acres of tomatoes, melons, 
cucumbers, etc., are grown. It is also one of the greatest 
strawberry sections of the West. M. l. b. 
Dongola, Ill. ___ 
OPPOSES CHINESE CHEAP LABOR. 
Many of your correspondents seem to welcome the idea 
of letting down the bars to wholesale Chinese immigration. 
Possibly it is better to endure the evils that we have 
rather than flv to others that we know not of. We have 
the negro problem, and may soon have the Italian and Slav 
problem. There are nearly a million immigrants, all white, 
being admitted to the Land of the Flee yearly according 
to late estimates. They are largely of races that will be 
difficult to assimilate with the American race. If with tips 
great influx of Poles, Russians, Italians, etc., we cannot ob¬ 
tain suitable farm labor, certainly the Chinese laboring 
man mav not be suitable. However patient, toiling and 
industrious the Chinaman may be, the yellow and white 
races do not thrive in the same place. Witness the deplor¬ 
able situation in South Africa, where bands of roaming 
Chinese coolies have committed unspeakable offenses against 
life, morals and property. There is no need to invite sim¬ 
ilar conditions in this country. There are all kinds of 
Chinamen no doubt, good, bad and indifferent, and we 
would be sure to import all kinds. The Chinese merchant 
has a good reputation for honesty, and is supposed to he 
the sharpest trader that can be found anywhere in the 
world Wherever thev engage in trade they drive the white 
man out of business if allow-ed to compete on equal terms. 
The lower class of Chinamen can live on nearly nothing a 
day, drive the white man awav by working 20 hours per day, 
and it is safe to say that if the Chinese were admitted with¬ 
out restriction they would flood the country, monopolize 
many kinds* of business, cause the serious problems of 
race mixture, call it miscegenation if yon wish t and where 
thev might start as servants they would inevitably end as 
masters. It is painful to admit that another race, by 
working harder, living cheaper, and being sharper can beat 
the white man, but this is generally conceded to the Chi¬ 
nese. The lack of transportation, decentralized govern¬ 
ment, over-competition and absolute unsanitary conditions 
have held down the Chinaman at home, but he is sure to 
shake off the fetters of custom and ignorance, and make 
his nation powerful some day. Space forbids touching on 
the moral side, the great mental differences, the absolute 
disinclination to take part in or even consider American 
institutions. It may be Christian to welcome all races of 
the world, but it is certainly suicidal to the Anglo-Saxon 
race and to American institutions. e. m. 
Buffalo, N. Y. __ 
OPPORTUNITIES AT MIAMI, FLORIDA. 
There are openings here for several to engage in chicken 
farming. A chicken famine exists, and the coops of the 
dealers" stand empty most of the time. Some poultry is 
brought here from a distance, some coming all the way 
from Tennessee. The cost of getting them here averages 
nearly 20 cents each, so that (he selling price is necessarily 
high.' but the prevalent chicken-dinner habit demands 
chicken at any price. The threat that we will pull out our 
chicken teeth, does not make chickens any cheaper. The 
people want to buy them alive. Canned, dressed or cold- 
storage chickens would not be used. Miami is jammed 
full of tourists and Winter residents, all of whom are vig¬ 
orously calling for chicken. Freshly laid eggs bring 30 
to 40 cents per dozen the year round. While getting 
started, the chicken farmer could grow tomatoes for im¬ 
mediate returns, and set out a grape-fruit grove and some 
Avocado pears. The pomelo, or grape fruit, with proper 
attention succeeds here admirably and yields large and 
quick returns. The supply will never equal the demand. 
On this rock land the Avocado luxuriates and is astonish¬ 
ingly fruitful. The fruit is but little known at the North. 
It is usually necessary to acquire the liking for it, but 
when once acquired, nothing else can satisfy the desire. 
It contains about 12 per cent of oil and has a peculiar 
nutty flavor: a boy 14 years old told me he often made 
his entire breakfast from one pear which, by the way, is 
not a pear at all—-the tree being known botanically as 
Persea gratissima, the fruit somewhat resembling a large 
pear in shape. It has been successfully marketed in small 
lots, bringing large prices. The lime is used as a hedge 
and furnishes an impenetrable barrier to the passage of 
man or beast. ’Iffie limes sell readily, netting about $5 per 
barrel. In conclusion let me say that no man should think 
of coming here without some capital, and what is even 
more important* an ample stock of resolution and endur¬ 
ance, popularly known as “backbone.” 
The fish industry of Miami is worthy of special note. 
Spanish mackerel and the King fish or King mackerel 
are caught in great numbers and shipped to New York and 
other points. This season 60 carloads iced have beeen 
shipped by fast freight and about 3.000 barrels by express, 
the express charges to New York being T^.75 per barrel. 
Pleasure parties are going out daily for King fish or Span¬ 
ish mackerel and frequently every available boat is char¬ 
tered at a rental of $15 to $20 the boat, going out at 
9 A. M. and returning to the dock at 4 I>. M. More boats 
could find profitable employment. There are several large 
shipping firms that buy all the fish offered. j. y. peek. 
CROP PROSPECTS. 
The fruit buds are all right up to this time. Teaches 
damaged some, but enough left yet. ciiakles black. 
Mercfer Co., N. Y. 
m , Tlle fruit buds of plum and cherry seem to be all right. 
The peach buds, I should say, would run from 10 to 25 
per cent live buds, and some young trees, three and four 
years old, strong, thrifty trees, as high as 50 per cent 
live buds. I think all varieties of peach in our orchards 
have live buds enough for a full crop. e. b. 
