1909. 
lOll 
POISON IN THE WONDERBERRY. 
Not a word or a dollar yet from Luther Burbank. 
If he is waiting for more complete evidence we 
present the following from “The Gardener’s Chroni¬ 
cle” of London, England: 
We grew this Summer plants of the “Wonderberry” 
raised from seed supplied by Mr. Childs, and by the side 
of them we also grew plants of the Canadian huckle¬ 
berry. and some of the common British form of Solanum 
nigrum. When the fruits were ripe, some of each were 
sent for examination to Dr. M. Greshoff. of Haarlem 
(Holland), one of the first authorities on vegetable poisons. 
Ilis report, which will be published in full in the Kew 
Bulletin, is to the effect that all three forms contain 
poison (solaninj. the least poisonous being the British, 
and the most poisonous the “Wonderberry - ’ ! Dr. Gresh- 
off says that he cannot recommend the use of these fruits 
as food, because, although they may differ in the amount: 
of poison they contain according to the conditions under 
which they may be grown, it will always be dangerous 
to eat them, and especially so for feeble children. Vege¬ 
table poisons vary in their effect upon different people; 
for example, tlie American poison ivy. Rhus Toxicoden¬ 
dron mav ha handled with impunity by many persons, 
including' my self (I have rubbed its sap on my face 
without experiencing any ill-effects), yet Ihere are many 
who cannot touch the plant without suffering severe 
consequences. 
The Gardener’s Chronicle of October 30 contains 
pictures of Wonderberry, wild Solanum nigrum and 
garden huckleberry. These show beyond any question 
how these plants are related. It has now been demon¬ 
strated that the Wonderberry is a black nightshade, 
that it has been growing in Mexico for some years, 
and that specimens from seed bought of John Lewis 
Childs contained the poisonous principle characteristic 
of nightshade. These demonstrations being complete, 
it now remains for Mr. Burbank to close the incident 
by making good his bluff and paying the $10,000! 
THE NEW YORK MILK SITUATION. 
New York people are now paying nine cents a 
quart for milk, with a threat of 10 cents hanging over 
them. Out of the recent increase of one cent the 
producer gets about one-third of a cent. It costs 
no more to deliver milk which sells at nine cents 
than when similar milk sold for eight cents. What, 
then, becomes of the extra two-thirds of a cent? 
The dealers get it. What will they do with it? It 
is reported that the larger dealers are increasing their 
capital stock, intending to keep on paying a good 
dividend on the increased amount. If a man has 
$100 worth of stock and it pays 10 per cent dividend 
he gets $10. He votes that his stock shall be worth 
$200, and still pay 10 per cent. He then gets $20, but 
no one can say that his rate of dividend is higher 
That seems to be about what the milk dealers have 
started out to do. In September alone there were 
brought into New York a million and a quarter cans 
of milk, and about 60,000 cans of cream and con¬ 
densed milk. At two-thirds of a cent per quart we 
can see that the dealers make themselves a very neat 
little present. This sort of thing will go on and 
get worse until farmers learn to cooperate, and are 
able to take charge of the milk distribution in this 
city. When they do that they have the situation in 
their hands. At this time many city people actually 
believe that tine increase in the retail price is dic¬ 
tated by the farmers, and that they are getting rich 
out of it, when the fact is that the middlemen are 
making themselves a present of two-thirds of the 
increase. The retail price of milk is too high. So 
is the cost of distribution. The share of the price 
of a quart paid to the producer is too low. If the 
farmers could get together and handle the business 
in the city they could retail the quart for less money 
and pay themselves more. As it is, the farmers are 
not responsible for the hold-up in milk prices. All 
no one can say that his rate of dividend is higher, 
they get out of it is a bare chance to live. 
EVENTS OF THE WEEK. 
DOMESTIC.—Mrs. Ernest H. Smith, of Ftica, N. Y„ 
was instantly killed in an automobile accident at New 
Hartford, N. Y.. November 3, and Charles Ncice. of 
New Hartford, a victim of the same accident, is in a 
critical condition in a Utica hospital. The automobile, 
which contained besides the chauffeur a man and two 
women, was traveling along the State Road at New 
Hartford at a rate exceeding fifty miles an hour. As 
it approached a bridge, the passageway of which is con¬ 
siderably narrower than the highway, the driver lost 
control and the machine crashed into the iron supports 
of the bridge. Neice was crossing the bridge at the time 
and was struck by the machine as it rebounded from 
the crash. . . . Two suits for $600,000 damages were 
placed on file in the Forty-fourth District State Court 
of Texas November 3. by A. W. and II. H. Clem in¬ 
dividually, and the Clem-Ballard Oil Company as a 
corporation, against Robert .T. FTckbardt. receiver of the 
Slate of Texas for the Waters-Pierce Oil Company and 
other oil properties. The plaintiffs, in addition to recit¬ 
ing alleged conspiracy methods pursued by the Waters- 
l’ierce Oil Company to wreck the plaintiffs before the 
Waters-Pierce Company went into the hands of receivers, 
through the payment of private and secret rebates and 
the cutting of prices in certain localities to such a 
low rate that the weaker company, the plaintiff, could 
not meet them, declares that State Receiver Eckbardt 
has continued to pursue these same policies for the pur¬ 
pose of destroying the business of the plaintiff, all this 
in violation of the anti-trust laws of the State of Texas. 
