THE RURAL' NEW-YORKER 
779 
1913. 
COMMISSION MEN ARE BANKERS. 
Late frosts have caused great damage 
to the farms in Anne Arundel County, 
Maryland. It seems impossible for the 
warm weather to settle down, and even 
at this late date we are having frosts. 
But it was upon the nights of May 10-11 
that the injury was done. The entire 
crops were destroyed on some farms and 
it was too late to make a new start with 
any prospects of good returns. There is al¬ 
most no fruit left upon the trees, and 
the grapevines suffered as well as their 
fruit. Even the wild flowers in the 
woods were touched by the frost. The 
strawberry crop was very small, about 
one-tenth of the usual crop, judging from 
the number of crates purchased and the 
number used. This will be a hard year 
for many, and because of the crop short¬ 
age and to make their profits snre, I sup¬ 
pose. the commission men seem to have 
doubled their charges in Baltimore. They 
are deducting 10 per cent, now, 10 per 
cent, from a very small dollar during a 
year when nearly all crops have failed is 
going to make a hard year harder. 
The commission man may be eliminat¬ 
ed in time. Speed the day! But in the 
meantime the government and not. the 
commission man should be the farmer’s 
banker. As it is the commission man 
has absolute control of the truck farms 
in Anne Arundel County. The only part 
the farmer does is the work; that is no 
inconsiderable share, but it is unremu- 
nerative under the present conditions. 
The commission man furnishes the seed 
and fertilizer and takes the crop. At the 
end of the season he deducts his price for 
the seed and for the fertilizer and 10 per 
cent, for selling the crop, then he gives 
the farmer all that is left. It is not sur¬ 
prising under these circumstances that 
there is seldom much left, and very often 
the farmer ends the season in debt to the 
commission man. Of course the farmer 
pays interest upon this debt. 
Will some one with a head for figures 
please tell us how many ends of the com¬ 
mission man’s dollar are drawing interest? 
Interest on fertilizer loan, and interest 
on seed loan, both at inflated prices, be¬ 
sides which the commission man buys at 
his own prices and deducts 10 per cent. 
True, if one does not care to receive his 
supplies in this way, or if one becomes 
overcome with the desire for cash, one 
can borrow real money—from the com¬ 
mission man. of course. Recent laws 
have put a stop to loaning money at the 
excessive rate once so freely advertised in 
Maryland, so it is now possible to borrow 
even from a commission man at 6 per 
cent, in the following way : The farmer 
borrows, say, .$500 the first of July for 
12 months. lie pays interest from that 
time until December 30, upon which date, 
and not before, he receives his $500. He 
then has the use of it for the following 
six months at six per cent., having in 
reality paid interest at the rate of 12 per 
cent. Looking these figures over makes 
the 35-cent dollar look big. 
HAY NS WORTH BALDltEY. 
SOUTHWESTERN FARM NOTES. 
Cream for Creamery Sharks. —Th 
dairy industry has enjoyed a health; 
growth in the Southwest during the pas 
lew years, and this has given numerou 
smooth-tongued creamery promoters ai 
opportunity to lob the farmer of thou 
sands of dollars by selling them a cream 
ery plant valued at $1,000 or $1,500 fo 
four or five times that much. A fev 
years ago one of these gentry persuade* 
a community, despite the warnings o 
State Agricultural College, to pa; 
$0,500 for a plant, the true value o 
which was about $2,000. This, too 
where the dairy industry was in sued 
an undeveloped condition that not mor< 
than 100 pounds of butter fat could hi 
secured weekly. Fortunately this projec 
was backed by men who could afford t< 
l"w‘ the money; consequently they kep 
the plant going until it was leased by : 
l>ig creamery company as a feeder fo; 
maiu plant. Owing to this fact n< 
t'teat amount of damage was done tin 
'industry iu this section, but vet'; 
otten such swindles work great da mag* 
to tuture development. 
