1908. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
621 
EVENTS OF THE WEEK. 
DOMESTIC.—By the arrest of Henry E. G. Cooke at 
Baker City, Ore., and the subsequent unfolding before the 
United States Grand Jury of the operations of the Oregon 
Ranching and Timber Company, of 154 Nassau Street, New 
York City, the United States District Attorney’s office has 
broken up one of the most extensive land frauds that ever 
came to the attention of the Federal authorities. Cooke's 
scheme ran to the acquisition by the Oregon Ranching and 
Timber Company of many thousand acres of valuable 
timber land by having dummy entrants, under contract 
with himself, go out to Burns County, Oregon, and take 
out the papers necessary to obtain 160 acres each at $2.50 
an acre. The arrangement between Cooke and the entrants 
was simplicity itself. The entrant paid Cooke $100 and 
his own carfare to Baker City. Cooke undertook to trans¬ 
port him to the scene of the timber fraud and to board him 
at a ranch during the three mouths necessary to take out 
the papers. At the end of this time the entrant got his 
land and Cooke guaranteed that it would be worth $2,000 
to him. Meantime the entrant was obliged to commit per¬ 
jury in making oath that no one other than himself was 
interested, directly or indirectly, in taking out the land. 
So Cooke has been indicted for conspiracy to defraud the 
Government, conspiracy to violate the Timber Lands act, 
and for subornation of perjury. Under the statutes the 
smallest sentence he can receive is two years in prison 
and a fine of $500. Cook’s dupes, although they are them¬ 
selves technically parties to the conspiracy, will probably 
be treated lightly by the Federal authorities provided they 
give evidence against him at the proper time. . . '. 
Eire broke out July 15 in Orcutt, Cal., a shipping point 
for the Santa Maria oil fields, destroyed tanks and prop¬ 
erty of the Union Oil Company, valued at $200,000, and 
threatened the entire town of 600 inhabitants. Although 
two men who were fighting the fire from a wooden bridge 
over one of the blazing tanks had ropes about their waists, 
they were overtaken by a sudden shift of the flames and 
fell into the blazing oil, meeting almost instant death. . . . 
July 15 10 men were killed and 10 injured in a coal mine 
explosion at Williamstown, Pa. . . . Suits for damage 
aggregating $050,000 were entered in the United States 
Circuit Court at Pittsburg. Pa., July 16, against the Pitts¬ 
burg Coal Company, owing to the Darr Mine disaster of 
December 19, 1007. when nearly 300 men were killed. 
There are 18 plaintiffs, the wives, or fathers and mothers 
of the victims. ... A fire, in which eight were in¬ 
jured and which did damage estimated at $250,000, de¬ 
stroyed much of the business section of Greenwich, Conn., 
July 17. Simultaneously fires sprang up in different sec¬ 
tions of the town, so that at one time there were 12 dif¬ 
ferent residences of Summer dwellers burning, some of 
them a mile from the scene of the big fire. . . . West¬ 
ern New York was caught by a cloudburst and windstorm 
July 18 which outclassed any which the oldest inhabitant 
can remember. In the town of Holland gardens on the 
banks of the Cazenovia creek slid into the swollen stream 
and floated away. Horses in low barns escaped drowning 
only by holding their heads high above water. Rowboats 
were the vehicles of travel all day there. In Buffalo the 
wind caught up a frame house and turned it around four 
feet away from its foundation. The sleeping occupants 
were awakened by the jar, but did not leave their beds 
and knew nothing of what had occurred until morning. 
Streets were afloat and some damage was done to wires. 