. . . Hounds uncovered a deer in Forest Park. L. I., 
November 5, and chased it into Williamsburgh. where it 
was finally killed by a policeman, after smashing the 
window of John Gutsky’s plumbing shop. It weighed 
from 300 to 400 pounds. . . The Three-Mile House, 
a widely known hostelry at Shillington. Fa., was burned 
to the ground November 5. The guests and servants 
were aroused by the smoke and had difficulty in making 
their escape. It is believed that the fire was of in¬ 
cendiary origin. The loss is $50,000. . . Night 
riders are accused of burning the tobacco farm of Thomas 
Stafford, near Nicholasville. Ky.. November .5. Stafford’s 
entire crop, consisting of the product of 26 acres, was 
destroyed. He had refused to join the Burley pool and 
the tobacco was unsold. The loss is about $7,000. 
Supposedly ignited from burning leaves, Idele. the 
famous old manor bouse in which Chancellor Robert R. 
Livingston lived when he administered the oath of office 
lo President George Washington in 1789, was burned to 
the ground November 5. The estate is located near 
Madalin. N. Y. With it were consumed a great many 
valuable relics of Colonial days and beautiful specimens 
of antique furniture, much of which had been brought 
from Europe. The loss, aside from the intrinsic value 
of the homestead is immense, and because of associations 
connected with the destroyed articles may not be reckoned 
in money. The house was insured. . . . The Texas 
).egislative Committee’s investigation of the State penal 
institutions and the treatment of convicts reveals that 
more than fifty convicts have been killed by cruelty within 
three years. The record may be much larger, but the 
inquirers find it impossible to wring evidence from the 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
convicts, who fear they will incur the hatred of the 
guards. The whipping of convicts until their bodies 
were a mass of wounds in more than 400 cases has been 
proved. . . . ,T. L. Fleming, an attorney, and Harry 
Skinner, Jr., both of Greenville, S. C.. were killed Novem¬ 
ber 5 in an automobile smash-up in which the two other 
occupants of the car were injured. The car was owned 
and driven by Edward Flanagan. In some way he lost 
control of the steering gear and the automobile jammed 
into a tree. . . . Liverymen, truckmen and wholesale 
merchants on the East Side, New York City, are in a 
state of panic through the insidious operations of a gang 
of horse poisoners which have been going on for several 
months. The liverymen are powerless to protect them¬ 
selves. and many are being driven out of business. In 
each of half a dozen stables visited November 5 were one, 
two, and sometimes three horses in a dying condition or 
just recovering from the poison which had been given 
them by members of the gang after their demands for 
money ranging in amounts from $200 to $2,000 had failed 
to bear fruit. Scarcely an owner of horses in that ter¬ 
ritory between Fourteenth street and Madison street, the 
Bowery and East River, but who had received a letter 
within the last few months demanding money at the 
price of the killing of his horses. Some of the losers 
have reported the poisoning of their horses to the police. 
Others, fearing far worse than had already come upon 
them, have either gone out of business, selling their 
horses for what could be got for them at hurry-up sale, 
or have made the best terms they could.with the black¬ 
mailers, buying the safety of their horses at the price 
of the savings of a lifetime. It was estimated that 
fully 250 horses have been poisoned on the East Side 
this year, most of which have died, entailing a loss of 
at least $25,000. The work of the gang is so persistent 
and so conscienceless, sparing none, tnat it is now 
almost impossible to get insurance for horses in that sec¬ 
tion of the city. . . . Two locomotive engineers, a 
fireman and a trackwalker were killed outright and a 
score or more of persons were hurt November 6 when the 
l’hiladelphia and New York accommodation took to a 
crossover switch on the elevated tracks in Railroad ave¬ 
nue at Monmouth street, Jersey City, nine blocks from 
the terminal station, “sidewipod" a detached light loco¬ 
motive running east in the same direction and was 
wrecked. Suburban traffic was seriously blocked for the 
remainder of the day. . . . Two men and two women 
were plunged into the Chicago River at Jackson Boule¬ 
vard November 7 where an automobile ran into an open 
drawbridge. It is believed that all four occupants of 
the car were drowned. The accident occurred when the 
bridge swung open to allow a tngl>oat to pass through. 
