1906 . 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
477 
Events of the Week. 
DOMESTIC.—Fire at Fairbanks, Alaska, recently caused 
damage amounting to $1,000,000. Fairbanks is situated on 
the Chena River, a tributary of the Tanana, and although 
but three years old, is now the largest and most important 
city in the Pacific coast north of Vancouver. B. C., having 
a population of about 7,000. The gold output in 1905 
was $7,000,000, and during the present year it is expected 
to exceed $12,000,000. . . . The San Francisco death 
list is steadily lengthening, and it was believed May 24 
that the full number will be over 1,000. . . . Judge 
Smith McPherson, of Iowa, in the United States District 
Court at Kansas City, Mo., May 25, refused to grant an 
injunction sought by the Harvest King Distilling Company 
of Kansas City, which asked that the American Express 
Company be restrained from refusing to transport packages 
destined for Mississippi. The express company, which had 
been transmitting these packages up to May 10, then 
refused further to accept them, because of the passage 
by the recent Mississippi legislature of a local option 
law imposing a heavy fine for .such act. It was stated 
that there were now 3,500 packages of liquor in Mississippi, 
and if the express company were to deliver them the 
company would be liable to fines aggregating $2,500,000. 
Judge McPherson in denying the injunction said that to 
grant it would result in 250 express agents being thrown 
into jail. . . . Seven people drowned, most of the town 
of Golconda, Nevada, wiped out and miles of railroad track 
destroyed, were the results of a cloudburst May 28. Gol¬ 
conda is a station on the main line of the Southern 
Pacific, 400 miles east of Reno. Reports from orchard 
owners in the northern part of California say that the 
cherry crop not gathered is entirely destroyed. Late 
peaches, plums and strawberries are badly damaged. Hay 
and grain are down everywhere. Four inches of rain is 
reported in the Sierras, accompanied by high winds, which 
blew fruit from the trees. The loss in Northern California 
will exceed $1,000,000. . . . Andrew C. Fields, the 
Mutual Life's former legislative agent and superintendent 
of supplies, was a witness May 28 before the special Grand 
Jury which is investigating the insurance cases in New 
York. As a result of Fields's testimony, it is understood 
that at least three officers of the Mutual Life under the 
old regime and possibly one or two trustees are seriously 
implicated in what took place in the supply department. 
Fields was one of the most important witnesses that the 
District Attorney expected to examine in connection with 
the Grand Jury Investigation. Mr. Jerome had established 
the fact that an immense amount of money—probably 
$100,000 a year—had been diverted through the padded 
bill system which the supply department had in operation 
with the Lysander Lawrence stationery company. Fields 
held the connecting link between the evidence already 
adduced and men higher up in the Mutual. . . . About 
the same time May 20 two metal furniture factories were 
burned out, one in New York and one in Jersey City. Sev¬ 
eral persons were injured in the New Y’ork fire, and the 
damage was $250,000, no lives lost. The loss in the 
Jersey City fire was $200,000, with no insurance. . . Five 
persons were killed and 25 knocked down by a lightning shock 
at Mobile, Ala., May 27. . . . The Federal Grand Jury, 
which has been investigating the alleged fertilizer trust for 
a month at Nashville, Tonn.. returned an omnibus indict¬ 
ment against about 80 fertilizer manufacturers, including 
a number of local men. May 25. The indictment charges 
the defendants with combining and being engaged in a 
trust or combination in violation of the Sherman anti-trust 
law. The defendants live in various parts of the country 
where fertilizers are manufactured. The cases are to be 
tried at the October term of court. The Grand Jury ex¬ 
amined 140 witnesses during the investigation. The princi¬ 
pal defendant is the Virginia-Carolina Chemical Company, 
which is a merger of a large number of other fertilizer con¬ 
cerns. 'The punishment on conviction of the offenses charged 
is two years imprisonment and $10,000 fine or both. . . . 
Eight persons were killed and 22 injured May 28 in a rail¬ 
way accident near Louisville, Ky.; the accident was due to 
a broken wheel, which opened a switch and caused derail¬ 
ment. 
