1911 
406 
EVENTS OF THE WEEK. 
DOMESTIC.—March 8 an unknown man 
touched a lighted match to a load of hay 
that was passing near the long row of 
icehouses of the Judkins Ice Company at 
Lynn, Mass. The horses becoming fright¬ 
ened, ran down the road and turned in 
between two of the houses, where a work¬ 
man managed to unhitch the horses, but 
not before the ice houses were afire on 
either side. Four of the ice houses were 
burned. They were filled with ice, and 
the loss is estimated at $10,000. At first 
it was claimed the fire was incendiary, but 
several persons saw the stranger set fire 
to the hay as it was being driven slowly 
along the road. 
Lehigh County. Pa., established a 
“drunkards’ blacklist” March 8, when each 
saloonkeeper and hotel proprietor received 
a printed list of men who have been put 
in the habitually intemperate class. They 
were warned not to sell liquor to any of 
these men under penalty of revocation of 
their licenses. 
Shelton C. Burr, of the firm of Burr 
Brothers, dealers in stocks and other se¬ 
curities, whose offices in the Flatiron 
Building were raided by post office inspec¬ 
tors last Fall, was arraigned March 8 be¬ 
fore Judge llough in the Criminal Branch 
of the United States Circuit Court in New 
York to plead to an indictment returned 
by the Federal Grand Jury charging the 
use of the mails to defraud. The indict¬ 
ment makes the same charges against 
Eugene H. Burr, secretary; Charles H. 
Tobey, vice-president, and Edwin Wesley 
Preston, the Western representative of 
Burr Brothers. A plea of not guilty was 
entered by Shelton C. Burr personally, and 
a formal plea of not guilty was made by 
counsel for Eugene H. Burr, who is absent 
from the city with permission of Henry 
A. Wise, United States attorney. 
The Ohio House of Representatives March 
8 passed the Crosser bill, providing for 
the initiative and referendum principle in 
municipal legislation. Vigorous efforts to 
amend it failed. Under tne measure eight 
per cent, of the voters can initiate legisla¬ 
tion. The Senate, by a vote of 19 to 15, 
killed the Oregon plan of electing United 
States Senators. 
The new power house of the Hydro- 
Electric Company at Jordan, Mono County, 
Cal., was destroyed March 8 by a snow- 
slide which wrecked the building, killed 
eight men and injured several others. The 
slide, which was caused by heavy rain on 
deep snow, also swept away the flumes 
and ditches that brought water to the 
plant. The plant, which was not fully 
completed, was to furnish power to Raw- 
hide, Aurora and other central Nevada 
mining camps. 
The hamlet of Pleasant Prairie, Wis., 50 
miles north of Chicago, was wiped off tlie 
map March 9 by the most terrific explo¬ 
sion in the history of the powder industry 
in America. The site of the great woras 
of the Laflin-Rand Powder Company is 
marked only by a great hole in the ground. 
Early estimates of the dead place the 
loss of life at forty. That is the number 
of men actually employed in and about 
the works at the time of the blast. All 
along the lake shore, down into Chicago 
and on to remote points in Indiana the 
earth trembled, buildings were thrown out 
of plumb and men and women were ter¬ 
rorized by the two distinct shocks. Twice 
the earth heaved upward and twice it re¬ 
ceded under the concussion. As far west 
as Elgin the force was such as to frighten 
men and women. One woman fell dead 
from the shock in Elgin, others were made 
hysterical and slight injuries were reported 
everywhere within a radius of 100 miles 
of the disaster. 
Fire did nearly $75,000 damage in 
Englewood, N. .1., March 10, and cut off 
the telephone service. The flames gutted 
the Bergen Building, occupied in part by 
the Public Service Corporation, the New 
York Telephone Company and as living 
apartments and stores. The lire started 
in the cellar. 
March 11 fire in the canning and pack¬ 
ing departments of the Pratt Oil Company, 
Williamsburg, New York, set fire to a pier 
and tugboat, causing the death of the tug¬ 
boat engineer. For a time it looked as 
though the big oil tanks would go too. 