. . . Lumber dealers in western Canada who have de¬ 
layed their orders this Summer are likely to be put to 
serious inconvenience for transportation. The outlook is for 
an enormous wheat crop, now estimated at about 125.000,- 
000 bushels. The number of cars and amount of power re¬ 
quired to move this to the seaboard, taken in conjunction 
with the demand for cars for moving the Winter’s wood 
and coal, is likely to cause a tieup. I,umber is said to be 
perhaps the scarcest staple commodity in the territories 
at present, and it is being ordered in considerable quan¬ 
tities, while the manufacturers from whom it Is ordered 
are advised that they must be contented with a limited 
number of cars. With such conditions prevailing before 
the actual commencement of the grain movement it is 
likely that they will be aggravated when the actual rush 
begins and will cause decided hardship to the lumber deal¬ 
ers. . . . The oil gusher fire at Tampico, Mexico, was still 
raging July .18. but the flames have been confined to 
one well by high embankments of earth. An effort will 
be made so soon as the material can be accumulated, to 
smother the fire by hauling a dragnet made of sheet iron 
and rails, over the flames. Twelve 50-horsepower boilers 
will also help to smother them. The flames were then 
about 250 feet high. . . . Drinking, even out of one’s own 
flask, on passenger trains in Lousiana, constitutes a mis¬ 
demeanor. punishable by a fine or imprisonment, or both, 
according to the new State law which went into effect 
July 20. This act makes it unlawful to drink intoxicating 
liquors of any kind in or upon any passenger train or 
coach, or closet, or vestibule, or platform, except in case 
of actual sickness. After a bard fight, a section was added 
making the law inapplicable to stimnlants taken with 
meals in a regular dining car. Trainmen are vested with 
authority as police officers. . . . Henry C. Potter, 
Episcopal Bishop of New York, died at Cooperstown, N. Y., 
July 21. aged 74. He had been Bishop of New York since 
1886. and was a notable worker in all philanthropic and 
social movements. He was a powerful speaker and was 
much interested in labor reforms. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—A committee representing Sub¬ 
ordinate Granges held a meeting at West Chester, Pa., 
July 20, to formulate a plan to secure a more rigid 
enforcement of the pure food law regulating the sale of 
dairy products. The committee consisted of David C. 
Windle, Goshen Grange ; Victor Brinton, Pocopson Grange ; 
Thomas Sharpless, Birmingham Grange, and L. Lee Mc¬ 
Clure, Brandywine Grange. After a lengthy conference 
the committee decided on certain recommendations, which 
will be presented to the Pomona Grange. That body will 
take such action as it sees fit. A preliminary meeting 
was held previously at which State Master Hill and James 
Foust. Dairy and Food Commissioner, were present. It 
is understood that important measures will be adopted 
before the conferences are ended. 
“A 1,000-ACRE TEXAS FARM.” 
On page 568 Clark Allis says: “A short time ago a 
farm of 114 acres east of Syracuse, mostly good Alfalfa 
land and the rest good pasture land with good buildings, 
1 % miles from depot, church and schools, sold for $7.25 
per acre,” and Mr. Allis adds that he would rather have 
that 114 acres than 1,000 in Texas. Which 1,000? Texas 
is a pretty good-sized State and has a good many 1,000 
acres. The 114 acres of good Alfalfa land sold for 
$826.50. not one-third the cost of good farm buildings. 
Good Alfalfa lands near Syracuse are worth $200 per acre, 
and will pay big interest on that amount. In one season 
—three cuttings—the land would yield 2 % tons Alfalfa 
hay, worth at least $10 per ton, worth it to feed on the 
farm, to horses, cattle, sheep or hogs. I spent three 
months last Winter and Spring in Texas; $826.50 would 
not go very fat toward buying 1,000 acres of the corn, 
wheat and cotton lands about Fort Worth, Dallas or 
Austin, or the rice and fig lands about Houston, or the 
sugar, cotton or truck lands about Brownsville. The 
Texas" irrigated lands in the Rio Grande bottoms are the 
best sugar lands in the United States. John Closner, 
60 miles up the river from Brownsville, took first premium 
at the St. Louis Exposition, on yield per acre, 68 tons; 
on size of cane and on saccharine quality, 200 pounds re¬ 
fined sugar to the ton. Mr. Closner competed with cane 
sugar raisers from Louisiana, Florida, Cuba and Hawaii. 
1 was on a sugar plantation six miles east of Brownsville 
that had been cropped continuously in sugar for 31 years 
without using any fertilizers during the time. Last "year 
the owner told me his land yielded 28 tons to the acre. 
