3906. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
493 
Events of the Week. 
DOMESl IC.—Fire May 30 destroyed Armour & Co.’s 
elevator “D,” standing along a slip extending from the 
south branch of the Chicago River. With the elevator were 
destroyed 1,000.000 bushels of wheat, corn and oats. Four 
men employed in the elevator were hurt, one fatally, soon 
after the fire started, when a series of explosions, caused 
by ignition of the dust, spread the flames throughout the 
building. The loss was estimated roughly at from $500,000 
to $1,000,000. In addition 15 cars filled with grain on 
tracks near the elc’ator were destroyed. ... At 
Providence, It. I., June 3, 11 persons were killed and 75 
injured in the worst trolley accident ever known in that 
State. The motorman, who. though experienced, was un¬ 
familiar with the track, allowed the car to coast down 
a steep hill, a sharp curve at the bottom derailing the 
car. . . . Anarchists from every part of the United 
States, as well as Europe, many of them former convicts 
who have spent, years in prison for acts of violence, held 
a five-day convention in Chicago, beginning .Tune 6, at which 
steps were taken for concerted action in spreading the 
propaganda of the red flag throughout the world. Leaders 
of the “Reds” from Russia, Italy, Spain and Germany 
were guests of honor of the five local anarchist organiza- 
tionSk . . . Two Americans and 11 Mexicans were 
killed in the rioting at Cananea, Mexico. June 1, where a 
strike among miners occurred. The Mexican strikers burned 
the Greene company's big lumber yard after killing its de¬ 
fenders. George and Will Metcalf, and destroyed other proper¬ 
ty to the total extent probably of $250,000. The American 
volunteers saved the day, and but for the company of 
picked men under command of Capt. Bynning, formerly 
of the Rough Riders and at present of the Arizona Rangers, 
who went from Douglas and Bisbee with the Governor of 
the Mexican border State, the entire American population 
of Col. W. C. Greene’s rich mining camp would doubtless 
have been butchered. The men were barricaded in Col. 
Greene’s residence when their rescuers arrived and the 
strikers were parading the streets with torches and dyna¬ 
mite. Mob rule reigned. The leaders were foreigners, it 
is declared, who were driven from the Colorado mining 
fields and drifted to Cananea. The Mexicans lay the blame 
on the two Metcalf brothers, who were killed. The Mexi¬ 
can story is that a large number of the strikers went to the 
copper company’s lumber yard and made an effort to induce 
the men still working to join them in the strike. The 
strikers, the story goes, were dispersed without trouble, 
but the Metcalf brothers went on the roof of a house 
and opened fire on the strikers, killing four or five. The 
strikers then rushed on the house, broke in and killed the 
Metcalfs. This, it is assumed, led to the further riots. 
The story of the origin of the riots as told by the officers 
of the copper confpany differs from the Mexican version. 
The Americans assert that the affair was due entirely to 
socialistic and labor agitation. . . . F. D. Ooburn, 
Secretary of the Kansas Board of Agriculture, was 
named as United States Senator to succeed Senator Burton, 
resigned June 4. Secretary Coburn is Kansas’s greatest 
advertiser, and his appointment is the most popular that 
could have been made. It was a great surprise to the 
politicians, but all factions say it is the happy termination 
of the matter. ... A pitched battle occurred at the 
Plum Run mines. Jefferson Co., Ohio, June 4, between strik¬ 
ing miners and militia. Ever since the mines opened with 
non-union men the foreign miners who went out at the 
demand of the miners’ officers have been difficult to con¬ 
trol. They have not received their quota of strike benefits, 
and this, added to the fact that they saw two of the mines 
start up. caused an unusual number of fights. Then the 
operators equipped the two mines with stockades, a machine 
gun and searchlights, and non-union men were run in under 
cover of darkness. This added to the anger of the 
foreigners. Detectives also were employed and the situa¬ 
tion became tense. . . . Fire in the New York • Subway 
June 1, caused by a short circuit due to collision, destroyed 
four copper-sheathed cars, caused a loss of $10,000, and 
blocked transportation for many hours. . . . The 
steamer Erin, upbound and towing the schooner Danforth, 
was run into and cut in two by the steamer Cowie, in 
the St. Clair River, just below St. Clair, Mich., May 31, and 
five members of the Erin’s crew were drowned. 