Wilbraham, Mass. ( 
Farmers are hard at work getting their land ready for 
bean planting. It takes much work to get it fine and mel¬ 
low, and keep it so. Lima beans will be planted latter 
part of April and fore part of May for main crop. Planting 
is a short job, as it is done witli planters, from two to four 
rows at a time. Not much said about corn, as but little is 
grown here. Some farmers buy their corn and meal at the 
stores, and we often see by the marks on the bags that 
some of them came all the way from Nebraska. Apricots 
and pears will be a short crop; only a few peaches. Apples 
begin to bloom, but too early to make any estimates on the 
crop. Hay and grain still promise well. March gave 
us plenty of rain; very little so far for April. After May 
10 we do not expect much, if any, before October 1 so our 
Summer crops are mostly grown without rain or irrigation 
except small fruits, vegetables, etc. o n c 
Carpinteria, Cal. 
i ', "cvw.wu uavc u™ jLamj wen me past 
\vinter, feed has been high in price, and there has been 
a large quantity used; on account of the scarcity of hay 
those who have silage are coming out better than those 
who depend on hay, as the hay crop was short last year 
Cows are selling for good prices, from $40 to $60. Dairies 
sold by auction owned in the countv averaged about $50* 
choice young cows with calf by side from $50 to $90 There 
have been plenty for sale, as they are bought in from 
other States whenever they command a good price. Milk 
has been in good demand, and the Bordens are paying 
five cents a hundred pounds for two months more than 
last year’s prices; the other stations are doing better, pav¬ 
ing for eight months the Excliango price, one-quarter cent 
off four months; the month of April so far has been very 
fine, wet and warm, and grass and Winter grain are get¬ 
ting a good start. M . N . c 
Monroe, N. Y. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
H. Bailey & Co., 415 Broadway, New York, offer our 
women readers an opportunity to buy sewing cotton 
by mail cheaper than it can be bought in stores. The qual¬ 
ity is guaranteed to he the best. 
No farmer’s library on increasing fertility and the 
proper use of fertilizers is complete without the excellent 
book on manuring, published by the J. S. Kemp Manufactur¬ 
ing Company, Waterloo, Iowa, or Newark Valley. N. Y. It 
is not only a high-grade catalogue, but contains articles on 
fertility and manure spreading in general. Valuable to 
every soil-tiller whether he buys a manure spreader or not. 
The book is free. 
Filling rush ordersi for eggs to hatch is a specialty with 
Walter Sherman, 25 Boulevard, Newport. It. I. lie has 
choice R. I. Reds, Barred Rocks and Light Brahmas. 
Ax the Spring election in Kalamazoo, Mich., William 
Thompson, Vice-President and General Manager of the Kala¬ 
mazoo Stove Co., with whose business many of our readers 
are familiar, was elected Mayor by an overwhelming ma¬ 
jority, on a platform calling for “a square deal, equal rights 
to all and special privileges to none.” Kalamazoo is to be 
congratulated—not only that the city has by a turn of po¬ 
litical fortunes secured a mayor of unusual character and 
ability but also on the fact that its citizens have had the 
breadth of vision and broadness of mind to choose such a 
man when the opportunity offered. 
After a Winter of inactivity, the horse is jammed into 
heavy Spring work with the consequence that he acquires a 
collection of saddle galls, collar galls or sore shoulders. 
Without interfering with the work or laying the horse up 
for repairs, he can be cured by the use of Bickmore’s Gall 
Cure while he works. This is an old guaranteed remedy 
that has been on the market for years, and is useful for 
chaps, bruises, speed cracks, wire cuts or cracked cows’ 
teats. A sample of this unequaled remedy can be had for 
10 cents (to pay the postage) by addressing the Biekmore 
Gall Cure Company, Old Town, Maine. An illustrated book 
is sent free with the sample. 
Mr, Frederick Anoell. Bayville. Long Island. N. Y., 
writes under date of February 5, 1906 : “I must say I have 
never used or seen anything to equal Absorbine in my ex¬ 
perience. It has proved all you represent it to be. I’ve 
used it on capped hock, bruised knee, wind puffs and thick 
necks. I always use it after the horses come out of the 
ring. I spray them all over, and that seems to cool them 
off and freshen them up ; I use it on myself after a bath and 
think it is a real luxury; after shaving, diluted with witch 
hazel, it is very nice—also on my hair.” Absorbine can be 
procured from your druggist, or will ho sent express prepaid 
upon receipt of $2 by W. F. Young, P. D. F., 88 Monmouth 
St., Springfield, Mass. 
“Shoo-Fly,” a compound that kills every fly it strikes 
and keeps the rest off horses and cows, is the discovery of a 
farmer, and has been on the market for 21 years. During 
all that time nothing else has been found that! so effectu¬ 
ally protects stock from flies and insect pests. Shoo-Fly 
was the discovery of T. C. Murphy, and the idea of it de¬ 
veloped with him when working on his farm. The flies an¬ 
noyed his horses so much that they would not properly per¬ 
form their work; his cows also gave Jess milk in conse¬ 
quence. Shoo-Fly protects all domestic animals from the 
flv pests, and is especially valuable for dairymen. For 
full particulars address Shoo-Fly Mfg. Co., 1018 Fairmount 
Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. 
Farmers who are buying ready roofings on the strength 
of the appearance of a sample often overlook the impor¬ 
tant feature of the density of materials. Amatite could, 
no doubt, have been made twice as thick without using 
anv more material to the square foot, but it would then 
be more porous and more open to the penetration of air and 
water. Instead of that. Amatite is pressed under great 
rollers till it is as tough and dense as it can he made. The 
weight per roll tells the story. Investigate this before you 
buy Full information and sample will be sent in reply to 
a postal addressed to I he nearest office of the Barrett Man¬ 
ufacturing Company. New York. Chicago. Cleveland. Alle¬ 
gheny. Kansas City. St. Louis. Minneapolis, Philadelphia, 
New Orleans, Boston and Cincinnati. 
