1009. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1111 
THE HERON NEST. 
There are many serious problems con¬ 
fronting the American farmer. Some of 
them a«e political, others financial, and 
still others of a social or family nature. 
There are questions of saving an old farm 
homestead for the family, how to keep 
children on the farm, how to cooperate 
so as to obtain a larger share of the con¬ 
sumer’s dollar, how the city girl who mar¬ 
ries a farmer can adapt herself to the new 
conditions, and many others. We believe 
that many of these problems can be most 
effectively handled in a story provided it 
is consistent and can have that peculiar 
and indescribable feeling which stamps it 
as good literature. These considerations 
have decided us to offer our readers a 
series of stories, each dealing with some 
hard problem connected with country living. 
Last year we started with “Nell Beverly, 
Farmer.” This took up and discussed from 
actual experience what is perhaps the foun¬ 
dation problem of all—the salvation of a 
country home. 
This year in selecting another strong prob¬ 
lem for discussion, we finally decided to 
take up the struggle of a poor city family 
in an effort to break away from town condi¬ 
tions • and take root permanently in the 
country. This attempt to change from town 
to country is to reach the dignity of a 
great industrial movement in the next 10 
years, and it is to have a vast influence 
upon American agriculture. 
In “The Heron Nest” we have secured 
what we believe to be the truest, most 
natural and interesting account of such an 
effort to make a country home that has 
ever been published. Many of us know 
what happens when the average writer at¬ 
tempts to describe both town and country 
living. lie usually guesses at one side 
or the other until the reader knows that the 
conclusions are improbable. Mr. Foster, the 
author of “The Heron Nest,” knows his 
ground in every detail. It is made very 
clear how the very affliction which made 
it impossible for Billy Herron to do a 
man's work was really an advantage to 
the family, since he was forced to plan 
and think. “Nell Beverly” will stand as 
the representative of a stern, unconquered 
character who faced her duty bravely. 
“Billy Herron” represents another type— 
cheerful, patient, bending at times like 
steel, but never breaking—a living example 
of the dominion of mind over matter. 
And aside from its strong treatment of 
an important problem “The Heron Nest” 
deals with the softer and more beautiful 
side of human nature. The characters 
are strongly contrasted, and the story is 
developed and carried along with skill and 
power. It is natural, clean and true. We 
want every one of our friends to read it. 
You will find as the years go by that this 
book is part of a plan to develop a new 
class of literature which is to be truly 
characteristic of farm life. 
EVENTS OF THE WEEK. 
DOMESTIC.—Frank Singer, who was con¬ 
victed before .Judge Mulqueen in General 
Sessions, New York, was sentenced Decem¬ 
ber 8 to State prison for thirty-nine years. 
Singer was convicted as a second offender 
of robberv in the first degree. On June 4 
last with three other men Singer walked 
into the restaurant of Abraham Rams at 
30 Canal street and, drawing a revolver, 
took 85 from the cash drawer. Itams fol¬ 
lowed the men from the store and managed 
to hang onto Singer. In the night police 
court Singer was discharged by Magis¬ 
trate Cornell and Rams was fined. Rams 
speaks English badly and it was due to his 
inability to tell the Court what had hap¬ 
pened that Singer got away. Rams went 
to the police with his story, identified 
Singer’s picture in the rogues’ gallery and 
had him arrested again. 
A house occupied by the families of Harry 
Birney and Louis Smith, recently brought 
to Struthers, O., by the American Sheet and 
Tin Plate Company to work in the local 
mill, in which a strike is in progress, was 
wrecked with dynamite December 8. Wil¬ 
liam Birnev, father of Harry, was nearly 
suffocated under the debris, and six other 
members of the two families sustained slight 
injuries. 
At the trial at New York of sugar trust 
employees for defrauding the govern¬ 
ment December 8, James Conlin, an as¬ 
sistant Government weigher, testified to 
finding a piece of iron and two iron nuts 
attached to one of the scales, which he 
discovered after an experience with Kehoe, 
one of the defendant sugar checkers. He 
said he observed that the scales were not 
balancing properly when Kehoe was check¬ 
ing with him and on investigation found 
the iron wire and nuts. He showed these to 
Kehoe, who begged him not to say anything 
about the incident. He reported the case, 
however, to George Baldwin, the district 
weigher over him. and very soon after that 
he was transferred. 
