1909. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
EVENTS OF THE WEEK. 
DOMESTIC.—The State Rangers have been ordered out 
by Gov. Cherry, of New Mexico, to protect the mines of 
I he American Turquoise Company, 14 miles south of 
Santa Fe, which were attacked by 100 Pueblo Indians. 
The mines were formerly owned and worked by the 
Pueblos, and the Indians cannot understand why they are 
not still the owners of the property. The attack was the 
culmination of a series of attempts carried on for the 
last six months by the Indians to kill Superintendent 
.lames P. McNulty and his wife. The Rangers captured 
three Pueblos, but the majority of the Indians have re¬ 
treated into the mountains. . . . Sydney Ramsey of 
100 East 100th street. New York, was held in the Tombs 
police court January 0, for trial on the charge of agreeing 
to pass a State public accountant's examination for Cor¬ 
nelius Ostrander and accepting $750 as his fee. Harry 
Do Witt De Groat, State Inspector of Schools for the 
Hoard of Regents, saw that some one had advertised to 
coach candidates for the place of public accountants and 
guaranteed to get for his customers sixty counts at the 
examination on January 25. lie got Ostrander to meet 
Ramsey at a hotel on Broadway and there caused Ram¬ 
sey's arrest. ... A spectacular fire at the Chicago 
slock yards January 0, destroyed a largo part of the fer¬ 
tilizing plant, of Darlington & Co., burned large stores of 
chemicals, caused explosions, injured a number of firemen 
by falling walls and resulted in $500,000 damage. For 
hours every available fireman in the city fought in 
below-zero weather. The tenants of 30 houses were driven 
into the streets and 250 employes narrowly escaped. 
Huge icicles formed about the tottering walls, and some 
of the firemen, encased in ice, literally had to have the 
clothing chopped loose from legs and arms. . . . The 
Illinois Club, constituting, with its splendid art gallery, 
one of the historic landmarks of the West Side of Chi¬ 
cago, was destroyed by fire .Tan. 6. entailing $325,000 
loss. Starting in the art gallery, supposedly from crossed 
electric wires, the flames swept rapidly through the build¬ 
ing and in less than an hour the structure with all its 
art treasures was a mass of ice-covered ruins. The fire¬ 
men fought hard in a temperature several degrees below 
/oro. . . . Fire destroyed the Baldwin Theatre and 
office building and several adjoining business structures 
at Springfield. Mo., .Tan. (5, and damaged the Colonial 
Hotel. The total damage is $250,000. . . , Three big 
fires at once January 7. kept the New York firemen busy, 
and tested the high-pressure water mains. One at Frank¬ 
lin, Hudson and Leonard streets, caused a loss of $1,000- 
000, the building being occupied by E. C. Hazard 
& Co., wholesale groceries: T. J. Lipton, teas, and Cran¬ 
dall & Godley Company, bakers’ supplies. A Broadway 
fire caused $250,000 damage, and one on the Bowery 
$75,000. ... A messenger hoy with three moving 
picture films in his hand. Jan. 7. at Omaha, Neb., col¬ 
lided with a man smoking a cigar. The films took fire 
and resulted in a $200,000 fire in the Karbach Block. 
The man with the cigar was in the office of the Swanson 
Film Company when the boy bolted into the room with 
the films in his hands. In a flash the films were burning 
and in a moment the entire room where $150,000 worth 
of films were stored was in a blaze. Within ten minutes 
every film was destroyed and $50,000 damage was done to 
the structure and to other tenants. . . January 
4-7, the cold was intense all over Western Canada 
from the Great Lakes to the Pacific Ocean. It was 59 
below at Laggan, Alberta, and 50 below at Regina, Assi- 
nibola and Edmonton. At other places the thermometer 
showed 40 below. Through central British Columbia the 
thermometer ranged. .Tan. 7. from 20 to 25 below, and 
if is feared a number of young fruit trees have per¬ 
ished.loe Letter's ill fated mine, located at 
Zeiglcr. III., was the scene of another disastrous explosion 
Jan. 0. in which 27 men lost their lives. The only 
survivor of the explosion is an Italian boy who escaped 
unharmed. It is understood that the explosion was caused 
by a spark from an electric motor which came into con¬ 
tact with an accumulation of gas. The explosion was 
not attended by any considerable concussion, as is evi¬ 
denced bv the ‘fact that but little damage was done to 
the interior of the mine. Tho explosion is similar to the 
accident four years ago, in which (10 men were killed. 