A Two-Oent Dollar. —The cabbage 
glowers of Southwest Texas have, dur 
iht past 1\ inter, been undergoinj 
an experience that would make The R 
„’’ s , SS-cent dollar look like “eas; 
m ° Ue y- These growers put their cab 
bage on the market in the Winter, hence 
they usually have no competition from 
other section; but this year part of a 
heavy Western crop was carried over 
in storage, and Southwestern growers 
sold many carloads at $2 and $4 per 
ton—scant pay for the mere labor of 
harvesting and loading. At the same 
time cabbage was retailing in Dallas, a 
few hundred miles away, for five cents a 
pound. 
Protecting Seed Corn. —On page 712 
a reader inquires for information con¬ 
cerning a repel la nt for seed corn to 
prevent subsequent damage by birds. 
Coal tar is one of the cheapest and best 
substances for this purpose. To apply 
it place a moderate quantity of corn in 
a bucket or similar vessel, dip a corncob 
about two inches deep in the tar and 
stir through the corn. Shake up occa¬ 
sionally and keep stirring until each 
grain is covered with a thin coating of 
tar. This will not injure the geminating 
qualities of the corn, but it will not 
drop freely when planting unless a few 
drops of kerosene are used on the drill 
plate occasionally. Maurice floyd. 
Texas. 
CO-OPERATIVE SELLING IN THE OZARKS 
By far the greater number of the fruit 
growers of the Ozark Hills region are 
members of some association. The idea 
of co-operative selling of fruits, especially 
berries, has grown very rapidly within 
the last 10 years. The growing of straw¬ 
berries as a market crop has assumed 
mammoth proportions in portions of some 
half dozen or more of the West Central 
States, and the problem of getting this 
vast quantity of fruit to the consumer 
was a grave one. Far-sighted business 
men among the growers realized years 
ago that shipping in car lots was the so¬ 
lution of this problem. This of course 
necessitated organization. Few growers 
could plant a sufficient acreage to load 
a car alone, hence many small associa¬ 
tions were formed, the combined- acreage 
of which would load from one to 20 or 30 
cars in a day. Many of these small as¬ 
sociations are tributary to one great cen¬ 
tral body, the “Ozark Fruit Growers’ As¬ 
sociation.” or O. F. G., as it is called for 
short. This organization, with headquar¬ 
ters at Monette, Mo., now handles and 
distributes more than half of the fruit 
grown in southern Missouri and western 
Arkansas, besides a great part of the 
Kansas and Oklahoma fruit crop. The 
officers of this association, P. A. Rodgers 
of Gravette, Ark., and W. F. Stroud of 
Monette, Mo., find the markets, confer 
with the various sub-associations daily, 
order each car to the city needing it, and 
have the entire management of the sale 
or consignment of each car. The O. F. G. 
stands behind each shipment of fruit, 
guaranteeing the sale, and pushing claims 
for losses and damages. For this service 
and risk an assessment of three per cent, 
is levied upon the receipts. The sub- 
associations also levy about three per 
cent, for local expenses, which together 
with the three per cent, to the O. F. G. 
makes an average of about 10 cents per 
crate to each grower. This in contrast 
with 50 cents per crate, the expense of 
express shipment, seems very moderate. 
In addition to the O. F. G. many inde¬ 
pendent associations are in operation in 
the larger cities. Neosho. Anderson, 
Monette and Pierce City, Mo., and a 
number of cities in Arkansas have strong 
associations, and have shipped in the ag¬ 
gregate many hundreds of cars. The 
berry crop was smaller than generally 
anticipated, with prices somewhat better 
than those of last year. A violent hail¬ 
storm laid waste crops in portions of 
four or five counties of South Missouri, 
cutting down the berry output a good 
many carloads. Damage to crops, fruit 
and buildings was probably in excess of 
$100.000—perhaps $200,000. The peach 
crop is immense iu the Koshkonong dis¬ 
trict. and in some parts of Oklahoma and 
Arkansas, while in many other peach dis¬ 
tricts of these States it is a failure. 
Christian Co., Mo. w. c. 
COMING FARMERS’ MEETINGS. 
Summer meeting of the Virginia State 
Horticultural Society, University of Vir¬ 
ginia, Charlottesville, July 1(5. 
Sixteenth annual convention of the 
Canadian Horticultural Association will 
be held at Peterboro, Out., in August. 