THE BEEF TRUST.—The Senate furnished another sur¬ 
prise in the line of radical legislation May 25 by passing the 
Beveridge Meat Inspection bill. Its passage is the direct 
consequence of the disclosures made in Upton Sinclair’s 
novel. “The Jungle.” The Indiana Senator only introduced 
the hill three days before, and it had been referred to the 
Committee on Agriculture without any notion that it would 
ever see the light of day again. But Beveridge saw his 
chance to put it on the Agricultural bill as an amendment, 
and he offered it just as the bill was about to be put on its 
passage. The amendment provides for the inspection at 
every packing house in the United States in a post mortem 
examination of all cattle, sheep, swine and goats slaughtered 
for human consumption. Every carcass thus prepared at 
any packing house must bear a tag showing the date and 
place where it was slaughtered. All carcasses or parts of 
carcasses found to be unfit to eat are to be destroyed and 
the penalty for violation or evasion of the law is a fine of 
$10,000 and imprisonment for two years. The cost of inspec¬ 
tion Is to be paid by the packing houses. All meat foods found 
to have been dyed or colored artificially in any manner so as 
to be unfit for food are also to be destroyed. The law applies 
to canned meats and all forms of prepared meats as well as 
to fresh meat shipped in cold storage. After Jan. 1, 1907, 
packers who claim the right under State law to deny the 
Government Inspectors access to their packing houses will 
be barred from inter-State or foreign commerce. No packer 
or business firm can alter or fail to use any mark, stamp, or 
tag used in the inspection on the meats by Government offi¬ 
cials. The inspection is to be carried on in the night time 
as well as the day time. The Secretary of Agriculture is 
authorized to arrange the fees for inspection, which must 
be uniform throughout the country. No vessel having a 
cargo of meat for foreign ports shall be allowed to clear 
until satisfactory evidence is given the port officers that the 
cargo has been duly inspected and the proper tags and 
certificates have been given showing that the meat is sound 
and wholesome. Any firm or person offering a bribe to an 
Inspector is liable to a fine of $10,000 or imprisonment 
for three years. The Government official who takes a bribe 
from a packer is liable to imprisonment for three years and 
a fine of $1,000. The act especially excepts from its pro¬ 
visions farmers who slaughter ou their farms, but car¬ 
casses that they may send from one State to another in inter¬ 
state traffic cannot enter packing houses unless inspected. 
ADMINISTRATION.—The Senate passed the so-called 
free alcohol bill May 24. The measure has already passed 
the Douse. The only amendment made in the Senate was 
one providing that the treatment of the alcohol provided for 
shall be done “upon the application of any registered dis¬ 
tillery” in denaturing bonded warehouses, especially desig¬ 
nated or set apart for that purpose only. The bill becomes 
operative January 1, 1907. Senator Aldrich said the bill 
would greatly injure the business of the wood alcohol manu¬ 
facturers, and gave this as one of the reasons why the date 
for the bill to go into effect had been extended until Janu¬ 
ary. He said that wood alcohol makers had capital amount¬ 
ing to from $30,000,000 to $00,000,000 invested in their 
business, and said that fair dealing required that they should 
have time to adjust themselves to the new conditions. Re¬ 
plying to a question from Senator Martin, Mr. Aldrich said 
the bill did not apply to the manufacture of sulphuric 
ether, and that the manufacturers of wood alcohol were in¬ 
dependent of trusts. Most of the refining was done by one 
company, he added, although it was not connected with the 
Standard Oil Company. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—The New Castle County Fair, 
which is organized and managed by the Pomona Grange 
of New Castle County, Delaware, will be held at Wawassett 
Driving Park, Wilmington, on September 4, 5, G, and 7. 
CULTIVATING CORN AND POTATOES. 
Plan For Cultivation In Wisconsin. 