Their contents were drawn off through the 
pipes leading to the refineries in Green- 
point and Long Island City, but the fire¬ 
men kept the fire from reaching them. The 
pier and the canning plant were destroyed 
at a loss, so the police figured, of upward 
of $100,000. The fire continued to burn 
for over 24 hours. 
The corporation tax provisions of the 
Payne-Aldrich tariff act were sustained 
March 13, as constitutional by the Su¬ 
preme Court of the United States. The 
decision was unanimous. The opinion of 
the court, which .was read by Justice Day, 
regarded the tax as measured by income 
rather than being a tax on income. The 
decision assures the government of a 
source of income amounting now to ap¬ 
proximately $25,000,000 annually. Of all 
the objections to the tax raised by suits in 
all parts of the country, none was found 
sufficient to nullify the law. The court 
did hold that the tax was not applicable 
to the real estate “Trusts” of Boston^ which 
are organized, not under any statute, but 
under the common law. The law was held 
not applicable to the Minneapolis syndi¬ 
cate, a real estate concern, on the ground 
that it was not “doing business,” within 
the meaning of the law. 
The Interstate Commerce Commission has 
turned its attention to the express com¬ 
panies. Within the next two or three 
weeks it will announce a decision with 
respect to the express business which, it 
is believed, will be of as far-reacning im¬ 
portance <!s the recent decision denying the 
railroads the privilege of increasing freight 
rates. The cases soon to be decided in¬ 
volve the justness of express rates out of 
Minneapolis and St. Paul, and certain 
transcontinental rates. The transcontinen¬ 
tal rates under consideration were ques¬ 
tioned by commercial bodies on the Pacific 
Coast. The forthcoming decision will be 
of great importance, because it will be the 
first reflection of the views of the Inter¬ 
state Commerce Commission with respect 
to the business done by express companies, 
and particularly as to the rates charged 
by these companies. The expectation is 
that this decision will be the forerunner 
of a general investigation by the Inter¬ 
state Commerce Commission of the ex¬ 
press company business in this country. 
8ueh an inquiry would cover the relations 
that exist between the express companies 
and the public. The legislation of tin; last 
' ongress amending the interstate commerce 
law brought the express companies within 
the jurisdiction of the Interstate Commerce 
Commission. While the great railroad (uses 
were pending, the commission was able to 
give the express company situation only 
cursory attention. Now that these ratis 
cases are out of the way, the commission 
is giving much of its time to the express 
company. 
Nearly two acres of stock sheds were 
burned at Fort Worth, Texas, March 14, 
killing between 500 and 1,000 head of 
horses, sheep, and hogs, and seriously burn¬ 
ing four men. The value of the dead ani¬ 
mals is estimated at about $250,000 and 
the property loss $50,000. The buildiugs 
burned are : C. B. Team-Horse and Auto¬ 
mobile Company; Austin Brothers' barn; 
Oatinan Brothers, horse importers, barn; 
G. A. Crouch & Son, horse importers, barn; 
A. B. Ilolbert & Sons, horse importers, 
barn; W. O. RemingeV & Co., horse and 
mule dealers, barn ; Fort Worth Horse and 
Mule Company, barns ; hog and sheep sheds 
of the Stock Yards Company, and hog shed 
in the Swift yards. 
After returning 37 indictments, 14 of 
which were for political offences, the Ver¬ 
milion County (Ill.) Grand Jury was dis¬ 
missed March 14 by Judge Kimbrough un¬ 
til April 17, the day preceding the city elec¬ 
tion. William C. Brown, a member of the 
City Election Commission, was indicted for 
receiving money from a candidate to influ¬ 
ence his vote. The grand jury adopted 
resolutions asking that a law be enacted 
making the first offence for purchasing votes 
disfranchisement for five years, and the 
second disfranchisement for life. The reso¬ 
lutions assert that a most astounding state 
of political corruption prevails in Ver¬ 
milion County, and especially in Danville 
Township ; that the election laws have been 
openly and frequently violated, and that 
vast sums of money have frequently been 
used in corrupting the electorate. It is 
asserted that, owing to the suppression of 
evidence and a well planned conspiracy to 
conceal crime by the wholesale commission 
of perjury, the corrupt politicians have 
rendered it extremely difficult for the grand 
jury to obtain proof of violations of the 
election laws. Frequently attempts have 
been made by men prominent in political 
and business circles in Danville to induce 
the grand jury to abandon the investiga¬ 
tion of the election bribery, according to 
the resolutions, the apparent purpose be¬ 
ing to shield men high in the public serv¬ 
ice from exposure through indictment of 
their criminal supporters. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—Horse and mule 
men are watching the military movements 
in Texas with the closest interest, for com¬ 
mercial reasons. Brices are “war high” 
now. and have been for three years. "It 
would puzzle the country to get mules and 
horses to carry on a war,” said one of the 
biggest mule-traders at Kansas City. "The 
stock is not to be had at any price. There 
never has been a time when good stuff was 
as scarce as it is to-day. We could not 
begin to outfit the army with remounts 
the way the British had to outfit for serv¬ 
ice in South Africa.” 