He was grinding cane ■when I was there. It was of good 
size and good quality. On the Rio Grande they have to 
replant every six or seven years. I am told that in 
Louisiana 20 tons cane is regarded as a good yield, and this 
yield requires a liberal application of fertilizers, and 
Louisiana has to replant every three or four years. 
I was on a cotton plantation five miles west of Browns¬ 
ville. The owner, who lately went there from Indiana, 
told me he raised last year 58 bales (500 pounds each), 
lint cotton, on 47 acres. The cotton graded “midland 
strict” (the highest grade), and sold in Galveston at 15 
cents per pound, $75 per bale, and the cotton seed brought 
about $11 per acre, gross proceeds about $100. Cost about 
$25 per acre for cultivating, picking and ginning; $826.50 
would not make a heavy payment on 1.000 acres cotton 
land on the Rio Grande. I was on Mr. Briggs’ plantation 
of 1,200 acres near Hidalgo. March 10. He bad 175 acres 
in Alfalfa : he was then cutting his first crop. Mr. Briggs 
said his first cutting, which grew in the Winter months, 
was the lightest yield, that he cut his Alfalfa six or seven 
times during the year and got five or six tons Alfalfa hay 
per acre. When I was at Briggs, an adjoining farmer 
was stacking his first crop of sorghum. It yielded 2% 
tons to the acre and sold at $12 per ton in the stack. 
Sorghum there yields about five cuttings, 12 to 15 tons 
per acre a year. Forage of all kinds is high in Texas. 
When I was there Alfalfa hay was quoted at $18.50 to 
$19.50 in Houston and was selling in Brownsville at 
$22.50, and sorghum hay at $15 per ton. I think the 
Rio Grande truck lands are the best I ever saw and I 
have been all over California. A Mr. Dustin in Hidalgo 
county bad a “patch” of 107 acres in onions. I felt inter¬ 
ested in the crop. I went to see it in January when they 
were transplanting the plants; in February and March 
when cultivating, and the last time, April 10, they were* 
harvesting the crop. It was an interesting sight. About 
50 Mexicans were on that onion patch, some plowing out 
the onions, some topping them, some gathering in piles, 
some packing in boxes to ship to Kansas City, St. Louis, 
Indianapolis, Chicago, Minneapolis, Portland, Ore., etc. 
Mr. Dustin says he regards Mexicans as the best labor in 
the country for truck raising. He pays 25, 37%, 50 and 
62% cents, according to skill of the workmen." who get 
this pay and board themselves. This crop yielded 425 
crates of 50 pounds each of white Bermudas to the acre. 
The first shipment netted $1.90 per crate. The 10th 
of April they were netting $1.25 per crate, at the station 
2% miles distant. Since returning I received a state¬ 
ment that Mr. Dustin cleared $4.1,000 on his 107 acres of 
onions. This not above the cost of raising. The cost 
of raising was about $130 per acre. This included rent 
of land ; Dustin paid $25 per acre for rent and watering. 
The land is under an irrigation ditch. Mr. Dustin’s net 
profit was about $20,000. When I came home I came 
across the southern part of Texas via San Antonio and 
El Paso, a 36-hours’ ride by rail. I saw a ’ good many 
1.000 acres. Some of it very valuable and high-priced 
land, some of it worth but a few cents per acre. 
Norton, Kan. _ e. V. p. 
PEACHES IN THE MARYLAND MOUNTAINS. 
As compared with the tidewater sections of the State of 
Maryland peach growing in the mountains of Washington 
County is a comparatively infant industry, the first 
orchard having been set out about 1875. Previous to that 
time the Eastern Shore and also the western shore of 
Chesapeake Bay had been growing peaches in commercial 
quantities as early as about the year 1800. While these 
bay sections have always been looked upon as the natural 
home of the peach, Washington County claims to provide 
as fine fruit as is grown anywhere. In the past few years 
we have been very greatly troubled with the yellows, and 
orchards are not now the permanent investment they were 
once regarded, but notwithstanding this fact thoifsands ctf 
trees are being set out each year, and new orchards spring¬ 
ing up all along the foot of the mountains, which indicates 
the confidence growers have in the future possibilities of 
the industry in this district. We are little troubled with 
scale, owing to the very general practice of spraying as a 
preventive, but one thing that does trouble us consider¬ 
ably. and which is not, I suppose, peculiar to us either, is 
the impossibility of getting satisfactory nursery stock. Out 
of an orchard of 800 trees, which I planted a few years 
ago, 200 came untrue to variety. While that is perhaps 
an unusually large percentage, it is the general experience 
that we do not know what we are planting till the trees 
bear, regardless of how they may be labelled when we 
get them. 