George Preston Sheldon, late president 
of the Phenix Insurance Company, was in¬ 
dicted December 8 on a specific charge of 
having misappropriated $45,000 from the 
organization of which he was for so many 
years the head, and funds of which, it is 
said, he lent to officials and ex-officials of 
the State Insurance Department upon doubt¬ 
ful collateral. Superintendent Hotchkiss 
declares the investigation of the Phenix 
discloses a deficiency of more than $1,000.- 
000. It is said the indictment covers one 
of Sheldon’s speculative transactions with 
the funds of the Phenix Company, in which 
three drafts for $10,000 each, and one of 
$15,000, alleged profits of speculation, were 
passed to Sheldon's private account in the 
Chatham National Bank. 
State Superintendent of Insurance Wil¬ 
liam II. Hotchkiss, made public the result 
of a joint examination by his department 
and that of Massachusetts December 8, al¬ 
leging that the capital stock of the Ameri¬ 
can Credit Indemnity Company, of New 
York has been so seriously impaired as to 
have necessitated a reduction from $1,000,- 
000 to $350,000. Mr. Hotchkiss and his 
Massachusetts associate, Frank II. Hardison, 
find that as a result of deception 
by the officers of the American Credit 
Indemnity Company in preparing an¬ 
nual reports, the surplus of $1,178,000.48, 
reported to the policyholders December 31, 
1008, should be reduced $550,200.08, the 
real surplus being only $618,889.50. Mr. 
Hotchkiss finds that the American Credit 
Indemnity Company declared excessive divi¬ 
dends for (he purpose of placing a fictitious 
value on its stock. lie also charges that, 
as in the case of the Phenix Fire Insurance 
Company, the Credit Indemnity Company 
has made improper disbursement, has per¬ 
mitted overdrafts to officers of the com¬ 
pany. more particularly to President Sidney 
M. Phelan, whose overdraft in 1906 amount¬ 
ed to $30,000, and has conducted its busi¬ 
ness extravagantly. 
The steamer Clarion burned to the water's 
edge off Southeast Shoal, Point l’elee, On¬ 
tario, December 8. The steamer Leonard 
Ilanna took off six survivors of the Clarion’s 
crew, bringing them in to Cleveland. Two 
of the Clarion crew perished in the fight 
with fire and cold ; the captain and twelve 
others were frozen to death in the ship’s 
small boat. 
While trying to make the port of Buffalo 
December 9 in a driving snowstorm and in 
a heavy sea the steel steamship W. C. 
Richardson sank about five miles from Buf¬ 
falo. Five members of the crew were 
drowned and the rest were saved, many 
of them being taken from the water where 
they were swimming with life bolts around 
their waists. There were nineteen men in 
all in the Richardson’s crew. The Richard¬ 
son was bound for Buffalo with 200,000 
bushels of flaxseed. 
A million-dollar fire, the worst in the 
history of Kalamazoo, Mich., was brought 
under control December 9 after burning for 
over eight hours in the heart of the citys 
business district. One hundred and sixty 
guests of the Burdick House, the principal 
hotel, were driven scantly clad into the 
streets, and as other hotels were crowded 
many of them were obliged to remain iu 
the icy streets. The hotel and nearly a 
dozen other business establishments were 
destroyed. The heaviest individual loss was 
sustained by the Arcade Company, which 
lost $250,000, with insurance of only $125,- 
000 . 
The jury that has been hearing the case 
against the American Ice Company under 
the Donnelly anti-monopoly law before Su¬ 
preme Court Justice Wheeler in New York 
for the last two months brought in a ver¬ 
dict of guilty on two counts of the indict¬ 
ment December 10. Justice Wheeler at once 
lined the corporation $5,000, but granted a 
stay of execution pending appeal. 
