inos. 
TI-IIi RURAL NEW-YORKER 
493 
EVENTS OF THE WEEK. 
DOMESTIC.—Fire at Russell, Manitoba, May 19, de¬ 
stroyed half of the business section of the town. The loss 
is estimated at $150,000. with little insurance. Russell is 
225 miles from Winnipeg. . . . Sympathizers with the 
striking street car men at Cleveland, O., terrorized the city 
by wrecking cars witli dynamite May 20. A Detroit avenue 
car was thrown off the track, its floor split to kindling 
and its two passengers seriously injured. Four other 
cars were blown from the tracks in various parts of the 
city. Two women were injured in one of the cars. Vio¬ 
lence was resumed May 21. Five cars were blown from 
the tracks with dynamite charges. In several instances 
passengers were injured, though not seriously. Two women 
were trampled by a crowd of men when 'an East 105th 
street car was thrown from the tracks. A great hole was 
torn in the floor of the car, the windows were shattered 
and falling glass cut several passengers. Just after 100 
people had alighted from a car at Luna Park a terrific 
explosion demolished the car and shattered windows for 
blocks about. The car was thrown against an iron elec¬ 
tric light pole, and the electric light and trolley wires 
were torn down. A charge of dynamite threw another 
crowded East 105th street car off the track, toppling a 
score of passengers to the street. A Lorraine avenue car 
was assaulted with stones and eggs. The conductor and 
several passengers were hit and badly hurt. Several other 
cars in other parts of the city were similarly attacked. 
The police dispersed a mob of men at the home of Theo¬ 
dore Solovan, a strike breaker, who were threatening to 
dynamite the building unless Solovan agreed to quit work. 
The hotels, groceries and even the saloons of Lakewood 
and Rocky River May 21 refused to feed deputy sheriffs 
on guard at the car barns. . . . The new bridge of the 
N. Y., N. II. & II. Railroad across the Bronx River, at 
Bayehester, N. Y., was injured by dynamite May 21, an 
attempt being made to destroy the whole structure. It 
was erected by “open-shop" labor, and was very un¬ 
popular among the Ilousesmith’s and Bridgemen’s unions. 
The San Francisco jury in the bribery case 
against Abe Ruef May 21 reported a disagreement and 
was dismissed after being out 48 hours and taking 1.3 
ballots. The jury stood six to six on the last as on 
the first, ballot. The six men who refused to convict 
held that the supervisors were accomplices of Ruef and 
therefore their testimony could not he accepted against 
the chief grafter. . . . Mayor McBride of Pater¬ 
son, N. ,T.. has instructed City Counsel Merrey to start 
suit for libel against a monthly magazine for disparaging 
statements regarding Paterson made in an article, “The 
Menace of the Red Flag,” which appears in the current 
number of the periodical. Mayor McBride said that the 
statements made were unwarranted and false, and that 
writers must cease publishing such falsehoods. 
Four persons were killed and at least 50 others injured 
at Philadelphia May 24 when a crowded trolley car, 
speeding toward Chestnut Hill, jumped the tracks and 
hurled itself into five other cars coming toward the city 
bulging with passengers. The accident happened at 
Thorpe’s lane and Germantown avenue, where the north 
and south tracks are about three feet apart. 
The worst flood of which Dallas, Tex., has any record 
came unexpectedly May 25 with a rush of water from 
the upper tributaries of Trinity River, where there had 
been cloudbursts. The water seemed to come like a 
great wave and the surprised residents of the suburbs 
of Dallas were terror stricken. The water ran to 52 
feet, nearly 11 feet higher than ever before recorded. 
More than 1,000 houses were inundated in Dallas, 5,000 
persons were without shelter and the number of lives 
lost is estimated all the way from 20 to 100. Property 
damage is estimated at $2,000,000. All railroad traffic 
was paralyzed. The big Commerce street bridge was 
wrecked and 000 feet of the Texas and Pacific Railroad 
bridge was swept away. Tracks, bridges and trestles of 
other lines are badly washed. Great loss was suffered 
at Fort Worth, where the damage may reach $1,500,000. 
Denison, Tex., reported that the Red River rose 24 feet 
in eight hours. Guthrie, Okla., reports that hundreds of 
railway travelers were marooned there. Reports from all 
over the Southwest tell of rivers and other streams out 
of their hanks, towns flooded and railroads washed away. 
. . . Free Employment Agent Gerow of Kansas has 
called for 2 1 ,500 men and 1,195 teams to help with the 
Kansas wheat harvest. It Is thought that the harvest 
will begin on the southern edge of the State about 
.Tune 10 to 15, depending on the weather. The central 
Kansas harvest will be between the 15th and 20th and 
the northern harvest will begin about July 1. There 
is an unusual demand for teams this year, and farmers 
will pay $4 or $5 a day for a man and a team. 