New York State Fair and Grand Cir¬ 
cuit Meeting, Syracuse, N. Y., September 
Lancaster Fair, Lancaster, Pa., Sep¬ 
tember 30-Oetober 3. 
Vermont Corn Show, Windsor, Vt., 
November 5-7. 
Third Indiana Apple Show, Indianapo¬ 
lis, November 5-11. 
Maryland State Horticultural Society, 
Maryland Crop Improvement Association, 
Maryland Dairymen’s Association, Mary¬ 
land Beekeepers' Association, and Fann¬ 
ers’ League, Baltimore, November 17-22. 
Summer meeting N. Y. State Fruit 
Growers’ Association will be held at 
Olcott Beach, Niagara Co., N. Y.; date 
to be named later. 
EVENTS OF THE WEEK 
DOMESTIC.—The Pennsylvania Sen¬ 
ate passed the State wide direct primary 
and party enrolment bills June 4, both 
with amendments that will necessitate 
their going back to the House for con¬ 
currence. The primary bill abolishes 
State and county conventions and re¬ 
quires all nominations for State and 
local offices to be made at the primaries. 
It does away with nomination by peti¬ 
tion after th<> primaries. The enrolment 
bill requires the voter at registration time 
to designate the party whose ticket he 
wishes to vote at the subsequent prim¬ 
aries. 
After deliberating for IS hours the jury 
which heard the dynamite conspiracy case 
at Boston acquitted June 7, President W. 
M. Wood of the American Woolen Com¬ 
pany, reported a disagreement as regards 
Frederick E. Atteaux, president of the 
Atteaux Mill Supply Company, and 
found Dennis J. Collins, a Cambridge 
dog fancier, guilty on two of the six 
counts in the indictment. Collins con¬ 
fessed on the witness stand that he car¬ 
ried the explosive to Lawrence and aided 
John .T. Breen to “plant” it in the places 
where it was discovered by the police on 
January 20, 1912. He said he did not 
know what the stuff was. 
June 6 a Paterson. N. J.. judge sen¬ 
tenced Alexander Scott, editor of a 
Socialist paper which had endorsed the 
cause of the silk strikers, to an indeter¬ 
minate sentence of one to 15 years, and 
a fine of $250. This sentence was im¬ 
posed despite the fact that the jury 
which convicted him on a charge of com¬ 
mitting a high misdemeanor described in 
the indictment as inciting “hostility to 
government,” accompanied its verdict 
with a recommendation to the court for 
mercy. The maximum sentence under 
the statute is fifteen years in jail and 
$2,000 hue. 
An indictment charging a combination 
in restraint of trade in violation of the 
Sherman law was found June 7 against 
President John P. White and national 
district officials of the Lmited Mine 
Workers by a Federal Grand Jury at 
Charleston, W. Va. There are four 
counts. One charges a general conspiracy 
for the purpose of compelling all miners 
in West Virginia to become members of 
the union. The second and third recite 
that 40,000,000 tons a year are produced 
in West Virginia, of which 15 per cent, 
is consumed in the State, the rest being 
shipped to Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and 
other competitive territory. The fourth 
count charges that the objects and pur¬ 
poses of the mine workers’ organization 
is to establish a monopoly of mining 
labor and to fix wages in West Virginia 
high enough to lessen and restrict com¬ 
petition. Conspiracy with coal operators 
in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Illi¬ 
nois to carry out these objects and to 
give them a complete monopoly of the 
aforesaid markets is charged. 
Damage estimated at $360,000 was 
caused by fire which started in the fac¬ 
tory of the Columbia Paper Bag Com¬ 
pany. Long Island City, N. Y., June S, 
and spread to several adjoining buildings. 
The explosion of a tank of turpentine 
in the Pratt & Lambert varnish works 
placed fifteen firemen in imminent peril. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—The fourth 
general assembly of the International 
Institute of Agriculture was opened at 
Rome on May 6, by the Marquis Rafaele 
Capelli, the president. The following 
questions were among those discussed: 
Protection of birds; measures taken by 
the governments of the subscribing coun¬ 
tries; agricultural statistics; statistics 
on fertilizers; meteorologic service; pro¬ 
gram of an international organization of 
agricultural meteorology; diseases of 
plants; questions regarding international 
collaboration in the fight against these 
diseases; eventual extension of the inter¬ 
national convention against the phyl¬ 
loxera and fight against other plant dis¬ 
eases; economic and social institutions; 
inquiries into insurance against hail; 
statistics on agricultural co-operation. 