On warrants sworn out by Special Agent 
H. P. Cassidy, Swift & Co., the big meat 
packers, and E. E. Hurlburt, manager of 
the butter and egg department, were ar¬ 
rested at Philadelphia March 13 on four 
charges of selling rotten eggs to George 
Watkins, a butcher. Swift & Co. pleaded 
guilty before Magistrate Beaton and paid 
fines and costs amounting to $418. A. 
Rascer, a wholesale dealer, was also ar¬ 
rested and paid a fine of $200 for selling 
rotten eggs to Julius Stein, a butcher. A 
similar charge was brought against Stoffer 
Brothers, and they were held under $1,000 
each pending a hearing before Magistrate 
Beaton. 
The United States Supreme Court, in an 
opinion by Associate Justice McKenna 
March 13 affirmed the judgment of the 
United States Circuit Court for the North¬ 
ern District of Illinois in what has come 
to be known as the Hipolite egg case. The 
decision is a victory for the government 
and will strengthen the hand of the gov¬ 
ernment in enforcing the food and drugs 
acts. The title of the case is the Hipolite 
Egg Company, claimant of 50 cases, more 
or 'ess, ot preserved eggs, plaintiff in error, 
against the United States. The Hipolite 
firm, which has its place of business in 
St. Louis, had sold the eggs to a bakery 
firm in Peoria, Ill., but held them in stor¬ 
age subject to shipping orders from the 
vendee. After the eggs had been shipped 
to Peoria and were still stored in the orig¬ 
inal package the government seized them 
as adulterated, contrary to law, having been 
preserved by the addition of borax. The 
Hipolite firm intervened. No contention 
was made that the product was not adul¬ 
terated, contrary to law, but the firm con¬ 
tended that the Federal Court had no jur¬ 
isdiction under the pure food law, over 
goods carried in interstate commerce, not 
intended for sale, the eggs having been sold 
in St. Louis and the title passed before 
they entered interstate commerce, and that 
there was no authority to seize the articles 
after they had passed out of interstate 
commerce. The eggs were to be used as 
raw material in manufacturing and not for 
sale. Justice McKenna held that the court 
below had jurisdiction, that the food and 
drugs act was in the interest of pure 
health aud made contraband any products 
carried in interstate commerce that had 
been adulterated in violation of the law 
and that the government could lawfully 
pursue and destroy such goods wherever 
found. _ . 
Hudson Valley Apple Growers. 
It would be difficult to establish a gen¬ 
eral apple growers’ association for the 
Hudson River Valley. The apple growing 
district is pretty extended, and the grow¬ 
ers who are enthusiastic enough to grow 
the right kind of fruit are yet too few. 
We do not now grow much fancy box 
fruit, and I would make haste slowly in 
the matter of packing in boxes under the 
association idea. We must first learn how 
to improve our barrel pack, and secure 
for it a better reputation. There are too 
many individual ideas as to what apples 
should go into the barrel. Not many peo¬ 
ple have learned how to grade apples cor¬ 
rectly and with uniformity of size and 
color. The association principle would re¬ 
quire rigid enforcement of a standard and 
uniform pack for the district. I do not 
see how that can be accomplished for such 
a" scattered membership as we must neces¬ 
sarily have. I do think it perfectly feas¬ 
ible to organize, local associations with a 
chosen membership, appointing competent 
inspectors and officers to supervise all its 
growing and packing operations, and feel 
that an output from such a society would 
soon make name and fame for itself to the 
great financial gain of its members. 