DAIRY PRIZES AT NEW YORK STATE FAIR. 
The prize list for the Dairy Department at the State 
Fair has been prepared by Commissioner of Agriculture 
It. A. Pearson, who is in charge of the Department named, 
and it will he published in the forthcoming prize list for 
the Fair. Some new and interesting features are included. 
The State Fair Commission has increased the prize money 
for this Department from the old figures of $1,800 to 
$3,000. Heretofore this Department has devoted chief at¬ 
tention to butter and cheese only. Next September pro¬ 
visions for these exhibits will be improved and there will 
he innovations in the form of exhibits of market milk and 
cream, with liberal prizes and exhibits of “specialties.” 
Special prizes of $15 and $5 are offered for short essays 
on each of eight timely dairy subjects as follows: The 
bovine tuberculosis problem. The use of skimmed milk on 
the farm. The preparation, use and advantages of the 
commercial starter. The best way to form a dairy herd 
when starting in the business with a small capital. How 
to improve the cheese industry in New York State. How 
to improve the sanitary conditions of milk for New York 
cities. How to care for milk in the household. How to 
reduce the cost of milk production in New York State. 
Prizes are provided also for displays of dairy photographs 
and plans for up-to-date dairy buildings. There will also 
be a competition for men in making farm dairy butter, 
and a similar competition for women. The prizes are $30, 
$20, $15 and $10 in each class. Cream and necessary 
equipment will be furnished, but competitors must furnish 
their own printing tools and special working clothes. A 
new feature is the offering of gold and silver medals for 
highest scoring butter, cheese, milk and cream. Besides 
these there will be special diplomas of merit for exhibits 
which score very high hut fail to win the gold and silver 
medals. The Dairy Department will be under the general 
supervision of Commissioner Pearson, but under the imme¬ 
diate superintendency of Mr. George A. Smith, who has 
been Commissioner in charge a number of years. This 
year assistant superintendents will look after the different 
classes of exhibits as follows: Cheese, H. A. Rees, Low- 
vllle, N. Y.; butter, W. E. Griffith, Madrid, N. Y.; milk 
and cream, R. R. Kirkland, Philadelphia, N. Y.; dairy 
specialties, C. A. Publow, Ithaca, N. Y. Intending exhibit¬ 
ors should write to Secretary S. C. Shaver, State Fair 
Commission, Rosenbloom Block, Syracuse, N. Y. f for full 
information. 
THE LONG ISLAND “ POTATO TRUST." 
You have said a good deal lately in The R. N.-Y. about 
good eating potatoes, and about their being sold on their 
merits. The Long Island Produce Exchange is an accom¬ 
plished fact, and they expect to handle and sell the best 
eating potatoes in the world on their merits. There is a 
good deal of fun poked at the “Potato Trust” by the 
dealers and business men, but if trusts are to be the go, 
what is to hinder the farmers from having theirs? The 
trouble has been that the farmer has had to pay the price 
that the dealer asked for his fertilizer and supplies, and 
take for his crop whatever the dealer saw fit to give, and 
just work and say nothing. That’s played out. Everyone 
knows that Long Island potatoes, especially the Green 
Mountain variety, are the best eating and cost the most to 
raise, and we want for them what they arc worth, and be 
sure that potatoes from other parts of the country are not 
substituted for D'em. Old Suffolk County Isn’t dead yet. 
We had a meeting here to organize our branch of the 
trust Aaril 21 and the central committee came down in 
a big red automobile to talk it up. We mean to get in 
on the ground floor, and let the farmers divide up the 
profits of handling the produce among themselves, instead 
of supporting in every village some three or four families 
of non-producers who get their living out of the work of 
others. The whole solution of the problem of how to 
keep the boy on the farm is this: Make the farm pay as 
well as any other business, and you can’t drive the boy 
away. I don’t mean to work early and late and then pay 
a dealer’s profit, but organize and use the dealer’s “toll” 
to have things, such as hot and cold water in the house 
and a bathroom, a rubber-tire buggy an I a trotting horse 
or an automobile. When these things are common on 
the farm the boys won’t leave. Why don’t you get some 
of those good farmers from up the State who can hardly 
make both ends meet to come down on Long Island and 
buy farms instead of letting all those Poles get the best 
land? They know there is a better chance to make money 
in Suffolk Co., than anywhere else, and that is why they 
are after the best. long islander. 
CROP PROSPECTS. 