. . . At Union City, Tenn., Jan. 9. Judge Jones im¬ 
posed the death penalty on Garrett Johnson. Tid Burton, 
Roy Ransom. Fred Pinion, Arthur Cloar and Sam Apple- 
white. the night riders who were found guilty of the 
murder of Capt. Quinton Ranken. and sentenced Bud Mor¬ 
ris and Bob Huffmen. the two other defendants to 20 
years’ imprisonment. The attorneys for the defense im¬ 
mediately gave notice of an appeal to the State Supreme 
f’ourt. if this tribunal does not interfere, the first named 
six men will be hanged on February 19. . . . 
The Kansas Supreme Court in a decision handed 
down January 9. affirmed the verdict and fine of 
the District' Court for Shawnee County against 
the International Harvester Company. The company must 
pay a fine of $12,600 on forty-two counts, each count 
charging a violation of the Kansas Anti-Trust laws. The 
chief evidence against flu* International at the trial were 
the words of Cyrus McCormick, of the company, to the 
effect that his company controlled ninety-five per cent of 
the harvesting machine plants of the country and that 
he hoped to get all of them. The company’s attorneys 
objected strenuously to this evidence and based the appeal 
on these objections, hut the Supreme Court upheld Judge 
Dana. Further evidence as to existence of a trust was 
based on contracts of the company’s agents in Kansas, 
’fhe Shawnee Court's decision in this case attracted 
attention all over the country at the time. The decision 
of the State Supreme Court upholds the lower court. In 
the Fall of 1906, €. <>. Coleman, then Attorney-General 
of Kansas, began the criminal action against this com¬ 
pany . He brought seventy-five separate counts. The sales 
were actually made by Topeka implement dealers, acting 
as agents of the International Harvester Company. When 
the case was tried, thirty-three of these counts were 
(plashed on account of technicalities. Judge A. W. Dana, 
of the District Court, sustained each of the other counts 
and when the jury brought in a verdict of guilty against, 
the company lie tint'd it $300 on each count, making a 
total of $.12,600. The company might have been fined 
$42,000. if the maximum penalty had been assessed. The 
decision is far reaching. It is certain tin' case will he 
appealed to the United Stales Supreme Court. 
The Peekskiil Military Academy, Peekskill. New Jersey, 
which recently celebrated its seventy-filth birthday and 
is one of the most famous institutions of fhe kind in 
the country, was practically destroyed by fire Jan. 12; 
lotal loss $120,000. . . . Explosion in the Lick Branch 
Colliery of flip Pocahontas Consolidated Coal Company, 
near Switchback. W. Va., Jan. 12. caused the deatli of 
S5 men. and the entombing of 100 more. The explosion 
is believed to have been caused by the use of open lamps 
by now miners who were employed to take the places of 
the 51 num who were killed in an explosion in the same 
opening December 28. The crape had been barely taken 
from the doors of 50 cottages at Switchback, the mi¬ 
lage where the mine is located, than the second and 
more terrible disaster came. Most of Hie men were mar¬ 
ried and had just removed their families to Switchback. 
The Legislature which is now in session at Charleston 
will order a rigid investigation. The mine was inspected 
by State inspectors after the accident two weeks before, 
and was pronounced in perfect condition before fhe owners 
were permitted to resume work. 