THE BEEF TRUST.—Mayor Dunne, of Chicago, June 2, 
made the first move toward investigating stockyards condi¬ 
tion by a commission of experts. The investigators are to be 
of such prominence that their findings will he accepted. As 
thp first step the Mayor sent a telegram to Secretary Wilson, 
of the Department of Agriculture, in Washington, suggest¬ 
ing that the Federal authorities co-operate in naming the 
investigators. The meat inspection provision to be added 
to the Agricultural Appropriation bill in place of the 
Beveridge amendment has been agreed upon by those mem¬ 
bers of the House Committee on Agriculture who have had 
the matter in charge. In substance it will provide for Gov¬ 
ernment inspection as contemplated by the Beveridge amend¬ 
ment, but it will place the cost of such inspection upon the 
Government instead of the packers, and will also provide for 
a review by the courts. In these two respects the House 
amendment will differ from the amendment added in the 
Senate. It is understood that Speaker Cannon is in favor 
of the amendment as it has been framed by Chairman 
Wadsworth and Representative Lorimer, of Chicago, believ¬ 
ing that by the means which it provides the burden of the 
cost of inspection will not be shifted to the cattle raisers, 
and the public will also be protected from an increase in 
the cost of meat. . . . Chairman Wadsworth, of the 
House Committee on Agriculture, and Representative Lori¬ 
mer, a member of that committee, have completed the draft 
of the provision which the ; v will offer as a substitute for 
the Beveridge meat inspection amendment attached by the 
Senate to the Agricultural Appropriation bill. The substi¬ 
tute provision places upon the Federal Government the 
expense of the inspection of meats entering into interstate 
commerce. The Senate amendment provides that the pack¬ 
ers shall pay the cost. It is upon this section of the pro¬ 
posed legislation that the greatest controversy will be 
waged. __. 
CROP PROSPECTS. 
The present outlook indicates an average apple crop in 
Wayne County. Orchards are receiving better care in way 
of pruning, spraying and cultivation. E. w. c. 
North Rose, N. Y. 
There is an excellent outlook for fruit at the present 
time in our section. There will be a little more spraying 
and tillage given to orchards this year than in former years. 
But very few farmers here give their orchards the thor¬ 
ough tillage that they should have. N. t. 
Hamlin. N. Y. 
Fruit prospects are, apples, 33 1-3 per cent: peaches. 20 
per cent; plums, 20 per cent; grapes, 15 per cent. Best 
crop over 3.000 feet; lower altitudes suffered most from 
cold. Blight has made its appearance on the apple, also the 
locusts in orchards and forest are numberless. a. j. a. 
Waynesville. N. C., May 26, 1906. 
The outlook for apples, pears, quinces and cherries at the 
present time is very fair. Greening. Spy. Ilubbardston 
and King had a heavy bloom, and show fair now to set 
well, but the June drop may change conditions very ma¬ 
terially. Baldwins in this looality did not show any more 
bloom than last year. I think more people are spraying than 
for three years. As to cultivation of orchards, not as much 
is done as was done two or three years ago. t. b. wilson. 
Ontario Co., N. Y. 
Apples in thts section promise about 75 per cent of a full 
crop. I neve.r knew more favorable weather for pollination 
while in blossom than this year. Peaches are not being 
planted in this section as much as they were 10 years ago. 
This year’s crop will be below the average. Spraying with 
Bordeaux is practiced but little in this section, but many 
growers are getting more interested in this matter, and I 
think several who never sprayed before will spray this year. 
Raspberries are not grown here as much as formerly on 
account of root gall and winter-killing. May frosts injured 
strawberries to some extent. s. R. w. 