Cold and wet up to May 16. Seeding delayed. No corn 
planted yet. Grass good. Fruit prospects fair. 
Norway, N. Y. a. l. h. 
The apple bloom in this section is about whaf it was 
last season. I think our own crop promises to be quite 
as good. Growers have got to “get busy” and grow good 
fruit this season, for the dealers will be a hard lot to deal 
with, due to their disastrous experience the past season. 
I am going to try to make our fruit good enough to box. 
and have lumber out for boxes with that intention. 
Massachusetts. e. cyrus miller. 
The fruit promises well; apple, plum and cherry trees 
have blown full, but pear trees apt so well. Not so large 
an acreage of oats sown as usual owing to the wet 
weather and some oat ground will be sown to buckwheat. 
A large acreage of potatoes is being planted and the 
weather is favorable for them. Stock looks generally thin, 
and is being turned to pasture early owing to the high 
price of feeds. Hay is worth $17 per ton in the barn, 
potatoes 75 cents per bushel, butter 25 cents per pound, 
eggs 15 cents per dozen. jr. m. a. 
Union, N. Y. 
The finest of crop prospects here; all fruit trees are a 
mass of bloom, never giving better promise than now. The 
weather suddenly turned warm and vegetation jumps. 
Grass is at once solid and rampant. Some Winter wheat 
has failed to start, and had to be plowed up as it was 
weak last Fall and suffered from ice in Winter. Oats 
sowed in place are coming strong; only give us a little 
less rain so we can get our corn in. Nothing but frost 
can prevent a big crop of strawberries apd other early 
fruits. • j. w. c. 
Buffalo, N. Y. 
Things are looking unusually well here. Grass never 
looked better here at this season. Fruit of all kinds is 
blossoming very full. The yield of milk is large for the 
time of year; price for the first half of May was $1.05 
per 100, the last half 94 cents, quite a drop from De¬ 
cember and January, when we received $2 per 100. Near¬ 
ly the entire income from this locality comes from milk, 
most of which is shipped to New York. A good many 
farmers keep from 50 to 200 hens and get quite an addi- 
ton to their income that way. Help is more plentiful 
than years before. p. b. u. 
Georgetown Sta., N. Y. 
This has been a late backward Spring here, cold and 
wet till May 10, and warm and wet since. Farmers are 
in the midst of oat seeding, very few done. Grass is mak¬ 
ing a very rapid growth although winter-killed the worst 
I ever saw. I just measured some clover that was 20 
inches tall, but of course that is better than the average. 
Fruit, with the possible exception of apples, will be an 
immense crop, as weather was very warm with no frosts 
from the opening of the buds, and the bloom was very 
heavy. I have beets that need thinning badly. Peas 14 
inches tall, potatoes and corn well up, spinach and lettuce 
large enough to use and am sending sample of Alfalfa, oats 
and corn of mine. w. m. k. 
Sharon Springs, N. Y. 
Fruit prospects are good. Ground has been so wet that 
a full oat crop will not be sown, as it is now so late; 
some will be sown yet this week (May 25). Grass looks 
pretty well but new seeding and old meadows were badly 
injured by the hard Spring freezing. The hay crop is 
not made yet, as so many seem to think it is now only 
leaves, and a drought now or the last of June would make 
a poor crop of hay. No. 1 Timothy, large bales, is 
worth here $13.25, medium bales $12.25. We would like 
to hear from Michigan and Ohio as to prices and supply 
in farmers’ hands. There is not more than 10 per cent 
of last year’s crop in hands of farmers and dealers here. 
Winter grain is looking well; grapes are making a fine 
growth. . c. 
Branchport, N. Y. 
Crop conditions here as compared with last year are 
very promising at present. Apples, peaches, 6tc., bloomed 
profusely and have set beyond the capacity of the trees. 
Strawberries promise a full crop of superior size, and a 
month earlier than last year; other small fruit presents 
a good showing. Wheat shows above the average. There 
is a large acreage of oats sown, which is looking fine. 
More corn is being planted than usual. The wet weather 
has delayed planting on wet land; very few potatoes 
planted, and it looks as though the amount planted will 
be less than usual. Meadows show up fairly well. There 
has been much wet and cloudy weather, but warmer than 
last year and the amount of rainfall not excessive to 
date. J. Q. M. 
Crawford Co., Pa. 
Tt has been cold and wet all Spring and farmers are 
behind with sowing, many oats not in yet. This is not 
a fruit section but I called on two of our largest growers 
of berries and they say strawberries are looking fine and 
they expect a bumper crop. Grass has come up wonder¬ 
fully in the last 10 days, and old meadows promise better 
than last year. New seeding was heaved out during 
March, especially on land poorly nourished. Judging from 
my own, a wornout farm that had been robbed for years, 
it would pay to sow fertilizer on new seeding in the 
Fall; it would come on thick enough to form a cover to 
protect the roots and soil against late Spring freezing. 