ADMINISTRATION.—In a special message sent to the 
Senate .Tan. 6. President Roosevelt declined to permit 
Attorney-General Bonaparte to furnish official information 
concerning the absorption by the United States Steel 
Corporation of the Tennessee Coal and Iron Company ot¬ 
to reply to questions concerning any contemplated suits 
against the Steel Corporation for violation of the Sher¬ 
man anti-trust law. The reading of the message, which 
was a plain defiance of the Senate, created a profound 
impression in that body. The President told the Senate 
that it had no authority to call for information which 
belonged exclusively to an executive department. 
Practically all pending disputes between the United States 
and Great Britain have been settled in three treaties 
agreed upon by Secretary of State Root and .Tames Bryce. 
British Ambassador here. The only formality lacking is 
Hie authority from the British Foreign Office for Mr. 
Bryce to sign the conventions. One treaty relates to the 
Newfoundland fishery dispute, which will be submitted 
to the Hague court for an interpretation of Article 1, 
of thi' treaty of 1.818. A convention regarding the joint 
use of the boundary waters between tho United States and 
Canada provides for the appointment of a joint high com¬ 
mission to arrange all questions arising under this treaty 
and defines the principles under which all future use of 
the boundary waters is to be distributed. The claims 
convention provides a mixed commission for the settle¬ 
ment of pecuniary claims, many of which have arisen out 
of seizures for illegal fishing in Newfoundland waters. 
All three treaties will he submitted to the Senate for 
ratification. It is probable that the pecuniary claims 
commission will not take any action until The Hague 
court has made an interpretation of Article 1 of the 
treaty of 1818, from which the Newfoundland fisheries 
disputes has developed. Arbitration treaties between the 
United States and Ilayti, Bolivia and Ecuador were signed 
at the State Department Jan. 7, by tlie diplomatic rep¬ 
resentatives of these countries. 
THE ITALIAN EARTHQUAKE.—Ten persons were res¬ 
cued alive from the ruins Jan. 5, after nine days’ inter¬ 
ment. and others were rescued after 14 days, but such 
unfortunates usually died after rescue. Earthquakes con¬ 
tinue at Messina. Most of the shocks are slight, but 
several have been rather violent, causing the collapse 
of several houses that remained standing after the shock 
of December 28. There were several shocks causing fur¬ 
ther damage Jan. 11. Father All'ari. director of the 
Florence Observatory, is of tin' opinion that the earth¬ 
quakes will continue two or three years, being violent 
at the beginning and gradually decreasing. During the 
next three months shocks will be felt at Messina and 
Reggio. If of frequent occurrence they will be slight; 
if infrequent they will be violent. Some idea of the 
wealth of Messina is given by the fact that $90,000,000 
owned in Messina is invested in Government bonds, yield¬ 
ing a yearly interest of $4,800,000. The greater part lias 
been lost. The people, however, mourn more than any¬ 
thing else the destruction of their cathedral, the glory 
of Messina, which had been famous for centuries, defy¬ 
ing all former cataclysms, with its beautiful cyclopic 
monolith columns and glorious Norman, Angevin and 
Aragonese tombs of kings of Italy. All these are ruined. 
THE FARMER’S SHARE. 
What Share of Cabbage? 
I give records of a sale of cabbage. At that time cab¬ 
bages were bringing only four cents each at the stores in 
Stamford, though it should be noted that the merchants 
preferred small cabbage, i. e., averaging about four 
pounds each, and would pay four cents for these as well 
as for the larger ones, such as the shipment consisted of. 
These last weighed about seven pounds on the average, 
except those in the barrel. However, we received five cents 
for most of ours by selling to a few stores which cater 
to the poorer classes. While making a sale of this kind, 
a customer was heard to inquire the price of cabbage 
just brought in. “Eleven cents” answered the merchant. 
If I remember rightly, this special sale had been at 70 
cents ’ per dozen. In this connection I wish to ask two 
questions; 1. What should he a fair difference between 
the price a merchant pays and that at which he sells? 
This difference should .of course, allow him to make ex¬ 
penses and a good living. 2. When a shipment is made 
from a distance, such as I made to New York, what pro¬ 
portion of tho consumer’s dollar should the farmer get? 