N. Leominster, Mass. 
The outlook for most kinds of fruit is good. The excep¬ 
tions are Japan plums and peaches, vet some orchards 
promise a fair crop of peaches. Apples and pears are set¬ 
ting very full; at present would estimate the crop as large 
as two years ago The high prices of last year have en¬ 
couraged growers to give more attention to the cultivation 
and spraying of their orchards than ever before Dealers 
have been doing a large business in supplying both hand 
and power pumps for spraying, and some orchard trees are 
completely whitewashed with Bordeaux Mixture. The weather 
ha? been cool and dry. Last week we had a few warm 
days, but this week has been cool, and last night we had 
a frost that injured tomato plants and vines of cucumbers 
and squashes. Farm crops are looking well, and what we 
lack is a good rain and warm weather. b. w. b. 
Hilton, N. Y. 
The indications are that apples in this section will not 
be abundant. Pear trees were never so white with blossoms, 
and peaches promise a large crop; and so do grapes. 
Spraying with Bordeaux is practiced by the leading peach 
growers and a few of the larger apple growers. But there 
are very few of the small orcliardists or gardeners who 
do any spraying. Insects of some classes appear to be 
less than the usual number: but the cutworm is many times 
more numerous than in former years. J. w. a. 
Springfield, Mass. 
Prospect for a fair crop of fruit good. Peaches have set 
and are now shedding their jackets. Apples, except Bald- 
winds, shovyed a good bloom, and though Baldwins as a 
rule shoved very light bloom, some orchards were exceptions 
and showed well. Pears show well, but plums are in light 
supply on all orchards. Farmers have had a spendid time 
to (to their Spring work, and the ground never worked better. 
Wheat on lightish land and where well manured and put in 
early looks fine, but on heavy land and where late sowed 
is almost a failure. Many fields will not pay for harvest¬ 
ing. Old meadows start very slowly, and clover is badly 
pulled, especially is this the case where pastured last Fall. 
The whole show of vegetation is remarkably backward, but 
the few warm days of last week worked a marked change. 
We had a fine rain on Saturday, but it cleared off cold and 
we have had two light frosts the last two mornings. 
Niagara Co., N. Y. J. s. woodward. 
Cherries are just ripe now. and a fair crop. Peaches 
and pears will be the lightest of any of the tree fruits, only 
about a half crop or less. Plums good, and the best pros¬ 
pect for apples of all kinds we have had in 20 years. There 
is a great deal more spraying this year than ever before. 
The weather has been extremely dry in this part of the 
Ohio Valley almost all the time since early in April, and no 
weather for Apple scab. All the fruit is clean and not much 
damage from insects either. The rainfall for April was 1.74 
inches, and May so far 2.81 inches. As to thorough culture 
of orchards, we know nothing about it here on the hills. 
Most orchards are in sod, and part of them are mulched, 
and others are cultivated for a season when the grass dies 
out, then reseeded. This is locust year here, so called, but 
really cicada. They are damaging young trees by stinging 
the twigs to lay their eggs for a brood 17 years hence. 
They are very thick, and I do not think they have dimin¬ 
ished any since 17 years ago. rather more numerous. They 
seem to be just as thick in old fields as in the woods. 'Hie 
frosts of May 8-10 did no damage to tree fruit. Rome 
Beauty apples are as large now as quail eggs; the Ensee is 
still larger, and the old tree is extremely full, more than 
ever before. There are a few on some young trees three 
years planted. I am getting cooperage on hand now for 
barrels, fearing it will get high later in the season. 
Southeast Ohio. _ u. t. cox. 
A DEFENSE OF THE PATENT OFFICE. 