-One automobile was halted at the approach to the bridge, 
when another car approached at high speed. Although 
the watchmen say the danger signal lights were burning 
and the warning bell was ringing, the car did not slacken 
speed. . . . Fire in a celluloid factory at Nos. ISO- 
152 Columbia street, Brooklyn. November 8. caused, the 
police believe, by sparks from the cellar furnace, brought 
death to nine men and injury to several others, including 
a girl, who may not survive. Among the dead is the 
junior partner of the firm of Robert Morrison & Son, 
owners of the factory. The burned building is situated 
in a district of tenement houses and junk-shops. It is 
old and ramshackle, built of brick, nmi three stories 
high. On the different floors were stored big sheets of 
celluloid, from which the combs manufactured by the 
company were cut. A spark driven up a flue from the 
furnace alighted on one of these sheets, and immediately 
it was ablaze. When the fire was ultimately quenched 
nothing but a shell of the building remained. It was 
said by one of the workmen that ordinarily more than 
fifty persons were employed in the process of making 
combs, but this, being a Monday morning, for one rea¬ 
son or another, about twenty employees did not come to 
work until late. When they did appear they found the 
building in ruins. . . . According to testimony given 
at the trial in the New York Supreme Court November 8 
of the "Ice Trust,” the American Ice Company, spies on 
bicycles followed the wagons of independent ice-dealers 
in the days when the Trust was trying to kill all compe¬ 
tition. Janitors were given free ice and bonuses to get 
tenants of apartment houses to abandon other dealers. 
Large buyers were given excess weight (for a while), 
to make them think that the Trust was superior to any 
other ice-dealing concern. Prices were cut to figures much 
lower than the Trust could maintain indefinitely: by the 
time the Trust raised the price, the user would find that 
the former independent dealer had been starved out of 
business. Spies swarmed over the city, followed the inde¬ 
pendent wagons, and made lists of the customers and sales 
of the independents. The bicycle spies alone numbered 
a score, according to the testimony of a witness. . . 
Judge Hughes, at Sacramento, Cal., November 8, im¬ 
posed a sentence of 10 years in the penitentiary at Folsom 
upon Claude Wood, convicted of manslaughter for running 
over and killing James F. Smith on the Riverside Road 
last August. At Hie same time he ordered that the com¬ 
mitment bo withheld and the defendant placed on pro¬ 
bation. In the terms of the probation is included a pro¬ 
vision compelling Wood to contribute $25 a month to¬ 
ward the support of the five children he made fatherless 
by his reckless driving. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—A preliminary announcement of 
the next State Grange meeting to be held at Watertown, 
February 1-4, has been made hy the executive committee. 
The usual business programme will he in effect. The elec¬ 
tion of officers will occur on Tuesday, February 1, and 
they will be installed Friday afternoon, February 4. The 
sixth degree will be conferred at the State Armory on 
Thursday evening, February 3. The meeting on Tuesday 
evening will be public and under the auspices of the Jef¬ 
ferson County, Pomona. A reduction of a fare and three- 
fifths on the certificate plan from points in New York 
has been secured. 
The National Mohair Growers’ Association, organized 
last September at Silver City. N. M., held a meeting Novem¬ 
ber 8 in the Chamber of Commerce at San Antonio. Tex. 
Tentative approval was given to the plan for a central 
warehouse in the East. The meeting disclaimed any in¬ 
tention of forming a trust, but agreed that higher prices 
are necessary to the life of the industry. 
FROM ARID DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
During a recent trip over much of the section included 
in Lehigh, Schuylkill. Dauphin and Perry counties, some 
observations are noted. 114111111 a radius of 100 miles, the 
center about Pottsville, Schuylkill County, very little rain 
fell since the middle of June: as a consequence there is 
almost a water famine, and crops poor. Streams not be¬ 
fore known to fail are entirely dry or nearly so, causing 
great inconvenience to people, and mills are idle much of 
the time. The railroads were hauling water to the collieries 
several months to supply the boilers for steam power. It 
appears that outside of the limit above referred to. more 
rain fell, from the appearance of the crops and evidence in 
the fields. There is rarely a field in corn that makes half 
a crop, much not worth harvesting for the grain produced. 