We know now something of what lie is getting and that 
share is often small enough, but to put my question in 
other words, it may read, what part of the dollar should 
tlie farmer pay for marketing his produce? If he is close 
to the market he may sell directly to the consumer and 
put most of the dollar in his own pocket, but while lie is 
selling his produce lie is not raising as much as if he were 
not engaged in marketing it. The man at a distance must 
pay some one to sell his produce, and lie can grow more. 
Now what is a fair price for him to pay for selling his 
produce as well as to transport it to market? 
Cabbage sold this commission house October 12 : 
CR. 
65 cabbage crated, at .07.$4.55 
1 bbl small cabbage. 1.00 
- $5.55 
DR. 
Freight .$0.85 
Cartage .50 
Commission .56 
Urate . 50 
Barrel .15 
- 2.56 
Per bbl.$2.56- 
Net .$2.99 
From Stamford to New York is about 30 miles. The 
cabbage were sent by boat. There were about 33 cabbage 
in the barrel. h. d. g. 
Stamford, Conn. 
R. N.-Y.—We are unable to answer these questions. A 
farmer is usually expected to take what he can get. If 
any grocers or dealers care to analyze the question and 
tell us what they ought to receive we shall be glad to 
have them. 
The Profit on Grapes. 
T note on page 977 an article with figures on grape 
growing by F. A. Seeley. I note that he gives the following 
figures : 
Capital invested in vineyard. $800.00 
Working capital required . 797.20 
Total .$1,597-20 
Net profit .-. 176.47 
This equals 11.5 per cent on the investment. Now, as 
one-half his capital is invested for only six months and 
as 11.5 per cent, is better interest than is paid by many 
of the large corporations. I do not see why Mr. Seeley 
should not lie very proud of his business ability in grape 
growing. If lie were in the city lie would have hard 
work to keep ills money well invested at half tho figure 
that he now receives. The Farm Life Commission need 
not spend any time worrying over a man who is making 
11.5 per cent interest on his investment. 
Wisconsin. r. m. Patterson. 
Reply by F. A. Seeley. 
The valuation of $190 per acre was intentionally placed 
too low, as the writer realized that the interest charge on 
a higher valuation would perhaps make too bad a show¬ 
ing. His intention was to leave that part to a sensible 
analysis by The R. N.-Y. readers. What is a fair valua¬ 
tion on a f/ood vineyard? The writer confesses his in¬ 
ability to fell. I should consider if, however, such a 
price as vineyard would pay six per cent upon, of course 
after taking out all expenses. The initial cost; of setting 
a vineyard is about as follows : Land, at $100 per acre ; 
grape roots. 640. average price $30 per 1.000, $.10.20 per 
acre; wire, if three wires are used, as we do here, about 
250 pounds, per acre at three cents, $7.50. About 220 
posts at 10 cents, $22. This foots up an initial cost of 
abont $150 per acre, without any charge for labor. Be¬ 
sides this, the use of land is practically lost for at least 
two years, there is the expense of care and cultivation, 
and the interest charge on money invested, etc. Mr. 
Slawson .of Chautanqna County, states that good vine¬ 
yards are worth $500 per acre, a •price which I regard 
as rather too high. Suppose we strike an average and 
call it $350. a price at which a good vineyard ought to 
sell. But would it? Taking out the Interest charge on his 
investment, which I regard as fairly const rvative. it gives 
a net profit of $8.47 instead of tho $128.47 as given in 
m.y figures on the aforesaid ptfge. Instead of 10 or 11.5 or 
20 per cent: it is about three mills (.003), I think. What 
do Messrs. Patterson and Slawson think of that? Mr. 
Slawson states that, they get their grapes picked and 
packed for one eent per basket. This, of course, refers 
to the large or eight-pound imsket, and their expense of 
71 
picking and packing is only one-quarter of what it costs 
me. They grow Concords there, and I am informed tins 
work is done by women in the field. We cannot do that 
here, with our varieties of grapes, and with our system 
of training. At least we think wo cannot. It would also 
lie difficult to persuade our female help to pack in tlie 
field. It is, however, the ideal way to handle grapes, 
and if we grew Concords exclusively and trained the 
same, it might be feasible. 