In the cultivation of corn and potatoes my plan is to get 
over the ground before planting with the tools that will 
best fit that particular ground for the seed, and in this 
I think I have about half the cultivation. As soon as 
planted in the case of corn, and about 10 days after in 
the case of potatoes, we go over the ground with sulky 
spring-tooth cultivators running deep, and as close to the 
marks left by the planters as possible and not move the 
seed; throw the dirt In all directions as only a spring- 
tooth will, and cross-drag at once with sharp-tooth drag 
before it rains even if we have to change from cultivator 
to drag in the middle of the forenoon or afternoon, on 
account of shower coming up. With reasonably dry weather 
thereafter we continue to use the light corn drag until 
both are about four inches high. We then start the sulkies 
again, running very close to the row, but shallow for corn 
and deep for potatoes, and follow at once before it rains 
with weeder. In this way the ground is kept level, and 
with corn we try to lay it? by with the ground level, but 
with potatoes, after the first cultivation, we work the dirt 
to the row, and at last time through we leave the row as 
high as possible. Although level culture on potatoes may 
give the yield it will also on our soil give sunburned pota¬ 
toes. We never intend to work the ground when wet, but 
in case of a long wet spell, with now and then a dry day, 
we sometimes, when weeds are starting badly, start the 
cultivators very shallow and follow in about half an hour 
with drag or weeder to keep the lumps from drying hard. 
In this way we can kill weeds and hurt the ground but very 
little. However, we try so to cultivate that there will be 
no necessity for work when wet. I never hill corn, because 
I am convinced in my own mind at least that it makes 
the ripening of the crop later. Anyone who has raised 
corn will have noticed that just at the surface of the 
ground or a trifle above, all around the base of the stock 
are strong brace roots, and if these roots are covered by 
hilling up new ones will form at the surface again, and 
while forming I don’t think the corn advances much toward 
maturity. Again, if we cultivate deep and cut these brace 
roots new ones will form, and this will put the ripening 
off for just the time it takes to grow new ones. We are 
having a bad spell of wet weather in this section just now, 
and some fields that have been ready for corn and potatoes 
for soiiio time will have to be worked all up again when 
dry enough, before planting. Also, some fields that were 
planted before the wet weather are up and growing nicely, 
weeds and all, as it has been too wet to go on to them 
since planting. e. h. currier. 
Wisconsin. 
Cultivate Before Planting. 
I like to do some of my cultivating before the crop is 
planted; in other words, harrow every few' days to pulverize 
the ground and kill weeds, then run the weeder almost as 
soon as planted, and keep it up every few days until the 
plants are so large the weeder injures the crop; then run 
the two-horse riding cultivator, as you have more complete 
control of depth to cultivate according to the variableness 
of ground. I always cultivate shallow, as deep cultivation 
will surely cut off immense quantities of roots, to the 
detriment of the plant. I do not cultivate as long as many 
do, as I think the cultivator will cut off so many roots 
that are put there for the purpose of the plant, but w'ould 
rather cultivate oftener earlier and get the same results 
without injury to the plant. I hill potatoes up slightly, 
as they are easier dug, as the potatoi will set nearer the 
top of the ground, and there will be few’er tubers sticking 
out of the hill, but corn I never hill up; leave the piece 
as level as possible, and at last cultivation seed with grass. 
In extremely wet weather I would cultivate about the same, 
only a little more shallow. I do not think I would use 
a plow after the corn Is up. l. m. cad eld. 
Vermont. _ 
CROP PROSPECTS. 
Our peach trees are loaded with fruit at this writing—• 
best for seven years. Pears and apples look well; no plums. 
Cherry Valley, III. s. e. h. 
Apples, pears, cherries and peaches seem to look w r ell 
at present. There is practically no Bordeaux spraying. 
There has been some sulphur, lime and salt spraying for 
the San Jos<5 scale. h. s. k. 
Lawn, Pa. 
Prospects for tree fruits are quite flattering, more espe¬ 
cially for apples and pears. A heavy frost occurred here 
morning of May 21. Strawberries in bloom were injured 
severely. Cherries seem to have escaped damage, hut have 
not examined peaches. w. a. bassett. 
Seneca Co., N. Y. 
I never saw r so profuse blossoming. Blossoms just falling, 
great show at present. More than usual amount of spray¬ 
ing will be done this season; much more than the usual 
amount of attention is being given to cultivation of 
orchards at present. Everything has on its brightest look 
for a full crop, yet there is plenty of time for a glorious 
failure, but everyone is full of expectation. 
