WHB RURAB NEW-YORKER 
899 
A few years ago when grasshoppers appeared in 
Kansas and other Western States there was little 
to do but let them destroy the crops. A few me¬ 
chanical devices were tried, but they barely made 
a dent on the plague. Now the farmers co-operate 
to fight the hoppers. Within three days 120 tons of 
poisoned bait were spread in three Kansas counties 
Wheat bran poisoned with arsenic, sweetened with 
molasses and seasoned with orange juice did the 
work, and a regular “hopper” campaign was or¬ 
ganized. The poison was furnished by the county 
commissioners and it was so deadly that in one Al¬ 
falfa field over 150 dead hoppers were found to 
the square foot! Here is another argument for 
co-operation. Individual farmers each working sep¬ 
arately could never have cleaned out this pest. 
* 
How can I kill Canada thistle? As a “leading 
question” that beats the tariff or currency bill with 
many a farmer just now. It comes to us every day. 
The little picture—taken from a government bulle¬ 
tin—shows why this question stays with us: 
Diagram showing the characteristic growth of the 
Canada thistle. The shoots are illustrated in various 
stages of development, from the most advanced down 
to buds just starting from the roots. 
Thus the plant is propagated both by its seeds and 
by its underground parts. There is no use merely 
cutting off the flowers or seeds, because the roots 
will send up new stalks. Thus the theory of killing 
out Canada thistle is summed up as follows: 
“After this weed has obtained a foothold the best 
way to eradicate it is to prevent it from sending up 
top or aboveground growth, which finally causes the 
roots to die. This is the basic principle which must 
be kept in mind at all times. The top of the plant 
serves much the same purpose as the lungs of ani¬ 
mals, so that if the plant is continually deprived of 
that vital part it must soon die.’' 
Farmers will name a dozen ways of doing this. 
You can plow and give thorough culture, mow off 
the tops again and again, cut the plants out with a 
spud, turn in sheep to keep the young thistles 
gnawed down close or plow and sow a thick crop 
like millet or buckwheat to smother out the thistles. 
You can think out a dozen ways, but the theory of 
the cure is always the same—keep the tops from 
growing and the roots will die. 
* 
It is sometimes hard to convince a man that the 
“unit orchard” proposition is a thing to let alone. 
You may be so sure that it will prove a fake that 
the knowledge grows to conviction. Yet you cannot 
prove it until the crash finally comes. One of these 
“unit” companies has been making extravagant 
claims in their efforts to find investors. A reliable 
and expert fruit grower recently visited the place 
and sends us this report: 
I have been over a section of their immense tract 
and find that they are using largely cull nursery stock, 
and are giving the trees very poor attention. I believe 
that if people, generally, had a little better understand¬ 
ing of these fake propositions it would save many 
dollars to investors. 
That would be enough for a man who knows any¬ 
thing about fruit growing, but these promoters do 
not want that kind of people. They want “suckers” 
who will believe big stories and yarns which are 
palpably false to actual fruit growers. We know 
that these “unit” schemes are sure to fail. The 
foundation upon which they are built is worse than 
shifting sand. Yet we know people who have taken 
their savings, out of sound securities to invest in 
these worse than wildcat propositions. You might 
sell the hide of the wildcat after he died, but the 
unit orchard will produce no hide or core. 
* 
The commission men is down, but his shoulders do 
not touch the floor yet. Hold hard at him! 
w. c. s. 
^ °u may generally trust our people to put the 
case in a few words so that anyone can understand. 
I he commission men, or at least a good share of 
'hem, invited the struggle which culminated in the 
bole bill. An honest commission trade with the 
s niall shipper fairly protected would be a conveni¬ 
ence if not a necessity to our farmers. Without 
supervision or restraint this trade developed into a 
system of robbery and extortion. Even the men 
who try to be fair and decent in their treatment 
of customers will admit that. We have had many 
of them do so. When a man is dealing with distant 
customers who have neither the power nor the capi¬ 
tal to enforce their claims it becomes a great temp¬ 
tation even to a well-meaning man to take more 
than a fair share. Then there are men who are 
naturally crooked and do not need any temptation 
to put their fingers where they do not belong. The 
Cole bill is the first attempt to correct these abuses. 
The fact is. it is more of an advantage to the com¬ 
mission man than to the shipper, for it gives the 
former a form of endorsement from the State. The 
shipper makes a gain by establishing the principle 
of State supervision. We regard the law about as 
we do parcel post—it is a start in the right direc¬ 
tion. The way to improve it is to work it as well 
as we can. The commission men know well enough 
that if they do not play fair there is power enough 
on the farms of New York to force both shoulders 
to the floor and hold them there. 
THE SULZER APPLE LAW. 