Mr. Slawson seems to criticize my charge of two cents 
per basket. 1 will give detailed statement. The average 
pick per day per man in the field is about. 200 baskets 
throughout the season. Understand this small pick does 
not refer to Concords. \Ye grow a good many Delawares, 
and they have to lie sorted over and over carefully as 
they ripen; the same is true of Catawba. These 200 
baskets cost me for picking, wages, bed and hoard. $1.50. 
Very conservative, is it not? Four women in the pack¬ 
ing house put. up an average pack of 300 baskets per 
day for Hie season. Delawares often hurst badly and 
require careful sorting and culling. Three trimmers cost 
me 75 cents each per day for wages, one packer, $1 : 
four women, wages per day. ,$3.25; bed and board. 35 
cents each, $1.40; total, $4.65. It will take one man 
1% day to pick 300 baskets at $1.50 per day. $2.25. 
For picking and packing 300 baskets, $6.00. Let us dis¬ 
card Hie 90 cents and call it two cents per basket: con¬ 
servative, as stated on page 977. Mr. Slawson gives 
gross receipts for 1908. $1,416.96; highest price, .14 2-5; 
lowest, 12 2-5. We will assume the average to have been 
13 cents. He. therefore, had about: 10.900 baskets to pay 
for, at say, $26 per 1,000, $283.40: nailing handles, pick¬ 
ing and packing, $125.05; add pruning, shipping, hauling 
and burning brush, post tightening, wire and bracing, 
plowing, hoeing and cultivating, spraying (I assume they 
do this in Chautauqua County), also that they cultivate. 
Add seed for cover crops, which by the way, I omitted, 
haulage on empty baskets and on grapes to car door, net 
taxes, insurance, depreciation, which might also cover 
teams, tools, etc., as well as that on vineyard; fertilizing, 
which I assume* they also do in Chautauqua County; de¬ 
preciation on buildings for special use of vineyard, if any, 
such as packing house, in fact all tHo fixed charges at¬ 
tached to a vineyard, and I venture to affirm tiiat Mr. 
Slawson will find instead of 1<> to 20 per cent on a 
valuation of $500 per acre, lie will got the biggest surprise 
of his life. This refers to 1908 crop of course. The 
writer is finding no fault with prices for 1907. except 
that railroads end handlers take loo large a share, as 
pointed out by The R. N.-Y. f. a. seeley. 
“OUT THERE IN KANSAS.” 
Nearly everybody lias now stopped pitying Kansas and 
begun to envy her. No question about her getting her 
share. Site is now getting about all that should come 
to her, and her people have wellnigh forgotten the hard 
times when they wore submerged with mortgages, and 
have already waxed fat and are happy. The plentiful corn 
crop is too valuable to fed and so thoy soil it for cash 
or buy automobiles! A Kansas woman school teacher on 
the train told us that in the rural village where she 
taught there were 160 automobiles owned by farmers in a 
population of about 700. In looking across the vast fer¬ 
tile fields whose boundaries touched the horizon, covered 
with a forest of cornstalks from which the crop had not. 
yet been gathered, we asked what will he done with the 
stalks, and were told that they will lie chopped up witli 
machines called “go-devils” and plowed under. The wheat 
straw left in huge piles will ho burned before plowing 
time. The husked corn is left, in great piles right out¬ 
doors or gathered in open wire, circular, uncovered bins, 
until shelled, where it is said to take no harm. A great: 
deal of the most valuable farm machinery is frequently 
left exposed to the Winter, hut it is claimed that in this 
climate it is not apt to rust to any great extent. 
Kansas City, Mo. j. y. r. 