A lease for 999 years, whose aggregate 
value is estimated to be from $25,000,000 
to $30,000,000, was made in New York 
December 10. By it Eugene Higgins leases 
to Max Marx, a prominent real estate 
operator in this city, the property at the 
northeast corner of Broadway and Ninety- 
fifth street, having a frontage of 125.10 
feet on Broadway and 127.7 feet on Ninety- 
fifth street. 
A car ferry plying between Conneaut, O., 
and Port Stanley, Ontario, with 38 men 
was wrecked during the Lake storms Decem¬ 
ber 8-10. It is not definitely known whether 
there were any passengers on board. The car 
ferry was valued at $450,000, and the cargo 
at upward of $50,000. The last doubt 
concerning the ferryboat’s fate was removed 
December 12, when the State fish tug Com¬ 
modore Perry towed the car terry's lttehoai 
No. 4, containing nine dead bodies, into the 
port of Erie. Some sitting on the seats and 
others huddled up in the bottom of the 
craft, all were frozen stiff. 
In a report containing 185 pages of type¬ 
written matter and photographs and transla¬ 
tions of incriminating letters, the Federal 
Grand Jury, in session at Toledo, O.. De¬ 
cember 11. returned indictments against 
sixteen Italians and Sicilians suspected of 
using the mails to obtain money from their 
wealthy countrymen by means of threats of 
torture or death. Of sixteen men indicted 
in connection with the attempt to extort 
money from John Amicon, a wealthy fruit 
dealer of Columbus, six are now under 
arrest and in the Lucas county jail, and the 
others are at liberty under bond. Antonia 
Lima, one of the number indicted, is now 
said to be in Italy, and the Government 
officials say no effort will be made to extra¬ 
dite him or to bring him to trial unless he 
returns to this country. 
The entire plant of the Wonham & Magor 
Car and Manufacturing Company of 
Athenia, N. .1.. was destroyed by fire De¬ 
cember 11 with a loss of about $250,000. 
The Wonham & Magor Company manu¬ 
factured industrial railway cars and appli¬ 
ances and employed about 200 men. The 
fire started in the boiler room. 
A. H. Gill, chairman of the Texas State 
Board of Penitentiary Commissioners De¬ 
cember 11, made public a statement to the 
effect that the board has decided to cancel 
all leases for the working of convicts in 
mines. He says that this action is taken 
on account of the general public sentiment 
prevailing in and out of Texas against 
working convicts in mines and on account 
of the element of danger to the convicts 
employed in such work. 
Swept by a wind and rain storm Decem¬ 
ber 13-14 which did damage amounting to 
thousands of dollars, the coal regions of 
eastern Pennsylvania have at the same time 
been relieved of a drought which has been 
almost continuous for the last six months. 
During the last sixty days thousands of 
miners have been either entirely idle or 
working on less than half time, because 
of lack of water at the collieries. The 
storm will be the means of starting the 
mines in full operation. Thousands of dol¬ 
lars have been spent by the larger coal com¬ 
panies in hauling water to the collieries in 
their efforts to keep thofr mines in opera¬ 
tion. Reports from l be mining regions 
around Shenandoah, Shamokin, Pottsville, 
and in facte* the entire Schuykill and Wyo¬ 
ming valleys state that the rainfall was 
from two to three inches, and streams 
which were practically dry are now bank 
full. The Susquehanna River, which winds 
through a part of the mining region, has 
risen several feet. The rain in many places 
was accompanied by a wind of high velocity, 
which rendered telegraph and telephone 
wires useless, in some instances stopped 
the running of electric lines, and also un¬ 
roofed many buildings. 
Blackened and ruined walls of a four- 
story tenement house, at Third and Syca¬ 
more streets, Cincinnati, ().. December 14, 
were evidence of tire in which seven lives 
were sacrificed and a dozen persons injured, 
three probably fatally. An overturned kero¬ 
sene lamp, upset in a fight is said to have 
started the blaze. The police and firemen 
made many thrilling rescues. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—The annual meet¬ 
ing of the New York State Fish, Forest and 
Game League was held at Syracuse, N. Y., 
December 9 with delegates from all the 
principal clubs of the State present. Dr. 