Spencerport, N. Y. chas. brigham. 
Our big orchards here are loaded with fruit ibis year of 
every kiud. Some day, unless you eastern contributors let 
up on the Ben Davis, I shall tell some of our experiences 
here in selling the Ben at $1 a barrel higher than the 
best New York apples that reach us here, and that to apple 
judges. There is a wonderful difference between the Ben 
Davis and the Ben Davis; depending largely on the soil 
and perhaps on the care of growing. r. o. a. 
Illinois. 
The changes in temperature the week of May 13 to 19 
seemed to have materially affected the apple crop unfavor¬ 
ably, some varieties being destroyed entirely, while pears, 
cherries, p.lums, quinces, peaches, strawberries, raspberries 
and blackberries promise a full crop. Perhaps the spray¬ 
ing with Bordeaux has not been as great as in former 
years, growers contenting themselves with spraying for rho 
scale, using mostly Scalecide. d. baird. 
Monmouth Co., N. J. 
At the present time the orchards in this section are in 
splendid condition and more spraying has been done this 
Spring than usual. The bloom is abundant on all kinds 
of fruit except Japan plums, though in some cases it Is 
reported that Baldwin apple trees have not shown as much 
bloom as expected. During the Winter it was thought 
that peach buds had been injured, but there is no evidence 
of injury at the present time, as the trees are showing an 
abundance of bloom. w. T. mann. 
Niagara Co., N. Y. 
Apples were nearly all killed ; have a few early and Winter 
apples. The Ben Davis are the only ones that are all right. 
Ivieffer pears on some orchards are almost a failure, while 
on most of my trees I have a full crop: the rest have 
about one-half crop. Peaches do not seem to be hurt, or 
at least do not show it. It may be they may fall freely 
when the seed begins to make, yet we can lose two-thirds 
that are on the trees, then Have a crop. Cherries are not 
hurt. It was the frost and freeze we had May 11 that 
killed our apples; they were shedding their bloom, and 
at a very critical stage of growth, very tender and easily 
killed. Wheat is looking well ; very dry, need rain. Hay 
crop cut at least one-half: pasture field making no growth, 
stock eating it off close to the ground. I sold the wool 
off 100 head of ewes at 30 cents per pound, average 5 Ms 
pounds per head; sold 35 head of lambs last week f. o. b. 
$5.50 per head. jas. t. siiallcross. 
Delaware. 
Weather conditions here have been on the extreme order 
this Spring. Yesterday. May 27, very warm, 89 degrees, 
in less than 30 minutes’ time wind turned north with great 
violence and the thermometer dropped 30 degrees. vege¬ 
tation has made wonderful growth during last two weeks. 
Corn all planted except on low ground: our sugar beets 
came up in five days’ time: sowed 300 pounds special 
beet fertilizer broadcast to the acre on clover sod Fall 
plowed. We are much interested in the Alfalfa articles 
appearing from week to week. Last week we planted a 
few acres of corn on a piece of Alfalfa sod sowed three 
years ago, a very poor stand was secured except in small 
patches. We sowed with oats, but have since learned our 
mistake, but what roots! Our team seemed to think we 
had struck a willow bog, but the soil in the vicinity of 
those roots, convinced us that we had received pay from 
the little seed we had sown and thought we had thrown 
away. It seems hard to get it started here where most 
needed, but we will keep hammering away, and expect to 
come out victorious. The fruit prospects here at the 
present time seem good. j. p. b. 
Caro. Mich. 
Some of my neighbors cut their Alfalfa last week (May 
28). One, I understand, has 45 acres in the shock, that 
caught a rainfall of about two inches May 26. I thought 
my old field too green last week, as scarcely a bloom 
was seen, but if it fairs up to-morrow, or next day, I 
will start the mower. I think the bloom will develop very 
rapidly when it once begins to show. By far the greatest 
part of my crop this year will have to be stacked out of 
doors. I shall use a six-foot mower, a self dump 10-foot 
steel rake, a sweep rake, 20 feet long, a derrick. 30 feet 
high, and two stack covers if necessary 16 x 18 feet. 