The so-called Sulzer Apple Package and Grade 
Law has gone into operation. This law is designed 
to permit apple growers to standardize their fruit, 
if they care to do so. Many growers have long de¬ 
sired to mark their fruit as fancy, or sell it by a 
definite grade under a brand. The Sulzer law prac¬ 
tically gives the fruit grower a chance to sell his 
goods under the Pure Food and Drug Act. The “law 
does not apply to all fruit, but to that fruit packed 
in a certain way, and branded or marked with a 
certain grade. This law states that the standard 
barrel should have a length of stave of 28% inches; 
diameter of head 17% inches; distance between 
heads 26 inches; circumference at the bulge 65 
inches outside measure. The barrel is to represent 
as nearly as possible 7,056 cubic inches. Three 
grades of apples are named under this law. The 
apples must be of one variety, well-grown speci¬ 
mens, hand-picked, and of a good color for the 
variety. They must be of normal shape, and prac¬ 
tically free from insect and fungus injury. They 
must also be free from bruises and other defects, 
except such as are necessarily caused in the opera¬ 
tion of packing. Thus there is but one grade of 
fruit, but this grade is divided into three sizes, gov¬ 
erned by the minimum size of the apples in each 
grade. The first size is 2% inches as a minimum; 
the next size 2% inches, and the smallest size two 
inches. A barrel of apples packed and branded 
must be plainly marked with the size of fruit 
claimed by the grower. If a barrel is marked as of 
standard size, and it is found that the capacity is 
less than 7.056 cubic inches, such a barrel is deemed 
below standard, unless the exact capacity is marked 
upon the barrel. If you pack your apples for the 
largest size, you should mark the barrel as follows: 
“Standard Grade, minimum size 2% inches.” 
They may be as much larger as you desire, but 
this is the smallest size which should go into that 
barrel. Barrels packed with apples to be branded 
in this way would be considered misbranded under 
this law under the following conditions: 
First, if the barrel bears any statement, design or 
device indicating that the apples contained therein 
are “standard grade” and the apples when packed 
do not conform to the requirements prescribed by 
Section 2 of this act. 
Second, if the barrel bears any statement, design 
or device indicating that the apples contained 
therein are “standard grade” and the barrel fails 
to bear also a statement of the name of the variety, 
the name of the locality where grown, and the name 
of the packer or the person by whose authority the 
apples were packed and the barrel marked. “Mis¬ 
handling” makes the packer subject to a fine of one 
dollar and costs for each barrel so sold or offered 
for sale. 
All barrels marked standard grade must also 
have the name of the variety, the name of the local¬ 
ity where grown, and the name of the picker or 
person under whose authority the apples were 
packed, and the barrel marked. It has been decided 
that the following sentence may also be used on 
such barrels: 
“Packed in accordance with the Act of Congress 
approved August 3, 1912.” 
The object of this law is to provide definite stand¬ 
ards of size and character for apples, in order that 
both buyer and seller may have something definite 
upon which to base a contract for picking, packing 
or buying. This gives the careful apple grower, 
who cares to make use of it, an opportunity to han¬ 
dle his fruit under a definite guarantee of quality 
and size. 
THE CROP OUTLOOK. 
The peach crop for the entire country this year is 
somewhat less than normal, yet there are some States 
and localities where the yield is large. Connecticut,* 
Iowa and Missouri sire heavy. North Ohio and West¬ 
ern New York promise well. Delaware, Maryland and 
parts of New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, are light. Ship¬ 
ments from Georgia have been fairly large, and price 
in northern markets high for any above medium grade, 
$2.50 to $3 being a common price for the six-till case 
holding about 18 quarts. At retail the large peaches 
bring five cents each and smaller ones half that price. 
World Crops. 
The estimated production of wheat this season in 
Bulgaria is 64.301,000 bushels; Spain, 110.100.000; 
England and Wales, 55,080,000; Italy, 198.417,000 
bushels. The estimated combined total of Belgium, 
Bulgaria, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Luxemburg, Switzer¬ 
land. United States, India, Japan, Great Britain, Eu¬ 
ropean Russia (Winter wheat), and Hungary, exclud¬ 
ing Croatia and Slavonia, is 1,962,000,000 bushels, or 
100.2 per cent of last year’s production in these 
countries. 
The estimated production of rye is. in Belgium, 
21,964,000 bushels; and Spain, 25,024.000 bushels. The 
combined total production of Belgium, Bulgaria. Den- 
mark, Spain, Italy, Luxemburg, Switzerland, Russia 
(\\ inter rye), and Hungary, excluding Croatia and 
Slavonia, is 1.052,000,000 bushels, or 92.4 per cent of 
last year’s production. 
The estimated production of barley is. in Spain, 
63,742,000 bushels; England and Wales. 46.450.000; 
Hungary, excluding Croatia and Slavonia, 75.609.000 
bushels. The combined total production of Belgium, 
Bulgaria, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Luxemburg, Switzer¬ 
land, United States, Japan, Great Britain and Hun¬ 
gary, excluding Croatia and Slavonia, is 539,000,000 
bushels, or 92.0 per cent of last year’s production in 
these States. 