Frederick S. Honsinger of Syracuse presided. 
After the transaction of routine business the 
regular order was suspended to permit Com¬ 
missioner James S. Whipple of the State 
Fish, Forest and Game Commission to make 
his address. Commissioner Whipple spoke 
of the great work being done in protecting 
fish, game, birds, and the forests in the 
State, dwelling upon the aid given the 
commission by the sectional clubs repre¬ 
sented in the meeting. He said that the 
Hunting License law this year turned into 
the State Treasury a revenue of $120,000, 
and suggested that a resolution be placed 
before the league that the State Commission 
be given a good share of this for the work 
it is doing and is planning to do in the 
future. 
In speaking of the Federal inspection 
of dairy herds, which the Department of 
Agriculture has started in the District of 
Columbia with the purpose of doing away 
as far as possible with tuberculosis-infected 
milk. Secretary of Agriculture Wilson says: 
“It is believed the condition discovered in 
the city of Washington exists in many other 
cities of the United States, and it is the 
intention of the Department of Agriculture 
to make Washington an example for all 
other cities to follow. When we have done 
with the present tests, there will be no 
infected milk coming into Washington.” 
Representative Carlin of Virginia has pre¬ 
pared a bill, which he will introduce into 
Congress, under which the Federal author¬ 
ities may extend the inspection now going 
on there. While the bill will apply par¬ 
ticularly to Mr. Carlin’s own district, its 
effect will be to give the Government power 
to test any cow in the United States. It 
provides for a State appraiser, a Federal 
appraiser, and a third to be named by the 
owners of infected cattle to determine what 
shall be paid for a cow found to be suffer¬ 
ing from tuberculosis. Secretary Wilson 
is paying for the inspection there out of his 
emergency fund. 
Cost of bread in Chicago has proved a 
puzzle to .1. It. Cahill, an investigator for 
the labor department of the Board of Trade 
of England. Mr. Cahill told of his bewil¬ 
derment before the City Club December 8. 
“I can’t understand,” said he, “how we 
can buy bread in England for one-third the 
price you pay in Chicago, when you send 
us our wheat. You have to pay five cents 
for four ounces of bread, while we get a 
loaf weighing sixty-four ounces for ten 
cents. Our four-pound loaf never costs 
more than twelve cents and usually only 
ten cents. I confess I can’t understand 
it.” 
The regular annual meeting of the New 
York State Berkshire Breeders’ Association 
will be held in connection with the meeting 
of the New York State Breeders’ Associa¬ 
tion at Utica, N. Y., on January 12, 1910, 
at 10:30 A. M. At that time, matters of 
importance to Berkshire breeders of this 
State will be considered, and it is desired 
that as many as possible may attend the 
meeting: II. B. Ilarpending, secretary; Cal¬ 
vin J. Iluson, president. 
Importations of hides and skins into the 
United States will aggregate approximately 
one hundred million dollars for the present 
calendar year. These articles, therefore, 
rank second in value among importations. 
Sugar exceeds them. The value of hides 
and skins imported exceeds by many millions 
that of any previous year in the history 
of the country. In the calendar year of 
1900 the quantity of hides imported was 
307,000,000 pounds, while this year it will 
exceed 500,000.000 pounds. An especially 
interesting feature of these importations is 
that nearly one-third of the great total con¬ 
sisted of goat-skins, practically one-half of 
which came from the British East Indies. 
Estimates on the visible supply of broom 
corn in the country, nearly of which is 
controlled by two factories in Evansville, 
Ind., make it certain that the price of 
brooms will go up rapidly. Officers of the 
combination say they would not be sur¬ 
prised to see housewives paying $1 apiece 
for brooms next year. The shortage in 
the supply of corn is so great that there 
is not enough to make two brooms for each 
family in the United States, it is figured. 
Factories at Evansville are paying $240 a 
ton for corn, while the normal prices is 
less than $90. 
That rabies is spreading rapidly in late 
years was the statement of Veranus A. 
Moore, director of the New York State 
Veterinary College. He also said that ani¬ 
mal diseases caused the loss of many mil- 
ions of dollars iu this country. He said : “In 
1908 there were in the registration area 
of the United States 111 deaths from rabies. 