The usual system of culture is about as follow's : Trees 
set out, usually in the Spring, spaced l0*to T 2(? feet, corn 
between the rows for the first two or three years, after¬ 
wards orchard plowed along in June with mould board 
plow, and harrowed two or three times during flic sea¬ 
son ; trees trimmed more or less fan-shaped to enable 
team to get close to tree row. That, or some modification, 
is the most used system of the majority, but there is a 
dissenting minority, of which I am one. who follow the 
light cultivation method. The plan I follow is something 
like this : Fall planting, so that m.v trees are well settled 
and ready for business with the first signs of Spring while 
the Spring planters are still waiting for the ground to'dry 
off enough to plow and plant. The first two years trees 
cultivated along the row and cow peas between rows in 
Summer. Crimson clover in Winter. The clover T continue 
to sow every year; after the second year all the land kept 
cultivated. The first two cultivations in the Spring, one 
each way, are done with a disk harrow, which chops the 
clover all up. The harrow I use is one on which each 
disk works on a separate axle, independent of the others, 
this being the only kind I have seen that does satisfactory 
work on our stony land. Afterward I use nothing but a 
spring-tooth harrow and aim to get over the orchards 
about every two days till between the middle of July and 
the first of August when we sow the Crimson clover. As 
our trees are kept low headed and spreading I cannot get 
as close to them as the other system of high heading and 
plowing allows, particularly on the low side of the row in 
a hillside orchard, but the grass and weeds immediately 
around the tree trunks are kept cut, which in time forms 
a mulch which prevents any very great growth there. 
Of course there are many forms of orchard cultivation, 
all of which have their good points and their bad. but I 
think this one just described most nearly meets our condi¬ 
tions in the mountains. Owing to the profits in peach 
growing land values have enhanced enormously in the 
last few years, so that the present average price asked for 
good peach land, when it can be bought at all, is nearer 
two than one hundred dollars an acre. We have quick 
transportation to Baltimore. Washington, Philadelphia and 
New York, and good fruit can be shipped to Boston at a 
profit, while the Baltimore canners take care of the lower 
grades. The crop this year promises to be a large one, 
necessitating heavy thinning in some varieties, and the 
fruit is sizing up well. We are in hopes, however, that 
the market will treat us better in the matter of prices 
than it, does the Georgia growers at present. On the whole 
I see no reason why the industry in this section should not 
prosper and pay as well in the future as it ever did in the 
past if growers will follow up-to-date methods and spray, 
prune, cultivate and market their product with intelligence. 
Washington Co., Md. l. c. m. 
THE NEW YORK BARREL LAW. 
Will you print the “Barrel law” in The R. N.-Y\ ? 
New York. c. . t . T_ 
Senate bill No. 1325. introduced by Mr. Travis, became a 
law. The essential features follow; 
“No person or persons shall sell, offer or expose for sale 
apples, pears or peaches as and for New Y 7 ork State grown 
apples, pears or peaches if they were not grown or pro¬ 
duced within the State of New York ; nor shall they brand 
or label the package or barrel containing such" apples, 
pears or peaches as New York State apples, pears or 
peaches if they were not grown or produced within the 
State of New York. Any person or persons packing or re¬ 
packing or causing apples or pears to be packed or re¬ 
packed to be sold upon the markets, shall pack or repack 
or cause them to be packed or repacked In such a man¬ 
ner that each separate package or barrel shall be packed 
substantially uniform without intent to deceive the pur¬ 
chaser. Any person, persons or corporation buying from 
a grower apples or pears which are packed in packages or 
barrels, marked or labeled with the name of the grower 
who causes such apples or pears to be repacked in the 
same packages or barrels or who uses the same packages 
or barrels for the packing of other fruit or apples or pears 
shall erase from such package or barrel the name of the 
grower or packer first or originally placed thereon. But 
the facing of such package or barrel is not prohibited by 
this act. 