Dutchess Co., N. Y. w. s. teator. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
APPLE TRADE WITH GERMANY. 
Consul Thackara, of Berlin. Germany, 
has sent suggestions regarding the German 
trade in apples and dried fruit. It ap¬ 
pears that while apples are largely grown 
in Germany the climatic conditions are 
not generally favorable for high grade 
fruit, thus Germany is a large importer of 
apples, the demand vaiying of course 
with buying powers of the German peo¬ 
ple. In 1907 the Germans imported 187,- 
159 long tons of apples, that is, tons 
weighing 2,202% pounds. Of this 9,229 
tons came from the United States. In 
1910 this import fell to 122,049 tons, with 
5,121 tons from this country. The heaviest 
imports were from Austria and Switzerland, 
although Italy sent a good many. It is 
said that in December, 1910, poorer grades 
of apples were peddled in the streets of 
Berlin at from five to seven cents a pound. 
At this time medium crops of Baldwins 
and Pippins sold at eight to 11 cents a 
German pound, with is 10 per cent, heavier 
than our own pound. After Christmas 
such varieties as Ben Davis came upon 
the market. The wholesale prices for high- 
grade American Baldwins ran from $7.85 
to $8.35 per barrel last December. Our 
American shippers can figure from this 
how much of the consumer's dollar they 
got. It is said that the German peo¬ 
ple are fond of American apples, and 
they would be glad to take more of them. 
Much of the fruit that goes there is said 
to be poorly packed and stove-piped with 
poor apples in the center of the barrel. 
It appears to be the opinion of the German 
buyers that the box package is the package 
of the future, but that this fruit must be 
sold for less than the Pacific coast fruit 
brings. This report indicates that if the 
barrel fruit now sent abroad could be 
honestly packed in boxes and sold for 
enough more above the barrel price to pay 
for the packing that a very large trade in 
fruit could be developed. Germany is also 
a heavy buyer of dried apples, taking in 
one year 1,300 or 1,400 tons. There is 
no doubt but that a large trade in both 
fresh and dried apples can be secured, in 
Germany, provided our people study the 
market and suit the customers. About 
six years ago we had a call from an Aus¬ 
trian fruit grower who came to this coun¬ 
try to investigate apple culture. He spent 
six months looking through American or¬ 
chards, and on his way back told us that 
in spite of the heavy plantings here he 
should go back and advise his countrymen 
to plant apples heavily. His advice would 
seem to be justified, since last year the 
German people bought over 42,000 tons of 
fresh apples from Austria. This man told 
us that he did not fear American im¬ 
ports, as we were not careful enough to 
study the needs of the German people, 
either in varieties or in methods of hand¬ 
ling. The Austrians live close to the Ger¬ 
man people, knew what they wanted and 
could supply it. That seems to state the 
whole story in regard to the apple trade. 
It is not so much a question of production 
as of knowing just what Europe wants and 
then supplying their wants. 
The Canadian Wheat Crop. 
Can you give the statistics showing how 
much wheat is grown in Canada and how 
much consumed by the Canadian people? 
J. L. B. 
The amount of wheat produced in Can¬ 
ada in 1910 was 149,989,600 bushels. In 
1909 the production of wheat was 166,744,- 
000 bushels. The quantity of wheat and 
wheat flour imported into and exported 
from Canada in the fiscal year ended March 
31, 1910, was as follows: 
Bushels. 
Imports of wheat (home consump¬ 
tion) . 55,270 
Imports of wheat flour (home 
consumption) . 144,182 
Total . 199,452 
Exports of wheat (domestic).... 49,741,350 
Exports of wheat flour (domestic) 14,061.795 
Total .63,803,145 
The flour has been computed at four 
bushels and 35 pounds of grain to the bar¬ 
rel. I am unable to give you the con¬ 
sumption of wheat in Canada, but you 
may make a rough estimate yourself for 
the year 1909, from the figures I have 
given you. No estimate of consumption 
can be made for 1910, as the fiscal year 
1911 does not end until the 31st of this 
month, and the figures of export and im¬ 
port are therefore not yet complete. Infor¬ 
mation gathered two years ago from a 
large number of correspondents in Mani- 
itoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta shows that 
the average consumption of wheat flour 
in those provinces was 5.80 bushels per 
head of the population in a year, and of 
oatmeal 1.80 bushels. 