In New York there were nineteen. Since 
October'1, 1909, we have received 588 speci¬ 
mens for diagnosis, of which 295 were 
positive. Rabies is transmitted from ani¬ 
mal to man by the bite of a rabid animal, 
which almost always is a dog.” 
The eighteenth annual convention of the 
National League of Commission Merchants 
of the United States will be held at the 
Monticello Hotel, Norfolk, Va.. commencing 
on the second Wednesday in January, 1910, 
to continue three days, 12, 13 and 14. for 
the election of officers and the transaction 
of any business that may properly come 
before the meeting. An invitation is ex¬ 
tended to the trade, to members and officers 
of shipping associations and individual ship¬ 
pers everywhere and to publishers of pro¬ 
duce trade papers and fruit, dairy product 
and poultry journals to attend this annual 
gathering and become acquainted with 
League members from twenty-nine of the 
larger markets of this country. Among the 
subjects to be discussed at the convention 
are “Uniformity in Weights and Measures,” 
“A Government Parcel Post Kill.” “Federal 
Rate Act Revision,” “Uniform Bill of Lad¬ 
ing,” “Federal Supervision over Telephone 
and Telegraph Companies and Private Car 
Lines,” Unreasonable Express Charges,” and 
other subjects of vital interest to producers, 
shippers and merchants alike. A. D. Gail, 
president; P. M. Kiely, secretary. 
Diplomas of merit were presented by 
Secretary Wilson December 14, in his office 
at the Department of Agriculture, to Bas- 
comb Usher of South Carolina. Dewitt 
Lundy of Mississippi, Elmer Halter of Ar¬ 
kansas, and Ralph Bellwood of Virginia— 
all boys under 18 years—for special pro¬ 
ficiency in agricultural pursuits. The re¬ 
cipients of the awards are among the 12,500 
in the boy’s demonstration work in the 
South. Each planted one acre of corn and 
cultivated it under instructions from the 
Department of Agriculture. 
The International Milk Products Com¬ 
pany of Cooperstown, N. Y., was fined $125 
in the United States District Court, at 
Utica, December 14 for violating the pure 
food law by selling cheese, “Neufehatel 
cheese, Mohawk brand,” with labels saying 
it was an imported cheese when it really 
was domestic. The fine was paid by Julian 
Scott, treasurer of the corporation, who 
pleaded guilty. Mr. Scott said there wore 
twenty-five concerns manufacturing Neuf¬ 
ehatel cheese in the United States and it 
was known generally that there was no real 
Neufehatel cheese sold iu this country. 
According to Mr. Scott, the Cooperstown 
company was not a wilful violator. After 
the law went into effect it had some new 
labels printed and the Neufehatel cheese 
was advertised as made in New York State. 
This came within the provision of the law. 
Mr. Scott said the shipping department sent 
out a case of the, goods with one of the 
old labels. It went to Washington to top 
off the dinner o” some of Judge Ray's 
former associates in Congress and some of 
Vice-President Sherman u friends, but a 
Government inspector managed to get hold 
of it. The indictment followed. Mr. Scott 
said he recognized that his excuse was time 
worn, but it was true nevertheless. He 
said there was nothing objectionable iu the 
cheese itself. It had simply been put on the 
market in a way that would lead a buyer to 
think he had a cheese package from Switzer¬ 
land or some other foreign country. 
The fifty-first annual meeting of the 
State Horticultural Association of Pennsyl¬ 
vania will be held at Tunkhannoek, Wyom¬ 
ing county, January 11, 12 and 13. A very 
good programme is being arranged. This 
old society is renewing its life and vigor, 
and every fruit grower in the State who 
can do so should attend. 
THE MILK INQUIRY—After an examina¬ 
tion of witnesses for the Consolidated Milk 
Exchange December 9 in room 1610 of 299 
Broadway, Deputy Attorney-General John B. 