I think by the Fourth more corn will be put in than last 
year. c. e. s. 
Sandy Creek, N. Y. 
The Spring has been very wet and in some cases caused 
some trouble to get crops in. There is still a good 
bit of corn to plant at this writing, but taking it all in 
all things look very well. Grass has made an extraordi¬ 
nary start, and looks for a heavy crop of hay and good 
pasture through the season. Wheat has made rather a 
rank growth, but with plenty of sunshine and a little less 
rain we have the promise of good crop. Millet and 
tobacco were farmed quite extensively last year and the 
acreage of tobacco will be larger this year than last. 
Considering the drop in price of tobacco I was looking for 
a small acreage. All kinds of stock sells well; horses 
sell as high as a year ago. Steers are high, hogs have 
raised about 50 per cent; good price for milk and butter 
has made cows higher in this section than I have known 
them for years. The farmers are very busy and are 
satisfied, looking forward for a good year. J. l. b. 
Elizabeth, Pa. 
It has rained almost every other day, and has been 
very discouraging to farmers in sowing oats, as a field 
would no more than be prepared before it would rain 
and make such preparation useless; some low ground is 
too wet to plow. Wet weather has also prevented spray¬ 
ing, though the outlook for fruit is very bright. All 
small fruits blossoming full, and most apple orchards. 
Since the warmth of the last few days grass has made a 
phenomenal growth and wheat looks well. Though the 
season seems late, having a snowstorm Afay 1, yet last 
year we had a snowstorm the tenth of May. If all the 
fruit trees that are being set this Spring live and bear 
fruit there will be no danger of a dearth of all kinds of 
fruit in the future. Everyone is setting trees, apple, 
peaches, pears and quinces by the hundreds and thou¬ 
sands, and the time will come when Orleans County will 
be a fruit orchard. a. ii. p. 
Hulberton, N. Y. 
In our section the crops are grown for the Buffalo mar¬ 
kets and also for the several canning factories. Most 
people contract part of their crops to the factories and 
then put in more of the same kind for the Buffalo market, 
so when the market is low in Buffalo they can take the 
produce to the factories; thus there is no loss. Peas, 
beans, com, tomatoes and potatoes are the main vege¬ 
tables raised, strawberries, red and black raspberries, 
grapes and apples, together with a few blackberries and 
currants form the fruit crop; this crop all or nearly all 
goes to Buffalo. Grapes are an important crop here, as 
nearly all the farms have from two or three acres up to 
75 acres. Our money crop is grapes, and perhaps also 
strawberries, raspberries and currants might be added. 
Some of the farmers must handle a large amount of 
money every year, but whether it is more or less than 
farmers handled 25 or 40 years ago is more than I can 
(ell, but think father had a larger income 40 years ago 
than we have now. a. k. j. 
Erie Co., N. Y. . 
Throughout that part of Vermont known as the Whitt' 
River Valley vegetation is looking wonderfully well and 
is full of promise. Repeated warm rains have set grass 
in field and pasture to growing with exceptional rapidity 
and the clovers are especially rank and luxuriant. The 
acreage sown to oats, is larger than usual, and in most 
of these fields the young plants are above ground. A 
considerable area is already planted to corn, and much 
other land is in preparation for this crop. Apple trees 
at this writing are simply so many masses of pink and 
white. The bloom of plum trees is also heavy. Straw¬ 
berries promise a record-breaking crop, as do all small 
fruits, like currants, raspberries, etc. In the past year 
Boston milk dealers have made efforts to establish routes 
in this territory. In some towns they have succeeded 
fairly well, while in others their labors have been in 
vain, the farmer concluding it the wiser policy to cling 
to their own co-operative creamery. Stock of all kinds 
wintered well, and their early turning out to pasture has 
made possible the saving of many a load of hay. 
Windsor Co., Vt. g. a. c. 
Season here is generally late and backward, owing to so 
much cold and wet weather. The first of May found a 
fresh snowfall of about 16 inches, and it had not all dis¬ 
appeared until the 3d. We have had almost constant 
rain since, and whatever seeding or planting done has 
been “between showers,” as it were. But few farmers 
have all their grain sown or potatoes planted. Prospects 
for all kinds of fruit and berries were never better than 
at this writing, but in this locality we are frequentlv sub¬ 
ject to a later killing frost. Hay crop is also promising 
well. Market prices of farm products are about the same 
as last Spring, ruling well up. The Mohawk Condensed 
Milk Company has a large plant nearly completed here 
and it will probably be in operation about .Tune 1. It 
will have a capacity for caring for some 25.000 gallons of 
milk daily. Many dairymen have been selling their milk 
to the same company the past Winter, it being shipped 
to their factory at Corry, Pa., 20 miles from Sherman, 
and they express general satisfaction with the results 
obtained. m. l. d 
Chautauqua Co., N. Y., May 23. 