Secretary of Agriculture Huston has 
suspended pending further investigation 
•T. Warren Smith, professor of meteor¬ 
ology. Columbus, Ohio; Henry B. Hersey, 
general inspector, Milwaukee; Rosswitte 
E. Pollock, section director, Trenton, N. 
J.. and Norman P. Conger, general in¬ 
spector, Detroit. Thirty-nine men con¬ 
nected with the Weather Bureau have 
been disciplined either by deposition, de¬ 
motion or suspension, as a result of al¬ 
leged political activity in the interests of 
W. L. Moore, late head of the Bureau. 
WASHINGTON.—Ratification of the 
renewed arbitration treaty with Great 
Britain was prevented June 4 after iden¬ 
tical treaties with two other countries 
had been ratified without any objection 
being raised. Senator Chamberlain of 
< >regou, responsible for the successful 
blocking of the attempt to ratify the 
treaty, said frankly he based his op¬ 
position ou the fact that ratification 
of the treaty would obligate the United 
States to arbitrate the Panama Canal 
tolls controversy with Great Britain. 
The British arbitration treaty expired by 
limitation June 3. The two Governments 
agreed to its renewal for another period 
of five years and the Senate Committee 
ou Foreign Relations brought iu a re¬ 
port recommending the ratification of the 
treaty as well as of identical treaties 
with Italy and Spain. The Senate in 
executive session agreed to the ratifica¬ 
tion of the treaties with Spain and Italy, 
but when a vote on the British treaty 
was proposed Senator Chamberlain ob¬ 
jected. The Senate, desiring to avoid 
the appearance of affronting Great 
Britain, thereupon withdrew the ratifi¬ 
cations of the Spanish and Italian trea¬ 
ties. 
GOVERNMENT CROP REPORT. 
General crop conditions on June 1 
averaged for the United States 0.5 per 
cent, lower than on same date last year. 
Conditions are somewhat below average 
in States east of the Mississippi, except 
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, Tennes¬ 
see, and Mississippi, and above average 
conditions west of the Mississippi, except 
in North Dakota. Kansas, Oklahoma, 
Montana, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, 
Idaho and California. 
The condition of various crops com¬ 
pared with their average condition (not 
normal) on June 1 was as follows: 
Raspberries, 105; blackberries, 104; 
Winter wheat, 103.5; Alfalfa, 102.5; 
apples, 101.5; rye, 101.3 ; cabbage, 100.6; 
clover, 100.5; Lima beans, 100.4; onions, 
100.1; hay, 100.1; Spring wheat, 99.7; 
pasture, 99.7; watermelons, 99.5; cot¬ 
ton, 99.0; sugar beets, 99; oats, 98.4; 
barley, 96.2; peaches. 95.2; pears, 89.9. 
The following details of acreage and 
prices on dates named and given by the 
Bureau of Statistics: 
Acreage, 1013. 
Condition, June 1. 
Crop. Acres. 
1913. 
1912- 
Spring Wheat_ 1S.C03.000 
93.5 
95.8 
Winter wheat.. .. 30,938.000 
83.5 
74.3 
All wheat. 49.001,000 
87.2 
83.3 
Oats . 38.341,000 
87.0 
91.1 
Barley . 7,255,000 
87.1 
91.1 
Rye . 
90.9 
87.7 
Hay . 
87.5 
89.8 
Pastures . 
89.2 
93.7 
June 1, 
June 1, 
1913. 
1912. 
Corn, per bushel. 
00. G 
82.5 
Wheat, per bushel.. 
S2.7 
$1.02.8 
Oats, per bushel. 
36.0 
55.3 
Barley, per bushel. 
52.7 
91.1 
Rye. per bushel. 
G4.1 
86.1 
Buckwheat, per bushel. 