“The term ‘barrel’ when used in transactions or pur¬ 
chase or sale of apples, pears or quinces shall represent a 
quantity equal to one hundred quarts of grain or dry 
measure and shall be of the following dimensions; head 
diameter, seventeen and one-eighth inches; length of stave, 
twenty-eight and one-half inches; bulge, not less than 
sixty-four inches outside measurement. If the barrel shall 
be made straight, or without a bulge, it shall contain the 
same number of cubic inches as the barrel above described. 
Any person or persons making, manufacturing or causing 
to be made or manufactured barrels for use in the pur¬ 
chase or sale of apples, pears or quinces, or any person or 
persons packing apples, pears or quinces in barrels for sale 
or selling apples, pears or quinces in barrels containing a 
less quantity than the barrel herein specified shall brand 
said barrels upon each end and upon the outside, con¬ 
spicuously, in letters one and one-half inches in length 
with the words, ‘short barrel.’ ” 
CROP PROSPECTS. 
Dry weather is affecting crops this season : only two 
light showers since Spring, just enough to settle the dust 
for a day. Early potatoes one-third to one-half a crop. 
Late ones need rain badly. All garden stuff backward, 
except corn. Our black raspberries stood drought; had 
about 4,500 to 5,000 quarts. Fine berries, so we used 
label; it paid well to do so. k. p. v. 
Stratford, Conn. 
Crop prospects in Yates Co., N. Y., are about as follows: 
Wheat and rye fair, I should say about 80 per cent, but 
mostly in the shock, and at this writing, July 20, in 
danger of sprouting from excessive rain. Oats when 
early sown, good, but late sown unpromising. Corn 
much improved by hot weather, but is very weedy from 
lack of cultivation. Beans, reduced acreage, promise a 
good crop if properly tended, which is now impossible. 
The hay crop is good, but not quite up to last year, 
either in quantity or quality. A great deal yet to be 
cut and must necessarily be badly damaged. In fruit, 
apples promise about 50 to 60^p«r cent of a crop, and 
when not damaged by bail are, looking well. Other 
fruits, especially berries, are abundant. e. d. o. 
All fruits blossomed very full, but apples have not 
remained well set. Baldwins are bearing well, but other 
varieties are not very full. Strawberries were a good 
crop in fields where the drought did not pinch them. My 
land is moist, and I was one of the fortunate. In May 
and until into June, the hay crop promised a record 
breaker, but* the dry hot weather cut short the great 
promise on many fields, so the real harvest is no more 
than average. My farm is largely devoted to peaches, 
and the very profuse bloom promised a great crop, hut 
about the time of bloom the trees began to die from 
Winter injuries, and are still dying. So many have died 
that my crop will not be more than two-thirds of a full 
one. The drought is very severe here. at. at. 
Medway, Mass. 
Corn is late, but growing nicely; somewhat checked by 
dry weather. Wheat rather under the average, most pieces 
going under 20 bushels. Hay crop good, and. for the 
most part, harvested in good shape. Present prospect for 
clover seed good. English clover beginning to ripen. Sec¬ 
ond growth of small clover not yet in bloom (July 18). 
Honey crop good so far, but White clover bloom gone and 
English clover bloom going. Catnip in full bloom. 
Cherries were a fair crop. Apples will be short. Fair 
prospect for peaches and plums. Damson trees full. 
Blackberries, mostly wild, ripening, but will be a short 
crop unless a good rain comes soon. Raspberries were 
under the average, due to dry weather. Potato prospect 
not the best. Damage done by early cold, wet weather. 
Franklin-Fayet.te Counties, Indiana. c. a. l. 