The estimated production of oats is, in Belgium, 
46.79o.000 bushels; Spain, 26,838,000; England and 
Wales, 91,i it. 000; Hungary, excluding Croatia and 
Slavonia, 97, 678,000; and Italy, 35,826.000 bushels. The 
combined total of Belgium. Bulgaria, Denmark, Spain, 
Italy, Luxemburg, Switzerland, United States. Japan, 
Great Britain and Hungary, excluding Croatia and 
Slavonia, is 1.410,000.000 bushels, or 80.8 per cent of 
last year’s production in these countries. 
Canadian Crops. 
Since early reports there has been a serious falling 
off m apple prospects. The outlook for the entire 
Dominion now will not be above 60 per cent of a full 
yield. Gravenstein is very short in Nova Scotia. Spy 
and Baldwin in Ontario, and Fameuse in Quebec. There 
has been an unusual development of scab. British Co¬ 
lumbia has a fair average of Winter apples, but not 
equal to last year. The pear prospect is also poor, the 
June drop having been heavy. 
The plum crop is quite large and of excellent quality. 
Bradshaw, Italian Prune and Grand ‘Duke are a'll 
showing finely. 
In the Niagara district peaches escaped frost, and 
a large crop is expected. 
Grapes in Western Ontario will not be equal to last 
years yield. 
The strawberry yield of Eastern Canada was cut 
badly by drought and in British Columbia wet weather 
spoiled what would have been a large crop. 
Tent caterpillar and Codling moth have done seri¬ 
ous damage. Bud moth is troublesome in New Bruns¬ 
wick and parts of Quebec. 
Ohio Crop Report. 
The Ohio Department of Agriculture reports the 
crop outlook for that State as follows: Wheat—pros¬ 
pect compared with normal yield. 94 per cent. Wheat 
damaged by joint worm, 4 per cent. Barley—pros¬ 
pect compared with normal yield. 89 per cent. Rye— 
prospect compared with normal yield, 91 per cent. Oats 
--prospect compared with normal yield. 81 per cent. 
Corn area in 1912, 3,207,717 acres. Corn—area com¬ 
pared with last year, 95 per cent. Corn—total esti¬ 
mated area for 1913, 3,044,078 acres. Corn—condition 
compared with an average, 90 per cent. Corn—dam¬ 
aged by cut worm, three per cent. Corn—damaged by 
grub worm, two per cent. Clover—damages by white 
grub worm, four per cent. Potatoes—area in 1912, 
103.261 acres. Potatoes—area compared with last year, 
94 per cent. Corn—estimated area for 1913. 97,500 
acres. ^ Potatoes—condition compared with an aver¬ 
age. 86 per cent. Tobacco—area compared with last 
year, 84 per cent. Timothy—prospect compared with 
normal yield, 76 per cent. Pastures—condition com¬ 
pared with an average, 91 per cent. Horses—condi¬ 
tion compared with an average, 97 per cent. Colts— 
number compared with an average, 92 per cent. Cat¬ 
tle—condition compared with an average, 96 per cent. 
Calves—number compared with an average, 92 per cent. 
Virginia Horticultural Society Report. 
There lias been a general improvement in prospects 
and conditions of Fall and Y\ inter apples since the 
issue of our last bulletin at the end of May. Though 
the red apple crop generally is still quite' short, the 
prospect is somewhat improving. The Albemarle Pip¬ 
pin crop continues to show up very promising, being 
as large in the pippin producing area, if not larger, 
than last year, and condition very good. The frequent 
rains have started development of bitter rot and 
orchardists are busy spraying to hold it down. There 
are some complaints of scab on Winesaps, particularly 
on lower elevations, and the attack of aphis in many 
places last Spring has left its mark in small and de¬ 
formed fruit. 
The following are conditions as reported: 
(Percentages taken on basis of full crop.) 
Alb. Wine- York Bens. Stav- Fall Pchs. 
Pippin, sap. Imp. man. Var. 
No. Piedmont 75% 30% *45% *35% 25% 37% 50% 
(to James River) 
So. Piedmont 69 27 *26 *26 25 55 30 
(So. of James R.) 
North Valley *50 *20 25 25 15 18 30 
(to South of 
Rockingham Co.) 
South Valley *60 *25 30 30 25 40 25 
(inc. Augusta and 
Roanoke Co.’s.) 
S.W. Virginia. Generally very few apples, av. 10 to 15% 
(all S. W. of Roanoke) 7 
(♦Indicates variety not so largely grown in that sec¬ 
tion as others named.) 
Taking into consideration the size of the Pippin 
crop, and with red apples averaging 25 per cent of i 
full crop, the average prospect for the State is 40 per¬ 
cent of a full crop at the present time. 