Canadian Census Office. a. blue. 
___ Chief Officer. 
Vermont or Maryland. 
On page 233 we find inquiry as to mer¬ 
its of Vermont or Maryland, with state¬ 
ment that there are farms on the eastern 
shore of Maryland that can be bought for 
$8 an acre. Well, the writer has been 
here 19 years; he could not find that cheap 
farming land less than four or six times 
$8; now you can add an 0 behind this 
$8, and would not get the writer’s farm, 
for all that he is nine miles from the city. 
Other places situated close to city and 
other farms close to water fronts, would 
come to two and three times $80. The 
writer says the buildings are not much. He 
must have been here 25 or 80 years ago, 
and then looked on the negro shanties. The 
tide has changed considerably the last 10 
years; since the people come in here from 
the North and West. Most have plenty of 
money; so buildings are replaced; ‘city 
people come here aud buy the water front 
farms for Summer resorts. The Vermont 
friend should come here now; he would 
open his eyes if he could see the change. 
The answer is about right; some came 
here and soou got dissatisfied while they 
could not see the chimney smoke from the 
old home. > They admit that they could 
do better here. Mostly it is the wife’s 
fault; but if you have friends and neigh¬ 
bors where you are you will have them 
here also. Some of the people think this 
is the garden spot of the world. A good 
many things can be raised here that can¬ 
not be raised at other places. m. w. k. 
Cordova, Md. 
APPLES FOR SOUTHWEST IOWA. 
I note inquiry of II. It. M., Belle I’laine, 
Iowa. As not a few of us have gone 
through the partial life history of an or¬ 
chard here in Iowa and been using the 
ideas inquired about, I volunteer some re- 
TYi O Y"l.- C? O C* (-A Art Art .a /, /.L. 11 «w r.. .. 6 1 1 
luaiKUUUg JU'cU LUG* llUjUircr, 
I would advise him not to use Duchess, 
but Wealthy exclusively as a filler. Wealthy 
is not so perishable, and as regular and 
sure a cropper, and is an apple that we 
have been able to hold in cold storage until 
January 12. After picking Duchess there 
must be quick work even to get to stor¬ 
age, and then three to five weeks is the 
limit; the loss is heavy while shipping, 
unless everything is very favorable. The 
Eastman is practically an unknown apple 
in Iowa horticulture, and you would have 
to work up a market aud reputation. Fa- 
meuse is practically a Fall apple, and there 
is yearly immense waste of Fall fruit, as 
it is unsalable, and not really as good 
as some of the Winter list. Next to Wealthy 
Gano has been the best paying apple; it 
is nearly as bright as Jonathan, and not 
so dark as Black Ben Davis, so color 
gets muddy, blurred black while in storage 
and confinement awaiting marketing. Next 
two sorts we find are Jonathan and Rawl's 
Janet. Janet is nearly as hardy in 
this section (and think it is so in 
Belle Plaine soil) as Wealthy. Its 
value is in that it blooms two weeks 
later than general list of apples; it 
is a late Winter sort. But when freeze- 
outs occur that knock bloom of all standard 
apples, its being so late a bloomer it is 
nearly sure to crop an “off year.” 1 hit 
such a crop three years ago, and the Ar¬ 
mour Company came here and paid me 
$2.70 per barrel for all crop, culls, sec¬ 
onds and firsts, took everything but wet 
rots. One-third of my planting made 17 
years ago is this kind, and I am well 
satisfied with them. It is said the ap¬ 
ple is too small; this can bo overcome by 
stimulation, fertilizing and thinning by 
pruning small branches from limbs. 