The third annual dairy show will be held at Chicago in 
the Coliseum, December 2 to 10 inclusive. It is desired 
to _ make this dairy show a strong representative of all 
dairy interests, to bring together dairymen, butter and 
cheese makers, farmers and manufacturers of dairy products, 
from all parts of the country, for educational purposes; 
also to present at this gathering the best and most up-to- 
date makes of dairy machinery, and to show choice herds 
of cattle representing all the different dairy breeds; in 
fact, it is desired to make the occasion the big event of 
the year for dairying, and to so exhibit the different 
branches of the dairy industry that the people of the 
country will realize its importance and magnitude. 
ALFALFA IN OHIO.—I put most of first cutting of 
Alfalfa in old barn, but am rushing the new barn for a 
heavy crop of clover, Timothy and rye and later crops of 
Alfalfa. Ten acres of Alfalfa that at last cutting last 
Fall I thought would be of little value, made at least, I 
think, two tons per acre at first cutting, and the second 
of fine quality will be ready in 10 days or two weeks 
(June 27). I have five acres sown May 27 that is hav¬ 
ing a struggle with finger-grass, and about five acres from 
which I have harvested peas that will be made ready for 
Alfalfa as soon as possible. I have already given the 
land a working with a Cutaway harrow. Wheat harvest 
is on as well as hay harvest and corn plowing. 
Ross Co., Ohio. johx m. jamisost. 
A COUNTY FARM.—The Grape Belt gives the follow¬ 
ing statement about the Chautauqua Co., N. Y., poor farm 
of 450 acres, located at Mayville: 
“This year it has produced 175 tons of hay, 25 acres 
are in corn and an equal amount in oats; 12 acres in 
potatoes, one acre to sugar-mangel beets. One thousand 
bushels of turnips will be produced; 10,000 cabbage plants 
are in good condition ; there will be 200 bushels of carrots, 
100 bushels of table beets, 100 bushels of onions. 25 
bushels of cucumber pickles, 25 bushels of peas, 15 bush¬ 
els of string beans, 25 bushels of parsnips and 600 Hub¬ 
bard squash. More than 600 quarts of strawberries were 
gathered, and there will he a large amount of other small 
fruit. The farm is largely devoted to dairying, and. in 
addition to supplying the inmates of t>>e county house, a. 
large quantity of butter has been sold. Eighty head of 
Durham and Holstein cattle are kept, also more than 50 
head of purebred and Yorkshire hogs, 200 young turkeys, 
and more than 200 chickens. Most of the work on the 
farm is performed by the inmates of the county house. 
The farm is equipped with a splendid water system, an 
acetylene gas plant, which provides for the administration 
building, hospital, barns and all other buildings. The 
county house contains an average of 140 patients in Sum¬ 
mer and 170 in Winter. 
HAY IN JEFFERSON CO., N. Y.—The Watertown 
Times has reports on the hay crop from all over the county. 
Summarized the reports show that in the north section of 
the country, where the bulk of the hay is produced for 
shipment, the yield is much below an average crop. In 
some of the northern towns there will not be over half 
of an average yield and in no town north of Black 
River is the crop up to an average. This is largelv due 
to insufficient rainfall, as some of the towns have had 
little rain since May until the soaking rain of July 17 
and 18. The quality of the press hay is mostly reported 
good, though in some sections there are more weeds 
than usual. Tn the southern part of the county, which 
is a dairy section with little hay sold for shipment, there 
is a good yield, fully up to an average, and in some towns 
rather better than an average crop. Rains there have 
been frequent and the splendid start which grass received 
by the abundant rainfall in May has not been checked 
and both meadows and pastures are in excellent condition. 
In the northerly towns the heavy frosts of early Spring 
did considerable damage to grass. Later the stiff clay 
soil, saturated by the rainfall of May, became hard and 
baked by the dry hot weather in June, and the clover 
and Timothy headed out short, besides being thin on 
the ground. Old meadows especially are very light, and 
are yielding less than last year. The hay crop in the 
county last year was not far from an average crop. Two 
years ago a bumper yield was harvested, one of the best 
in the county’s history and for two or three years pre¬ 
vious to 1906 good crops of hay were gathered. 