WIIAT THE SYSTEM IS.—On page 426, in “Ruralisras,” 
was a suggestion regarding the abolition of the Patent 
Office, which should not be permitted to remain unchal¬ 
lenged. I am a Principal Examiner in the Patent Office, 
but my great delight is in my farm. I have often been on 
the opposite end of a cross-cut saw, with the cheerful Hope 
Farm man, and we sawed because we had to, not because 
we wanted to. The Patent Office is the only institution con¬ 
nected with the Government that is self-supporting. The 
people are not taxed one cent either directly or indirectly 
to support it. When an inventor files an application for a 
patent, he is charged a fee of $15 to cover the cost of ex¬ 
amining his case to see if it is new. useful and involves 
invention, i. e., involves something more than what a me¬ 
chanic would do. Then when his case is found to be patent- 
able, he is charged $20 more to cover the cost of preparing 
and printing his patent, so that the entire cost of granting 
patents is borne by the inventors themselves, and not in 
any manner by the public. Before the Patent Office could 
be abolished it would be necessary to abolish a part of the 
Constitution of the United States. The framers of the 
Constitution were wise men, and builded better than they 
knew. One great characteristic that man possesses, and 
which is not possessed by any of the other animals, is his 
ability to use the powers and forces of nature to accomplish 
his purposes. Man is a tool user. Our fathers knew, just 
as we all know, that some men possess unusual ability in 
finding out new ways and better ways of doing things, and 
when they founded this Government they wanted, in some 
way. to set those men to work and induce them to get up 
new and better ways of doing things, and when they had 
done so. to induce them to tell us all about them so that we 
could all adopt them. The Fathers, therefore, placed in the 
Constitution a direction to Congress “To promote the prog¬ 
ress of the useful arts and sciences by securing to authors 
and inventors, for a limited time , the exclusive use of their 
respective writings or discoveries.” Upon this clause of the 
Constitution the whole patent system is founded. It was 
founded for the people and not for the inventors. Its whole 
function is to promote the progress of the useful arts and 
sciences, and now anyone who has made a new invention or 
discovery may have the exclusive use of it for 17 years, 
provided he patents it. i. e., makes it patent, or. as the dic¬ 
tionary states it, “Makes it manifest or apparent to every¬ 
body.” The whole duty of the Patent Office is to stand 
between the inventor arid the public and see to it that the 
thing for which a patent is demanded under the constitution 
is new, is useful, is an invention, and is so fully and 
clearly described that anyone can make the thing when the 
17 years have expired. In standing between the people and 
the inventors the Patent Office, in the year 1005. refused 
to grant patents on 23,572 applications, and during the 
same period 18.585 patents expired and became ptiblic prop¬ 
erty. became yours and mine. 
ITS NATIONAL VALUE.—A patent never takes away 
from nor interferes with anybody’s rights or privileges, 
because it is new. It was never in the world before It was 
invented, therefore it is plain that no one could have had it 
or possessed any right to it. You still have the old way 
open to you just as you always had. and it does not cost 
any more to use the old way than it always did. If some one 
would invent a new way of doing something so that one 
man could do as much in one day as five could do in the 
old way, it is obvious that he would have a tremendous ad¬ 
vantage, and if he can. for a few years, say who may and 
who may not use this new way, his advantage becomes 
valuable, for we will all want to do his way, and he can 
sell us the right to do it. If he charges so much that it 
would not be profitable for us to use his way. why, we still 
have the old way. just as we always had. It is just this 
feature of being able to make others pay for a few years for 
using a new way of doing, that has set everybody of a 
mechanical turn of mind, from Maine to Texas, to trying to 
invent or make some improvement in the useful arts and 
sciences, with the result that we have made such strides in 
inventing ways of developing our natural resources that 
we are at this very moment leading the world in manufac¬ 
tures and in agriculture. We are doing it simply and solely 
because of the marvelous machines that have been invented 
under the fostering care of our patent system. There is 
no more striking evidence of the value of our system than 
the fact that the various civilized nations of the world are 
now. one after another, discarding their patent systems and 
adopting ours. T do not believe that one of our great ma¬ 
chines would ever have been evolved without the protection 
afforded by our patent system, for there would have been 
no incentive. Do you think Mr. Appleby would have spent 
large amounts of inoney and years of valuable time in in¬ 
venting the almost human knotter for a twine binder just 
for his own amusement, or for his own use. or for the good 
of mankind in general? He was not a farmer. What would 
he want a binder for? Would Bessemer have revolutionized 
the steel industry for fun? Occasionally we find a man like 
Prof. Babcock, who pushes the world up a notch and feels 
abundantly paid by the success he has accomplished, but 
you would not do as he did. I would not do as he did. and 
very few of us would do as he did. We could not 
afford to. We have to make our living, and we 
have to make it every day, too. We can't stop and 
work for other people and let our families go. 