My August sowing of 10 acres went into Winter weak, 
because of volunteer oats from a nurse crop that destroyed 
the Spring sowing of Alfalfa. Consequently it was badly 
winter-killed. To make a good stand certain, if possible. 
I resowed the whole field at the rate of 15 pounds of seed 
per acre. The recent rain saves me from the loss of this 
sowing. This field will have to be cufi in about 10 days, 
and may not give much more than half a ton per acre. 
But if the stand proves to be a good one. the future will 
tell a wonderful story. Three pecks of seed have been sown 
per acre since I started a year ago, last Spring. 
Ohio. JOHN M. JAMISON. 
The present outlook for fruit in this section Is fairly 
good. Rarely have we had a greater show of bloom than 
was seen this season, but owing to late frost about that 
time the setting ofi fruit was not in the usuali proportion 
to the bloom. There are some notable exceptions, however, 
as the cherry trees are everywhere loaded, in fact entirely 
too many to make good cherries. Pears are perhaps a little 
thin, but will make very fine fruit. Plums are full and 
promise well of all kinds, either European, Japanese or 
American sorts. Apples promise well and are pretty well 
set generally. Grapes just coming into bloom, have made 
a nice growth and look well. As to the berry crop, of 
strawberries all the early bloom was killed by frost; the 
later bloom would do pretty well if not too dry. We 
need a good rain very badly, and unless it comes very 
soon the crops will be small and small berries. Raspberries 
and blackberries are looking well thus far. but like the straw¬ 
berry, need rain to start them along right, although their 
need is not so apparent yet. Taken as a whole we con¬ 
gratulate ourselves as being fortunate in our conditions, 
and look forward hopefully. I think the care and cultiva¬ 
tion, spraying and pruning by the people generally is fully 
up to the usual manner of caring for the fruit stock. 
Normal, Ill. _ o. J. F. 
POTATO GROWING IN COLORADO. 
I notice an article in The Journal of Agriculture (May 
10. 1906), tgken from your paper, signed W. D. S., headed 
“Cost of Growing Potatoes.” The writer, who has been 
West for 38 years, would like to tell W. D. S. about potato 
raising in Colorado, especially the experience in 1905 on 
10 acres, new land, yield not so large, but notice the differ¬ 
ence in cost and profit. Soil a sandy loam, free from rocks, 
stumps or gravel. Breaking, six inches deep. $3 per acre; 
disking and harrowing. $1.50; 10 bushels seed. $4; plant¬ 
ing with planter, which cuts potatoes, marks out ground 
and covers all at the same time, $1; harrowing twice after 
coming up. $1 ; cultivating four times, $4: harvesting and 
marketing $15. Total cost. $29.50: yield. 200 bushels mar¬ 
ketable potatoes per acre: 25 bushels small sold for 75 cents 
per bushel: $150 less $29.50, profit $120.50. More culti¬ 
vation would perhaps have increased the yield. Four hun¬ 
dred to 600 bushels per acre are not unusual for irrigated 
potatoes in Colorado land, but above were raised without 
irrigation on land valued at $5 to $10 per acre, and there 
remains a few nice, smooth homesteads that every acre prop¬ 
erly cultivated will produce equal to above. Without fer¬ 
tilizers or bug destroyers a home is paid for by raising a few 
acres of potatoes. w. s. p. 
Llmon, Colo. 
FARM LABOR AGAIN,—The farm hand problem has no 
terrors for me. I will explain how it works. I have a 
dairy farm of 184 acres, with 30 in fruit, planned so that 
two men are busy the year through. I secure Polish im¬ 
migrants at Ellis Island, break them in and care for them. 
I am as thoughtful of their comfort as of my horses, cows, 
etc., and appreciate their work. I like the Poles best, as 
they are anxious to work, quick to learn, sober and have no 
holidays. The St. Joseph Home. 117 Broad street, New 
York, gathers in multitudes of Poles and will assist one 
in getting a farm hand. I have had many, and they appre¬ 
ciate my concern for them and do more work than two 
civilized Americans. To be sure all farmers cannot go to 
New York City. i. M. h. 
Bullvllle, N. Y. 