We have had a late wet Spring so far; this week we 
have had four fine days and I assure you the farmers 
have been busy. The Spring seeding is not near finished 
at this date, and but little or no corn planted. Those 
who were fortunate enough to get oats in ea^ly are well 
pleased, as they are growing rapidly. Grass is doing finely, 
especially new seeding of clover. I have clover eight 
Inches high at this date, and very dense. We look for a 
fine crop. The Timothy in some cases is very thin. Some 
farmers have their last year’s crop of hay yet in store, 
waiting for moving prices, as hay has been very dull for 
the past three months; dealers do not wish to stock up 
and only buy as they want. The prospects for fruit are 
fine, especially apples, cherries, plums and peaches. It 
is too early to predict for small fruits. Cows are doing 
well with pastures growing faster than they can consume 
them. On the whole the outlook for the farmer is pretty 
good, although it will be in .Tune before all the corn is iii, 
and many pieces of oats and barley will be in the ground 
late. Unless the season should be very peculiar a light 
crop must be expected. However we will cross the bridge 
when we come to it. a. d. b. 
Auburn, N. Y. 
The month of April was favorable for farmers to push 
their work on the farms, such as plowing sod, hauling 
manure and making fence. The bulk of the oats went 
in the ground during the last of April and the beginning 
of May. At the present time it looks well. The corn 
is about two-thirds planted. The wet weather has de¬ 
layed many of the farmers. The majority of them have 
put considerable work on their fields believing that it 
pays well to have the soil in first-class condition before 
planting. Potatoes are all planted, tw«ce the number of 
acres have been planted this year. The crop being a good 
one last year buyers from abroad bought by the carload, 
paying 50 cents per bushel out of the ground. The wheat 
fields iook well, notwithstanding the late sowing last Fall. 
The early is by far the better. On many farms the 
grass fields promise good crops; they are well set and 
where lime has been used they are much better. The 
lack of lime has been the cause of many a poor crop, 
the soil has become sour; many weeds appear in the fields 
now that a good application of lime would destroy. Pas¬ 
tures are good, and milk is selling for $1.60 per 100 
pounds at the creameries. The farmers are well satisfied 
and many of them continue to feed bran at the high 
price of $1.50 per 100 pounds. There is a good demand 
for cows, ranging in price from $45 to $60. Good work 
horses command $150 to $175. Hundreds of horses died 
during the last nine months mostly from feeding moldy 
corn. Many of the progressive farmers are raising their 
own cows and horses; their aim is to improve their stock, 
getting rid of the scrub. Strange to say, many farmers 
do things from force of habit, and become so accustomed 
to doing, they make themselves believe that their way is 
the only one, but let a wideawake man lead them, a man 
who thinks for himself and acts accordingly, how many 
will follow his methods? He buys the latest improved 
machinery. His neighbors see the good results and they 
follow suit. Such has been the case right here during the 
last two years. Labor was scarce and too high, so the 
only salvation was to procure the latest improved ma¬ 
chinery. There is one thing conspicuous by its absence, 
and that is the silo. We cannot give ahy reason why they 
are not used. Taken as a whole, the farmers feel to¬ 
day that they have become a factor of some importance. 
Improvements are being made along all lines, and they 
are working with brain as well as muscle, expecting 
this year to be a record breaker. r. 
Chester Co., Pa._ 
TIMBER IN WASHINGTON STATE.—Yours, in com¬ 
mon with other agricultural journals, sometimes advises 
the planting of timber trees to sunnly demands of future 
years. This is perhaps good advice' for some sections, 
but not for this region, although our timber is being de¬ 
stroyed faster than ever was known ejsewhere perhaps. 
Ten years more and practically all will be gone here, 
except that held by the large interests and in Government 
reserves. And even now coal and California crude oil is 
becoming the fuel used. One planting timber here would 
have its value confiscated tenfold by taxation before 
getting returns. And the politicians are apparently only 
ust beginning to tax us here as yet. They are now get- 
ing after the “timber barons” in good earnest in this 
State, and the timber from now on will be slaughtered 
faster than ever. j, y, c, 
Puget Sound, Wash. 