70.8 
84.8 
Flaxseed, per bushel.SI.15.8 
2.05.0 
Potatoes, per bushel. 
55.2 
1.19.7 
Cottou. per pound. 
11.5 
11.0 
Butter, per pound. 
25.5 
24.8 
Chickens, per pound. 
12.0 
11.1 
Eggs, per dozen. 
16.9 
16.7 
Hay per ton. 11.30.0 
17.54.0 
May 15, 
May 15, 
1913. 
1912. 
Hogs, per 100 pounds.S 
7.45 
5 6.79 
Beef cattle, per 100 pounds 
6.01 
5.36 
Veal calves, per 100 pounds 
7.17 
6.23 
Sheep, per 100 pounds.... 
4.91 
4.74 
Lambs, per 100 pounds... 
6.66 
6.16 
Milch cows, each. 54.80 
45.63 
Horses, each . 145.00 
144.00 
Cabbage, per 100 pounds.. 
1.58 
2.98 
Apples, per bushel. 
.94 
1.29 
Beans, per bushel. 
2.18 
2.52 
Onions, per bushel. 
.87 
1.77 
Sweet potatoes, per bushel 
.93 
1.19 
Clover seed, per bushel... 10.74 
12.53 
Timothy seed, per bushel. 
1.76 
7.16 
Alfalfa seed, per bushel.. 
8.21 
Wool (unwashed), pound.. 
.163 
.178 
Peanuts, per pound. 
.047 
.049 
Maple sugar, per pound.. 
.123 
.116 
Maple syrup, per gallon.. 
1.081 
1.088 
Broom corn, per ton. 53.00 
83.00 
June 12. In the north-central part of 
Columbia County all crops, with the ex¬ 
ception of rye, are backward and not at 
all promising. Apples, perhaps, will be 
the most disappointing, though earlier in 
the season the prospect was very flat¬ 
tering. The recent frosts have materially 
affected all garden truck. Pasture is 
very poor, owing to an excessive dry 
spell. The grass is not growing as it 
should. Excepting wool and sheep, prices 
generally speaking, are not satisfactory. 
No sale for hay locally, and only $12 per 
ton in car lots at Ghent, which is about 
midway between New York and Boston. 
Ghent, Columbia Co., N. Y. h. a. 
Hay is selling at $10 per ton; oats, 45; 
potatoes. 35; eggs, 20 cents per dozen; 
cheese, 14; butter, 33; beef, live weight, 
$5.50 per hundred; dressed, $7.50; veal, 
live. $9 ; dressed, $11; pork, live weight, 
$7 per hundred; dressed, $10. Oats are 
doing well here, and corn is up about 
three to four inches. The farmers are 
just planting potatoes. Grass is coming 
on well. The farmers think there will 
be a large amount of fruit, as the hard 
frosts did not do the damage that they 
thought it would. l. a. y. 
Fillmore, N. Y. 
The fruit crop in this section is prac¬ 
tically a failure. e. b. j. 
Mason Co., W. Va. 
June 9. A heavy freeze May 20 in¬ 
jured the apple and peach crop in this 
part of Ontario County. Baldwin apples 
are a light crop owing to the overbearing 
of the trees in 1912. Greening. Spy and 
King in orchards where the air drainage 
is good, escaped the freeze and show up 
well. Pears seem to be a good crop. 
Plums and peaches below the average. 
Strawberries badly injured. Raspberries 
and blackberries in full bloom and the 
mercury at 32 degrees last evening and 
the prospect of another freeze to-night. 
Cherries, half a crop. f. n. a. 
lloneoye, N. Y. 
This is a potato growing section. Grass 
is good on the lowlands, but the frost and 
dry weather have hurt the grass on the 
hill farms. Oats looking good. Wheat 
aud rye good on the average. There 
seems to be a light crop of apples. 
Farmers are behind in their work: help 
ou the farm is scarce. A good man can 
got $28 to $30 a month and board. There 
will be about the same acreage of pota¬ 
toes planted as last year. Potatoes are 
worth 75 cents per bushel; eggs. 20 cents 
per dozen; butter, from 23 to 25 cents 
for good dairy. s. A. L. 
Avoca, N. Y. 