As to Gano and Jonathan, these I know 
would not be strictly hardy in this loca¬ 
tion, but here I overcome this by setting 
three-year trees of the variety called Haas 
or Gros Pomier, and second year after plann¬ 
ing the Haas we top-grafted the limbs with 
Jonathan and Gano, and find that this 
arrangement makes trees good here for 60 
years, as this lias been tested over 40 
years in an adjoining county ; we found it 
safe and profitable. The Jonathan has 
the highest selling value of any apple in 
western markets in fancy list, Gano in 
standard cooking list. Grimes Golden has 
next highest selling value in fancy list. 
This can be safely planted in his orchard 
if he plants Fluke’s Virginia crab or Hi¬ 
bernal apple as a stock and then tops them 
with Grimes Golden. This is no experi¬ 
ment. and sure combination, and in fact 
on these two stocks, you can graft most 
of the list of standard Winter apples, and 
they are a _ success so top-worked. But 
on your soil the entire Winesap family 
of apples and all seedlings of it, as Stay- 
man, Senator, Arkansas Black, Mammoth 
Black Twig, want to be avoided, unless it 
might be possibly Stayman. 
As to planting in sod I would not do 
it; it will never pay. Plow your ground, 
disk it half a dozen times, plant trees and 
sow corn five or six years; then clover 
until bearing, and when bearing begins in 
earnest to draw on vitality of trees put a 
good span of draft brood mares on to a 
spreader and town manure in the orchard 
in Winter and in Summer raise good colts; 
spray and disk that orchard and keep it 
up. If you see growth is too stroug on 
trees and it is at expense of fruit bud 
formation check culture by seeding to clover 
and make a hog run on the orchard, not 
over three pigs to acre, keeping them sleep¬ 
ing and eating outside to tramp the ground 
temporarily and eat dropping imperfect 
fruits, take up pests and vermin, and never 
over-pasture or stock it with pigs nor any 
stock, but make it a grazing ground for 
them in early Summer and Spring ■ shut 
them out as they get near market size’. One 
of the best orchards as a model and study 
is that of C. II. Deur, Missouri Valley, Iowa, 
of 70 acres, and I advise the inquirer at 
Belle Plaine to look this over carefully, as 
it is in its prime, and this year wili pos¬ 
sibly bear ono of the best crops in its 
history WM. bomberoer. 
Shelby Co., Iowa. 
Phizes for Orchards. —The Illinois State 
Horticultural Society offers $175 in prizes 
for the best work in spraying an orchard. 
1 he orchard must contain not less than 
2 () acres all in one block. We assume that 
the owner may handle the trees as he 
pleases. The following “score card” will 
be used in judging: 
Scab. 
Other fungus diseases of foliage 
and fruit. 0 
Ourculio . ....15 « 
Codling moth. ..!!!!!! .20 “ 
Other insect injury to foliage and 
fruit . 
Freedom from spray injury. 15 
Size and color of foliage.......10 
Size and color of fruit. 10 
^The secretary is W. B. Lloyd, Kinmundy, 
We are having mild weather, snow all 
£o, ne > A some thunder showers already. 
\\ heat and grass fields damaged on low 
grounds. Lots of public sales. Horses, cat¬ 
tle and hogs high in price. Wheat 80 
ter t ”l> C01 D ’ 45 ’ ° ats ’ ’ eggs ’ 1 c 5 but- 
Snyder Co., Central Penna. 
Weather too warm for the time of year, 
Vouna dry: unless heavy rains come we 
shall enter the growing season with a short¬ 
age ot moisture. Wheat not in good condi¬ 
tion ; some breaking done; many farms 
changing hands, and many becoming tenant 
farms because of this; 898 deeds recorded 
last year—stock sales very numerous; at 
one held March 8 over $3,000 was real¬ 
ized from the sale of dairy stock cows 
ranging from $75 to $102 per head. We do 
not see where the buyers can realize on such 
prices Cannery business engaging attention 
now; land rents run from $7 to $10 per 
acre. cash. They rent about 800 acres for 
their own growing. Shortage last year of 
all canning products will cause big demand 
this year. Stock, all kinds, high ; hogs at a 
premium, especially brood sows. Sheep 
more numerous than any other animals • 
poultry business is assuming big proportions’ 
Carroll Co., Ind. j. n. H . 
,20 
points 
5 
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