Cattle were fed from the stored crops, there being no 
pasture nor any clover seed, so green withered corn and 
mill feed were resorted to, and yet city people blame 
farmers for demanding a price for dairy products. Among 
the crops not seriously affected by the drought are grapes, 
peaches, tomatoes, potatoes and melons; while the yield 
was curtailed the quality is superior, and more satis¬ 
factory than during wet seasons. The potato crop was, 
as a whole, much better than expected, and it was sur¬ 
prising to notice the plants remaining green until late. 
The poach crop was fine wherever trees are well cared for, 
especially on a range north of limestone valley, on shale 
soils of the Utica slate and Hudson River shale. North 
of Allentown on Trexler farms, on elevated sbaly soil, a 
young orchard under the management of P. S. Fenster- 
maker produced some choice fruit, both apples and peaches. 
On the same formation near Lebanon, II. C. Suavely had 
an excellent crop of fine fruit, with trees bearing from 
five to 15 baskets to a tree. The same soil is devoted to 
growing potatoes extensively in Lehigh and Berks counties, 
especially extending westward to the Maryland line, where 
the same formation continues in a belt of various widths 
south of the Kittaning or Blue Ridge. It is not to lie 
supposed, however, that success is obtained by all who 
engage in this industry, as it requires intelligent manage¬ 
ment and means to conduct the business where spraying, 
cultivating and fertilizing is essential in using a high- 
grade fertilizer to the extent of half a ton on an acre 
yearly for fruit and proportionately for potatoes. In this 
section the price for potatoes ruled high, but dropping 
in price from 85 cents in two weeks to 65 cents per bushel 
now. - w. h. s. 
Pine Grove, Pa._ 
CROP PROSPECTS. 
All of our correspondence indicates a very large crop of 
potatoes imported into this country. We have our doubts 
as to foreign potatoes being imported into the United 
States this season, as they - cannot send them to this 
country at a profit while our domestic stock is selling 
below 75 cents per bushel which, in our opinion, they will 
do the entire season. We look for a range in price from 
60 to 75 cents until the crop is exhausted. 
Baltimore, Md. c. P. tatem & co. 
We expect a larger crop of potatoes than last season. 
Reports from all Northwestern States, also from Colorado 
and Utah, point to practically full crops. Prices at 
present being rather low, we anticipate a reasonable 
advance on all eating stock, and look for a fair sized ad¬ 
vance in prices of seed potatoes, such varieties as Triumph. 
Rose and Peerless, as soon as the movement of these 
varieties begin In our opinion, present values and even 
reaonable advances in the price of potatoes would not 
prove sufficiently attractive to European shippers to consign 
their products to America. We are basing our opinion 
on last season's experience, when prices on imported stock 
ranged all the way from $1.35 to $1.80 per 100 pounds. 
Memphis, Tenn. ashner bugs. 
A late, cold spring, followed by a long, severe drought 
and capped by an unusually early killing frost, is the triple 
alliance that nearly all Maine farmers had to contend 
with this past season. However, grit and perseverance 
have won out in the majority of cases, as they always 
will. In Kennebec County potatoes are a much smaller 
crop than usual, and the unsalable tubers much larger in 
quantity than last year. The quality is all that can be 
desired. They are rotting more in low places than in 1008. 
In Aroostook County nearly a full crop of potatoes was 
harvested, but loss by rot is very severe. The bay crop is 
much better than expected in most places: in others the 
tonnage is much lighter than the previous season. Apples 
are a fairly full crop. Cabbages did well where not planted 
too early. Eggs are selling from 30 to 34 cents per dozen 
in Augusta markets; butter from 30 to 40 cents. In short, 
the farmers who have kept up their courage and cheerful¬ 
ness find much to be thankful for this harvest time. 
Kennebec Co., Me. d. m. g. 
FARMERS’ INSTITUTES IN N. Y. STATE. 
District No. 1. Jared Van Wagenen, Jr., Conductor, 
Lawyersville, N. Y. 
County. 
1’lace. 
Date. 
Montgomery.. 
.Fonda . 
November 2!), 
1909 
Minaville . 
“ 30. 
Glen . 
December 1, 
it 
Rural Grove . 
2, 
Ames . 
“ 3, 
Schoharie. 
, Argusville . 
“ 4, 
Seward . 
“ 6. 
Barnerville . 
“ 6-7, 
Gallupville . 
“ 8, 
Breakabeen . 
“ -9, 
“ 
Gilboa . 
“ 10, 
Jefferson . 