Coleman said that by the testimony of 
Thomas A. Gorman, a canvasser, and Charles 
II. Beaks, a milk dealer, he believes he has 
proved that in the Spring of 1909 all the 
dealers got together to put up the price 
of milk, each one subscribing to a fund 
to be used for the purpose of putting the 
value, of milk as a food before the public 
through the press, and thus educating the 
public up to the higher price. In examin¬ 
ing Thomas A. Gorman, Mr. Coleman asked : 
“Was the value of milk as a food or the 
advancing of the price the more important 
feature of your campaign?” Mr. Gorman 
answered that the idea was to get the public 
to see the value of milk as a food and be 
willing to pay more for it. When asked 
how long he had been canvassing for the 
Consolidated Milk Exchange, Mr. Gorman 
said for about two months, and when asked 
why he had given it up, he replied that 
he had seen enough to know that the move¬ 
ment was a go. Mr. Coleman asked him 
further if he had prepared any articles on 
milk as a food, and why had he given up 
canvassing. To the first question he said 
“no,” and to the second, he said that he 
had been working on a commission and had 
dropped it because the commission of $5,000 
had not been paid. Up to December 15, 
a number of witnesses connected with great 
dairy companies had been examined, several 
asserting that the increased retail price was 
necessary, because of the high prices paid 
to producers. December 14. Alexander 
Campbell of the Alexander Campbell Milk 
Company was asked to explain why his 
company was making much larger profits 
in 1909 than in 1908 and 1907, if increased 
prices paid for milk lessened returns. An¬ 
other witness, W. J. Conklin, of the Orange 
County Milk Association, insisted that he 
did not know why other dealers raised the 
price of milk, but he raised it to save his 
company from ruin. 
We had two inches of snow a week ago, 
but nothing Imt mud at present, and 
plenty of rain every few days. Rough 
farms here are changing bands at $70 per 
acre, eight miles from the railroad. Snakes 
and worms are still crawling about, and 
one warm evening last week crickets were 
heard singing themselves to sleep. Did you 
ever hear of the like so late in the season 
(November 30i at this latitude? 
Stockton, Ill. w. s. s. 
No sleighing by the middle of December 
and but little snow as yet, and no really 
cold weather, though the ground is frozen. 
Roads are in bad shape, as the thaws kept 
them soft until all cut up and then they 
froze solid, and even the improved roads 
are too rough for comfort. We shall be 
glad when the snow comes to stay for a 
while. Apples are about cleaned out of 
this section, and are not bringing as much 
as the first of the season. $2 per barrel 
being the highest, while they paid up to 
$2.50 iu some cases before the slump. Po¬ 
tatoes are 45 cents a bushel at cars, but 
few are selling, as they are keeping well. 
The long open Fall gave people a chance 
to do a lot of plowing, and the prospects 
are for one-third more land in potatoes 
next year than this. What will be the 
result in two or three years if farmers 
keep on at their present rate? Everyone 
is crazy over “spuds,” and is neglecting 
all other farm crops for this one. It seems 
to me the chances are good for potatoes 
to bring 20 cents to 25 cents a bushel if 
we get a fairly favorable year all over 
the country, and then some one gets 
“stung.” Men who ought not to handle 
over 10 acres of potatoes at most are plan¬ 
ning for 15. 20 or 30 acres; they will 
take about the same time to care for these 
acres as should be put on five or 10, but 
the total will foot up to quite a pile and 
that’s all they think about. Personally I 
think an ordinary farmer, on his own farm, 
is foolish to try more than 10 acres and not 
that the first year; tneu with oats and 
corn, for the rest of the land he wants to 
work, he will not be in such a hole if 
prices are not good for potatoes and the 
chances are he will do as much and get 
as many potatoes off 10 acres as he would 
from 15 acres or more. I notice an answer 
to D. L. ,T. New Jersey, by P. B. Crosby, 
Maryland, in regard to melons. I am not 
experienced in melon-raising, but the past 
Summer we had the nicest lot of Emerald 
Gems I ever saw or tasted, and these were 
started iu boxes in the house, transplanted 
once to 2 x 2 inches, and set out the 
last of June in the open, and but two 
plants died. c. J. b. 
So. China, Me. 