In fact, without such an incentive as is offered by our 
patent system for inventors to do their best, it is doubtful, 
to say the least, if we would have a single one of the vast 
array of labor-saving machines we have to-day, and by rea¬ 
son of the possession of which we have obtained at, least 
80 per cent of our present material wealth and prosperity. 
On page 333 of the Year Book of the Dept, of Agriculture 
for 1899 the statement is made, and is unquestionably true, 
that the saving in the cost of human labor alone, in the 
growing of the seven principal crops of the United States, 
due to our improved agricultural machinery was, for that 
year alone, $681,471,827. In other words, without our 
patent system, which alone is responsible for that machin¬ 
ery, it would cost in 1899 alone $681,471,827 more than it 
did cost to grow our seven principal crops. 
TIIE PATENT AND THE TRUST.—Your writer has 
sought to include the patent system in the same class with 
the trusts and industrial combinations that are sapping our 
vitality, growing fat by unlawful conspiracies in restraint 
of trade, and are threatening us with commercial bondage, 
but there is no relationship between the two. It is true 
that a valuable patent is sometimes made the basis of a 
business that is finally conducted on the trust plan, but if 
the patent alone is the basis of the business, it will soon 
expire, and in the meantime you are free to use what you 
have always used. The patent will not interfere with your 
conducting your business along the old lines. If the patent 
were in the possession of a trust and your rights were 
being interfered with it would be the trust method of stran¬ 
gling competition that would be infringing on your rights, 
and not the patent. The trusts interfere whether they have 
a patent or whether they do not. There is no patented 
steer, but his price is being eternally tetered up and down, 
and we are all always on the wrong end of the teter. There 
is no patent on eggs, yet their price shot up in a wondrous 
fashion two years ago. after the farmer had let go of them, 
and it would have shot up last Winter if the festive hen 
had not laid a trust out. There is no patent on nails, or 
on fence wire, or on coal oil. or on gasoline, or on white 
lead, or on express companies, or on railroads, but we are 
made to feel their grip. 
TIIE INVENTOR AND HIS PATENT.—There is only one 
more point I desire to make. Your writer asserts that 
(lie inventor is generally robbed of his invention. As a rule 
this is not the case, but where it is true it is because of 
the characteristics of the man. An inventor who could be 
swindled out of his patent could just as easily be swindled 
out of his horse or his farm, but that is no reason for 
abolishing horses and farms so they will not fall into the 
hands of rascals. As a matter of fact, in the great ma¬ 
jority of patented devices it takes a large amount of brains 
and business sense to get the device manufactured and intro¬ 
duced to the public, and to make it a commercial success. 
It also takes large capital. A thing does not make and sell 
itself just because it is patented. There would be no 
quicker, surer way of putting this nation at the rear end 
of the procession, no surer way to reduce our wealth and 
“settle the labor question,” than to take away all incentive 
for the fertile mind of the American inventor to work out 
new and better ways of utilizing our resources, and I be- 
believe that upon careful investigation your influence will 
be used to sustain the Patent Office. Your influence is so 
far reaching that it is a serious thing for you to go wrong. 
_A. F. KINNAN. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
Haying time is coming on and this is the time above all 
others that the practical grinder made by Royal Mfg. Co., 
Lancaster. Pa., will be appreciated. To sharpen a set of 
mower knives on an ordinary grindstone is a long, tedious 
task—this grinder does it in a few mnutes. Better write 
and learn all about it. 
The Ann Arbor hay baler has made the unusual record 
of 68 tons of bay in 10 hours. Perhaps every user of a 
hay baler could not get all the conditions right to equal this 
record, but this indicates the capacity of the machine under 
usual conditions. It is regarded wherever used as being sec¬ 
ond to none on the market. A catalogue and full informa¬ 
tion will be sent to any R. N.-Y. reader by addressing Ann 
Arbor Machine Co., Ann Arbor, Mich. 