“ 11, 
Prattsville . 
“ 13-14, 
TIensonville . 
“ 14-15, 
it 
Durham . 
“ 16, 
“ 
Leeds . 
“ 17, 
44 
Selkirk . 
“ 17-18, 
South Westerlo . 
“ 20, 
It 
Clarksville . 
“ 21. 
4i 
Berne . 
it »> • ) 
tt 
Normansville . 
“ 23. 
Latham . 
“ 23, 
District No. 
hook. N. Y. 
2. Edward Van Alstyne, 
Conductor, Kinder- 
Washington. .. 
rutnam . 
November 20. 
1909 
Clinton 
West Chazy. 
“ 30, 
* * 
Mooers . 
December 1, 
t t 
Saranac . 
it >) 
it 
Morrisonville . 
“ 3-4, 
11 
Krsot. 
.Keeseville . 
“ 6-7, 
tt 
Wadhams . 
“ 8-9, 
tt 
Crown Point . 
“ 10-11. 
i t 
Washington. .. 
. Whitehall . 
“ 13, 
11 
Hartford . 
" 14. 
West Hebron . 
“ 15, 
i t 
Salem . 
“ 16, 
44 
Argyle . 
“ 17-18, 
tt 
Cambridge . 
“ 20, 
tt 
Easton . 
“ 21, 
Greenwich . 
ft *)•> 
tt 
Warren. 
.Glens Falls. 
“ 23-24, 
“ 
District No. 
3. D. P. Witter, Conductor, Berkshire. 
N. Y. 
Otsego. 
.Pierstown . 
November 30, 
1909 
West ville . 
30. 
44 
Fly Creek. 
December 1, 
tf 
Schenevus . 
“ 1. 
11 
Gilbertsville . 
“ 2-3, 
tt 
Edmeston . 
“ 3-4. 
tt 
Delaware . 
. Davenport . 
6-7, 
tt 
Kortright Centre. 
“ 8, 
Delhi Institute School. 
“ 9-10-11. 
it 
Andes . 
“ 13, 
“ 
Halcottsville . 
“ 14-15, 
tt 
Sidney Institute School 
" 16-17-18, 
11 
. Liberty . 
“ 20-21, 
44 
Monticello . 
“ 22-23 
* 
District No. 
4. F. E. Gott, Conductor, Spencerport. 
X. Y. 
Niagara . 
, .Gasport . 
November 29. 
1909 
Ransom ville . 
30. 
44 
Erie . 
. Williamsville . 
December 1, 
tt 
Collins Station. 
1, 
44 
Akron . 
* *? 
Marilla . 
it »> 
tt 
Alden . 
“ 3, 
(t 
Colden . 
* * 3 
ft 
Springville . 
3-4, 
tt 
Chaffee . 
“ 4, 
ft 
Byron . 
“ 6. 
tt 
Elba . 
“ 6, 
tt 
Pavilion Center . 
“ 7. 
ft 
Fort Hill. 
“ 7. 
tt 
Darien . 
“ 7-8. 
ft 
Corfu . 
“ 8. 
f t 
Wyoming. .. . 
. Varysburg . 
“ 13. 
t* 
Batavia Institute School 
“ 9-10-11. 
44 
Warsaw . 
“ 14. 
ft 
Castile . 
“ 15, 
ft 
Perry . 
“ 16. 
ft 
Pike . 
“ 17. 
44 
Hermitage . 
“ 18. 
At 
Wyoming . 
“ 20, 
ft 
Livingston. .. 
. T.inwood . 
** 
• t 
Caledonia . 
a 
it 
A GOVERNMENT BONUS.—The Toronto Sun tells of a 
delegation which came asking for a public subsidy. They 
proposed to build dry docks in Quebec and New Brunswick. 
These were to cost $6,000,000, and they asked the govern¬ 
ment to pay a four per cent bonus. Their stroug point 
was that they represented great capital and large interests. 
The Sun well says : 
“One is naturally prompted to ask why, if these men 
control up into the hundreds of millions, they should 
ask the Government to pay interest on the paltry six mil¬ 
lions they propose investing in a couple of dry docks. If 
a farmer owned four or five farms he ' would scarcely 
be seen asking the Government to pay interest on another 
farm he proposed buying with borrowed money. And if 
a farmer should so far forget himself as to make such a 
request he would get an exceedingly short hearing at 
Ottawa. Still we are told this Levis-St. John crowd of 
big capitalists were assured that their request ‘would be 
most carefully and sympathetically considered by the Gov¬ 
ernment.’ Why the difference?” 