N. Y. EVAPORATED FRUIT ASSOCIATION. 
This society held its third annual meeting January 8-9 
at Rochester, N. Y. The association was called to order 
by President E. W. Catchpole. The morning session was 
consumed by the reports of officers, various committees 
and by the president’s address, after which there was a 
practical talk on “High Grades—Their Manufacture, 
Packing and Marketing,” by the president-elect of the 
New York State Fruit Growers’ Association. B. J. Case, 
of Sodus. The “Question Box” was a main feature of 
the programme. The majority of members felt that too 
much medium and low grade fruit lias been marketed but: 
there still exists a demand for more good fruit than is 
lining manufactured, and at satisfactory prices, in fact: 
this discussion brought forth a resolution: “That this 
association favors the formation of a central organization, 
tho purposes and aims of which shall be the furtherance 
of the interests of all allied fruit associations.” Another 
resolution requested Secretary of Agriculture Wilson, Di¬ 
rector Jordan, of the State Experiment Station, Geneva, 
N. and Director Bailey, of Ithaca, N. Y., to assign men 
to investigate the process of evaporation of apples with a 
view of improving both methods and product. The ex¬ 
ecutive committee were instructed to arrange for a ma¬ 
chinery exhibit for the next annual meeting. January, 
1910, which probably will he held in Rochester. 
Remarks were made in favor of a “bureau of publicity” 
or educational propaganda to show that evaporated apples 
are a clean, cheap and wholesome product. The following 
officers were elected : President, C. W. Bradley. Lyons; 
first vice-president, B. .T. Case. Sodus; second vice-presi¬ 
dent, C. II. Koon, Sherwood; third vice-president; Royal 
Wilson, Williamson : fourth vice-president, F. II. Wooster, 
Ontario; secretary, L. .T. Sweezey, Marion; treasurer, G. J. 
Frowiev. Walworth: executive committee, E. W. Catch- 
pole, chairman. North Rose; R. IT. Cole, North Rose: Wil¬ 
liam Trummonds, Ontario; legislative committee, B. .T. 
Case, Sodus; Elliot B. Norris, Sodus; S. W. Sweezey, 
Marion. 
Tiie fifth annual meeting of the Alabama State Horti¬ 
cultural Society will lie held in Mobile, Alabama, January 
26-27. 1909. All persons interested in fruit growing, 
trucking, etc., are cordially invited to attend. R. S. 
Mackintosh, secretary, Auburn; W. F. Iloikes, president, 
Huntsville, Ala. 
Our Winter so far lias been open and mild, but rather 
dry, and while we have had a few rains the springs, wells 
and streams have not risen any yet. Wheat was sown 
late, but is looking well for the time of the year and the 
weather conditions. It lias been very warm for three 
days, with a good rain, but is is much colder now, with 
prospects of zero temperature. No snow as yet. But 
few cattle soiling at $4 to $4.25 per 100. Several car¬ 
loads of stock cattle were shipped from Chicago and put 
on rough feed here. l logs are marketed less freely: 
price $5.90 per 100. Wheat, $1: corn, 65 cents per 
bushel ; hay. 810 to $12 per ton. Clover seed, especially 
Mammoth, is in good supply, and prices will likely rule 
low. perhaps $5 or $6 per bushel. w. e. d. 
Hillsboro. Ohio. 
ENGLISH POTATOES.—The German and Belgian pota¬ 
toes can he put in New York for one cent a pound, but 
the English potatoes cost more. United States Consul 
Hamm, at Hull. England, figures the cost of a ton of ex¬ 
port potatoes as follows: 
F. O. B. at Hull. $15.82 
Ocean freight . 2.68 
Duty . 9.33 
Total .$27.83 
The English ton cotains 2240 pounds, so that these 
potatoes cost a little over 1 1-5 eent a pound in New York. 
This would mean 72 cents a bushel of 60 pounds. We sec 
that the potatoes bring at Hull 7-10 of a cent per pound, 
or 42 cents a bushel. We have no means of telling how 
much the English farmer gets out of that, hut we would 
like some recent sales accounts showing what American 
farmers receive. 