Ertei/s hay press book is intended to answer all your 
questions about baling presses, and tell you just what points 
are necessary in a good hay press. The man. who is going 
to spend his money for a hay press and whose men and 
teams are to operate it, should read Ertel's book before 
purchasing elsewhere. Drop a postal card to Geo. Ertel Co., 
Quincy, Ill., who will send you the book free, without obli¬ 
gation on your part to purchase. Its 80 pages of hay press 
information will surely be worth the price of a postal to you. 
The perfection of the Iron Age four row sprayer for the 
rapid and economical application of Bordeaux and other 
spraying mixtures came as the crowning good fortune to 
potato growers. It is entirely automatic and is adjustable 
to any condition of crop, different widths of row and fine¬ 
ness of snray. Can be operated by anyone who can drive a 
horse. May be furnished with orchard attachment for 
trees, or a middle row attachment for spraying tomatoes, 
cantaloupe and other vine crops. Every potato grower owes 
it to himself to learn more of this machine. Write the 
Bateman Mfg. Co., Grenloch. N. J.. for their new Iron Age 
Book which gives full description of the sprayer, and other 
potato machinery, planters, cultivators and diggers. Also 
seeders, wheel hoes, fertilizer distributors, etc.; sent free 
on application. 
Hay, straw, fodder, husks and similar commodities must 
he baled to be shipped and marketed at a profit, yet prob¬ 
ably millions of tons are sold at a low price, or allowed to 
go ‘to waste each year—all for the lack of baling presses. 
The full information on haling presses, and the Annual 
Report on the hay industry, which is being distributed free 
of charge by P. K. Dederick’s Sons. 29 Tivoli street. Al¬ 
bany, N. Y.. contains facts and suggestions along this line 
that many a man will be able to turn into money. The 
hook shows the construction and operation of the different 
styles of the famous Dederick Baling Presses, each of which 
is mechanically perfect for it purpose. These presses have 
always been awarded first prize in every competitive exhibi¬ 
tion. and have been a recognized standard of excellence for 
many years. Do not fail to send for the book. 
“Shoo-Fly” kills every fly it strikes, but it goes still 
further than that, and keeps other flies off the horses and 
cows that have been sprayed with it “Shoo-Fly” cures 
the sores that have been made by insect pests, prevents flies 
from carrying contagious disease from other herds, and is 
also used to keep poultry and poultry houses free from lice 
and mites There is nothing else like “Shoo-Fly” to bring 
comfort to horses and cows while in pasture It is the 
original stock protector, and the fact that it has been used 
continuously by many dairymen since 1885 sneaks volumes 
for it The makers, Shoo-Fly Mfg. Co.. 1005 Fairmount 
avenue. Philadelphia, have so much faith in their article 
that they offer to refund the money if the cows are not 
protected' by “Shoo-Flv.” They will be glad to send their 
book free to any address. 
How to exterminate chicken lice and mites is the natural 
question with the advent of the warm weather. Some rem¬ 
edies are fairly good, more are worthless. Thev kill lice 
that can he reached, but do not prevent propagation of new 
broods from those remaining in cracks and crevices. There 
is, however, one remedy well known for over 30 years, 
which strikes with one application at the very root of the 
evil. This remedy is Avenarius Carbolineum. which sinks 
deeply into the wood and will not evaporate; it is there to 
stav. and being a thorough germicide, prevents the propa¬ 
gation of new broods. It is guaranteed that one application 
of this material will absolutely rid a henhouse of these pests 
and keep them away permanently. It is a thin oily liquid 
whose peculiar antiseptic and chemical ingredients will 
permeate the wood structure and seal up its pores, thus 
destroying all germ life and preventing its further propaga¬ 
tion. ‘ It is the best and most highly recommended wood- 
preservative known to-day. Used in immense quantities, not 
only by farmers, but also by the U. S. Government, who 
have and are still recommending Carbolineum. Railroads 
and large manufactories use it regularly, and the Bel! TpIp- 
nhone Svstem applies it to every pole now erected. Write, 
Carbolineum Wood Preserving Co., of New York, 349 West 
Broadway, New York City. 
